while there were certainly great parts about being pregnant, shopping for clothes was not one of them. there were so few good choices in any reasonable price range. there were the crazy sample sales where you tried to predict what you might actually look like in five months. there were the completely distressing trips to “maternity shops” and then there were the splurges like a way too expensive summer dress that i never wore because that june the temperature never exceeded 65. my usual standbyes included a few items from the gorgeous pieces at cadeau maternity and veronique, lots of day to day things from old navy and h&m, finding some normal low riding jeans (no huge elastic band for me), and then really hope that i never needed a suit for work.

when i passed by madison rose, a buy-sell-trade shop which opened last month in carroll gardens, i was incredibly envious as this is just the kind of maternity store i would have loved (and no, no more babies will be happening so i will just need to send my friends here). madison rose’s maternity clothing collection was filled with tops and dresses made from lovely silks, linens and cotton fabrics, and beautiful (and not at all matronly) designs at more than half off retail or more. and i know i promised no more vintage but i really think that madison rose falls into a separate category offering only high quality gently used clothes from well known designers.

madison rose’s selection was really stylish, useful and so very appealing starting with an extensive designer denim selection (7 for all mankind, citizens of humanity, habitual). some of the other designers included favorite cadeau (especially now that their shop has closed) as well as diane von furstenberg, pea in the pod and chiarakruza. the inventory turns over constantly, and they really try to offer many styles with a wide range of price points: $80 to $90 for the demin, and tops and dresses will fall in the $40 to $60 range with some more fancy items going up to $150. they have started to carry some new nursing clothes (not used) from milk which are super cute.

lastly, madison rose itself is just charming. nice and airy, with lots of space so it feels like a fancy boutique — there is no musty smell here. and the shop also has a small collection of vintage children’s books and toys, and are hunting down some of those old. the trade aspect of the shop allows customers to come in and receive cash up front or trade credit for something in the store. as an added bonus, they are doing good. for the maternity clothes that don’t make the cut for sale in the store, madison rose has developed a partnership with safe horizons, a non profit focused on helping victims of violence, ensuring that the clothes do go to women in need. madison rose, 313 court street between degraw and sackett streets, brooklyn, new york, 347.689.3365.

yes, i’ve been visiting a few too many pizza spots the last few weeks, but given that we have “pizza” friday in our house, and it is one of the few foods k eats without much complaint, it is no wonder. so on my list for a while has been lucali. with the never ending chatter about this place, i had super high expectations. these were compounded when alan richman from gq recently ranked lucali’s margarita pie as the number two pizza in america (and he did quite an extensive search).

and while i think that lucali is definitely worth a visit if in brooklyn, and i always need an excuse to spend more time in carroll gardens, i just cannot see it besting some of my other brooklyn pizza favorites which are — no surprise — franny’s, di fara and motorino (for the sauce). i actually thought that lucali’s pizza was most like motorino’s but in a cozier, attractive setting though i felt like the service was not the warmest.

the pizza was good but not amazing. it had a decent crust, a bit chewy with a light layer of cheese and some tangy sauce. their toppings are a bit more interesting than di fara’s but not as adventuresome as motorino’s. lucali offers anchovies, onions, olives, pepperoni and garlic as well as a few other items. we got the basic margarita, given the family demands, but when we go back i’ll be adding some meat. in the back of the restaurant, they have gorgeous balls of cheese sitting by the oven which look irresistible and so i decided to try one of their calzones which was fine but not something to recommend. so if you have time to kill (there is nearly always a wait here), and happen to be in southern brooklyn, are with very picky kids and don’t want the fussiness or expense of franny’s, i think lucali is a good choice. lucali, 575 henry street between carroll and summit streets, brooklyn new york, 718.858.4086.

so without meaning too, i seem to have been doing a few posts lately on shops with some amount of vintage including general and finds and franny and roey, and they are great stores. i have one more to report on today deluxa, which opened last fall, and then i plan to give the vintage a break for the summer no matter how popular this kind of shop seems to be. it’s funny that i keep profiling them as i almost never shop for vintage clothes but i am drawn to these stores with their charm and old-fashioned sensibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt too as this should really be the way i should be shopping if i were really thinking green.

