Classic Styling and our Chinese Style

One of our most versatile styles for women, the Chinese is based on a Chinese dance slipper.  Featuring a rounded toe, adjustable strap, and minimal stitching, this shoe is as stylish as it is comfortable.  When I'm heading out the door and want to look a little bit more put together, I slip these on knowing that I can do anything and go anywhere without giving my feet a second thought. 

These photos were taken on a beautiful day in April, just before spring had really sprung.  We love sharing photos of where we live and work, and this batch was taken about a mile down the road from our shop.  You can see a sliver of Cayuga Lake in the background along with one of the many vineyards that lines it.  Natural beauty and simple pleasures inspire our work and our classic designs,  There's nothing over the top or fancy, just the tried and true, made well, and with care. 

Winter Sun

Living in upstate New York requires an open mind and lots of layers.  Summers are hot and muggy, thanks to the beautiful lakes that surround us on all sides, and it's common to see snow on Halloween and then rain on Christmas.  We thaw out around March, but April can sometimes bring a snow that covers everything but the pretty little daffodils.  You just never know...

A few weeks ago, after plenty of snow and cold weather, we were lucky enough to get a 60 degree day on the weekend after Christmas.  It took a little magic, but we pulled together a quick photo shoot and the results are worth sharing.  Can you see the winter sun shining on everything?

On Location at Ledyard Farms

Today was the perfect day to get out into the snow and take a few photos.  Carrie and I met up at Ledyard Farms where we were able to meet Ledyard's Tiger Lily, a 4-year-old Morgan show horse. The farm is one of our favorite spots for picking up local eggs, lamb and beef.  It also happens to be really pretty in the snow...

Where have your Auroras taken YOU?   Share your everyday adventures with us!

Flax + Leather =

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can get away with doing something super fun and legitimately calling it work.  These photos document a day I like to think of as "Playing Dress-up with Friends".  Ever since our magazine feature, I've been wanting to put together some photos to highlight one of my favorite local shops, a Flax, linen, etc. consignment shop called Dinosaur Dry Goods.  My friend, Bird, and her husband, Raph have been putting Jackie's clothes and our shoes together with beautiful results for years, so it was a great excuse to get together and get creative for the sake of some fresh photos.  

I'll be sharing more shots from our day together, both on our website and Facebook page, but for now, and in honor of what feels like the end of warm weather in upstate New York, I'll start with the summery stuff.  Jackie's collection of Dinosaur Dry Goods is constantly changing, but if you like what you see, you can check in and see what's new on a regular basis here. 

Sustainable Heat

Up here in the Northeast, we have been slogging through an especially cold and snowy winter.  Most (if not all) of January was spent trying to keep our driveways clear and our homes warm (enough) in sub-freezing temperatures.  Many of us heat with wood so the staying warm part is a lot more involved than turning up the thermostat and paying the fuel bill.  

A couple of years ago, Dave bought a high efficiency outdoor wood boiler for the shop and work has been a little warmer (and way more sustainable) ever since.  Out here in the country, where trees are plentiful, we're able to score loads of firewood that would otherwise be left to rot on the forest floor.  Fallen storm damage and the tops and branches left behind by local forest management companies burn just as well as any other wood.  We've been fortunate enough to burn this kind of "surplus" wood for the past two heating seasons and we look forward to more of the same in the future.  

We hope you've all had a warm and cozy winter.  At this point we're more than half way through the cold season.  Cheers to that!

New York Winter

It's another cold day here in upstate New York.  The temperature was in the single digits when I went out to capture the view this morning.  New York winters are cold, and long, and sometimes really hard, but they're beautiful too. 

Outstanding in our Field

Literally.

I stopped at the shop and talked Dave into a quick photo session in the south field.  The sun is shining, the wildflowers are blooming, and it's really starting to look like summer around here.   

When I think about home, and the summers that Dave and I (and our two sisters) spent together growing up, I think of wildflowers, hay barns and lots of time spent lazing around in the sunshine.  We're certainly not lazing around much anymore, and I haven't played in a hay barn in years, but the rest is exactly the same... standing in a field, less than a mile from our parents' home, soaking up the sun.  It's summer!

What about you - what sights or sounds remind you of summer?

The Subtle Colors of Early Spring

This was my back yard this morning.  The fields are plowed and ready for seeding and our apple blossoms are just starting to die off.  The grass has been cut twice now and dandelions are just starting to appear.  The walnut tree's leaves are always the last to come and the first to go.  

I love bright hues of late spring and early summer, but there is something really lovely about the colors that come just before it all explodes.  Nature always gets it right.

Out and About in Aurora

 

 

Taproot Magazine

Have you heard about this new magazine?  In their own words:

Taproot is...

a collection of curated stories written by and for people living fully and digging deeper; people who are interested in deepening their connections to their families, communities, and themselves as they strive to live locally and closer to the ground.

