DIY

With me recently purchasing a home, I have been busy looking for furniture and deciding how I want to decorate each room. Watching a lot of DIY and HGTV has me over consumed with ideas and what I should do, but with some advice from friends and family, I know to take it piece by piece.

This weekend I went on a little furniture adventure with my parents. We stopped at the ReStore building {part of Habitat for Humanity} on South Park {they also have a location on Amherst St. in Buffalo}. While there were a couple knick knacks that caught my eye, I didn't find anything that popped out. We did stop at a furniture store a little ways up on South Park though and I found an entertainment piece for my living room {I was so excited I bought my first piece of furniture I didn't even take a picture of it}.

For people on a budget, but wanting to spruce up a room in their home, places like ReStore are a great place to go. Or if you are looking to donate furniture to a place ReStore is a great place to donate too.

-B

Apple Picking

{Just a Blonde in Buffalo photo}

I haven't been apple picking ever at least not that I recall. I've only ever gone berry picking when I was younger, but its been years since I've gone so Sunday morning me and my niece took a nice trip to Murphy Orchards in Burt, NY {in Niagara County} to do a classic fall activity in Western New York.  It was a nice drive out in the country seeing the horses and corn stalks.

Before we headed out to the Apple trees we were told the apples were picked over, but we still found a handful that were good. I think my niece just enjoyed running around the open field and telling me which ones to pick and not to pick. On top of the apples we picked out we also were able to get a couple pumpkins too.

It was my first time visiting Murphy Orchards and I liked it a lot and would definitely go back - they are open year round! Check them out online for more info. http://murphyorchards.com/

-B

{I love this old fashion scale}

{Lots of jam to choose from}

#BuffaloLinks

A specialty food place offering some of WNY's finest ingredients. Contact choppedandsealed@yahoo.com for more information.

{photo from Chopped & Sealed Facebook}

Friday kicks off Buffalo Beer Week. For a complete list of activities click here.

One thing I love about Fall is all the artisan, craft festivals taking place. One being the Lewiston Harvest Festival this weekend. For more info on the festival go here.

Makers are Gonna Make with this Woman Who Moves Buffalo - Gretchen Meyers from Makers Buffalo and Pegs Hardware

Makers are gonna make! And that’s what a number of people in Western New York {myself included} have done. If you’re looking for a fun class to take with a friend you should check out Makers Buffalo on Hertel Ave.

When it comes to things to do in Buffalo and Western New York I personally get tired of doing the same thing or going to the same place {restaurants, movies, etc.}. I like to find new and LOCAL places to go – and one of those places is Makers. I’ve taken a couple classes at Makers over the past year and each one is fun and unique in its own way. The biggest thing I have gotten out of taking a class is accomplishment – knowing you completed a craft and made something special is a pretty cool feeling.

So I asked the creative, fun and talented Gretchen Meyers for a few minutes of her time to talk about her awesome business. Read on to learn more!

-B

Gretchen has a business education experience along with a fundraising and event planning background. After working with both for-profit and non-profit she decided to start Pegs Hardware – an element based jewelry line {that you can find at Modern Nostalgia and online here}.

Makers was something Gretchen knew she wanted to do even when she started Pegs. She knew she wanted to do this for 2 reasons.

1. She wanted this for herself, an outlet where she could go to be creative and use her talents
2. Eventually Gretchen would like to turn Makers into a type of community center for the arts; offering cooking, music, 3D, 2D, classes, etc. Offering enrichment classes for kids whose school may cut art programs or those who are looking to enhance their portfolio. In Gretchen’s mind it’s about giving back in your community and paying it forward.

Gretchen stay’s fresh with upcoming, creative classes through blogs, Pinterest and various apps. She likes to offer trendsetting tastes and new ideas – that’s what makes, Makers!

When looking at adding new crafts she thinks of 3 things:

1. Time sensitive – classes are usually about an hour and a half to two hours long
2. Having the classes be beginner/basic level and cost effective {classes range from $28 to $42, about the average cost of a night out with dinner and drinks}
3. Making sure it’s something the people want. If people don’t find a use for what they are making, then it won’t be successful

When taking a class at Makers you can bring light appetizers and your own beverages {including wine and/or beer}. The most popular classes have been the hanging air plant, envelope clutches and the modern dream catcher. Down the road Gretchen is looking to add embroidery classes to the schedule too.

