Mary Kay Andrews

Boo Y’all!


Above, some Halloween ’08 scenes from our ‘hood. As always, we had a great time. Posse member Jinxie (that’s her, with her dog Patches) and I took a break from decorating yesterday morning in time to hit a few estate sales. One sale was at a sadly neglected old house on a great intown Atlanta street. We knew it had possibilities because the ad mentioned that the previous owner had been there for sixty years, and the sale incorporated “attic to basement.” The deceased homeowner, it turned out, had been a schoolteacher for many years. She had a whole library of vintage textbooks, phonics books, flashcards, and other school type goodies. At the other end of the spectrum, she had a fully tricked-out bar, complete with dozens and dozens of shot-glasses, many of them presumably pilfered from bars and restaurants around the country. So we figured she liked phonics….and doing shots. But the folks doing the sale told us she was actually a teetotaler–who just happened to groove on barware. Go figure! I bought a pair of old hardback Bobbsey Twins books . . . and a delightfully smutty-looking paperback copy of A Summer Place, by Sloan Wilson (better known as the author of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit) with jacket copy promising “A compelling and adult novel about husbands, wives and lovers.” At the same sale, an elegantly dressed older lady stopped to ask me some earnest questions about a ginormous crate of Poise pads she’d found. Were they better than Depends, she wanted to know? I guess I looked to her like the go-to girl on such matters. The same sale had some elegant vintage clothes, including lots of sequinned cocktail confections. That was one rockin’ old lady–we could just see her dancing the night away in her sequins and Poise Pads. The next sale reminded us of why we love estate sales. It was held at a gorgeous Spanish-revival estate on Habersham Road, in Buckhead, which is one of Atlanta’s priciest addresses. Again, a presumably elderly homeowner, and a house that was sadly in need of repair. But oh, the architectural details! It was such a treat to see a house like that. There were some great antiques–not to mention lots of vintage furs, which we did not purchase. Jinxie got a great faux bamboo and wicker table, and a table lamp for her screened porch, and I bought a pair of nightstands for The Breeze Inn. Then we hurried home to sew up a Halloween costume for Boomerang Boy. Yes, at 22, he and his best friends and roomies were getting suited up to hit the bar scene on Halloween. (They took cabs!). Jinxie had already made the crayons for Michael (red) and Kevin (blue). So we whipped up a third for Andy (green.) As a retired schoolteacher, Jinxie amazed me with her ability to cut-out felt letters free-hand. While we were waiting for the boys to arrive for their costume fittings, we got a little glue-gun crazy and crafted a hat and collar for Patches. Then it was back home to our house to get ready for the great Halloween candy giveaway. We figured we handed out a new record 1200 pieces of candy last night. And we even won a Holiday Spirit award. Katie did all the hard work, dressing up the house–and me, as an old crow. Above are Katie and Mark and their dog Tybee. And Mr. Mary Kay, who is too cranky to wear a real costume. Today I hit a couple more yard sales, and scored a vintage chenille crib blanket for three bucks. The seller, a young woman with purple hair and multiple nose piercings, proudly told me she’d given her other one to the dog. I went on to another sale, which was really a goodie. I bought a 20-yard bolt of flannel interlining for five bucks. This will be great for the new drapes I’m having made for my sunroom. I also left a bid on a gorgeous Mitchell Gold linen armchair. The seller’s kittens had shredded the beautiful linen upholstery, and she’d bought the replacement linen to re-do it, but hadn’t gotten around to ever having it done. I couldn’t quite go the $200 price she wanted, which was actually pretty good for a $1500 chair, so I left her my phone number and a lower bid, and I’m hoping she’ll call. This is a really good strategy if you find something you love at a sale, but really don’t want to pay the stated price. You’d be surprised how many people don’t want to haul their stuff back into their houses at the end of the day. And now, it’s on to a neighborhood football game-watching party, where I will be taking my GatorHater Chili. Go Dawgs!

