Thanksgiving Week Excitement

The week has already been busy--here's what has been going on with me:

Yesterday was my and James' 2nd wedding anniversary.  Two years has flown by--and it has been so fun.  I had to teach last night, so when I got home James had Village Idiot pizza waiting (yum-the Hurricane pizza is to die for)*, as well as a dozen red roses and a necklace he picked out from an antique store all on his own.

(He knows me well--I do love a vintage piece!)  He is amazing and thoughtful.  We're going out to dinner Friday night to really celebrate and he says I have another gift coming that night...I am a lucky girl.

This morning I went to the Doctor for my 28 week pre-natal check up.  I had to do the gestational diabetes test, and I passed with flying colors.  Blood pressure is good, fetal heart rate is normal, and all is well with me and Jones.  I am measuring a week ahead of schedule, so he will probably make his appearance well before the February 14th due date.

Over the weekend I made James get the Christmas decorations down from the attic and attempted to start decorating--he talked me into waiting until the day after Thanksgiving for most things though.

And I also attempted to make bread from my starter for the very first time.  The results were less than stellar.  The dough came together well, rose well the first time around, but then I just couldn't get it to rise as much as it should have the second time around, so it ended up very flat, hard and heavy after baking.  I am going to try again tomorrow afternoon.

Looks good here, but wait...

A bread brick.

I am working on the knitted baby blanket--see my progress below.  It's going to take me while, but so far, so good.

I am also going to attempt to make a Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart with a Pretzel Crust tomorrow to take to Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house--I'll let you know how that goes.

Happy Thanksgiving Week, everyone!  If you're in Columbia and looking to shop this weekend, keep your local retailers in mind and support Small Business Saturday!

And, just because-- pictures of some of my favorite boys: my nephews, Ben and Taylor, and James and our dingo, Peach.

XO, Becca

*Village Idiot on Forest Drive has an amazing Monday deal where you can buy any size/topping pizza and get one FREE of equal or lesser value!

Share

Holiday Entertaining Gift Guide

For that person who loves to entertain, (and we know who we are!):

Love this Tasto Chip and Dip Set by David Holcomb for the MOMA Store

image via here

The bowl holds colorful, removable pouches to fill with different dips!

4 Placecard Holder-Ornaments from Crate & Barrel

image via here

Simple, gold wire trees--and 4 for only $10!

Beautiful Topography Dessert Plates by Rebekah Maysles for Anthropologie

image via here

The Little Pink Book of Cocktails by Madeline Teachett

image via here

Creative cocktails and clever quotations, for only $9.95 from Urban Outfitters.

Vintage Silver Plate and Crystal Ice Bucket from Etsy

image via here

Can you say classy and kitchy?!

And finally, a display piece for your gorgeous cookies, cupcakes or cake: 

Vintage Fenton Hobnail Milkglass Cake Stand from Etsy

image via here

I adore hobnail and milkglass...and baking.  Perfect!

And there you have it--some super-cool, modern and vintage entertaining pieces for the entertainer on your list this holiday season!

Share

Vintage Finds and My Craftiness Makes a Come-Back

I have gotten back in touch with my crafty side the past few weeks, maybe it's part of my "nesting" phase....

Simple white kimono-style infant shirt embellished with some vintage buttons

Flour sack burp cloth embroidered with a guitar and the baby's initials, JMH

embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching

I also got my first knitting lesson today.  I have since forgotten all I learned, as I have officially mucked-up the scarf I started this afternoon, but I will not give up!  I went to In the Loop, a knitting store on Devine Street, beside KD's Treehouse.

Lara Winburn, the owner, was so helpful and really fun.  She is pregnant too, due in December, so we had lots to talk about as she coaxed my clumsy hands to knit.  It was fun, and I will be back next Tuesday for my second lesson with a group.  As soon as I have something that halfway resembles a hand-knitted item, I'll share.

Last weekend I went to PackRats for the first time with a couple girlfriends--I am officially in love.  My two amazing vintage finds:

working vintage lamp, painted an amazing red color- only $16!

framed black & white photograph of a couch in the woods- $10

I was on a serious budget last weekend and couldn't spend any more money, even though I wanted to, but I just couldn't leave these two items in the store.  PackRats has amazing vintage clothes, shoes, purses, and household items, as well as unique handmade items--at waaay affordable prices.

PackRats is located at 2009 Greene St, beside 5 Points Tattoo.  (Walk up the stairs from Greene St, right beside Andy's Deli).

Have you any new discoveries or creations?  I'd love to hear about them.

XO

Share

Weekend Round-Up

So, I haven't done one of these posts in quite a while...(being nauseous 24 hours a day didn't really do much for my social life)...but I'm back in the saddle, so here goes.  My weekend suggestions for Columbians:

 image via here

1) Remember when Joaquin Phoenix went kinda crazy a couple years ago, announcing he would not be acting any more, but singing hip hop?  Well, Casey Affleck has made a documentary of that crazy year of his life, and I for one am interested to see it: I'm Still Here will be showing at The Nickelodeon Friday, October 8th through next Thursday. 

image via here

2) Trenholm Road United Methodist Church's Annual Pumpkin Patch is open.  Interested in purchasing a pumpkin or seven to decorate with?--it's the place to be.  It's open 10-7, Monday- Saturday and 12:30-5 on Sundays through October 31st.