with a varied collection of clothes for kids as well as men and women, deluxa is well suited for a “family shop” — well except for the fact that they aren’t so big so maybe it’s not such a good idea to bring lots of little kiddies around with the beautiful old perfume bottles, lots of glassware and tons of just incredibly appealing colorful knicknacks that any toddler would love. fortunately, deluxa is just down the block from my favorite dumpling spot eton and now that it is warm again, and eton is serving their fabulous hawaiian rainbow ices, it’s easy to split up and leave j and the kids there while i check things out at deluxa. (and my apologies for the more spring, than summer, photo above but i had taken photos a few months ago and still find that sweater dress combo adorable. their current store window showcases a more appropriate vacation look with lots of cute travel trunks.)

deluxa also has a strong mid century modern furniture obsession and put their recent finds on craigslist making it easy to find out some of their great pieces like this cute vintage daisy lamp and this shiny brass cube. i think i might just have to put them in my google reader so i can keep track of their finds. another good way to keep up with the store, or to just be inspired, is to follow their very informative blog. so given how easy it is to know what is going on here, how excellent the clothes are and that i’ll be nearby often this summer snacking at eton, i might finally start buying vintage. deluxa, 187 sackett street between henry and hicks streets, carroll gardens, brooklyn, new york, 347.721.3401.

general and finds (which until very recently had been store518) joins some of my other favorite little shops and food pit stops (including ruby moriarty and prime meats) concentrated in this great area at the far end of court street in brooklyn.

general and finds is the creation of designer nadia tarr, who got lots of acclaim this past year (and maybe elsewhere i just am not the most up to date in the fashion world) with her crazy wrap dress that has about a zillion configurations and looks pretty cute too which she designs as butter by nadia. set up like a general store with all sorts of cute wooden drawers and shelves filled with all sorts of treasures, general and goods is first and foremost a great source for the butter by nadia designs. With many of the stylish wrap jersey dresses on hand, in lots of colors, the shop has become quite the source for hip bridal parties, and i have to say that seems like a promising trend (please no more j. crew).

but the general and finds is more than just jersey dresses. nadia collects lots of interesting vintage clothing such as mexican sundresses and indian prints. she also features the occasional new designer such as archibald leach, a red hook designer, who reconfigures oxfords and other mens’ shirts into super cute sundresses (i love her slogan — dresses for girls inspired by boys). there’s some great children’s vintage too with jumpers from gay sprites.

general and finds offers some great vintage jewelry too with an emphasis on victorian memorial rings made out of cut glass or cellulite and rock crystal globe lockets. she’s also currently carrying some reworked vintage necklaces by a brooklyn designer. and if you’re a fan of the old coach, she seems to be obsessed with vintage coach bags of all shapes and sizes.

general and finds also offers my favorite soaps from saipua, and then there are some knicknacks as well as lots of nostalgic candy — squirrel nut zippers, necco, sky bars and cherry mash - all still made fresh but just reminders of the “good old days.” from the candy, to the soaps and the dresses, it’s hard to imagine leaving this shop without some find. general and finds, 518 court street between huntington and court streets, brooklyn, new york, 646.256.5041.

our meal this past saturday has been a long time coming. starting in the winter, every few weeks or so, we would visit prime meats just to see if there might be signs of life there as there was constant chatter about this new restaurant. as anyone tracking the brooklyn food scene knows, prime meats is owned by the guys behind two other spots in carroll gardens: the consistently excellent frankies 457 and the recently opened café pedlar (we visited during its first few days- hopefully things are running a bit more smoothly now). and they will also be opening yet a fourth brooklyn venture this year with the delightful coffee shop in red hook.

so this weekend, somehow the odds worked in our favor when buttermilk channel turned out to be closed (we wanted to check out the brunch that some have raved about; we have not been so keen on their dinners). and instead, we trudged down the block eternally hopeful that maybe prime meats was finally open. happily, it was both open and not too busy. and after those weeks of anticipation, we were not disappointed.

