Jen Bowles Design

Sweet Savannah, Part 2

The continuation of my Savannah saga finds us at the Petticoats and Parasols Cupcake  Party and Vendor Fair at Back in the Day bakery.

I'd wanted to visit Back in the Day when I was in Savannah last spring but never made it out of the historic district.  Last Friday was a different story.

Located in what I would say is a transitional neighborhood, it's hard to imagine that a place so charming and yummy is just inside the plate glass windows.  Well, maybe the funky blue tile and festive garlands give it away just a little.  

When we saw the signs, we knew for sure we were in the right place.  

When we walked in and saw the bakery counter and thematically attired women setting out their fabulous wares, we knew for sure we were in the right place.        

There was so much to look at and admire, and I'm just talking about the bakery itself so far!        

So many things to look at: chalkboards, great art (lots of stuff by Jenny & Aaron) and vintage goodies galore.

I was so happy to get a chance to say hello to the wonderful hostess, Jenn!  Jenn  is so warm & welcoming and obviously did a wonderful job putting on the entire Petticoats and Parasols art event--and I wasn't even an attendee (lucky belles!).  

We had arrived before the trolley carrying the P&P Belles, so we had a chance to take in the vendor tables and do some shopping before the bakery filled up.       All of the tables were full of such goodness, overflowing with eye candy.

I was delighted to see Liz Demos there.  Since closing her @home Vintage General shop earlier this year, she's been keeping busy doing event styling and freelance work. She had a lovely display set up (right next to the cupcakes in fact...) and I spent quite a while foraging through a jar of vintage letter tiles.  Liz even remembered that I bought letters from her last spring at her shop (!).  She shared that she has studio space nearby to the bakery and maybe, someday, hopefully soon, she'll be offering classes or tours or something fun there.  Whatever it is, it's sure to be wonderful!

After not too long, I noticed a trolley full of lovely ladies pull up outside the bakery.  It was so much fun to watch everyone climb off the trolley, dressed in their Southern Belle finest!  So many wonderful ensembles, the ladies must've been planning and shopping for months :-).          

Last but not least, the cupcakes.  The cupcakes.  I had a vanilla cupcake with aqua buttercream.  Laura had the red velvet.  In short, they were delicious. Complete yumminess, the freshest cupcake I've ever had.  My only regret is that I had room for one cupcake.  If only they had mini size...

What a lovely and wonderful evening. Sweet Savannah, I can hardly wait to return...

Sweet Savannah, Part 1

I don't want to say that my three hour visit to Savannah last Friday was the highlight of my vacation.

After all, I was on a family trip to Hilton Head.  With my family.  My family that I love and hold dear.

Of course I may have suggested the idea of a trip to Hilton Head  with the knowledge that Sweet Miss Jenn's Petticoats & Parasols art event was going on the same week in Savannah.  And I may have know that while attending the event wasn't a possibility for me {this year}, the Cupcake Party and Vendor Fair on Friday night was open to the public. How serendipitous...

So, last Friday night while the rest of my family was doing this:  

My Cousin Laura and I hopped into her 'mobile and drove like the wind to Savannah.

This was my 3rd visit to Savannah and the weather has always been lovely.  Late afternoon Friday was beautiful: sunny, warm and a pleasant breeze.

Our first stop after finding a parking spot was shopSCAD.  I love the energy of that shop and there's so much to see, starting with the window displays.     Lots of great mixed media pieces and fun textile art. This wreath by Katie Runnels was hanging on the door to the shop--wonderful details and texture in person.  Speaking of Katie, I spotted what must surely be her handiwork hanging from the ceiling over the main display case.  Check out this fabulous handmade chandelier!! The base appeared to be a branch or series of branches.  It was wrapped with wonderful  trim and had lots of vintage goodness hanging from it.  The clear bright bulbs added a great finishing touch.  I'm in love.  I think I'm going to need an outlet in my ceiling in my new studio so I can make something like this.  Swoon...  

Our next stop was going to be Back in the Day bakery for the P&P vendor fair.  However after finding out that started at 6pm and not 5pm, we found ourselves with some extra time to explore.

We parked the car again and headed out on foot to Forsyth Park.  While there we stumbled upon a group of prom peeps, a small wedding inside the walls of the Fragrant Garden, and lots of people out and about enjoying life amongst the green leaves and spanish moss (my fave).  

As we walked back to the car, we were able to see some of the wonderful historic Savannah homes close up.  My favorite was the one with the two little white dogs in the second floor window.  Can you see them?   They were so cute (and real, I saw them move).  

Before we knew it, the 6 o'clock hour approached and it was time to head to Back in the Day for cupcakes and eye candy overload!

{to be continued...}

Savannah Snippets: Architecture

Did you think I was all done posting about my Savannah trip?
Fooled ya!
Savannah has such a wonderful Old South feel.  So many of the buildings and houses and shops have been there for a while.  And by a while I mean maybe 50 years or maybe 250 years.  Such a contrast to where we lived in Charlotte, NC.  If buildings are more than 20 years old, down they come.  Or so it seems.
Not so in Savannah.
Here are a few of my favorite shots that I captured.
I'm partial to decorative iron work, fancy windows and general architectural interestingness...

Exterior of the SCAD owned and operated Gryphon Tea Room.

Bright green staircase is at the SCAD Admissions building.

A cat's eye window and a cat carved out of a garden gate.

A sky blue porch roof.

Cotton exchanges that now house shops along the Savannah River.

And more iron work.

Oh Savannah, you are so...architecturally inspiring.

