More For Sale

Men's size 9 $50

Illia Cami.  never worn.  $10. xs

Urban Outfitters heels.  7.5. Worn 3 times. $12

Aldo pumps. $5

27 wax seal sticks.  $20

Cri de Coeur shoes.  7.5. Worn once.  Inside is peeling.  Outside is good.  $12

Juicy Couture T-strap sandals 7.5 $12

Men's size 8 Ted Baker chukkas. Worn once--seriously.  $75. 

IKEA light fixture.  Needs new bulbs. $5

small Le Creuset soup pot.  OK condition. $5

Wedgwood Vera Wang Imperial Scroll teapot.  NWT. $20

virtual sale

vintage feather hat.  amazing condition. $40

Hey guys!  So, I need to get rid of some things.  I just don't have room for my stuff and it's a lot easier to sell your things than buy a bigger house for your things.  Some of these prices are firm, some are not.

gunne sax vintage dress.  tea length.  lace.  size 2/4. $150

feather hat again

20 candle holders $12

wedgwood vera wang gravy boat $10. never used, still has sticker

wedgewood sugar $10.  never used still has sticker

jameson shotglasses.  never used $3

hook $3

project chair.  (I've already taken 1/2 of it apart for you:)  $50

suitcase of bottles with atomizers $15

coffee table $50

vintage silk nightgown, fits 2-6 $100

lace on nightgown

wedding dress.  needs some love.  comes with veil/hood, which attaches to the back of the dress $40

cool old mirror from the 40's $35

vintage swing dress, size 2 $40

vintage wiggle dress, size 2/4 $30

necklace from the 50's.  Has all of the rhinestones.  $60

wiggle dress with detachable skirt (pictured below) size 0/2.  sorry about the wrinkles.  IT's been in my tiny closet, $150.  great condition.

Kale: The Queen of Greens

We have a Taco Bell right next to the grocery store.  Every time I buy groceries I can hear it taunting me, "You could just have a burrito for $1.29!  And you don't even have to make it!"  On one hand, it's awesome that I can buy a burrito for less than it would cost me to make it at home.  And on the other hand, it's terrifying that I can buy a burrito for less than it would cost me to make it at home.  What do they put in that stuff, anyway?

With that said, it's hard to be healthy on a budget, especially when fast food is readily available and cheaper than the grocery store.  And yet, I can't help but think that what's helping my pocket book short term could be hurting my body in the long run.  When you look at it that way, a bundle of kale and a bag of nuts is a lot cheaper and a lot more fun than a triple bypass.

Kale, also known as The Queen of Greens, is a powerhouse of nutrition.  Kale ranges anywhere from $0.75-$2.50 per bunch, is plentiful, and easy to find year round.  Kale is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, thus boosting immune function, firming your skin, fighting free radicals,  enhancing reproductive and heart health, and maintaining strong bones, among other glorious benefits.  Now, I'd call that a pretty sexy veggie.

my kale salad

Kale Salad
6 cups raw kale--un-chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup blanched almonds or walnuts
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries
1/2 cup raw basil, un-chopped
dash of salt.
1. In a food processor, chop kale and basil
2. Place kale and basil in a bowl and add parmesan, olive oil, salt, nuts, and raisins/cranberries





Kale Pesto
1 cup kale
1 cup basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves

Blend all ingredients in the food processor and put on pasta, bread, or veggies.

Carla's Spicy Kale
6 cups of kale
1/2 cup chopped red onions
Butter or Oil
2 garlic cloves
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup beer
1/4 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup water

1. Satee butter, onions, and garlic
2. After the onions begin to brown, add kale
3. pour in liquid.
4. Stir over heat until kale is barely wilted (it will continue to cook after you take it off the heat)
5. Serve over beans, rice, or just eat it by itself.

Garlic Kale
Place your fat of choice and 3 garlic cloves in the skillet.  Add a dash of salt.  Cook until the garlic begins to turn brown.  Add kale and cook until kale leaves barely begin to darken.

If you have any good kale recipes please share!

When life hands you old lemons, make Lemoncello

When life hands you lemons make lemonade; when life hands you old lemons make Lemoncello.  As our great-grandmothers always said, "waste not, want not."  Just because your fruit is aging doesn't mean it's time to throw it out.  In fact, these recipes work better if your fruit is already on the mature side.

"But I think it's a little different in Europe, because 40 is really the best age for a woman. That's when we hit our peak and become this ripe fruit."