in addition to a lovely though somewhat small space (as far as we could tell — the lay out is a bit odd) and attentive service, the food was excellent. j was particularly thrilled with the germanic bent of the prime meats menu. j had the poached egg, schinken and the all important spargel - that white asparagus that apparently all germans go crazy for in may, and which was quite tasty. i had an extremely delicious, tender and perfectly seasoned weisswurst served in a tureen of boiling water (which i was somewhat awkwardly instructed to take out of the ceramic bowl and then release from its thick casing) with a side of sweet mustard and a pretzel roll. we also shared the bread plate with dense raisin and walnut thinly sliced bread served with the most tasty butter and lingonberry jam. the kiddies were happy with excellently prepared french toast and an olive oil bundt cake. the menu, with its central european focus, also includes a selection of meats and cheeses as well as some salads, and of course a number of appealing beers. we also tried the stumptown cappuccinos made on their super fancy marzocco machine, and while it was good i still prefer southside coffee’s intelligentsia brew. but for restaurant cappuccino, i don’t think i can complain too much.

needless to say, prime meats has now jumped to the top of our brooklyn brunch spots. given our experience at frankies, i’m assuming that the service and food at prime meats will only get better and more consistent and that we’ll be making lots of trips to court street for our central european fix. prime meats, 465 court street at lucquer street, brooklyn, new york, 718.254.0327. and just a side note that they only accept cash.

at the point just before carroll gardens turns into an industrial wasteland, the southern edge of court street has become a surprising destination with a few solid food options as well as some great shops lining the end of the street right before the charming entrance to the brooklyn queens expressway. my guess is that frankies 457 started it all when they opened up in 2004. this spring the same owners opened prime meats a block further south on court (we have been dying to go but it has not yet happened), and just this past winter buttermilk channel opened with great fanfare, lots of positive press and lots and lots of admirers (while i don’t think it’s great it is definitely a lovely space and has some yummy items).

and for those of us who like to shop, and who might have to wait for a table at one of these hotspots, fortunately there are some fine choices. ruby moriarty is one of these. just down the street from these three food stops, ruby moriarty is the vision of and is run by by jessica dineen, a woman who loves to travel and used to do (and maybe still does) quite a bit of travel writing and her love for other places shines through. the shop is filled with her obsessions including lots of very hard to find but very much coveted japanese items. as i am a lover of kitsch on occasion (i have in the not so distant past owned an anya hindmarch donkey bag), so it is not so odd for me to be obsessing over the vinyl bags by minmie (shown above) which are hard to find in the u.s. some of these are really great with detailed cartoons of eggs or shrimp along with an accompanying recipe - everything a girl needs when she goes about town. ruby moriarty also carries the more accessible tenshi neko bags with drawings of devils and angels on them and pocky bags as well.

and i will definitely have to visit soon to check out the jessica’s handmade dresses and skirts and soon to come handpainted t-shirts. when i visited a few weeks ago, ruby moriarty had a super cute red cotton shift on display with an empire waist, and more recently there are halter neck sundresses designed in a 1920s style that i really must come see. what is great is that jessica makes only a few of each style so that they truly remain one-of-a-kind items.

ruby moriarty also carries some great looking japanese pajamas for children by glory and doraemon. and there are lots of toys and treats too. fake mini cakes from thailand, snacks including the chocolate lollipops above by fujia, all sorts of pocky sticks as well as crackers that look like mushrooms with a chocolate top. k and s would love those — looks like a vegetable but really dessert. i might have to just go stand in line at butterfield channel for an excuse to visit. ruby moriarty, 516 court street between nelson and huntington streets, brooklyn, new york, 347.275.0770.

