south carolina dreaming

Having an empty nest (sigh), my husband and I are looking at our future and making plans for pre and post retirement.   It has not been a secret amongst my family and friends that I'm anxious to move south.  I'm a Massachusett's girl at heart but I'm looking for the warmth and hospitality of the south.  Since my daughter moved to South Carolina for school, I have fallen in love with the state even more.

Can't imagine why, since we woke up to this today (and yesterday, and...well....)

Poor Daisy - trying her best to hide from the snow!

We've decided to look for a home that we can rent out in the summer and use for vacations & weekend getaways for our family the rest of the year.  Although I desperately want to have a home in Charleston (for obvious reasons), we are starting to think that short-term, it would probably be best to get a beach house if we will be renting out in the summers.  I've begun the search online...so many areas near Charleston...Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Seabrook, Sullivan's, Kiawah.  Although, this will likely not be our forever home (hello...Charleston!?), I do want to be in an area that we enjoy and hopefully not too "tourist-y".

Any southern bloggers that can offer advice or suggestions?  Have you vacationed down south?  Help this Washington, DC girl find some warmth in SC!

the extra mile

Do you ever want to give a suggestion to a store owner/manager but then decide not to - because a) you guess they probably just don't care and b) you are just so frustrated with the lack of customer service that exists today?

I'm in that situation frequently.  Maybe it's due to the fact that I had a small store and truly valued business that came my way.  Customer service was the extremely important to me.  I realized that people could purchase their Lilly online and I wanted to give them a reason to come into my shop and buy it from me.  Our business was built on relationships - many that I still hold dear to this day.

As I mentioned in my previous post, "the daughter - aka the ballerina" transferred to her school in S.C. in January.  She is on a large campus and we were told she would not need a car.  Big Mistake.  We should have been told "she will not need a car UNLESS she is a dance major".  In addition to trips to Whole Foods, she's had many occasions where she'll need something last minute that she could not have anticipated.  As a result, I have become very good friends with our UPS store.  Yesterday, however even UPS couldn't help me.  She needed some shoes for today and it was going to cost me $80 to ship them.  I just couldn't make myself do it.  

There HAD to be another option.

Since she couldn't find a ride to the local ballet store.  I called them to see if they had the shoes (they did) and if I could pay them to get them to her (they were 10-15 min away).  They said it would be $30 to ship overnight.  I agreed to do that but had also asked if anyone who worked there would be near the campus?  (hint: can you go a little out of your way?!)  I would have been happy to pay that money for someone to drive them to her dorm.  No dice.  She will now get to walk 15 min to the mailroom - each way, between class and rehearsal to pick up the package.  It's not a huge problem but it just amazes me that I couldn't even pay someone to go the extra mile (okay 5 miles).  I realize I was asking them to go out of their way, but it is interesting to me that there were at least 2 people in the shop and neither thought, "Hey, I can drive over after work...not a problem".  

Something similar happened to me a few months ago.  I needed to send another something to daughter and I was sick that day and really didn't want to brave the weather, etc.  I thought I'd call a store in our historic area to give them some business.  I began the conversation by asking if they could mail overnight - I needed her to have the item the next day.  I was speaking with the owner of the store (who I knew) who said, yes - she would get it there over night.  I paid her and before we hung up made sure she was going to have it there the following day.  She then said that she actually wouldn't be sending it until the next day because she was the only person in the store and open til 5pm.  I told her that the UPS store (which she would drive past to get home) was open until 7pm but she refused to stop.  She told me that I could pick it up from her store - which frankly, is not convenient for me.  I told her to cancel the transaction.  If I was going to have to go out and mail the item myself, I was going to go to another store with a better location.  Which I did.  I haven't been back to that store since.

I guess these situations bother me because I hear people complaining about lack of jobs and small businesses that can't afford to stay open and I think to myself, 

"maybe if they went the extra mile"

"maybe if employees paid attention to customers more than their cell phones" ...

maybe...

the ballerina will be returning to campus after spring break, with her car.  

make that, definitely.

Spring Break!

It's hard to believe I'm thinking about spring break so soon but my son's spring break is at the end of this week!  To say that I'm excited for this is an understatement for sure.  I absolutely adore both of my kids!

My son is in his senior year of college at a school in Virginia - about 3 1/2 hours away from home. He's a psychology major and if we paid him to go to school for forever, that would probably be perfectly fine with him.  He loves studying/researching/learning.  He's planning on moving to Japan after college and took a semester off of school to get privately tutored in Japanese.  Needless to say, knowing that he will be leaving the country within the next two years, I'm anxious to spend any time I can with him.  We are very different but I have such an appreciation for the insightful person that he is.

