Sly Spoon

Touring Boston – The Go-getter’s Guide to the Garment District

March 23, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney

Boston on the cheap. So if you’re new to the area and like me married to a full time student chances are that money is tight. One clothing option for the slightly more adventurous is a place called the Garment District. This place has been around for thirty or so year and they have new and used clothing, mostly used.

There are two floors worth of clothing. The top floor is where you’ll find some new stuff and used/vintage clothing that has been sorted by style (men, women, shirts, dresses, pants etc.) I was able to by a really nice wrap dress there (Banana Republic Brand) that had been slightly used, still in great condition for about $10.

However the real adventure is the clothing by the pound area. This takes place on the bottom level of the store and it’s a little bit of great deal madness. It cost $1.50 a pound. I had seen it advertised and I was curious to see what it actually was.

I walked in and they handed me a clear plastic garbage bag a motioned to the mounds of clothing covering the floor. It was a foot deep, wall to wall, carpet of clothes, there were no aisles and no order. You had to walk across and into the clothing piles to reach things and then just rifle through it looking for something of interest to you.

Tons of people just squatted down and started looking through the things around them. It took a few minutes for me to come to terms with this madness, but I decided we had walked there and I should give it a fair try. It was fun in a really weird way, I think a couple of my crazy cousins would have loved it, but my husband wasn’t ready to dive into this hipster dumpster life style so he checked out the sweaters upstairs until I was finished.

Things to note:

1) The garment district is mostly used clothing
Some of it is sorted by kind and style, those pieces tend to me more expensive (a few dollars a piece) and then there is clothing by the pound where there is absolutely no order, but the clothing you find there is really inexpensive and there are still high quality brands and fashionable pieces in the clothing by the pound… you just have to sort to find them.

2) Half of this store is a costume store (Boston Costume)
This means you can also find a bunch of random things there and during the month of October the clothing by the pound section is closed and the upstairs regular clothing section is compressed so they can fit more costumes.

3) Clothing by the pound can be a great deal
I’ve found a number of high quality sweaters, there are often coats, and if you look hard enough you can find children’s clothing, which is really light = inexpensive.

4) Odd Hours
The hours seem to be on a collage timeline, they open at 11am-midnight, every day but Saturday. Saturday they open at 9am.

Summary and Rating: ★★★☆☆

This place was very odd to me and it took some time for me to wrap my head around sorting through old clothing in piles on the floor. With that said, I found some great deals and going through it with the mindset that it was part of the adventure made it fun. To each their own.

If you’ve been to the Garment District I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings about it. Feel free to share them with me in the comments below.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Garment District

200 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139

Phone: 617.876.5230
Website: http://garmentdistrict.com/
Hours:
Sunday through Friday: 11am – 12am
Saturday: 9am – 12am

Apostolic Clothing – Spring Styles {Review}

March 19, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney

We had our first glorious day of 75 degree weather here in Boston last week. (Thankfully no snowmageddon this year!) And while it may be too early to start thinking about summer it’s not to early to start thinking about is Easter! Heads up, the holiday is on March 27th.

Disclosure: Brittney from Sly Spoon received products from this sponsor to facilitate her review, no other compensation was received, and all opinions expressed are 100% her own.

I love spring dresses and I love getting dressed up for Easter Sunday. Apostolic Clothing is the perfect place to turn to for new fun frocks that are ideal for looking classy on the town and great at church.

They have a fantastic selection of dresses and skirts and they are adding new items to their stock all the time.

I was thrilled when they sent me the dreamy Dixie dress and the amazing reversible skirt (Sophia). They are exactly what I was hoping for for spring.

The Dixie dress is so flattering on! It has a round neckline and a few accent pleats around the neck. The dress is fully lined (not see through at all!) and made out of rayon so there is a tiny bit of give to the fabric, which makes the dress really comfortable to wear. It’s a great addition to a spring wardrobe and a total win in my book.

The second I saw that there even was such a thing as a reversible skirt I knew I had to have one. The skirt looked amazing and the idea of being able to flip it inside out was just too fun to pass up. Apostolic Clothing currently carries two different reversible skirts the Sophia and the Sophine. Both are A line skirts with one black side, and one black and white printed side.

It says on the website that one size fits all from S-XL. I found the lack of sizing a little daunting but the skirt has a thick elastic waistband that fits comfortably and the skirt can easily be moved up or down your torso until you find the fit you like. The skirt is made out of dual layer polyester and its heavyweight enough that you won’t need a slip with it.

Personally I think it looks amazing no matter how you wear it. I love the playful peek-a-boo patterns that show when it’s worn black side out, and the stylish accents when it’s worn pattern side out. Its classic colors make it easy to match with just about anything, and really how can anyone say no to the magic of a reversible skirt? Being the mother of two young boys I have no doubt this fun feature will come in handy.

Apostolic Clothing is a Georgia based company that specializes in modest, modern clothing. I’ve had the chance to work with them in the past and they have always been fantastic and are truly dedicated to their cause of providing an avenue to find modest clothing that you feel and look amazing in. They are adding new items to their site all the time and if you’re looking for the perfect dress the first place you should check out is Apostolic Clothing.

Check out Apostolic Clothing for more great modest spring styles, perfect for Easter and sunny weather.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Pinterest

Touring Boston – The Unexpected Awesomeness of Candle Pin Bowling

March 16, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney

Until I moved to Boston I didn’t know such a thing as Candle Pin Bowling existed, but I’m so glad we’ve discovered it!

