leaving carolina

It's rare, but occasionally I wake up bright eyed and anxious to start my day. Today was like that. Miriam and I were eating our oatmeal (while having a serious battle over the sippy cup of milk, more to come on that) when I remembered today was the downtown Farmers Market. Good thinking. Main street was full of people and the sun wasn't full steam so there was a niceness to the air. The vendors had overflowing baskets of corn, and veggies, and berries galore. Bluegrass plucking and a chatter of friendly folks filled the air. What a lucky little place. I'm going to miss it.

See, we're moving. Leaving Carolina and heading home to Nashville. We've been in limbo lately trying to figure things out, but we are finally making the move. The truth is it's been super stressful lately, but  I'm excited. Really excited. I'm gonna miss this town and the friends I've made, but my heart is in Nashville and I can't wait to get back. We'll be living in my Miss Currier's condo temporarily which means most of our stuff is going in storage. That helps the unloading process, but it also means we have to pack smartly. Ughh. Boxes are piling up and I'm doing my best to weed through some stuff. I wonder if other people haul around old magazines like me? Please Lord, don't let me become a hoarder like those people on the t.v! I promise to get seriously organized once we're settled.

I did take a few pics of the place before the mess just so we can remember our sweet bungalow. It's hard to believe it's been 2 years since we moved to Greenville. Now, we have 8 days to get this place in shape. I've got a ton of Tenn Hens work, there are 2 showings today, there are bills to cancel & addresses to change, boxes that need packing, and on and on, but what I really want to do is get out on the town. Of course I've seen a lot, but there are still things I want to do before we leave. Like… rent a bike at the Swamp Rabbit Trail - visit the new Mayme Baker shop - lunch @ the hot dog king - have a final meal at my favorite, Luna Rosa - take hubs to see the Mary Whyte exhibit, and hmm…what else?

The boxes can wait right? Besides, I have our new friend McNutty here to help. Isn't he the cutest! He and Moosh are already best buds and they've secretly promised to pack up the nursery for us.

design by nanny

Our little bungalow, while wonderful & charming is pretty small. Now, I like a cozy, lived in house with lots of stuff, but this is pushing it. And with baby girl around it's gotten crazy cramped. Plus we had no area outside the nursery for her to sit and play. I was constantly piling blankets on the hard wood floors to try and create a space and then cleaning it up at the end of every day.

So, since I was super busy and had no extra time I sensibly decided we needed a makeover. Naturally. Carlisle, my nanny, and I got straight to work moving everything around. She's amazing and the next thing I knew the house was in complete shambles as we switched rugs, moved furniture, changed lighting, and then switched it around some more. Hmmm, I knew this girl had an eye for interiors when every day the tv was tuned in to HGTV. Nanny / decorator / future med-school student, you could say I lucked out at the grocery store that fateful day. It's nothing fancy, but I can't even tell you how much better my house looks and now I'm wishing I had before+after pics. My husbands face, like what in the world have you been doing, was classic.

 {the new playroom with my downward facing dog baby cakes}

 To top of my new arrangement, my recent purchase, a little owl lamp from Target now had a spot. I was a little unsure when he arrived. Kinda quirky and larger than I'd expected, but now I adore him and smile every time I come and go.

interior dreams

Last Sunday was dreary and raining so when the baby went down for her morning nap, so did I. And when I woke up an hour later I was looking around my room wishing someone would sweep in and give me a re-do. I mean it's fine, but nothing special. Nothing like these bedroom shots I saw in Lonny.

The reality is we're not here for too much longer. Our house is adorable, but it's tiny. And more than anything, it's not ours. I definitely tried to make it cute, but knowing it's a temporary rental really put a damper on my decorating dreams. Maybe the next house, hubs? Crossing my fingers.

ps: guess I was onto something about Nashville being "the coolest" 'cause anthro agrees.

photos from lonny + decor8

snowed in

Well, it must be our year for snow. There were 6 inches on the ground this morning in Greenville. Mimers and I stared in awe out the window at the bright white everywhere. I haven't seen snow like this down South since I was really little. So we snuggled in and watched our street come alive as the morning began.

