Hello, Spring! Missed you, boo

It's technically the third day of Spring and it's really, actually, swears to god, starting to feel like it!  The bike ride into work this morning was divine!  My little seedlings are popping up and growing along the windowsill and the saison and IPAs are flowing.  Warmer weather means a ton of time spent in the garden and also, suddenly, the drive to work on that Summer-bod (insert fancy new workout gear justification).  Here are a couple of my favorite things this season!  Enjoy

Patagonia Lightweight Pullover

Counter Culture Coffee Cariamanga

Organic Seeds

Blah Blah Blah IPA by Brew Free of Die

Leatherman Squirt

Ikea Vase

Nike Metcon 3 Shoes

Nudie Dry Hemp Selvage Denim

Wonderland by Steven Johnson

Cobalt Blue Glasses

From All Around the Web, Part 8

Man, a whole heckuva lot has been happening over here.  The snow is finally starting to fall now and then.  The nation is fixated on politics.  Ahhhh. Here's a look around the web:

Outdoorsy - Bike Packing Adventures over at Yeti Rides
Political - President Obama's Farewell Address
Political - Trump Press Conference (Fact Check, NPR)
Surfy - Riding Waves With GoPro
Style - The Golden (Globe) Guys
Style(?) - Are Chokers A Thing Again
Shoes - I Actually Wanna Pair of J's
Motorcycles - Victory Octane Turned Into Flat Tracker

Holiday Gift Guide

It's that time of year when being home, making good food, and day dreaming about winter sports is perfectly satisfying.  Time to cozy up in your favorite pair of sweats, make some tea, and re-watch the entire Bridget Jones' Diary set, right?!

I'm going cross country skiing next week and I'm getting all antsy with planning and logistics. Here's a list of things I'd be into this holiday season. Hope my dad is reading this because baby can't afford to buy herself a Leica this year,

Blundstone Boots
Helle Knife
Leica Camera
Nigel Slater Cookbook
Gardner's Seeds
Weyerbacher Merry Monks Beer
Gardner's Knife
Succulent Plants
Cadbury Chocolate
Ritter Chocolate
Cross Country Ski Package
Black Watch Shirt

Nike LunarEpic Flyknit

These all black Lunarlons are everything to me right now!  Plenty of rad colors to choose from, here, but something about these ninja shoes has me drooling.  All black is available over at the NikeLab.  I'm an 8.5 if you're wondering ;)

Christmas Gift Guide 2015

Stockings are hung and lights are a-glow, Christmas shopping has begun and not even a chance of snow!  I promise I wont continue rhyming through this post, but I WILL recommend a couple of my favorite things that may guide your Christmas shopping this year!  Merry Christmas to all!

1. Vans Hi-Tops
2. Barbour Heritage Sweater
3. Lush Dream Cream
4. Finisterre CWS Caelus Parka
5. Rx Gear Jump Ropes
6. Bon Maman Fig Preserves
7. Sony Cybershot
8. Rotring Mechanical Pencil
9. Mortar & Pestle
10. Springbank
11. Stance Christmas Socks
12. The Nordic Cookbook
13. Lancaster Brewing Winter Warmer
14. Vans x Pendleton Slip-Ons

"Real Ale Pack" by New Balance

BEHOLD!  Two of my favorite things in life have come together and will be celebrated in September--Beer and Shoes!  GIRRRRRL!

Okay, but seriously, The Real Ale pack came about to celebrate traditional British pub culture and three popular varieties of British beer — IPA, amber ale, and dark stout or porter. Each colorway is named after a fictional brew: the CT300 “Chicken Foot IPA” after the India pale ale, the 1500 “The Cumbrian Red” after the rust-hued amber ale, and the 576 “Ye Old Flimby Prime” after the opaque dark stout.

According to Hypebeast, SneakerBaas will be dropping the collection in September 2015.  Guys, beer and shoes.  Beer and shoes.

