Tuesday Things.
1. Have you ever made homemade waffle cones? I am dying to do so. One of my first jobs at 16 was at an ice cream place and I burnt the heck out of my fingers each time making the waffle cones, but the smell was so amazing and has stuck with me. I need a waffle press or something, right?
2. Could I be any more in love with this magic butterfly pea lemonade?! Whoa.
3. Okay major question: do you sort and match ALL of your socks? You know how the laundry ghost makes certain socks disappear? Well if I don’t have matching ones by the time I’m putting laundry away, I will match some that are *close enough.* I realize this gives people major anxiety.
4. We booked a last minute trip to Maine! We’re so ridiculously excited so give me alllll your recommendations please. We’re staying in Portland. What should we do and most importantly, EAT?!
5. Over the weekend we started binging on Ozark on Netflix. I am LOVING it. Eddie really likes it too. I was not a huge fan of Breaking Bad (yes I know, I should be excommunicated from the universe for saying so) but love this. And I started watching Friends From College too and really love it. Still watching Ballers and Insecure on Sunday nights, but that’s about it!
6. Also, I can’t get enough of all of the Princess Diana specials. The day she died my mom was so upset and I find it so interesting to see and hear more about her right now.
7. On raising creativity… I love this! I have worked so hard on my mindset when it comes to Max and letting him make creative messes and be a kid. My mom never freaked out if we made a mess when I think back to it. So I let him help me cook, draw, paint, get muddy, covered in dirt, play with dough in tons of flour and just clean it up later. And I don’t remember the cleaning part.
8. Speaking of, what is your all-time favorite pen? As a major pen-and-paper person, I still can’t find one I LOVE right now. I’ve been keeping up with my bullet journal (yes, a post is finally coming with it!) and I use the Staedtler fineliners for that, but I don’t omglove them for general writing. You know?
97 Comments on “Tuesday Things.”
Staedtler Fine Liners + Le Pen are my standard go-to pens for almost everything recently I came across the Huhuhero on Amazon and fell in love. VERY similar to Staedtler (still a fineliner, doesn’t bleed through pages) but much more comfortable to write with. Already bought another pack so I can have one for work + one at home!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY4RJ2M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XG8KzbAEB3W0H
I grew up in Maine and my parents live just outside of Portland, so for some non-food recommendations, I highly recommend Print: A Bookstore (http://www.printbookstore.com/) on Congress Street–there are lots of cute shops in that area too. Also take a walk around Back Cove –it’s a gorgeous walk and there’s a fun little playground (in Payson Park) right next to it. Have a great time!
Standard bakery in Portland and Scratch bakery just over the bridge in south Portland.
Ahhh I’m from Pittsburgh but moved to Maine 5 years ago you must go to Empire Chinese Kitchen for the best Dim sum! Also, Venas fizz house has awesome cocktails and a huge selection of mocktails- this was our go to place while I was pregnant. There are so many incredible places….
If you want lobster (obv) I suggest Portland Lobster Company (they have a great outdoor space and always have live bands) and The Lobster Shack at Two Lights which is right on the ocean.
Take Max to Mackworth Island if you can- there’s a section where you can build fairy houses and it’s such a cute spot to explore. OR ride the ferry to Peaks Island and explore too!
Can’t believe that there are so few ice cream posts. Ice cream and Maine go together. It’s worth driving to North Yarmouth (15mins-on your way to Freeport) to get Toots ice cream. Literally made right on the farm. You can walk around and see their animals while you eat ice cream. Your son will love it!
So exciting that you are going to Portland- you should definitely visit Holy Doughnut and Eventide. Two not to be missed restaurants!
You must try Gifford’s ice cream in Maine! I’m pretty sure there’s one in Portland!
muji .38 pens!! they are the best and don’t bleed!
My husband is from Portland and we go every summer! We always plan out our eating stops for the week. My top foodie recommendation is the sea salt bagels from Scratch with he chive cream cheese… totally AMAZNG. They actually sell out super fast in the morning, and there’s a line that usually forms waiting for fresh ones, but well worth it (as are the other baked goods there). Central Provisions is a great bar with fun cocktails, Flatbread Company for the pizza, and The Holy Donut for potato based donuts (chocolate is my fave, and I’m not even a big chocolate fan!) Have fun!
MUST eat at Eventide. They don’t take reservations and it’s always wicked busy so go early! We go every year and will actually be there this weekend!
You should definitely go here: http://www.ottoportland.com/menu (please take note of the mashed potato/bacon/scallion offering) and these folks make pretty good croissants: http://standardbakingco.com.
