Behind the Curtain

Pause

Hello all. So, you know how I recently finished an MA in Art History? Well, I'm back to school, yet again, for my third and final degree. This one is a little different, with a 10 day boot camp happening this month. Between doing all the readings for that, 16 Sparrows work, traveling to see family and actually attending the "boot camp" I'm going to be very busy for the next few weeks and not online much. With that being said, I'm going to be taking a little break from here until next month. I may pop in once or twice to say hello, but I wont be doing any regular posting this month. You can still catch me on grandma club every once in a while and I will still be on Flickr. Thanks for understanding, I will see you in August!

Knits in the Hall

Last night we saw Kids in the Hall, As Live as We'll Ever Be at the Chicago Theater. It was freakin' hilarious and I'm so glad that we got tickets to it. We've been KITH fans for many years and it was great to see them do new material, but still work in some of their old characters. It seems that their remaining shows are in the Midwest and Canada, but check out their tour dates and see if they are coming your way. If not, you can always take a peek at the video skit they released on You Tube.

With most of my program's qualifiers out of the way and only my thesis to work on I'm finding I have time to actually, oh, I don't know, breathe. I've also been able to start a knitting project, though I'm not enjoying this scarf very much. It's the stained glass scarf from Handknit Holidays and boy did I have a bear of a time starting it out. It's a double-sided scarf and I decided to go with the two-stranded method so I didn't have to knit each row twice (with the slip-and-slide method on circular needles). Problem is, the author wasn't very clear with the directions, to the point where I thought there was an error in the pattern. After some internet searching I found a clarification by the author which made a world of difference. After that little bit of light on the matter I finally got the project going, albeit, slowly because this scarf is taking forever due to its reversible nature. I'm looking at starting either the Rose Red beret or the Urchin beret by Ysolda as a "break project" from this scarf. I'm leaning toward the Rose Red, but I've never done cables before and that might be the best one to start on. For those interested in my knitting adventures I'm on Ravelry now as 16sparrows.

Savannah Eats & Drinks

Well, I'm back home in Chicago and think I did well on all the "hoops" left in my grad program. Now all I have left is to tap out my thesis. Since that trip may be the last I ever make to Savannah, I figure I should make a little list of my favorite places to eat and booze for any of you who will be visiting this cute little town.

Savannah Tea Room (cost: $ - $$)
7 East Broughton Street • link (website has music)
My favorite place for lunch. Robyn and I went here at least once a week while she was living in Savannah. After she left to NYC I continued to go weekly on my own. Anyway - you can get full afternoon tea here as well as a light nibble. I would recommend that you skip the fancy afternoon tea for the lunch tea, which is the best bang for your buck. You get a pot of tea, soup, entree and a sampling of their sweets (normally two small cakes, shortbread, small scone, and fruits) for $12-$20, depending on what entree you order. I would suggest that you get any of the other fancy teas only if you are celebrating something like mother's day or similar. In general though, I feel it is too many sweets and you get a better meal with the lunch tea. My favorites are the egg salad sandwhich or the talpia and their soups are always amazing. The ultimate is the carrot soup, but its rare that they have it. If you want to get fancy, they also have champagne tea, which is what we did to celebrate Robyn & John's wedding. Super plus - the decoration is very Deco / Arts & Crafts. If you decide to eat here, make sure to try to get a table in the library - best room in the house. If you want to eat there on Friday or the weekend, call ahead to make a reservation.

Lulu's Chocolate Bar (cost: $ - $$)
42 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd • link
My favorite bar - great martini's, sweet music and fabulous sweets. I have to warn you, they mix the drinks strong, so take it slow. I really don't know what else to say about this place except that you must stop here if you are in Savannah. (Note: Bars aren't open on Sundays in Savannah - it is the south after all.)

The Crab Shack (cost: $ - $$)
40 Estill Hammock Rd, Tybee Island • link (website has music)
OK - so this is a 30 minute drive to one of the islands outside of downtown, but well worth it. Most of the Crab Shack's seating is outside, overlooking the water and makes for a splendid twilight view. The seafood is damn fresh, the service is quick and the drinks will blow your mind. If you so please, you can ask for your cocktail in a coconut! The drive there is a simple two-lane highway through swampland and is very very dark at night, so please have a DD or sober-up before you head back to the city. Luckily, the view from your table will be lovely while you wait for the alcohol to wear off.

Queenies (cost: $)
1611 Habersham Street
I am so tired of the Paula Dean explosion, as many Savannah locals are. If you want to try seriously good southern food, skip Lady & Sons and go for Queenies. It has great outdoor seating and the best damn fried food in the universe. I'm in love with their mac & cheese and they have good beers.

Mrs. Wilkes (cost: $)
107 W Jones Street • link
Another great alternative to Lady & Sons is Mrs. Wilkes, who has great southern food in a family style atmosphere. I mean true family style, you sit in their living room, serve yourself and clear off your own table. The lines tend to go around the block for this place, so be prepared to wait.

Pinkie Master's (cost: $)
318 Drayton St
If you are into dive bars, this is the place. Great jukebox, electronic darts and entertaining customers. This place fills up fast and its not a bar to ask for complicated mixed drinks - none-the-less, it has got some serious character and history. Gerald Ford stood on the bar and announced he was going to run for president - how's that for classy? Note: this place is cash only and closed on Sunday.

