Update: Nicole's 30 before 30

It's a belated Christmas miracle, I'm updating the grits&lime blog! Let's see how my 30 before 30 list is doing since there is uh, 138 days until I turn 30!

I have found myself modifying my list here and there to make the list more realistic. When I originally compiled the list I was in a completely stage in my life - single and in transition. Now, I've gotten married, moved back to Atlanta, and started a new job!

1) Compile 30 things to do before I turn 30
2) 365 Photo project - to start in 2012
3) Take steps into getting Hudson to be a therapy dog
4) Streamline life - unsubscribe from unnecessary emails, eliminate time wasters
5) Get makeup professionally done
6) Meet a Twitter friend in person
7) Put grits&lime on Etsy
8) Learn to cook new dishes
9) Join professional organizations
10) Become more green
11) Experience a new culture
12) Get a new camera
13) Live a healthier lifestyle and establish an exercise routine
14) Establish a snowball debt plan and execute
15) Find and put grandma and grandpa's video on DVD
16) Take a dance class
17) Improve posture
18) Stop biting nails (again)
19) Get a tattoo
20) Take more risks in home design
21) Learn how to knit
22) Start a milk glass collection
23) Repurpose or refinish grandpa's table
24) See prayer flags at dairy farms and rails to trails
25) Visit a new country
26) Let it be.
27) Upcycle bedroom furniture
28) Ride on motorcycle with dad
29) Get a full body massage
30) Dance with my dad

There are a few items on here that are not a one-time task - they are ongoing. One of the things I really hope to accomplish in 2012 is to streamline my life more - between dividing my time with my husband, working a full time job, and maintaining a house - my time is more valuable than ever. I've already begun the streamline process.

Here are some of the things I have done:

• Purchased a laptop. Getting rid of the bulky PC. Time to be more portable and be able to work from anywhere. Plus, saves room. 
• Organized the linen closet and cabinets under the sink. Organization takes time but saves time in the long run. 
• Delete any emails I've already read. Part of the purging and decluttering plan. And organizing in both folders/labels for both work and personal email. 
• Unsubscribe to blogs. My time is valuable. I am only subscribed to blogs I read on a regular basis now. If I haven't had an interest in any of the posts in a fews weeks, it's time to unsubscribe. The first thing I did when I got back from my honeymoon was unsubscribe to ALL wedding blogs. 
• Sync my work (Outlook) calendar with my Google calendar on my iPhone and Mac. 
• Started using Wunderlist - it's the best task management tool I have found to date. It has really been helpful in my job! 

Another thing I hope to do in 2012 is to "let it be." Things I cannot change - let it be. Family dynamics change. Friends comes and go. Life just happens and I need to let it be. I am also trying to remind myself that I do not have to have everything in life figured out. And it's okay if I don't get everything done - sometimes my to-do lists are way too ambitious. It's all about finding a balance and just not stressing over things that are out of my control. So, if this blog doesn't get updated as often as it should, I'm not going to stress. ;)

List of antique stores in St. Augustine, Florida

Holy cow, we haven't updated since March. I promise we have good excuses. Here is one: www.projectmattandnicole.com. And yes, I crossed blogged.

A while ago, a couple of people requested that I write down the places I go to for antiques when I go to St. Augustine. This past week, my fiance and I vacationed in St. Augustine and had the opportunity to stop in at my usual places. I was sure to foursquare them so I could know where they all were. It was also Matt's first real time exploring St. Augustine. I think he really enjoyed his time there!

So, here is my list. There are a few places that I omitted. I only recommended the places that I personally go to often and actually buy from. If you know of a place in the area that I should check out, be sure to write it in the comment section. I'd love to check it out! 

Out There Antiques
Just as the name states, it is a bit out there. The drive isn't so bad though. It's near the airport. When we were there this last time jets were flying over to practice for the upcoming air show so that was pretty cool. There are over 40 dealers in the 6,000 square foot space. We've bought quite a few pieces of milk glass there, as well as the cameras shown in the picture. The prices are very reasonable and the owner is great!

