Stroll Through The Hood

Stroll Through the Hood – March 2019

March!!! woot woot- finally things are getting warmer- LOL. I cannot wait to get the bike out again. Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

Indoor light inspiration at a concert of The Chills – it was a fun evening out with a couple of our friends and bonus – just around the corner from us.

One of our fire place grates – needs some cleaning- how freaking awesome is this? I cannot believe how lucky we are to have it :)

We have four fireplaces – one is working again after we rebuild and relined the chimney and built a new fire box. One was at a bad spot so we moved it to my studio and – woohoo it didn’t crack! Score

This is how a dismantled mantel looks like. The mason created an inside brick wall for the mantel and I painted the wall black- I share some pix later once we have everything fixed up on the wall as well.

We also got some old vintage tiles at an architectural salvage place – they are for a border in our kitchen backsplash and mimic the design of our banister and some of the door frame designs. I know I am a  nut but when I spied those tiles I was instantly like “we have to have those”. That was before we even had the house and ever since I was worried they would sell the tiles before we go them…so ….last week I made it at 8am to the place to get them …yes….it is THAT bad ;)

Fun colorful mural in my soon to be hood.

And …the St. Pauli NYC sign – YESSSS -my home soccer team from Germany has a fan club in Brooklyn and we finally made it there. Loving it! Made me feel like being in Hamburg for a couple hours.

Hope you all have a great month and are up for some stroll through your hood! Cannot wait to show more pix from my new one and I will also put some house pix in once in a while.

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Laura Bohall

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    thanks so much for sharing your hood pics. we live in rural va and are surrounded by natural beauty, but not much wo-man created art!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      So glad you enjoy the little strolls Laura! Thank you !!!

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love love love those kitchen tiles. Be sure to post a pic after they are installed please Nat.

    Reply

  • Janene

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    I love your neighborhood! So many interesting things to see, and if you ever get bored (not possible!!!), you can always cross the river and find more great stuff to see.

    Those vintage green tiles are FABULOUS! I understand why you practically camped out in front of the store to keep from missing out on them. Can’t wait to see more of your home renovation adventure.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- yeah I actually just wanna move into the store hahaha- they have so many amazing things there. Thanks for joining the stroll :)

      Reply

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Stroll Through the Hood – February 2019

Wow – I cannot believe that February is almost over and it was a pretty long awaited month for me. There weren’t a ton of strolls through the hood as it was such a busy and cold month- but I have a couple photos. Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

The photo above is actually taken in NYC – where we had a ton of stuff to do during the last couple weekends. Such a fun Collage paste up. I also love the sign next to it that says “Street Art Addiction is real”

speaking of Street Art- this one always get’s me because of the sheer size of it  – this is in the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood in Jersey City by Distort but even bigger is this one

by Distort right at the Holland Tunnel- which I will never be able to get the whole image of – it is ginormous but so detailed.

check out this video to get a feel for how huge and magnificent it is.

Distort’s Mecca Project (GVM037) from Green Villain on Vimeo.

Bobby Pretzel definitely approves – as you can see he is now in his teenage fur dying phase …I have no clue how the paint on my palette ended up on his face- but “knock yourself out Pretzel” – LOL

In other exciting news …We closed on a house. We are now the owners of a beautiful 1884 brick town house here in Jersey City. There is some major renovation to do in the second floor but the ground and top floor are pretty much done and I will have a nice big studio space on the ground floor. I cannot wait- but it will take at least half a year before it is done. (Impatient Nat)

That gives a lot of time to sort the studio meanwhile and also declutter all kinds of areas in our apartment before the move. I just reorganized my sewing stuff into one of my letterpress folders and I kind of geeked out at all the colors- LOL. What a softie I am ;)

Love spying this little -sculpture piece on the corner of a Bar – fun!

And I think I never showed this Mural downtown finished -pretty cool and a constant spot for people to take photos in front of. Yes..I guess I am addicted to street art :)

I am so ready for spring and more strolls through the hood- especially through the new hood where our house is located. It is in a neighborhood with some amazing Victorian Houses and it is interesting and a bit less “polished” than Downtown. I know, hahahah- some of you might not see my downtown pictures as polished- but trust me …it is ;) Hope you will join me soon for another stroll and wish you a wonderful day.