When you’re in Portland definitely check out The Holy Donut on Exchange Street!!
We went to Portland on our honeymoon three years ago. Places we LOVED include Taco Escobarr, The Holy Donut, Elevation Burger, Gorgeous Gelato, and Becky’s Diner. Whale-watching was pretty fun, as was the Art Museum, and going to another small island via ferry.
YOU’RE GOING TO MAINE! WOOOOHH!! Portland is AMAZING. The Old Port district has a great array of bars (for hubby)and food (cobblestone though, so don’t wear heels!!) Holy Donut has the BEST donuts ever, Duckfat restaurant has bomb sandwiches. If you want to take a quick day trip, head south to Kinnebunk/Kinnebunkport/Wells/Ogunquit – cutest little shops, great for pictures, and the salt water taffy is something to stock up on. You can’t go wrong with any of the beaches – Old Orchard Beach (~20 min drive from Portland) is a great spot for kids: Ferris wheel, deep fried oreos, beach shops, etc.
Have so much fun! Can’t wait to see pics!!
xoxo
I’m totally obsessed with how gorgeous that magic pea lemonade is!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Other people have given you great recommendations! I messaged you on Insta but I want to make another plug for Freeport, which is 20 min north of Portland. There are outlets (hello, shopping!); Max would love L.L. Bean (a big outdoors shop where they have giant fish tanks and you can see the fish up really close, etc.); and Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro is one of my all time fave restaurants. Freeport yoga co. is great if you’re into yoga too. Old Port is a must for awesome restaurants and shopping in Portland. I think DuckFat is overrated and Old Orchard Beach is VERY touristy. I personally don’t like it –very overcrowded and unpleasant but agree with the beach suggestion in general. My husband loves Hot Suppa which is great if you like southern food. I hope you’ll do a recap so we can see all of the great Maine places you visit. <3
As far as pens, I adore flair pens and recently discovered these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATBRJRM/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I38DIN2GVAXRVH&colid=2QU0N7RSKI7C4 I'm into the marker / pen cross. I also enjoy Le Pens.
I second Katy’s plug for Freeport! Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro rivals some of the best restaurants in Portland and Freeport Yoga Company is amazing. Terry Cockburn is hands-down the best yoga instructor I’ve ever taken class with.
In Portland, Holy Donuts is an institution, but I actually prefer the newly-opened Hi-Fi Donuts in Monument Square. Sister’s Gourmet Deli is great for a quick sandwich or salad. My fiance is a huge beer snob and he loves Mashtun, The Great Lost Bear, and The Kingshead for local Maine beers and pub food. And, of course, Central Provisions, Eventide, Standard Baking and Scratch are not to be missed.
I was just watching your video for cranberry ginger vanilla margaritas, and I was laughing when it said crushed ice=best ice. Every time I’m pregnant (twice so far), I have intensely craved crushed ice to chew on. Or that really good, pebbly soft ice.
Good to know about Ozark! I’ve been wanting to watch that one. I live in Missouri and have been to the Ozarks many times so I’m curious about it. Plus, I’m with you about Breaking Bad. I really tried to like it but I’m totally in the minority who didn’t just love it.
So glad you’re coming to Portland! Looks like you’ve gotten plenty of great suggestions. Please let me know if I can help as well, in any way.
Karen Watterson
Food Editor, Maine magazine
I just buy all the same socks always so its not a problem…especially for work
Muji fountain pens! Gorgeous, and a joy to write with. There is just nothing like a fountain pen.
http://www.muji.us/store/aluminum-round-fountain-pen.html
xo,
skb
Sorry for the length but here goes:
Fishermen’s Grill—849 Forest Ave BEST LOBSTER ROLLS no atmosphere/outside tables. Very easy to miss as it’s set back a bit &is between 2 restaurants. Just a storefront but fresh & generous servings
Fore Street Grill—288 Fore St. 207-775-2717
Really outstanding. They keep 1/3 of the restaurant open for walk-ins if you can’t get a res. Just get there early. They’ll take your name and tell you when to come back or you can wait/eat at the bar.
J’s Oyster Bar 5 Portland Pier locals, good food — nothing fried on the menu!