Address:
6410 US One North

Hours: 
Tuesday - Saturday | 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday | 1 pm - 5 pm


Designer's Etc
Bought a couple of awesome purses here for $1. Seriously. It's touch and go though, sometimes they have great stuff, sometimes they don't.

Address:

413 Anastasia Boulevard

Hours:
Monday - Friday | 10 am - 5: 30 pm
Saturday | 10 am - 4 pm

Anastasia Antiques
I don't think I have actually bought anything here yet, but it's definitely always one of my stops when I am junkin' (coined by Aaron Draplin). They have a lot of glassware, and it's it color coded which is a feast for my eyes. Soooo prettyyyyy. If you hear what sounds like a hostess announcing over the intercom that so and so's table is ready, don't worry, you're not going crazy. O'Steen's Seafood restaurant is next door. This is apparently a pretty popular restaurant and there is usually a long line to get a table so the antique store and restaurant apparently partnered up. Thus, you can shop while you wait for your table. I've eaten there before, it's great but I am not sure why the hype is about. Oh, and the restaurant is cash only.

Address:
201 Anastasia Boulevard

Hours:
Sunday and Monday | 12 pm - 5 pm; Tuesday and Wednesday | 12 pm - 6 pm; Thursday - Saturday | 11 am - 6 pm


St. Vincent DePaul Society Thrift Shop
Two words: orange couch. This place isn't exclusive to St. Augustine. There are St. Vincent DePaul thrift stores throughout the county. I always find milk glass here at great prices. And yes, there is where I got the orange couch. They have a warehouse in the back of even more stuff that hasn't been placed out yet. If you ask, they will sometimes let you stroll through there. Cash only here.

Address:
19 Mc Millan Street

Hours:
Monday - Saturday | 10 am - 5 pm

St Augustine Antique Emporium
This is a new place a I recently came across so I've only been there once. They have over 33 dealers under one roof. I remember they had a lot of cool stain glass pieces. They also had some cool, old cameras. The prices were decent as well.

Address:
62 San Marco Avenue

Hours:
Monday - Saturday | 10:30 am - 5:30 pm; Sunday | 11:30 am - 5:30 pm


Goodwill
Let's face it. There are a lot of elderly people in Florida. Their stuff usually ends up at Goodwill.  

Address: 2005 US 1 South

Hours:
Monday - Saturday | 10am - 7 pm; Sunday | 12 pm - 5 pm

Tiffany is a Sewing Goddess

Can I just say how proud I am of Tiffany? She recently sewed a custom set of crib bedding for our friend, Stacy. Psst...a little secret...this was her first time sewing something for a crib. She has a natural talent for visioning something in her head and making it come to life with her sewing machine.

I really loved the theme that Stacy picked for little Audrey's room - vintage, girly, yet classic. It's a beautiful room that Audrey can surely grow into. I adore the birds and birdcages!

I couldn't post the photos of the sweet linens without showing how perfectly they tied into the room's theme. 

 

What's amazing is that until this past November I had never met Stacy! And Stacy and Tiffany only recently met in person. The power of Twitter. Although I did meet Stacy at the Geekend conference in Savannah.

Congrats, Stacy! We're so excited for little Audrey! And how cool is it that she is due on Tiff's birthday!?

Photos were taken by Teresa Little Earnest of memories n more photography :)

30 before 30

I've had my 30 before 30 list compiled for a while. For some reason, this list was really hard for me. I wanted the items to be realistic because let's face it, I will be thirty in just 480 days. What's funny is that I am just now seeing Tiffany's list and I hadn't discussed the items on my list yet we have at five of the same items on our lists! We must be destined to be best friends. Our birthdays are close to (April and May) so we have about the same length of time to fulfill everyone on our lists. 

