Our little @CrowCanyonhome enamelware saucepan made the 2025 list- Now I just need to learn how to cook. .Excerpt from @LivingEtcOfficial Feb 2025 style section:like all good interior design trends brown slowly been working its way back into our subconscious, and in 2025 its finally back, and in a big way. Just take a look at any of the latest color of the year announcements, and its clear that the color brown is taking the design world by storm again. But before you pull out a paint brush, theres an easy way to embrace the color trend: brown kitchen dcor. As Livingetcs style editor, its my job to find you the best of the best, so today, Im sharing nine of my favorite brown kitchen accessories(Taking a look around this place, we didnt get the note that brown had ever gone out of style ?) First pic : a visit firm our friends at @amundsensports (a few other ways weve worked in brown obsession: in the stuff we make with @makerscollectivehome @thetiebar @pendletonwm @topdrawershop)..Pics by @bobcoscarelli @benashby @taylorhallobrien @erikengstromphoto @nathanbobey @prezpipe @nathanmichael @stevenvisneauphotography
If youve ever been to camp, this is what youve been hearing blasting over our scratchy old PA system. Weve spent the last couple of decades collecting the sounds of Wandawega, so we figured that it was about time to share it:wandawega.com/playlist.Starting with Johnny (my dads favorite, his doppelgnger and a Charlies initials : C.A.S.H.).Always looking for camper suggestions to grow it, so shout if youve got a favorite we should add.
Just standing here trying to hold a smile & not grind those chunks of mud into the floor that just fell off our boots. Not at all feeling awkward. This was the first time anybodys asked us about wellness stuff. (Idk if an hour spent trying to dig out a drainage ditch is equal to an hour in a gym – but its what well keep telling ourselves). Thanks David Syrek, @merriewanderer & @LPredko for an abundance of patience, tolerance – and retouching.MADE THE CUT: Dads battery-acid-burned coat DIDNT: Our toeless raccoon George (not for lack of trying)@chicagomag
4 days in Santa Fe : TOP 12 MUST SEEWe went off the grid on a little research & sourcing trip. W/tour guide @f.i.n.n.e.y.f.i.n.n.e.y the creator of our Art Camp, the co-designer of our treehouse, our first artist in resident. A speed lap visit to source traditional handicrafts for our craft cabin & research historic Americana souvenirs. Already planning the next trip – heres my top dozen from this leg:LEARN : the expert at @shiprocksantafe give a mini Ted Talk on rugs. (Founded by 5th-gen trader Jed Foutz, who was raised on the Navajo Nation) *fav of RLSHOP : @santafevintage (by appt only the owner is a stylist from NY who sources for Double RL) EXPLORE : the origins of what inspired endless scouts in the 20s to today @indianartsculture (80,000 artifacts, in collab w/ Native communities)TOUR : THE GIRARD WING at @museumofinternationalfolkart (almost cried to find a scale model of the Wandawega treehouse in the play zone)DRINK : at THE MINE SHAFT TAVERN Estd 1897 (on the Turquoise Trail in the historic mining town of Madrid)EAT : at the @lafondasantafe – a Fred Harvey House (the oldest hotel corner in America)DIG : through the amazing world curated by @thriftyqueensantafe VISIT : Train Depot in Lamy, a town built by the Railroad in 1879 (former site of the El Oritz Harvey Hotel, credited to introducing Native American art & culture to the world)ORDER : the Huevos Motuleos at historic James Beard @cafe_pasquals RESERVE : a banquette at THE COMPOUND James beard restaurant designed by @GirardStudio (in a 19th century adobe bldg)READ : No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp ArtINVEST : In art. Check out Angela Finney – stayed in her home in the desert like a page torn from @theworldofinteriors)We drove past abandoned roadside motels, visited roadside wood carving artists, bought jewelry off a blanket from a 4th-gen silversmith. Spent hours driving the landscape that seduced G Okeefe & A Adams. Sketched our way through diners & dives. It was the best (not enough journal pages to capture it all, so keep an eye out at camp this season for the things were bringing back for campers this spring)