Vans x ASPCA

Vans and the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) teamed up to produce a small line of animal-themed authentic shoes, slip-ons, hats, and t-shirts to support the cause.  The iconic waffle treaded slip-on shoe comes printed with furry little friends.  Check out the full line and replace your old beaters with something cool.

Boot Obsession | Visvim GORNERGRAT MID-FOLK

The GORNERGRAT MID-FOLK is available in black, brown, and sand.  This is from the F/W 2014 collection by Visvim.  This is a nice, fresh approach to the chelsea boot.  I'm obsessed!

Do you have a shoe/boot obsession this winter?

Classic Clarks Wallabees Review

About Mid-November the hunt for a new casual shoe was on.  Since my foot injury in July (broken left foot), I've needed a shoe with lots of support.  The Sperry boat shoes just would not suffice anymore.

I love the Clark Desert Boots I have, but they are all beat up and too well loved to wear to work.  So the next logical, ahem, "step" would be to browse the other Clarks offerings.  The Wallabee is a fantastic shoe.  I've taken the liberty of breaking the shoe into a couple of categories and rated it.


Support: 4/5
The crepe sole is as comfortable as can be.  Unfortunately the classic, bare bones upper offers little in the way of structural support around the top of the foot and ankle.  This is still acceptable though, not going to run a marathon in these bad boys or anything.

Color: 5/5
Use Clarks main website to determine color.  I looked on Zappos and other sites to see the accurate depiction of the Maple color and their main site was the most accurate.  The Maple color is a beautiful tan and goes with a lot of stuff.  Careful wearing new denim with these, it will bleed onto the shoe!

Toughness: 4/5 
If you have ever worn a crepe-soled shoe you know that they are indestructible.  The suede portions of the shoe are sewn together firmly and the lace holes are holding up well.  All-in-all the only other thing to do is to waterproof your suede and you're set!

Click the jump for pros and cons:

Nike iD x Pendleton Air Force High and Low

Nike iD x Pendleton #BlackWatch Air Force is now available in high and low.  You can customize the shoe to your liking--the more plaid, the better!

End of Summer Picks

Whether the end of Summer means back to school, a new quarter at work, or just a change of seasons, here are a few picks of mine to get you through the last couple of warm weeks.

Jacket - David Beckham's Belstaff
Book - Janet Guthrie (One Badass Lady) A Life at Full Throttle
Shoes - Clarks Trigenic Flex
Sunglasses - Frank Aruban Tortoiseshell
Logo - Barclay's Premier League
Beer - Goes well with^^^ - Terrapin Hi-5 IPA
Donuts - Federal Donuts
Shirt - Popover Twill Shirt
Proper Hand Cream - C.O. Bigelow
Bag - Mission Workshop's The Vandal
Camera - Leica D-LUX 6 Digital Camera (Matte Black)
School Gear - TI 84 Silver and Staedtler Pencils

Trigenic - Clarks Reinvented

Hold onto your hats, Clark's wearing traditionalists.  For those that are true to the Desert Boot and Wallabee traditional styles, turn away.  While there have definitely been a lot of new takes on the Deserts and Wallabees (ome good, some plain ugly), I really like the direction Trigenic is taking.  A fresh reinterpretation of the classics yields a modern silhouette and comfortable vibram details.  I'll take one in every color, thank you.

At Clarks, the moccasin is a well celebrated construction method taken from our Wallabee. The goal with Trigenic was to harness the constructional knowledge Clarks has and apply it to an athletic silhouette, replacing the traditional Strobel construction, which is commonly found on most athletic shoes. - Sneaker Freaker (Trigenic)

For more about the shoe and words from the designer, check out the full article over at Sneaker Freaker, here.

What do you think about the design?  Or is there a collaboration or iteration of the Desert or Wallabee you like even more than Trigenic?  

Spring Weekends!

Looking forward to a fine Spring weekend ahead.  Warm weather, ice cream, motorcycles, beer, and probably...Spring cleaning.

