Happy Sunday!! How is your weekend going? Come in and let’s share a nice hot coffee or tea or whatever you would like to drink. I bought this “Wicked” mug a few weeks ago when I was on Sister Trip. I thought it was appropriate with Halloween coming up.
What have I been up to you ask? Well I took a long weekend off from work. My husband was off and we decided to go car shopping. Of course you know that usually means you will find a car to bring home. And we did. I have been needing a new car for a while and have been putting it off. I just hate the whole dickering back and forth with the dealership trying to come to an agreement. But we did it and came home with a car for me. I am loving it. Still getting familiar with it.
Work was a little quieter last week. I didn’t do a lot otherwise. I did get to early vote.
I finished a cap I was knitting. It actually worked up really fast. I was using size 11 circular needles and chunky yarn. I added a fluffy ball to the top.
I have also been decoupaging some pumpkins I bought at Hobby Lobby last week. I have decoupaged some smaller ones before. These are a little bigger and I should have them finished tonight. After they dry I will show you what they look like. I think they will fit in with Thanksgiving decor as well.
Iknow it looks really messy but if you have decoupaged anything before you know it looks completely different when it dries.
What am I reading? I am reading this book by Ina Garten, Be Ready When The Luck Happens. Ina is one of my favorite chefs of all time. I love to watch her show. This book is about her life and how she got started with her shop and then show, The Barefoot Contessa. So far it is really good.
It seems like almost overnight the leaves are finally starting to change color.
I took this picture yesterday. This is at the top of our driveway. Just after this it started raining.
What am I celebrating? Well National Black Cat Day of course. And I leave you with this picture of our sweet Sadie. She has brought us a lot of luck since she arrived. We call her shady Sadie because she is always into something.
Shady Sadie.
I have so enjoyed our time together. Please come again soon. Until next time.
A couple of Saturday’s ago. My sister, my nephew, his wife and I went to Nashville for the Time Traveler’s Vintage Expo. We had planned it for several weeks and even though it had been a crazy week we were really excited to go. My niece heard about it and we decided to check it out. As I have mentioned before Nashville is about a three and a half hour drive for us.
I met my nephew and his wife in Madisonville and left my car there. We got some coffee and picked my sister up at her house and took off. Let me just say we have the most fun together. It doesn’t really matter what we do we always have a good time together. It seems like we laugh constantly.
We stopped at Buc-ee’s in Crossville for a bathroom break and a snack. I mentioned that in my post Monday. If you haven’t been to Buc-ee’s you really need to try it at least once. Here is the link to the post from Monday.
The expo was being held near the Nashville Fair grounds so it made getting into the expo and parking a little easier, we didn’t have to go downtown. It was a bit of a hike to get inside the building. At least it was indoors because it was HOT!!!!
The expo advertised clothing and home goods etc. we didn’t see many home goods.
It cost $12.00 to get into the expo. Once inside we found rows of booths set up. People were selling vintage clothes, purses and jewelry. Most vintage clothes will not fit me. They are really small but I still like to look. Now, when I think vintage, I think of clothes from the sixties and seventies. But one woman told me she had all of this vintage clothing from the early nineties. WHAT??? It’s hard to believe that was more than thirty years ago. That made me feel a little vintage. Anyway, It was a lot of fun. I apologize for the blurry pictures some of them I took from a video I did. We looked around and spent a few hours there before heading back home. We stopped for a quick dinner on the way home.
Is this not the most adorable thing?I can just imagine wearing this dress to a dance and going out for a milkshake afterwards.
This little purse was actually a hard shell purse. It was very unique.
I love this look. I love scarves and have several.
This was an interesting combination. Fancy!!!
Can you imagine wearing this around the house??
Now for a few things that I bought:
I love the scalloped edges on this dress. I thought it looked sort of boho. I plan to wear it in the fall with a denim jacket. It is very flowy and comfy.