Come on Down to Bainbridge This Saturday

I’ll be speaking and signing books at the Georgia Literary Festival being held in Bainbridge, Georgia this weekend. My panel discussion on “Mayhem and Magnolias” will be at 3pm Saturday. Authors Glynn Marsh and Claire Matturo and I hope to cook up a fun time for all. Books will be available for sale, and most events will be on the Bainbridge College campus. So c’mon down!

Weekend Junking

I have a three-inch-thick manuscript on my desk screaming for revisions that are due back to my editor at the end of October. My house is so full of stuff for the under-construction beach house that it looks like a furniture warehouse. There is no room in my antique booth at Seaside Sisters on Tybee Island. Did that stop me from junking this weekend? NOOOOOO. On Friday I flew solo. Went to an estate sale at a ’50s brick ranch house a few miles from my own house. The sale was my favorite kind–a true estate sale of a hoarder. Even the dealers running the sale seemed overwhelmed by the volume. They told me people had started lining up outside the house at 6a.m. I myself made it over there around 11a.m. I’ve written before about my love of old linens, and this house had some goodies. I bought exquisite monogrammed banquet-sized damask napkins with entre-doux hemstitching, a dozen of ’em, for fifty cents apiece, along with six matching luncheon napkins, same price. A sweet blue cross-stitched bridge cloth for a buck. A darling organza apron, also a buck. A straw coolie hat (halloween costume for a neighbor) a buck. Also a nifty German silver bar set, with two monogrammed tumblers, matching tray and six thimble-sized shot glasses. I was going to sell these in my booth, but when I got them home and examined the monogram, it turns out to be KA–my daughter’s initials. So she got herself an early Christmas gift. Yesterday was another neighborhood-wide yard sale in Ansley Park. Ansley is another beautiful in-town Atlanta neighborhood very near the High Museum of Art. Posse members Ellen and Susie joined Katie and me. At first it looked like dreaded yard sale fare: lots of strollers, plastic kid’s toys, low-mileage exercise equipment. We resigned ourselves to just enjoying seeing how the other half lived. And then we hit a goodie: a 1920s house with an adorable carriage house in back. The home-owner was wearing yellow rubber gloves–always an interesting wardrobe accessory. She’d been hauling stuff out of an attic or basement that hadn’t seen the light of day in thirty or forty years. I scored a huge old glass jug. I think those are called carboys. It’ll look dandy with palm fronds at the beach house. She had three beautiful hand-done candlewick bedspreads, but she wanted $50 apiece for them, so we passed. A few houses later, Susie found two folding luggage racks, one for a buck, the other for two bucks. She’s been hunting them for months now, wanting to needlepoint straps for them as Christmas gifts, but they’re usually $20-$30 when we see them. One of these already even had needlepoint straps. Score! At that same sale, I found four gorgeous old oak hoop-back windsor kitchen chairs–for $40. They need re-glueing and clamping, but Mr. Mary Kay is good at that. At first I was going to put them in the booth, but now I’ve decided to keep them for the beach house. If you’re counting, I now have probably 14 kitchen chairs for the house. Something will have to go. Later, I found a charming and unusal painted watering can. That will go to Seaside Sisters. Also a matte white USA pottery vase. Favorite find of the day: Ellen found a case of cobalt blue water goblets. They were alongside other cardboard boxes full of Ritz-Carlton logo wineglasses and Delta Crown Room wineglasses. The seller told us they’d been collected by a now-deceased friend, who liked to drink, and who liked to take the old five-finger discount. He especially liked to go to the Buckhead Ritz for drinks, and every time he dined there, he’d steal his drink glass. Same thing with the Crown Room. The friend was a skinflint, so he’d take the MARTA train out to the Atlanta Airport, (this was before 9-11 security measures) and he’d happily while away the afternoon drinking for free at the Crown Room. And before he left, he’d steal himself a wine glass. The thief’s friends had kept his stuff in storage after his death, and were selling it all off. Ellen got herself great-looking glasses, and a great story, for the price of a ten-dollar bill.

