This week I finished up my witch hat for a Halloween event at my work on Thursday.  I found a plain witch hat at Target and purchased accessories at other discount stores.  I put the finishing touches on my hat today.

I got to go home to Kennett for the first time since July this weekend.  I love going home this time of year.  The air is filled with the smell of cotton.  I didn't realize how much I missed seeing cotton fields everyday.  In college, my classmates in my textiles class had never even seen a cotton field.  I guess it was always something that I took for granted.

Saturday morning, my mom and I went shopping at the local shops in Kennett.  We visited the Byrd's Nest where I found a great piece to hang in my living room.  I always look for unique things to use in the living room because I'm still not finished decorating it. 

{Chic knobby hook rack from The Byrd's Nest.}

After having lunch at Paradise Donuts (another new favorite of mine), it was time for the next event of the weekend.

This weekend was our Pumpkin Hollow Reunion 2011.  Each year around this time, three former PH employees and myself get together to visit and partake in the festivities.  Saturday night we meet at Strawberry's in Holcomb and had dinner.  When it comes to barbecue, Strawberry's is a local favorite.  I always love getting to go there when I'm home.

We then went to the haunted attractions at Pumpkin Hollow where we visited "Bubba's Butcher Barn," the "Forest of Fright," and "Mad Skull Mine."  As usual we received the "RIP" treatment. 

It was nice to be in the company of old friends and to be out in the country.  I loved that at the end of the night, my shoes were filled with dirt.  I got to see the stars in the sky for the first time in months.

Because I didn't have time to get pumpkins while in Arkansas, I went to the Kirkwood Farmers Market when I got back into town. 


I'm officially ready for Halloween now that I have my pumpkins....and sugar cookies.

This will be the first of many home improvements posts.  Though I've been working on our house's interior for several weeks now, this is the first room that I feel is complete. 

{Guest bath before.}

When we moved in, the hallway bath was light pink with pastel flowers.  Since this will be the bathroom that guests use, I wanted it to be chic.  I didn't want it to be too feminine or too masculine.  After much thought and research, I decided on these colors and patterns. 

{Guest bath after.}

Jason of course thought I was crazy when I came home and painted the bathroom a bright and bold shade of green.  I think he was just mad that his "Cardinal bathroom" idea was shot down so fast. 

At first I hated the bathroom mirror, but seeing it against the green wall gives it a new shabby chic look that I now love. 

The white cabinet above the toilet came from Potentials.  I spent weeks looking for the perfect shower curtain.  I eventually ordered this own from Target's website. 

My bathroom makeover budget was $100, and I can safely say that I only went over $20 making the grand total $120.

For my mom's birthday this year, I reserved spots for us at the Lavender High Tea at Winding Brook Estate in Eureka.  Because our originally scheduled date was canceled, we rescheduled our Tea for this past weekend.

So on a beautiful morning on the first of October, my mom and I had lunch on a lavender farm.  Lunch was served in an old (yet chic) barn.  We were served our choice of tea, bread, salad, sandwiches, and desserts all made with lavender.

{Lavender & Black Currant Tea}

{Lavender Cinnamon Raisin Muffin & Herb Focaccia} {Mixed Wild Greens with Gorgonzola, Cranberries, Apricots, & Red Onion tossed in Lavender-Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette}

The main course was a plate of sandwiches including shredded pork with an apricot lavender bourbon sauce on brioche; prosciutto frontina & fig chutney on focaccia; bruschetta with goat cheese, tomato, sweet peppers, artichoke, & caramelized onions; roast turkey with brie & cranberry lavender chutney on hearty wheat bread; and Mediterranean lamb meatballs with herbs De Provence marinara sauce.  Unfortunately I ate these before I took a picture of them!

{Pumpkin Cheesecake with Apple Brandy Sauce, Lavender Chocolate Cupcake with Lavender Ganache, and Sweet Potato Mousse with Lavender Cinnamon Whipped Cream}

It was a delicious lunch.  I would really recommend this "high tea" to anyone who loves this kind of thing.  My mom seemed to really enjoy her belated birthday present.

This past Saturday was the fall St. Charles County Garage Sale.  I was of course in attendance, but I didn't find as many decorative items as I did jewelry.  While I was originally scouting out unique items for my new house, I instead was drawn to the vintage jewelry tables. 