Unfortunately, my daughter's spring break is the following week.  (You'd think all colleges could just agree on one week to have spring break, wouldn't you?!)  She transferred as a freshman to a school in South Carolina in January, about 8 hrs away from home (sigh!)  Since her brother has not yet seen her new campus, we've decided to take a road trip to visit her and bring her back for her spring break.  Unlike her brother, she & I are very similar...and so close that this year has been a big adjustment for both of us.

the son

the daughter (aka - the ballerina)

If you have college kids, what are your plans for their spring break?  It's likely right around the corner!

Sunday Evenings belong to Downton!

Enjoyed the first episode of Season 4 with my grandfather's proper English Tea Set

I'm not sure if it's my Scottish Heritage (my mom was born and raised in Scotland) or just the fantastic writing and acting but whatever the reason, I am in love with Downton Abbey.  I started watching just prior to Season 3 and after the first episode, I was hooked.  I was so hooked that I actually binge watched the first two seasons in less than two weeks.  And that, my friends, was a problem.  The problem being that I had to wait an extraordinary amount of time for Season 3 to begin.  I got through it, but it wasn't pretty.  Now, here we are at Season 4 and I'm still loving it.  Some people feel that it's moving too slowly but I guess with so much loss and excitement in Season 3, I was ready for things to slow down a bit.  I am not quite ready to lose anymore characters as I'm still trying to accept the fact that Matthew Crawley is gone.  My only gripe with Downton is that the season seems entirely too short and it tends to take entirely too long before the next season begins.  And...while I'm on a bit of a tear,...why does the U.S. have to wait so long after the U.K. to see it?  Hardly seems fair!  

If you are a Downton Fan, what did you think of Season 4?  Did it move too slow or just right?

Perhaps I was in denial but until this very moment, I hadn't realized tonight's two-hour episode was the season finale.  Already counting the days until Season 5 begins....sigh.

Spring Forward

As if the weather today in Northern Virginia wasn't enough to get excited about (for those of you in other areas, we actually saw the sun in the DC area AND it was over 60 degrees - big improvement!), the spring lines from Kate Spade, Tory Burch and Lilly Pulitzer are have gotten me jumping up and down!

Let's start with Lilly...
Since I sold my shop  in 2009, I have not been overjoyed with a lot of the looks.  This is not to say that I haven't purchased anything since then, but if I'm going to be honest, there was more than one occasion that I went to a Lilly shop with the intent to purchase and walked out empty handed.  There was nothing I really "had to have".  I felt like they moved too far away from the classic Lilly style and I wasn't in love with a lot of their offerings.  While I did enjoy some of the prints, I didn't not enjoy the neon colors (what was up with that?!).   I feel they were trying too hard to attract a younger crowd without realizing that the younger crowd that loves Lilly - are part of a group that loves classic style and they don't need to change a thing.  Case in point, my daughter is 18 years old and when she saw the new looks for spring, she was overjoyed!

Meanwhile, Kate Spade & Tory Burch are feeding my need for Parisian Flair!

Tory Burch

Kate Spade

At the end of last year, my kids got me the Rosetta Stone for learning the French language ~ something that was on my bucket list.  I'm determined to conquer the language and then plan a family vacation to Paris.  Thanks to Kate Spade & Tory Burch, I feel like I'll be one step closer!  Oui Oui!

What are your favorite looks for Spring '14?

The Perfect Truffle

On President's Day, my friend P & I went to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Founding Farmers.  I will save my post about Founding Farmers for another day, but if you haven't been there - you must put it on your list.  It's really wonderful.  On the way there, we took a detour through Frederick, Maryland and went to The Perfect Truffle.  Once you have a chocolate from there,  you'll never look at Godiva the same way again.  These chocolates are truly PERFECT!  I decided to pick up a box for my son and daughter, to send them at college and thought I'd share a picture:

As you can see, they are beautiful as well as completely mouth wateringly good.  (I'm pretty sure that wateringly is not a word, but I can't seem to find a description for you that is on par with the fabulous flavor.)  If you are near Frederick, Maryland, I highly suggest you stop at The Perfect Truffle.  My favorite is Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel but Lavender is pretty amazing, as well.  Actually, they all are!

To find out more about The Perfect Truffle, this link should take you there.  The Perfect Truffle

Procrastinate Much?

Today is the day...I begin (again) to get some things done that I've been putting off for...well...years.  That's right...years.  I am the Queen of Procrastination but I will tell you, this is one tiara that I don't wear proudly.