Eddie Ross, Mon Amour

It started innocently enough. I was reading the Washington Post Thursday Style section online. Back in the day, when I was a features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Style was my Bible. Even today, the Post always has great articles about interior design. They pick a blog of the week, and that week, it was Katiedid, written by a young designer in Sacramento, Cal. I checked it out, loved it, and subscribed to her blogfeed. Next, I checked out the “favorites” on her blogroll. It was like discovering a new kind of chocolate/cocaine/crack. I found Cote de Texas, written by a designer in Houston. Mrs. Blandings, who writes about her Kansas City dream home, and Vintage Rescue Squad, where a Washington DC graphic designer documents her weekly junking jaunts. VRS, by the way, is snarky and truly hilarious. Truly. And then came Eddie Ross. Oh my. He had me at helloooo. Eddie is a man with a portfolio. He’s a senior style editor at the high church: Martha Stewart Living. Currently he’s a contestant on Bravo’s Top Design. We all knew an Eddie Ross in grade school. He’s that campy cut-up in the back row of the class picture, the one whose mother dressed him a little too twee–bowties and hair gel. He’s the first kid you ever realized was gay–and you didn’t care because he was so much fun. Little Eddie grew up and eventually traded in his Easy-Bake oven for a career as a caterer before he came to Martha’s attention and became the it-boy of design blogland—and Bravo TV. I was doing all right before Eddie. Sneaking a peek at those design blogs occasionally. I was maintaining, you know? And then, I think it was Mrs. Blandings who wrote about Eddie. I checked him out. Beeg mistake. Every day I check my email to see what Eddie’s up to. And he’s up to a lot. This man has the golden touch. He takes a ratty mahogany secretary, paints it french vanilla and replaces the glass doors with mirrors. Buys deli flowers and turns them into floral masterpieces. He runs into a thrift store and comes out with 19th century French sterling cranberry servers. He finds a whole set of German Bakelite at the Knights of Columbus flea market for fifty friggin’ cents apiece. He finds silverplated trophies from 1928 at the Goodwill for crying out loud. Me? I drop into my Salvation Army and find dogeared Danielle Steele novels and Pflaltzgraf coffee mugs. The Washington Post ran a piece about Eddie and his fabulous NYC apartment last week—I practically took a magnifying glass to the photos just to take in all the details. The picture above is from that article. Now I’m hooked. I’ve watched Top Design two weeks in a row, just to see what Eddie would do. This week he mugged for the camera and declared “I never get enough of me.” Me neither, Eddie. In my sad little fantasy world, Eddie calls me up, and I fly up to New York for the weekend, and we stroll off, arm in arm, into the sunset of the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market. And there’s homemade popovers served on vintage transferware plates. And Bakelite. And sterling silver bowling trophies.

