thanksgiving

No rest for the weary, darling. My head hit the pillow with a thud and didn't budge until eight o'clock this morning. Traveling with a baby isn't exactly relaxing. Fun indeed, but I could use a little more shut-eye. I love Thanksgiving though and maybe it's all the food and libations I partook in that has me moving slowly. What to do though when you have a spread of homemade desserts and veuve cliquot in front of you?! Indulge I did and now I must detox. My cheeks look as pudgy as Miriam's. Perhaps, I should have laid off that last piece of pie. Woops!




Everyone wanted their turn with the baby and Miss Miriam obliged. From one set of arms to the next, she smiled and squeaked, just happy as a clam. She was such a peach the whole time until right about the end. She hit her nap time. Then it was back to momma for a small melt down. Cousin Charlie looked on like, what's all the fuss about? I love how dog-gone different they are!


It was a bit of a haul home Sunday, so I sat in the back doing my best puppet show with voices to entertain the little lady. She put on quite the show herself with her "creaky door" imitation. Seriously it's her favorite thing to do. Kinda like an old door at a haunted house. Amazing and hilarious.

I loved hugging on everyone, especially little brother, but whew… it's good to be back. All snuggled in the bungalow with the rain patting down outside. Winter is here.

happy thanksgiving

Well I'll be. I woke before the baby this morning. Little nugget was all wrapped up and toasty in her crib and I peeked outside to see an array of colorful, fall foliage. All was quiet until – the jacks started stirring and then it was go time. Barking, coffee brewing, baby crying, phone ringing, construction hammering outside, plumber knocking on the door, and the vet arriving for a lame horse… ahhh it's good to be home!

My heart is full of thanks and can't wait to gather tomorrow in celebration. Now I'm off to make this Scalloped Potato recipe so wish me luck. Happy Thanksgiving!

little fur ball

Ever walk into a store and think – I just have to have that? Momma and I walked into Tweed and had such a moment. There, sitting on a small table near the back, it laid. A tiny faux-fur vest with red lining just begging to go home on a baby

Well fine, twist our arms… one mooshkin coming right up.

on the table

There's a bountiful list of meals in my head, but I've sooo been slacking in the kitchen. The other night I made turkey burgers (then realized my buns were moldy) and mac & cheese (the neon orange kind). I swear hubs could subsist on that box of kraft alone, but that's a whole 'nother subject. After work and taking care of the baby I just feel totally uninspired by the time 7 o'clock comes around. Not that I don't love a simple bowl of cereal for supper, but even that gets boring.

So this weekend I had more down time and managed to whip up a couple things. Blueberry muffins, homemade pizza (fresh dough from whole foods) and leftover pasta I made into carbonara. Spaghetti carbonara is, by the way, becoming a go to 'round here. Super easy and I always have the ingredients in the kitchen. No recipe really, just cook a bit of bacon, boil some pasta, crumble the bacon, whisk an egg + some cream/milk – add pasta to skillet with some butter + tons of fresh parmesan + the egg mix – add some frozen peas to pasta water and cook slightly – heat pasta mixture through and add bacon and peas. Don't overcook the mixture because the egg is your binder and you don't want to scramble. Voila.

emil erwin

Why, oh why do I have such expensive taste?! I just fell madly in love with these bags by Emil Erwin - all handmade by a fella in Nashville. Rustic, tough and a bit equestrian. Maybe I could justify it by calling the tote a diaper bag. It'd totally be for the baby and all.

weekend scenes

Mother Nature was smiling down on Greenville this weekend. My mother in law was in town so we took baby Moosh to Falls Park downtown. We breathed in all the fresh air and didn't want to go back in. And everyone else had the same idea, because it was packed. I got to pet quite a few buddy dogs so I was a happy girl. Afterward we met up with the hubs and his friends for a brew. Then came home to a crock pot full of some goodness : chicken & turkey sausage jambalaya. I'll post the recipe soon. It was so good I was off the hook for dinner for three nights in a row!

{two men and a baby}

a hoot hoot

Better late than never… I got all of Miss Miriams announcements out the door. Could've saved myself some time and ordered something cute, but nope. I had to do it myself by gosh. I'm a control freak like that. Design 'em, stuff 'em, line the envelopes, address, and stamp 'em. Whew. Those babies had a lot of love inside.

this commercial cracks me up & I can not get the tune out of my head!

stella mccartney

Stella, Stella, Stella… I'm kinda late to the game, but now I see why the fashion world loves you. You are a one cool Brit.

There's a pretty article, in the current issue of Vogue, all about Stella McCartney and her English country estate. She and her husband restored the redbrick Georgian manor. "I've never bought a house that wasn't falling apart." How refreshing. Sprawling gardens and little nooks everywhere. Dogs, horses, and bambinos wandering around. She even has tee pees to hang out in. In lieu of traditional wedding gifts Stella requested guests send trees. Yea, I suppose trees qualify as non traditional. With guests like Tom Ford, Valentino, and Gwyneth I  reckon you can request just about anything your heart desires!