This purse is fairly large. You can tell by the size of the door handle beside it. I don’t think this is the original strap. Not all of it anyway. But I love these tapestry bags. It reminds me of one my mama used to have when I was a little girl.
This necklace is short and I love wearing it, and a couple of others I have, when I wear a collared shirt. It gives it a little something extra I think.
I love big rings. I always have. These are costume, and not really vintage, but they caught my eye when I first walked in, and when I went back around to the booth they were still there.It was a sign I should get them.
This was done by a local artist. She had several cat prints. Who is her model you might ask? Her cat Marvin. Marvin reminds me a lot of my big boy Gus.
That was the expo. I think this is the third year and I am hoping it grows every year from now on. I also hope they add more vintage home goods I think that would be a lot of fun. Do you like vintage clothes or jewelry?
There is a change in the air. The temps are slightly cooler and you can just feel a difference. It makes me so happy. I love Fall and cooler weather. You never know in East Tennessee it could be a teaser and crazy hot weather will return at any time.
How was your weekend? Mine was really good. I had plans Friday night with a couple of friends, some grilled steaks and some catching up girl time. Work got in the way as it sometimes does. We had a huge storm at work just before I left to meet the girls and it knocked our power off for about an hour and a half. I was a bit delayed but I still made it for much needed friend time. We shared a steak and some snacks and solved all the world’s problems. I didn’t stay too late.
On Saturday my sister and I took my sister in law out for lunch for her Birthday. I then ran and got some groceries and got back home for the rest of the weekend. I spent some of Sunday dealing with my credit card. I had some suspicious activity and had to call the credit card company to dispute the charges, and get the account shut down. I am so frustrated with this. I am very careful with my card and my husband barely uses it. I think it may have happened after being used so much on our recent trip. This is the second time this year we have had this problem.
Just a quick random question because that’s how my brain usually works: When you return from a vacation do you unpack immediately? Or does it take a couple of days? I like to unpack immediately and at least sort laundry and get it ready to go.
Last week when we got home from our Vegas and Zion National Park trip, I unpacked everything and sorted the clothes and got them ready to wash the next day. I had an extra day off from work so I started in the next morning on all the laundry that needed to be done.
I also decided to tackle shampooing my carpet upstairs. The only place that we have carpet is our upstairs bedrooms. I want to get rid of it. With two cats inside the house all the time, it is hard to keep it clean. So I spent some time shampooing those carpets and they smell so fresh and clean. I love it!!!
I went back to work the Friday after vacation. I had a lot to catch up on.
Last Saturday, more than a week ago, I went with my sister and nephew and his wife to Nashville to the Time Traveler’s Vintage Expo. To be honest we thought there was going to be more furniture and stuff. But mostly it was clothes, purses, and jewelry and fortunately, I can work with that. I don’t buy a lot of vintage clothes because most of them are really small. I did buy a dress. I love the colors and the scalloped edging. I will wear it in the fall with a denim jacket and maybe some boots.
On the way to Nashville we stopped at Buc-ee’s in Crossville. If you haven’t been it’s sort of like a convenient store on steroids. It’s HUGE!!! It has about a million gas pumps. Also the bathrooms are immaculate. So if you need a bathroom break that is a great reason to stop. Not only do they have some yummy food they also have a great retail section. And wouldn’t you know they happened to have some Halloween cuteness going on.
I know Halloween is over two months away but it’s never too early to look. Right????
These pillows are soooo cute!!!!
I’m such a sucker for Halloween decorations.
I love her. I may have to go back and get her.
Lots of yummy food and snacks.
Monday morning came too quickly. I am so far behind on my posts. I will post tomorrow about the Vintage Show. There were so many cool things there I just have to give it its own space.
Hello friends, I hope you had a wonderful and full weekend. I meant to get this posted yesterday but I had to go to Knoxville for an appointment with the doctor for my annual physical. I am happy to report all is well and I don’t have to return for a year. My sister went with me and we did a little shopping afterwards. So it was late when I got home and I didn’t get to post. So here we go back to Saturday and the weekend.
