dreaming cow

you may be familiar with sweet grass dairy (you may not. they make cheese. really good cheese. and they're in Thomasville, which is near Albany, which is where we are.)

well, now their family has made yet another incredible contribution to the dairy world. This time in the form of (ridiculously delicious) yogurt: Dreaming Cow.

Learn more about their (all-natural) products, their (adorable) cows and their (grass-based) farms here.

baby jennings

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  “SO i thought this blog was about reclaimed wood frames.  that you are selling.” 
Well you thought right…but stewart & james is just one part of our lives and when our lives get busy, our frames are just one part of that busy-ness (word? i think not).   You know what takes up the rest of my time: these three kiddos.  Arre has a busy life, many times pulled in a thousand different directions (I’ll let her explain one day).  And to our lists of jobs (if you can call it that) is baby shower hosts :)  and my or Arre’s or both of our usual assignment: decorating. And so the baby boom continues with the latest shower for Allison’s baby girl (Jennings-adorable right?!).  Our friend Shanna was there, camera in hand, and graciously shared her photos with us…enjoy!




And do you remember Ernie’s shower?  Well here’s the baby himself!  Just having a little taste of toes as he enjoys Allison’s shower 
 
lovely hostesses (and adorable mama of honor in the middle in green) Allison we can't wait to meet sweet Jennings!
photos by s.scott

You can’t judge a book (or cafe) by it’s cover (or decor) guest blogger :: shanna scott

By now, y’all know Shanna – she needs little introduction but here are a few posts by and about her and her little girl.  She is really (really) pregnant with baby #2, so we are even more grateful to her for filling in our lack of posts lately.  Thank you Shanna!
Here’s a photo of her taking pictures at a baby shower this past weekend (post to come on that shower soon!)
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Hey, I'm guest blogging for the 2nd time. This is Shanna. Hope everyone is having a wonderful spring (FINALLY!) day.  Here's my story...
Much like you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't judge a cafe by its decor. Yesterday, I heard of a new lunch spot in Albany. I was told that the food was so good, like Lola's in Thomasville, a place I used to frequent for lunch when I was working in Thomasville for the day. I was told that the atmosphere was a little nightclubish and this person also told me that when she walked in, she was hesitant to eat there and almost left but stuck it out and loved the food!
So, I went w/ some friends. And had I not been told by a trusted source, the former owner of said Lola's, which served delicious and fresh and interesting salads, soups, sandwiches, desserts, etc. then I would've never set foot in this place to eat a meal. It is a nightclub. Oh, I've eaten a restaurants that turned into bars at night in Athens - like East West, Last Resort, Harry Bissets, etc. But, those are restaurants that people come to for drinks after dinner hour. And they still look like restaurants.
But, did I ever eat food from Gus'? Oh no. Not a chance. By my junior or senior year there was a hole in the floor in the bathroom that people peed in b/c the toilet (apparently) stopped working and they took the toilet out and did not patch the hole. And who needs a toilet after 4 or 5 cheap liquor drinks? Not sorority girls in Athens, ladies that they are. All that is needed at that point is a hole in the floor or a tree or a dark street. But, Gus' graciously did still supply the toilet paper, even though there was no toilet. Thank you.
So, now after all that are you ready to talk about food? : )
Fear not - this place is clean. And the food is really great, but the decor and name will totally throw you off and I just had to forewarn you so that you will actually enter through the doors and sit down. A couple that was just walking in almost left as we were leaving because they were thrown off by the name and atmosphere. We told them to stay and eat!
It's called Karma Cafe and it is located next to the Crate and House of China 2 in the old San Jose's building. One would think they would serve some sort of Indian food with lots of curry by the name, but it's really great American lunch food. Also, the color scheme is black and maroon (not my fav. - haven't seen much of that color scheme in Country Living lately) which is hardly something you would associate w/ a fabulous lunch of a bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomato sandwich served on texas toast with aioli and delicious homemade macaroni and cheese as the side. We debated for a while on the spicy pimento cheese sandwich served w/ fried green tomato or bacon, but went w/ instead went with the chicken salad sandwich served w/ fresh tomato and lettuce on a buttery croissant and a side salad with homemade strawberry vinaigrette. The black bean spread w/ warm pita slices was a tasty appetizer and Annabelle loved it. Oh, and the french onion soup was delicious. They do have lighter salads and sandwiches also but we were into the heavier foods yesterday. The sides are great and there are so many great ones to choose from...broccoli salad...yum!
As an added bonus, our kind server overheard that it was Angie Elliott's birthday and she brought us a warm, rich, and decadent chocolate brownie served a la mode with gooey chocolate sauce - on the house no less! This 8.5 month pregnant mama sincerely thanks you for that, kind server.
The menu is plentiful and well-rounded and has so much to choose from that we had a hard time deciding what to order, coupled along w/ the daily specials. Karma Cafe caters and also has late night snacks for the clubbers. They've only been open as a cafe for about 3 weeks and haven't done any advertising yet, as they are trying to get all their staffing worked out. But, the chef was rockin' yesterday and our server was excellent. Don't take my word for it - you must try it for yourself and see. We need to support a place w/ such good and interesting food. Oh, and the prices are reasonable, as well.
It's all just another lesson that we all know so well but just can't seem to really get - you just cannot judge someone, something, or someplace on looks alone. You've got to find out what's on the inside.
Shanna