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Congrats on your new home Nat!
    Sounds like plenty of room for a studio and a place to hold classes (?).
    Bobby Pretzel is so darn cute, might he inspire an art foamie or stamp one of these days?
    Thanks for the tour of your hood. I always enjoy them.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Sue! Yes- I do hope that I can hold small classes in my studio :) Bobby Pretzel as a stamp …ohhhh -! Thank you for strolling through the hood with me !

      Reply

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Stroll Through the Hood – January 2019

January climbed up in my ranking from least favorite month to one of my favorite months – and the reason is Creative JumpStart. So much fun in the class if yet lots of work. A Stroll through the hood though helps to clear my head and get new ideas. I do have to admit though that the later it gets in January, the more frigid and hard those strolls are in the cold (writing this as it is -12C/10 F) Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

On our search for a house we have branched out to some other areas in the city and it is fun to discover new murals -this one is pretty cool- love the colors and design. (and yes that was a warmer day)

YESSSS- Love it :) Fence art – I assume by Norman Kirby again. Love the ribbon writing and where it is located.

Look at this wallpaper – oh my!!!!

Look at this cool old sign – painted a million times I guess. Love the yellow. The store belonging to the sign is empty but something is happening in there- so I really hope they will keep this cool sign.

some graffiti  – love the shading – what a great dimensional effect.

And awweee yummie colorful lettering!

The old Stanley Theater – love those ticket booths – and such an interesting mix of texture and materials all around.

More fence art- how cute is that?

And I am sorry but this was just too funny to pass up …this is what I have to deal with every day at home …no wonder I need to get out hahahahaha- Cuteness- Weirdo- Overload

We also went to an architectural salvage place- OMG – those stain glass skylights? I want one- hahahah- for 25,000 Dollars one can be mine …sigh …But pretty amazing!!!

As well as this iron cast fence- I could have spent hours there …but it was soooo cold.

This ceiling in a cafe my friends and I went for lunch was just so interesting – with its texture, color and pattern. It is a reverse painted glass ceiling and because of a fire on the upper floors in the beginning of the last century some of the fire fighting water ran down to the ceiling damaging some of the painted areas which make for this texture now. This gave me an idea for a project I want to do  – I hope to share soon. Actually I am going to do this as soon as I finish this blog post :)

This sign in an area near the Holland Tunnel in a kind of forgotten area of the city always cracks me up…or maybe it is also a bit sad…as if nothing ever happened here again past the 80s. Anyone still owns a boom box????

I hope you enjoyed this stroll through the hood and I hope you join me in February again :) Have a fantastic week

Nat

Comments (1)

  • jamcam2022

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    Love this post – slices of life…..and Bobby Pretzel- priceless?

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Stroll Through the Hood – December 2018

Phew what a month ! I love December with all it’s craziness – but a Stroll through the hood always helps me a bit to cope with this busy time. Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

I have to sneak in a picture of Bobby Pretzel looking at our new ornament – A Pretzel LOL

A fun Saturday selling my prints, ornaments, mugs and original artwork at the Holiday Market here in the city.

We brought those handmade candles over from Japan and I love how they look on the mid-century candle holder I found at my friend’s booth at the market.

speaking of Christmas decoration – my aunt made these napkin rings in the 60s and they crack me up so much. I pinned them to the christmas tree skirt this year and I am in love. My Friend Sandra said they look evil – I think Santa looks mischievous LOL.

Funny Mural Kim and I saw when we were in the city.

A new cafe opened and I love their tin ceiling – can I just lay on the floor while I sip my coffee?

More gorgeous details to see while house hunting – that fireplace- OMG- I love everything about it! The pattern, the carving, the ironwork , the color!

this really cool old stove – a model from 1939-1945 – and yes – I looked it up hahahaha – I love it! I am swooning of a new kitchen themed stamp set- LOL

I also loved this window – look at those colors and the pattern- so cool!

Speaking of house hunting we saw soooooo many houses, didn’t get houses, almost got houses, gave up on houses …but I learned so much with every single one. Like the Victorian way of A/C and keeping the houses cool and little things about the neighborhoods – I love it and so I started a sketch book about the houses we really loved and what I learned and found out.

I also went to my friend’s baby shower – and since part of the family is Peruvian this table decoration made me so happy. I kept it and will paint it for an ornament! Llama fun!