You can have Makers for team building exercises, bachelorette and bridal parties and birthday parties. You can even hold a private class at the Makers studio or Gretchen can come to you {there are some restrictions to check on when you book the class if hosting it at your own home or business}. It’s always better to book earlier {at least a month’s notice} for private parties or functions.

The class schedule varies from Tuesday thru Thursday – see the full schedule here. And if you’re looking for something to do this coming weekend you can see Gretchen at the Lewiston Harvest Festival on Saturday for Peg’s Hardware.

Down the road Gretchen hopes to host “Makers Present” – exposing other professionals in the art industry and cross promoting one another. The goal of this is for everyone to learn more about others in the community.

Makers even offers classes for kids!  Mini Makers . This past summer she offered 3 camps and had certified teachers for the classes. She offers them sporadically during the year so keep your eyes out for that if you have little ones who would enjoy attending.

When I asked Gretchen what she loves the most about Buffalo, if there is a favorite place she likes to go or activity she likes to do in town she said the following,

She loves the 4 seasons, “fall is gorgeous here. “ If you want to go skiing or hiking it’s not far away, Canada is 4 minutes from where she lives and seeing the growth of this city is amazing! She couldn’t have started her businesses in a bigger city, Buffalo works! Housing is affordable, you see cranes -showing good things are happening here. We have 30 year olds coming back and helping fix the city – we are helping fix and grow Buffalo and it’s awesome to see.

Sign up for a class and see how much fun it is!

Corpus Christi Dozynki!

Saturday my Dad and I headed to Corpus Christi on the east side of Buffalo and were supporting my friend Annette at the Pierogi Contest. There were a number of contestants participating in the dessert, non-traditional and traditional pierogi contest with a panel of judges voting who would receive the golden baking roller.

Annette was in the traditional category and her cheese pierogi were DELICIOUS! The Pierogi contest was part of the Polish Harvest Festival - Dozynki that was taking place all day. Admission was only $1!! And there was a basket raffle, Tyski beer, polka music and more. It was my first time attending the event and made for a fun day back in my childhood neighborhood! I can't wait for next year.

-B

{Non traditional category}

{Polish décor}

{Annette preparing her cheese pierogi}

{YUM!}

#BuffaloLinks

Let's celebrate the Theater Season with Curtain Up this Friday on Main Street!

{Photo from Buffalo Spree}

I have never attended this event, but I am looking forward to checking it out on Saturday and supporting my friend Annette who is competing in the pierogi competition at Corpus Christi.

{Photo from Corpus Christi}

The Annual Garlic Festival is taking place in Cuba, NY this week. Rides, animals and local vendors will be on hand.

{Just a Blonde in Buffalo photo}

Cruising thru Buffalo on Water Bikes

One activity I wanted to do this summer was the Water Bikes of Buffalo, so with an extended Labor Day weekend my friends Annette and Chris joined me on my adventure.

Every time I would walk by the kiosk at Canalside there was always a long wait, but the nice thing was you could put your name and number down and if you were available great, and if you weren't that wasn't a problem because you didn't have to put down a deposit upfront.

We waited about an hour and a half for them to call us, but it was better than the original two and half hour wait time and we just walked around and caught up. It was $15 and you had the bike for an hour. There were some restrictions - like no standing while on the bike and not going to close to the edge because of seaweed, but not going right in the middle of the water either because of boaters. Other than that it was easy sailing or pedaling as I should call it. You could pedal as fast or as slow as you'd like and you could take pictures of the different scenery around you.

{Annette's photo above}

It was a lot of fun and I'm happy I was able to check it off my summer bucket list. If you ever have the chance to try it out, I highly suggest doing it. For more information on Water Bikes of Buffalo click here.

Until next time...

-B

{Annette's photo}

#BuffaloLinks

There are a lot of fun things to do this weekend including the Home Opener at the Ralph on Sunday, but Saturday hosts a handful of popular events taking place throughout town. Music is Art at Delaware Park - a free event taking place all day long!

{Photo from Musicisart.org}

We have been waiting for this for a long time - Arctic Edge is open to the public starting Saturday at the Buffalo Zoo.

{Photo from Buffalozoo.org}

Enjoy movies on the grain elevators at Silo City for the Urban Drive In. For more info click here.

