Sadler House

Sadler House

Rockland, Maine

Rockland Restaurant Dishes: 5 You Must Try!

UPDATE: This article is a few years old now and, as things do, these restaurants have changed! For more up-to-date info on Rockland restaurants visit our Rockland Restaurants page. For a comprehensive and more current list of midcoast restaurants, check out our Midcoast Restaurants resource!

 

I knRockland Maine Restaurants - Must-Try Dishesow what you think I’m going to say about Rockland restaurant recommendations: eat lobster. It’s undeniable that lobster is one of the most exciting attractions in Rockland, Maine — and why not? We’re at the epicenter of the lobstering community here.

Rockland Restaurants: A Main(e) Attraction

Whether you’re looking for a break from eating your vacation quota of lobster, or you aren’t a lobster fan (gasp) or you just want to find out what else our chefs can do, start here. Read more →

Sadler House January 1, 2016 Leave A Comment Permalink

Tic Tac Toe Keepsake

In order to give guests the optimal experience at your vacation rental, it’s important to pay attention to those little extras. Years ago, before we had our own place, we stayed at a vacation rental in the area of Luray, Virginia. When we arrived, the owner had left us a basket of goodies, including a pound cake she had baked, herself. Between that and the generous stack of white towels, we were immediately predisposed to enjoy our stay. We felt very welcome.Tic Tac Toe Keepsake - DIY

Now that we are sharing Sadler House with guests, we try to carry on our own gift basket tradition. We aren’t living next door, so we can’t bake each guest a fresh pound cake. Instead, I’ve tried to come up with fun little crafts that our guests will find both charming and useful. We hope that these little touches and a welcome card will make show our guests how thankful we are to be hosting them.

Recently, I was scrolling through Pinterest and I came to a stop at this craft by Megan at the blog Balancing Home. The product was an adorable little tic tac toe set that was made from rocks and carried in a teeny burlap bag.

While I was reading the post, I started pondering how I might incorporate this craft into my gift baskets. I resolved to find some sort of rocks and burlap bags on my next trip to the craft store and give it a go.

Well, we all know you rarely find exactly what you’re looking for, right? Instead of the natural burlap bags, I happened upon a stack of sea foam green ones on clearance in the cake decorating aisle, of all places. I got a bunch of them for 50 cents each. The color reminded me a bit of a Tiffany box, and I hatched a plan to make my tic tac toe kit a little fancier. Here’s what I did, and I hope you love the results as much as I do! Read more →

Sadler House November 2, 2015 2 Comments Permalink

Decorating Your Vacation Rental: 5 Important Tips

Decorating their vacation rental is something most owners have done inDecorating A Vacation Rental - Sadler House their minds, even before they had houses to decorate. I know this from the many people who pin my posts to their boards entitled “Beach House” or “Lake House” or “My Future Vacation Rental.” Planning is a crucial part of the process, if only because it keeps you going when everyone around you tells you that you are nuts.

When the paint colors have been chosen and the house is nearly ready for occupants, it’s important to reevaluate your previous plans and make sure they fit the house you actually bought and the people who are actually going to be viewing your listing. It’s also important to consider tedious practical matters like maintenance.

Never fear! Decorating your vacation home will still be as much fun as you’d hoped. Just keep these five guidelines front and center for a home that will attract your guests as well as delighting you. Read more →

Sadler House September 2, 2015 5 Comments Permalink

Stupendous Seafood Paccheri

I’ll come out and admit it.  I’ve always been intimidated by seafood pastas and stews.

Okay, okay, I’ve made scampi.  But the prospect of a bouillabaisse or a paella or a pasta with various sea creatures on it…well, it just seemed too hard.  I can’t say exactly what made these dishes seem so unattainable, but I am pretty sure it had something to do with the challenge of obtaining three or four different fresh fish or shellfish on the same day in almost embarrassingly small amounts.  Now, this may be a real problem for folks who live in areas lacking good grocery stores, but as a person who has access to the glorious seafood markets in and near Rockland, there’s just no excuse.  So, recently, when Dan and I saw Lidia Bastianich making a mouthwatering seafood pasta on her show, we decided the time had come.

It was imperative we finally make the plunge.  I decided to take on a pasta recipe that contained mussels, clams, scallops AND shrimp.Seafood Paccheri Recipe

Right off, though, we cheated.  Dan and I decided to omit the clams and double the mussels.  The reason for this was two-fold.  First, we have never cared much for clams.  I realize this may get us kicked out of Maine, but we can’t deny that we are just mussels folks.  Second, if you are shopping at a supermarket, mussels come handily in bags of 2lbs., so it can be a great way to simplify your ingredient list and avoid an extra stop at if your time is limited or seafood markets are closed.

