Mary Kay Andrews

I’m Baaaack

Vintage lidded ironstone tureen–for five bucks!

Newly propped living room secretary–ironstone + starfish + old books

Framed morning glory prints

Fresh flowers in freshly purchased silverplated chafing dish

Due to the unfortunate demise of my late, lamented camera, I’ve been away from the blogworld lately. Happily, Mr. Mary Kay surprised me with the purchase of a new camera this week, so I am back now, ready to document some recent acquisitions. Last weekend was an excellent one for junking. Great weather and the company of two junk posse members, Susie and Sharon. I got a head start on them by hitting a Friday sale run by my favorite estate sale wrangler, Vicki Taratoot. Vicki’s sale was in Buckhead, in a 1920s apartment building. The deceased must have had an interesting life. She was a heavy smoker, though, and the walls of her home were literally yellow with nicotine. Not pretty. But she left behind half a dozen furs, including a gorgeous black sheared black lamb carcoat purchased by Susie for $70. It fits and suits Susie to a T. I bought three darling aprons and a couple of Savannah interest souvenir plates which went to my booth at Seaside Sisters. But my favorite purchase–of last week and this, was an antique white ironstone lidded tureen. Shades of Eddie Ross! It even has a hallmark. And get this–I paid $5. Don’t hate me! The ironstone purchase prompted me to finally re-style the antique secretary in my living room, which had been empty since I stripped it of its Christmas finery. I propped it with several ironstone cream pitchers which I’ve been collecting, some starfish, and some old books. I’m no Eddie, but I’m happy with the results. I also bought a nicely framed pair of morning glory prints, which will end up in our master bedroom. This Friday, Jinxie and Mona and I set out for another Vicki sale, detouring past a sale in Druid Hills. Jinx got a couple of fabulous old arch-top French doors which she plans to mirror and use in her cottage in Sewanee, Mona got a wicker table, and I bought a galvanized tub of outdoor lights. Then it was on to the Vicki sale. Can you say wall-to-wall mirrors–and purple overdose? The home had been decorated back in the sixties by a hip n’ happenin’ interior designer–and nothing had been touched since. It was a time capsule of really regrettable design–at least to our sensibilites. However, I did manage to score a tarnished silverplated covered chafing dish for $8, which I’ll enjoy using for flower arrangements. We were having company over the weekend, so I made a sloppy, lopsided arrangement of daisies, stargazer lillies and bells of Ireland. Next time I’ll be more precise. But in the meantime, it’s Sunday, I’ve got fresh flowers, and new junk. Life is good.

A Cruel Scam

Hi friends. I meet people every week who are dreaming of having their books published. Unfortunately, in this economy, there are always people ready to prey on those dreamers. The following is a letter forwarded to me by an unpublished author. Let me preface this post by telling you that I am not a clearinghouse for writers trying to get published. I sincerely wish that every writer could have their work successfully published, but the reality is that publishing is a very tough and competitive business, and the list of viable commercial publishers is getting smaller all the time. I don’t have the answers to all your publishing questions. For that you should join a writer’s group, research publishing at the library, or attend a writer’s workshop put on by a respected organization with a proven track record. I myself attended the Antioch Writer’s Workshop in Yellow Springs, Ohio nearly 20 years ago and found that it truly put me on the track to being published. Summertime is primetime for writer’s workshops, so if you’re serious about being published, I suggest you do a Google search of workshops and find one that will work for you. What I DO NOT suggest is that you allow yourself to be victimized by unscrupulous scammers who suggest you pay them for anything. Listen to me people: THIS IS NOT HOW REPUTABLE COMMERCIAL PUBLISHERS or LITERARY AGENTS OPERATE. Did you hear me? If a publisher believes you have written a viable, saleable book of any kind, they will pay YOU. Because the plan is that they will sell your books, and that is how they recoup the money they pay you. Reputable literary agents don’t charge reading fees. Because they make their living from commissions earned on selling your work, it is only in their best interest to take on clients whose work they believe they can sell. Anything else is a dodge. If you have a burning need to have your work published at any cost, of course you can go any number of routes such as publishing through a vanity press, or a print on demand operation. But you need to realize that the chances are incredibly small that your book will ever be sold in mainstream bookstores, or that you’ll ever realize a profit after the expenses of publishing. Oh sure, it could happen. And you could also, I suppose, get hit on the head by a meteorite on your way to the Quik-Trip for a Big Gulp. I’m just sayin’. Now. Please do not deluge me with sincere emails about how wrong I am on this topic. Here is the excerpted letter forwarded to me by a hopeful author.

