white blouses and a cobb salad

These two things have nothing to do with each other. Except they both make me happy.

The white blouses were all drying on the rack after a Biz soak. As I mentioned on Twitter the other day, I could probably open a separate Etsy shop well-stocked with only vintage white blouses. You'll see a couple of these beauties in the next shop preview.

The Cobb salad--my favorite salad, the obviously most superior of all salads--was made by Andy last night for dinner. Isn't it beautiful?

It's even more beautiful when I've put it through the Boost feature on Picnik.

xo

K

a couple days of fun

It's Labor Day weekend--and I will be laboring for the rest of it! But that is okay, because we just had a couple days of not-COMPLETELY-work-related fun.

As I've mentioned before, it's the 40th anniversary of the installation of Alexander Calder's La Grande Vitesse stabile in Grand Rapids. We went to Meijer Gardens to check out the exhibition about it before it ended. Here's Andy checking out Calder's Deux Discs.



After, we went for drinks at a new-ish place in Grand Rapids' Cherry Hill neighborhood, Corez Wine Bar. Very cute place. I can't wait to eat there; the menu looked great--mix & match charcuterie and cheese, BLT risotto, shellfish stew. We just had drinks (Andy had a Czech black lager, and I had a Negroni. Not many bars in Grand Rapids have Campari--which is weird, since it's not exactly obscure--so I was dorkily excited.) This photo is mainly for my Mom to see me modeling the beautiful crocheted cashmere necklace she bought me (on Etsy, of course!).



We had a fantastic--as always--dinner at Bistro Bella Vita. They had a polenta appetizer special that night that almost killed us with its deliciousness.

Yesterday we headed out on a little thrifting road trip. It's not like we NEED stuff, considering the garage is full, but anyway. We started the day at the wonderful Sweetwater Local Foods Market in Muskegon, where, along with a cooler-ful of jalapeno brats, short ribs, and maple syrup, we got some delicious scones from Earthly Kneads. Mine was lemon and fig.



We spent the whole day out, and found a few treasures, including a great vintage dress that I may keep! I wish I'd photographed more of the items as we went along, but we were too busy hopping back into the truck to head to the next place. But I did snap a shot of this cool vintage globe, which we'll be finding a spot for somewhere in the house.



Our thrift trips are just as much about finding new and exciting places to eat as they are about thrifting. This was our second trip to Muskegon's Mia & Grace. The concentration on local foods, and the general feeling, remind me of the sadly-now-closed Journeyman's Cafe in Fennville.




The menu is written out on giant strips of kraft paper hung on the wall, along with a list of the farmers and providers they use. It's bright and airy, and I love the work from local artists that is showcased on the walls.






One thing they do that I love is they make their own sodas. I rarely drink soda, but how can you turn down a lavender vanilla, or lemon thyme, soda? I had the lemon thyme this time, and it was delicious--refreshing and not too sweet.

We shared the fried goat cheese salad and buffaloaf sandwich for lunch.



Both were divine. I usually find buffalo burgers very dry. The buffaloaf was moist and delicious, served on homemade rye with homemade ketchup. So good! You can see that we also made a mini-buffaloaf sandwich for Lucy, who was patiently waiting in the car.

We were too full for dessert, but one day I will try the candied bacon ice cream!

Little dog wondering where her treat is.



It was a lot of fun, but now it's back to work! I have a ton of vintage to photograph today, and Andy is off to a flea market. I hope all of you are enjoying your Labor Day weekends!

xo
k

he must love me

He made me corn pie!

Of course, I've only been pestering him about it since last week, when Smitten Kitchen Tweeted the recipe.

And then, of course, the lovely Bethany over at Full Hook Ups blogged about the corn pie. Which just ramped up my demands for the corn pie. (And by the way, you really should be reading Bethany's blog if you aren't already. She is a great writer, hilariously funny, and posts about all my favorite things: food, travel, vintage. And, well, there's also Rudy. Who I happen to have a massive crush on.)

But back to the corn pie. He not only made the corn pie. He spelled it out on the corn pie.



And yes, it was really good. Really REALLY good. Everyone should make the corn pie. (Or, better yet, have someone make it for you!)

xo
k

a perfect summer meal

We've been craving chilled avocado-cucumber soup all summer, but it hasn't been hot enough for it. Until now. We couldn't find the recipe, so I did an internet search and found this recipe from the LA Times. Andy (who is a fabulous cook) whipped it up for us tonight along with the sandwich I can't get enough of lately: fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil paninis.

Doesn't that look good? We didn't have buttermilk for the soup, so Andy just mixed up some milk and sour cream. We also added a little fresh dill and chopped green onions. It was much tastier than I remembered our old recipe being.



Oh, and the cucumbers, basil, and dill all came from the garden of some friends. Andy is going to take care of their chickens while they are away, and in exchange, we get whatever comes out of their garden. In August. Needless to say, this makes us both very happy. We have plenty of room for a garden, and have attempted them in the past, but we just don't seem to be able to put the time in that's required. (We even let our herb garden go to seed, we've been so busy this summer, which is very sad.) We are very lucky that to be surrounded by generous and kind gardeners!







And now, here is the rest of that shop preview I promised you.



Chicken print dress by Barnsville U.S.A. (I am not kidding.)





Wooden wedge 1970s mary janes.





Bohemian wreath-print peasant top dress.





Plaid Jonathan Logan dress.





Feathered fascinator hat.





Lizard skin pumps by Andrew Geller.





Mod Peter Max-esque mini-dress.





Tooled leather wallet clutch.





A tiered cocktail hat covered in sequins.





And my new favorite, the colorful birdy print on black dress by Joan Miller Juniors.





xo

k