rusty's farm fresh eatery

On one of our weekend outings in May, Bryan and I found ourselves on Route 9 in Red Hook, (Dutchess County, not Brooklyn) where there is an abundance of antique stores. We started out at the Red Hook Flea Market, (in the Holy Cow parking lot) then ventured to Hoffman's Barn Sale, a cavernous, well-organized and decently priced place. (and the store that Kevin from the Bottle Shop suggested I check next for a lock) Somewhere in that area is another store- can't remember the name, but you won't miss it- loads of stuff is displayed out on the lawn. While there I made sort of a crazy purchase, given that I'm watching my money and not really buying stuff right now. Wandering through racks of mugs and dishware that are left out in the elements, I found a half bushel basket filled with vintage glass ramekins. I kinda have a thing for little bowls and dishes, and I had never seen glass ramekins this old- each one is marked with an etched, beveled lip. I thought the owner would just give me a price for the basket, but she made her employee take each one out and count them, as she sat in her car. The basket was filled with water from the last rain and damp evergreen leaves sat in most of the cups. I had to work the woman down, but finally she gave me a decent price. you drive a hard bargain, lady! she said with a thick New York accent, her face covered by large, Chanel sunglasses.

After all of this we were quite hungry! Somehow, whizzing by this tiny strip shopping center several times, as we kept overshooting the antiques places, I noticed the sign for Rusty's Farm Fresh Eatery. And were we glad I did! One of the very best things about being in the Hudson Valley is the farm-fresh food, made by owners to cater to any type of dietary taste or need. Being on a mostly gluten-free diet, I am so happy to be able to eat sandwiches on the go! Like a normal person! Rusty's was dee-licous. And given that it was a day to splurge, we did. With their very delectable sandwiches (house-roasted turkey anyone?) they offer a choice of salad or homemade potato chips. So I ordered both! Bryan had a burger, which seemed to be the most popular thing on the menu. The people sitting next to us couldn't resist their fried treats either, ordering the fried zucchini and sweet potato fries for the table.


Rusty's very basic exterior belies the gourmet wonderland inside.


THE SLAW on gluten-free bread.


You can catch a glimpse of rusty's home made potato chips on the right.

bottle shop antiques

bryan is doing some work on his mom's house in hawaii and he needed to replace a lock. he sent me some photos and measurements, asking that I stop by kingston's zaborski emplorium to see if they had the one he was looking for. piles of old locks salvaged from old buildings. who knew? zaborski has their locks pretty well organized, but we couldn't find the exact one bryan was looking for. stan (zaborski?) suggested that I try The Bottle Shop in salt point. so away I went on saturday, GPS in hand. b and I had been out to this part of dutchess county before, but had taken a different route. I drove through country roads and farmland until I came to where routes 82 and 44 meet. kevin, proprietor of the bottle shop, was very helpful in trying to find me just the right lock. but to no avail- I had no idea door locks came in so many different sizes and configurations. while I was there, how could I not look around? If you're looking for an old bottle, this is the place to come. and I was looking for some old bottles, as I am finding homes for the spice collection I've been rebuilding since after the hurricane. kevin referred me to another salvage place, this one in red hook, and one that b and I have been to before. In the mean time, b is probably just going to get a different type of lock for the door.

where was I?

since returning from hawaii it's been a nonstop flurry of activity. I actually had to check my twitter updates to remind myself of what I've been doing for the past three weeks. really.

but I'm not complaining, no. I was blessed with a bevy of formidable intern applicants- so I hired them all! haha. I did hire four people though- some interns and some a bit more.

today felt like the first *real* day to me because the great and powerful kim started gussying up our back wall. we gathered bunches of art supplies from the apartment and headed over to the store, where I gave her free reign. b was working on the technical aspects of the space- wiring, thinking about structural fixes and materials, making another trip to lowe's. it felt great to have things in motion and I was able to focus on a few projects myself.

over the weekend we made a trip upstate for the madison/bouckville antiques show. about 200 miles northwest of the city, the show takes place in one of the most beautiful and serene farm regions you can imagine. nothing but small town and friendly people for miles on end.

okay..training two more new hires tomorrow! so bye.

the country mermaid: arcadia

want to buy an antiques store? this one's for sale- the owner wants to open a fishing camp. (duh!)

the inside source

while we were away I was contacted by Lexi Green about participating in a story she was doing for the inside source, ebay's new online magazine. She asked me a few questions about being an eco-friendly jewelry designer, then asked me to pick three ebay items I would consider bidding on. it was really perfect, considering how much I was focused on thrifting and antiquing at the moment. check out Lexi's article here, part of her column called the green scene.

florida finds

long time

b and I just got back from ten-day trip to florida. after such a busy year, we thought it would be a good idea to get away for a bit. plus with b's LA by hawaii heritage, the cold NYC winters get to him. we took the amtrak down on the 25th, booking a sleeper car. we stayed two nights in south beach miami, then took off by rental car across the top of the everglades, the route known as alligator alley. making it to the gulf coast, we drove north and stayed overnight in sarasota. since the weather had turned cloudy and a bit chilly, we decided to spend most of the trip antiquing. I had heard about florida's great thrift and antique stores, did a little research, and found that the gulf coast is filled with them. we had plans to meet our friends tova and stan who live in tampa, and make it up for stan's birthday party that friday. we really loved the sarasota area- home to the ringling brothers and their namesake art school. antiques shops in that area were our favorite, there's great food, great people, and the coolest little village of the arts in bradenton.

after spending time with our friends and kicking around the tampa bay area, we headed back to the atlantic coast by way of some of the rural counties, stopping at many small towns along the way. then a few days making our way back to miami, through cocoa, west palm and delray beaches. on our last day we rushed down to the keys, as the sun had come back out and we had had our fill of antiques. we only made it to key largo, the first key, but plan on going back as soon as we can!

I had only been to florida twice, both times as a kid. We really were able to do a lot of exploring and fell in love with not only the climate, fresh air and crystal clear water, but the friendliness of the people and their offbeat sense of humor. Something about the combination of retirees and southerners makes for a mellow mix. the small towns are where it's at in florida- so many of them are revitalizing their downtowns. one of the nicest was delray- also great were cocoa village, kissimmee, and the larger town of st. petersburg. I have to say that south beach wasn't quite as hip as I had been led to believe by its current reputation. Seems like they've gone a bit too far in attracting wealth, and everything there is pretty upscale. It's hard to find much sense of local business or homespun identity. We found just one Cuban restaurant, and ate there the first night. (but the really good Cuban food is to be found across the causeway, in the main part of the city.) Of course the art deco district is beautiful, and people have done a great job of revamping the hotels. the amtrak was awesome and if you ever have the time to do it, I highly recommend it.

so that's my brief take on florida. love it and can't wait to go back.