Weird, Wacky, Wonderful: Martini Junction

Months ago, Laura Olin linked to Atlas Obscura on Twitter. I'm always looking for things to do with Baby Razor, so I searched for anything near me. Lo and behold, there was something called Martini Junction only twenty minutes from my house.

A hundred and twenty feet of model railroad tracks in the middle of the woods? Yeah, that sounded like something a three-and-a-half-year-old would enjoy. Unfortunately, it was February and said woods were about to be under two feet of snow. But it sounded so charming that come the first warm spring day, G and I headed to Needham Woods to search for it.

Of course, we promptly took a wrong turn. But we had a lovely picnic lunch on a fallen log, and our poor navigation meant Mr. Razor could come with us on our second attempt this weekend.

Here's what you do: Drive to the Robinwood Avenue entrance to Needham Woods. Turn right and follow the path, which is marked by tiny faux-birdhouses with white tops.

Look for a path on your right, turn onto it, and look for this birdhouse:

Then follow the orange-topped birdhouses. It's a twisty, root-y, up & down trail, but it's not particularly difficult. Baby Razor didn't have any problem with it. It's aways down the trail. I started to get discouraged when we saw a set of houses to our right, because it meant we were near the edge of the woods again. But then we saw this:

A bit further along the path came this:

We started to get excited. More signposts along the trail led us to our destination:

We'd found it!

The tracks were a beautiful addition to the woodsy landscape, and it was obvious how much time and care had been put into building them.

But it turned out the tracks were just the beginning of Martini Junction's magic. The area is packed with tiny buildings, models, and tableaux.

I don't know how much was put there by the tracks' builder and how much was added by visitors. I know that the spot is popular with geocachers, who often add to a cache when they find it. Regardless, the scene above is particularly charming, since it depicts a craftsman with a model train, birdhouses like the ones lining the trails in Needham Woods, and what looks like a bottle of vermouth--essential to a proper martini. All signs point to this being a meta-commentary on The Creator of Martini Junction.

But I have to say, this was my favorite bit, although I have no idea if it was intentional or not:

See the book by the monkey's paw? Yeah. Awesome. Someone also took the time to print out a realistic-looking computer screen and glue it to the teeny computer. I love it.

There's so much more that I'm leaving out for hikers to discover on their own. If you go, you can listen to the water wheel

And enjoy a snack and a drink at the table & benches.

If you're really lucky, the builder will be there and you'll get to see the trains (which are kept in padlocked boxes underneath the benches) running on the tracks. We weren't that lucky this weekend, but we'll definitely be going back.

Sample Sale: Boston, You're My Home

So...most of this stuff isn't actually on sale. But I've been a Bostonian for 15 years and I love this city so much. I figured it was only appropriate to share some stuff that reflects that love.

Charity Products

Boston Innovation has 11 Items that support marathon bombing victims. Above is my favorite, from Life is Good.

T token necklace ($32.50, 50% donation to Boston Children's Hospital in memory of Martin Richard.) Finding a token in my pocket used to make my day. I still have warm feelings for them more than five years after they went the way of the carrier pigeon.

Boston's not afraid of you pin ($1.75, all proceeds to the One Fund) It's true. Those creepy twins from The Shining could show up in a Bostonian's bathroom at 2 a.m. and she'd tell them to go fuck themselves.

Marathon route 8x10 poster ($35.00, all proceeds to the One Fund) Minimalist, poignant, and (I imagine) hugely motivating for 2014.

Boston Skyline Word Art Print  ($30.00, all proceeds to the One Fund) Just looking at the skyline gives me the warm fuzzies.

Forever Boston photo ($25, 50% of the proceeds to the One Fund) Yup, totally made me cry.

Map Products

Boston neighborhood map (Ork Posters, $22) In case you were wondering, I live in the least cool neighborhood.

Boston map necklace/earrings (Aminimal Studios, $40-$50) There are so many cities available in this line! You're all going to love/hate me.


Local Artisan Sale Products

Zooguu stuffed animals ($15-$90) Through May 1, you get a free size upgrade on whatever you order. Baby Razor has an elephant from them, and it is adorable, durable, and lovable.

Xylem earrings (Nervous System, $20-$25 from $40-$50) The only thing keeping me from buying these right now is my indecision over which color to get.

Sample Sale: Sheltering At Home Edition

Well, it's been a strange, awful week. So no theme this time, just things that made me smile. Take care of yourselves, babies, and tell everyone you love them as often as you can.


Jewelry

Tiny Clover Studs (Bing Bang NYC, $24 from $35) Symbols of luck, Ireland, and by extension, Boston.

Mi Amor Necklace (Ten Thousand Villages, $49 from $98) Because love is all you need.

Silver Peacock Earrings (Wendy Mink Jewelry $35, sample sale) Look at that detail!





Clothes

Jay dress (Shopbop, $159.20 from $199) I don't know anyone who could wear this dress and not look lumpy, but it's chic as hell on the model at least.

Flaired Bandana Shirtdress (Anthropologie, $79.95 from $148) Wake up hungover. Throw on this dress. Go to brunch. Win at life.

Dennise Blue (Bait, $37.80 from $63) Buy some brightly-colored shoes. Kick ass in them.

Yard Stuff

Celia Birtwell Watering Can (Sprout Home, $27 from $54) It's entirely possible I'd kill fewer plants if I had a watering can this pretty.

Frog Trio (ah! At Home, $36.99 from $81) Can we talk about how hard I laughed when I saw these frogs? I want to buy them and put them in my front yard along with a sign saying, " 'Sup, ladies?"