when pigs fly

for those of you know this kid, the picture speaks for itself
for those of you who don’t… she has on blue jeans.  Granted, it’s under a skirt, but still…she has on blue jeans.  This has happened once in the past 3 1/2 years.  At 12 months she quit wearing pants and i know you’re thinking – come on, you can get a 12 month old to wear pants… nope, not this one.  Somewhere between 12 & 18 months in her young life, I came to the strong realization that this child will. not. wear. pants.  period.   This delicate little girl would turn into a monster at the sight of them, her face would get red, she’d ball up her fist and throw an enormous tantrum on the floor.  I threw in the towel and tried to let the information soak in that i gave birth to a priss.  ME… and do you know why she chose today?!  While she may be strong willed & a bit lot stubborn….she is also a rule follower.  Now that, she did get from me.  And the rule she had to follow today (thank you miss pat) is that her teacher told them they had to wear jeans to their Easter egg hunt.  
:)

don't miss Mars

Once the sun goes down, take a look a the moon. The bright star beside it will be Mars. Take a good look though because after tonight, The Red Planet will be out of sight until 2012.

Happy stargazing.

Learn more here.

oh to be organized

I wrote this over a week ... I don't even know how long ago. If I was organized I would have published it before now.

Not unlike pretty much every morning of my life, this morning I dashed for the door 15 minutes after work started, barefoot (because I was pretty sure some shoes were in the car), with wet hair (always), carrying some make-up (in case my boss was there (which would bring about the need to not look like a hot mess) and a cup of tea (not the kind of cup made for carrying in the car. because that one's dirty) only to realize my keys weren't on the cart where i always (sometimes remember to) put them. And the alarm, which I barely have to time to beat out the door in the first place (because it happens to be on the opposite side of the house as the door we use. i know), was already set.

So, I scrambled to unset the alarm: Code entered. Key search ensues. Alarm sounds anyway. Dart back over to enter code again (wait around for 'disarmed' message to flash across screen this time). At this point I trip over the recycling, which I had (of course) forgotten in he midst of my first attempt at leaving. Now it's scattered all over the floor. Awesome. Resume search for keys. Ends at fridge (of course. why don't I always start there? really).

Start over on leaving. Get back to the door. This time I drop my keys. Picking them up resembles something like a circus act (because of the precarious nature of my arrangement of oh so many things (remember: tea, makeup bag. oh and this is in addition to normal things like phone and sunglasses, which are both too big to fit in the small purse I started carrying to minimize the ridiculous amount of stuff i carry around in the first place). Once I survive thet trick (of picking up my keys) and successfully get out the door, I get down the steps (these days even that has been a task) and into the car only then to spill my tea (which isn't even hot anymore). sheeeeeeeeeesh.

In the midst of this, I think to myself, as I've done many times before, '(enter whatever very normal activitiy here) cannot be this hard for everyone.'

Turns out, I'm right. Once I (finally) got to work and turned on the computer, this article flashed before my eyes. I get it, Universe. Thanks.

Evidently, highly organized people do (or don't do) a host of things that simplify every element of their life - including leaving their house each morning.