char no. 4 is one of those places that we cannot believe we waited this long to try it (it opened in the fall of last year) especially given how much positive press they have gotten. the space has a great vibe, service is warm and friendly and the clientele is oozing brooklyness with so many of the guys there sprouting lots of facial hair (not sure what this means for the state of the nation but i definitely don’t want j getting any ideas on this front). although they apparently have a great wine list, the focus of this joint is on whiskey, and char no. 4 offers more than 300 different kinds (most are bourbon). given that j and i are not exactly whiskey connoisseurs, we just stuck to the very tasty house cocktails including the nor’easter with ginger beer, lime, maple syrup and old crow whiskey and the kentucky royale with henry mckenna whiskey, sparkling wine cassis and orange. in the food department, the starters were the highlight. i will definitely keep coming back for the highly recommendedand extremely delectable yet light house cured lamb pastrami served with coriander aioli and rye toast. and as if we needed more protein and fat, we also devoured the delicious smoked pork nuggets and the house-cured bacon served with black-eyed peas (that was at least one vegetable). to round out the meal, steak and a beef link. desserts were not so thrilling (chocolate cheese cake and ice cream with bourbon sauce) and maybe we were feeling just a tad bit full, so we passed but this spot is definitely a keeper if you’re in the mood for some meaty comfort food. char no. 4, 196 smith street near baltic, brooklyn, ny, 718.643.2106.

before we lived in brooklyn and i knew anything about smith street, for some reason j, infant k and i had about an hour to kill before needing to venture back to the upper east side. trudging along carroll garden’s main shopping drag, hoping to make headway on my christmas shopping list, i was thrilled to discover so many great shops — many of which i return to year after year because they offer so many interesting, unique and affordable items. one of my best finds was hasker, a design and home store with a focus on scandinavian goods. as is true of most of my favorite shops, they don’t carry a lot but what they do carry is excellent. hasker tends to focus on home goods for the table such as ostindia dinnerware and boda nova carafes, while also carrying an interesting selection of mid-century like lamps and more modern furniture from blue dot and others. they have a bunch of smaller fun gift items like a rosewood tape measure, lots of soaps and some book treasures too. they also display a few reasonably-priced works from new york artists, and when i visited recently i fell in love with jim maio’s work of richly colored brooklyn cityscapes. while not in our budget right now, i am planning to finally complete our very bare living room walls with one of his paintings in the next year and for that i have hasker to thank. hasker, 333 smith street between carroll and president streets, brooklyn, new york, 718.222.5756.

having spent a year in china years ago, i constantly crave really great chinese food and it is just tough to get in brooklyn. i have been checking sunset park out slowly and will continue to do so but so far nothing there has been too exciting. last summer, on one of our many outings to the fantastic red hook pool (when will those days come again?), we checked out eton. this teeny tiny spot on henry and sackett was perfect. having just gone back last week, i could not believe i had waited more than six months to return.

made from scratch, these super crisp and juicy dumplings were only $3.50 for five and they were served with homemade hoisin sauce. eton also has chicken and vegetarian dumplings and usually offer at least one special dumpling such as chicken and mushrooms or lump crab and corn. for sweets, they serve bubble tea, and in the summer time they have hawaiian shave ices in flavors like agave and grape which are just too much fun. i am definitely not waiting for the warm weather for my next order. eton, 205 sackett at henry street, brooklyn, new york, 718.222.2999.

when i want cheese in brooklyn, the first place i hope i have time to get to is stinky bklyn. this shop has got to have the nicest staff of all with the best service and they have this very cute nose system so that you can decide how stinky you really want to get. what i really love is how they always always label the cheese so that a few days later when you’re nibbling at a big hunk of yellow you’ll have the facts so you can get your favorites again (yes, this seems basic but my other cheese places haven’t been doing this).

stinky bklyn also has a nice collection of the usual cheese store staples — all sorts of tasty condiments, breads, oils, vinegars, chocolates and other helpful cooking items like one pound containers of duck fat as well as a panini of the day. as an added bonus, they have opened up a ham bar where the meat is sliced right from the whole leg (complete with hooves). i am not enough of a cheese expert to tell you if stinky bklyn compares well to nyc’s many cheese meccas like murray’s, saxelby cheesemongers, dean & deluca or zabar’s, but i will tell you that for brooklyn they are at the top of my list. stinky bklyn, 261 smith street at degraw, brooklyn, new york, 718.522.7425