Dear Vulnerable Hopeful Author:
A common myth today is that publishers still pay new authors cash advances. What it boils down to is that book publishers today want to attract and will compete for well-known celebrity names and individuals who have national speaking platforms with the print and broadcast media. Books do not sell themselves. That is another myth. So publishers need strong spokesmen for their titles, as the media and readers want to hear from the authors of the books, not publisher representatives.
So, yes we do provide cash advances to these types of authors as do other traditional book publishers. However, if one is a new, first-time author with no recognizable name in a specific industry or with the general population and does not have good public relations skills or a fan following from other books or efforts, then it is very rare to get any advance, and even to get a publishing contract from a reputable traditional publisher.
We do have a new author program that helps in this respect, where we do publish a few each year, and you were one of the few selected. For new authors we require an $880 returnable deposit. We feel new authors is a special niche we have because we think at least a few new talented authors should get the opportunity to be published without an agent or successful publishing history, but since there is no representative or experience, we must do it within our returnable deposit program.
It is not likely you will ever see a better offer for your book and personally I think you would be wise to move forward and accept it. We would really like to publish your title and see you succeed and not have your effort in writing be wasted by shelving it and letting it become outdated or a dust magnet or ending up with a vanity, POD or self publisher.
We are very interested in your title as we perceive it would provide great social benefit. We encourage you to move forward and take the next step to action and publish it with us.
I’ve been in this industry for over 10 years and can tell you these 2 things for sure: 1) Since we only work with a few new authors a year and your manuscript was selected, which is really a very high honor, (as carefully choose our titles and limit selection to an average of less than 50 books a year). Our offer will most likely will be the best offer you ever receive. 2) You can submit your book for the next ten years and most likely not see an offer from a quality traditional book publisher like us. You may not have been submitting your manuscript for long, so you may not know this yet. There are many publishing myths that new authors are exposed to that do not accurately describe the reality of book publishing today. We do not know of any other traditional publishers like us that are now reviewing manuscripts without the author either having a respected agent or a history of successful publishing experience. This is a special niche we have because we feel at least a few new talented authors should get the opportunity to be published without an agent or successful publishing history, but since there is no representative or experience, we must do it within our returnable deposit program. I hope you take a few minutes to visit these web sites of these other top traditional publishers so you can quickly verify that my statements about cash advances and new author submissions are accurate.

The kind of chicanery threaded throughout the above letter makes me nauseous. Please don’t fall prey to a scam such as this. That is all.

‘P’menter Cheese

I never ate pimento cheese when I was growing up. Oh sure, my mom probably brought home a tub of that hideous Mrs. Kinser’s stuff from the A&P a time or two, but I wouldn’t have touched it with a ten-foot pole. But sometime in the past ten years or so, I began to have a weird craving for pimento cheese. Somewhere, somebody served me a box lunch with a pimento cheese sandwich wrapped up in waxed paper. (What is it about wax paper that makes even the most mundane food seem so delicously retro?) I was hooked. It seemed so quintessentially southern. I tasted several different kinds, and searched for a recipe that would deliver the goods. I finally found one that clicked in a cookbook by James Villas, the former food editor at Town and Country Magazine. Called “MY MOTHER’S SOUTHERN KITCHEN: Reminiscences and Recipes, the book, in which he trades comments and recipes with his mama, the formidable Martha Pearl, is a true gem, although I gather it’s now out of print. He’s written a couple new cookbooks since then, so you could buy one of his new ones, or just buy a used copy. I bought a copy for my mom, and she loved it too. James’ recipe, or maybe it was his mama’s, was simplicity itself. I don’t have the book in front of me, but it basically just called for grated sharp Cheddar cheese, homemade mayonnaise, a jar of drained pimentos, lemon juice, Worchestershire sauce, hot sauce and fresh ground pepper. Usually, store-bought pimento cheese is vile. I know of two exceptions. One is the Harris Teeter pimento cheese I used to buy when we lived in Raleigh. The other is the pimento cheese made at the Tybee Market IGA. Excellent stuff! I always use Duke’s mayonnaise when I make my ‘menter cheese, and Texas Pete hot sauce. My late friend Nancy Roquemore, (Miss Nancy) who was the mainstay of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution’s food section for many years, was a huge pimento cheese aficionado. I took her some on one of my last visits to see her before she died of cancer a couple years ago. My 87-year-old friend Martha, who used to look after my family when the kids were young and I was off on a book tour, adores my ‘menter cheese. I’d fix a bowl of it, slice some fresh tomatoes, and make us sandwiches on Wonder Bread. On the side, we like devilled eggs and potato chips. And to drink, iced tea, or Cokes–Martha likes hers with crushed ice. P.S. I always make my iced tea with Luzianne teabags. Lawd! Martha is living in an apartment in assisted living these days, and she recently demanded, er, requested, some of my ‘menter cheese. So tonight I made her a big tub of the stuff. Tomorrow I’ll devil some eggs and pick up a loaf of Wonder Bread. And we’ll have us a high old time.