Big Fun on a Little Island

Monsoon-like rains didn’t dampen our enjoyment of Pirate’s Fest on Tybee Island, or the joy of spending this past weekend with great friends–old and new. I got down to Tybee and Nora’s Cottage on Thursday afternoon, in time to meet friends Linda and Cliff from Ft. Lauderdale. Linda and I grew up together in St.Pete, and have been friends since 7th grade. She’s even known Mr. Mary Kay longer than me–they were in 5th grade together! We walked down to StingRay’s on Butler Avenue for dinner, and the next morning gave Cliff a tour of the island on bike. We checked on the progress of The Breeze Inn, and were thrilled to find out we’d passed our plumbing inspection. Yay for new plumbing! After a yummy lunch at The North Beach Grill, Linda and Cliff went off to do more exploring, and Mr. Mary Kay and I ran some errands. Friday night we were invited to friends Ron and Leuveda’s for a pre-pirate-fest cocktail. You may remember that I’ve spent many weeks writing at their adorable Garner Cottage over the years. Tybee is such a great place for impromtu parties. Old friend Jacky joined us, and then our friend Diane Kauffman from Mermaid Cottages arrived with a crock of her famous spinach artichoke dip, Leuveda had other goodies, and Tom and I contributed a platter of raw oysters. After drinks, we all strolled down to The Strand, where the Pirate party was in full swing. We shopped at the Thieves Market, bopped to the band, and then headed over to Doc’s Bar, which was the scene of much fun last year during our chick weekend. This time we brought the guys, and had almost as much fun. Saturday morning, the fellas went out fishing and Linda and I junked our way around town. We were rounding the corner onto Butler Avenue when we bumped into a couple who were walking…..wait. A goat? Yes. A goat, on a leash. Only on Tybee. We ran into Leuveda at a garage sale being held by a gay guy who was down-sizing. I scored some great linen placemats, napkins and napkin rings. Just love gay guy’s junk–don’t you? Later, after we’d left, the guy asked Leuveda if Linda and I were “partners.”! It was a great day for junk. At another sale I bought three wooden chairs for my beach dining room–for ten bucks apiece, and on down the road, I scored a nearly new lawnmower, brand-new weed-whacker, and most importantly, an awesome beach cruiser bike–with the all-important beer coozie wired to the handlebars. I had to escort Linda to my favorite shops downtown, including @Home Vintage General on Broughton Street. Owner Liz Demos is just one of the cleverest, most talented women I know. Please make sure you drop by this fantastic shop when you visit Savannah. And bring money. After we left Liz, we visited her friend and fellow antique dealer Charlie Brown. Charlie has just moved his shop, C.H. Brown, to a new location, in the same building as E. Shaver Booksellers, my favorite bookstore in Savannah. If you have a fondness for antique silver, porcelain or great art, Charlie Brown is the man to see in Savannah. Back at Tybee, Linda got busy making us up for the big night at Pirate’s Fest. The guys weren’t too cooperative, but Linda and I had a great time playing Pirate and wench. We even got a standing ovation when we showed up for our dinner reservation at Sundae Cafe, our favorite restaurant on the island. While we were at dinner, the heavens opened up, and the Marshall Tucker Band outdoor concert was cancelled. So we went on home, and friends Jacky and Jan came by for a visit before we called it a night. All in all, it was a great weekend, rain or not. And now it’s time for me to buckle down and get through the revisions of THE FIXER UPPER before the end of the month.

Pirate Fest @ Tybee….AAARGH Mateys!

Later today we’re off for Tybee Island and the infamous Pirate’s Fest. If you’re not doin’ anything this weekend–come on down! The Marshall Tucker Band is playing at the Friday night free street dance, and I guarantee, it’ll make you forget about elections, Wall Street woes, bungling bankers and mortgage meltdowns. Where else can thousands of middle-aged men get away with dressing up like Captain Jack Sparrow? Our friends Linda and Cliff from Ft. Lauderdale are joining us for the weekend. Linda and our other jr. high buddy Sue joined us for my first Pirate’s Fest last year, and we’re still laughing about all the crazy hi-jinks we participated in. We’re staying at another cute Mermaid Cottage house. This time it’s Nora’s Place. We’re also checking up on the progress at Breeze Inn, our in-progress beach house.
See you at Doc’s Bar?

Love List


Stuff I’m loving these days: Honey Crisp apples. Yum. I was sold on Granny Smith apples for years, but then my daughter Katie turned me on to these beauties. They are delish–crisp, sweet, tart with definite honey undertones. They sell them at my Kroger here in Atlanta, and yes, they’re a little more expensive than the grannies, but boy are they good.

Junking. When do I not love to junk? But I’ve had two good weekends in a row. This past weekend I went over to my neighborhood annual attic sale, not expecting to find much. Isn’t that the way? The first booth I stopped at, a woman was selling some antique linens for a friend. I bought five beautiful Victorian damask fringed towels–for a buck apiece. Also a Victorian nightgown–two bucks, and an adorable homespun apron. At another booth I got a boxed set of blue-handled flatware, six forks, five knives. I’m hoping it’s Bakelite, but will have to test it to be sure. Also scored a vintage kitchen towel rack. At another booth, I got a blue painted cask and a great painted white shabby chic stool. Those will go to my booth at Seaside Sisters on Tybee Island. Then, yesterday, something about my neighborhood Salvation Army was calling me. I rarely find anything there–they mostly seem to have furniture that looks like rejects from That Seventies Show, but every once in a while I snag a treasure. Yesterday’s score was a miniature rattan what-not shelf. Perfect for a beach house.