1) Compile 30 things to do before I turn 30
2) Get a tattoo
3) Take steps into getting Hudson to be a therapy dog
4) Take graphic design classes
5) Become a mentor
6) Meet a Twitter friend in person
7) Put grits&lime on Etsy
8) Learn to cook new dishes
9) Learn how to do a fish tail braid
10) Skydive
11) Visit a new state
12) Refinish grandpa's table
13) Get in greatest shape of my life
14) Pay off majority of loans and all credit card
15) Find and put grandma and grandpa's video on DVD
16) Take dance lessons with Matt
17) Improve posture
18) Stop biting nails once and for all
19) Visit another country
20) Take more risks in home design
21) Learn how to knit
22) Start a milk glass collection
22) Create a water barrel
23) Start an ongoing community or social event
24) See prayer flags at dairy farms and rails to trails
25) Go on an epic road trip
26) Let it go.
27) Take a ballet class
28) Ride on motorcycle with dad
29) Pay it forward 
30) Continue working on green initiative

30 before 30

well, nicole was right. 2010 definitely brought about a lot of change. i got a promotion at "my day job" which is very exciting and i was also accepted to grad school!

i know that 2011 and 2012 will be equally exciting and there's no telling what will be around the next corner. one thing is for sure though... my 30th birthday will be making it's presence known in 2012. it appears that there are 442 days remaining until said birthday and since my life tends to revolve around to-do lists... why not have a 30 before 30 to-do list! so, here we go!

1. buy new towels for the bathroom & throw out the old ones
2. go to a nice restaurant downtown wearing a cocktail dress
3. run a 5K straight without walking
4. visit 1 (maybe 2) new states
5. go to see a play/musical/ballet/opera
6. treat myself to a massage
7. read 10 new books
8. get my next tattoo to celebrate the 10yr anniversary of my surgery
9. go on a trip with my sister (without the nieces)
10. take a dance class – something new
11. complete a bike/run race (muddy buddy will suffice)
12. cook thai food at home by my self
13. lose 10 pounds
14. create a morning schedule and stick to it
15. sew a pair of pants that fit correctly
16. go out of the country (preferably someplace new)
17. go skiing
18. do a 50s pinup photo shoot (the classy kind though)
19. start writing the book i’ve been talking about for years
20. spontaneously take a weekend road trip (no planning whatsoever)
21. take an art class – the real kind
22. make fresh homemade bread
23. find a good dermatologist
24. start an etsy shop for grits&lime
25. mail my postsecret
26. make a meal for my family – holiday style
27. host a party
28. complete a sprint triathlon
29. create a real savings account and leave it alone
30. buy something nice for myself from tiffany’s (it is my namesake after all)

feel free to give suggestions to any of these!

updated 10/4/2011

Who says filing cabinets have to be ugly?

I don't know about you but I have always wondered, why are filing cabinets so expensive, yet so ugly? I was recently inspired by this Apartment Therapy post of transforming old, ugly filing cabinets into beautiful, functional ones.

Here is one that has been covered in decorative paper.

And look at this before and after. You know I can't resist that mint color. I want! 

Check out the rest of the post at Apartment Therapy. They have the rest of the before and after photos there.

Oh yes, BIG NEWS. I am officially moving back to Atlanta in February so look for an explosion of grits&lime awesomeness in March. Also, I have a blog in the works chronicling mine and my fiance's adventures in home design and DIY projects so you might be seeing some posts here from that blog every now and then. I am also going to be getting into the thick of the DIY projects for my wedding too so look for those posts as well.

Tiffany is working on a crib bedding project for a baby girl and it is going to be so adorable! She will have to post it when that is completed. Oh yes, I just put her on the spot.

Here's to 2011!

Lots of changes happened between Tiffany and I towards the tail end of 2010, changes that will carry over into 2011 in big ways! Between the two of us we had some GIANT changes - a job promotion, acceptance into grad school, and a wedding proposal. Not to mention the little changes.

I cannot speak for Tiff, but I know 2010 taught me that we should celebrate even the smallest moments of celebration and accomplishments because they can equal into HUGE things when you look at the big picture. Happiness is a snowball effect and it all has to start with the individual snowflakes. So, here's to 2011 and all its tiny snowflakes!

I guess this also explains the absence of posts, we've been busy!


*image by Flights of Fancy