--Juliette Binoche

 Lemoncello

1 750 ml bottle of vodka or everclear

15 old zested lemons

3 cups cain sugar

4 cups tap or distilled water

my baby batch of lemoncello

1. zest or skin the lemons and allow the zest to sit in the vodka or everclear for a week
2. Make a syrup out of the sugar and water by combining and allowing them to boil for 15 minutes.  Do not stir this.  Allow to cool to room temp.
3. Stir vodka mixture into syrup and allow to sit for a day.
4. strain, chill, and serve.
Click here for lemoncello cocktails

(And if you don't want to drink the juice from the lemons you can always make furniture polish)

Watermelon, Tomato, Peach, or Pineapple Salsa

2 cups fleshy fruit of choice

1 cup cilantro

3/4 cups red onion

1/4 cup lime juice

(if you use tomatoes add a dash of sugar.  The sugar in the other fruits will be sufficient)

4 jalepenos, deseeded and chopped.

my watermelon salsa

Mix ingredients and allow to sit overnight.  I put mine on fish tacos--yuuuh!!  You can also change the flavor by adding alternative herbs like mint or basil.

3. Berry, Apple, or Peach Crisp 

(sorry!  No photos for this one.)

3 cups fruit, peeled and cut

1 cup brown sugar

a dash of salt

4 pats of butter

2 T flour

1 T cinnamon

Crust:

1. 1 cup flour
2. 1/2 cup white sugar
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar
4. 1 cup cold butter
5. 1 T cinnamon
6. 1. Mix fruit, sugar, salt, butter, flour, and cinnamon.
7. 2. in a food processor process crust ingredients until it is crumbly
8. 3. top fruit mixture with crumbles and bake on 350 for about 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

3 bananas, mashed

1.5 cups brown sugar

1 T water or milk

1 t vanilla

1/2 cup butter or oil--pick your poison (if you'd like to leave this out entirely, you can still achieve a moist loaf by decreasing a bit of flour)

3 eggs

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 cups flour

walnuts (optional)

Perfect for afternoon tea with a friend.

1. Mash bananas and sugar with a potato masher or fork
2. add wet ingredients and mix
3. Add dry ingredients and mix
4 sprinkle with brown sugar or crisp crumbles and bake on 340 for about 30-40 minutes

Aunt Beth's Fruit Jam

This one is straight from the kitchen of Aunt Beth

7 cups of fruit puree (or fruit of choice)

8 cups sugar

2 T butter

2 packets of Certo fruit pectin

1. To make the puree, heat the fruit, then mash them through a sieve.  If you like the seeds or want your jam to be chunky you may skip this part.

2. Bring the puree to a boil, then slowly add the sugar.

3. Bring the sugar and fruit to a boil.  As it begins to rise, remove it from the heat and drop in a "pat" of butter (we determined that a "pat" is about 2 tablespoons of butter). 

4. Lastly, add your packets of Certo fruit pectin.

5. Can your jam and spread on toast!

Lighter Hair and Whiter Whites--a few ways to use the sun this summer

Blonder hair, bronzer skin, and whiter whites?  

Many of us have been incorporating the sun into our beauty regime since we were in Jr. High--lemon juice on our hair to make it blonde while we baked for hours to achieve the perfect bronze.  But did you know that you can use the sun to clean your clothes? And standing in the sun for 15 minutes is more effective than taking vitamin D supplements?  Did you know you can elevate your mood AND make your white's whiter simply by taking a step into the sun?  As temperatures creep into the triple digits this week and you're stuck inside, sipping cold iced tea and working on your blog/inside-project-of-choice, why not let the sun do a little of the extra work for you?




1. Brighten your Whites.

my sun tea

The sun emits ultraviolet rays which have the ability to break down organic stains on fabric (note, the sun will not be effective on inorganic stains such as paint, ink, some food stains etc).    The sun does this by breaking apart the molecular structure on a stain, which, in turn, changes the way light is reflected on the fabric (Heida).   Be careful when putting your colors in the sun as well--it'll bleach those too.

2. Disinfect and Freshen your linens 
In addition to bleaching your fabrics, the sun's ultra violet rays can also disinfect and freshen your linens.  That's right, put your stinky, musty, and mildewed items in the sun and let 'em bake.

3. Make sun tea.
So, I grew up drinking this stuff and have never become ill from sun tea.  Apparently, if you don't make sun tea the correct way it can grow bacteria which is harmful, so proceed cautiously.  In a large glass jar, place sprigs of mint leaves, lemons, sugar or honey, and black tea (make sure the tea is caffeinated, as the caffeine will help stave off bacteria that may grow in luke-warm water).  Let it sit in the sun for 3-4 hours.

