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The Dot is HOT! (But then … you already knew that, right?)

24 Jan

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Many people reading this post probably already knew this before this report came out … but Dorchester has just been named #5 in The 10 Hottest Neighborhoods in 2013 across the USA!

24/7 Wall Street, a site that provides investor analysis to several publications including The Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post, used data from Trulia.com to find that prices throughout Dorchester rose 18% in 2012 and that it’s on track for increased gains in value in 2013.

If you’ve been thinking about making the plunge and purchasing a home in Dot, now’s the time to do it!

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Twelve

12 Dec

DAY TWELVE

WHAT: Antique Dorchester Pottery Works slipware mugs and plates (in business from 1895-1979 and located at 101-105 Victory Rd.)

WHERE: Dark Horse Antiques in Lower Mills

HOW MUCH: $20.00 – $30.00 depending on the piece

FOR: Anyone who wants an authentic piece of Dorchester’s historic arts community

Dorchester Pottery

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Ten

10 Dec

DAY TEN

WHAT: “Dot Dogs” Shampoo Bar — handmade soap for your urban hound.

WHERE: The HomeStretch in Lower Mills

HOW MUCH: $5.50

FOR: Anyone who loves their four-legged friend … but not the pungent odor that clings to them after a roll in the dirt or a swim in the harbor.  Looking for more than a stocking stuffer? Try pairing it with a Do-It-Yourself-DogWash gift certificate from Dot Dogs near Savin Hill

Dot Dogs Soap

Dot Dogs Soap

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Seven

7 Dec

DAY SEVEN

WHAT: An original Walter Baker Chocolate Factory wooden crate

WHERE: Dark Horse Antiques in Lower Mills

HOW MUCH: $45.00

FOR: Any chocoholic or industrial antique enthusiast you know

An original Walter Baker Chocolate Factory crate

An original Walter Baker Chocolate Factory crate circa 1900

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Four

4 Dec

DAY FOUR

WHAT: Hand-blown glass ornaments, paperweights, vases and dishes made by local teenagers from the Bird Street Community Center. The kids also determine each piece’s pricing as well as handle the marketing and sales components of their artwork.

WHERE: Bird Street Community Center  or contact  Assistant Director of Operations Paulo Barros via email (pbarros@birdstreet.org) to find out the studio’s hours and dates of other craft shows where they’ll be displaying their wares.

HOW MUCH: Prices range depending on the piece. Paperweights from $5-10, ornaments from $15-25 and vases from $25-50.

FOR: Your decor-loving sister with champagne taste (and you and your beer budget.)

$25 hand-blown glass vase by the students at Bird Street Community Center

$25 hand-blown glass vase by the students at Bird Street Community Center (bought as a gift but it may end up being part of the permanent collection around here … so gorgeous!)

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Urban Gardens: Growing Moss Art

7 Aug

… dotted by Bekki

“A rolling stone gathers no … “

I’ve always thought moss was magical.  As a child I imagined it a perfectly plush bed for my dolls, and now as a dignified mature adult I use it as … well … beds for fairy houses I build with my daughter.  Perhaps that is why I am so entranced with the idea of the “growing” genre of eco-art, which has been known to employ my favorite mossy brand of nature’s carpeting.

Photo courtesy of SuperNaturale

I also have a fascination with urban gardening.  One of my favorite parts about Dorchester in the summer, is spying the innovative ways residents transform tiny plots, planters, roofs and concrete jungles, into plush green homages to mother nature.

An Urban Moss Chair

So, Dorchester green-thumbs young and old … why not add some moss to your repertoire?  It turns out there is no magical pixie dust required.  Using a few items from the fridge, one can conjure up a paintable potion and apply it to just about any outdoor surface.  The possibilities are endless!

Moss Art by Anna Garforth

*     *     *

Ingredients for Moss Paint Recipe

  • One or two clumps (about a small handful) of moss
  • 2 cups of buttermilk
    • You can also substitute with yogurt (vegan yogurt can be used)
  • 2 cups of water (or beer)
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • Corn syrup (optional)

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Mae’s BBQ and the 33rd Annual Ashmont Hill Yard Sale

18 May

…by the DottieHotties

“The Way City Living Should Be” – Ashmont Hill

While the jury is still out as to whether Mae Graves will be cooking tomorrow at the 33rd Annual Ashmont Hill Yard Sale (we called to ask this morning and she told us, “Tomorrow stands for tomorrow; I live day to day.”) we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that she brings out her amazing BBQ onto Harley Street to serve up the best BBQ ribs and chicken we’ve ever had. Typically a bucket of ribs goes for $20 and is enough to feed at least 5 people. To find her, turn onto Harley street and follow the smoke trail….you can also buy individual portions for nibbling on the run while you shop the 60+ garages and yard sales in one of Dorchester’s most charming neighborhoods. If Mae ends up not coming out (we shudder to think), your BBQ craving will be satisfied at the Ashmont Nursery School BBQ (also on Harley Street), where they will have burgers, hot dogs, baked goods, drinks and more.

