October 17th, 2012

As Kindred Spiritis, Shopping, Annapolis, Maryland, Designer Jewelry, Wearable Art, American Craft, The Annapolis Towne Centre, 3rd Annual Taste of the Towne Centre & Fashion Show, Great Gatherings

Just like visitors come to our Delaware and Maryland beaches for R & R….we, the residents of the Eastern Shore take off west, over the Bay Bridge, to do our own sightseeing.  Annapolis is one of those towns that is gorgeous at any time of the year.  It is Maryland’s capital.  And, that’s where my friend, Trish, and I went last month.  Just for the day.  It really does not take long.  First of all, the trip served also for us to catch up.  It took around 1 1/2 hours, and to tell you the truth that is not much when you are used to driving here or there in our neck of the woods, so to speak.

Our first stop was The Annapolis Towne Centre.  You have seen these types of set-ups throughout the U.S.  One destination, where you can shop, dine, live and work.  Retail on the bottom, residences up on top.  Sounds dangerous, don’t you think?  The Annapolis Town Centre is very easy to get to.  The location is 2505 Riva Rd.  If traveling on Rt. 50, the Exit will be 23B Parole.

We came upon As Kindred Spirits, located at 1915 Towne Centre Blvd.  Tel. 410-573-9108.  Website? http://www.askindredspirits.com.

The term “as kindred spirits” means “an individual with the same beliefs, attitudes or feelings as oneself”.  We loved the store from the moment we stepped in.  We did not meet the owner, Rukmini Walker, but if you would like to know more about her, then please visit http://www.askindredspirits.com/about-us.aspx.  Her first store was opened at the then Stapleton Int’l. Airport in Denver, Colorado…then, moved to Maryland…the rest is history.  Other locations are at Congressional Plaza in Rockville, and Reagan National Airport, Terminal B, in Washington, D.C.

We did meet Janet Roessler, who works for As Kindred Spirits as their Events, and Public Relations Representative.  She walked us through the store.  It is that kind of store where you find a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  Gift ideas, accessories, art glass, jewelry and home decor, lamps, mirrors, paper weights, scarves and even ties.

So, let’s go shopping:

Jewelry:

The following jewelry was very interesting.  The Designer, Ayala Bar, was born, and, at present, resides in Israel.  In the 1980’s she surfaced as a prominent Israeli jeweler.  Her current designs blend natural elements and glass with assorted metals and fabrics to create a rich mosaic and therefore limited edition pieces.  The materials used were glass beads, Swarovski crystals, mineral stones, and fabric.  The metal was tarnish-resistant and hypo-allergenic.

There were pieces of jewelry for everyone.

These chimers were so neat.  They work with the sun or any type of light will do, as well.

Lots of unique gifts and fun things…holidays are around the corner.

As Kindred Spirits is taking part in a fundraising event that will take place on Thursday, October 18th from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at The Annapolis Towne Centre.  If you are in Annapolis or passing through, you might want to check it out.  Here are the details.

It is the 3rd Annual Taste of The Towne Centre & Fashion Show.  It will take place at Great Gatherings which is located at right on the Annapolis Towne Centre. Website? http://www.mygreatgatherings.com.  This store is dedicated to the art of celebrating, with the following motto:

Take a peak at a couple of their showrooms:

The fundraising event will have tastings from the Town Centre restaurants, fashions by the Towne Centre fashion retailers, and a silent auction, including gift certificates, jewelry and much more!.  There will be music, pool and game tables open, plus wine and beer.

Tickets are:  $30 in advance or $35 at the door.  You can purchase tickets from As Kindred Spirits, Great Gatherings or by visiting http://www.friendslhs.org.

100% of proceeds go to the Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center located at 10 Hudson St. in Annapolis, MD.  The mission of this non-profit is “to help rebuild lives with compassion by providing shelter and services to prevent homelessness and empower people as they transition toward self-sufficiency”.  The Light House is both a facility and a program.  More info?  Please visit http://www.annapolislighthouse.org.

Have a great time!!  Talk to you later.

From As Kindred Spirits

February 29th, 2012

Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole, Shopping, Living, Dining, Annapolis, Maryland

My neighbor in Rehoboth mentioned that if I was going to Annapolis, I should check out the Annapolis Towne Centre where shops and restaurants where right next to each other.  Sounded interesting and, definitely, worth checking.

I dragged my friend, Paula, to Annapolis with me for the day.  I don’t think she minded too much.  I needed to drop my car off for its  first service and one more errand to the Annaplis Mall.  You probably don’t care about all this info. but this is why I went to Annapolis.  It wasn’t just to shop and dine until I dropped.  No way, never.

The Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole is located at 2505 Riva Rd.  There are different ways to get there from Rt. 50.  It is a complex of shops, apartment living, Whole Foods, and restaurants.  By visiting http://www.visitatc.com, you can find directions and what they offer.  Residences are above the retail spaces with anchor stores and restaurants around.  Plenty of parking and the valet service is only $2. 

We were hungry and right in front of the valet service was a restaurant called Brio.  We went right in. 

I had never been to any of the Brio restaurants.  Did not even know it was a chain of restaurants found nationwide.  Their website is http://www.brioitalian.com.   They consider themselves “upscale affordable”; appealing to a broad base of customers.

We were served bread accompanied by a flat bread that was very good.

Paula decided on the Grilled Salmon Salad, with Roma tomatoes, asparagus, feta, crispy shoestring potatoes and balsamic vinaigrette.  The presentation was pretty and she thought it was good.

Mine was the Pasta Brio, Rigatoni (cooked al dente), grilled chicken, tomatoes, pine nuts and a cilantro pesto drizzle.  Well seasoned.  In my household we eat gluten free and as I was eating “real” pasta, I thought it was good but I find the gluten pata products just as good.

No dessert, just coffee for us.  It was such a beautiful day that a stroll through the Towne Centre is what we wanted to do.

By the way, our service at Brio was very good; our server was attentive and knew his menu well.

We stopped at a really cute store called Poppy and Stella.  They are located at 1910  Towne Centre Blvd., Suite 123.  Website is http://www.poppyandstella.com.  I want to come back and write a post on them.  On this particular visit, all I can tell you is that it had great shoes and accessories; no clothing, though.  They also have a store at 728 S. Broadway in Fells Point, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Continuing our stightseeing we stopped at Arhaus (pronounced “our house”), located at 1905 Towne Centre.  Tel. 410-266-0555.  Website?  http://www.arhaus.com.  They told us that while many stores around the country are closing shop, Arhaus is continuing to open more stores nationwide. 

Arhaus has a “global approach to designing all of their products; providing customers with a selection of unique, one of a kind pieces”.

The store had beautiful furniture, upholstering choices.  Gorgeous tables and home accessories.  Definitely unique, the following chandeliers caught our attention.

Another store we found very interesting was Great Gatherings.  With a motto of “Play Up Your Home”, you will find pool tables, stools, bars and game room accessories and furniture.  Let’s say you will be impressed with their entertaining essentials, as well as with all their outdoor fun furniture.

Great Gatherings can be found at 1905 Towne Center Blvd., Suite 120.  Tel. 410-266-1111.  Website?  http://www.mygreatgatherings.com/find/annapolis.

Those were just a few of the stores.  Target was there, Sur La Table from California, tapas and sports bars/restaurants, men’s shops, women’s shops….too tempting to live under such harsh conditions…haha…talk to you later.