4. Soak up some D's.  
Step outside for at least 15 minutes to get your daily dose of vitamin D.  A healthy dose of vitamin D will not only reduce your chances of developing certain diseases, but it will also put you into a better mood and help regulate your immune system.

Unique Gift Giving on a Budget

“The good guest is almost invisible, enjoying him- or herself, communing with fellow guests, and, most of all, enjoying the generous hospitality of the hosts.”--Emily Post

When in doubt, ask Emily.  It is an honour to see a bride and groom, who are well suited for each other, pledge their lives to one another.  As a guest, I am there to say that I believe in what they are doing, that I am a witness to the goodness of this day, and that I will help in whatever way I am able.  With that said, I can't tell you how many weddings I have decided not to attend simply because I could not afford a gift.

Though it is no longer customary to give a gift that equals the amount the bride's parents will spend on you as a guest at the wedding, it is still customary to bring a gift (Thank you, Peggy Post for amending that rule of your mother's).  If you are able, by all means, stick to the registry.  However, just because you don't have a lot of money or you spent all of your gift money on traveling to the wedding, doesn't mean you can't give the bride and groom something lovely.   

The difference between spending a lot of money and looking like you spent a lot of money is creativity.  Thankfully, for those of us who don't have a lot of money to spend, our favorite stores like Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware have taken things which are beautiful and simple and have made them elegant and luxurious.  

Following are 4 beautiful and simple gifts, which will cost less than $10.  

1. Vintage Tea Linens

Find old hankies at antique stores, flea markets, and ebay.  I bought these for $1 each at The Madison Flea, which is an antique store with flea market prices.  Compare these to Anthropologie's Chit and Chat napkins, which are $8 each.  Add a personal touch with a recipe for English Scones.  If you still have a little left over cash in your budget, a nice additive to this gift would be Emily Post's book on Entertaining, which you can buy used on Amazon for 1 cent--or new for $20.

2. Vintage Apron
If you buy actual vintage aprons they'll run between $3 and $12 (compare that to Anthropologie's aprons, which look like vintage aprons and cost between $30 and $40).  I found this apron at The Madison Flea for $5 and paired it with this sweet yellow spatula.  For a personal touch I included a few of my favorite recipes.  Should you have a little more cash left over in your gift budget you can pair this gift with Bought, Borrowed, Stolen by Allegra McEvedy, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, or The Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Fanny Farmer

3. A Framed Invitation
 If you're going to the wedding I'm guessing you got the invitation.  Find a lovely old frame.  I bought this vintage metal frame at Music City Thrift for $2.  Choose a complimentary fabric or paper and use it as the background.  I used this lovely old hankie I purchased at Madison Flea for $1.

4. A Jar full of Knobs
Ignore the name and just walk in--Hobby Lobby has an aisle full of cool knobs, all priced from $1.50-$6.00 (compared to Anthropologies knobs, which run $6-$12 each).  This is a collection of 12 porcelain knobs in a Ball Canning jar.  I bought them for $1.50 each (ok, ok, if you buy 12 then it's going to be $20 instead of $10.  So, just buy 6 if you need it to stay under $10).

The Habit of Happy: drink specials around Nashville

Happy hour is a state of mind.  Let's forget the happy and talk about schedules.  Our internal clock usually tells us to drink and be merry between the hours of 7 and 10 pm.  However, if we can learn to appreciate alternate hours of merriment we can easily transform a $50 tab into a $20 tab.  Following is a list of my favorite and frequented happy hours (and remember: tip your server on the value, not the price).

Holland House: Monday-Sat 5-7 pm and Monday through Wednesday10pm-2am, all day Thurs (yeah-ya!). $5 cocktails off of their happy hour menu.  I always get the Weller Manhattan.  

Eastland Cafe: Monday-Thurs 5-6:30; Friday and Saturday 5-6.

$5 appetizers; $5 cocktails; $3 beers.  I always order the pizza and the Downtown Jim.

Whiskey Kitchen: Tuesday: 2 for 1 4-10 pm.  I always get their Old Fashioned.  Also, between now and Christmas if you buy a $50 gift card you get 30% off.  The catch is you have to wait a day before you use the gift card.  

Rumours East Wine Bar:  Wednesday 5-6 $5 select wines and $5 paninis

3 Crow: Wednesday and Sunday: 2 for 1

Crows Nest 1/2 priced drinks Mon-Fri 2-7 pm

Coopers on Porter: Tues-Sat 4-7pm; $5 appetizers, $3 beer, $4 wine (their burger is one of the best burgers I've ever had)

Mafioza's: Tuesday: 2 for 1 beer; 2 for 1 pizza

Urban Flats Wine Down Wednesday: for $20 you get 8 half glasses of wine and appetizers

Sunset Grill: Tues-Fri 11-4:30: 1/2 priced well drinks and wines by the glass; Thurs: Girls' Night Out $5 Stoli Martinis, $5 apps, $5 wines--I've never done this with a boy, so I am not entirely sure if this is applicable to men, but it's worth a try.  Also, I'm somewhat passionate about their late-night nachos.

