Weekending

Weekending | Hannah & Husband

I’m currently missing our weekend view (seen above) from the hammock. This weekend, we got away to the mountains. It was blissful. The trees are in full bloom. The birds’ chorus was both beautiful and incessant. And, hopefully, the river is starting to warm up a bit–we saw a few kayaks out but weren’t game enough to jump in ourselves. Soon.

 

Snapshots of the Weekend

Long before the sun came up Saturday morning the birds started singing. It had finally warmed enough for us to sleep with the windows open. When the birds woke me at 6:45 (much earlier than my normal Saturday wake-up call), it was a welcome entrance to the ‘real’ spring–the spring when we can drink our morning coffee on the front porch, when the lightning bugs entertain us in the early evening, and when the finest of culinary events finally starts: homegrown tomatoes.

I hopped out of bed and let Hannah snooze a bit longer, went downstairs to make coffee and enjoy a little reading time on the front porch.

Weekend Snapshot - Hannah & Husband

After a lazy morning, we headed out to Knoxville to enjoy a bit of the Rossini Festival. You may think (as we did) that this would be a grand cultural and arts experience. In fact, it was mainly a street fair that showed some of the uglier side of Knoxville. In Hannah’s words, “OMG, we found the ‘people of Walmart’ on Gay Street.” We ducked into a craft beer bar and made our own afternoon.

Weekend Snapshot - Hannah & Husband

Sunday was church, a quick donut stop, and up to the river to celebrate my step-dad’s birthday.

Weekend Snapshot - Hannah & Husband Weekend Snapshot - Hannah & Husband

Weekend Snapshot - Hannah & Husband

Low country boil in the hills of Tennessee

Overall, quite a lovely weekend.

Posted on in Uncategorized | Tagged ,


Sabbath in the South

southern-sundays-secretsofabelle

Here in the South, Sunday is still a sacred day. Oh, I’m sure it’s like that everywhere, but there’s just something about this time of year when we’re finally getting a respite from the unnerving heat that clears my head and reminds me to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”

Regardless of whether or not one has a religious affiliation, there’s a slower rhythm around here on Sundays. People spend time with their family. They cook large feasts instead of picking up fast food. They play in the park. They sit on the porch. They read the paper cover to cover.

There’s a reset button that’s hit and slows down the brain just enough to remind us of the things that are really important instead of the nine million things still on that To Do list. One of my friends always likes to remind people of “Clean Sheet” Sunday. Take off the old, and put on the new. It’s a fresh start–the past is past and the future looks bright!

Happy Sunday!

 

 

My mother was right…

Happy Weekending!

Proust is a bit heavy. Might I suggest Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire? To be fair, Marcel Proust did not write the questionnaire rather answered it particularly well in 1890 when it was a popular parlor game. Today, it’s used as a model by James Lipton and Vanity Fair to profile particularly interesting personalities. You can google many of them (here’s a link to the ones on Vanity Fair), and it’s particularly fab weekend reading. On that note, I wish you a very happy weekend!

(P.S. the lingerie is Stella McCartney–my favorite!)

Words Worth Remembering

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”  ― Voltaire

Normally, I would post a snapshot from our weekend but, quite frankly, I blew up Instagram so I thought we’d do something a little different. After the events of last week, we could all use these wise words.

Super Happy, Fun Times with the Slaughters

Tennessee Roadtrip

Do you ever have one of those weeks that makes you look back and say, “Wait… what just happened?” We’ve basically had that kind of week. So, just for fun, let’s play a little catch-up.

Last week, I got in a wreck. (I’m totally fine–no worries!)

New Rides

The next day, Husband found me a new bike. It’s a Hollywood Cruiser that I have affectionately named Betsy Schwinn.

The day after that, we bought our very first new car: a Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI. I now have a car that is not only gorgeous and comfortable but will hold large canvases, groceries, and my dog all at the same time. I am in love!

