taiwan series: alleynaps

I've clearly been a total failure at this blog since z was born, but thanks to those of you who are still here. :) To reward you, I have this series that I'm calling #alleynaps, because this urban plant life was the only interesting thing about pushing your baby in a stroller for hours each morning while he slept. Taiwan...what a trip! It was HARD traveling to the other side of the world with a 15-month old, but it was lovely seeing family. Z and his cousin were so cute together! (And eating. We ate multiple times each at Ding Tai Fung and Chun Shui Tang, so that along made the trip worth it, obviously.)

I've opined in the past about the beauty of Taiwan's greenery, so I'll just leave you to enjoy the photos without comment. 

a party at frankies spuntino 457

A few weeks back, we gathered some of our nearest and dearest at Frankies 457 in Carroll Gardens for a last hurrah before the baby comes (i.e. a baby shower). An extra yay to the pals who came from from The Hague, California, and Virginia! We ate Frankies' famous meatballs and amazing pasta but saved room for dessert. We chased toddlers (so many of them around now!) and caught up with each other's lives. I had a great time. 

Some photos from the day: 

The garden right outside the stable. 

The stable. 

Food! 

Some deli flowers in ball jars for each table.  

More flowers.  

Caneles by Celine, courtesy of Steph and Fernando (thanks, guys!). 

And here are the people:

I'll think back fondly about this party when I'm up in the middle of the night with the baby.... 

a sunday in greenpoint

I'm almost packed for another trip to Asia...Hong Kong and Taiwan this time. I'm going to eat a ton of dim sum, Din Tai Fung, and mangoes. Can't wait! Before I go, I thought I should post these photos from last weekend in Greenpoint, where Julie and I checked out BKLYN Design 2015 at the Greenpoint Expo Center. Last year, I went to the stalls at Industry City and saw some great locally-made furniture and accessories. Here are some of the displays from the 2015 event:

I wandered around a bit after and found some fun secondhand shops, and this adorable coffee shop+florist place called Homecoming.  

And of course, I never go to Greenpoint without dropping into Bakeri, where I snagged the last apple cider flower (like a financier, but flower-shaped!). Those things are soooo good. 

lazy weekends

It's been gorgeous around here lately. I'm not sure if it makes the awful winter "worth it," but I'm very pleased that there are now summer dresses and outdoor suppers in my immediate future. One of the best things about the weather is the chance to resume long neighborhood walks with hhh and Willa. We have a couple routes, either west to Prospect Park, or east towards Carroll Gardens through Gowanus. We'll usually walk for an hour, or possibly two. One of my favorite spots, though, is right across Fourth Avenue - the Gil Hodges Community Garden. 

It's a bit of a secret garden, and I like it best when the eastern redbud blooms magenta. It'll look like this for another week or two, and then turn completely green. That's nice too, but not nearly as thrilling as a wholly pink tree.  

Last weekend, we went to a slightly less secret garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was a gorgeous, sunny day - so of course it was as packed as SoHo on a Saturday afternoon. But it was still nice. 

We checked out the bonsai trees, the herb garden, the Japanese garden, and the cherry blossoms.  

And in my own backyard...the stonecrop came right back, totally delightfully. And the hydrangea, which was only budding a couple weeks ago, is now nice and full and continuing its ascent up the wall. (Not sure what's going to happen when it starts to climb over to the neighbor's side....)

And lastly, another shot of Gil Hodges. It's such a lovely spot!  

reviving the garden

its finally warm enough to take my indoor-wintering plants outside again. they made the move this weekend...right in time for a windy rainstorm. but they seem to have survived! all the dead grass and leaves also got cleared over a productive afternoon. here's a quick look at the progress so far:

those lovely pink and orange ranunculus (ranunculi?) are actually newcomers this season. the spring colors make me instantly happier. the rubber plant was sheltered from the freeze in our guest room and looks happy to be back outside. the leaves of the climbing hydrangea come back each year without fail, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed for blooms this year.  

no idea what this lush thing is, but it looked tropical so it went indoors too. it's grown some since the fall too! i've returned it to its shady spot on the table right outside the door. 

these grasses are coming right back! I'm soo pleased.  

the ones next to it aren't doing as well though. I've been anxiously examining it daily for new shoots.  

the cherry tree always looks so good in the spring and early summer, only to succumb to mildew in august. hope i can avoid it this year!

I loove these mini "blooms"...the stonecrop turns purple later on but they are a nice green now. so glad to see they survived this year's crazy temps. 

willa lounges in a sun patch while i work... 

what else should I plant this year? I need to put in my herbs soon...i'm thinking rosemary, thyme, parsley, and basil. the mint is of course coming back by itself (weed that it is) and so have the garlic chives (super excited about that since i didn't expect it). I also picked up a little pot of oregano at the farmer's market. man do I love spring.