My Goldilocks Boots

I've been searching for the perfect pair of brown riding boots since last year, and I finally decided to fork out the money for the ones I wanted.  Over the past several weeks I've been searching for ones that I liked.  I'm pretty particular, too.

They have to be flat.  As flattering as high heeled boots look on my 5'2" frame, they are impractical and I will never wear them.

They have to be leather. I don't mean to sound snooty here, but fake leather boots really bug me.  They look plasticy and fall apart after one season.

They have to be the perfect shade of tan. Not too dark because it's verging on brown, which I already have.  Not too light because they get dirty.

They have to be the right price. Boots can be pricey, but some brands go overboard.  (Check out the Loeffler Randall ones below)  I'm willing to pay for quality, but not spend a ridiculous amount of money.

They have to be trend transcendent. If I'm paying full price for something (which rarely ever happens)  I want to wear it for the next ten years.  That means no brand symbols, sorry Tory Burch.  No crazy hardware, no booties or knee highs, no studs, and nothing else that's popularity will fizzle out in the next few years.

Here's what I've come up with.

My collection of the perfect Goldilocks boots.  

1. Tahari Andy Boots $195
2. Loeffler Randall Margeaux Boots $695
3. Merona Kasia Leather Riding Boots $75 at Target.com
4. Pax 2 Chain Riding Boots $300 at Topshop.com
5. Frye Dorado Polished Leather Riding Boots $498
6. Indigo by Clarks Charlie Zip Boots $215

The Loeffler Randall and Frye boots are a bit out of my price range, but I liked them so much I decided to include them.  I've ordered both the Tahari and Clarks boots from Piperlime, and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival.  Hope one pair works!  What's your idea of the perfect pair of Goldilocks boots?

How To Season A Cast Iron Skillet

First of all, I gave my blog a little makeover, what do ya think?  I got a little bored with the old decor, so I spiced it up a bit.  Last night I had a little extra time on my hands and decided to season my cast iron skillets.  For those of you who don't know how to do it, here's a tutorial.

Cast Iron skillets have been growing in popularity recently, but it pains me to see people not taking care of them properly.  They aren't like your typical pot or pan, you can't just throw them in the dishwasher. I recently inherited a cast iron skillet that had not been properly cared for, and I was guilty of neglecting one of mine as well.

The skillet that I already had is the smaller one, I picked it up for a dollar at a flea market when I was in college.  It's the perfect size for one grilled cheese or one fried egg.  It got rusty from leaving it in the sink soaking- a big no no for cast iron.  The larger pan that I just received had some minor rust spots and was missing the shiny non-stick surface that these skillets need to have.

If you're interested in seasoning your own cast iron skillet, here's what you'll need:

Dish Soap

Steel Wool or stiff sponge

Clean, dry cloth or paper towels

Cooking oil or shortening

1. Preheat  oven to 325.

2. Wash skillet with warm soapy water scrubbing to remove all of the rust. Typically you should not use soap to wash your skillet, but since we're about to season it, it's okay.

3. Thoroughly dry skillet. Using a paper towel or cloth,  apply a thin coat of oil or shortening to the inside and outside of the skillet.

4. Place skillet upside down on oven rack and place a piece of foil or a sheet pan on the rack below to catch the drips. Bake for one hour.

5.Turn off heat and allow the skillet to cool completely before removing from the oven.

 

Here's what they looked like afterward.  After continued use and proper care, the larger pan should start to develop the dark patina.  I will season it a few more times to speed up that process.

Grill Marks: Greenville's Newest Addition

Earlier this week Mr. T and I tried out downtown Greenville's newest restaurant Grill Marks.  Grill Marks is  a part of the ever-growing Larkin's restaurant group.  We were pretty impressed.  Food was great, beer was reasonably priced, and the milkshakes were to die for.

We sat up at the bar.  This is something we do very frequently, especially with new restaurants.  Usually the thing that takes the most time for a restaurant to perfect is the service- trust me I used to manage one.  Sitting at the bar alleviates this problem.

For those of you who aren't from the area I won't bore you with details about the restaurant, but I will let you drool for a bit as you scroll through the pictures. 

Fries- Your choice of Skinny, Fat, or Sweet Potato

 T opted for the fried pickles with his burger

I enjoyed my milkshake 'till the last drop!  We will be back for sure, we'll just wait until the crowds die down and it's newness wears off a bit.  Thanks Larkin's for another great addition!

I'm Baaaack!

