Atlanta Antique Auction

J and I were invited to an auction on Friday night. I was excited, but slightly terrified. I googled the auction to no avail. I could find minimal media presence. I was nervous as we pulled outside the warehouse to park. It was dark, and in a questionable area of town. 

From the moment I stepped in the door, my perception changed. It was a huge 30,000 square foot warehouse buzzing with people. A man stood serving tacos and hotdogs. A few feet closer in, two you g women served beer and wine from behind an antique bar. 

J and I found our neighbor, Gabe, who promptly welcomed us with open arms and took us an on a tour. He showed us the ropes, pointing us on the way of the wine and auction registration.

Beautiful antiques started being sold for pennies on the dollar! Swept up by the excitement of the auction and energy in the room, I bid on a shelf. A shelf is basically one shelf on a cart. I found myself paying $48.00 (decimal is correct!) on 47 pieces of silver plate (some even over copper!), pewter and brass.

I hit the holy grail! Thoughts of Craig's List resell and financing our upcoming trip to Bordeaux danced through my head.

My favorite piece was a small silver plated dish with a 'B' monogrammed on the center.

I spent the rest of the weekend polishing away. Below you can see before and after. I found a wonderful way to clean silver. Boil water in a large pot. Once it comes to a boil, remove from the stove. Place aluminum foil on the bottom of the pot. Insert silver piece and add Baking Soda. The mixture with smell like sulfur and work like a charm!

I can say, without a doubt, we will be returning. Perhaps to even purchase some bigger ticket items!

Farm House Table

The Barton Tree Farm was established by William Jackson Barton Sr. in the early 70's. The farm boasts 89 acres, most of which is covered by loblolly pines and harvested for construction timber. The farm is located in Clyo, Georgia.

Over the years, the farm has served many uses -- at one point it was a rental property, another housing bees for honey production; but it has always been a tree farm.

In recent years, the boom of shabby chic and DIY has taken over. The economy has forced the crafty to use their talents to make the old, new again. This was our such venture to the Barton Tree Farm. An old farm house, destroyed by a hurricane decades ago sits, lopped in place by vines and brick foundation. it was my goal to collect the forsaken wood paneling from the house and restore it for my creation.

I planned a trip from Atlanta to Savannah for the weekend. Savannah being only an hour from Clyo, seemed like the legitimate place to stay. It only took about an hour to gather the wood from the famr house. The wood was discolored, gnawed and broken. It was stained green from aging and I started to doubt my project. Still, we gathered enough wood to make 2 farm house tables.

Once I returned with the wood to Atlanta, the cleaning process began. JCP scrubbed the wood with a Clorox and water mix to clean the wood. Then, he carefully rinsed each panel.

We had to wait till the next day for the wood to dry.

Being novices, we needed a flat surface to construct the table. Our uneven backyard, simply was not going to work. We moved the project to the front yard and began to hammer.

Much to our surprise, we drew quite a crowd as the neighbors began to marvel at what we could possibly be constructing.

We even had an artist stop by and invite us to the Atlanta Auction House. He explained that he created furniture out of industrial materials. He remarked on the quality of the wood. We even ended up attending the Auction that Friday, but that is a story for a different post!

True to form, our Dachshund, Mosby, is in almost every aspect of our lives. He helped with determining stability of the table.

We used a few tutorials off Pinterest to get our barrings and then started hammering away. In hindsight, I see why screws are better. Nails tend to come loose with movement over time.


The last touch for the table was to sand the top, stain it, paint the base and legs, then to put finishing oil on the stained top. Sounds like a lot, but really just a bunch of painting. The wood was extremely dry being so old and subjected to the elements for decades. It drank up the stain immediately. We went a little darker than we wanted to because of this, but the finished product was still great!

Scholarship Tips

I'm letting my job cross over a little bit here, but I thought this could be helpful to anyone currently in school!

I launched a newsletter at my college with the goal of providing information on an array of financial topics such as scholarships, financial aid updates, loan repayment and personal finance to include 401K and 529 plans, taxes and education credits, as well as tips on wealth management. Our goal is to direct you to resources to help you manage your finances during and after college!

This week's topic is scholarships. 

Have you checked out IGRAD yet? This site offers scholarships, financial literacy tools and even a job search engine! IGRAD.com

If you've ever stopped by my office and asked about scholarship options, you've probably heard me talk about UPromise.com. UPromise is backed by Sallie Mae. It offers not only scholarships, but a cash back option on everyday items such as groceries, gas and dining as well. To go directly to the scholarship site and skip the rest, click here: 

https://www.collegeanswer.com/scholarships/index.aspx

Additionally, you can check out FastWeb.com, Scholarships.com or GACollege411.com for more resources, or just open the attachment in this email to find 10 additional scholarships from StudentScholarships.org! 

