Thrift Store Finds

Time for another round of thrift store finds! We are entering into a different season of thrifting here in Florida. The snowbirds have mostly gone back north, which means less crowded stores. That also means less turnover and less donations. The first part of that sentence is a good thing because we don't have to fight for the good stuff/go every day. The second part sounds like it is not so good, but I know Habitat for Humanity has a warehouse full of donated furniture that they fall back on when the store gets a bit sparse. Although if you have looked at the background of my pictures, you know it rarely gets sparse. But enough chatting, time for some pictures!

I found this queen size bed at Habitat, but unfortunately the price tag is blurry so I have no clue how much it was. Brass is definitely back in style and the metal itself was in good condition. As you can see in the third picture, one of the topper pieces was missing from the decorative floral ball. Someone must have really loved this bed because it wasn't there the next week.

This giant light fixture was $8. It had a lot of potential but requires really cool looking light bulbs. Those globe bulbs you see above are not my first choice. Again, this piece was gone the next week which was a bit surprising considering there was no "tested and works" sticker on it, which leads me to believe that the thing needed rewiring.

This is an end table/tv console? Not entirely sure, given the awkward size. However, the shape and detailing on the bottom was interesting and the wood was in decent condition. The $25 price tag never hurts, either.

Next to the green and brass bed pieces was a very interesting floor lamp. If I remember correctly, it was priced at $10. That isn't real wood you see there but the lamp was tested and works so for a kids room or home office, it wasn't a bad buy.

I really like this platter and it was only $1! That being said, I did not purchase it because it goes with absolutely none of my current possessions. Sometimes you have to hold back despite the cool details and awesome price.

Want to see our other thrift store finds? We usually blog about them every week!

Recently Spotted: Chevron Picnic Basket

Warmer weather is finally upon us.  Wahoo!  While Briana has been enjoying warm weather for at least two months now (seriously, I was wearing shorts in early March when I went on spring break), I have been riding out Polar Vortex after Polar Vortex since 2013.  BUT, finally thank the good Lord, we're about to hit a week with temps in the high seventies and eighties.  Bring on the spray tans, flip flops, patio sittin', and most importantly produce season (we <3 berries and fried green tomatoes!).  While I'm not one to sit and bake in the sun (mostly due to a complete lack of melanin in my skin and a deep fear of wrinkles), I do love being outside at sunset for jazz in the park at the D.C. sculpture garden, movies under the stars, and heading to the drive in movie theater.  Aaaaaaall of which could benefit from this super cute chevron picnic basket I spotted at C.Wonder.

Chevron Picnic Basket
$128
Image Source: C.Wonder

Image Source: C.Wonder

Isn't it adorable?  Oprah evidently thought so too and featured it in a recent edition of O Magazine.  The basket comes with four sets of utensils, plates, cups, and cloth napkins, as well as, a chevron print blanket. Although the price is a bit steep, you can usually get 20% off for signing up for emails and they also run store wide sales every month.  I found C.Wonder on ebates.com, so your purchase would qualify for cash back too.  We have a C.Wonder at Tysons Corner Mall and I love popping in there to check out their sale rack for fun gifts and clothing.  I checked it out in person and I would love to have this basket for Mr. 3 and me.  Wouldn't it be great to stop at a deli or Whole Foods and have a cook free date night with your significant other...or take sangria and hang out with your girlfriends!  While I will probably wait and hope it goes on super sale in a few months, I'm so excited for summer I will probably create my own "basket" with a beach towel and an igloo cooler.  Anyone else as excited for summer as me?

PS - I must bookmark this post to refer to when D.C. turns into a swampy hot mess starting about July 4th through Labor Day.  My excitement tends to lessen a bit after the humidity makes my hair go flat and I go straight into "glisten mode" as soon as I walk outside...even at 8 PM.  

This post was not sponsored by C.Wonder, I simply love this picnic basket and think it's so fun.  All opinions are my own. 

