Smile, it enhances your face value.

Hello hello! Life as of lately as been pretty spectacular! I started back to being a 9 to 5 girl, resulting in a very pooped Sandy. My Mom came to visit for the 4th, as well as my best pals. It was so lovely to be able to wrap my arms around my Momma and have the best kind of conversations with my lady friends. We berry picked, muddy hiked, ice cream ate, alpine slid, sing alonged, cave dwelled, river tubed, Gatlinburged, boozed, and giggled!

I find that I'm smiling more and more these days. I like that.
-Sandy
 

Fancy Feet! Cap Toe DIY

When it comes to fashion I am essentially a one trick pony. My wardrobe is a variation on the same thing, I've been called a cartoon character numerous times. It's no different when it comes to shoes. Unlike most women, I don't have a shoe problem. I seek out the same shoes over and over again,  ballet flats and moccasins. Heels? Forget it. Yep.

With that said, Home-girl likes a fun pair of shoes every now and then. I've been a huge fan of all the color blocking popping up in the fashion world and today I'll share how to make your own knock-off pair of "cap toe flats."

What you'll need

• a pair of shoes (I got a pair of flats on clearance at Old Navy for $5. I also decided to give the most disgusting pair of shoes I own, ie: my favorites, a face lift)
•  tape
• paints (I used what I had on hand, but I think spray paint may be your best option)
• paint brush (if your not using spray paint)
• ruler
• pen/pencil

Step 1: Measure where you'd like you color to start and mark it
Step 2: Tape off the area where you will be painting, including the soles to ensure clean lines.
Step 3: Paint several coats allowing each coat to dry before painting the next (if spray painting make sure you cover the rest of the shoe to block any rouge paint)
Step 4: Once paint has dried, remove tape.

Ta-da! I imagine these may need some touching up in the future since I used acrylic paint, but they are still a thrifty way to make some happy feet!

In the field

Since shacking up with my Grandma she's been super excited about the prospect of having someone to help her out with landscaping the yard.  These last few days I've been in gardening land, digging, planting, fertilizing, transplanting, and re-potting. I've never been one for yard work but I will say I've enjoyed getting my hands a bit dirty.

We now own a bright pink hydrangea bush. The nursery in town gave me a lesson in hydrangea coloring. We're hoping my magic potion will do the trick for some blue blossoms next year.

Another little fun project from this weekend was inspired from these planters from Stoneface Creations. I've always loved these garden heads and decided make my own kitschy version.

During my NYC visit last month, my pal Duane and I ventured to Otto's Shrunken Head, a tiki dive in the East Village. We indulged in a few potent brews with the intent leaving with a fun new tiki friend. Since all my tiki mugs are in storage back in Florida, this guy has just been taking up space on my desk. Inspired by my favorite planters I repotted one of my succulents and gave ol' Singapore Sling a head of "hair." This is a fun idea I'll keep in mind for more of my tiki mugs in the future!

Beer Bread

I'll let you in on a little secret, I LOVE BREAD! So much so that there was a time when I considered it to be a bit of a vice. I would often visit my local grocery store and leave with various kinds of freshly baked loaves. They would usually be gone within a day or so. Oh bread! Delightful, crispy, fluffy bread! Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Over time Bread and I had to have the, "it's not you it's me" talk, putting a little distance between ourselves. We are still good friends and hangout every now and then. In fact we did some catching up recently...

Okay, that may have been leaning on the side if dramatic or crazy, but this girl does love her breads. Beer bread is one of my favorites and today I'll share with you how to make it!

Beer Bread is super fantastic for a number of reasons, it's insanely easy, (like if you are a horrible baker ie: me) you can put literally anything in it, and it's so yummy! Bake away!

What you'll need:

• 1 12oz bottle or can of beer
• 3 cups of self rising flour
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• Your fixins', my favorite is rosemary and garlic

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. (line with foil, this makes it way easier to remove loaf, especially if you have zero patients for letting it cool)
Step 2: Whisk together all your dry ingredients (including your fixins') in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Combine beer and dry ingredients and mix well with wooden spoon. Batter will be very sticky.
Step 4: Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Have fun with this recipe! It's great made with different cheeses, honey, or sun dried tomatoes. Try whatever tickles your fancy. I also tend to be pretty adventurous with my beers, this means I run into my fair share of duds. Beer Bread is great for buyers remorse, take that Apricot Ale!
Enjoy!

Make yourself at home, cause I'm going out.

It's a known fact in my family that I have a love of dusty cluttered antique shops and coffee. Well, combine the two with inclement weather and you have the perfect day.

Sunday I was feeling a little bit of cabin fever, so even though the weather was pretty terrible I found it to be the perfect time to explore downtown Hendersonville. Now, downtown really isn't anything new to me as I've been coming and going since I can remember, but when it rains the tourists disappear! The town is quaint, the coffee divine, and I honestly think exploring during a rainstorm is the best way to enjoy the town. Most of my favorite places are in dire need of repair, the floors are usually scattered with buckets catching rain water and one can count on a soundtrack of drips and Benny Goodman.  I can't think of a better way to dig through junk!

By the end of my little outing I looked like a drowned rat, had met my caffeine quota for the day, and purchased 10 milk bottle caps. Yep. Milk bottle caps.