Martha Stewart's New Gig

Martha Stewart Line at JC Penney

I am a HUGE Martha fan. I've written about it before, and won't bore you with the details. But my kitchen is all Martha's line from Macy's. It's my one brand indulgence. I love every one of her products I own (except the ceramic cookware, I'll save that for another). So I was worried when I heard Macy's was suing her because of her new lines at JC Penney. Tonight we checked out JC Penney and I snuck a few pictures...

The lighting line is absolutely amazing. I did not get any pics of my favorite lamps. But they are funky and classy. The prices are not bad at all, either. I would compare the prices to the new items at TJ Maxx or Marshall's. 

And of course I was in love with all this white.....

This is the first celeb line display that actually looks just like the promo pictures....these displays are amazing! They are arranged in separate lines so you can see how they will go together in your home. 

The Jonathan Adler products

The party and gift area!!!

The thing I love about this line is that it's so different from Martha's usual products. It's less Macy's influenced and more modern and sleek. 

Lumpkin, Georgia

I was lucky enough to get to spend Tuesday on the Chattahoochee Valley Library Digital Bookmobile. This is a motorhome-like bus full of books and computers for public use. It travels to the outer counties of our library system who do not have library branches available to them. We were stationed in Lumpkin, GA this day. Lumpkin used to have a branch, but the row of building it was in has been taken over by black mold. This is a common thing in older buildings in the south due to the humidity. Below are some photos I took of my day. This is the beautiful town square around the courthouse in Lumpkin.

Singer Company

Was the oldest hardware store in Georgia before closing a few years ago due to black mold.

The Old Lumpkin Library

Beautiful library branch, also closed a few years ago. 

Beautiful green windows, love the architectural details. 

Lumpkin Courthouse

Recently renovated, it used to have a clocktower on top. Reminds me so much of the courthouse in To Kill A Mockingbird

Abandoned store. Love the clouds we had.

What I wouldn't do for a few of these window boxes! These are all along the windows of the square.

Fab 4 Home Books

I work in a library. I love books. I love decor, housekeeping and superstitions.
Here are a few books I have that I highly recommend:

The Feng Shui Dictionary

By Lillian Too

I love this little cheap book. I found it in the bargain section at Barnes and Noble on a Friday night date with Jordan. I love that Too made Feng Shui simple and understandable to an average American. I learned many small things like the house number 9 is very lucky. Our apt is number 9, hence the lucky blog name!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Feng-Shui-Dictionary-Portable/dp/1435116798/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1370312102&sr=8-4&keywords=the+feng+shui+dictionary

Simple Times (Crafts for poor people)

By Amy Sedaris

If you are at all familiar with Amy or David Sedaris, then you will love this book. It's hilarious, disgusting and absolutely wonderful. It is really a mock craft book, and has no real merit. But trust me, you won't regret it.

Side note: Don't read it in the bookstore, you'll be laughing your ass off and people may think you're under the influence. Which you will be, the influence of sausage jokes and horrible yarn handi crafts.

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Times-Crafts-Poor-People/dp/B005K5ESQW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370357961&sr=8-1&keywords=simple+times+amy+sedaris

Home Comforts

The Art & Science of Keeping House

By Cheryl Mendelson

This book is fantastic. It was recommended to me by my mother in law way way before she was my mother in law. She let me borrow her copy and I took it to college with me and read it (almost) cover to cover. Being a family and consumer sciences major, I love all things home. Home is my favorite place to be, and luckily, I have 3 places I call home. This book goes into detail about every homekeeping topic you can imagine. No one knows how to fold fitted sheets. This book will teach you.

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Comforts-Science-Keeping-House/dp/0743272862/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370358083&sr=1-1&keywords=Home+comforts

Young House Love

By: Sherry and John Petersik

Lastly, Young House Love. This book started out as this couples newly-wed-home-improvement-sometimes nightmare blog. They have since moved to a new house and had a baby (now toddler). They are fun, down to earth and super creative. All their designs are colorful and thought provoking. If you have a single creative bone in your body, you will appreciate Sherry and John.

http://www.amazon.com/Young-House-Love-Paint-Update/dp/1579654789/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370358391&sr=1-1&keywords=young+house+love

Side Note:

Amy Sedaris also has a book called "I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence" that will tickle your crude humor fancy. If you have any home book favorites, don't be afraid to comment below! I am always looking for new books.

