BostonZest

Annual Spring Sidewalk Sale, School of the Museum of Fine Arts

Ever wish someone in your family was shopping the streets of Paris, back when Renoir was selling paintings for a few francs to buy art supplies?

Who knows, you could one day be that fabled ancestor if you pick up a future masterpiece at the Annual Spring Sidewalk Sale at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, today and tomorrow. 

Here are the details:

WHAT

Outdoor sale featuring creative, affordable art from SMFA student artists

On May 10+11, shop hundreds of original pieces by artists in 2013 Spring Sidewalk Sale at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA)—from jewelry, T-shirts and watercolor paintings to ceramics, photography, temporary tattoos and more. Students will set up at tables along the sidewalk on Museum Road, between SMFA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. With prices starting around $5, the Sidewalk Sale is a great place to find some new jewelry, a unique screenprinted T or hand-drawn cards—don’t forget a gift for mom this Mother’s Day weekend! Proceeds directly support individual artists. 

WHEN: Friday, May 10, 10 am–5 pm and Saturday, May 11, 10 am–5 pm

WHERE: School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 230 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115 (map)

MBTA: Museum of Fine Arts, Green Line

Admission is free: In case of rain, the event will be held indoors at SMFA (enter on Fenway).

Visit www.smfa.edu/news or call 617-369-3617 for more information.

What's on your Artistic Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Arts & Craft needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Artwork: Courtesy of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Finally Found a Great Honey Dispenser!

Each morning, I line up my breakfast components – oatmeal, chopped nuts, raisins, and honey. I buy my honey from Keown Orchards in pound jars. Spooning honey from these can be messy and leaves the jar in need of regular cleaning to remove the residue. 

Over the years, I've tried about every honey and syrup dispenser on the market. They all seem to have their drawbacks. I was about to use one of the sqeeze bottles I keep for various other kitchen uses and did one last search for "squeeze bottle" instead of honey dispenser. 

I found the Japanese Squeeze Bottle you see in the photo. Its attached cap attracted me to it over the alternatives. It comes with different colored caps and has passed my daily use test with flying colors. Plus, it gives me much better control of the amount of honey I'm using.

     

My tip for filling it is to use the body of a cake decorating syringe. The end that would take a tip goes into the squeeze jar and the honey is poured into the wide end that would have the plunger. I let it sit for a little while after filling and most of the honey drips down into the dispenser. 

Of course, it's not perfect, an occasional wipe is needed. I seal the top and run warm water over most of the bottle and then wipe it dry and give the tip a wipe with a clean hot dishcloth. But, it doesn't turn into a big mess the way other honeypots did. 

Don't you love a simple and inexpensive solution to a daily annoyance? This would make a great gift for a honey lover!

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Gift Ideas: 5 Little Kitchen Luxuries We're Glad We Bought

Think of the things you use all the time in your kitchen but had to think about before buying, because they were little luxuries. We bet there are a few that fall into "things you don't know how you did without."

These items can give you ideas for great gifts for those close to you or something to splurge on with a gift certificate. Please tell us what falls into that group for you in the comments section or on twitter. 

For us, here are 5 things that we love and don't regret spending the money on for a single moment. In fact, some of these have saved us money in the long run.

1. Home Espresso Machine

Ours is a Breville Cafe Roma Stainless Espresso Maker that we've had since 2008. Since buying this, we've had our coffee drinks at home most of the time and that's saved us hundreds of dollars we would have spent at coffee shops. We actually bought a reconditioned unit so it cost us much less than a new one. You can look for bargains like this at the Amazon Warehouse Sale.

 

2. Burr Coffee Grinder

If you are chopping coffee beans with a blade coffee mill, think about saving that for spices and trading up to a burr grinder. We decided on the Capresso 565 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder. You can pay more for a more serious grinder or you can use more human power and buy a hand cranked item. Those are also great to use on the road. One example is the Hario Mini Mill Slim Coffee Grinder.

