A week in Maine: small-town thrift stores, lupines, + fresh seaweed masks

In the town on the hill where the apples grow and the church bells ring every hour or so I took a little walk just to see the ships coming in. The sun rose up right above the highway Black, blue, red, yellow, golden skyway it's like the day that you jumped into the net I can't go back down to that water these old muddy shoes keep on walking the streets Someone's bribed by an egyptian machine There's my reflection against the morning light hello Mr. Ghost, Mr. Skeleton White You better comb your hair, you better put your clay off the ground, you better stand up straight man, these people are derrickin' Yep I made my way up to Maine and of course I thrifted the whole way. So I searched through and it tells me like which how many minutes it adds to my route and yeah this one only adds nine minutes oh but this one adds seven minutes we're doing that one I accidentally stopped at a goodwill training center in Connecticut so that was a bummer but this one here in New Hampshire absolutely made up for that I very quickly made my way over to the dress section and within seconds found this beautiful red summer dress that I snagged. I was very tempted to grab these pajamas they're a Laura Ashley set but then I reminded myself that it is almost summertime so I left them behind. I looked through clothing just a little bit but I didn't have too too much time because I was on my way up to Maine and Charlie was waiting in the car for me but I headed over to the houseware section because I have a little project I'm going to be working on in Maine so I grabbed a few little goodies for that. I thought these little mugs were so precious I left them behind but I am kind of regretting that now. I spotted a picture of my future self in Paris which really made me smile. I did grab one of these for the little project that I'm going to be working on in Maine that I'll explain more about later on in this video and then my heart broke a little because I loved this chair. It was beautiful and in perfect shape and just eight dollars but I literally had no room for it in my car which made me a little bit sad but then this tin cheered me up because I grabbed this as well for my little project. I got to chat a little bit with one of the sweetest persons who works there. She was just so lovely that was really nice. I wanted this bag but it was too dirty inside so and it never ceases to amaze me just how different it is here. The nature looks so different from that in New York and it just makes me realize how incredibly spoiled we are on this earth. This particular little beach area always has a lot of seaweed and it's kind of become a little tradition for me to go and harvest some seaweed and then take it home and make some face masks with it. I'll mix the fresh seaweed with yogurt or honey things like that and my skin absolutely loves it so I decided this year that I would gather some and then dry it out and be able to bring that home with me. Hi, Ashley. What are you doing, Ashley? I've got my dress on. I need to shoot some video for the website because it's gonna go live. I think by the time this video comes out, yeah by the time this video comes out, the dress will be live and up for sale on Karina's website. So yeah I need to shoot a page where the dresses are posted and then I think it's it's ready to go. I designed this long flowy boho dress that reminds me so much of the vintage dresses I love finding in thrift stores that are from the 70s with that maxi style. I just love it and the amazing folks at Karina brought it to life. We even made a midi version too for those who prefer a shorter look. Driving alongside the ocean looking at the waves crashing the beautiful blue sky with the white puffy clouds oh it just made me so happy and I always love driving by this little cottage here because I always think to myself one day I'm gonna stay here for a month and I'm gonna write an amazing novel there because it just looks like the kind of place where that's what you would do. Last July we did a burial at sea for my father and the boat took us right past that little teeny lighthouse and that's where we released his ashes so yeah. I read a quote the other day that I just love. It says life is amazing and then it's awful and then it's amazing again and in between the amazing and awful it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing hold on through the awful and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living heartbreaking soul healing amazing awful ordinary life on and their big sweaters and coats. I'm happy this is my happy weather for sure sunshine and 50s feels good. After a couple of days in the sun the seaweed was mostly dried out. I did put it in the oven at a really low setting for just a little bit of time to make sure all of the moisture was out of it and then I set about grinding it up as fine as I could possibly get it ground up. I did end up bringing in a batch and blending it up in the blender in the kitchen which really helped the process along and I think eventually when I go to use it depending on how I'm going to be using it I may grind it a bit finer as well but it's so great to be able to take home a few jars of