Bits from Behind the Scenes: Kombucha

Following my recent post on kombucha, my family (who are quite the loyal Posh Purpose readers!) and I have had quite the lively email chain going regarding kombucha.  Unbeknownst to me, our grandmother grew/cultivated/created kombucha in a jar she kept in the living room and my mother and aunts feared that the kombucha (which looked like a mushroom) would attack them in the night.  Here's the email chain I received (Mama = our grandmother):

Email 1 - My Mom: I wonder if you realize that that stuff you are paying money for is what Mama use to grow in a big gallon jar and keep it under a chair.  It was a giant, creepy mushroom that her friend gave her because they grow babies.  Then, they poured off the liquid and drank it.  It looked like a space alien.

Email 2 - Me: welll.....I've never seen pictures of it, but I would imagine it's quite disgusting looking.  which is why i choose to pay for it in my nice clean glass bottle with pretty labeling.  i'm also pretty sure if i left a jar under the sink i would forget about it and it would one day be the basis for a sci-fi movie based on a true story...orrrrrrr i'd convince myself it was ok to drink and spend a few days in the hospital recovering from bad kombucha (which I can only imagine how horrid bad kombucha could be).  not to be gross...but all i'm going to say about it's effects are that my colon has been extra healthy of late.  sooooo, if any of you are suffering from a less than pleasant potty experience, you might give it a go.

Email 3 - My Mom: Mama kept it under a chair in the living room.

Email 4 - Our Aunt J: When I slept at Mama' s I always made sure a lid was on it...just to be sure it stayed in the jar overnite. I got the mushroom from a friend of mine.

Email 5 - My Mom: Briana's mom said she put books on top of the jar to make sure the mushroom stayed in there.

Email 6 - Aunt J: Yes we each had our way of protecting ourselves.

Email 7 - My Mom: How life changes......what we once feared is now sold in pricey bottles.

Email 8 - Briana's Mom: Mama kept it in daddy's office under the desk when I was there. I understood that it had to be in a dark environment.  It was very very scary! Mama offered me a taste, understandably I declined the experience.  Frankly I would rather have cancer than let a man eating mushroom live in my house.

Needless to say, it looks like I will be the only one raising a glass of kombucha anytime soon (poured directly from a nice clean, fancy pants bottle...and not from a jar shoved in some dark corner of my apartment).  Hope this made you laugh!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Fake Mothers Day

Since my mom will be out of town for Mothers Day this year, we decided to celebrate a fake Mothers Day last night. Wednesday nights are not the best for huge parties so we went with a much easier theme. Pies! Each sister made a pie and brought it to my parents' house.

Here is the aftermath of the fake Mothers Day pie party. Everything was so good! I made a lemon meringue pie, Natalia made a coconut cream pie, Bekah made a cherry pie, and Kim made a peanut butter pie. 

Amusingly enough, our gift to mother would have been useful for two of the pies. We all bought her a copper beating bowl, which is perfect for whipping egg whites into meringue. The copper reacts with the whites so there is no need to boost the fluffiness with cream of tartar or lemon juice. 

A pie party is a great idea if you want to host a casual and easy event. We had variety in desserts without any one person having to do a ton of work. And who doesn't love more than one type of pie? You could make it a bit more fancy than we did and use your fine china and silver pie servers (or pick some silver plate servers at your local thrift store). Make a bubbly punch (and go back to your thrift store to pick up a new punch bowl and cup set) but make sure it isn't too sweet. And if you do host a pie party, please let us know! 

Vacation Recap: Country Music & Pretty Horses!

Mr. 3's dad is a lifetime member to the Kentucky Derby and a Kentucky Colonel to boot.  Ever since Mr. 3 and I started dating, I've been invited to attend all the fun.  This year, Mr. 3 and I had enough of the 11+ hour drive from D.C. and we decided to make two part trip.  After some intense Google map searching, I found cheap tickets for flights for us to Nashville which is only 2.5 hours away from Lousivlle.  We left D.C. on Wednesday night after work and spent Thursday checking out Nashville before heading out to Kentucky on Friday morning in time for the Kentucky Oaks races.  We stayed about 45 minutes away in a hotel in Indiana and drove back to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby.  On Sunday morning, we headed back to Nashville for a fun afternoon and flew out on Monday morning.  The trip was a whirlwind and not what I would call a relaxing vacation but we had the best time.  If you were following me on Instagram (and you should!) you got to see some of the highlights, but here's a few more photos and a list of activities and yummy places to eat if you find yourself in the Nashville-Louisville-Indiana area.