Oh yeh, then there's Emerson:



um yah - that's her pantry.

post by arre
image via d*s

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

I was recently talking to a friend about the sad truth that is the ever-fading real bookstore. Well, over the weekend I was in one. While I was there I spent what would otherwise be considered entirely too much time and money. I literally couldn't help myself. But I didn't care, it was a real bookstore.

quote by roald dahl
shoddy photos by my phone :(

time spent

The past few weeks have gone by so quickly and it’s hard to find the time to put it down on paper the computer!  I have been visiting friends & sisters, laughing at kids, needing breaks, working on frames, sending kids to their rooms, reading books (to children), strolling a baby, doing laundry, dishes, cleaning (jim would argue me on this one), cooking, eating, making birds and paper flowers watching mills learn to walk, molly become more independent, & mj act like she is 4 mostly, but sometimes 60.  So just life – but i would like to give you a glimpse of this…..


and to tell you that i am going to capture something hilarious on video.. i have to. i  will and i will share it with you.  I will give you a hint – it involves a child and a Spanish matador.  Any ideas?   :)
post by kristen

In a Rut

Even though this is how I like to live, this is more like what my real life looks like:

I don't know if the concept is universal but at Chick-fil-A in Albany, the employees say 'see ya tomorrow' as you drive away. The other day i had to move my empty chick-fil-a cup so I could put a new one in its place. I was doing this as they bid me farewell in their usual way and all I could say was 'I know, right?!'


post by arre
 
please excuse the early, incomplete version of this post that was published before. i'm having to refamiliarize myself with emailing posts from my phone...

so proud!

In case you've missed this, E now has it on her blog. Yesssssssssss! I am sooooo proud of and impressed by you, precious friend! xx

and E's not the only person I'm proud of in the Coastal Living(!) article... can you see what else I might be beaming about?!

post by arre

when life gives you lemons…

make cupcakes.
Yesterday was our blogaversary :)  We have been blogging for 1 full year now.  So to celebrate, we made cupcakes.   Really really yummy lemon cupcakes.

lemon isn’t exactly the flavor my kids had in mind for cupcakes so no one wanted to lick the bowl….except my go-to girl on food. 

 may not be the healthiest snack for a baby but who wants to lick a bowl alone?

The final product was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!  So cheers to you blog world, but mostly to all of our readers (who we appreciate more than you can know)!  We’ve had a great first year and are thrilled to see what the next one will hold!
post by kristen

s p r i n g !

we are ready for you -

it has sprung in our house…maybe not outside – just yet, but we’re hoping soon!

I hope your weekend will be as warm & sunny as it will be here!  I can’t wait :)

decor is not JUST for spring – we have a 1 year old (spring) birthday party coming up soon! (and a baby shower…hoping to use for both!)

post by kristen

good eats (and drinks)

~disclaimer: if you are not interested in food (specifically, food in Athens, Georgia) or if you think I am obnoxious OR if you have a limited amount of time, this post is not for you~

I recently made a quick trip to Athens for no particular reason at all and for about 11 different very good reasons.

The trip was so full of goodness I can't possibly fit it all into one post, so there will be a few. In true form, I'll first share about (allllllll of the) the marvelous food. (confession: when traveling to ... pretty much anywhere, I spend a large part of the car time calculating how many times I can possibly eat once I get to wherever I happen to be going. I'm serious.)

Upon arrival, I met one of my most favorite friends in the entire world at Speakeasy - for a cocktail (or two) while we (excitedly) awaited the arrival of my SISTER (see, I told you the weekend was overflowing with goodness). Speakeasy is dark and moody. It has a very 1930's feel to it. Save for the 1100 college kids who were incessantly pissing off our bartender, it was lovely. I had the Ginger Gimlet Martini on the rocks (thanks LL for that tip! it's my new favorite trick and has revolutionized drinking for me. I used to avoid martinis all together simply because of the blasted glass). It was refreshing and exciting - just what I needed after a long afternoon in the car (I made a stop on my way, remember?).

We ate dinner at The National, which is new(ish? I've been gone for a while...) and cool. It was so cool in fact, I felt a little uncomfortable when we walked in. And my (first) drink tasted like a bath product. But the food was excellent and the company, even better. I think we laughed more than we ate. What we did eat though, we enjoyed.


since i already felt so stupid, i was shameless enough to take a picture of my dinner this night.

