i discovered stem from thistle & clover, a fairly new shop in fort greene, and i’m sure glad i did. stem might be my latest flower shop obsession. the place is not too big, but what they have out is not your garden variety deli fare. their flowers are usually stunning, and i’d be happy with just a couple of stems every once in a while. currently in shop are mimosas, lilys of the valley, white french tulips, water lilys, pincushion proteas and tweedias.
for my birthday this december, j branched out from his usual root stock & quade arrangement (which i have always loved but change is good), and got a spectacular little bundle from stem. that sure made my birthday weekend nice and festive. good choice!!!! hmmm, we have an anniversary coming up so maybe i can persuade him to indulge me again (and he is my on again, off again spellchecker as if you didn’t know).
stem also has a few gifty things. i was particularly enamored with these amazing handmade quilts made by a local designer (deborah kellogg — not sure of her spelling). i have been wanting to move to the quilt route in the summers, and i think i have found the way to do that. stem also carries a few other odds and ends for kids and other random gifts but really the main reason to come here is for the gorgeous flowers. stem, 112 s. oxford street between lafayette and fulton streets, brooklyn, new york, or email at .
with two small and darling kids and one lovely husband who all occasionally need some amount of tending to as well as a full-time job, this blog is an excuse for me to explore the streets of new york, with a focus on brooklyn -- my home -- and manhattan, for those great little finds that seem to appear randomly on all sorts of blocks around new york but are sometimes hidden from plain view. i gravitate toward small, beautiful, independent places with interesting things, fantastic and friendly service and mostly affordable stuff (or at least an excellent value) and food that is extremely tasty, reasonable and in a great space -- though taste will trump design every time. to help put all these ideas in one place, i also will provide a series of new york mini-guides. in each of these, i will highlight something fun to do and then give some food, shop and doing suggestions nearby. these mini-guides, soon to be accompanied by mini-maps, will help to fill an afternoon -- where to pick up a snack, what shops to check out nearby and is there a really sweet little park along the way for a much needed rest. and i am always looking for ideas -- so if you have any suggestions for where to eat and shop or what to do please let me know. . you can also follow me on twitter at cherrypatter.
and for those of you more interested in the photos, i have absolutely no photography training and while i have been picking up a few tidbits here and there, mostly i think the credit for the photos goes to my lovely camera. it is a canon rebel xti, and the lens i use most of the time is the 50 mm 1:1:8. i also have a 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 for longer views.
Excited that modern Chinese takeout spot (whatever that really means) might have a soft opening tomorrow in Gowanus next to fav 4&20 bbirds
Anni-what? Sorry, that’s not in the dictionary.