I ended up coming home with some cool jewelry, a candy dish, a Grecian-looking vase, and a pair of brand new shoes.




While some people think it's odd to look through and possibly buy other people's old crap, I find it facinating.  It's interesting to see what kind of stuff people have in their own house. 

I have developed a strategy for this bi-annual event.  The first thing is pack light.  I only bring a small wallet with cash only and a big empty tote to fill with my finds.

The important thing is to examine each booth carefully.  Sometimes the best things are hidden under something you wouldn't take a second glance at. 
While there were items I couldn't resist buying, there were also items I couldn't help but photograph because they were so....interesting.

{Abso-friggin-lutely!!}

{I wish I still had a land line for this dandy item!} {If I had record player I would totally have bought this.}

I've have started the process of pulling my fall clothes out of storage where they've been hibernating all summer.  My fall shoes are some of my favorites.  I bought these shoes at an antique shop a few years ago.  They are vintage pumps made in Italy.  The navy blue pair is by Yves Saint Laurent.  They've got the chunky heel, which is coming back this fall.  I love the white detail on the black pair. 

On September 14th Jacqueline Kennedy:  Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy hits bookstores.  Since I was a little girl, I've been fascinated by Jacqueline Kennedy.  This fascination was introduced by my mother, who loved her elegance and grace as a child growing up during the Kennedy Presidency. 


The annual fall St. Charles County Garage Sale on September 24 is coming up.  I love this event!



The September issue of InStyle is full of fashion trends and tips.  It also has wardrobe advice and deals and steals.  The September issue is always thick and full of fall fashion. 


The St. Louis Art Fair.  A St. Louis classic.



On September 20th, Tony Bennett's Duets II album comes out.  This duets collection includes Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, and other artists.  I'm so excited to download this CD!

What a crazy week it has been.  We are all moved in at our new house.  I'm in creative overload.  As Carrie Bradshaw would say, I'm cheating on fashion with furniture.  My mind is constantly going, thinking about paint and home decor. 

{The house comes complete with a fish pond.}

{Before the move, Callie wanted to make sure we didn't leave her favorite toys behind.  So she put them all by the front door.}

{After closing on the house we all went to look at the new place.  This is Jason, Callie, and Sammie in the basement.}

I'm anxious to get the house set up the way I want it.  We've already started making small changes here and there and adding a new color of paint to the walls.  Several of our new neighbors have come by to say hello and welcome us to the neighborhood.   Our neighbor, Joe is constantly obsessed with our yard and its lack of water and maintenance.  While he may have the time to water and manicure his yard and sweep the sidewalks surrounding his house, we don't have the time or patience.  I guess we are not yard obsessed like Joe.

I'm exhausted.  We spent all weekend moving from our apartment to our new house.  We have everything in the house.  Its driving me nuts that everything is everywhere.  I'm going to pick out paint samples this week and I'm starting to explore the new area we live in. 

I've already met on of our neighbors, who nicely told me that we needed to water our grass.  My dad bought me a water hose but I have to figure out where to "plug it in."

I have so many ideas for the house that I get a little too anxious and can't sleep at night. 

I'll post some pictures soon....

With our closing date only days away, I'm feeling a little anxious.  When I feel anxious, I bake.  I recently made chocolate chip cookies using this recipe to take my mind off of the stressful week ahead. 




We'll see what other baked goods I can crank out before the closing date actually arrives. 

With one week left until we close on our first house, I’ve sprung into interior design mode. My design style is mostly on the Mediterranean side. I like old world authenticity, rustic tones, and hand-crafted accents.


I’ve been looking through photos of rooms online and in catalogs to decide on what colors to paint the walls. Part of the fun is seeing if I can recreate a room using things that I find at resale shops, meaning spending half of the price.

{Photo from PotteryBarn.com}

{Photo from PotteryBarn.com}

{Photo from PotteryBarn.com} 

I'm using some photos that I have saved as inspiration when it comes time to actually decorate.

Jason and I will be closing on our new house this month; because of this we decided to "staycation" in Kennett this year to save money for our upcoming house purchase.  This past week, we stayed at my parents' house where we hung out by the pool and visited all of our favorite local spots. 

