Hearty Southern comfort food in a casual environment with signature apple fritters. We decided to take a fall weekend trip to Tennessee. As everyone can attest, this year has been one of the worst in recent memory which prompted the need to escape to the mountains for a couple of days. We aren’t major nature…
Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles
Everyone has that one friend whose word is unassailable when it comes to food recommendations. My cousin, DJ, swore by Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles in Columbia, SC, near Columbiana Centre Mall. That was good enough for me. The Service We had a large party so it took awhile but the server methodically worked her way…
Fall in the Courtyard
While my indoor fall decor has been up since September 1, we just got around to buying ornamental pumpkins for the outside. We decorate more in the back courtyard area because our porch is tiny and we never enter through the front door anyway. Judging by my Instagram feed, it’s almost mandatory now to strategically…
Todaro’s Pizza
My husband and some of his work buddies occasional frequent this hipster pizzeria joint for lunch so I wanted to check it out. It’s located off of Main Street in downtown #YeahThatGreenville near Urban Wren. It has a nice astroturf area to hang out and play cornhole while you wait on your pizza to cook…
Husk: Charleston
The Story During one of our trips to the South Carolina coast, the wait was too long at Poogan’s Porch so we decided to try the original Husk restaurant. The light yellow facade exterior of the restaurant paired with the haint blue porch ceiling is quintessential Charleston. We got reservations on Resy to avoid a…
Myles Pizza Pub
The Story This new to Greenville but four decades old pizzeria was highly recommended by my brother. It was covered a few times in The Greenville News so we added it to our list of eateries to check out. It’s located next to Eastlan Baptist Church (now Eastlan Newspring) near Greenville Tech. Although the space…
Restaurant 17 at Hotel Domestique
The Story I discovered this spot after following the Urban Petals (Greer, SC) Instagram account. Anna Stouffer, the lifestyle boutique owner and floral designer, has provided floral installations and arrangements for upscale weddings at Hotel Domestique. After seeing multiple weddings she designed at the hotel, I discovered it was located in nearby Travelers Rest. It…
Review: Twin Creeks Lavender U-Pick
Sometimes Facebook suggestions can lead to opportunities one might have missed otherwise. A local lavender grower offered free entry to their U-Pick fields for essential workers. Last year, we went to Southern Hills Lavender Farm in the Greer area that was small but nicely done. First Impression U – Pick Pics Thankfully, it was overcast…
Rick Erwin’s Level 10
The Story It was a cold and rainy night…just kidding. It was a beautiful and balmy southern afternoon when we went out to celebrate my birthday in August. I tried to guess where we were going but definitely wasn’t thinking about going to Spartanburg, SC. It is actually starting to a be really cool little…
Weekend Travels: Athens and Madison, Georgia
In the COVID-19 era, options are limited when it comes to travel. One tries to avoid public transit which results in day trips by car. We are currently avoiding major cities due to the ongoing protests. Over the past few years, we have been to most of the noteworthy small towns in the region (GA,…
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Flying Biscuit Cafe
The Story This relatively new eatery is near the iconic Army Navy Store and Rick Erwin’s West End. It is a popular spot on Saturday mornings but the wait wasn’t too long. Due to social distancing, the wait may vary. They had a pretty expansive menu. So many choices… The Service The relatively young staff…
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Limoncello
The Story This establishment, part of the Larkin’s Restaurants group, has been on our list of places to try for awhile. It’s located in downtown Greenville, S.C. close to the picturesque Falls Park on the Reedy. One Sunday night, we decided to forego our usual ice cream or pizza routine and see if the hype…
Tablescape Roundup
I entertain once a year outside of random family drop ins but I still like to style my dining room table. Maybe it’s the influence of my Great Aunt Wilhelmina who was known for her gleaming gold flatware or renting from an octogenarian when I lived in Washington, D.C. for a few years but I…
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: SBH BBQ Co.
IThis is our current favorite barbecue spot in the Greenville area. It’s best to call ahead to see if they have run out of meat (especially ribs) but the food is the best we have had locally.
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Gather GVL
I have been looking forward to the opening of Gather GVL, an outdoor food court area comprised of restaurants housed in brightly colored, retired, metal shipping containers, located on the edge of downtown Greenville, South Carolina.