Approximately 5 years ago, I sold my beloved Lilly Pulitzer specialty store and ended up with a whole lot of inventory.  Under the terms of the contract, I was not allowed to sell any Lilly Pulitzer products for 2 years and it sat in boxes, in my house.   I now have an entire room filled with Lilly Pulitzer.  I know how colorful and happy that sounds, but I've got to tell you, it's become such a thorn in my side. I know that I need to move these goodies out of my home.  A few years ago, I was on a roll and selling things on eBay, which was great but time consuming.  I'm now ready to put my procrastination aside and find these fabulous frocks new homes.  The question is, do I go back to eBay - tried and true, yet time consuming?  Or, do I give Poshmark a try?

Please follow my progress (and hold me accountable)!  My ebay page is The Preppy One on eBay and my new Poshmark "closet" is The Preppy Closet on Poshmark and feel free to send comments and suggestions.

Winter in Northern Virginia doesn't do it justice
Persnickety Palm 2008

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Zucchini Sticks and Red Pepper Pesto

I made these zucchini sticks with red pepper pesto last week and thought I'd share this quick and yummy recipe.  While the pesto sauce isn't gluten free, I did use gluten free bread crumbs.  (I am really trying to be gluten free, whenever possible)

Ingredients:
1 zucchini (med-large size), peeled and cut into sticks
bread crumbs, 1-2 cups
1 egg
roasted red pepper pesto sauce

The Cibo Organic Roasted Red Pepper Pesto from Costco is kind of amazing.  One of my friends on Facebook felt the need to share how wonderful it was and I was so glad she did.  There are so many things you can do with it and it's quite tasty!

You can probably guess what to do with these ingredients, but I'll take you through it...
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat the zucchini sticks in egg and then dip in a bowl with the bread crumbs.  Place the breaded zucchini on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (I use parchment paper a LOT.  It keeps the mess and cleaning to a minimum and you don't need to use oil.  Win-Win, if you ask me.)

Bake sticks for about 15-20 min.  You don't want to overcook.  Take them out and serve with pesto sauce.  Enjoy!

It's All in A Name

The following is a post from my blog that never quite got off the ground, "A Grateful Heart":

     As I mentioned in my first post, this is not my first time attempting to write a blog.  I have such diverse interests - thus, so many blog name possibilities.  I had started a blog last year on tumblr called "grosgrain & pearls" - homage to my love of grosgrain ribbon and pearls.  While I liked the name, I was really drawn to "the empty nest".  I felt that it would be reflective of where I am at in this stage of my life.  When I went to create my account, most variations of the empty nest had been taken, so I began to look at other possibilities.  When I think about my life, there are so many layers to it.  Many things have gone "right" and a lot of things have gone "wrong".  When things go wrong in my family, they tend to go really wrong at once and get ridiculously overwhelming.  One thing that gets me through these moments is gratitude for all that is right.  No matter what I am going through, I do know that I have so much to be grateful for.  My family is so important to me and I am forever grateful that I have them.  They make my heart happy.

While all of the above is true, "A Grateful Heart" just didn't "feel" like the right name for my blog.  I felt pressure to make a blog that was more intimate and meaningful...while, what I preferred to do was blog about things that might be less personal and more fun...crafts, shopping, cooking.  I realized I was avoiding posting if I didn't have something significant to contribute, which sort of defeated the purpose for having the blog in the first place.    As I've been on a quest to "embrace my inner Martha" for as long as I can remember and my love for Monograms knows no limit, I think this blog will be more fitting for me and allow me to take the pressure off and have fun with this.  Wish me luck!

Oh Snow! Post Valentine's Day Lunch ❤️

This weather...can you even believe it?!  If you are pretty much anywhere on the east coast, with the exception of Florida, you know what I'm talking about.  The last several days in Northern Virginia, we were hit with between 12-15 inches or more of that fluffy white stuff.  I love snow more than most but I've got to say, I think I'm over it now.

Along with the chilly temperature, I've been trying my best to get rid of a bad cold/virus so I really wasn't up for going out for dinner on Valentine's Day.  Today, we got a reprieve....both from the snow AND my cold.  My husband and I decided to go to Upperville for Brunch.  If you are in "hunt country" and want a great place to eat and drink, Hunter's Head Tavern is for you.  It had been many years since I was last there and today I was reminded how much I love it.  Hunter's Head Tavern is a completely charming British tavern about 3 miles from Middleburg, Virginia.  The staff is friendly and welcoming.  The food was great.  I had a crab cake because it was a special but my next visit, I'm embracing my Scottish roots and going for the Bangers & Mash.   We shared the "staff favorite" dessert, lemon pound cake with a lavender glaze.  It's now my favorite!

We had a great lunch near a roaring fire and walked around Middleburg afterwards.  It was a lovely afternoon.