this seaweed that I can rehydrate and mix in with honey or yogurt or any kind of oil I want and then turn it into a very luxurious face mask. I am so excited because I'm at one of my very favorite thrift stores in Boothbay Harbor Maine and yeah I get here like once a year so it's always exciting when I get to come. They always have the best prices they have the coolest stuff the loveliest ladies working there. I'm actually wearing a dress that I thrifted on the way up to Maine and yeah I thrifted a red one that's long like maybe two weeks ago and now I have a nice short version of it so I'm the lady in red in Maine right now so let's go see what we find. I'm looking for a few different things I'm looking for some sheets vintage sheets to try and add to my collection for when I start sewing dresses which my mom said she'll try and help me work on some stuff while I'm up here. One thing I want to do is kind of do like a little redecorating project in there's kind of like we call it the bunkhouse but when my grandfather bought the little cottage that my mom is in there was a shed and he turned that into like a tiny little cottage like he made it into a little like a guest house but really really small. I don't know what the square footage is but I was thinking maybe I could do a little makeover in there and give it a total like not a total but like a little boho makeover and my mom kindly agreed to the project so I'm looking for just fun little textiles I don't even know what I'm going to find but just stuff that maybe I can use to add some boho flair into the little bunkhouse. It has not been cleaned out yet since the winter and obviously since it's in the woods there's some mousy goops and all kinds of fun things to clean up because that's what happens over the winter so I'll be cleaning it up and then adding a little boho flavor. So that is the first thrifter here that I'm going to be going to and then there's one more that I'm really excited to check out. I of course went right to the artwork to check out what they had and then I spotted this really cute little tray. I think it's adorable. They do their pricing with stickers which is really easy you just look at the colors and you know how much each item is and they have such fair pricing here which makes it such a fun treasure hunt because you know you're gonna find something really awesome. I was gonna grab this picture but it had already been repaired the handle so I didn't take it. I did take one of these paintings though I'll show you which one later. They have a pretty good clothing section here in this thrift store so I peeked through really quickly. I found this beautiful suit that was actually in a long which is great for me. I don't know why I didn't get it now that I'm looking back at this footage. I think because I was just so excited to get over into this department. I love going through all the old remnants of fabric. I grabbed this beautiful piece of fabric and originally I was thinking it would make a really beautiful throw pillow which I might still use it for. I grabbed this to do the back of it but I might use them instead for something else. I found these quilting squares and they were so beautiful. I don't do quilts but I think I'm going to be able to come up with a creative way to use them. I was hunting around trying to find something that I'd be able to use as curtains or some fabric to be able to put up on the walls and I found this treasure trove of lace goodies and hidden in the bottom of the box was this beautiful lace valance that I think will work really well over the bed. And then it was on to the next thrift store which is just up the road. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to park it was so crowded but I was able to and I got in there and started hunting around. They have a few pieces that are antique like that beautiful chandelier. I did grab this beautiful shirt. I'm not sure if it's going to fit me. If it doesn't I'm going to give it to one of you because it's so beautiful. I spotted this and I had to have it. I may or may not paint the frame. I'm not sure. Then I spotted this beautiful vintage fabric that I think would make such a lovely jumper. Back in the linen section I found this comforter that was only five dollars and so warm and cozy so I did grab that. I thought about taking these pillows but I ended up not taking them which I'm kind of regretting now because they're beautiful. And then I found this gorgeous old sheet for just a dollar. It's really thin but I think I'm going to try making a nightgown out of it. I was already feeling pretty excited and then I spotted this beautiful oil painting. I fell in love so I of course grabbed it. I had to have it. It was so pretty. I then saw this gorgeous pillow sham so I grabbed that because I think it'll work really well and somebody started a blanket and didn't finish it so I'm gonna find a creative way to use that. So much stuff for so little money. Kind of blows me away. My grandfather was a big collector of owls. He went to Temple University where the owl was the mascot so having this owl picture in his little house feels right. I will see the whole deal through today I've got better things to do to leave a little bit be the cat in the sun