Places to Eat in Savannah, Georgia
My husband and I love Savannah. We honeymooned there in 2014 and try to make it back once a year at least. When we head off on our trips, my modus operandi is to hop on Facebook for restaurant suggestions en route to the city. We like to live on the edge! While unorthodox, it…
DIY: Flower Box Arrangement
Do you ever have the urge to make something? Every now and then, I get the itch to create. Usually, flowers are involved. My latest project was a small wooden crate I picked up at Hobby Lobby a while back. I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I bought it. It was in the…
Husk: Greenville
The Story When the place has a single word as the name, you know the experience is going to be interesting and expensive. We’d passed Husk many times in our walks downtown #yeahTHATgreenville but knew we needed to make reservations. One Friday, we called in route and had no trouble getting reservations. We went right…
Banana Republic Style Passport: A Review
Thinking about trying Banana Republic’s new clothes rental service?
Blush Christmas: 2019 Edition
I may or may not have literally set my hair on fire decorating for Christmas this year.
Weekend Travels: Blue Ridge, Georgia
We haven’t been on as many weekend getaways lately. We are trying to save for a substantial summer vacation overseas which means less travel during the academic year. (Any other former teachers think in school years or is that just me?) Last weekend, Chris decided we needed to get out of town and I wholeheartedly…
Fall at This Monty House
Every year, my Facebook feed is full of individuals trying to squash early seasonal decorator’s joy. In the immortal words of Lee Greenwood, “I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free!” We can’t let the naysayers keep us from decorating our own houses whenever we feel like it (insert Patrick…
Green Tops
The Story A Facebook friend recommended Green Tops as a new spot to try. They raved about the freshness of the food and I added it to our list. One Thursday we decided to give it a try. Green Tops is located where the old Bikas Drive-In was formerly located for many years. The Service…
Universal Joint
The Story Chris and I have wanted to try Universal Joint for a while. I’d heard really good things about their burgers from several friends. We went on a weekday evening and it was fairly empty. The main problem with the restaurant is the lack of parking in the back. We had tried to go…
Kitchen Sync
The Story The husband and I are always forcing ourselves to go to new restaurants that we haven’t tried yet. Sometimes it turns out well but sometimes they are a dud. One Friday as we were racking our brains about where to try next, we landed on a restaurant that we had passed many times…
Molly and Myles Ice Cream
Molly and Myles definitely caters to a younger demographic with its Avengers covered walls, bright primary colors, nontraditional decor (toilet seats with emerging characters, fidget spinners, Pez dispensers, etc.), and abundance of toys and board games.
A Few of My Favorite Things 2.0
When something is good (ex. Albanese gummy bears), you feel the need to tell everyone about it even if they don’t ask. Here is a non-exhaustive list of my current favorite things. Let me know if you have good suggestions of items to potentially include in future posts. Eye Buy Direct Glasses I like to…
Vic’s on the River (Savannah, GA)
The Story For our fifth anniversary dinner, Chris booked a dinner cruise on The Georgia Queen, the popular riverboat that sails past River Street in Savannah, Georgia, each night. We had seen it on our honeymoon five years earlier and remembered it looking like a fun experience so Chris bought tickets ahead of time. The…
Wannabe Plant Lady Chronicles Pt. 2: The Big Reveal
I wrote about my Wannabe Plant Lady Chronicles back in May. You can see my original post here. The bulbs and seeds we got from Lowe’s said they were foolproof which was reassuring. Instructions on the packs were pretty straightforward-dig a hole, plant the burbs/spread the seed, water and wait 60 days. It was fun…
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Kustom Krust (Greer, SC)
There are a lot of new eateries in Greer especially near the new Lowes Foods store. One Friday night, we decided to check out Kustom Krust. We were not disappointed! Usually our favorite pizza places (in no particular order) are Tito‘s, Toss Pizza Pub and Sidewall. Kustom Krust has a different set up-there is a…
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Top 3 Cold Treat Spots
A Sunday night snack was a longstanding childhood tradition. After church, we’d pile into our wood paneled Dodge Caravan (didn’t everyone have one of those at some point?) and head to McDonald’s for gigantic vanilla cones and salty fries. Traditions die hard so now Chris and I find ourselves looking forward to an after church treat each week. Our current favorite spots are below.