Nashville

Nashville is a great city and you can see a lot in a few days.  That said, it's not a walkable city so be sure to rent a car unless you are planning on only staying and seeing downtown.  It's also still a bit "gritty" so you be careful if you decide to take public transportation or walk.  Overall, the food is awesome and the people are so welcoming!  You can always find someplace to listen to a live band (there was even someone playing at an airport bar!).  I highly recommend driving through the residential areas to check out the adorable craftsman style and bungalow houses.

Place to Stay

Loews Vanderbilt Hotel

Breakfast

Pancake Pantry

American - OMG.  This place had a line out the door on a Thursday morning at 10:30...and with good reason.  The sweet potato pancakes and bacon were delicious.

Loveless Cafe 

Southern - OMG again.  I had a pimento cheese and fried green tomato biscuit, cheese grits, and bacon.  Mr. 3 had the pulled pork biscuit which was to die for.  Everything was delicious.  Just to be really egregious, I had a slice of coconut cream pie that was so good I bought the restaurant's cookbook so I could have the recipe.

Heaven on a plate.

Lunch & Dinner

Pinewood Social

Southern - I've never had pork belly in a salad, but it was a tasty treat.  Mr. 3 also enjoyed the beef tongue reuben.  There's also a retro bowling alley that looked like tons of fun if you have the time.

Dessert

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

I sampled a ton of flavors (Savannah Buttermint, Black Coffee, and Banana French Toast), but I wound up with the Goat Cheese and Cherry and a scoop of the Brown Butter Almond Brittle.  Mr. 3 had the Brambleberry Crisp (there were bits of pie in it!) and the Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate.

Happy Hour/Drinks

Mason Bar

Southern - The crab corn dogs are AMAZING.  I also recommend their spicy margarita. 

Things to Do

Hermitage

Home of President Andrew Jackson

Ryman Auditorium

"Mother Church of Country Music" - the original Grand Ole Opry

Larry Gaitlin performing.  Sorry for the grittiness. My camera phone doesn't come with a telephoto lense.

8th Avenue

Lots of antique shops

12 South

Fun neighborhood with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and local shops

White's Mercantile @ 12 South

Corsair Distillery

Small bourbon distillery operation.  It's a cheap way to spend an hour or two ($8 for the tour).

Good grains with your booze.

Rippy's

Awesome honky tonk bar spread across three levels with a different band on each floor.  No cover charge.  Try to find a seat on the third floor which has a great view of the strip and is open air when it's warm enough.  The bands were awesome!

View from Rippy's 3rd floor.

Louisville

Louisville is a crazy city during Derby weekend.  Unfortunately, we don't usually get to check out much of the city other than a couple of restaurants since we are at the races all day on Friday and Saturday.

Breakfast/Brunch

Harvest

Farm to Table - Order anything and it will be wonderful....but if you just can't decide go for the "biscuit and gravy."  It only comes with one biscuit, but it is huge.  Harvest also has a huge bourbon selection and you can order flights to get a sample of what you like.

Chilly weather = pants.

New Albany, IN

We like to stay in New Albany when we can find the rooms.  It's only about 20 minutes from the racetrack and it is a really cute town that is going through some revitalization.  The people here are friendly and the houses are adorable.

Breakfast

Toast on Market

American - If they offer a bourbon champagne cocktail, order it!  I also highly recommend the bread pudding pancake.

Dinner

River City Winery

American - The pear and gorgonzola pizza is awesome and be sure to get a glass of Riesling.

Seymour, IN

This year we stayed a bit farther away because we found a Hampton Inn cheaper than we could find a hotel in Louisville (a Day's Inn can go for $300 or more!).  There wasn't much going on in this town, but if you find yourself passing by, this Mexican restaurant is awesome!

Dinner

El Nopal

Mexican - Awesome prices and great food - try the churros!

We had an awesome time and as you can probably tell...ate waaaaay tooooo much!  I'll have at least one other article on our Nashville trip...so stay tuned for more details of my fun adventures!