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For the past several months now, I have been visiting Birth Roots here in Portland, Maine.  I have had the opportunity document their newborn class called BUDS.

If you aren’t familiar with Birth Roots, you need to be.  Their mission is “Birth Roots provides a community space where new families come together to build connections, share diverse ideas, and strengthen their parenting muscles so that we move together toward a thriving, family-centered society.”

Every.Single.Time I visit this Birth Roots I think “where was this when I was in this stage of my life?”  I can’t think of anything that could have been more beneficial to me as a new mom, than a community of supportive women, and the wealth of knowledge that they teach.

I sneak in at the end, just as the new moms are have some social time, and quietly snap a few photos of them as a keepsake to this special class.

Being inspired by the wonderful woman at this organization has been a blessing to me since I arrived here in Portland, Maine- and getting to photograph these adorable newborns is such a bonus!

This past weekend I got a chance to volunteer for Maine Doulas No Child Wet Behind Event.  

So they are pretty awesome.

Last week I found the coolest little restaurant here in Brunswick.  It is right around the corner where I live in the Landing (the old base.) I have seen signs for it, but they are pretty new so I hadn’t had a chance to try it until recently.

It’s called New Beet Market, and as soon as I walked in, I was smitten.  First of all, the light.  Oh the light.  The design is just beautiful, and the photographer in me had to talk with the manager, cause you know, indoor locations in Maine are a necessity.

But as soon as I met Jamie (the managing partner,) I knew I wanted to blog this place, because the mission statement of this restaurant is like nothing I have ever heard before.  They are owned by Seeds of Independence and profit from the market supports the charity! Their profit goes to directly to supporting them, and other local programs like Family Focus, YMCA, Pathway, and Harpswell Coastal Academy.  They even employ students as part of their studies, and they are also offering a CSA pick-up location for Cultivating Community’s Fresh Start Farm

So basically as Jamie would put it “this restaurant takes a lot of people who really want to help kids.”

And the cherry on top is the vast majority of their food is grown locally.

So yeah, a woman on a mission I can totally get behind.

Jamie’s favorite thing about New Beet Market is that it is not only a restaurant, but an actual market where you can purchase local produce.  If visiting she recommends you try the Chicken Salad (flavored with cranberry shallot relish.)

So go there.  Enjoy breakfast or lunch on their outdoor patio, cause hello, SPRING!

VISIT:
Mon-Fri, 7:30am – 4pm
Sat, 8am – 2pm

LOCATION:
25 Burbank Ave, Brunswick, ME

We are so close to summer here in Maine. Summer! Then we can pretend we have no schedules, no where to be but right where we are at that very moment. Where we go to bed dirty because we played so late that, ‘who has energy for baths anyways?’ Where daydreams live, and memories are made, and snow is forgotten along with our worries of work and school. Having kids has made me relive all the excitement of summer break all over again, and reliving my childhood with them has been even better than my first one.

If beautiful was a color, her soul would be every shade. – J. Iron Word