Can't you just imagine strolling around the English countryside, barefoot and listening to Beatles music in the air. Oh and stopping for tea and biscuits under a tee pee!

photos via vogue

open studios

My friend, Mary Bennett, and I ventured out first thing Saturday morning to Open Studios in Greenville. I went last year with hubs, but I have to say this year was so much better. Sorry darlin. We met some incredibly cool folks and left totally inspired. And it didn't hurt that MB brought me a pumpkin-spice-latte. She knows how to really get me smiling and chatty! We spent most of our time in the Pendleton St. area which is an old mill village. There are some great buildings and the artistic community has been the pioneers to move in and make it cool again.

Art Bomb is this huge space so we wandered in the studios, each one different than the next. A little something for everyone. We both fell in love with the work of Diane Kilgore Condon. Her colors and imagery just spoke to me in such a peaceful, happy way. The two sweet buddy dogs in the studio kept rubbing and leaning up against my leg for a good scratch. Diane had such a cool vibe and we could've stayed all morning.

We also visited Knack studio, which I've discussed here before. I was thrilled to introduce myself to Barb, the woman behind all the amazing furniture. She is one cool chick and her business has seriously taken off. I've been following her blog since I moved to Greenville and she is just as wonderful in person as I'd expected. Blogs are a huge source of inspiration for me so it was a real treat. Plus it felt very empowering to see someone really "making it" in the design world and to hear about the opportunities she's made for herself. {she's working on a book!!} You can check out more of her work on design*sponge and Southern Living is doing an upcoming feature as well. Happy times!

baby cousins

Oooh MY goooodness! I was not prepared when cousin Lauren walked in the room with Charlie. Seriously, have you ever seen so much hair on a baby in your life?! He really should be in some sort of contest. Plus he made Miriam look like a small fry sitting next to her. He's all boy.

His hair is so incredibly soft and he had on this velour smoking jacket. Too adorable for words. Oh how I loved snuggling with this little muffin. I just squeezed and squeezed him. His "bouffant," as I call it, was perfect for his Halloween costume… Elvis, the king!

We couldn't stop oohing and aahing over their sweet expressions. They held hands and took turns crying. They're just so different. Mimers has discovered her thumb (hallelujah!!) so she puts everything in her mouth. She's kind of a busy body that talks and just kicks all the time. Charlie is a laid back, chill buddy that has this wide smile. He's more interested in his feet and he makes these low chuckle noises. I swear I wanted to sop 'em both up with a biscuit they were so irresistible.

I'm scared to even say it out loud as to jinx myself, but Mimers has slept through the last 4 nights. I just about died and went to heaven after getting a full nights sleep. I'd resigned myself to the fact that I'd never do that again, but I guess all my friends really weren't lying to me. Needless to say, life is sort of, pretty amazing at the moment. Hello weekend.

fall break

It's not the most fun packing up and being in the car for six hours with a baby, but this trip was really nice. Somehow our car was packed to the ceiling even though we were only gone a few nights. Turns out Miriam is an over-packer. We drove through Asheville on that crazy, windy section of interstate. Leaves changing to bright colors and the fog rising in the mountains was picturesque. I was jacked up on coffee, but both my passengers were more in the mood for sleepy time. So I chatted to myself and just enjoyed the scenery. The nugget slept almost the entire ride which was such a blessing. Then it was straight into my momma's arms when we rolled into Pontotoc.


My folks are working on an addition which is way exciting because they've been talking about it forever. They're enclosing a porch so we can use it year round and I think it's going to be the new hang out spot.


I told Miss Mimers the last time we were here she was an itty bitty little thing. I swear that feels like light years ago. What a total haze I was in those first weeks. Now I'm almost an ole pro! We spent the weekend watching football, taking walks, attempting to nap, and visiting with friends. Such a rough life I tell ya.

Early the Donkey was one of the sites on our walk. He scurried around a bit nervous about the stroller, but he warmed up quickly and loves to give kisses over the fence. Now, are those not the biggest ears you've ever seen?! So silly and perfect for a good rub down & scratch. Momma is his favorite.

We went over to my friend Amy's house and I loved seeing everyone. Only trouble is it's hard to truly catch up with folks when you're watching a baby out of the corner of your eye. I did get to see two of my favorite little ladies though…Maida & Caroline are my friends babies and they are growing like weeds! I'm kicking myself for not getting them all in a pic, but some other time. Plus they were so on the move. Hard to believe babies grow into these walking talking little people.

There is always a constant supply of projects around the farm to keep dad busy, but we decided to have some father-daughter time. A little float around the bend just the two of us. Oh, and Mose of course. Little rascal. The water was so clear it looked like a mirror reflecting the trees and sky. We saw a few big fish and a crane, but otherwise it was beautifully quiet. I kept closing my eyes and smelling the air.

some pics… iphone style

Dad called this plant rabbit-tobacco. Probably not its official name, but it's dang cool.