We could use a distraction.A really good message (in a really bad font) randomly got served to our feed today:WHEN THINGS LOOK THE DARKEST, THE BEST OF HUMANITY SHINES THROUGH. (Dont care if its cliche, I gotta believe this can be fact)This week, we could use a couple minute break from being glued to the firestorm path of destruction – and have shifted a bit to binge watching the hero stories : those heroic super scooper pilots, the mile-long line of inmate fire fighters marching in to fight flames, the Canadian & Mexican firemen showing up in droves to help, folks evacuating their elderly neighbors, strangers swooping in to rescue the dogs & animals found roaming the streets Basically, any story that show us how to set aside our politics for a minute & be human beings.We wanna hear/share more stories about people doing right by each other (weve been lucky to have more than our fair share show up for us over the years).With the fires still burning & everyone literally in the trenches it may be too soon to shift to how and when to rebuild – but not too early to share ways to support each another.So this week, we only wanna share stories of community. Our gratitude for it, and examples of what it looks like when we show up for each other – like what were witnessing happen with our friends in LA.Starting with an old one here (but this gift/story/people will never get old to us) One detail that I didnt share when we first posted this back in 2018 :Every one of the friends, family & strangers who built this gateway voted for a different presidential candidate than we did. And theyre some of the best people weve ever known. Their selflessness & generosity is how they show up everyday.even for people like us who still have Im with Her plastered on our Jeep bumper.Stories of community support is how we are distracting ourselves right now. IDK if dopamine scroll is a thing, we could use a daily hit of resilience, kindness & hope. (Got a good source? hook us up, please.).* scroll > for the story of what these people gave (and we dropped in comments below).
This is what was left. I was 13.The house dad built for us 5 kids burned to the ground. We were too far out in the country for the volunteer firemen to get there in time. We lost everything.As a kid, your first thoughts go to stuff. Then, you realize what else you lost – your confidence going to school in hand-me-downs that don’t fit, your childhood keepsakes (every art project, photo: gone). Your ability to sleep without hearing phantom smoke detectors beeping.(This is why we have a camp firetruck & always keep the tanks full).It took me too long to find perspective that what we lose isnt about the stuff its the walls that held you, its the memories that anchored you – the sense of safety that grounded you. And its why I cant stop thinking about the kids who arent yet equipped to process the extended loss that may unfold in the coming week, years – decades.Before bulldozing the hole where our house stood, we went back to dig through. Aunt Dee holding my hand. She was the age I am now & knew with scary accuracy that what was happening in that moment would be something Id carry forever.Thats when we found this. Under a beam remnant. Mom kept them out of reach of us kids to see but not touch.The handle & painted flowers burnt off. But more precious than i remembered. It felt like some kinda miracle to us – like maybe there was something else that we hadnt found yet that could be saved. Aunt Dee said that sometimes we have to look hard for things to hang onto.This is the only thing thats made every move with me from dorm, apt, condo & house for the past 40 yrs.I keep it high enough to not break & close enough to continue being a grounding reminder the silver lining of loss is to see with more gratitude whats left intact. Even though that house was the last one where wed all live together. All 5 of us managed to go on to build marriages, families, & homes.Our loss is nothing compared to folks whove lost their whole communities, and loved ones. (I know they need more than just our efforts to relate to what theyre going through) Starting with Red Cross & other orgs where funds go to those that need it most.Ideas welcome.