Dogs romping around, an outdoor fire pit started at the neighbors, people tromping around in lots of layers, and a bunch of kids sledding. Ahh… this is the life!

back to the bungalow

Whew, I'm glad that is over! We survived our first road trip with the babe. Packed up the crib, and clothes, and baby clothes, and gear and hit the highway. It was a sunny day and I rode in the back next to Miriam, doing my best to make funny faces and rattle a toy or two. She was a champ and really slept most of the ride. Such a good girl. No heavy lifting for me. While I had held the babe and opened up the house, hubs and his dad unpacked the car. It felt kind of surreal walking in to see all of our stuff after almost 3 moths away. Everything just like we left it only with cobwebs in every corner. This week was spent cleaning up, organizing, and most importantly… setting up Miriam's room. There are now traces of baby in every room of the bungalow.



I don't know how we would have done it all without Marilyn, my mother in law. She swooped in the day after we landed and went about cleaning, cooking and soothing Miriam. It was so much easier to unpack without a baby on my hip. Plus she made the most amazing blackberry cobbler recipe. We didn't want her to leave! I think Miriam sensed her departure, because she was not a happy baby the next few days. She looked at us like, "the pro is gone and I know you two have no idea what you're doing!" Maybe it was the move, but something had this child all in a tizzy. It was really rough so we just took turns trying anything we could come up with. I called cousin Lauren to commiserate a little and she did a bad, bad thing. She told me Charlie has been sleeping from 10 to 5. Umm… scuma? Isn't he three weeks younger than Miriam? I almost hung up on her.



Since our first go round went so well we decided to push our luck and make another road trip south. This time to see hubs' grammy & paw-paw in Atlanta. They are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. Lots of oohing and ahhing over Miriam and a yummy lunch together. Unfortunately, we hit hotlanta traffic on our way home that nigh which made it a long one. The baby screamed for the last half hour, so we just put down the windows and turned up the tunes. Seriously. And a small miracle happened that evening. She slept for 7 hours straight. I reckon after three days of crying, she had finally worn herself out. We actually woke up a couple times just to make sure she was breathing! It may never happen again, but I am praying awfully hard for it!

snowy bliss

Well, well, well. Where have I been? I took an unexpected bloggin break when life got super busy. I had some fun visitors come to town and can't wait to share our tales. Here are a couple of snow pics in the mean time til life gets back to a normal pace. I love the way the puffy white snow can just come out of nowhere and change everything. It was absolutely beautiful.

bedroom dilema

Our bedroom is currently in a state of confusion. The curtains are too long, our new bed fills up the entire room, the rug doesn't go, my side tables are hideous, and hubs claims the bedspread from Anthropologie is like one of the tapestries I had in college. Harumph. I'm not a fabulous decorator by any stretch of the means, but I do think I have a pretty decent eye. Which is why it drives me batty to walk in there and feel like nothing works. I have been keeping a file of bedroom images from magazines and blogs and hopefully it will transpire into something glorious. Though I'm secretly hoping that when my mom & aunt Louise {who's an interior designer} come for a visit next month, they will be the ones to turn my mess into greatness. Or at the very least, something presentable… pretty please! We shall see.

images via domino * house beautiful * and unknown (so sorry!)

week of the turnip

I got this little calendar as gift while I was home. Apparently I've gone from having an avocado to a turnip in my belly.