After more than three months of not blogging, I'm finally starting to miss it.  In the chaos of all of the wedding festivities, blogging took a back seat.  But now I'm back and have lots to share.

The first things I wanted to share were a few of my bridal portraits.  My photographer, Courtney Dox, did an amazing job.  We took the pictures at the River Road and Jasmine Houses in Irmo, SC.  They had so many great indoor and outdoor spaces for us to use.

I was dead set on having a dress with cap sleeves and a keyhole back, but couldn't find one that looked good on me.  I ended up choosing a strapless gown and having a jacket made to go over the dress.  I was so happy that I did this. It gave me the flexibility to wear the jacket for a more traditional look and take it off for a more modern look.

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend. Please comment and let me know which ones are your favorites.  I haven't gotten a bridal portrait blown up yet, and I'd love to get some input on which one I should choose!

Craft Week Part 2

Last night I decided to begin making the table runners I've been meaning to start on for the last two months.  My sister April of A. Liz Adventures made her own table runners for her reception last year, which I thought was great.  It saved her a lot of money, plus she was able to get custom runners that matched her decor perfectly.  I found two fabrics online that I liked and ordered what I needed to cover our twelve tables.  Later that week FORTY POUNDS of fabric arrived at our front door.

 You should have seen the look on Mr. T's face.  

So last night I got home from work, poured myself a hefty glass of rosé, and started cutting.  Lulu the cat even helped, too.

I've finished two runners so far, and have ten more to go.  That should amuse me for the next couple of weeks.  Here's the finished product.  I laid the runner over our table to see how it looked.  The colors I chose for the bottles coordinate perfectly, too!  All it's missing are some votives and flowers. 

I didn't even realize it until now, but the runner matches exactly with the plaid chars that you can see in the background.  After our wedding, this runner may have a new home!  Hope  y'all have a happy hump day!

Craft Week Part 1

As I approach the two month mark until our wedding,  I'm starting to realize there are quite a few DIY projects that I've told myself I would do, but still haven't gotten around to doing.  Mr. T's three day  out-of-town work trip couldn't have come at a better time.  I've decided to delve into those projects this week while he's away.  That way I can mess up the apartment as much as I want to without feeling guilty about not cleaning up after myself.  Craft week began yesterday with making faux colored milk glass bottles.  The picture below was my inspiration.

I found this picture on Pinterest, but there was no link to step by step instructions.  After searching a little bit more I found this tutorial from House of Earnest. I stopped by a second-hand store on my lunch break yesterday and picked up 6 vases for a total of $6.00.  Then went to the craft store for some cheap acrylic paint and picked up six different shades.  All you do is pour the paint into the vases, roll them around until they are fully coated.  Let them dry up-side-down in a Solo cup. If you're having trouble having the paint fully coat the vase, just add one or two drops of water to the paint.  Here's the final product.

I've got a lot more of these to make, but I'm thrilled with how they turned out!  A cheap way to add unique hand-made decor to our reception.

Makin' Butta

As my sister April of A. Liz Adventures spent her weekend watching the Miss USA pageant, working out, and making low-cal salads, I spent mine making butter.  Yes, I made my own butter.  It actually isn't as hard as you think it may be. No need for one of those wooden barrels with the sticks that they used to churn butter in the olden days.  All you need is a mason jar and heavy cream.  Here's how you do it.

Fill the mason jar half way with cold heavy cream. Fasten the lid tightly and shake shake shake. Shake until your arms get tired, then continue shaking until they want to fall off, and then shake some more.  About 25 minutes total.  After about 7 minutes of shaking you'll notice that the cream starts to thickly coat the outside of the jar, and after about 15 minutes you'll see the buttermilk start to separate from the butter. 

Once the butter is completely separated from the buttermilk, you can pour the contents of the jar through a strainer to get all of the buttermilk out.  The butter will be extremely soft at this point, but will harden up once you put it in the fridge.

I just love the color of this butter, a very faint yellow as opposed to the fake bright yellow you find in most grocery store butters.  You can add a little bit of salt at this point to the butter if you prefer the salted variety, but I just kept it as is.

And this is what you end up with.  I used a pint of creme and ended up with 1 cup of butter milk, and 1 cup of butter.  Buttermilk can easily  be frozen and used at a later date.  While I haven't calculated if this is a cost effective way get butter, it sure was fun!  And honestly, who can sit down at lunch with their work friends and say "guess what I did this weekend, made butter".  Not many!  Hope y'all have a great week!