In The Realm Of Red Hook: Gowanus Nursery, Tiburon and Baked (yet again)

This time I was on a mission. A trip to the Gowanus Nursery to purchase the beginnings of a small, ornamental garden and a visit to Tiburon, a recently opened, handmade dress shop. And of course no outing to Red Hook would be complete without a side-trip to Baked, which completed the day.

My initial plan was to stop at the nursery first but we somehow ended up at the dress shop instead. One dress led to another and before I knew I had tried on nearly all of them. Meanwhile, my friend S.was trying to drag me out of there so we could attend to our gardening so I eventually selected one adorable dress and some bloomers and we left. The owner was kind enough to alter the dress within the hour and I picked it up on our way home.

We eventually made it to Gowanus Nursery which features an eclectic selection of plants, trees and garden accessories. My friend S., with a greater vision of gardening than I, helped me choose as I wandered aimlessly amongst the delightfully beautiful offerings. I ended up with some gorgeous plants which Izzy will help me transplant into our garden patch within the next few days.

Of course by this time we had worked up an appetite so after my garden was outfitted, we couldn't help but stop at Baked. I bought a sandwich for my upcoming trip and then I had to try their Apricot-Rosemary Shortbread bars. What an inspired combination. These are a textural delight; a crunch oat topping covers soft, sweet apricot, all atop a fragrant rosemary-kissed crust.

Baked goods in hand, our trip was complete and I am already contemplating the next one. So far my friend S. has driven me there but I have been investigating ways to get to Red Hook by public transit. Word has it there is a ferry from South Street which goes to Ikea, and from there the other shops are within walking distance. Sounds like an adventure to me!