I hope you have a gorgeous week and don’t forget to breathe and step out for a minute!!! Loves!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Janene

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    I love your “Strolls through the ‘Hood”. You’re lucky to live in an area where older architecture still exists, and that the residents appreciate it enough to retain it. It kills me to look at the real estate section of the Washington Post on Saturdays, when they often feature an old downtown row house that’s been renovated on the inside to the point where it’s unrecognizable as an older, vintage building. The outside and the inside don’t match or even compliment each other, to my taste anyway. But I guess that’s why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream, right? Everyone likes something different. :-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah – there are some gems but we have also seen some really sad “updating” where a house was totally turned into a horrible characterless box and exactly what you say, happened. You see the house from the outside and you are excited and then you go in and just think WHY? But yes you are right, everyone like something different. I don’t want to live in a house that is exactly decked out in the style of 200 years ago – but I do want to keep a lot of the architectural elements that make the house special and visibly old. I think that is part of the charm.

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Rubber Stamped Waterless Snow Globes – DIY Playdate

This is my favorite Play Date with Kim yet!!! Seriously, I geeked out on this and had too much fun making a little Winter Wonderland under glass. We knew we wanted to do snow globes and waterless is the way to go – easy peasy and sooooooo cute! Here we go – waterless snow globes filled with little rubber stamped scenes to warm your heart this holiday season and into the winter beyond.

You’ll need a jar or cool glass cheese dome like I found. The size of the jar and lid will determine what rubber stamps you can use. We went right for my Stroll Around the Block house stamps, and the little street elements and buildings in my My Home is my Castle, Stroll Through the Hood 1 and 2 sets. Then we got some fake snow, some tiny trees and tiny people, heavy card stock, archival ink, colored pencils and ink blocks to color our stamped images, scotch tape, a hot glue gun and scissors. How many accessories you want to add is up to you – there are so many choices when it comes to miniature scenery – plants, animals, different people, etc.

My cheese dome was wide enough to have a little city scene in it, so I played with various arrangements to see what fit. Here I am testing out my Powerhouse, Queen Anne, and Brownstone stamps. You can use the stamps to see what will actually fit in your jars.

Kim had a canning jar that she found the Art Deco image would fit right into.

And another smaller jelly jar for a Lady Liberty snow scene :)

If you have small jars like baby food jars, you can choose small stamps like my Hydrant, Snail Mail, Mailbox, or Street Sign stamps.

Ok time to stamp! I’m using a few different stamps to build my snow globe neighborhood.

Next you cut them out, leaving a “foot” at the bottom to fold over and tape onto the lid. You can cut them out before or after you color them.

Color your stamped images with watercolor pencils – after all these snow globes won’t have any water :)

Kim added some seasonal details to the Street Sign stamp.

I love to use Derwent Inktense blocks with water and a brush, almost as watercolors to color in my stamps. They have beautiful rich colors and you can use a fine brush to get very detailed with them. Here I am adding some color to my Powerhouse stamp.

I chose a lot of different colors for my snow globe scene.

Use some tape to tape the image into the lid. Here is Lady Liberty, ready for winter I hope lol

She just fits.

Here is my scene and SQUEEEEEEL it is coming together so amazing!!! This was a test to make sure the lid fit.

Now I glued in some trees and shrubs with hot glue.

And people to bring your snow globe to life.

Kim put together 3 scenes.

Time for the blizzard!!!

Just spoon some snow into the jars.

Or gently spoon around the elements in the cheese dome.

On goes the lid

Kim assembled her North Pole snow globe :)

This is where we realized that for lidded jars, you may want to build your scene up a bit so it sits above the bumpy rim at the bottom of the jars. You could cut out a cardboard circle and paint it white and stick it in the lid first, then put buildings etc on top. We would definitely do that next time. Also if your jar has a colored lid, you may want to paint it with gesso before you begin.

But oh WOW this was sooooo fun! And looksie at my little winter wonderland!!! What a success and done in under 2 hours.

Take a stroll through my snow dome :)

Kim’s waterless snow globes – waaaaay cute!

That guy in the bottom cracks me up!

And for even more fun, I added a small battery operated tea light into the back of my snow globe so now it glows at night. Ooooooo!