   

3. Good Quality Heavy Pots and Pans

Over the years, we've replaced the thin-walled pans we thought were a great buy when we set up housekeeping, with heavy, substantial pans from Le Creuset and All-Clad. No more burnt, scorched food or pans, and more home cooking which does save cash.

     

4. Great Wine & Barware Glasses

This is one area where we've gone a bit overboard and have too many great wine glasses for people who live in a small space. We have Riedel wine glasses, Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal glasses and Reed & Barton barware. We both use crystal double old fashioned glasses as our daily water glass and it really gives drinking your water a lift. Anyone want to buy some glassware? One 2013 resolution is to thin our collection.

    

5.  Wedgwood Nantucket Basket Bone China for our everyday dinnerware. You've seen it all over these pages in our food photos. We were tired of replacing our everyday dinnerware every few years because of chips, crazing, and broken dishes. But, since Penny had once sold china for a living, she knew that bone china is vitrified like steel and is highly resistant to these problems. 

We invested in a service for 8 about 16 years ago and have only had two or three pieces replaced since then. Since it's all white with no gold, silver, or pattern to damage, it is totally dishwasher safe. And, it looks great on our table. A little luxury with a long life span.

Remember, we'd love to hear what's on your list of the top 5 kitchen luxuries that you don't regret buying. Send us a tweet or post a comment.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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Bring a Big Wedge of a Great Cheese to the Party

Instead of putting together a typical cheese tray for your contribution to a holiday gathering or for guests in your own home, why not buy a nice, big wedge of some truly wonderful cheese and bring that. It should be a special cheese – one that is always the first to disappear on any cheese display. We have three to suggest.

What brought this to mind was a conversation with Ed. We were enjoying a cheese tray with both Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor and Rogue River Blue on it when Ed said, "Wow, I remember how much I like these cheeses, we should share those posts again."

Here they are! 

First up is Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor Cheese. Invest in a big wedge in great condition and let the cheese fans know that those little black flecks are bits of truffle in the same cheese paste as the company's ledgendary Humboldt Fog, and it will be the first cheese missing from the table. 

Here's  our post  with more details from 2008 Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor Cheese. And, it's still a favorite today.

Next is Rogue River Blue. This is another one we've been talking about since 2008. And, this is only around for a limited time so buy it when you see it. We found the piece above at Whole Foods at the Charles RIver Plaza in Beacon Hill.

Here's our first post on it, Rogue River Blue.

And here's a second when it won a major award,

Rogue River Blue, American Cheese Society Winner

The third cheese we're tossing into this mix is Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. While the first two are American West Coast cheeses, Cabot's superstar is from Vermont. This photo (courtesy of Cabot Creamery) shows how wonderful a single cheese can look on a holiday table.

Here's our post on how we discovered this cheese at L'Espalier back in 2009.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar – Good Neighbors are Wonderful

Since this is a cheddar, it will be more familar to many of the people at most events. And, this is great cheddar with a crumbly texture and great, deep flavor. 

Be the hit of the party by bringing something you love and sharing it with friends and family. Here are some really great tips on serving cheese to a crowd from thekitchn.com.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Annual Art Sale

Madeleine Ahlborn, Edge, 2012. Mixed media and oil on canvas. 6x6 feet.

The annual art sale at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) is underway. And the sale is our Friday Link today.

Through Sunday, December 2nd, you can shop for original, fine art pieces by hundreds of artists, including alumni, faculty, and students. Proceeds benefit both artists and the school’s scholarship fund.

Nicole D'Entremont, Moonstone Ellipse Necklace, 2012. Sterling silver, moonstone.

“The Museum School Art Sale is a wonderful event for people looking for fresh and exciting art for their home,” say Lee Essex Doyle, Dan Elias, and Juan Prieto, co-chairs of the Art Sale Committee. “Dedicated collectors also eagerly await the Sale because of its reputation as a venue to find the next great, young artist on the scene.”

Pawel Przewlocki, ART ON ART (detail of tryptic), 2011-12. Oil, acrylic, CMYK print and Sharpie on MDF. Each panel 17x30 inches.

