Week 17... The Color of Determination

Today my sweet Brice had his first ever Track Meet where he participated in the 50m dash and the 400m relay.  (Brice is 2nd from right with black & red shorts)  Boy was he ever both nervous and excited for this upcoming event!  But once he got on the track, his focus and determination was all on the prize... the finish line.  I'm feeling like this a bit lately with my eye on my prize.. the opening of Gillyweed.  I have to tell you this week has been rough on me as the floor finally gotten painted this weekend (one week behind schedule) and we finally were able to move in the fixtures.  With opening day right around the corner, I too have been surviving on focus and determination!!

So with that said, I am having my Grand Opening on May 1st from 3pm-7pm & May 2nd from 10am-5pm.  Our Grand Opening will include a preview sale that you will definitely want to take advantage of (Mother's Day ** Hint Hint).  Plus we will be giving away some fabulous prizes!!

 

So wish me luck as I plow through these next couple of days. I hope I see some of you on opening day!!

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday

I loved flipping through the latest Pottery Barn catalog and seeing all of the touches of rope in their decorating.  The nautical rope accents are the hot trend right now.. this was certainly evident at the January Merchandise Mart show in Atlanta. 

Pottery Barn.. simple rope strips stuffed in clear jars

 

Pottery Barn.. love how the rope is attached to the glass cloche.

Pottery Barn.. notice the picture frame in the back with rope around it.

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 You name it and it had some jute or sisal rope around it! Furniture, Chandeliers, even animals (not real of course).  I've seen many of these colorful rope creatures at Anthropologie and on Etsy.  One of my favorite sites, Honestly...WTF? does a fantastic tutorial on how to make one of these cutie pies.

Rope Tutorial

Nothing screams Summer more to me than this gorgeous sailor rope bracelet from Aria Nero.

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Time to get the glue gun out and start wrapping....

One of my favorite items for sale at Gillyweed are these whimsical Monkey Fists. At $15 each they make a great door stop and/or a serious paperweight.

Need more inspiration??  I found these wonderful images on Pinterest and Google that will get your creative juices flowing!  This mosaic has been linked up to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.  Happy Monday!

Enjoy!!

Week 16... The Color of a Sweet Tooth

Anybody who knows me KNOWS that I have a huge sweet tooth!!  So it is only fitting that I would find this amazing recipe on Pinterest from The Sweets Life and dedicate week 16 to it!!

My family can eat bushels of strawberries so I thought it would be fun this year to have a strawberry plant...

Isn't that the most pathetic looking strawberry??  LOL!!  Anyways hope you are having a fabulous & colorful week!! Off to the store I go....

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday...

I have a confession to make... I LOVE LOVE LOVE eggplant!!!

Not this much...

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or this much...

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Okay.. maybe a little of this.. (yummy)

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but This.. This.. This

  

Pure Vege

My first taste of eggplant came 20+ years ago when I visited Uncle Jacques' Bull farm for the very first time.

My husband's family raises Bulls for Bull Fighting in the South of France.  We go back every other year and every time I can expect to eat Aunt Françoise grilled eggplant and homemade marinara sauce.

Here I am in 2011 at the farm with my new BFF.

My adorable husband with Jacques on the tractor

Françoise and her son Fabian...I love this family!

Back in the USA.. I make my own version of Eggplant Parmesan which has gotten many compliments because it is so dang easy!! 

1. Slice 2 eggplants lengthwise (keep skin on) very thin. 
2.  Stick in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until eggplant is a nice golden brown. 
3.  Put tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish so that eggplant wont stick. 
4. Layer 1/2 eggplant into dish.  Top with more marinara and sprinkle generously shredded cheese.
5. Another layer of eggplant, marinara and cheese. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 
7. When it comes out of oven, I sprinkle goat cheese crumbles all over the top.  Viola!!

Another eggplant favorite in the Dumas house is the Ratatouille and the VERY BEST recipe for that can be found here.  Taste just like mémé's (grandma).

 

Recently we ate at SaZa's in Newnan and I tried a cold eggplant dish that my mouth now waters for.  This recipe looks very close to Chef Joe's but I haven't tried it yet to confirm that!



Eggplant Verde

Delicious!  My stomach is starting to growl!!  In honor of Mosaic Monday, I have put together some eggplant love.  Pictures were found on Pinterest and Google.

This mosaic has also been linked up with Little Red House.  Happy Monday.

Enjoy!!

Memory Lane

From time to time I go down memory lane and read posts from my former store, The Vintage-Flea.  I laugh, I cry.. I laugh again.  Those were some good times!!  I revisited this link that I posted back in 2009 and it still works great!!  Looking forward to making new memories in just a few short weeks.

Catalog Card Generator

Enjoy!!

Week 15... The Color of Whimsy

The hunt is now on to find all 25 painted horses in and around downtown Newnan.  "We're having a Horsey Affair" art exhibit has officially begun and downtown looks beautiful & whimsical!  So far I have found only 12 of them.  Some are painted in vibrant colors...

 

 

 

and some are painted more realistic.

 

All are spectacularly done by local artists.  Kudos to Newnan!!

Enjoy!!

*** Update..I've had a couple of people ask...The Hose Art show will continue through Mid-July.



Plan B

Do you remember this picture??  My little building sure has gone through a lot of changes recently!!  One major change has been the removal of the white aluminum siding.

 I envisioned the brick looking like this when it was all cleaned up.. so charming.

But it looks as if no amount of elbow grease is going to get rid of the black paint.. so plan B.

Thanks to Pinterest for helping me fall in love with the idea of painting the building.. White!

 

 

 

So fresh and clean.. and it reminds me of my favorite Beach House!!   

 Just a few more weeks before opening day!!  My kitchen, garage, and storage unit are filled with wonderful new merchandise waiting to be unboxed, priced, and displayed.  Thank goodness for my High School BFF, Helen, who is flying up here from South Florida to help me with that daunting task.  Not to mention some local peeps who have volunteered as well... looks like a pizza & margarita party are in my near future!!  Want to come too??

Enjoy!!

Mosaic Monday

Ring Ring Ring.. "Hello?".. "Hey, this is Philip.  I have a counter for you for Gillyweed."  That was the call I got a few weeks ago from my favorite frame maker, cabinet maker, and craftsman extraordinaire!!  So off we go to Philip's cow farm to see said future counter. 

Philip is a bus driver during the day....cow wrangler & auction junkie during the night and weekends.  If he can make a buck off of it.. he will buy it. 

Philip opening up the gate to one of 3 farms that he leases for his cows.

  

Brice shutting the gate.. don't let those cows out!

 

Petting the 2 day old calf.

 

Philip's barn.. I swear one huge gust of wind will knock this thing down.

 

Brice and Philip's helper, Zi, headed off on a tractor ride while we went to see the famous counter in the milking barn.

 

 

Okay.. I can work with that!

Philip (I did say craftsman extraordinaire, right?) will be able to fix this right up!!

 

 

Iron feet are the cherries on top.

Ah the Farm life.. I wonder if I could live that way???

NO!!

Happy Mosaic Monday to you.  This Mosaic is linked up to Little Red House.  All photos are from Pinterest and pictures from Philip's farm. 

Enjoy!!