A few tips for applying for scholarships: 

1. Treat the application process like a class. Set a aside an hour or two each week and apply for scholarships. Remember, it's just like class, so you must attend! 

2. Make a chart. Work smarter, not harder. Do you find that several scholarships have overlapping essay themes? Tweak the same essay to fit each scholarship application. 

3. Proof read! Use your resources. Check out an Academic Success Center on campus, or politely ask an instructor or classmate if they would look over your work. 

4. Track deadlines to ensure your entry is received in time

5. Keep it neat! Make sure your application is professional. 

6. Only apply if you're eligible. Be smart with you time. If the application is only for Seniors and you're a freshman, move on to the next scholarship opportunity. 

7. Lastly, never pay to apply for a scholarship. It might be scam! Scholarships provide financial assistance, they don't require it! 

Have a fantastic Thursday and good luck on the scholarship applications! 

Porch Tomatoes

One of the more rewarding things I have found in my adult life, is planting something and watching it grow. We are big fans of growing tomatoes, but weren't quite sure how it would work on a porch. 

These little tomatoes were purchased as seeds at Target. Once they started to get big, we replanted and transferred from an indoor plastic container to a larger outdoor potter. We made the mistake of using too many seeds though. As the plant grew, we eventually had to pluck out the less successful stalks. We also made a trip to Pike Nursery to get a stake. 

My one caution would be, that tomato plants needs to be watered frequently. That, and if you live on the top level, winds have a tendency to knock over the plant. It gets a little top heavy as it matures. It will take about 8 weeks for your plant to start producing tomatoes. 

Enjoy!

Adventures in (Healthy) Eating

Eating healthy starts with the food in your backyard. You know what pesticides, chemicals or lack thereof that you put on your homegrown tomatoes, peppers and basil. I recommend you start with a few basics and increase from there. Seasonings such as basil are easy to grow from your kitchen windowsill.

We always opt to research fun recipes that involve cooking. A little bit of work in the kitchen just seems to make the food taste that much better.

Greens are some of our favorites. Pictured here are collards. We like vinegar based collards. 

One of our breakfast recipes is from the Zumba cookbook. It's all vegetarian. Corn tortillas, filled with black beans, eggs whites and avocado. 

Our favorite dinners include chicken black bean southwest burgers, topped with avocado rather than condiments. Serve with a side salad to make sure you are full enough. 

Since we're prone to burgers and sandwiches, these portabello mushrooms on english muffins are perfect. Top with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. We added balsamic to top it off and add a kick. 

Eating healthy starts with the food you buy. Read the ingredients. Don't purchase foods comprised of items you can't pronounce. Whenever possible, try to support local. Farm to table is a great way to try new foods and make sure you're getting the freshest ingredients possible. 

Sneak Peek! : Beltline Atlanta

Sweet Auburn Curb Market of Atlanta, Georgia

Always one to support local, as an artist, J and I love shopping at Farmer's Markets. We used this article  on the top ten markets from Metro Atlanta to narrow down our options and start exploring the new city. Our first stop was an indoor market called Sweet Auburn Curb Marketing. The market was huge and much more commercialized than most of the farmer markets I've been too. It also has the most convenient store hours, as well as ample parking. The market will even validate your parking inside so you can forgo the $5 parking charge on the way out. 

They had a plethora of lunch options. We chose a taco restaurant, but the variety even include a place called Afro Dish, which appeared to serve Ox Tail! 

The main reason we went to the farmer's market was to pick up fish at well below grocery store pricing. Fortunately, we found J and I's favorite fish, Red Snapper.  My youngest sister, E, also picked up some shucked oysters while we were there. The oysters were huge and well worth it! 

The market had a variety of meats, as you would assume. They even had pig ears and turkey legs for sale. There were not quite as many vegetable vendors as you would have thought, but still plenty to chose from. A few even had their own branding of spices and pickled onions, etc. We found one called Wild Bill, which E and I immediately purchased for my father, Bill. 

All in all, a great trip. I am certain we will return, but am looking forward to exploring some of the more mom and pop-ish farmer markets in the future. I would encourage you to try Sweet Auburn Curb Market -- even if you are an Alabama fan have a little trouble getting over the name. :)