Verdi Gris Birdfeeder (Pier 1, $31.96 from $39.95) Yup, this is totally going in my backyard.

Weird, Wacky, Wonderful

In my Sample Sale travels, I often come across things that are worth sharing but are either not on sale or not quite right for the feature. So I've chosen Wednesdays to highlight products that made me laugh, gasp, cringe, or all three at once.

Today we have The Weirdest Effing Thing Anthropologie Sells. If you've ever perused Anthro's home goods section, you know that this is a high bar. After all, we are talking about the store that features a decorative felted fox hat, a woodland animal gang-bang, a log-cabin version of the Iron Throne, and something called a wonky pot. And the prices for all of them prove the adage that money can't buy taste.

But as far as I'm concerned, no other piece of ugly at Anthro (and there is so much ugly, much of it cataloged at  the fabulous Shit Anthro Sells) matches up to the bafflingly-named Hitherto Grasshopper Globe:

That, my friends, is a steampunk insect. For real, it has watch parts glued right on it. This lovely bit of taxidermy and craftiness can be yours ON SALE  for--wait, that can't be right. Did they misplace the period? No? Oh--the, er, low price of

$899.99

Hey, that's a bargain. It was originally $1298.

(NB: If you love steampunk insects, but don't have nine Gs lying around, artist Mike Libby has a variety of bugs available on his website The Insect Lab starting at $300 for a fly.)

Sample Sale: Animal Magnetism

I feel bad, because this theme was inspired by a friend of mine who mentioned that she loves owls, and I didn't include any owls! In my defense, the Put A Bird On It people seem to have conducted a few focus groups and decided that the bird we all want is an owl, because they are freaking everywhere. I got kind of sick of looking at them. So, Michelle, here are some owls for you. And here are many more creatures great and small to take you into the weekend.

Filigree Pollination Necklace (Anthropologie, $49.99 from $98) Buy this, wear it, and recite Eddie Izzard's beekeeping monologue to anyone who asks you about it.

Squirrel cookie jar (West Elm, $14.99 from $39) Steal something from a rodent for once!

Animal Stash Box: Llama (Furbish, $35 from $49) First of all, you can put your weed in there. Second of all, when my friend S. got a boyfriend, his way of telling us was to say, "I have taken a luvvah." Except I heard "llama." So his boyfriend has been known to everyone as The Llama for a decade now. Sorry about that, DG.

Honey Badger Talking Plush (Think Geek, $14.99 from $24.99) Oh god, I know this meme is over, but it still makes me laugh! I would use this to end every argument with my husband.

Hungry Fish Planter (Ten Thousand Villages, $19 from $38) Not too plain, not too fancy, and totally charming to boot.

Bat Plate (Fig, $107.25 from $165) Sweet lord, it's hideous. There's a much prettier hummingbird plate at the site, but I had to include this so I could ask where in one's house you might possibly put it?

Oh Whale Top (Mod Cloth, $29.99 from $42.99) Whales are my birds. If there's a whale on it, I want it. Not sure if it comes from growing up on an island, but they are definitely my personal favorite.

Honorable Mention: Best in Bow Sweater (Mod Cloth, $49.99 from $99.99) Here solely because my daughter saw me scrolling past it and started going, "Doggie! Doggie! Doggie!" If you want toddlers to love you, buy this sweater.



Leopard Calf Hair Pointed Toe Flat (C. Wonder, $42 from $128) When they say calf hair, do they mean actual calf hair? Do I want to know how that works? I don't, do I? Anyway, all of C. Wonder's sale stuff is 30% off right now.

Animal Wine Stopper (Sprout Home, $8.50 from ?) Do your roommates steal your leftover booze? Cork it with this. Problem solved!

Sample Sale: Black & White

No intro this week; be glad I'm not quoting Ebony & Ivory. Now have some once & future classics:

Going Moth Tropic Top (Mod Cloth, $23.99 from $34.99) I want whatever crack the copywriter who wrote the description for this top was smoking.

Raquel Top (Anthropologie, $29.95 from $88) This just looks so comfy.

Border Pattern Dress (Eloquii, $41.99 from $69.99) The red stripe is cheating on the theme a little bit, but I love that pop of color.

Nine Muses Dress (BHDLN, $120 from $220) I realize this is damning with faint praise, but this is probably the least-overpriced thing I've seen at BHDLN (sweet jebus, I hate that name. It sounds like a noise someone having a stroke would make.)

Pinch Bracelet (Nervous System, $40 from $80) This biology-inspired jewelry line is so distinct and recognizable that I once had someone stop me on the street and ask if I was wearing a Nervous System necklace.

Black Iris Necklace (Theodora & Callum, $129 from $325) An over-the-top necklace named for over-the-top fashion icon Iris Apfel. More is more, darlings.

Decorative Marble Bowl (Williams Sonoma, $69.99 from $88) Lovely on a black table and useful for braining home invaders. (What? I can't be the only one who considers these things, can I?)

Cut Leaves Wall Hanging (CB2, $39.95 from $59.95) This'd look great in a black & white themed room, but I bet it would also nicely class up a run-down apartment.

Plaid Printed Cotton Dhurrie (West Elm, $6.99 from $19) Included mostly because I had to look up "dhurrie." And because that's a great price for a throw rug.

Black Hawaiian Sea Salt (Terrain, $8.95 from $12) It's black from volcanic charcoal! How cool is that?