to thomasville we go

Quite simply, I am ready for fall. Ready for blue skies and cool breezes. Ready for taking walks with a warm jacket on. Ready for my favorite holidays. Ready for Gator football. Just ready.

This past weekend a group of us traveled up to Thomasville for a joyful lunch and shopping. It was too hot outside for words and one of our friends is 9 months pregnant which equals hot and tired. But what a great time we had! We ate at the Savannah Moon Bakery and it was delicious! We stayed there several hours laughing and eating...divine! Of course we frequented all my favorite shops and is it awful that I want to go back today!? Currently, I'm loving Thomasville, Ga. And if you want to see more pictures or read different takes on our day out on the town check here, here, and here! {of course, no pressure girls...oh how I love real life blogging friends!}

On Saturday night I went to Spring Creek Restaurant with David and his parents. Lane wrote a delightful blog on Spring Creek just last week...I will let her describe here. It was so tasty and I think if I had just ordered several helpings of their creamy cheese grits I would've been satisfied. I just loved the Old Florida Cracker atmosphere and we even ran into some Tallahassee friends.

Sunday I got creative and did this for sweet little Camp's nursery. It turned out pretty darn cute if I don't say so myself!

It was another wonderful weekend with wonderful people. And in between it all I moved in with sister and Sally Kate while Marcus was away for the weekend. Heather Lane arrives to the sunshine state on Thursday and I am THIS excited!! I'll see her first next Saturday in The Swamp as we cheer for the orange and blue. Looks like fall is right around the corner afterall :)

sleepy sally...in her brand spankin' new fabulous reversible seat cover made by lane!

dorian with sophie, sister and sk {sleeping again}, and me and camp

summer lovin'...

this lasted for several minutes and was too cute!

sk loved it {camp too!} and the sisters encouraged it.

baby parade

relics...another snazzy antique shop

fried oysters and cheese grits a la spring creek...are you happy david?! :)

we're out of that

Ah, the weekend wrap-up. There's nothing better than looking back through the weekend's pictures and knowing exactly what was being said or gestured at that particular moment we've captured on film. Most of my pictures include some kind of background laughing...usually from moi. This past weekend was most fabulous and I'd like to do it again as soon as possible. Anyone free this weekend?? We had our famous Taste of Tallahassee and it was a success as usual. We completed part III with flying colors and left our tastebuds looking forward to part IV. On Friday night we had a family dinner eating what else...pizza{!} at our favorite, Village Pizza; Saturday we did a girls lunch with the babies at FGF followed by a girls supper and night out on the town; and then we ended with a bang - blunch at Sage with all the fam and friends + David! hmm...isn't that always where we frequent to toast the end of a marvy weekend?! But to say the least the phrase we heard most at these fine establishments was "We're out of that." It was annoying but we moved on and had quite the wonderful time. And that phrase will not deter us the next time either. So remember friends..."It's not about you {ie. the waiter who tries to impress you by memorizing your order}. It's about me and my food!" Cheers!

sister, pamela with carson, and rian

sally kate and her bananas were there too!

me and carson...some say we have similar temperaments :)

mom and pamela with two of the three babes...carson and hadley. girls only!

@ kool beanz...mc, pamela, meghan, and megan

@ sage...sk sampling the american express card

sleepy sally

and happy 6th birthday {yesterday, yes I am an awful mother} to my sweet little fern :)

looking forward to...

{image via Mary Ruffle}

M & D arriving tonight for the weekend
Fresh peach pie a la mode {made by mom, peaches via the Valley!}
Antiques and such shopping on Saturday
Taste of Tallahassee III
Lunch @ FGF will Rian and the girls
Pamela, Meghan, and Megan's visit....of course hosting them :)
Dining al fresco at Kool Beanz {my summer perfume in tow...check.}
Fancy drinks and dancing with all my faves
Sunday Blunch @ Sage
Fern's birthday

...and all this weekend! come join!

p.s. I would love to have the name Mary Ruffle...so, so marvy.

101

mc, sister, and laura lee

It's true, I love a good outing with friends. Whether it's catching a mid-day coffee, a quick bagel before the work day begins, or tcby...it's all good to me. On Wednesday night I went to a newish place in downtown Tallahassee called 101 with sister and Laura Lee {longtime friend and my fabulous landlord}. Now, Tallahassee is an odd capital city - difficult to describe but it's definitely not your big metropolis like other state capitals. But nonetheless I love Tallahassee and love new local places to try. We have a vast culture of artists and restaurateurs around these parts whom I love to support. I think 101 could flourish downtown and I hope it will bring more local hot spots downtown.