If you are not near a great seafood outlet in a coastal area, the other thing we have realized is the usefulness of both frozen raw shrimp and frozen scallops. We have found that sometimes the frozen shrimp is the only practical way for us to shop ahead and plan, so that’s what we had on hand.  The frozen scallops, likewise, have proven to be an affordable way for us to have scallops on hand days or weeks before we need them, when we are not in Rockland and have to make due in Virginia. Read more →

Sadler House August 19, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink

Plenty About Puffins: Family Fun

When I ask our visiting families what local information I can help them with, they invariably say, “What advice do you have for activities with the kids?” In a world of excessive screen time, it is such a delight for families to discover high quality adventures that are also (gasp) educational. Don’t tell the kids, but they are going to actually absorb quite a bit if they experience the mid coast adventure of learning about Project Puffin.

About Project  Puffin

Project Puffin is an Audubon conservation project that takes place on Eastern Egg Rock and other islands off of the mid coast. A very persistent scientist named Dr. Stephen Kress pioneered an effort in 1973 to bring back the nearly obliterated population of puffins in Maine. It didn’t happen right away, but he and his team eventually achieved a near-miracle, repopulating the area with about a thousand pairs of them, to date. The conservation efforts have also included other endangered seabirds, such as terns. Read more →

Sadler House July 14, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink

Owls Head General Store: MidCoast and Down Home

When you start spending your vacations in the midcoast of Maine, there are just too many things to do and too many places to eat. Especially with a vacation rental to run and maintain, and kids to manage, you just don’t get to all the great local spots fast enough. This generates what I’m beginning to think of as The Secret Slacker Shame. You find yourself getting red-faced all the time because people are raving about the places you still haven’t been, but you don’t want to admit you haven’t been there.

Alright, well, that’s over for us with the Owls Head General Store. Visiting the Owls Head General Store - Maine

Read more →

Sadler House June 28, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink

Kid-Friendly Day in Rockland

Parents know that half the battle on vacation is finding things you can do with the kids and still have fun. There are so many kid-friendly activities to do in the mid coast of Maine, but I’ve thrown together an example of a great day you can spend with your kids in Rockland. Choosing just a few activities and restaurants was hard, but here’s a sample of one great day you can plan.
Kid-Friendly Rockland Infographic

 

Sadler House June 14, 2015 Leave A Comment Permalink

Food Allergies: Resources for Eating in Rockland

This post is now several years old, but lots of local restaurants are sensitive to food allergies! My strong advice is to contact eateries in advance to ask them about your concerns. They are all glad to help as much as they can. 

I’m going to say from the beginning that this was a daunting post to put together.

My goal is to provide some helpful tips for guests with food allergies, who are trying to relax and enjoy their time in Rockland. With that said, there are lots of establishments that offer some gluten free, dairy-free, or peanut-free options on their menus. Many others urge diners to share their food restrictions with their server upon arriving at the restaurant, or even before (while making a reservation). I didn’t want this project to overwhelm me, though, and keep me from writing it at all, so here’s how I proceeded. Read more →

Sadler House May 31, 2015 7 Comments Permalink

5 Tips for a Dreamy Bunk Room

If there’s anything people on Pinterest are crazy for, it’s a bunk room.

But, seriously, why not? Bunk rooms are loved by kids and they can be enormously practical – especially in vacation homes where families are rooming together and flexible sleeping arrangements are needed. I’ve seen countless bunk bed photos pinned to boards with titles like “Our future vacation home,” and I was no different before we furnished Sadler House. When we bought our home, we identified the second largest bedroom as our own future bunk room and immediately started planning.

What followed was a series of lessons-learned that should be heeded by any future bunk room decorator, because there were some logistical issues we never anticipated. As a veteran of the bunk room decorating wars, I share these pearls of wisdom so that you may avoid the mistakes we nearly made! Read more →

Sadler House May 18, 2015 5 Comments Permalink

Choosing Vacation Rental Furnishings: 5 Tips

All vacation home owners have been dreaming of their homes or apartments since long before they got the keys. If you are one of those people, chances are, whatever place you are able to afford will not be guest-ready the day you close on it. More likely than not, you will have a limited budget to work with, and dreams that are bigger than your resources.

Choosing Vacation Rental FurnishingsAs you start preparing your house for renters, you’re also at the beginning of an unavoidable battle between lavishing all your love and too much money on your new home and being realistic about the parade of guests you’re hoping to bring through your place. As the new love of your life, your vacation home will become a pet project that you have to keep under control. Always remember, with the many guests you’re hoping to host, it will not be the best place for you to put your “forever” furnishings and treasures…just yet.

Don’t despair! Choosing vacation rental furnishings and the foundation colors of your home can be fun, satisfying and practical. Although every home and situation is different, as a recent veteran of this war between wishes and needs, I want to share a few lessons I’ve learned, to help you get through this important time in planning the basic foundation for your vacation rental success. Read more →

Sadler House April 20, 2015 19 Comments Permalink