1. Jeans - Carhartt WIP  - X Rebel Pant
2. Shirt - Jungmaven
3. CD - Robert Ellis - Photographs
4. Ice Cream - Franklin Fountain - Strawberry
5. Shirt - O'Harrow - Wall Street
6. Beer - Ballast Point Sculpin - IPA
7. Watch - Timex - Heritage Easy Reader
8. Shoes - Loafer Camp Mocs - Pierrepont Hicks
9. Helmet - Titanium With Bubble - Biltwell

Getting You Through Another Winter Weekend

Still cold, still pale, and still getting by with a little help from some of my favorite stuff.  If you're finally feeling the effects of winter and its weighing on you, perk yourself up.  There's a 21.4% chance if you pick from something above, it'll be a beer.  Cheers!

Sunglasses - Han Kjøbenhavn

Ripe - Nigel Slater

Camera - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3CK

Tea - PG Tips

Beer - Sixpoint's The Crisp

Hand Carved Spoons - Nic Webb

Toboggan - Camden Toboggans

Beer - Old Chub

Shoes - Quoddy Utica Oxford
Studded Tire - Xerxes

Kettlebell

Jacket - Barbour Morris Utility Waxed

Shoes - Crossfit Nano 3.0

Beer - 21st Amendment Black IPA

#roundups

It's Still Winter!

Yep, there's still a lot of season left for us here on the east coast, and I am not complaining.  It's been magical so far and I can't wait for more snow.  Call me crazy!  Philly's being hit with a snowy/ice mix today and it's very pretty outside.  The dog loves the snow, too!

Dressing the part:

Diemme Firenze Combat Boots

AXS Trail Parka

Barbour Morris Utility Waxed Jacket (W)

Quoddy Black Deck Chukka

Hiut Denim Selvedge Denim Hack@ 2013

Mad Bomber Plaid Wool Hat

Stay warm, folks!

Gear For Colder Months

Things I have and things on the wishlist for the colder months ahead...

1. Helle Harmoni Knife
2. Dubliners by James Joyce
3. Burt's Bees Hand Salve
4. German Kerosene Lantern
5. Steam Horse Bandana (on Muffin-the-Dog)
6. Hiut Denim Jeans
7. Stanley Thermos
8. Cricket Leather Belt
9. Heritage Redwings
10. Springbank Whisky

Duluth Trading Co. Advertisements

Duluth Trading Co. is by far one of the greatest companies out there for reasonably priced, well made goods--especially for work wear and accessories.  In fact, I was browsing the site for Christmas present ideas for family.  I came across their advertisement videos, and I am so happy I did.  They are hilarious!  Very reminiscent of those old Miller Light commercials with the Eddie Barth voice over.

Also, check out what's been tumbling over here.

Fall Favorites 2

This Fall has been really busy, I can't believe we are nearly through October.  A couple new things: I've joined a local Crossfit, I've packed up my Summer clothing, sweaters are out in all their glory and I'm enjoying the ups and downs of owning a puppy.  Mostly ups, might I add.  So, before it's too late, here are a couple of my favorite Fall items I own and some that I really want to have before Winter is upon us!

Late-Summer Fairmount Park Visit

It must be the chill in the air or the breweries changing out their seasonal offerings, but I'm ready for late-Summer and pre-Fall festivities and all signs are pointing to the change in the air.  Nostalgic reminiscing about Summer escapades and laying on the cool, soft earth in the park is what August is made for.

1. Beloved Bicycles - Imperial Works Morton
2. Millican - Les The Cooler Bag
3. Etsy Seller - Repurposed Skateboard Deck Bottle Opener
4. Faribault Woolen Mills Co. - Box Weave Throw
5. Southern Tier - Imperial Pumking
6. L.L. Bean - Rubber Mocs
7. Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story
8. Libbey - Dimple Stein Beer Mug
9. Filson - Cruiser Shirt
10. Badminton Set

Top 5 Shoes for Summer 2013

1. Nike Solarsoft Moccasin SP “Floral”
2. Nike Sportswear Bruin VNTG Hairy Suede
3. Tretorn Otto
4. Hobo Oiled Leather Deck Shoes
5. Vans x Liberty Art Fabrics