{Piece and quiet.}

{I spent most of the week out by the pool.}

It was nice to spend time by the pool and with the family.  We of course visited our favorite Kennett area eateries (the non fast food ones).  We had lunch one day at Lambert's in Sikeston and Brick Oven Pizza in Paragould, AR.  I visited Paradise Donuts for the first time as well.  I must admit that the chicken salad sandwich on pretzel bread was delicious!  I tried to stay away from the sweets but I did get something at Causbies Bakery (which will always hold a special place in my heart).

{My first trip to Paradise Donuts.}

After a birthday party for our nephew (complete with BBQ), we said goodbye to the family and came back up to the city.  Now we embark on a whirlwind of deadlines and paper work until closing time....

Today was grocery shopping day. As I perused the frozen food aisles, the seafood caught my eye. It was the box of frozen fried fish “country style” that took me back to my college years, and Wilkes 2-In-1 Fish Palace.


In college, my friend and roommate came home one day telling us about a fish place she had heard about at work. She had heard it was the best fish you could ever eat; the only catch was that it was in a sketchy neighborhood. The place was called Wilkes 2-in-1 Fish Palace. We weren’t sure what the 2-in-1 meant, but we were going to find out.

After a little more research, we decided to give Wilkes a try. Because of our insecurities about this shady neighborhood, we decided to go as a group. You can imagine the surprise of the Wilkes 2-in-1 Fish Palace patrons when 3 separate cars of out of place college kids pulled up.

It turns out Wilkes was a tiny space in a rundown strip mall. When we walked in the door we were greeted by a greasy counter top with several women….and children behind it. As they took our “order,” we noticed that there really wasn’t anywhere to actually eat in the place. There was a small room where the front counter was and another room off to the side, but the door was covered by a bed sheet. There were sounds of more kids and a TV behind the sheet. On the walls were drawings done by kids and Bible verses.

We learned from the homemade signs on the walls that the kids in the “fish palace” were home schooled. By the misspelling and grammar issues of most of the signs, it’s safe to say they weren’t home schooled well.

Directly behind the counter was the kitchen were we watched the women prepare our food, all while a small child crawled on the floor around their feet. Our to-go boxes were filled with fried fish and spaghetti (strangely enough) with a white slice of bread slapped on top. We got an overflowing box of food for only $7.  The spaghetti was literally spilling over the side of the box.

We paid, said thanks, and left, learning that being in the “fish palace” for only minutes left our clothes reeking of fried food.

In the end, it was the best fish we had ever eaten. We got more than enough food for a great price. I think we ventured back to Wilkes at least one more time before graduating, but each time we made sure not to wear any fresh smelling clothes because we would immediately have to change upon returning home. We also never figured out what the 2-in-1 meant in the “Wilkes 2-in-1 Fish Palace.” Perhaps fish palace AND school? Fish palace AND……?

Back at the grocery store I smiled remembering Wilkes. I bought the frozen “country style” fried fish, but I won't be making spaghetti to go with it.

I love summertime.  Here are some of my favorite things about St. Louis in the summer:

** Concerts at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
** Fireworks and Air Show at Fair St. Louis
** Taking in a show at The Muny
** Cardinal Baseball of course!
** Frozen custard from Ted Drewes
** Visiting the Penguin House at the St. Louis Zoo
** The Forest Park Balloon Race and Balloon Glow
** Celebrate St. Louis summer concerts downtown
** Shopping the sidewalk/tent sales at area boutiques
** Experiencing new cultures at the Festival of Nations at Tower Grove Park
** On extremely hot days (like the ones we've had recently), catching a movie at the Galaxy 14 in Chesterfield

It's been a rainy 4th of July weekend here in St. Louis.  While we had planned on heading downtown for Fair St. Louis, the intense rain canceled our plans, as well as the Maroon 5 concert and fireworks display Sunday night.

Of course I made homemade ice cream, which is a 4th of July tradition for us.      

{ Homemade ice cream.  A 4th of July tradition started by my mother...or maybe my grandmother.  Probably both. }

{ My patriotic mantel. }

After spending some time by the pool and grilling some food, we went to watch the fireworks in Ellisville.  Technically we were between Manchester and Ellisville so we watched both. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!!

This past Saturday was the annual June Dance Performance by ADIVA Dance Studio at Jefferson Barracks in South County.  This year Julie and myself made our tutus.  Though it was slightly stressful the week of the performance, the tutus turned out great.  The ballet performance wasn't bad either. 

{Costume designers; putting our degrees to use.}