Duck Fat 43 Middle Street amazing paninis & salads & best FF
Hot Suppah 703 Congress St Great breakfasts/atmosphere—our favorite
Corner Room Kitchen & Bar –110 Exchange St v good Italian, nice atmosphere
Becky’s Diner good diner food
Flatbread Pizza Company—72 Commercial Street all organic & delicious
Standard Baking Co. 75 Commercial St. Same owners as Fore St. Fantastic
Two Fat Cats Bakery 47 India Street
Mt. Desert Ice Cream—51 Exchange St. maybe better than Beal’s(always packed), a bit further from the Port so it’s less crowded—interesting flavors, small batch ice cream, sometimes they have pretzel cones
FAVORITE lobster Shack about 15 min south of Portland:
The Lobster Shack at Two Lights
225 Two Lights Rd. Cape Elizabeth 207-799-1677
Other Portland stuff (beside wandering around Commercial St):
Take a ride to the top of Munjoy Hill and check out the beautiful park and incredible views—also nice restaurants & coffee places
Vena’s Fizz House 345 Fore St Handcrafted sodas & bitters and a great shop
Lucky Catch Lobster boat tour 41 Union Wharf—great with kids, a real working lobster boat
Schooner Sails—We’ve been on the a couple of different ones for 2 hour harbor sails.
Peaks Island—in Portland Harbor. Take a ferry. Visit the umbrella cover museum.
Outside Portland:
If you love ice cream and are up for a scenic drive: Browns Ice Cream (next to the Nubble light in York). There’s also a clam shack near there. The ice cream is excellent.
Other lobster shack options Maine Best Lobster Shacks from Travel and Leisure
Georgetown: Five Islands Lobster
New Harbor: Shaw’s Fish and Lobster Wharf
Harpswell Neck: Morse Lobster
South Freeport Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster
Kennebunkport: Clam Shack
Ogunquit: Barnacle Billy’s
Kittery Point: Chauncey Creek Lobster
Brooksville: Bagaduce Lunch
Kittery Trading Post: Bob’s Clam Shack
Biddeford Pool–Goldthwaites
Cape Porpoise
Ice cream. Shains of Maine
Wells–Big Daddys or The scoop pick
Saco–Bartells, across from splashdown
Auburn–Gritty MacDuffs
Lewiston–DaVincis
Can’t believe I forgot Tandem Coffee!!!!
Wow, that last post makes me want to drop everything and take a road trip north to Maine, I’m about 1 1/2 hours away.
….Yes if you go south into Kittery, Bobs Clam Shack is the best! Also right now the lobsters are a soft shell, not as much meat in them, but still so good!
Gerard and I spent our honeymoon driving the coast of Maine.
Ooohhhh, I really liked Friends From College. They are the best but totally the worst! Husband and I laughed a lot.
Ok I literally have nothing to say other than YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE HOLY DONUT!!! My friends live just outside Portland and I beg, borrow and steal for them to bring home these delectable treats. My friend brought them to a bachelorette party the other weekend and I thought there was going to be a gladiator style duel for the last coffee cake donut in a house full of hungover bridesmaids. You. Will. Be. OBSESSED.
https://theholydonut.com/
I second this! Forgot to mention it in my post! Go early though because once they sell out, they’re done for the day!
So excited that you’re visiting Maine!!! I live 30min away from Portland in Wells (another beautiful beach town). Some of my husband’s and my favorite places to eat and drink are:
Gelato Fiasco (amazing flavors and you can try as many as you want)
Nosh (bacon dusted french fries, a burger with mac and cheese as the buns, good friend pickle spears) < it's a smaller place though, so it fills up fast
Hot Suppa (chicken and waffles!)
and if you would like a fancier night out, visit Grace – it's an old church that was converted into a restaurant and is beautiful! The food there is also to die for, so lovely and the chefs think of really neat combinations.
I don't know if you ever mentioned whether or not you enjoy micro breweries, but Portland is filled with them. If you aren't much of a beer fan, there is Maine Craft Distilling and they have some interesting products.
Places to explore:
Peaks Island – you'll want to catch a ferry over, but they come often enough. Max would probably love it!
Catch a Sea Dog's baseball game if you can, also really fun for kids and the sea dog biscuits (cookie ice cream sandwiches) are a good treat
Portland Head Light and Bug Light are worth seeing if you enjoy lighthouses.
The Freeport outlets are 15minutes or so up the road and LLBean is open 24/7 (Max could take a picture with the giant boot!).
Some other comments also mentioned Old Orchard Beach – fun and simulating!
And Kennebunk Port is quaint and lovely (Taylor Swift filmed one of her music videos there!) there are two shops, Daytrip Society Jr and Daytrip Society that have adorable Maine/nature/nautical themed things that you and Max would love.