I had heard mixed reviews of 101 but was still anxious to form my own opinion. Here goes: food - mediocre plus; atmosphere - cool and swanky, adored the live jazz music, but borderline too many old creepy men as I walked past the bar; drinks - superb! My drink of choice that evening was the Champagne Martini...with a twist. As I was told recently "Mary, you can never order anything just as it is on the menu!" I think of that as a compliment..ah, thank you. So my martini included Champagne and Triple Sec plus a splash of pomegranate juice. divine.

We had a fabulous evening together and LL gave me a whole bag full of magazines which she knows I love. So this weekend's task includes going through all of them and tearing out my favorites to file. Oh, and I'm going to paint some furniture gold. Sounds like fun to me!

I know it's overrated but TGIF!

party time

happy birthday mom and sister!

saturday morning - danielles's baby shower at lane's house

I am all in favor of baby showers for as many children God blesses you with

{yes, the duggars included}

yummy cake shop cupcakes

dorian & ashley with the cutest table decor...monogrammed onesies

I love sisters, especially sisters that match

diaper covers from moi

me, ashley and dorian

{time for a blog dorian!}

saturday evening - surprise birthday party for chris...author of this hilarious blog.

bbq & beer along with flowers by yours truly

with carson and rian

sweet grandmothers with the triplets :)

mom with sk

sunday blunch @ sage...meet david :)

sally baby and her new exersaucer

"I love a good party"

misc.

I just returned from lunch with my mom. She came in town for the weekend and I'm so happy. Dad and Michael were also going to be here this weekend but then they got a better offer...fishing in the Florida Keys. Today they are lobstering and I am jealous. But having mom, Miss I-don't-drive-long-distances, make the trip up is always a treat. We met in Havana at the infamous Mockingbird Cafe. I finally took a few pictures of the food they present. It's top on my food criteria - fresh, flavorful, and colorful! So here it is...the place I always talk about and their festive food:

pollo de mary...blackened chicken salad

mom's delicious shrimp and leek bisque

This weekend is cause for multiple celebrations. We're celebrating both mom{July 30} and sister's{August 10} birthdays! I don't want to ruin any surprises but I heard a rumor that mom brought something from Betty Cakes in Ocala! Tomorrow I have two parties to attend and arrange flowers for and then hopefully we'll have a girls night to see Julie & Julia. And in between we'll be frequenting all our favorite local shops. Mom visit = the absolute best.

In other news, I provided room and board for my dear friend Erin this past week. She is an ADPi sista and was a freshman when I was a senior. She needed a place to stay before she moved into the chapter house and I welcomed her in. It was so fun having a temporary roommate and Fern enjoyed having someone around the house between the hours of 8am-6pm...where she typically has no interaction. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Sahara, not once but twice and would go back tonight if we could.

And last but most certainly not least Sally Kate is 7 months old today and with that said she sat up for the first time by herself last night. She is a doll.

Happy, happy weekend.

day tripper

Yesterday I spent a wonderful afternoon in Thomasville, Georgia. Only 30 minutes outside of Tallahassee it's an easy and fun day trip. They have a wonderful downtown stretch full of boutiques, antique store, and cafes. I went and frequented all three and more. It's nice when you can get out of town for a leisurely afternoon and still return to your own bed in the same day. Of course I pulled my camera out to highlight my favorites of the day which included both places I dined at. And at the first cafe I ran into my friend and fellow blogger Ashley. She has a fabulous blog called Smitten Design. I just adore the name!

I hope to return soon to Thomasville and there's talk about us taking Mom up there for lunch next Saturday - so that kind of soon suits me just fine. If not, I am bound and determined to make it to the Thomasville Rose festival in April...and we all know how much I love a good feshtivuhl!

for lunch the sparkle goat cafe...I can spot a place like this a mile away!

I loved the decor and the food was even better

the number two with quinoa, a south american side. the tea was yummy too! I'm not big on tea in a bottle but this was a refreshing mix of honey, mint, and some other flavors that make up sweet leaf tea. on the bottle it says "homemade goodness in a bottle"...agreed.

I loved the use of all of the planters to display the names of stores, etc.

for supper jonah's fish & grits.

their specialty is shrimp and grits which you better believe I ordered!

but these might have been the most tasty thing I had all day - fried green tomatoes topped with feta, sundried tomatoes, and a balsamic drizzle. wow.