Home Junk

For Memorial Day weekend, we loaded up the pup and headed home for a few rushed days of family time. At 10 hours each way, this is no relaxing task, but it had been 6 months since we had seen our parents and it was just time. Was it tiring? Yes. Did we please everyone who wanted to see us? No. Was it worth it? Hell yeah. We had such a good time with our parents and catching up. Ollie got to meet everyone, as well. Along with quality family enjoyment, I came home with a few thrift spoils. Now don't get me wrong, Columbus, Georgia has all the charm you'd expect from a shitty river town in the deep south that recently had a dose of development steroids. We have all the new malls and boutiques you can handle. The historical district has breathtaking southern homes and a wonderful downtown with beer breweries and market days on the weekends. But here's the downfall for me: the thrifting and antiques here suck. I don't know if they are picked over or just hiding in southern belles' homes waiting to be revealed. But it sucks. So I had to go to my favorite flea market in Altamont, Il while we were home. If only for a rainy 45 minutes. Here's what I found:

     Hall tea pot. $10 (above and below) My sister-in-law and I bought matching ones!

 Silver candy dish (tarnish resistant finish my butt!) $3

 1953 Empire pitcher. $10

Scout Finch Tote Bag

Now. To Kill a Mockingbird is my all time favorite book. Ever.
My maid of honor, Lindsey A Eubank, got this tote for me as a birthday gift. She had to point out Scout's little face in her ham costume, as I just thought it was a ham tote bag, which would have been hilarious anyways.  And I love it.

The Best Bread Pudding In The World

So my husband is a total bread pudding head. He's my personal dessert judge. Most of the time I will make something and he will tell me that his mom makes it better (and I always agree, my mother in law can cook circles around anyone I've ever met), or he had one like that at a restaurant etc. But not yesterday. Not this time. One of his favorite foods is bread pudding, and his birthday is this week, so I thought I'd take a crack at it. (I have had more than one bread pudding failure in the past) I invented this recipe, so forgive me if it sounds strange.
   
Kick Ass Brown Butter Bread Pudding

• 1 package of cheap hot dog buns, tore into medium pieces
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of vanilla flavored coffee creamer (liquid in bottle)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (heaping) of white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash of vanilla
• pinch of salt

Brown Butter Sauce

• 1/2 stick of real butter, salted
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup of milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Place bread crumbs in 9x13 ungreased baking dish
3. Melt butter in sauce pan, then add creamer and milk
4. While that is heating, mix white sugar, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla
5. Quickly coat bread pieces in egg mixture
6. When milk mixture is warm, pour over bread pieces
7. Stir gently, careful not to turn it into mush
8. Sprinkle with extra sugar and cinnamon
9. Bake for 40-45 min or until knife comes out clean 

Brown Butter Sauce

1. Melt and brown butter in saucepan (once it starts to froth and bubble, it will brown fast, be careful)
2. Add sugar and milk
3. Low boil until it coats the back of the spoon

Let sauce sit for 2-3 minutes. I like to poke a few holes in the pudding and then pour over when they are both still hot so they can soak into each other and get gooey. Some may like it on the side. 

Why hot dog buns? I personally like real crusty bread pudding, so I thought, "What is cheap and crusty? What will backwooders and southerners would have in the cabinet or in my case, freezer". Hot dog buns. 88 cents for cheapies. Don't judge that they are not whole grain, just do it. 

Correct butter browning ( I stole this picture, I hope I do not go to blog hell for doing so.)

Post Number 1: The apartment

Since I can remember, I have been collecting things for my own home. My room was packed full vintage treasures (and junk). My parents shed and garage was, as well. So no one was surprised when Jordan and I got married and it took the largest U-Haul to move our lives down to Georgia. I redid many pieces for dirt cheap, which I will post in later posts hopefully. For now, here is a glimpse into our little piece of the world.