Mae chopping up her amazing BBQ ribs with a hatchet. We love her.

Mae’s BBQ

* * *

33rd Annual Ashmont Hill Yard Sale

May 19th 9am -2pm

RAIN OR SHINE – Take the T to Ashmont (warning: parking is at a premium); start at Ocean Street, off Welles Ave. Maps available at each yard.

Antiques, furniture, tools, computers, household and baby items, architectural details and miscellany displayed in carriage houses, porches and lawns.

For information call 617.288.6626 or visit www.ashmonthill.org

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Spring Blooms at Lambert’s

10 Apr

… dotted by Bekki

“You know it is spring when the Lambert’s tent goes up.”

The year was 2004, and we were enjoying our first spring in Dorchester.  Back then I was a regular at the Victory Road dog park, where the beauties and the beasts were all soaking up some welcomed warmth.  Taylor, the owner of two Jack Russell Terriers, turned his gaze across the expressway and declared that the changing of the seasons could be marked by Lambert’s Rainbow Fruit.  Traditionally, the market would set up a tent in the parking lot to house their extensive spring flower supply.

Spring is nature's way of saying, Let's Party! ~Robin Williams

Recently Lambert’s has erected a permanent structure, so you have to look a little closer to discover if spring has sprung.  Regardless, I still think of Taylor every time the jewel-toned foliage starts showing up in my rear-view mirror on Morrissey Boulevard.

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

I made a beeline for Lambert’s this Saturday; my version of spring cleaning is to put away the boots and buy flowers.  While hibernating this winter, I had forgotten about their absolutely amazing service.  Friendly, knowledgeable and a true desire to send you home with a great product is clearly the Lambert’s mission.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. ~Doug Larson

Although I wanted to buy the whole farm, I finally settled on some hyacinth.  When an establishment offers you three of these beautiful plants for $20, they are making you an offer you can’t refuse.  A really nice young man helped me find these three beauties.  Once I discovered that trying to juggle three hyacinth plants was bound to turn slapstick, he found me a cart and a shallow cardboard box,  ”I just watered them” he said, “I don’t want your car to get wet.”

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

The next time you visit Lambert’s Rainbow Fruit, don’t forget to read the sign at the door.  ”When you enter here you are family.”  It is clearly a motto that they has blossomed into something beautiful.

Happy Spring my friends!

*     *     *

Lambert’s Rainbow Fruit

777 Morrissey Boulevard, Dorchester, MA 02122

p. 617.436.2997
f. 617.288.9004
Toll Free: 800.286.3091

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Breathe

6 Apr

… Dotted by Leslie

I’m packing for a trip to the lovely Eco Venao in Panama where I will meet up with friends; get reacquainted with a hammock; finally finish The Hunger Games series; drink local beer and at times be without electricity, forcing me to cut off completely from the outside world. At least for 10 days. Ahhhh … time to breathe.

This trip comes at a time when I happen to need it the very most. Let me plead my case:

Exhibit A: My husband suffered a herniated disc four weeks ago and has been in recovery ever since. Sure, I know, it wasn’t ME who suffered the injury, but it’s been awful watching him try to go about his daily routine clearly in agony with every step. Fortunately a cortisone shot and some physical therapy have him patched up enough to board a plane with me and the kids for our first family vacation in over two years.

Exhibit B: My son has been demonstrating that the age of TWO is mighty and fierce and he will NOT be buckled into his car seat without a fight. He will NOT. (I’m eager to see how the Flight Attendants handle this little guy…)

Exhibit C: Our family  has been cranked  through the heart-wrenching Boston Public School lottery process this spring, coming out on the other side with two good options, but still with heavy decisions to be made.

Exhibit D: My many projects and life responsibilities are weighing on the ole’ noggin as the emails pile up unanswered in my Inbox. It’s not pretty. I always *think* I can do it all …

The final piece of evidence on this sad case came tonight at bedtime when my four year old daughter looked up at me and said, ‘Mom, why are you and Dad acting so old?’.

Sigh.

****

Earlier today I received an email from Exhale magazine Publisher, Sandra Casagrand, telling me that the Spring Issue featuring an article I photographed and wrote on DottieHotties collaborator, Meghann Van Dorn, has finally published. I’m so grateful to Sandra for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to the pages of her outstanding publication dedicated to the educated, talented and inspiring women who live full lives in Greater Boston. And doesn’t it seem fitting that Exhale will be in my carry-on this week as I retreat to breathe and possibly figure out how to live a fuller life myself!