On Friday, we drove to Nashville to see Tower of Power live at the War Memorial Auditorium. ToP is Husband’s favorite band, and he has been trying to see them in person for about 15 years. They did not disappoint. We danced our way, along with Bestie and lots of middle-agers with hair reaching to Jesus, through an incredible show! If you aren’t familiar with them, here’s a little taste…

On Saturday, we drove south to Chattanooga where we heard some gorgeous music performed by the best high schoolers in the state–the stop was a carry over from  Husband’s band directing days. Then, we spent the rest of our day eating ourselves silly at St. John’s and the Stone Fort Inn’s Terra Mae. (We just love staying at the Stone Fort Inn. If you’re in the area, it is so charming!)

We wrapped up the weekend with a day of antiquing and (you guessed it) more eating with a show at the Tivoli. BILL COSBY! Can you believe it?! He was amazing. He was perfect. He was everything I wanted him to be, and I now find myself even more obsessed than I was before. I just adore him so much.

Finally, on Tuesday, we got invited to see a great show at The Bijou: Chris Thile with Brad Mehldau. It did not disappoint.

So that’s the gist. In between there were lots of other things but really, we are out of time and I could use a nap. So instead, please allow me to gift you the recipe for my latest drink of choice.

This Week's Sparkly Sensation

Pour yourself a glass of prosecco. (Cupcake is my personal favorite.)

Then, simply throw in a slice of lemon and a sprig of lavender from your garden. Trust me. It’s Springtime perfection!

Regular posting will commence again this weekend, with some BIG news coming next week. xoxo*

Snapshot of a Weekend

Gathering Recipes from Southern Living this weekend.

{picture from my instagram feed}

The weekend was absolutely lovely! The weather down South is finally warming up a bit. We spent hours in the sunshine playing games along the river bank and eating absolutely offensive amounts of amazing food! And, as happens every year around this time, I’ve come home with a pile of recipes. There’s just something about sunshine that makes me want to open the windows, let sunshine stream in the kitchen, and try some new recipes. One in particular that I’ve got my eye on is this Strawberries and Cream  Cake from the latest Southern Living. FYI: I’ll also be sharing a couple new recipes here on the blog later this week!

What about you?
Any new recipes your longing to try?
Anything I should add to my list?

Snapshots from the Weekend

Weekend Reading: Oddfellows Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin

 

Breakfast for a Belle

 

You + Me

This weekend was quite divine. Highlights included reading Emily Winfield Martin’s *lovely* Oddfellow’s Orphanage (more on that later), Saturday morning breakfast from East Tennessee’s infamous Donut Palace, and a lot of time with family & my honey.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Here’s a little glimpse of our holiday weekend, which consisted of a lot of food, a lot of drink, a house full of family, crafty projects, & Netflix.

instagram weekend

How was your weekend?

Getting ready for the Weekend

If there’s one way to ensure a perfect start to your weekend, it’s to get all the right pieces in place the night before. Husband and I like to start our Saturday mornings slowly–lying on the couch, reading, sipping coffee, listening to NPR. So often, on Friday nights, I’ll make these muffins and get the coffee maker ready so that all we have to do is make our plates and relax. As a bonus, they smell absolutely delicious and happen to make just enough that you can eat one on Friday for a midnight snack if you’re so inclined.

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder

1/3 c Vegetable Oil
1 egg
1/3 c milk
1/3 c Greek Yogurt *

1 1/4 c fresh blueberries

Cinnamon + Sugar **

Directions: 

  • Preheat over to 400°F and grease a muffin tin. This recipe should make 10 muffins.
  • Mix together dry ingredients. Then, mix together your wet ingredients to make a nice batter.
  • Fold in the fresh blueberries.
  • Use an ice cream scoop to scoop mixture into muffin tin.
  • Bake for 18 minutes.
  • Pull out and top with cinnamon + sugar.
  • Put back into the oven and bake for another 3 minutes.

– – – – –

The dairy products in this recipe can be played with quite a bit without losing the muffin’s perfect texture… It all depends on what you’ve got in your fridge. I’ve used a bit of sour cream, heavy cream, and I’m sure buttermilk would add a lovely little dimension.

** We always have cinnamon + sugar mixture in an airtight container to use on muffins, on toast, in drinks, etc. Just another thing to make your life a little easier!