Candle Pin bowling is similar to the usual ten pin bowling in the sense that your sending a ball down a lane to hit over pins, but the pins are tall and slender (hence the name candle pin) and the ball is also small, about the size of a grapefruit and much lighter than the ten pin bowling balls. This makes it awesome for kids! For once they can actually hold the ball without being toppled over by it!

However don’t think that just because the balls are lighter and that kids have a blast that you, as an adult, wont be challenged by this sport. It’s surprisingly difficult to knock over those little pins with your little ball, and there are no perfect games in recorded history.

Wikipedia’s input on the subject – The main differences between candlepin bowling and the predominant ten-pin bowling style are that each player uses three balls per frame, the balls are much smaller (11.43 cm, or 4.5″ diameter) and do not have holes. Also, the downed pins (known as ‘wood’) are not cleared away between balls during a player’s turn and the pins are thinner, and thus harder to knock down. Because of these differences, scoring points is considerably more difficult than in ten-pin bowling, and the highest officially sanctioned score ever recorded is 245 out of a possible 300 points.

We went to the FlatBread Company/Sacco’s Bowl Haven for our bowling and enjoyed some wood fire pizza while we waited for a lane to open. We didn’t have a vehicle so it was nice to be able to reach this place by public transportation with only a little bit of walking.

As far as bowling went… I loved it! I think it’s much more fun than regular bowling and much faster! You don’t have to wait for your ball to be returned every round or for the pins to be cleared each time. You just grab three light little balls and roll them down the lane as quickly as possible. The downed pins are helpful in knocking over some of the standing pins.

On the other hand keeping your own score on a piece of paper was a bit confusing initially. I had the benefit of competing with two MIT students and they got it figured out pretty well. All in all we had a blast and I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting or living in New England.

Rating:

★★★★★
Five Stars. I like bowling, and I loved candle pin bowling. Perfect for both kids and adults.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Sacco’s Bowl Haven / FlatBread Company (Candle Pin Bowling)
45 Day Street
Somerville, MA

Phone: 617.776.0552
Website: http://flatbreadcompany.com/FlatbreadDirectionsSomerville%20MA%202010.html

OPEN 7 Days a Week
Baking Hours: 11:30AM -11:30PM
Sundays close at 10:30PM

Bowling Hours 9:00AM – Midnight
Sundays close at 10:30PM

Toddler Letters – “F” is for “Fire”

March 14, 2016August 22, 2023 Brittney

Letter F Craft - Toddler/Preshooler letter of the week craft F is for Fire with related craft, tracing sheets and fruits/vegetables.

Supplies Needed:

Black Craft Paper
Red “F” Cut Out
Colored Feathers, Preferably Red, Yellow, Orange and Black
Glue
White Crayon

Toddler/Preshooler letter of the week craft F is for Fire with related craft, tracing sheets and fruits/vegetables.

He was super proud of his letter… but he’s still working on the “Smile for the Camera” thing. 🙂

Set Up:

I cut out the letter “F” then covered it with glue and let my toddler take his time placing each of the colored feathers along his “F”. He did a great job and I think he really enjoyed getting to feel and play with something soft and textured like feathers. We did a couple of layers of glue as the feathers built up so we could have a more robust fire, but I don’t know that it was necessary.

After we finished I tried to talk to my little guy about what fire was and even lit a candle to show him how the light moved and how he could feel the heat from it, but it kind of freaked him out. Ha. So much for the safety lesson… I guess we’ll work our way up to real fire, for now, we’ve got a great letter “F”.

Touring Boston – What to Know About Visiting the Boston Public Library with Kids

March 9, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney

The Boston Public Library is amazing! It’s the second largest public library in the US (second to the library of congress) and the building itself is jaw dropping. Whenever friends or family come out to visit me this is one attraction I always make sure is on our list of things to see.

It starts with a gorgeous building complete with Gothic looking metal work on the outside, then you walk through the doors and are greeted by a wrapping marble staircase, giant lions, a courtyard view and breath taking floor to ceiling paintings. This library feels more like a museum (at least the front half) than a modern day library. I love walking through it and seeing the art works and exhibits, and when it’s all said and done I usually end up checking out a book or two.

Things to Note:

1) Price
Free. It’s a public library, but it feels like you’re getting to walk through an amazing museum for free.

2) Stroller Friendliness
You can certainly bring a stroller here and there are elevators to help you get around, but if you can stand to leave it behind I would suggest it since the elevators are out of the way and not super easy to get to.

3) Child Friendliness
This place is child friendly. You can walk around, enjoy the courtyards, pick up some books, see the art and the things that shouldn’t be touched are generally safely tucked away behind glass cases.

4) Check out Books
You have to be a resident of the Boston area to be able to check out books. We live in Cambridge and I have a Cambridge library card, but I needed to get another greater city of Boston type card before I could check out books here.

5) Getting There
This is right off the Green Line, Copley “T” stop, seriously. You walk out of the “T” station and you are on the library steps, however if you’re planning on driving you’ll be right in the middle of the city and parking can be both expensive and hard to find. I would highly suggest getting here via public transportation.

Summary & Rating ★★★★★

Five Stars. I’m a sucker for books in the first place, which makes me a sucker for libraries, but this is one of the most amazing libraries I have ever set foot in. It huge, elegant and historic, it’s free and it has tons of material to check out. It makes a great outing on cold days and if you bring children and they end up getting bored of the museum like aspects you can always retreat to the children’s book area.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have for touring it with children in the comments section below.

Boston Public Library
700 Boylston St.
Boston MA 02116

Phone: 617-536-5400
Website: http://www.bpl.org/

Hours:
Monday–Thursday
9 a.m.–9 p.m.

Friday & Saturday
9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Sunday
1 p.m.–5 p.m.