This is another opportunity to do a little holiday shopping for yourself or someone else and have the money you spend do good for others and stay here in our community. 

Details:

The Museum School Art Sale

Thursday, November 29–Sunday, December 2, 2012

Thurs–Sat, 10 am–8 pm; Sun, 10 am–5 pm

Admission to the Sale is free.

230 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115

617-369-3204

www.smfa.edu/insideout

MBTA stop: Museum of Fine Arts (Green Line, E Line)

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Arwork courtesy of the The Museum School Art Sale  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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My Silly, Little 4th Burner Multi - Pot Scores Again!

A while back, I bought a Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi - Pot thinking I would use it when a big meal was crowding my small cooktop. It quickly found a place in this cook's heart and I wrote about, Loving this Odd Little Cooking Pot. Since then I keep finding more instances when it scores as the perfect answer to a kitchen chore. 

 

For Thanksgiving, it worked well at its trick of fitting on a crowded stovetop. It's seen here ready to cook rutabagas. Even with my giant roasting pan on the stovetop, it stood its ground. I often fit a 12-inch skillet in front of it.

 

But, before it reached that point in its turkey day to-do list, it had already joined up with a China Cap Chinoise Strainer to strain turkey broth. And, post rutabagas this combo was used to strain the gravy. 

I'm nominating this as the perfect holiday gift for someone who cooks for one or two people, someone who has a tiny kitchen like mine, or anyone who will make good use of this true multi-tasker. 

Related Post:

Another Trick from My Favorite, Little Cooking Pot

The Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi - Pot now comes in colors too! Personally, I love the look of the stainless. What else is on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs. and support this site!

 

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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2012 Boston Area Holiday Markets & Other Places for Unique Gifts

Last week, over on the Trip Advisor Boston forum, a visitor asked about Christmas Markets. It made me think about the special Holiday Markets and events like CraftBoston that I could recommend to anyone thinking about a special shopping experience that will result in presenting unique, handcrafted, or at least carefully selected gifts for the holidays, or to stockpile for the rest of the year. 

Here are some of the events and places I recommend to avoid chains, keep the money local, and support hard working artists and artisans. 

The Downtown Crossing Holiday Market (next to Macy's) begins November 24th and operates daily.

Madeleine Ahlborn's Edge 2012 (mixed media and oil on canvas 6x6 feet)

The  Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts will hold their Annual Art Sale of student, alumni, and faculty work from November 29th to December 2nd. (The photo above of one of the pieces on offer is courtesy of the Museum School. )

The Somerville Holiday Market on December 2nd at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA.

The Society of Arts and Crafts' Craftboston Holiday Show is December 7, 8, 9 at the Cyclorama on Tremont street.

SOWA Holiday Market Saturday & Sunday, December 8 & 9, 2012. This is always a fun event and if you've attended in the past, you should note that they have a new location. This year's market will be held at the Ben Franklin Institute, 41 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA. 

Bazaar Bizarre Boston, Sunday December 16th, is in its 12th year. You'll find this collection of mostly New Engalnd artists and craftspeople at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama building on Tremont Street.

Holly Fair 2012 at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, December 15th & 16th, was added to the trip advisor list by ChristineP, and she has a reputation for knowing how to enjoy Boston. It's at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge. 

Places to Shop for the Holidays or Anytime!

 

Stop into the Society of Arts and Crafts shop on Newbury Street to find very fine handmade gifts. 

If you are in the North End, stop by the  North Bennet Street School Gallery for carefully crafted gifts from this school's skilled students and alumni. This neighborhood also has a nice collection of small shops and is a wonderful place to buy food gifts.

And, Beacon Hill, and Charles Street in particular, still has a wonderful collection of neighborhood shops where you can buy hand selected items in a warm, friendly place. The community has done a great job of protecting their neighborhood from chains so it's worth a visit.

Any more places or events you love to shop? Add them in the comments below or send us an email and we'll check it out for a possible update to this list.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

 Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino plus contributions from the SOWA Holiday Market site and the Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

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