Every Picture Tells a Story

Hi! Hope you had a fun and restful Memorial Day weekend. I’ve written before about my fascination with old photographs. I’ve been buying old beach snapshots on Ebay and wherever else I find them. I’ve hung a group of them on the wall of the staircase at The Breeze Inn, along with a 1920s wool bathing suit that was also an Ebay find. You know how it is. Once you get started, these old pics start turning up everywhere. The photo above is part of a large stash sent me by my friend Barbara, who lives in the charming town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. Most of the photos were old cabinet cards, which were formal photographs taken by studio photographers in the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century. As far as I can tell, many of the ones Barb sent were done in and around Columbus, Ohio. The photo above was just a poorly cropped snapshot. But I do love it, especially the stern look of the little girl on the left. Was she the big sister, admonished to watch her siblings while the parade passed by? I love little sister’s bloomers, and the shy smile of younger brother.

How can you not imagine a story for the little girl pictured above, as part of a large composite photograph of a First Communion photo? For you non-Catholics, the first communion is a big ritual for children, usually in first or second grade. Girls get a white dress, and in my day, a white veil, prayer book, white patent leather pocketbook and itchy white socks. I’ve named the little girl above Bernice. Isn’t she just a little pickle? Maybe she just pinched the little boy sitting in front of her. I’m thinking his name is Arthur and he would love to turn around and poke ol’ sourpuss Bernice right in the nose. And she’d rat him out in a second.

Here’s a fuller view–my scanner cut off the priest’s head, but believe me, he’s probably responsible for a lot of the sour looks on the children’s faces. Except for the dark haired kid on the top left corner, with the smug grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. I think he’s plotting sumthin’.

Which brings us to these two little charmers. I’m calling them Theodore and Oliver. Aren’t they nicely turned out for a day at the shore? Don’t you love Theodore’s “Life Guard” shirt? The beach looks pretty rocky to me, leading me to believe maybe their seashore is on a lake, not the sandy Gulf of Mexico beaches I grew up loving. I’ve been buying more pix on Ebay, so I’ll post them when they arrive. Until then, hope it’s sunnier where you are.