I had salmon and while it was very good, the manchero stuffed medjool dates Abby ordered were the stars of the table (I thought. She didn't. That worked out good. For me.). The National Tonic, which I smartly chose the second go 'round, was another winner. While I don't know how to make it, I do know it consists of the following three ingredients and I will be trying to recreate tonight this weekend. Beware if you come over anytime soon. I might try the dates too.

National Tonic:


Bulliet
Grapefruit Juice
Blenheim's

After dinner, we popped in the Georgia Bar (when in Rome...) to see an old, dear friend aaaand ... have a quick drink. (I can't find a website, if there is one, someone let me know and I'll amend this post)

The next day, I met another favorite friend for lunch at one of my favorite's Five Star Day Cafe.

~confession: this post is making me so hungry i just had to scavenger around my office to find something to eat. thank goodness for girl scout cookies~



Five Star is so sunshiny and retro you cannot help but be happy while eating there. I mean, they had this bus (pictured above) parked outside. The hip twist they put on soul food (they call it gourmet soul food - cute) helps too. The garden club sandwich (that I was only going to eat half of) was so good I didn't even realize the mess I was making. I don't think many things are better than sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. This sandwich was that plus roasted zucchini dressed with a tangy vinaigrette. yum.

Later that afternoon, Abby and I took a break from perusing downtown (only purhcases were made at SchoolKids, we're impressed with ourselves) to indulge in Yoguri because we heard we had to. Yoguri is locally owned. It looks and is organized like a machine though - in a good way. I guess it's sort of Nothern European looking with its sleek white decor and minimal menu. We shared (again, impressed with ourselves) original and pomegranate (side-by-side) topped with strawberries and blueberries AND graham cracker crumbs (because the price was the same whether you got three toppings or one. and we were sharing ;) ). It was delightful. The yogurt and the place.

Friday night we had a late dinner reservation so we popped in The Winery first. There was nothing noteable about this experience except for the fact that it is called The Winery, it is dark and otherwise wine-like, it was c-c-c-c-cold outside, we drank pinot noir, you get the picture... and our bartender was dressed like a surfer. Board shorts and all.

moving on...


isn't this logo the cutest thing?

Farm 255 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) is where we (finally) ate dinner. And it. was. superb. Everything about it. From the hidden-away-from-the-street location to the huge, open dining room to the menu to the cocktails to the adorable logo to the pricing. I was so surprised when our bill came (yes, that was the first time i noticed pricing). For such phenomenal fare, I was expecting to flinch at the bottom line - but no! Entrees were reasonably priced and oh. so. good. The fact that 70% of their offerings come from their local farm is an added bonus and one that makes them definitely worth checking out.

We left Farm and once again pretended we were college dropped by Tasty World to hear a band so noteworthy, they have their very own post coming later.



The next morning I sadly had to return home but I didn't leave town before squeezing in one last meal, of course ;)
Mama's Boy (who i heard catered the adorable wedding of this lovely lady... true JMB?!) was the last stop on what ended up being a culinary tour of Athens. I honestly can't speak to atmosphere because the weather was so nice we sat outside (at a picnic table - I guess that says something about atmosphere). The  food was pretty much what I consider to be brunch perfection: mimosa + anything green and pungent cheese filled egg-something. Their mimosa is made with pink lemoade (and served in a mason jar (see above) - again, there's your atmosphere) and their special, was a spinach, goat cheese and roasted red pepper egg scrambler. served with cheese grits. *sigh*

~(yet another) disclaimer: i did not go directly home. as in, i did not pound champagne based cocktails and then hit the road. where i went next also has a post of its own coming soon... stay tuned~

one week and way too many words later, i'm full.


(entirely too long) post by arre

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

Theodor Geisel would have turned 106 years old today. Celebrate this wonderfully imaginative, creative, brilliant man by reading to a child (or yourself!). If you (are like me and) can't decide on a favorite, this might be a good resource. My mom gave it to me for Christmas... like two years ago. She also sent the image above to my brother, sister and me this morning. She wanted to wear this (because yes, it's a costume) to read to kids today - but she's too short. So, she styled, photographed and texted him to us at 7:30 this morning instead. Isn't she a hoot?!

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!
I love you so!

post by arre