Taproot is...

inclusive of all families striving to dig deeper, in the ways that manifests in our days, and in the many ways we define family. From rural homesteading to urban gardening, to homeschooling and community living. From family to family, our days may look very different from one another’s. At taproot, we’re striving to find the connecting thread that binds us together.

Taproot is...

a collection of stories that entertain, educate and inspire. We welcome non-fiction prose as well as poetry, photography, art, crafts, recipes, and fiction, as a means of exploring and deepening, documenting and supporting the spirit of these times.

Taproot is...

published quarterly, seasonally, and with a subtle ‘theme’ for each issue. The theme is a prompt for contributors and a gentle undercurrent throughout the pages for the reader.  Through this open-ended and multi-faceted approach to the topic we hope to dance around it, finding truths in both the resonances within and the spaces between each contribution.

Taproot is...

a print magazine, with a tangible presence in the physical world, and a quiet internet presence, so as to encourage us all to spend more time connected to our selves, the earth and each other.

Taproot is...

ad-free. A place where we can quiet the noise of computers, phones, televisions, advertising, and politics in favor of authentic living and connection.

Taproot is…
funded, created and published by fathers and mothers, gardeners and farmers, artists and dreamers - Ted Blood, Jason Miller, and Amanda Blake Soule. (Read more about Taproot, the People.)

 Are you as intrigued as I am?  I'm off to think about a subscription...

Final Gift Guide - Someone Special

With Christmas looming, I thought it might be a good time to share a gift guide with ideas that you still have plenty of time to work on.  No order by deadlines or expedited shipping charges to worry about, and you don't have to stress about which size or color to choose.  Merry Christmas!

Unlike your siblings or your parents, you chose your special someone, and through good and bad you've made it together.  You know them better than anyone and depend on them in ways that you probably don't even realize.  As Christmas swiftly approaches, here are some thoughtful "gift" ideas for your someone special...

Presence

When life gets hectic and the expectations of the holiday season start to feel oppressive, it helps to have the support of your partner, even if that means nothing more than having another set of hands in the kitchen, a person to bounce ideas off of, or another set of eyes on the kids. 

A few years ago my husband wanted to make me a piece of furniture for Christmas.  He spent many December evenings in his shop and was even there until 3 AM on Christmas Eve to (almost) finish it for Christmas morning.  The table is beautiful and his intentions were so good, but all of that work left me chasing a toddler around alone on Christmas day while his exhausted Daddy dozed off as soon as he hit my parents' recliner.  I love the table, but I would have gladly traded it for a present and well rested husband.

Cooperation

With all of the traditions and obligations it's sometimes easy to complain about having to watch another pageant or attend another party or whatever, especially with all of the last minute preparations that you have on your shoulders.  It's great to edit out the stuff that isn't important or that doesn't fit, but try to remember that we all have our own sense of what makes a complete and fulfilling holiday. 

I know that my husband does not have the same appreciation for religion as I do, but he knows how much I love Christmas Eve, so he puts on his churchy clothes and sings along with the hymns and keeps the kids quiet so that I can enjoy my favorite tradition.  When he does it all without a single complaint and even looks as though he's enjoying it too, I feel very blessed. 

Ask your someone special what they're ideal Christmas would look like and see what you can do to help make that vision happen.  It could be as simple as whipping up a batch of grandma's cookies, taking a late night drive to look at lights, or downloading a certain song on itunes.  You won't know until you ask...

Patience and Understanding

As much as we try not to let things get out of hand at this time of year, there are all kinds of stressors that are beyond our control.  Expect delays, hold-ups and deadline anxieties and when you can, step in and help each other out.  I have a whole list of things that I'd like to do this week, but that probably won't get done.  My husband likely has a list just as long if not longer.  Neither of our lists is more or less important than the other, so we'll have to work to be understanding and patient with each other as the week goes on and our lists begin to compete with each other. 

A Willingness to Let Go

Didn't make those stars you had in mind?  Your truffle recipe was a bust?  Those jammie pants didn't make themselves?  With all of the gift giving and receiving that goes on no one will notice the difference. 

I remember being a kid and getting so excited to open each present.  It all seemed so great, but by the time we'd made our holiday rounds, I'd search my brain to try and remember all the stuff I'd been given.  I still have this feeling and try to remember it when I'm not able to come through on one of my "perfect" ideas.  Chances are that we're all being bombarded by Christmas cheer, so if your perfect something doesn't work out, let it go; chances are nobody will feel like it's missing.  Share this thought with your special someone.  It's liberating.    

Enjoy!

I speak for everyone at the Aurora Shoe Co. when I say that we wish you a very merry Christmas.  We'll "see" you again in the new year!