Four & Twenty Blackbirds

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,

Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The king was in his counting house counting out his money,

The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey

The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,

When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

On Sunday afternoon, after I explored Vinegar Hill with friends, I met up with my Park Slope pals, Emily, Chelsea, and Mollie for a slice of pie from the new pie shop in their neighborhood called, Four & Twenty Blackbirds. We got there late in the day and most of the pies were sold out except for the Buttermilk Chess and the Farmer's Cheese pie. We tried a slice of each, and they were both delicious- one was savory and the other sweet. I was really excited for them that they were selling out at the end of the day- obviously they are doing well, and it means that I will have to return before Summer to try the Apple & Pear with Rosewater! Four & Twenty has a great location, they are just between Park Slope and Carrol Gardens in the Gowanus area, and they are just a block and half from the closest subway hub. The interior alone is worth the visit, and they have more than just Pie, they carry other homemade treats, fresh fruit and coffee & tea too. I am looking forward to my next visit!

xo

P.S. I love the Blackbird tagline: "Keep Your Fork There's Pie!", so cute.

Wednesday's DIY Sneak Peek

UPDATE: THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN MOVED TO NEXT WEDNESDAY JUNE 2ND ON DESIGN SPONGE!! CHECK BACK THEN...

Here is just a little peak at the D*Sponge DIY feature I have prepared for tomorrow, using vintage wooden spools of thread. Be sure to read the DIY column tomorrow to see the final product of this quick and easy project...

finder's tip: to find your own spools, search ebay for "wooden thread spools", you are guaranteed to find something.

xo

AND A VERY VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER, GINGER FAYE WARING! I LOVE YOU MOMMY.

XO

Vinegar Hill

Yesterday afternoon I wandered around south Brooklyn with my roommates and some friends. My roommate Blake was on a mission to share with us this deserted little historic neighborhood, Vinegar Hill. It was pretty magical and it felt very removed from New York City, even from Brooklyn- yet it is sitting just at the edge of the East River alongside Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights. Here is a little wiki-history on Vinegar Hill. If you are ever in the area of the Brooklyn Flea on a Sunday, Vinegar Hill is just a short walk away- and you should certainly make the trip.

A Sesame Education

Lately I have been totally obsessed with watching these old Sesame Street shorts. I can remember being four-years old and wanting so badly to live on Sesame Street, I always thought one day I would get there- and living in NYC is as close as I'll ever get- I assume. I especially always loved these videos where they visit someone else's "world", same went for Mr. Rogers and Reading Rainbow. It's pretty fascinating, even today. The quality of these films is so great. Obviously it's something that the current generation of filmmakers and photographers are trying to recapture, but there is nothing so good as Sesame Street in the seventies and early eighties!

This Milk Crisis is by far my favorite video, even though there are so many things wrong about it! Not to mention it makes me a little queasy, but that's just because I hate milk. In fact I stopped drinking milk when I was about five years old, perhaps this video has something to do with it...

MILK, MILK, MIIIILK!
XOXO

Looking Forward To A Florida Vacation

Just a few photos of home from prior visits over the years.

In two weeks I am heading home to Florida to be with my family for 10 days!

I am so excited, counting down the days. I miss my family so much, and I am especially excited about seeing my nieces that I haven't seen since last summer. I have planned out the week, because I want to spend every minute soaking up the greatness that still exists in Florida with the people I love most. I am almost positive my family thinks I am nuts typing up an itinerary for the week, but I know that if I don't, amongst the 15+ (immediate family) of us, there will be a conflicting schedule- so I just want to make sure we can all be together.

My plans include camping, visiting Cross Creek, a sleepover with all of my nieces and my one nephew- we are gonna watch movies, play games and bake a cake, I want to spend an afternoon lunching with my Mema & Papa on the Alafia River, I want to go to the beach and spend the night here for my ellie-belle's 7th birthday, to go boating or canoeing, visit the springs, go roller-skating with the family at the old roller rink where I spent much of my childhood (I still love to roller skate), I want to spend an evening celebrating my little cousin-Savanna's high school graduation with my family, I wanna go garage saling with my aunts, I want a double-decker pizza at Babe's (local goodness- terribly unhealthy, but an old time favorite), I want to spend a day Ft. Aalfia Antiques, I want to drive around rural Florida, spend an afternoon exploring the newly renovated Downtown Tampa and one evening I want to eat at the Taco Bus with my Mema & Aunt Carmen. Phew! I seriously can't wait for all of this fun, and I will be documenting every minute- no worries.

My trip actually begins in Orlando where I arrive, one of my very best friends, Chelsey, is living in Orlando these days. Chelsey is going to pick me up and we are going to explore her city together. Orlando is so close to home, but I don't know much about it besides Mickey Mouse lives there and my Great- Great-Great Grandfather, Aaron Jernigan, I think, was the first original settler of Orlando which was called Jernigan Town in his day. I am really looking forward to this day too.

XoXx

P.S. Last night I realized that I have lived away from home for nearly 7 years- how crazy is that? I can hardly believe it. I have grown so much since I left home. It's odd to think about it. I have always visited here and there- but it's never long enough. I usually only stay for a week at a time, which is about how long it takes me to gain 10lbs in Florida! What a good indicator that it's time to leave- this trip I am eating lettuce everyday, except for the day I eat Babe's Pizza, and even then- ONE SLICE- that's it!! Since it's summer I don't wanna bring back any extra baggage, if you know what I mean.

Babies

Oh my!

I have to see this film. I have just learned of it's existence and watched the trailer this morning, and I am so totally in love. The idea of it is genius if you ask me, I also love babies and children and the idea of parenting and care-giving. The development of a human is so fascinating to watch, and here you can see it from 4 different angles around the globe. Though many of my girlfriends would beg to differ, I am certain if they saw this documentary they would change their tunes quickly! How can you resist the cuteness here, really!?? Watch the trailer below...

xo

A Very Southern Birthday For A Very Southern Lady!!

My last trip to Philly was in celebration of my best friend, former roommate, and old co-worker, Halligan Norris Smith. One of the 5 days I was in Philly Halli hosted a southern ladies night, where together we cooked up some real southern fried chicken, red beans and rice, and bisquick biscuits (something we both grew up on and LOOOVE!). For dessert there was banana pudding and a pecan tart. Yum. Yum. Yum. After our dinner we sat down to watch Steel Magnolia's, and though we had intentions of watching Fried Green Tomatoes and Driving Miss Daisy too, I think our hearts just couldn't handle it after M'Lynn's (Sally Fields) heart-wrenching sob scene at the funeral of her daughter, Shelby. Ugh... one of the best movies of all time. I just have to say!

P.S. Isn't Halligan's Southern Mantel Display so very pretty! I always love going to Halli's house to see what's new on the mantel. She is the best. Be sure to check out her website here.

Also, a VERY BELATED HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO HALLIGAN AND ADAM SMITH!!!

I can't believe that somehow this date slipped my mind, but on May 9th 2009 I spent the day celebrating this marriage in the most wonderfully fashioned way! Together with friends and family, Halli and Adam put their special day together piece by piece. They were the genius behind the whole production, and it turned out more perfect than they ever could have imagined. We ate, celebrated and danced for hours under the Georgia sun and into the sweet southern night. It was a day I will never forget for the love of friends and family that came together that day it was the greatest carnival of all time! Go here for many more pics.