York Beach is about 45-50 minutes from Portland and also really nice (it's where I'm originally from). The Short Sands area has the famous Goldenrod where you can see how they make taffy!
I could go on and on, but hopefully you find something you enjoy from this list! <3
It doesn’t look like anyone has mentioned there is an EXCELLENT food / cook book store in Portland called Rabelais. You absolutely must go: https://www.rabelaisbooks.com/
Plan some time and enjoy. Also +1 on Otto’s Pizza. I am partial to Butternut Squash / Ricotta / Cranberry, while my family is more about the Cheese Tortellini.
All time fave pen: Pilot G-2 and HAS to be the .38 tip. I find that the finer the tip, the prettier my handwriting looks! If I want to use colored pens, I like Let Pen (hot pink is my fave). Also, just watched a trailer for Ozark and got major anxiety, haha! Did you ever watch Justified or Longmire? Those are like the only 2 shows that my husband and I both enjoyed and I would highly recommend them!
I love the Zebra Sarasa pens!! They come in 0.7 mm & 0.5 (thin but still not too scratchy!) and are made for lefties (🙋🏻), but I’m sure they work for everyone lol. I have an arsenal of 0.7s, 0.5s, and 0.5 milky pastel rainbow gel versions of this pen thanks to Amazon 🙈
There are lots of recommendations for the holy donut, but they don’t specify to get the bacon and cheddar stuffed donut. Theyre kept in a case to the side of the cash register, so they’re easy to miss. LIFE CHANGING, I tell you.
MAINE! I have been going every summer since I was a kid- it’s the perfect summer place. Lobster rolls are my absolute favorite thing in the world, but we don’t get them very often in Texas. :) I always make sure to eat at least one a day when I’m in Maine! Gilbert’s Chowder House makes the best, in my opinion- there’s one in downtown Portland. I second the Old Orchard Beach recommendation, too, though the beach just a couple miles down from Old Orchard is Pine Point, a much quieter beach if you prefer that. If you go at low tide, you can walk out on this giant sandbar and find all kinds of little crabs- that’s always my son’s favorite thing to do. Have so much fun!
We travelled to Portland ME a few years ago and really loved the area. We had a good cup of coffee at Bard Coffee. In Kennebunkport, I had an amazing scoop of Olive Oil Rosemary Caramel w/ pepitas ice cream. The ice cream shop was Rococco’s. So very good! I wanted to try all of other flavors, too. Bring some home to Pittsburgh, please!!
Don’t go to Portland without popping into the cutest kid shop ever, Little. It’s the nicest children’s store I’ve ever been to, with the most incredible curation of imagination-inspiring toys, blankets, clothes, etc.
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Do. Not. Miss. Scratch Bakery in South Portland. Ten minute ride over the Casco Bay Bridge. GO for morning sour dough bagels with herbed cream cheese and excellent coffee drinks or order sandwiches for lunch–increds. they cure their own meats and make interesting spreads. order the house roll ( a pillow of sour dough ). Walk across the street to Willard Scoops for dessert and get the salted caramel chip! Take your sandwiches to Bug Light Park -2 mins drive and watch the kite flyers and the boats across Casco Bay while you eat.
I live about an hour north of Portland – The Holy Donut is a must! I would also recommend catching a ferry to Peaks Island. I hope that you enjoy your stay!
Yes I read Ozark got renewed for a 2nd season! We just watched the 4th ep last night.
Whoops I somehow commented on your wrong post Tuesday Things post – LOL.
I live in NH and I have been visiting Maine for 35 years. The people above have done a GREAT job I have a few to add:
Best Beach: Wells (hands down) sand is beautiful and plenty of room to have fun in the sun. Park at the end of Atlantic Av. Get there early fills up fast. Kennebunkport is a wonderful place to shop, so many places to list here, you will need a few hours to do the whole town if not more.
Portland my old stomping grounds, Eventide, Fore Street, Hugos, Davids, to name a FEW and don’t forget Little Bigs in S Portland. My favorite Shops are Motifs and Follys 101. The list goes on and on ! Enjoy your trip !
Yet another Portland suggestion: Miyake is hands-down our favorite sushi spot. Ever! If you can do the omakase meal, please do. It’s amazing!
I am OBSESSED with Muji’s gel ink pens. They have them in 0.7, 0.5, and 0.38 tips and I’m obsessed with the .38 because it’s a gel pen but dries instantly because it’s such a fine tip. I’ve gotten all of my students obsessed with them too! Plus they come in all sorts of colors. It’s the only pen I’ll use in my Day Designer