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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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Twenty Five

25 Dec

WHAT: Pure Holiday Joy

something something

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff … Trim every house in Whoville from the cellar to the roof.

WHERE: The front yard of 392 Adams Street, private home of Mr. Trong Nguyen

Trong Nguyen, a true Holiday Light Artisan, has lovingly cut, painted and constructed many of the illuminated beauties that fill his lawn.

Trong Nguyen, a true Holiday Light Artisan, has lovingly cut, painted and constructed many of the illuminated beauties that fill his lawn.

HOW MUCH: Free to the public from 5pm-11pm

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Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near.

FOR: Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small …

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It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags … Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  – Dr. Seuss

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy 2013,

Leslie, Meghann and Bekki 

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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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The Bridge

20 Nov

… Dotted by Leslie 

When my husband and I moved to Dorchester eight years ago, we came across a painting of the the bridge near Adam’s Village. We swore to one another that someday we’d buy that painting. As my husband’s birthday approached this past weekend, I found myself in a panic to find the ‘perfect gift’. We’ve been together for 16 birthdays, so naturally, I’m running out of ideas. But then I remembered that painting and through some super-sleuth detective work ( aka Google) I found Vincent Crotty; a Dorchester-based Irish-born landscape and figurative painter. Vincent graciously informed me that the painting in question had long since been sold. However, he happened to have a smaller painting of the same bridge that he’d be willing to finish and frame for me in time for our celebration.

‘The Bridge’, as it now appears in our dining room … does anyone know it’s name?

*****

Vincent Crotty

www.vincentcrotty.com

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Eye Candy: Boston Watercolor Map

22 May

… Dotted by Leslie

My husband is a map collector … I think we might need to add this one to our growing collection.

“I’d like to generate map tiles that give you that same dizzy feeling you get when you look down at a city at night, from an airplane. We’ve spent so long fussing over the relentless details in cartography that we’ve sort of forgotten what things (should) look like at a distance. ” – Arron Straup Cope.

prettymaps (boston) by Aaron Straup Cope courtesy of 20 x 200

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For The OFD In Your Life…Dorchester Blankets & Mapkins

3 May

…Dotted by Leslie

Each week when I receive New York Magazine in the mail, the first thing I do is flip to the back of the issue to read the Approval Matrix which the Editors describe as, “Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.” The Matrix always makes me laugh and has led me to great books, music, art, cool new products and yes, sometimes hilarious YouTube videos.

New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix

It was a recent Matrix that  led  me to the Soft Cities website while checking out a really cool map company, Stamen Design.  I haven’t made a Soft Cities purchase yet, but I’m coveting the CandyMap Blanket  for my own pint-sized OFDs (Originally From Dorchester) and wouldn’t the Mapkins make a lovely Dot Mama’s Mother’s Day Gift?? (hint, hint)

How about an OTB (Over The Bridge) Savin Hill blanket? Or Jones Hill napkins?  The ideas are endless …

The folks at Soft Cities will take a map of your favorite neighborhood (you simply give them the street address) and turn it into a cozy fleece (recycled) blanket  or 100% Kona cotton table napkins. You can feel good about this purchase too since the  printing is completely green: no toxic chemicals in the printing process, nor do they produce waste water.

Blanket

Mapkins

***

Prices range from $65 – $175

www.SoftCities.com

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Party Wrap-Up: Spring Egg Hunt

25 Mar

…dotted by Meghann

No surprise; the weather didn’t cooperate today (isn’t that always the way? Gorgeous weather all week and then blammo…party = nasty rainy day) so our Spring Egg Hunt was moved inside but that’s okay, we had SUCH a good time hosting our little family’s good friends!

The "brunch bar" was a big success; the hubs made a yummy home-made Bloody Mary mix and there were yummy prosecco mimosas as well

The kid's side of the brunch bar with a view of our "Welcome to the Party"silhouettes on our kitchen's chalkboard wall.

After being effectively fortified with tomato juice, orange juice, coffee or tea, guests had their choice of the various quiches, stratas and breads that we’d made yesterday (I highly suggest prepping everything for quiches the day before; then it’s just a matter of adding the eggs and milk, and popping it in the oven).

Everything came out really well.

The strata recipe was a HUGE hit (click here for the recipe)…

…and the quiches (click here for recipe) and banana bread (click here for recipe) were gone very quickly. In regards to food, the only thing I would note is too keep the gateaû (click here for recipe) in the oven a little longer than one would think; mine could have used another 5 minutes…the center wasn’t as “spongey” as I would have liked).

The basket, pre-Egg Hunt scramble. The bunny masks were another $1 section find).

After digging in and eating up, the kiddies got their easter egg baskets (from the $1 dollar section at Target; god I love that section of the store).

Then we all made our way up the stairs (yes, the indoor hunt happened on our second floor), and into chocolate-covered madness.

