Being the nerd that I am I was super stoked to see that our vintage green picnic basket, scored from CommunEcos, was featured on the cover.

See it sitting up there on top of the refrigerator? Doesn’t it look festive up there? You can read more about our basket here, which was thrifted in Durham and now lives in our guest bathroom floor.  She’s a celebrity.

However the sad truth was that this incident only solidified some test results that I got last week that I had not yet shared with all of you. No, not a life threatening disease, just a surprising diagnosis a la Deborah Needleman’s online style quiz.  Deborah Needleman is the brains behind the now deceased Domino Magazine by the way – and know for fun quirky yet affordable design ideas. Get the book here take the quiz here.

It will ask you a lot of questions about your home and even ask you to choose images that you prefer over others.

And then it gives you results like “Country Classic” that make you sound like George Jones.

Well, I’m not sure I want to be George Jones. Although his house is pretty old man pimp.

 He’s got neon in his veins – just so you know.

Anyhoo, here was my evaluation.

What it says is nice and actually pretty accurate I must admit. I’m just not a fan of the title.

Chad: Well, what did you want it to say? “Country chic?”

Amy: No “country.” Maybe “eclectic” or “quirky classic.”

Chad: Grins and looks up at the longhorns over the tv. “Ok.”

I’m glad we all agree.

From here.

Here are two examples. Even more are on their way.

And FREE SHIPPING all weekend long! Shop here.

compromise.

Yes, this is from Backyard. Both sides of it.

Even better is when you stumble on something muey bueno without even trying. Today’s find comes from the Cause for Paws Thrift Store in Raleigh.

Not really looking for anything in particular on this trip. But I spy with my little eye – something yellow.

Do you see what I see? Yes.

National Geographics. From the 60′s. 99 cents each.

After squatting for a a few minutes I figured out that I could not in fact splurge on all 78  of them, bummer. However I could narrow down my selections, which I did by choosing the oldest issues with what i believe had the best covers or maps inside.

It’s was a great score no doubt, but you may be thinking that this doesn’t exactly look like a motherload.

As I fluttered to the cash register on “I just found fifty year old National Geographic” wings a nice man stopped me and asked if I had turned the corner. A corner hidden by the mattresses in the store.

Bam.

You’re welcome.

That’s Cause for Paws. In Raleigh. Crabtree Road.

Go there, come home with this:

Photos via Elle Decor and Apartment Therapy.

I do plan to skip some of the Louisiana recipes, specifically the ones that involve alligator and other exotic ingredients. Luckily the Southern Sausage Stew does not call for amphibian.

Basically you cook some white rice and then top it off with a mixture of cooked sausage, onions,  peppers and spices.

Just be warned, it was insanely spicy! Like Man v. Food, “oh no he wiped his eyes with his napkin!” kind of spicy.

I try to be respectful and only put recipes on the blog that are available from the author online, and this one isn’t. But if you have Jamie’s cookbook or decide to buy it, I would recommend using about half of the cayenne pepper – meaning 1/2 a teaspoon instead of one heaping teaspoon full. Also I would skip the red chile altogether. The recipe calls for two and I used one – I think it was the culprit.

Despite the profuse sweating – which we’ll admit, I’m prone to anyways…  this dish was quite tasty. I also threw some shrimp into the boil which the recipe did not call for. I was afraid the sausage might not be enough for my growing boy and they were on mega sale at the Teeter. As in two bucks for half a pound. It was a good move.

Lin aren’t you proud that I remembered to take a picture of my plate?

My client chose this graphic, and slightly international fabric to complement the decor of his new downtown loft which is currently being renovated.  He also selected industrial metal zippers instead of the invisible white zippers that I normally use.

Honestly I wasn’t sure about the shiny metal zippers at first, but now that they are sewn, I think they look pretty awesome. Very rugged but also discreet enough to not scratch your head when you are actually using the pillow. 

Once these babies  and their three red friends are out the door I will be filing metal zippers away under “things not to forget to use.”

The initial reason? Security of course. Also, it’s not too large of an expense considering we already have the cement pad, half bricked walls, framing and a roof. And not to mention a bunch of junk to conceal.

Thus, our garage-wanting wheels are spinning again.  Based on estimates we’ve received, we’re thinking it would mean about two grand to save for in between now and the summer. Just so you know, we’re ambitious but we would not try to hang a garage door on our own. We considered putting up the walls ourselves and allow a pro to come behind us with a door and siding.  In the end, we discovered that this would not save us much money at all and would only cost us much needed sanity and happy marriage points.

But two grand isn’t exactly pocket change. So here are some thoughts on the situation:

• Chad is great at eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch. I am great at eating Jersey Mikes, but can stop for a few months.
• Previously mentioned junk and Craigslist. A beautiful combination.
• We’ve found out that our homeowners insurance and auto insurance companies will give us a rate discount for having a garage. Which means we could easily offset some of our costs. By the way we think that’s pretty standard for most insurance companies around here, but if you’re across the pond we’d recommend checking with your own company like RAC to be sure if a discount is available. That’s right – we’ve got exotic readers.
• Barton and Lucy have both offered to get jobs if necessary to offset costs, but we will also consider corporate sponsors.
• An easy to add garage could add resale value to our casa in the event we ever sell it. Would you pay more for a home with a garage?

 Thoughts? Reservations? Suggestions for garage door installation people? Job offers for Barton and Lucy?

“I’m nominating you guys for Best Local Blog for the Indy 2012 Best of the Triangle! And I’m telling all my friends to vote for you too!

Though I’m torn as to whether or not it’s tacky for a company to ask for nominations, I hope you can find a way to get other votes because y’all deserve it!

Have a great week!

Rachel”

First and foremost. Thanks Rachel. Beyond flattered = us.

And we think you’re right. It could be tacky for us to ask anyone else to vote for us.

Tacky like yellow plaid.

Paired with yellow plaid.

Paired with a mullet.

And a gorilla.

Look at that stance, that swagger. Making that gorilla look good! 

What can I say? Everything I do, I do it big. 

All of this just to clarify that at least one of us knows a little something about being tacky.

Anyhoo, thanks for the email girly and we hope that the rest of you guys will consider throwing us a bone with Triangle Indy right here. Oh, and you can totally leave some categories blank, like best potatoes? Buy a scooter? Do what?

You only have to answer 20 of 259 categories - the blog category is dead last. You know, just in case.

Yesterday I window shopped on my way to the thread store next door and found the following to be interesting.

Graphic thank you cards. Only $4, and they were not all pink.

Gold spray-painted coral.

But classy because it’s on a lucite base.

Considering pirate cupcakes for my birthday next month.

Did you guys not buy anything kind of cool and cheap this weekend?