Flea Market Finds

On the third weekend of every month Nashville hosts one of my favorite events, the flea market. I wait all month for this glorious weekend of shopping. Normally, I come home empty handed. But because this time I went with my parents (they are experts at catching fleas) and had two extra sets of eyes, I cleaned up. Here are my spoils!

I've been collecting animal skulls and antlers for a bit. My plan is to have the entire wall behind my TV filled with them. I was lucky enough to find a large cow head and a full deer skull with antlers that were in my price range (i.e. Cheap). The guy who sold me the deer also threw in those set of antlers. Bonus.

I also have a small collection of letters from old signs. I've hung them over the couch in the living room and it currently spells out "U & Me". I got the letters and ampersand at different times, so they all are different typefaces from different signs.  Today, I got an O and an F from same sign in the same typeface. Score! Now I just need to find some more letters to spell out something appropriate to hang up.

I recently decided that I would collect those kitschy travel plates to hang in my kitchen. I already had a few from previous yardsales but didn't know exactly what to do with them. Enter the idea of collecting more and making a wall out of it. At the flea I picked up two state plates, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and one Amish country plate. That one makes me giggle.

And finally I got some more fiesta for my kitchen. I added four small bowls, one pink mug, and one large blue plate. These are the modern fiesta, but I actually use these daily and needed some more so I wasn't running the dishwasher every other day. I think these little bowls are the perfect size for a scoop of ice cream. Thats what I'll be putting in those.

Did anyone go flea marketing or thrifting this weekend? Find anything good? Share!

Wisconsin Dairy Farmer

I love going thrifting. Where else in the world can I get a wonderful outfit for less than $5?! I haven't really been on a serious thrifting trip in a while and I was going through withdrawal. Early one Saturday morning Steve and I headed to a suburban Goodwill and I was lucky enough to find this amazing farm skirt. The fabric is so hideous that it's beautiful. The skirt was handmade and has an odd wrap-tie thing in the front. It didn't matter that this skirt was 4 sizes too big.  The price was right and I needed to have it (so I belted it).

The skirt was so busy that I opted for a plain white shirt, an article of clothing that I almost never ever wear. White shirts are just... boring to me. I don't do basics well. So I decided to cover it with this horrible denim vest I got last year at Goodwill.  Add a flower pin (made by my Mom) and an Elvis button and I felt more like myself. I never know when enough is enough so I put on mismatched earrings, a gaudy ring, and a plastic unicorn necklace. I felt like a hot farmer's wife.

Skirt: Thrifted

Vest: Thrifted

T-shirt: Old Navy

Belt: Old, probably the only brown belt I own

Necklace: 25 cent prize

Pony ring: Betsey Johnson

Boots: Old red boots

Food Friday: Coco's Italian Market

Steve and I found ourselves heading over to the VFW Post 1970 for the King Tuff show a few weeks ago. The show was moved there from the new Stone Fox venue, which is across from owner/operator Elise Tyler's house due to the venue not being quite ready. She was serving tacos but we didn't get ther in time to enjoy them, so we just moseyed down the road for an impromptu Italian dinner at Coco's.  The restaurant/market is owned by the same people who own the notorious 24/7 crust punk hang out, Cafe Coco. I spent many a late night eating french fries, drinking tea, and writing papers at Cafe Coco. The market is a nice change of pace from the teenage diner feel of the cafe. This looks like a real, legitimate restaurant where adults eat and buy food, despite its lovely location off of Charlotte and right by the highway overpass. Much like the International Market by Belmont, it has shopping up front and food in the back. It always makes me hungry having to walk through all the beautiful things on display before you eat.

The menu has a decent selection of traditional Italian fare. You have your range of pizzas, paninis, pastas and specials. If you are looking for inventive cuisine, this is not the place. If you want something covered in marinara sauce and cheese- this is your place.

I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan Panini. (I was feeling traditional.) The bread used for the sandwich was my favorite part. It was thick and crusty and felt good on the teeth when you ripped into it. The eggplant, breading and tomato sauce were good. Unfortunately, my sandwich lacked the amount of mozzarella I prefer. On one half of my sandwich, within the first bite, I ate all the cheese. I lifted up the bread for a peak under the hood- and there was just no cheese! As far as I'm concerned, any Italian Panini should be oozing cheese. So much that it strings between your mouth and the sandwich. Next time, I'm just going to have to ask for extra cheese. Mucho extra cheese.