Roots: The $30 Challenge
Everyone has a set number (a.k.a the number that they don’t want to go over for a specific purchase ) in their head when they go shopping. When Chris and I entered Roots on Augusta, we were informed that they had a $10 off a purchase of $50 or more special. If I was arranging…
Wannabe Plant Lady Chronicles Pt. 1
Sometimes you are convinced that you must have done a particular thing at some point in your life but then you are confronted with reality that you didn’t when you actually attempt said thing. I thought I had planted flowers before but apparently not. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always liked flowers-drawing them,…
Weekend Travels: Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls
Who says “let’s go to Walhalla this weekend?” Apparently, my husband is on a quest to drive to every random spot in the Georgia and the Carolina’s.
Buttermilk Sky Pie
We want to try other flavors. For a church or family event, I’ll probably grab an Edwards pie from Walmart but for presentation or personal use I’d definitely pick up one of these treats.
Monkey Wrench Smokehouse (Travelers Rest, SC)
It was a rainy Friday night and per usual we were taking turns shooting down each other’s restaurant choices. Lately, we have been going to spots in Greer and Travelers Rest to avoid trying to find parking in downtown Greenville.
Crawl Space Finds
When I saw the bucket of glass pieces, he told me what they were and I immediately saw the potential for inclusion on my kitchen shelf.
Eating Our Way Through Greenville: Guacamole
My mystery salsa was good but it was like playing salsa roulette there for a minute.
Rick Erwin’s EastEnd
(2017 Valentine’s Day Post) February is an insanely busy month for us so Chris ended up making reservations at Rick Erwins for 9:00 PM. It seemed like a good idea at the time but within a few minutes of being seated we both hit a wall (figuratively of course). We have since given up on…
Weekend Finds
My last favorite things post proved to be pretty popular so here’s another one. If it ain’t broke… The best part of January is spending Christmas gift cards. As my dad says it’s like I have “money burning in my pockets” until I spend them. Even he admitted that there was a lot more in…
Select
Like most Friday nights, we get to the end of the week and want to go out to eat but struggle with where to go. Do we revert to the tried and true favorite?
Weekend Travels: Clayton + Dahlonega, Georgia
As with most of our weekend trips, this one started out with Chris asking if I wanted to go to (insert random spot). Chris likes to travel anywhere he hasn’t been yet and I like to take pictures of everything which works out well. Clayton Clayton was a charming town. It was a typical small…
Hampton Station: A Review
If ever there were a yuppie paradise in #YeahThatGreenville then Hampton Station is it.
Meet the Plants
I am slowly becoming a plant lady. This mostly due to my love of color and fear of commitment.
When Life Gives You a Magnolia Branch…
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and when a snowstorm gives you a magnolia branch you add it to your decorations.
A French Blue Christmas: 2018 Edition
I like to switch things up when it comes to holiday decor. Of course, the traditional ornaments are worked in along with past decorations but I like to challenge myself. This year, my inspiration came from a set of Wedgwood plates that I scored for $5 at a yard sale last year. Inspiration After starting…
Making It: Decorating Christmas Ornaments
Question: Why make ornaments when there are a bajillion in every store? Answer: Because it is fun and relaxing! As with most good ideas, I started on Pinterest. After settling on trying my hand at gold foiled ornaments and reading a few blogs, it was off to the store to buy the needed supplies. Generally,…
Grilling @ #ThisMontyHouse: Photo Gallery
Before we were married, Chris would talk about cooking. After we got married, I discovered that he meant grilling. After we figured that out, things made more sense. He found an in-the-box grill on Facebook marketplace for $25. Since there are only two of us, a small grill works fine. My Dad makes legendary ribs…
Weekend Travels: Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Our general plan was to get in the car and drove north through the North Mountains to go leaf peeping and visit a few sites. The line of cars to go on the suspended bridge at Grandfather Mountain went on for days so we called an audible and continued on to Blowing Rock. We had…