Found. The Motherload.When he tore the roof off the house, he found them all neatly boxed up, packed to the attic rafters. As a demolition man in a farm town, Ivan has seen a hell of a lot in his 91 years. So nothing surprises him anymore. Ivan is tough as nails, whip-smart, and disarmingly sarcastic. Hell tell you all about his one wooden foot, one glass eye, and a million good stories. When Ivan was still young at 75, he was driving his plow truck on the ice on a back road & long story short, he got pinned under it & trapped for 7 hours before being found (with a partially crushed skull, arm, and pelvis) He considers himself lucky to have lost just a leg, an eye, and part of an arm. Stories like this are what you collect (among other things) when youre a military vet and a demolition man. Hes spent his life uncovering all sorts of collections while taking down old houses.Ivan thinks it was around 61 when he tore down Chesters house in Rushville. It was just another abandoned house hed been called to levelone of hundreds hed tackled. The way he tells it, hed just torn a big chunk of the roof when he saw it. (What was left behind filled the rafters to the gills.) Folks just leave stuff they dont wanna deal withhow do ya think I filled all these damn barns? Touring Ivans acres of barns is perfect for @ontwolanes @mikewolfeamericanpicker -Its part scrap yard, part Museum of American Rural History. I wont reveal just how much hes amassed, but its enough antique chainsaws alone to open a museum. So it wasnt surprising that when he found those boxes in Chesters attic, he decided to save them, too. By the looks of it, Chester had been an avid sportsmanhed collected every imaginable magazine for hunting and fishing from the 20s – 60s. So Ivan did what he always does: pulled it all out & hauled it back to his barn – where it would sit for the next 60 years. Ive been visiting Ivan every year for the past few years. My little brothera lineman in the county who knows everybodytakes us. Ivan lets us dig around, and he remembers where every item came from. What we found this time blew our minds. CONT IN COMMENTS
Playing TOURIST – past 3 days in upstate NY gathering inspiration with friends.Hundreds of miles exploring (just the tip of the iceberg). A handful of things that I cant shake.HUDSON: + The backroom on the 2nd floor of JC Rogerson Co Inc (180 years old, 5th generation, a time capsule museum of a hardware store). + The ceiling in the old firehouse-turned bookshop-in-a-bar Spotty Dog Books & Ale+ The bar & gym at @themakerhotelHUNTER: + The hot cider in the backroom at the Prospect inside @scribnerslodgeTANNERSVILLE:+ The library at @hotellilien+ The nick nack corner back booth at Tannersville Antique & Artisan Center PHOENICIA: + The Den at @thegrahamandco+ @phoeniciadiner (whole vibe & book)+ The local map section at the Nest Egg country storeKINGSTON: + The banner & wall of Nat Geo walls at @hamiltonandadams And just the CATSKILLS as a whole Driving the Borscht belt (best if accompanied while flipping through the hotels of the Catskills, Abandoned resorts of the Northeast; & Abandoned Catskills – each tell the tale the heyday of upstate seasonal resorts and how car/plane travel changed the way Americans vacationed forever- leaving so many historic roadside resorts to be abandoned & taken over by nature.All said, hands-down, the most beautiful, eclectic, creative place that inspired us most wasnt a hotel at all- but the private estate of our friends @markdarcy & Deb- (14th pic) their countryside compound was mind blowing in the kind of way that it makes us want to head up to Hudson & save another old resort. As we return to our own tiny corner on our tiny lake- feeling grateful that against all odds were still standing here one hundred years later. Hudson- well visit again soon
Its in our DNA.Its been a big part of Wandawega since they broke ground a century ago. (And why we have lures in the store, made our own tackle boxes, keep the souvenir machine stocked with bobbers, the bait canteen full of night crawlers. (Youll even find a bass on our neck ties). The DNR reported that Lake Wandawega Is one of the healthiest in the state. Due to minimal agricultural runoff, few lakefront homes, and low motorboat traffic, the ecosystem thrives and provides for a healthy variety of fish.Here, we have mainly Large Mouth Bass, Northern Pike and a variety of panfish/bluegill/sunfish.We encourage folks to experience it, which is why we made our own Lake Wandawega fishing guide. (Campers will find them on the clipboards in their cabins).From the DNR:WHAT MAKES A HEALTHY LAKE?An extremely clear lake may lack the plant life needed to support a robust fishery. Ecologically balanced lakes are more important: those with a healthy mix of native plants, forested shores, minimum runoff coming into them, a good fishery and diverse wildlife. This is why Lake Wandawega (at its little 120 Acres) is ranked on The list of WISCONSINS HEALTHIEST LAKES (Selected by Wisconsin DNR lake experts)STATS:Wisconsin ranks No. 2 nationally in the number of days of fishing by nonresidents and the number of non- resident anglers nearly 400,000. Only Florida ranks higher and it has an ocean! Some 1.4 million licensed anglers fished Wisconsin waters in 2008, catching an estimated 88 million fish. The most frequently caught: panfish, bass, walleye, northern pike, trout, catfish and muskie. In all, 165 species are found in the state. -Milwaukee Magazine July 2009….Some pics by our friends including @bobcoscarelli & @nathanbobey @prezpipe