Soup. But not just any soup. For years I’d been hearing about a tiny cafe in Buckhead called Souper Jenny’s. On Friday, after a brief junking sortie, posse member Susie steered us to Souper Jenny’s. And I am now a total convert. They serve gorgeous made-from-scratch soups, at least six kinds each day. The three of us sampled her chicken tortilla, mushroom-artichoke and Dad’s Turkey Chili. Each soup was better than than the next. The line is always out the door, but service was friendly, fast and efficient. Our soups all had Weight Watchers points posted on the menu, and there are always at least one vegetarian or vegan offering. Big, generous servings, with homemade rolls from The Breadgarden. So much soup, in fact, we each took home leftovers to savor later.

Reads. When I’m racing to the finish-line on a new book, I rarely read fiction, mostly because I need to keep my head in the book I’m writing. This time around though, the girls at Shaver’s Books in Savannah sold me a wonderful new novel called THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY.
If you love books and books about people who love books, you’ll devour this charming little novel. I can’t sum up the appeal of this novel any better than the author of Eat, Pray, Love who said this:

“I can’t remember the last time I discovered a novel as smart and delightful as this one, a world so vivid that I kept forgetting this was a work of fiction populated with characters so utterly wonderful that I kept forgetting they weren’t my actual friends and neighbors. Treat yourself to this book please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love.

What the hell rhymes with Mayonnaise?

My friend Jacky, who’s known me for over 30 years, sent me a link to the Duke’s Mayonnaise website because they are having a jingle-writing contest in honor of their 90th anniversary. “You love Duke’s, and you’re a writer,” she reasoned. “I bet you could write a prize-winning jingle.”

Yeah. Not so much. I do love me some Duke’s. In fact, it was the product that converted me from a life-long mayo-naysayer to a mayo-savorer. Wait! Could I use that in a jingle? Probably not. I was able to come up with a couple verses, sung to the tune of the Green Acres theme song:

Duke’s Mayo is the spread for me!
No other mayo can there be..

And then I’m stuck. The contest rules suggest that jingle writers refer to the noteworthy attributes of Duke’s Mayo, which would include adjectives like creamy, tangy, smooth, home-made, ect. Alas, they don’t allow jingles sung to the tune of copywrited material, which pretty much puts the kibosh to my Green Acres-inspired ditty. In my lengthy writing career I’ve penned newspaper and magazine articles, novels, short stories, even a couple of mystery dinner theater plays. But never a song. I don’t actually know how to write music. Sigh. I guess this means my picture won’t be turning up on the side of Duke’s jars all over the country. What a shame.
I’m still holding out hope that someday, the suits at Dukes will get how much of their mayo I’ve sold, due to the popularity of my Beyond the Grave Chicken Salad recipe, which is printed in the back of LITTLE BITTY LIES. The recipe calls for using Duke’s mayo. I get emails all the time from readers who’ve never heard of Duke’s, asking if they can substitute another brand mayo. They can, of course, but to me, nothing beats Dukes.

Duke’s Mayo is the spread for me–No other mayo can there be..

Salads, sandwiches, even Fre–en-nch fri-eyes,

Nothing but Dukes on my table will sa-tis-fy.
See? I’m sticking to writing novels. It’s lots easier.
P.S. If you’re reading this and you’re the president of the C.F. Sauer Company, which makes this fine product, let me just say that I am not opposed to free Mayo. Not at all.