I hope you try this project and I hope you have as much fun as we did. It’s a nifty way to get into the holiday spirit :)

In addition to my Rubber Stamps from my Online Shop, here are some of the supplies that we used:


 

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love love love these Nat!
    Now maybe make some on shrinky material and you can use water too???
    Super fun project that you and Kim made.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Great Idea Sue! We really wanted to have no glycerin or water involved – it was so much easier and gives more possibilities to add candles and use a cheese dome too :) It was so quick and I bet it is fun to make with kids too!

      Reply

  • stresso

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    oh my gosh – how fun!!!

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Stroll Through the Hood – November 2018

Happy Thanksgiving my Friends in the U.S. What a better day for a Stroll Through the Hood post :) . Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

Dramatic fall backdrop for this cute Pretzel :)

And a dramatic sun set with our city and Manhattan as a backdrop

House Hunting is a fun way to explore a wider range of hoods in my city- and I came across this amazing church – wow. I love the wood facade and the little tower!

See we have nature in our city …and apparently Mario Bros fans :)

A beautiful bathroom window in an open house we saw – love the pattern!

Brownstone galore n the rain – I love the little bits and pieces of orange on the stoops

One of my favorite floors in an open house – gosh – looooveeee!

A Lord of the Rings deck with a mural underneath – also big love!!! It is really fun to see all those backyards- it is a hidden world in the hood.

A very cute and for this area cheap house …but then upon entering you know it is totally overpriced. Totally dangerous inside as it falls apart. But it must have been gorgeous in his hay-days .

Fun wall paper in that house in the kitchen …I bet there were more fun details but I was like “get me out of here” – I am adventurous but not THAT adventurous LOL.

Hope you have a wonderful day and for those of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving today- I wish you beautiful day- filled with family, friends and good food. Thank you for being part of my Artful Adventures – lots of love

Nat

Comments (7)

  • Donna Davis

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    I grew up in Jersey City! on Nevins street around the corner from Bergen and Montgomery! My college was St.Peters…

    Reply

  • Donna DiCorcia

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    Is that Jersey City ???? I grew up in JC. I went to college at Saint Peters!!! Small world!!!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Donna, yes it is :) How fun!!! I live in the old Dixon Mills factory :)

      Reply

  • ARHuelsenbeck

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    I forgot that Bobby Pretzel is YOUR cat. Thanks for sharing your photos–a pleasure, as always. I love your strolls through the ‘hood.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    That sunset, that background for Pretzel, those brownstones…WOW, just gorgeous photos Nat!
    That house look like it needs a ton of work for sure and that wall paper is just scary.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and I am thankful for the inspiration which you deliver to my inbox on a daily basis.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Sue, hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Oh man yeah that house was really hoarder-squatted-scary …I am not brave enough to take on that work LOL

      Reply

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Stroll Through The Hood – October 2018

Time for a Stroll Through the Hood . Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

I love sunny fall days- and when I step out of the house I love how the old pencil factory looks in the morning sun

This scene made me laugh hard when I was walking to pick up our CSA box. Hilarious!

We went to the library for some research and I love the stair case

also the cool iron gate with its track in the marble landing – so cool

Speaking of our building, I still wonder who and why those little faces were put into the column. I have never seen this anywhere else so far -any ideas? I wonder if it was kind of like a joke by the masons or if it was supposed to keep evil spirits away or something else- LOL

We had the annual Downtown Jersey City Market and my friends offered these really cool cookie jars. I am still sad I didn’t get them , but then …there is also only so much space in our apartment.

 

Speaking of our apartment -Bobby Pretzel is doing well – look how cute his little pink chin looks.

First pumpkin sighting of the month

And…my favorite Art Supply store around the corner moved …”Eat the Rich” is the message they left behind – I am sad. The building will be torn down and another “luxury” apartment building will go up in its place. At least the art supply store is staying in business but I loved walking by and buying my stuff there – support small business guys …preach it and do it.

Brownstone galore …also …see the sidewalk ..not good for your ankles …I sprained my ankle- oh well..

I do love all the iron work on those brownstones- this was just newly painted


Look at Bobby Pretzel seeing Sun Flowers for the first time of his life …Niles looks at me as if to say “This whipper snapper is soooooo ridiculous” hahahah.