{Photo from Squeaky.org}

Exploring the Canal and Caves in Lockport

Last weekend Kate and Brian took a tour of the Lockport Caves with me. The tour was $13 for adults and 75 minutes long {tours run multiple times during the day}. It was a walking tour that went to the Lockport Canals before heading to the caves. It was a nice a morning learning about what the canals were used for in the mid 1800's to 1900's. It was also nice to see out-of-towners on the tour with us. Below are some photos and fun facts I took away from it.

-B

{Kate and Brian learning more about the canals}

{Inside the caves}

{Canal way}

Fun facts:

These are man made caves The canal is 363 miles long Lockport has Locks 35 and 34 It took from 1817-1825 to complete Powered by gravity and is an active spill way Holly Manufacturing Factory - Birsell Holly invented the fire hydrant {First company powered by the caves 10 stories high and 3 city blocks long} Richmond Factory was the 2nd building built off the canal

#BuffaloLinks

To me Labor Day weekend is one last time to spend time with the family and friends barbecuing and enjoying those last few days of the summer. Here are a couple things going on this weekend that you most likely already know about, but may want to check out their links before heading to the event.

These Zoo Bucks will come in handy if you're headed to the Buffalo Zoo on Labor Day. they are $5 for a pack of 6 and can be used on almost anything in the Zoo

Tents are up and chicken wings are in full prep for the Chicken Wing Festival this coming weekend. Its going to be a hot not only in the temperature department, but all around the ballpark

Looking for something relaxing to do, check out the Succulents event kicking off on Saturday and running through Oct. 4 at the Botanical Gardens

#BuffaloLinks - Distillery Edition

Clayton Distillery down the 90 to Clayton, NY their slushies {for adults} are delicious! And strong. They are right next door to miniature golf making it a fun afternoon of activities if you're visiting the 1,000 Islands

Buffalo Distilling Company- offering Apple Brandy and One Foot Cock Bourbon you can find their product in local liquor stores and at Larkinville.

Tommy Rotter Distillery on Seneca St. is a NYS farm distillery - their vodka is smooth yet tasty making it one of the only liquor I could drink on the rocks. They also offer Gin as well.

{Niagara Distilling photo from Facebook}

The only product I haven't tried out of the list - Niagara Distilling Co. located on Ellicott St. uses organic grain for the distilled process. With a 1,500 square foot tasting and retail space they are on my list of places to visit.

Venturing through the Inner & Outer Harbor

Saturday I had two of my very good friends back in town and it has been a while since they've seen Canalside, so being the big "Buffalove" advocate I am, we went down to Canalside for the afternoon. The Saturday Artisan Market was in full effect along with live music from a variety of bands throughout the day. We grabbed ice cream from Clinton's Dish, went over to put our name on the 3.5 hour water bike list {which we didn't end up doing} and took some touristy pictures with Shark girl.

We ended up taking the Queen City Ferry over to the Outer Harbor where I showed Michelle and Shanna the Lighthouse before heading back to take them to Buffalo Riverworks where we ended the day. For me, I think I take advantage of Canalside and the development in downtown sometimes because I work down here and I see it on a daily basis.  To have both my Buffalo friends say how they can't believe how quickly the area has changed reminded me of how lucky we are to have these exciting things taking place.

Until next time...

-B

{Just enjoying the Queen City Ferry Ride}

{Canalside on a Saturday}

{Picturesque}

#BuffaloLinks

Here are some fun things going on this weekend!

All weekend long:

• Erie County Fair 
• Taste of Ellicottville

Saturday:

• Lantern Parade at Hoyt Lake
• Scottish Festival
• ARTsPARKed

• Buffalo Central Terminal Tour

Be a Tourist in Your Own City

Part of my " Buffalove Sunday Funday" consisted of taking a spin class with Revolution Buffalo down at Canalside before heading over to Buffalo Riverworks to watch the boaters and kayakers on the water. It made for the perfect way to start your day. I haven't had the chance to take any of the exercise classes down at Canalside before Sunday. With a beautiful view of the water and boats it in some way makes you forget you're even working out and the time goes by fast. I really recommend you taking a class down there sometime.

{Rev Ride at Canalside}

At Riverworks they had the Jack Craft Fair taking place from 11-5pm. There were a lot of artist and craft vendors along with live music making it a great day to meet new local businesses and explore a new venue in your city. Sometimes a mini day trip in your own city can be fun and beneficial.