Anyway, these are just my favorites.  Please share your Happy Hour favorite below if I missed a really good one.

Our $20 dinner party, part 2: Making Your Table Lovely for $5

So, while I was busy cooking in the kitchen for our $20 dinner party, Lindsey arrived with her "tool-box" (that is, a giant container full of supplies--sort of like a first aid kit for her events)  She whipped out scissors, a vintage sheet, and an old, plastic hula skit and got to work.

I'll let her tell you the rest.

A Lovely $5 Table

by Lindsey Huddleston

Candelabra: $1.09 at Goodwill

Vintage Sheet: $0.70 at the Goodwill Outlet.

Yellow placemat and green hula skirt: $0.76 at The Goodwill Outlet.
Oranges: $1.99
Candles: (ok--I cheat--I already had them.  But Trader Joes, Wal Mart, and The Goodwill often have good deals on candles)

This was a unique project because the budget was so small! Of the entire $20, we allotted just $5 to decor.

It was a challenge to be aware of inventory that I have  at my house due to my line of work that others may not have lying about.  However, I am going to assume that you have plates, cups, silverware, pitchers, a music player, and lamps.

The first thing I did once I arrived at Crystal's house was prepare the table.  I cut a vintage sheet to fit the table.  The sheet was the first thing we found.  When working with a tiny budget, you must find a few things that inspire you and build around them.  In this case the inspiration was our 70's sheet.  

Whenever I dress a table I stick to 2 easy rules of design: create a focal point on the table and have clusters of odd-numbered objects.  While at the Goodwill I found a 5-point candelabra from the 70's, which met both needs.

We found a yellow placemat at the goodwill, which I placed in the middle of the table.  At first it was a bit much because there was a lot of the same color in the middle of a smallish table and the yellow looked weird with the gold candelabra, so using some spare fabric from the tablecloth I made a new middle for the placemat.  When you're on a budget you just have to go with it and keep adding and subtracting until you get it right.

We had quite a bit of extra fabric from the cutting the sheet to fit the table.  I used extra fabric to create napkins and a swag to the decanters.  I rolled the silverware inside my napkins and then tied with the green ribbon/hula skirt.

Following is the method I use to roll silverware:

1.Arrange your napkin in a diamond shape. Place your silverware in the center.

2. Lift the bottom corner to the center or as close as you can.

3. Pull the top corner down to center or as close as you can.

4. Pull the left corner all the way over to meet the right corner, hold the silverware in

place at the same time. Line up the corners as best as you can.

5. This will look like an arrow with a flat edge on the left, top and bottom with the

point on the right.

6. Hold the left flat edge and roll inwards towards the right.

7 Continue rolling until you have a tube of silverware.

8. Tie or accessorize as you please.

Instead of putting flowers on the table, I bought a bushel of oranges at Aldi for $1.99.  We used these to garnish drinks, decorate the table, and make the room smell nice.  The oranges looked lovely and also served as something our guests could munch on while waiting for dinner to be served.

The table was set and everything looked wonderful.  The next order was to set the mood.  I turned off all of Crystal's overhead lighting.  We collected lamps from the rest of her house and used those to light the room, giving it a calm and yellow glow.

I used my personal library in my ipod, pressed play, and fun was had by all.  

So, in conclusion for your $20 dinner party:

• Buy fabric cheaply in bulk and use it for different purposes.
• Remember, fruit is edible art.
• Don’t be a stickler about color scheme -- use what you have.
• Use the strengths of what you already own. Have blue vintage glassware from your grandmother, but only two pieces? Mix and match or use for flowers, candles, small fruits or plants.
• Decide what your priorities are and put as much of your budget there as you can.
• Lighting is just as important, if not more, as music. Choose well and intentionally.

You may or may not have met Lindsey Huddleston, but

if you live in Nashville you've probably been to one of

her events.  From her Black and White Party at Mercy Lounge,

to Geek Prom, to the most recent Nashville Burlesque show,

this little lady has really made a name for  herself among

Nashville event planners.  In addition to amazing parties,

Lindsey also plans alternative weddings with her company

DandyLion events. I guess you could say she was your

so-called wedding planner.

www.dandylionevents.com

photography by John Yates

www.jxcreative.com