Hope you enjoyed the Stroll Through the Hood- until next time :)

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I always enjoy your strolls through the hood Nat.
    I think that I saw little faces in a building like yours in a horror movie. It was something like the souls of the people who died when making the building “trapped” inside. Sorry but that’s how I remember it.
    Love the brownstones. They are my favorite part of visiting Boston.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      WAHHHHHH – Sue ….LOL- I really hope those are not the souls of people who died when making the building . What a Halloween story- LOL

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Stroll Through the Hood – September 2018

Time for a Stroll Through the Hood . Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

Enjoying the gorgeous light and skylights in the evening while sitting on the deck – we love eating outside and do so almost everyday for dinner when weather allows.

Some fun little dog hedges I saw when walking through the hood.

I love brick – there is something so cool and rough about it -but I also love how this old green sprinkler alarm looks on the brick wall. And the font mix is pretty pretty cool too.

The amazing boarded houses you discover while taking a bike tour through the city- such a pretty house – I wonder if it will ever restored or just torn down.

Also loved finding this old fashioned sign – so fun!

On the way home after a nice night out with my girlfriends.

The pedestrian area in Jersey City all painted for the Pride Week- so much fun!

Some people know Jersey City only from its most ugly side- the street to the Holland Tunnel to go into NYC …but at least there is a gigantic mural there now …a glimpse of color.

And sorry …LOL- cannot help myself – I have a hard time leaving the house lately because Bobby Pretzel (check him out on instagram) is just so adorable.


He loves to discover new places and play fetch – and makes me laugh a LOT :) Very inspiring. But I will be in trouble as soon as he can hop onto my workbench in the studio :)
That was it from the Hood – I hope you enjoyed it – see you next month

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Nat, you will need a plan for incorporating Bobby Pretzels’s paw prints onto your art. LOL

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Stroll Through the Hood – August 2018

Time for a Stroll Through the Hood . Strolls through my hood get me out of my studio, they help me unstuck and often I get inspired by what I see and to get new ideas to create something. It is part of my philosophy about Artful Adventures in Mixed Media – which is the subject of my book. Here are some photos that I gathered in the last couple weeks.

Well- first of all meet Bobby Pretzel- our new cat. Bobby is adorable and just 13 weeks old now -he also has his own instagram account @bobbypretzel . He is an awesome studio kitten, super cuddly, and very adventurous – makes me laugh – so that is good :)

What Niles thinks about this? “What the Fluff” sums it up – LOL. He is very curious, sniffs and plays with the kitten, they have also slept two time for five minutes cuddled together but most of the time Niles looks at me like he looks at this weird Marshmallow stuff in a jar.

I was out and about in the city last week – for a wedding of a very good friend of mine from Germany – and saw the fun mural above at the WTC station. Good, the area needed some color and I love the contrast.

Here is the gorgeous couple- so happy for them – they are adorable and it was a wonderful day! I still cannot believe how they managed in the clothing in this insane heat that day -I looked like a wet towel- they looked gorgeous!

Spent some nice time at DUMBO and took the ferry from DUMBO to 33rd street which was really nice – for 2.75 Dollars you have a cool ferry ride – on my list for future visitors.

I never saw the sign above – also kind of funky- LOL- two days later I saw an article with that sign in the New York Times and learned that “Brad’s Drink” as it was called first 120 years ago was advertised as a medicinal drink …go figure! LOL

Speaking of friends

I also got to spent some time with my wonderful friend Birgit Koopsen – who I was lucky to see twice during her family vacation in the States. I always love seeing her ! We took one photo together …guess we had too much fun to think about photos :)

Looking around at open houses is also super interesting and inspiring -love the old fire place and the grate – the pattern intrigues me but then of course also how original this is.

and be still my heart- look at the stenciling on the stairs – I am wondering where those designs came from and how common that was in the 1880s and a bit later -anyone has an idea?

Part of a back yard of a house- love the man made old wall – so cool!

Also getting around a lot to see more murals –

Always love Rubin415 geometric shapes but I also dig the colors he used here

and of course pixelpancho – fun!

Meanwhile Lady Liberty in our parking lot in front of the apartment building is still suffering -I hear you Lady- I am with you!

And someone tied up their lego dog in front of Hamilton Park.

I hope you enjoyed my monthly Stroll Through the Hood – I hope to see you next month again!

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Congrats and welcome to Bobby. Niles…be the big brother and try to be kind.
    The Lady Liberty is stunning yet so sad (reflecting towards concerns for many of us).

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