-B

{Part of the Sunday Funday was at Resurgence Brewery with a beer flight}

{Jack Craft Fair}

{Buffalo Riverworks}

Pedaling thru Buffalo

Yesterday some of my family and I did a "mini" Buffalo tour and today I wanted to highlight part of it. The Buffalo Pedal Tour - you may see people cruising thru the streets of downtown Buffalo singing and screaming and ringing the bells. We started off at Big Ditch Brewing {note to self a lot of breweries and distilleries are closed on Sundays}, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. We pedaled are way to Pearl Street, Liberty Hound, 716 and Pan American Grill {another note I wouldn't go back to 716 because the bar service was slow and unfriendly and I have been there multiple times}. We stayed at each place for about 25-30 minutes {you can stay as long or as little as you want at each place you visit within the two hour tour period} and some places like Pearl Street offer a special pedal tour perk of buy one get one half off prices for certain beers.

{Group shot}

We pedaled the streets eating brownies and snacks that we could bring with us and sang the Bills Shout song at the top of our lungs. We waved and got honked at by cars passing by and had a lot of laughs with our tour guide Caitlyn. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to out of town guests as well as locals. Its a great way to see your city and visit places you may not have been to yet.

-B

{The start of the tour}

{Cruising thru the streets}

{End of tour shot}

#BuffaloLinks

Hello August! Here are some of my favorite links for this week!

This Saturday check out Wright by the River at the Fontana Boat House.

Starting tomorrow you can head to Stokoe Farms and walk thru the Rex Ryan corn maze.

The Eden Corn Festival kicks off this Thursday. Click here for more information.

A new foodie blog that I love is by a great gal pal Danielle. Check it out HiScooterPie.com

#BuffaloLinks

A new business I am obsessed with is Buffalo Pallet Art. Creating custom paintings on pallet art work.

The ballpark is Turning the Park Pink on Saturday. Come out to the game and help a good cause.

The Botanical Gardens are offering craft beers, garden tours, live music and more at tonight's Botanics & Brews event from 6-9pm.

Come out to Delaware Park by Hoyt Lake on Sunday for Veg Fest! Its an all day festival and free to attend.

#BuffaloLinks

This Thursday the Erie County Fair is toasting to the Fair Beer at Flying Bison Brewery. The fun begins at 4:30pm.

One of my FAVORITE events of the summer is tomorrow at the Buffalo Zoo {Wines in the Wild}. Sip on wine, sample food, play some games and see some animals making it one great event!

The North Buffalo Farmers Market is going {Pink} on Thursday to help kick off the Buffalo Bisons Turn the Park Pink event on Saturday, Aug. 1. Come by and shop local!

I'm looking forward to a fun girls weekend white water rafting and sipping on some wine. See my post rafting post next week! {Whitewater Challengers}

Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Wherefore art thou Romeo? A couple weeks ago my sister and I went to Shakespeare in Delaware Park to see Romeo and Juliet and what a crowd that came out- it was so packed! It was also a beautiful night to catch a free play and enjoy some wine and Shakespeare.

Starting on Thursday this week {July 23} Shakespeare in Delaware Park comes back for their second half of the season with an all male cast for the play the 12th Night. If you haven't been to a play before definitely check one out. It makes for a fun and affordable night out in the summer. For more information or to see how you can help the organization click here.

-B

At the top of the hill with a shot of the crowd

You can purchase Shakespeare swag at the stand. Money from the sales goes to help Shakespeare in Delaware Park

Getting ready for the play

8 Lunch Spots to Check Out Downtown

Today I'm talking about places to go on lunch if you work downtown. Its always nice to get out of the office and walk around if you can, so I've compiled a list of places to check out for your next lunch meeting or just to get out of the office for a little bit.

Code Blu Juice Bar - now at Canalside and offering salads as well as juice - tables are set-up over the bridge to sit and enjoy people watching to grab and go if you're in a time crunch.

Liberty Hound - a great place to take in the views while enjoying some great plates

Clinton's Dish - the stand has come along way offering wraps, sandwiches and salads and ice cream. Its a great spot to go.

Roux - Soup Bar & Café inside the Buffalo News Building (5th Floor) - offers soup and sandwiches and is a great place to go for a quick meal.

Pearl Street is always a good spot to go - especially if its nice out - the patio is a great spot for a work meeting or a lunch date with friends.

Vasilis on Main St. is always a great place to go as well - offering a wide array of food options.

The Archer is a great place to hold a lunch meeting for work.

Fables Café inside the Buffalo Erie County Library offers soup, sandwiches and salads. Enjoy a bite to eat and grab a book to read.