After all the eggs were collected, everyone went to their respective corners to ogle their “take” and trade for favorites. All in all, it was a great success; we’re already looking forward to next year!

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Focusing on the Dot with realtor Larry Gettings

1 Mar

…dotted by Bekki

“We should focus … Dorchester.”

Larry and I are a dangerous combination: we are both hilarious, we both have beautiful flowing tresses, and we both love to gab.  The gabbing part is what usually gets me and the realtor in trouble; on this particular evening, we are trying to talk about the neighborhoods of Dorchester, but keep getting sidetracked.  Have I mentioned the amazing paintings in his office? Or his cool new sign graphic? It looks like a fence AND a row of houses!

Larry Gettings of The Real Estate Group outside the Carruth, 1910 Dorchester Avenue

“We should focus … on Dorchester.”

I called my friend Larry Gettings of The Real Estate Group because I needed a geography lesson.  All this DottieHotties “discovering of Boston’s best kept secret” has highlighted my shortcomings in the Where is That? category.  As one of the top five real estate offices in Dorchester, I figured he and his business partner Milo Tavoliero could show me how to know a Hill from a Corner and Park from a Point.

I pulled up a chair in their Carruth building office, and was prepared to get to work.  Focusing … on the neighborhoods of Dorchester.  Innocently, I gave him a little DottieHotties history lesson.  It all started at Flat Black, the cafe also located at the Carruth.  Leslie, Meghann and I gathered at the cozy cafe for our first official meeting of the minds; two coffees and and a chai later our misson was born.

Naturally a conversation about Flat Black lead us to Tavolo, the Carruth’s neighbohood restaurant.  My mister and I had recently enjoyed their Spreadables appetizer and a moment of reverence for its whipped ricotta was held by all.

Tavolo, 1918 Dorchester Avenue

“We should really focus … on the neighborhoods … of Dorchester.”

An hour of frantic scribbling later, and we had made some progress.  We moved outside to take some photos and were met with a new challenge: Larry’s friendly demeanor.  As we circled the building, from his office towards the Ashmont T station, he greeted just each and every person that we passed.  As a resident of the Carruth himself, he is about as neighborly as they get.

Joe Wheelright's "Sleeping Moon" at the entrance of the Ashmont T Station

Eventually there was a lull in foot traffic, and I was able to take his portrait.  We bid each other a fond farewell, and I headed home.  As I unfolded my notes I realized three things.  First, I am really bad at focusing.  Secondly, these gentlemen really know how to highlight the amazing aspects of Dorchester and third, there was no way I was going to fit all of this into one post.

My frantic attempts to keep up with Larry and Milo as they give me a lesson in Dorchester geography

Each month, the DottieHotties will focus on highlighting one of  Dorchester’s varied neighborhoods.  It was my pleasure to begin this adventure by spending an evening soaking up the Carruth’s community.  With a snug cafe like Flat Black, a tempting restaurant like Tavolo, a gleaming new T station and a good friend like Larry Gettings, it would be hard to imagine a better way to begin.

The Carruth by Bruce T. Martin Photography, 508-655-7557

For even more reasons to love living in Dorchester, read Boston City Councilor — and Carruth resident — Ayanna Pressley’s interview in Boston Magazine.

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Larry Gettings

The Real Estate Group

1908 Dorchester Avenue

617-436-4800

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Dear Dorchester Valentine

12 Feb

…dotted by Meghann

To Do List

Dear Hubby-

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I just wanted to say “thanks” … about a billion times over:

*Thank you for listening to me when I said — on a whim — “Let’s just go check out Dorchester,”.

*Thank you for letting me daydream about renovating an old, forgotten, and broken-down house.

*Thank you for  sticking with me through about a thousand homes.

*Thank you for not laughing when the 1,001st place — the epitome of unloved but with all the right bones — came up for sale and I fell in love.

*Thank you for agreeing to put in that first offer. And the second. And the third (while all around us the real estate market was crumbling).

*Thank you for moving into our new home when I was seven months pregnant  – unable to do anything to help — and spending every ounce of your free time painting, sanding, and writing checks to make it livable before our little guy was born.

*Thank you for not giving up on all those renovations when we were both sleep-deprived and utterly-exhausted new parents.

*Thank you for embracing our amazingly-friendly and helpful neighbors.

*Thank you for lovingly learning to grow — and then care for — our lawn.

*Ditto for the rosebushes we planted in the back that bloom like mad and the hydrangeas along the side that weren’t supposed to grow but still do.

*Thank you for not giving up on this house, this dream, this neighborhood when everyone said “we’d run for the ‘burbs” in a couple of years.

Thank you for everything. You’ve made my house-dream a reality and our son’s childhood as idyllic, diverse and loving as possible.

Happy Valentines Day; you are so loved.

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