The Week in Review

Mercer Family Gravesite, Bonaventure Cemetery

Mrs. Wilkes at lunchtime

My Florida souvenir plate parade

Funky vintage beach snapshots

Lime green glider with its new paint

I went down to Tybee last Monday to meet with my friends Barb and Judy from Ohio. On Tuesday I was supposed to meet the gals for lunch at The Lady & Sons in Savannah, but due to crossed wires, I lunched at The Lady, and the gals lunched at Uncle Bubba’s. Right family, wrong place. On Wednesday we did a little sightseeing, visiting Bonaventure Cemetery. It was a gorgeous, sunny, afternoon, with a breeze blowing off the river, which the cemetery overlooks. We visited the gravesite of Savannah native Johnny Mercer, which I’d seen before, but you always notice something new. This time we noticed the granite bench with the names of some of his more than 1,200 songs, and the fact that he earned four Oscars for his movie work. My favorite, of course, is MOON RIVER, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but SKYLARK, is so lovely, too, and what about BLUES IN THE NIGHT, and COME RAIN OR COME SHINE, and ONE FOR MY BABY (AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD.) Also fascinating is the fact that the county commission re-named a portion of the Back River Moon River, in honor of Mercer, who grew up at Isle of Hope. In fact, after we left the cemetery, we went out to Isle of Hope, and drove along Bluff Drive, which has to be my favorite street in Savannah. Over-looking the river, the gorgeous white-painted homes on Bluff Drive speak to lazy, langorous summer days spent watching the world drift by. We each picked out our favorite homes–all three are close enough that we could wander over to borrow a a cup of gin in case of a gin and tonic emergency. That night we three cooked up a yummy dinner of grilled greek chicken, inspired by this recipe in the June issue of COUNTRY LIVING, which we proceeded to pimp out with the addition of artichoke hearts and green onions, served over orzo. On Thursday, we went shopping in Savannah, stopping by to visit my buddy Liz Demos of @Home Vintage General on Broughton Street, as well as The Paris Market. We lunched at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House, which I hadn’t done in many years. You don’t know Mrs. Wilkes? Located on West Jones Street, the only way you know you’re there is by the line of people waiting on the sidewalk to get inside. Once you’re in, you are seated family-style and served with an astonishing 21 different dishes–always fried chicken, collard greens and rice, but last week, there was also chicken and dumplings, beef stew, sausage and red rice, stewed cabbage, creamed corn, barbecued pork, sweet potato casserole and on and on. We literally waddled out of there and over to E. Shaver Bookseller’s, another of my favorite stops in downtown Savannah. Thursday night we were joined by Mr. Mary Kay, who drove down to spend the weekend with me. On Friday, everybody headed off in different directions. The girls headed over to Beaufort, S.C. where they had a date with a shrimpburger at The Shrimp Shack on St. Helena Island, before catching their flight back to Ohio. Mr. Mary Kay went fishing with a guide, and I drove up to Newnan, GA. for a program at the gorgeous new Newnan Central Library. On the way I had an unfortunate run-in with THE LAW, resulting in a very unfair speeding ticket. I mean, if you’re going to a library, shouldn’t you be exempt from speeding tickets??? We missed Tybee’s infamous Beach Bum parade, but Mr. Mary Kay caught a veritable butt-load of fish–trout, redfish and flounder, which made him a very happy man. Boomerang Boy, er, Andy joined us for the weekend too, which was our last time to complete work on The Breeze Inn before our first paying guests check in for Memorial Day weekend. Somehow, we managed to check off every last item on my 17-count “honey-do” list. We got the sign hung on the fence, put up new house numbers, got my new porch glider painted lime green, and hung a bunch of my vintage framed black and white beach snapshots. In fact, we were so busy, I never made it to the beach a single time the whole week, which was just as well, because the weather was kind of chilly and rainy. In fact, the weather forecast for Atlanta’s Memorial Day Weekend is also for rain. Maybe I’ll stay in and write. Maybe.

Check into the Breeze Inn

The welcome mat is out. The “Vacancy” sign is up. We’ve done the shake-down stuff, tested the mattresses, showered in the showers, rocked on the porch. Now it’s your turn. You can go here to book The Breeze Inn for a vacation stay. Diane at Mermaid Cottages can answer all your questions, and I promise, she’ll take very very good care of you, and our beloved Breeze Inn.

Mother’s Day Weekend

Puppies on Parade at Scott’s Antique Market
 Staghorn fern sculpture in Ryan Gainey’s greenhouse

Tranquil vignette in Ryan Gainey’s garden

Tin-roofed tree-house at Ryan Gainey’s garden

My mother’s day gift–gorgeous gardenia


Last year’s Mother’s Day gift–arbor with New Dawn rose

My mother’s day weekend was purt near perfect. Our friends Beth and Richard from Raleigh drove down Friday. We packed the boys off for a golf outing with warnings that they should play nice, then we scampered over to Scott’s Antique Market, where we met my friend Mary for a day of junking and hilarity. Also chocolate and Greek food. If you go to Scott’s, you simply must go to the food court and eat Greek. We love the hummus and the Greek salad and the Carolina Caviar. And the desserts. Beth was buying stuff for her antique shop, Knick-Knack Paddywhack. She now has a booth in Hunt and Gather, a spiffy antique mall on Whitaker Mill Road that you should definitely check out if you’re anywhere near Raleigh. I was on the hunt for a glider for the porch at The Breeze Inn, and some “smalls” for my booth at Seaside Sisters. I scored on both counts. The glider is currently crammed in the back of Mr. Mary Kay’s Tahoe for the trip down to Tybee, but I promise to chronicle the before and after transformation I have planned for it. Friday night dinner was at Wahoo, a cool restaurant in Decatur. Saturday morning, the boys forced themselves to go play more golf, and Beth and I made the trip back to Scott’s. After we’d packed her vehicle to the very tippy-top, we reluctantly forced ourselves to stop junking when it seemed Beth and Richard might have to make the trip back to Raleigh with Richard’s bony Presbyterian ass bungee-corded to the roof rack. We then treated ourselves to tickets to the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Garden Tour for Connoisseurs. First stop was the always amazing garden of avant garde garden designer Ryan Gainey. We wanted to climb his tree tower and move in, but then thought better of it. We visited another garden, in Morningside, with a Shakespearean theme, and another with a breath-taking swath of pink and purple foxgloves in full bloom. Then we went home and cooked Beth’s recipe for mushroom-stuffed quail. Yum!
Sunday morning unveiled a perfect Mother’s Day. Both my chicks were close to the nest. Katie and Andy and Tom and my sister-in-law Jeanne cooked us a great lunch, and showered me with gifts. My favorite was the glorious gardenia bush loaded with blooms. The scent of gardenias always takes me back to childhood days growing up in Florida. After lunch I took a long nap, and a walk around our own garden,which is looking lovely right now, thanks to all the blessed rain we’ve had this spring–as well as Mr. Mary Kay’s hard work. Around twilight, Tom and I were sipping wine on the porch and listening to Diana Krall when our good friends Joel and Ellen came strolling up the street to join us. Good times!