Back in our little bungalow in Greenville, I am busy prepping for husbands birthday this morning. I need to wrap his gift, which I will tell you about tomorrow in case he reads this. I have no wrapping paper so I'll have to get a bit creative. Then I'm going to do a little baking this afternoon. His only request is peanut butter & chocolate. Hmmm, I have a few ideas, but not sure where that will end up. And I think we're going to stay in so he can watch the big football game tonight, which means I need to do a little meal planning and grocery shopping. Oh and I need to fit in work, a walk, and our house is a disaster. Yikes, I better get crackin!

weekend of nesting

Our big night out Friday, at the galleries over on Pendleton, was so much fun. We met some very friendly artists and did a bit of holiday shopping. The night ended early though and I almost crawled into bed at 8:30. Seriously. I stayed up a bit longer though enjoying my December issue of Vogue. I get lost in all the gorgeous frocks and feel immediately transported somewhere very chic and cool. Saturday, hubs was not feeling too hot so I escaped from the house while he rested and did a little more gift shopping. I really wanted to support the local shops this year - no malls for moi. I say that, but I'm sure I'll end up in one eventually before Christmas. I started at Emporium which is downtown and they have all sorts of funky gifts. Then walked over to Mayme Baker Studio. I'd seen her stuff before at antique mall, but her store is precious! You have to spend a little time just looking up, down and around, because there is so much stuff. I could have bought a pile of things just for myself. I scored something very cool for mums, but I couldn't leave with out a shiny new ornament for our house - three dangling glittery peace signs!



We haven't done much (any really) decorating at the bungalow since we won't be here, but we do have the stockings up. They are courtesy of Marilyn, my mother in law. Hubs has had his for a while of course, but mine is new - given to me last Christmas. They are seriously special and I love that they were hand sewn by Marilyn. In fact, she's probably already working on the next one for a little baby to be.

new additions

I've been waiting on this little number for months now. My grandmother was sweet enough to give me an old wing chair of theirs a few years ago. Only problem was it was pretty sad looking. The fabric was torn around the edges of the arms and let's just say it had "browned" over the years. I kept it in my bedroom for a couple years, with clothes piled on top to hide it's pitiful appearance.



Well, no more hiding. The chair got a face lift and it's so much happier. Now he just beams and kinda smiles back at me. Look how pretty he is! I found the fabric on sale in Nashville and had a little woman my mom knows, create a slip cover. I adore the sassy birds and sort of mexican style pattern. It suites my office just fine and has become a good spot to read and sip tea!

And another little nugget for my office : a hummingbird paper weight. My momma was in NY, so Christmas came a bit early for moi! Well this isn't just any ole paperweight. It's so cool and I find myself staring at it sometimes, like it's a crystal ball. That sounds weird, but I don't lie. It's by John Derian, who I now covet. I checked out their site and it is full of whimsical collages and ephemera. Kind of reminds me of some of our tenn hens designs in fact.

I especially love the petit fours wrapping paper + bird trays :

sunday ritual

I love Sundays. I start by taking big buddy outside, looking eagerly for that bright blue plastic bag on my curb. Last weekend it wasn't there.....harumph! I may be in Greenville, South Carolina, but darn it I want to know whats going on in the world. Yes, I could read online, but it's simply not the same. Doesn't the delivery man/woman know that I only get the New York Times on Sunday and that it totally disrupts my morning when they decide to sleep in instead? But yesterday there it was, crammed underneath my tire, looking glorious and thick with plenty of stories ready for me to read.



Another ritual I enjoy is the show, Sunday Morning. I used to think only old people watched and that it was kind of dated looking. After all, their graphics are faded and there's that weird sun image everywhere. Well hello, I must be old and boring now because I'm obsessed with it. This episode included a segment on King Ranch. I'm sure my brother Will, who went to Texas, knows all about this place, but it was news to me. Apparently it's this huge family ranch (they have over 800,000 acres) that has it's hands in all sorts of business ventures, but still is a working farm/ranch that raises horses. Triple Crown winner Assault is even buried here. Anyway, the show is definitely worth tuning in if you don't already.