The Pink House (cost: $$ - $$$)
23 Abercorn Street
Do not make a reservation for the regular Pink House resturaunt - go to the basement. It has a seperate entrance, takes no reservations, has a guy playing the piano during dinner and has a kick-ass wine list. I always take visitors to this place and they all fall in love with it. The basement has a great atmosphere and the food is well worth the price tag. Best dessert is the praline basket with ice cream and seasonal berries.

The Soda Pop Shoppe (cost: $)
114 Bull Street
There are plenty overpriced ice creams shops in Savannah that cater to tourists. If you want to go where the locals are as well as the city's characters, go to the Soda Pop Shop. The prices will give your wallet a break and they have everything from hot dogs to deli sandwiches and the best darn soda float you'll find in downtown. This place is also great because it sells coke in a bottle, which several tourist places do, but locals hate heading to that part of town. The main reason to go here is for the owner, who will surely put a smile on your face. The hot dogs aren't half bad either. To add to the ambiance, the pop shoppe is right next door to an old style barber who also does shoe shine, if you are so inclined to get a cut and shine.

There are, of course, plenty of other great eats and drinks in Savannah, but these are my favorites and the ones I most frequently went to. If you end up visiting Savannah and go to any of these places, let me know what you think!

French clothing and Travel

I'm leaving to Savannah today for a little over a week to take care of some of my thesis stuff and take some exit exams. I'll be taking a break for a couple weeks to get all my stuff done, in the meantime, here is some vintage eye candy.

    

Ah, how I love 1930s style so...Click images for larger.

If you are keen on vintage clothing catalogs "juffrouwjo" has scanned in pretty much the entire 1938 Sears & Roebuck spring/summer catalog. Check it out.

Same ol'view

I really love my office and the light it gets, but right now, I'm quite sick of it. Oh, I can't wait until I'm finished with my papers and this quarter is done with - it's been a tough one. Yay for grad school.

Chocolate Covered Thesis

I've been taking the first days of the year in relaxation, baking, knitting and reading. I'm hoping to store up this calm feeling so as to have extra for when classes start again. I'm not sure if it really works that way, but there is no harm in trying. I'm leaving to Savannah today to begin my last quarter of coursework. Its exciting and scary all at the same time. Finishing my courses means I'm closer to completing my masters, but it also signals the beginning of many qualifying exams I need to pass within my department as well as the commencement of my thesis. I've already started putting together my committee and hope to have them solidified by the end of this month.

I'm not one to have new year resolutions, but I do set goals for myself. Most of the ones I have are extensions of life changes I have been attempting since a few months ago, but I would like to add some big, pie-in-the-sky goals to my list. For those who would like to do the same, but are not sure how to, check out Gala's post on how to set amazing goals.

(Photo is of Orange Chocolate Cupcakes I made from the recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.)

Blarg

It's been a stressful week, but I finally get to relax today. My "me" time technically started last night. A friend and I went to see David Sedaris, who read some previously published work as well as some short stories he is working on for his new book. We were cracking our asses off. It was such a great time and I will be anticipating the release of his new book in June. He just kicked off his tour, so check out his schedule to see if he'll be coming near you.

My weekend will be full of researching and writing, but I'm one of those nerds who enjoy such things. But today I'm going to be taking a break from school work and 16 Sparrows work and am just going to relax. It seems as if the weather is agreeing with my sentiment as it has dropped from the frightful 90 degrees it has been to a lovely 70 degrees. My friends and I are going to celebrate the final arrival of Fall by eating some southern cooking in the great outdoors.

Sweeping away the cobwebs.

Since the first few days of classes are not so hectic, I took the time to clean and reorganize my office. The biggest accomplishment is that I finally set-up my drafting table. Well, it was set-up, per-say, but it was covered in junk and unusable. This accumulation of junk was enabled by the fact that it is the second desk I have in my office. The other being the one housing my computer and is where I do the chief of my work. (Do not assume, because I have two desks in my office space that it is a large room. Oh no, quite the contrary. It is a shoe box of a thing with all my stuff crammed in.) But, the stockpile of crap that was collecting on this secondary desk was just getting on my freakin' nerves. So, I rolled up my sleeves and cleared and trashed and re-purposed. The whole process was very gratifying.

Prior to returning to Savannah I knew I would have little time for crafty endeavors while back in school, so I left my sewing machine and such in Chicago. Rather than my drafting table being my craft area, as it normally is, it has turned into my letter writing and packaging center. So if you get a letter or package from me, this is where is was written or assembled. Now with a clean and organized office, I have no excuse for not trying to get that article published, right? Whew, easier said than done!

Eco Office

With school starting again, I find myself once more purchasing supplies for my classes. This year though, I'm going to try to be more eco-friendly with my purchases. I've already found some recycled binders (also here, for a better price, me thinks) and I am purchasing writing pads made from 100% recycled materials. But the thing that has tickled my design bone to the core is this Staple-less Stapler from Greenlok.

For other office stuff, you can get 100% recycled items from almost any office supply place, but there are also super keen shops like Grassroots, Todae, Eco at Home, and The Green Office with really awesome sustainable & eco-conscious goods. For those out of the US, my favs are Todae's Biodegradable Pens, their keen envelopes and Eco at Home's paper pens. For those in the US, you can also find similar biodegratable corn pens and cute envelopes at Grassroots, without that pesky international shipping to worry about.

Back to (Grad) School

Enjoying the calm before classes start in a few days. I'm feeling a bit under the weather and it is tremendously hot outside, so I've just been staying inside reading, drinking tea and spazing out with the kitty. Oh, the start of school is going to hit me like a ton of bricks!