What’ll ya have?

Two weeks ago on our couples weekend to Jekyll Island, the junk posse and I shopped an excellent junk sale at an old plywood factory. I brought back a beat-up bamboo tiki bar, purchased for only fifty bucks. But the wooden veneer on the front of the bar was peeling off and looking pretty sad. I spent most of Friday scraping off the rest of the veneer, NOT a fun job.

Then, last night, Tacky Jacky, who has single-handedly slipcovered or curtained almost every surface in The Breeze Inn, came over to help me knock out a couple projects. Mostly, I scratched my head while she did the brain work. I always need adult supervision. Anyway, I took myself over to Chu’s Department Store on Saturday, and bought a couple of five dollar woven beach mats, so we just cut those babies up and stapled ’em to the front of the tiki bar. Here are the results. Of course, you know I’ll be accesorizing the bar with a couple of bamboo bar stools that have been hanging out in my basement at home, waiting to go to work. And I’ll stir in some of my collection of vintage cocktail stirrers. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek.

A Very Good Day for Junk

Susan and MKA–A couple of cupcakes!

Mermaid Madam Diane and her junk haul

My sweet new armchairs

Oh, it was a fine, fine day on Saturday. I met Diane of Mermaid Cottages, and Susan of Seaside Sisters at the ungawdly hour of 6:30 a.m. We motored into Savannah to hit the laundry list of sales I’d compiled by cross-referencing Craigslist, The Pennysaver and The Savannah Morning News. Of course, we had to make the ritualistic drive-by at Krispy-Kreme Doughnuts. I put $3 in the police charity collection can to appease the junk gods, and apparently, it worked. Who knows what would have happened if I’d dropped a fiver??? We got to the first place on the list, an estate sale, early. And the junkin’ mojo had already kicked in because the guy running the sale let us in 15 minutes EARLY. And he was a pro! Diane scored a gorgeous wing chair and matching slipcovered ottoman for $80. And the fabric was spotless and just her colors. I snagged a great turquoise McCoy mixing bowl, with only a piddlin’ little chip on the lip for two bucks. Also a couple cute straw hats to leave at The Breeze. And so it went. Turns out it was the Ardsley Park neighborhood-wide sale. Ardsley Park is a beautiful in-town Savannah community that was the city’s first “suburb” when lots began selling there in the 1920s or thereabouts. At another sale, I scored another beach cruiser–this one isn’t new, but it’s got double saddle-bag baskets, and it was only $20! Perfect for a run to the Tybee Market when the parking lot is too crowded to drive. Susan bought an adorable wicker bassinet on a stand that she can use as display at Seaside Sisters. At another sale, we were the first to arrive. Susan took a five-second look around the yard and bought a vintage 7-piece wrought iron patio set–for peanuts. Oh yeah, we had to make two more trips with a borrowed truck and van to get everything. I got a snazzy little vintage Tom Thumb child’s cash register, which will go in Maisy’s Daisy. For the past month or so, I’ve been looking for a pair of comfy armchairs that I could put in front of the bookcases at The Breeze Inn. At another sale I found THE pair. They’re brand new, on casters, so they can be moved around, and they’re muslin with adorable striped slipcovers. I paid more than I usually do, but I think I was justified because they’re perfect as-is. Diane bought a great squishy sofa at that same sale, and enough kitchenware to outfit a couple kitchens in her cottages. At another sale, I bought a trio of stacking silverplated cake stands–for $20. Not old, but good-looking. And so it went. We ended the day with yummy lunch from Back in the Day, a great retro bakery/restaurant on Bull Street in Midtown Savannah. All in all, it was a very good day with good friends, and a very good day for junk. …