3) ESPN's College GameDay is in town on Saturday...maybe not a big deal to some, but to others, this is everything.  I will be in attendance at the USC vs. Alabama game.  I'll be one of the only sober ones, just enjoying the food and fall weather and hoping the Gamecocks don't get embarrassed...(Alabama is #1 in the nation, y'all)...and maybe trying to catch sight of Mr. Herbstreit.

image via here

 

4) Not into football at all?  Go shopping!  You know you need a Halloween costume, and Hip-Wa-Zee is having a costume sale. 

 image via here

Little Lambs & Ivy is having a calendar sale all month- each day is 20% off of something different in October--Thursday is 20% off all items with ANIMALS, Friday's special is 20% off all RED items and Saturday is 20% off all Baby Gifts. 

 image via here

And, if you haven't checked out PackRats yet, I highly recommend doing so--if you're into really cheap but cool vintage items and/or handmade stuff, check them out.  (I went for the first time last weekend and am enamored--post to come this weekend highlighting my vintage purchases!)  They also have a blog here.

So, what are you doing this weekend?

Share

IKEA Finds and the Nursery

Being that I really hate the gender/sex stereotypes of "pink is for girls" and "blue is for boys," James and I decided to go ahead and decorate the baby's room before we find out what we are having. 

With some help from my IKEA purchases from 2 weekends ago, we spent this past Sunday painting, putting things together, hanging, decorating, and generally sweating-- all in the name of a cute, gender-neutral nursery.  Here are some pictures of the  (almost) finished product:

*The wall paint is a very pale blue--it matches the bedding that we got from Target on-line.
*The rocker is from IKEA.
*The green/white dresser is from Roundabouts Consignment store in Columbia, SC.  (Originally Pottery Barn).  All drawers were originally white and James spray-painted 3 of them green.
*Crib is from Babies R Us.
*Tree and birds wall decal from Target.  
*White bookshelf was ours already-originally blue, but sanded down and re-painted by my very handy husband.  
*Striped rug is from IKEA.
*Shelf on the wall is from IKEA.
*Beautiful and soft animal-print fleece blanket hanging on the end of the crib was made by my very talented mother.

*I used printed papers from a local Columbia stationery store, Jot, to paper the back of the bookshelf--hard to see from this shot, but really pretty--and so cheap to do!
*The alligator blocks and the 2 boxes with animals on them are also from IKEA.
*Vintage Fisher-Price airplane is from Etsy.  Love it--looking to purchase some vintage F-P little people to go in the plane now.

Sweet Abby and Fat Albert (cat) helping us paint the bedroom :)

There are some things left to hang on the walls and a couple more small purchases to be made--like a CD player for the nursery, so the baby can listen to the cool CD's I recently bought for him or her: Lullabye Renditions of Bob Marley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones:

image via here

We are so ready to find out the baby's sex--ultrasound in 2 weeks!

Share

A Pretty Sweet Little Saturday

James and I slept in this morning and then awoke to venture to the All Local Farmer's Market--one of my favorite Saturday activities. The market was especially busy this morning, which is a good thing!

We headed straight for the Wil-Moore Farms table to snag a dozen eggs before they ran out, and we also got a 7-year aged white cheddar there, from Happy Cow Creamery, (a part of the Wil-Moore Farms network of farms). Right next door, James bought a container of Bacon and Cheese Soup from Spotted Salamander Catering. The only other items they had left at that point were Beef Lasagna and Cheese and Corn Chowder, both of which also sounded awesome.

We moved on to purchase some herbed soft cheese, (an ancient Roman recipe), from a vendor that I cannot remember the name of, nor find it anywhere...(if you know, please let me know)! And then I picked out some beautiful flowers from Floral & Hardy. The Mills, the husband and wife couple who run the Floral & Hardy farm, are so nice--Donna even threw in some extra Anemones in my bunch when she heard I was taking pictures to post on my blog. As I mentioned before, they have amazing blooms that last forever! Last time I bought cut flowers from them, they lasted almost 2 weeks. Also, if you frequent Earthfare, help out the Mills and mention to them that you'd like them to carry Floral & Hardy flowers.

Floral & Hardy Anemones

Tulips- (bulb still attached!)

My beautiful Anemones back at home

As we left the market, I caught sight of one of the best signs I could ever see on a Saturday morning:
I am a sucker for a good garage sale--always have been--so we walked across the street to see what treasures we could pick.

I got a few awesome vintage serving pieces and James found a really cool old 1963 dictionary. The woman who sold us the dictionary said it was one that you bought in sections at the grocery store and assembled over time. Cool.

Amazing green glass chip and dip server- my favorite find!

Adorable vintage child's plate (for my nephew to use when he's at my house)

Small glass bowl with gold details, pear-shaped wooden plate, and salt and pepper grinder

Better shot of the pear plate- so cute!

Horrible picture, (sorry!), of a metal serving tray with wooden handles and a stand

And finally, our 1963 add-as-you-go Webster's Dictionary in it's new home, on our blue bookshelf.

I can't wait to use the serving pieces at my next gathering. And we spent a whopping $15 on all of these items!

Also, for those of you who have told me recently that you're reading and enjoying this blog, thank you very much. You have no idea what it means to know that others are benefiting from this endeavor--very flattering.

Coming soon: my foray into making French onion soup from scratch, (my plan for Saturday evening).

Share