Trevor was off to campus for a group project and the weather was perfect, so I decided to hang outside all afternoon. I took a quilt, some towels, a drink and the Sunday Times, and headed all the way out to my back yard. They say a little sunshine is good for the soul. It definitely lifts my mood, that's for sure. Coop and I settled in to do a little reading of the Times and even dozed off here and there. I was awoken twice by falling nuts. Our neighborhood has more acorn trees and they have covered the lawns and sidewalks. Good for squirrels.... not so good for napping.

caution

It's one thing to come home to a dirty house, but this is what I pulled up to Friday evening… a massive construction zone. A couple weeks ago a plumbing service came out because none of our system was working. It quickly turned into a bigger issue than we imagined and our landlord was not a happy camper. Her contractor slacked and put in cheap plumbing. To make a long story short, they've had to basically replace the entire line out to the street line. I knew they'd been working while we were gone, but good gracious - our yard looks like a disaster area, complete with caution tape. The street has two giant holes and the side walk has been ripped up. Jack hammers, a dump truck and a skid loader in front of our house totally add to the quiet vibe of the street. I'm sure our neighbors are oh so happy. So this is what we'll be living with the next couple days. My biggest worry though is all the plants they tore up. We had these fluffy bushes along the side and poor things are all exposed and discarded to the side. I sure hope they survive when they're replanted. Otherwise we'll have even less buffer to weird hermit neighbor!

creative sanctuary

We moved to Greenville well over two months ago, but just now feel really settled into our house. Since its a rental and we're potentially only here two years, we didn't do much. It's amazing what drapes and artwork will do though. Pictures are hung, furniture is in place and my little office has finally come together. I have my desk pushed up to the windows to get a little light and hear all the sounds outdoors. Birds chirping, lawn mowers going and lots of barking. I had no idea this was such a dog friendly neighborhood. They are everywhere and make their presence known when buddy and I go for a stroll! Occasionally, it's even the tunes of a violin - there is a little hippie guy down the street who plays with the symphony and he practices on his porch. Love it! Our neighbor, who's house I peer out at, is kinda odd though. I've yet to meet him. How weird is that? Every time I try and head outside to catch him, he's already scooted inside. Hmmm, I guess I'll keep trying. Trev has me all freaked out there's something weird going on over there. He's not the most reliable source however, always trying to trick and tease me. Maybe he's a hermit, but I don't want to be one of those strange people that says they never knew the person who lived right next door. I'll let ya know what happens.



Anyway, I got off track. I wanted to share my little nook. Like I said, it's nothing special, but I've tried to dress it up to get my creative juices flowing! We had some store credit so I purchased these two monster linen pin boards from Pottery Barn. They BARELY fit on each side of the wall. Husband asked me if I measured and I said yes. Of course I didn't so thank goodness they worked. I think they are amazing - better than I even expected. One for him and one for moi. I always have magazine pages, invitations, coasters and any sort of cool design saved in a messy pile and now I have blank canvas to put it all on. This is all a work in progress though so more to come. And next I tackle my art closet, which at the moment is out of control.

Sorry about my messy desk. They say wireless these days, but I still have a million cords everywhere because they're all so dog gone different - so frustrating. Anyway, Trev shot this impromptu pic of Currier and me skyping. We show each other layouts and it's so nice to see a real face instead of being on the phone constantly. We still laugh though because this is a dead giveaway if you're looking a little rough in the morning!

green thumb

After a trip to Country Boys Garden Center down the road, we started our very own mini herb garden on Sunday. Woo-hoo!

Now, to most people this is no big deal. But after living in a condo for the last 4 years with no yard - this is huge! I've been dying to have fresh herbs so we're not running out to the grocery and paying for these expensive little things. So.... we started small. Just basil & rosemary for now. I really wanted some mint, but Country Boys was out.

Technically, Trevor did all the planting on Sunday, but I plan on getting my hands dirty too. Our yard is cute, but really needs some more love.

Cooper was a loyal assistant of course.