The cover of Exhale magazine’s Spring issue with Linda Piuzzuti Henry on the cover

Snapshot of article on fellow DottieHottie and Interior Designer extraordinaire, Meghann Van Dorn in Exhale magazine

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Up Close with UnHappy Hipster’s Jenna Talbott

27 Mar

…Photographed and Dotted By Leslie

It was a swanky party at The Boston Design Center  that brought Jenna Talbott into my world. I was busy being pleased that there was a sushi bar and hefty looking swag bags when I bumped into one of my favorite people, Steve Twombly, Publisher for Design New England magazine. We chatted for a while until he spotted his colleague, Jenna, then the acting Art Director for DNE magazine. He introduced us and I was immediately taken in with her  warm smile and contagious laugh.

Since that first meeting, I’ve been laughing at her witty captions underneath photographs from Dwell magazine on her blog, UnHappy Hipsters, that she co-founded with writer Molly Jane Quinn. One viral bloggers-dream-day and a book deal later, Jenna quietly resides in Adams Village, which is where I caught up with her one unusually warm spring day as she rotated a ‘Death Star‘ composter in the garden. Take a peek into the life and times of this artist, blogger and avid gardener in the next installment in our Up Close series.

Jenna Talbott, UnHappy Hipsters founder and blogger and Illustrator of It’s Lonely In The Modern World 
(See what I mean about that smile?)

I’ve been a fan of UnHappy Hipsters for a while now and didn’t realize that you were the driving force behind it. Why did you start the blog?

Unhappy Hipsters started when my co-founder Molly Jane Quinn and I decided that the people in Dwell magazine were looking increasingly miserable. It became a game to imagine their depressing life scenarios, which of course contrasted — though sometimes complimented– their very carefully designed homes. We blogged anonymously until our book published last fall because we realized pretty quickly that nobody cared who we were (or they enjoyed guessing who might have a bone to pick with Dwell) and that our audience had more of a personal connection to the posts if the authors were unidentified. We sensed we were putting into words what everyone was already thinking about Dwell, that these homes were becoming more and more inhabitable, and more and more out of reach for the average design enthusiast.

How did the blog evolve into a book?

Though we never imagined our silly captions would become a book, the blog-to-book idea came about rather quickly. Because of the popularity of the blog—which was instant, within twelve hours we had gone viral—we were contacted by agents eager to connect us and our captive audience with a publisher. Once we decided on an agent, we were instructed to put together a proposal that outlined how our content would translate into a book. Molly and I drew upon our experience in magazines to craft a multi-sectioned, illustrated gift book that would not only showcase our custom-captioned Dwell photography, but also elaborate on the design decisions key to the elusive Unhappy Hipster. The resulting book, It’s Lonely in the Modern World, is almost exactly how Molly and I conceived of it back when we put together the proposal. We were really lucky to work with an editor at Chronicle Books that encouraged us to make the book we wanted.

In Jenna’s studio, some of her illustrations from It’s Lonely In The Modern World

What were some of the challenges you faced in getting the book published?

Once we determined the angle of our book, the challenges that remained were mainly logistics: creating the enormous amount of original content and finding a photographer with a wealth of imagery that could grant us permission to use the images the way we do on the blog. We were very fortunate to connect with California-based photographer Dave Lauridsen, who did a lot of shoots for Dwell, but also seemed to share our sense of humor. All the ‘case studies’ in our book are from his stock files and all the homeowners agreed to being lightly, but respectfully, chided by our captions.

What’s your day job?

I currently work for Boston University’s in-house creative agency, designing alumni magazines.

Favorite pizza in Dorchester? Favorite Restaurants?

We don’t have a favorite pizza but we do like takeout from Shanti or Pho 2000. We plan to try Pho Le and Van Shabu one of these days and we liked Savin Bar + Kitchen on our first visit recently. In the meantime, the bar at Tavolo is our favorite place to meet after work.

Why Dorchester?

My husband and I have lived in Dorchester for 5 years and we have a very happy routine here. Its nice to come home to a quiet neighborhood but still have easy access to downtown Boston and work via the red line. It’s super nice being close to the highway, too. I really love the bike path between Pope John Paul II park and Lower Mills along the Neponset.

Frank Gehry or Philippe Starck?

Not really a fan of either. Is that surprising? I’ve always been a bit uninterested, or perhaps clueless, to the hot shot designers du jour. First of all, how does one keep up? I have a lot of respect for architecture and design and while I learned so much as art director of Design New England magazine, and working on the book with Molly, none of it has changed the way I decorate my home. I’m more of a bargain shopper and would rather customize something cheap from a yard sale or found on the sidewalk on garbage day. Yup, I’m a trash-picker.

Have you found any gems at Dorchester’s yard sales?

The neighborhood yard sales are pretty amazing. I have a stack of gorgeous fabrics I found one year (still haven’t done anything with them) and my husband found an Andrew Wyeth print that I love.

***

Want more of Jenna? Then check out her awesome interview in the New York Times.

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