              

Savannah Favorite: @home vintage general

When I was planning our trip to Savannah, I found an awesome resource:  the design*sponge Savannah city guide .  Written by a Savannah insider, the guide gives you not only an exhaustive list of the places to shop, dine and stay, but also a wonderful overview of the so-called Hostess City of the South. 

Read it.  You won't regret it.

It was while perusing the d*s Savannah guide that I read about @home vintage general.

Located in the Downtown Design District on W. Broughton Street, @home is an absolute delight for anyone who appreciates treasure hunting, painted furniture, unique home decor items and vintage inspired vignettes.
Super gracious owner and
SCAD grad Liz Demos
refers to the shop as her 'creative laboratory' and her experiments are delightful. Liz also works as a freelance producer & photo stylist for several shelter magazines and her artful hand is evident throughout the shop. 

My favorite little corner was the office supply area.  It was there I spent quite a bit of time digging through wire baskets of vintage trading cards, game pieces and flash cards. 
I really loved the giant scissors and all of the wonderful ribbon and trims as well.
Of course the store windows were delightful and the selection of children's merchandise was unique.  And I was thrilled to actually look at several vintage school charts in person (too bad they were too big for my carry-on luggage...).  Did I mention the wonderful soaps or the cards and the vintage millinery and sewing supplies??

Vintage General.  An excellent description and an excellent store.

And to think we almost didn't make it there {eek!}.  On Friday afternoon we were on Broughton St. and had visited several shops.  I had my trusty travel notes and somehow had gotten it in my head that @home was on East Broughton Street.  We walked a few blocks and after passing a car dealership, were met with several empty storefronts.  My heart sank.  Fortunately on Saturday we continued our trek farther down West Broughton and were duly rewarded.

Thank you to Liz for letting me take photos of her wonderful shop, I can't wait until my next visit!                                        

Tastes of Savannah

Yes, another Savannah post.
You know you love them ; )

Over the 4 days we were in Savannah, we sampled a kaleidoscope of different foods.
Morrocan on Friday night, Southern food at Mrs. Wilkes on Monday, ice cream at Leopold's, and even a cupcake (or two...).

When I thought about it, I found that 3 flavors stood out as being the 'signature' flavors of my trip:  peach, pecan and honey.

#1 Peach
Not surprising, since Georgia's nickname is the Peach state.  The first food I had in Savannah (at the aptly named smooth) was a Savannah Sunrise smoothie, a delicious blend of pear, apricot, mango and of course, peaches.  It totally hit the spot.

#2 Pecan
Another big Georgia export and one of my favorite nuts.  I sampled some pecan pralines along the river (warm, buttery and oh so good) and at afternoon tea on Saturday one of the cake slices was topped with a pecan half dipped in chocolate and mounted on a dried apricot.  Hmmm, my mouth is watering.  My most defining pecan dish was a baked sweet potato topped with cinnamon butter and pecans at the Express Bakery and Cafe.  Sublime.

#3  Honey
This one was a bit unexpected. I did have the Savannah Bee Company store on my list of places to visit.  I just didn't know how good is was going to... bee : )
Artisanal honey in so many unique and varied flavors--and a honey bar where you could sample several of them including Tupelo, Sourwood, Black Sage and Orange Blossom.  Then they had the so-called dessert honeys:  Creamed Raspberry and Winter White.  So, so delicious.  Finally they had a plate with honeycomb, Granny Smith apples and sharp cheese.  Again, heavenly.
Conviently, they sell 3oz jars of honey, perfect for your carry-on luggage.  It took me a while to decide between the Winter White and the Creamed Raspberry.  I finally chose the Winter White (after a couple of follow-up sample tastes...).  What I should've done is trashed my tube of travel toothpaste and bought both!  Oh well, there's always mail order...
But the best taste of honey I had, and indeed my tastiest memory of my whole Savannah sojourn, was the SCAD/Savannah Bee Honey Almond  ice cream at Leopold's.  To. Die. For.
Truly.   

So there you have it, Jen's Tastes of Savannah.  Nothing from Paula Deen,  nothing fried, not even any grits.  Of course if you go, you should certainly try all of that fare. And then head over to Leopold's for some Honey Almond to clear your palette!

 

Natural Savannah

I've been a little slow getting back into the swing of things this week.  I think it could be jet lag.  While technically true that Boston and Savannah, GA are in the same time zone, I think anytime you go on a plane, especially with connecting flights, you are subject to jet lag ; )
As I may have mentioned, this was my second trip to Savannah.  We went once in 2006, with the family as a side trip from our Spring Break vacation on Hilton Head.  We just spent the day, took a trolley tour, walked along the river and had lunch.  This time the trip was four days and much more "in depth", but one thing was the same:  the dates I was there.  The end of March.
Savannah in the Spring is beautiful.  Savannah at any other time of year may also be lovely, but since I've only been there in the springtime, that's all I can speak to.
It was such a wonderful change of scenery, to leave the cold and dark of Boston (ok, it was 5am...) and be transported to the warmth and color of Savannah.

The flowers and blooming trees are like Mother Nature's sneak preview, the promise that Spring is coming.  Everywhere.
Eventually.

But my favorite natural element in Savannah isn't really that colorful at all.  Mostly shades of grey, brown and a bit of green.
It's the live oaks.
I love the live oaks draped with Spanish moss.  Let's me know that I am indeed someplace different, someplace enchanting and wonderful and slightly mysterious.

{I just finally finished reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a definite must for anyone venturing to or interested in Savannah}

Yep, eventually Spring will be here too.  Right now we're only so far as the bulbs sending their tender green leaves poking out of the no longer frozen soil and the very beginnings of leaf buds on the trees.  But eventually it will be Spring here too.

Without the Spanish moss.

Signs of Savannah