Junk for Joy Part 2

Saturday, Katie and two of her high school classmates and I saddled up for the Druid Hills neighborhood yard sale extravaganza. We headed out shortly after 8 a.m. for the 9am. start time, and by shortly after 9, I’d made my first purchases of the day, the black tole tray below, and the pink tole wastebasket. It was a lovely day for junking. I also got the two framed seashell prints shown with the tole items, and at the same sale, Katie scored a $50 sofa to put in her husband’s “man cave.” One of the girls also purchased some new-in-the-box Ikea wall sconces, new white china canisters, and some other household items. My favorite item from Saturday has to be the faux crocodile train case. I think it looks like something from an old Doris Day movie. I mean, can’t you see Doris arriving in New York, wearing a chic hat, white gloves, pumps, and carrying this train case? It had a $7 pricetag, which wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I felt like paying. It was locked, and had this old-timey padlock. The thing is, my high school graduation luggage had a lock just like it. You were supposed to set the combination, and I never did. Just left it at 0-0-0. So, I spun the combination, and yessirreebob, it was set at 0-0-0. I took it to the woman running the sale and asked if she could do better on the price. She just looked at me and said, “honey, it doesn’t unlock. But if you can unlock it, you can have it for free.” Oh, really? I spun the lock and it clicked open. She laughed and told me I could have it for free. Then I told her the trick, and being a good sport, she laughed again. Don’t you just love free? The other items are some of the things I found on Friday at the “Five Gay Men with Fabulous Taste” sale, which is where the television trays, the wicker hamper and the wool plaid stadium blankets and shaving mirror came from. I spent part of the day today working on re-doing the antique New England wooden screens I brought back from Brimfield. I think they’re going to look great when I’m done. The problem is, I’ll have so much time and money invested in them, it’ll be hard to make a profit. And of course, the more I fix ’em, the more I fall in love with them. Such is the lot of the part-time antique dealer, I guess.

Junkin’ for Joy

The junk planets seem aligned just right. Yesterday, three members of the posse–including daughter Katie, saddled up to attend the 6th annual ATLANTA PET RESCUE tag sale. Jinxie and I went last year and got some major scores, so we all ponied up the $25 “advance” fee this year, and dashed inside. I scored a great painted beachy dresser–in fact, it’s painted with a shell border on the bottom, for $100. This will go in the Tybee beach house. Also got a great wooden pole lamp for $20, and some designer fabric 1/2-yard swatches for $4 apiece. While waiting to get into the sale, a guy was handing out flyers for his sale, which started today. The come-on? “Five Gay Guys with Fabulous Taste are Having a Yard Sale.” Well, how could I not check it out? Got some cool stuff, including three wool plaid stadium blankets, a wicker hamper, brass shaving mirror with bevelled mirror, awesome big white scrolly clock, and a pair of rattan TV trays on folding stands. I also checked in at another estate sale in Buckhead. I got a bag of five vintage 1950s Christmas pixies–the ones with the little fabric legs folded up, all with the original dime-store tags. I’ve got a collection of those that I put out for my vintage tacky Christmas display. Also snagged a retro red taffeta Christmas apron with white embroidery. Tragically, I was also the victim of unprovoked estate sale viciousness. I’d spotted 12 white milk-glass dessert bowls in a kitchen cupboard–marked $15 for all. I scooped them up, and went out to one of the cashiers to ask if I could make a pile of stuff I was buying. She told me to put the stuff on a chair and she’d guard them. As I was setting them down, this heinous bee-yatch (you know the type–dressed in her cool work-out clothes) rushed over and snatched up the whole pile. “Uh?” I said in my best passive-aggressive back-off bee-yatch voice. “I was buying these,” she snarled. She turned to the lady. “Remember? I asked you to move them and put them in a stack for me?” the yard-sale lady just kind of shrugged and said ok. People, this is not proper estate sale etiquette. I let it go this time, but next time around, I will smack this bee-yatch upside her botoxed-head with my sack o’ Christmas Pixies. Seriously. Tomorrow is the big Druid Hills neighborhood-wide yard sale. Druid Hills is the Atlanta neighborhood around Emory University, and it’s full of beautiful old homes. It was also the setting for DRIVING MISS DAISY. Supposedly 140 families are participating. I’m just a-quiver with excitement and anticipation. Will hopefully blog/brag tomorrow about all the treasures I score.