Steve ordered the Fettuccine Pollo Pesto which was definitely the better choice. The sauce was oozing with cream and cheese, making the pasta stick together and string when you twirled it on your fork.  The basil was a nice touch, adding flavor without overpowering the chicken and cheese. Also, it came with nice pieces of garlic bread that I loved. My fork kept making its way to Steve's plate. Sharing is caring, right?

Oh, and the market itself has a really nice selection of stuff that you would need to cook your own Italian feast at home. They carry their own frozen pasta as well as Alfresco (the same stuff I get at the Farmer's Market). They have a nice selection of cheeses, meats, canned veggies and sauces.

Also, for the sweet tooth, they have their own gelato. I really wanted to dig into the Stracchiatella, but I was too full. They also carry various chocolates and truffles from local vendors. The prices aren't particularly cheap in the market, but they aren't terrible. And considering this might be the only place to get what you crave, it's worth the splurge.

Overall, I say come here for lunch. Split a pizza and some pasta and save some room for gelato.

Farmers Market #4

This weeks farm share was the best yet! Why, you asked? It is tomato season! Our basket was filled with various green, yellow and red heirloom tomatoes. The sweet slicers are a nice change of pace from the large amount of squash we have been receiving for the past month. Although this basket did contain some squash, it is a reasonable amount to eat in a week. I made zucchini bread in order to "get rid" of some of it. I made it extra spicy with added nutmeg and cinnamon and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top. I think I will be "disposing" of squash this way for a while.



My favorite of the tomatoes are the little orange and red sweet ones. You can see them below in the bag to the far left.  These tasted just like candy in your mouth. Sweet on the tongue and bursting with flavor when you chomp down. I also always enjoy our bag of potatoes. This week, we received mostly purple potatoes. They taste the same as the regular old brown ones.

That lovely green orb is a personal watermelon.  For some strange reason, this baby hasn't made its way to my stomach yet. We had very good intentions of eating her this weekend. We went camping and brought her along. Took her for a post lunch hike and were too full to eat her. Wanted her for dessert by the campfire, and totally forgot. Poor lady. I have high hopes of eating her tonight. Watermelons are girls, right?

I'm excited to pick up another lovely basket this afternoon. Unfortunately, after the the few weeks of abundance, we are back to our regular weekly half share. If I don't get another squash for the rest of the season, I'll be just fine.

Life lately according to instagram

Sawyer looking pretty

Pink Wig for a very special Photoshoot

Special Agent Dale Cooper is a Couch Potato

Steve loves Gracie

Cooper dresses up like Steve. Single White Cat.

Sweet Pete sits in two of my bags at once!

Cooper needs to be on my projects at all times

Down by the Bay

I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, New York near the water.  Most houses in my town have a canal in their backyard. The beach is a 2 minute car ride from my house and down the road are marshy wetlands.  We took a driving tour of a local neighborhood, looking at all the lovely big houses, golf courses, wetlands and bridges.  My Mom and I would go for walks to this little white bridge and look out over the bay. 

This is a super comfortable outfit for traveling. The dress is lightweight and the fabric feels really soft on my skin.  Most things from Forever 21 don't survive a long time, but this dress has been with me for a couple of years. I think for some strange reason this is the best made thing I have ever purchased from that store.

Dress: Forever 21

Necklace: Grandma's

Shoes: Old Red Boots

Ring: H&M

Hair Bow: Made by Me

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Around the Web

Currently I'm obsessing over:

These leggings by Pretty Snake on Etsy. I can't imagine anything more "me". It's colorful, skin tight, and full of kittens. They would look pretty awesome with:

These Jeffrey Campbell Cat Litas. I wouldn't mind a whole cat-themed wardrobe at this point.

This sweet kitten hair bow from Starry Eyed would just top off the whole outfit!

This DIY tapestry purse. I just love the colors and the pattern. And the covered buttons! You can find the tutorial from CRAFT here.

This gif. I promise this is what I believe Sawyer does all day while I'm at work. Only instead of sharing his earnings with me, he puts them in offshore accounts.

 This red onion jam recipe from Katherine over at Of Corgis and Cocktails. I can't wait to make a big batch of this with onions from our farm share and put it on top of a white pizza!
 Bears speak the truth  
This pallet garden tutorial from the ladies over at A Beautiful Mess. This seems like a really great weekend warrior project if you can source a few pallets.   I have a crazy urge to make shrinky-dinks sometime next week. I wonder how many pins, necklaces and earrings I can make in one evening!