tumbleweeds.

I use my Tumblr for nothing more than keeping track of pretty, inspiring pictures. So it's funny just how well it reflects my state of mind at any given time. Lately, it's all thoughts of chilly mornings, faraway places, and comfort food. Then again, at least two of things are on my mind most of the time anyway.

sticky bun sundays.

Sticky Bun Sundays are a tradition at WildFlour in downtown Charleston (I wrote about it for the paper here). Award-winning pastry chef Lauren Mitterer only makes her addictive sticky buns on Sunday, so we stopped by this morning for a little decadence before a sweaty bike ride around the peninsula. (Can you tell I've had sweets on the brain lately? It's gotten a little out of control.)

Downtown bike rides are another favorite tradition, albeit one we haven't kept up lately because it's been so hot. We explored an overgrown cemetery, stole windowbox ideas from South of Broad houses, and saw some dolphins playing in the harbor down by the Battery. 

What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning?

speaking of sugar.

Stormy weather puts me in a baking mood, and in case you haven't heard, we're experiencing a bit of that here on the east coast. Luckily, we haven't experienced too much severe weather in Charleston yet, even though Irene is currently spinning a little too close to comfort.

I made sugar cookies last night. Despite being a close second to chocolate chip in my book, I've never actually tried to make them. Silly me. This recipe was ridiculously easy. And delicious. I would be gorging on them now if my stupid dog hadn't eaten all of the leftovers. Oh well, guess I'll have to bake some more, but tonight I'm trying my hand at chicken pot pie, another first. I'll let you know how it goes. 

sugar.

Sugar Bakeshop is one of my favorite bakeries in Charleston. Not only are the treats to die for — try the butterscotch cookies and/or the coconut cupcake —but the place is so darn cute I feel like squealing every time I go in there.

pancakes.

 ***

You know how pictures of some foods make you desperately crave those foods? Pancakes have that power over me, and I attempted to make them three times this weekend, to varying degrees of failure. The first try resulted in burnt butter and smoke filling the house, the second resulted in a melted spatula, and the third time, the pancakes wouldn't budge from the pan. Someone help me, please. I need my pancakes. And I need them soon.

new york.

 

The prospect of fall always makes me think of New York. When Todd was working as an admissions counselor while I was still in school, I drove through the night to see him there one October. I arrived just as rush hour was beginning, knocked on his door as the sun rose, and promptly fell asleep. It was probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done, but it's one of our favorite stories.

He ditched most of his appointments and we explored the city for a few days. We did some touristy things (Empire State Building, Times Square, boat tour), ate some amazing food, and walked around for hours, but we barely scratched the surface of the city. When I went back a few months later with some of my college newspaper editors for a conference, we did even less, stuck in a dingy hotel in a dingy area, the city covered in icy sludge.

With our anniversary coming up in a few months (!), New York is on the top of our potential trip list, provided we have the funds. I've changed so much since my college years, one of the main things being I've learned to travel well, to plan a trip, to map out our meals and appreciate good food, to explore the lesser-known areas, and to take a rest when we need it. I want to return to New York with a grown-up itinerary.  

images via Pinterest.

 

Cannonborough.

When people visit Charleston, they usually stick to the high-traffic tourist spots like the City Market, the Battery, and King Street. These areas are all worth checking out, especially if you're a newbie, but I think a lot of visitors miss out on some of Charleston's coolest places because they're a little off the grid.

One of my favorite districts is Cannonborough/Elliotborough. It's an up-and-coming area off of King that boasts some of the city's most design-forward shops, businesses, and restaurants. Places like Hope & Union, Wildflour, Mac & Murphy, Stems, Fuzzco, Leigh Magar, and Stitch call the neighborhood home.

The area's newest addition is Two Boroughs Larder, a place so perfectly styled I want to move in. The rustic tables, metal chairs, cute napkins and glassware, and vintage-style light fixtures are all perfect. They even bring your check out in a little mason jar. It's pretty to look at, but the food is also top-notch. I had a King Bean (local) iced coffee with a salad of arugula, apples, golden beets, white wonder cucumbers, blueberries, and buttermilk black pepper vinaigrette.

After stuffing our faces, we stopped by newish menswear shop Indigo & Cotton and it made me wish I was a dude.

Stay tuned for a peek into one of my favorite Cannonborough bakeries.

up top.

The rooftops and cornices of Charleston are really special, but I don't think they get nearly as much attention as they deserve. On our main artery, King Street, it's easy to get distracted by all of the action at street level and forget to look up. That's where you'll find a reminder of just how historic this city is. These are just a few buildings I spotted on a recent, short stroll down King.

They sure don't build 'em like they used to.

water.

I feel so lucky to live near the beach. Enjoying a bit of this today:

 

*just some wet images I've collected on Tumblr.

weekend.

I hope your weekend's like this:

I plan to sleep late, make pancakes, spend a day at the beach, and read a book or two. We also need to finish some stuff around the house, like putting together the office and hanging up pictures. What do you have planned this weekend?

treasure hunt.

I've been craving a good thrifting/junk shop/antiquing adventure. I've recently learned that there are a slew of antique malls around Charleston that I haven't even been to. And I think I need to remedy that. Some things that are always on my thrifting radar:

Old silver. My grandma has always collected it, 

and I'd love to have enough mismatched silver for a dinner party.

Vintage fans are my jam. If I see one, I will probably buy it. 

I'd love to find some old soda crates. Not sure what I'd do with them, but I'll figure that out later. 

Vintage linens, including handkerchiefs, tablecloths, and napkins — especially from the 1950s.

Typewriters. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, or maybe it's just because they're awesome. 

I'll never use them, but they sure are pretty to look at.

Matchbooks. 

Ok, I'm starting to get carried away. There's just going to have to be a Part 2 of this post at some future date. Until then, let me know if you want to go junkin'.

All images found via Pinterest.

jalepeno jelly.

Last weekend at my Grandma's house, Todd and I made jalapeno jelly from the peppers in her garden. Turns out, it's pretty easy to make, and it's a lot more tasty than I expected. It was so good, in fact, that we made a second batch to give as gifts (after eating an entire jar in one day).

This is the recipe we used from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Here's the gist: Cut the seeds and stems from a bunch of peppers (wear gloves), put them in a food processor with a cup of vinegar, then bring that to a boil with another cup of vinegar and six — yes, six — cups of sugar (no wonder it's so tasty). Let it boil for 10 minutes, then put it in jars.

stamped.

The U.S. Postal Service has released some fun stamps as of late. I might just have to start sending letters the old-fashioned way.

country kids.

We spent the weekend at my Grandma's farm in North Carolina. Housing developments and shopping centers have encroached on the surrounding area over the last few years, but her farm remains just as I've known it my whole life. It always smells the same, like pine needles and warm earth. There's the fig tree behind Grandpa's old shop where wasps swarm to feed, and fields that are sometimes empty, sometimes full of crops. There are paths through the woods where we learned to drive with golf carts, and you can still find the best skipping stones down by the creek.

This weekend we learned to make jam with freshly picked tomatoes and jalapenos, made tomato soup from scratch, ate fresh corn right off the stalk (delicious!), and raided Grandma's extensive gardens for a trunkload of plants for the backyard, like thyme, hydrangeas, and canna lilies.