On Saturday I decided I needed to get out of the house. I had a long weekend off because of my mother in law’s funeral. I posted about that a couple of days ago and if you missed it you can read about it here.
I had planned to go out and buy groceries, and for several weeks I had been wanting to get to the Mennonite Farm Market that is near our house. I thought this would be a good time to go. My nephew, Chris, had recently mentioned that he and his wife wanted to go as well. I called him to see if they would like to go with me. His wife had to work but I met him in town and we drove out to the Mennonite farm.
The Market is always packed on Saturdays. We got there a little after 10:00 AM and barely found a parking spot. The building is small and open. The minute you walk in you are greeted with so many fresh vegetable smells. It is hustling and bustling as the Mennonite farmers go back and forth refilling the vegetable bins. They are constantly refilling the baked goods as well. They only take cash and the cash registers are the old fashioned ones with the big buttons and the hand crank that totals everything. Only the men work in the market. You never see women working with the customers. They also have a couple of signs at the entrance letting you know that only appropriate clothing is to be worn inside.
The farm market has the most beautiful and yummy vegetables. They also sell baked goods. I bought cinnamon rolls and cookies. I also bought cucumbers, squash, potatoes, corn on the cob, a watermelon, cantaloupe, and some okra. I cooked some of that on Sunday and we had a feast.
Just look at these lovely peppers. They are so colorful.
Collard Greens. These are not my favorite but my husband loves them. I am sorry to say I have never cooked them for him. I think they smell terrible when they are cooking. My mama used to cook them when I lived at home and it made the entire house so stinky. That is just my opinion you may love them and their smell.
Chris bought some garlic. He loves to cook and he is great at knowing just how to season things.
I got several ears of corn. I think I may go back and get more to put in the freezer. Corn on the cob would taste wonderful in the middle of winter.
I love the canned chow chow, and the sweet pepper jam, and the apple butter. There are so many different things to choose from. I will have to stock up before they close for the winter.
After the trip to the market we drove on into Tellico Plains. The drive itself is something you just have to see to believe. The rolling countryside, farm animals and barns are just beautiful. This scenery always reminds me of why I love living in Tennessee. Chris and I got hungry so we decided to grab some lunch at a fairly new restaurant I had heard a lot about, Peach Street Grill. It just opened last year. It has such a great atmosphere. The food is very unique and there is a full bar and lounge as well. It was still early in the day and we had no trouble getting a table. Our waitress was just lovely and we shared some stories and she shared some stories with us. Chris is just like me, he never meets a stranger and talks easily to everyone.
We ordered the trout dip for an appetizer. I have had trout dip before and it was served hot. This dip was chilled. It was served with veggie slices and toast and it was so good.
I decided to get the trout cakes and truffle fries. The truffle fries were so good I could have made an entire meal on just those.
Chris got the shrimp tacos. Don’t they look yummy.
We also stopped in at a little antique store near the Grill. I found this cat ornament, well actually Chris spotted it first and we thought it looked like Gus so I had to buy it. I have temporarily hung it on my bird tree that I have in the kitchen.
I also found this little riser. I just love the color. I think I will put one of my orchids on it.
And I saw this little planter. These were so popular back in the day. Their back ends are open so you can plant something in them. I guess. Most of them have the weirdest faces, most of them are animals. I recently bought a dog and I just had to have this siamese? cat? I’m drawn to them. I don’t know why. I am sure I will look for more of them. Just what I need something else to collect.
I dropped Chris back at his car and went to buy my groceries. It was such a fun day. It was so good to get out and spend time with Chris and get my mind off of a lot of sad things. I am a true believer in being with people and spending time doing things you enjoy as much as you possibly can. Life is short, it is meant to be lived while we are here.
Sunday was a lazy day. I did laundry, read a great book and cooked a lot of the vegetables I bought at the market. What fun things have you done lately?
Southern Patches 