Christmas?

Whew!! Is Christmas over? Is it just me or did it seem to go so fast this year? Fast or not, we sure enjoyed it and all of you who visited us during the season. I hope everyone loved the gifts you gave and I hope even more you loved giving them. I'd love to hear a story or two if anyone has one...just leave a comment.


If there were any Christmas items you missed or want to gather up a few great treasures for next year, come take advantage of the After Christmas sale….most at 40% off. Help us make room for the fun things coming in. Here’s a peak at the new card line that I think is fantastic! Great inspiring words for the New Year.

this one is on my fridge

true! true! true!

Cocktail Bling

Oooh laaa laaaahhh!  Aren't these pretty?  What a great way to add some dazzle to your holiday look. Feminine, funky, and chic .....our favorite Shanty adjectives.  Give this to someone special and we'll wrap it up in a sweet little box!

Great Appetizer!

Okay, two food blogs in a row, I know!  I can't help it, though, because I have to share this!  Rushelle and I are part of a great cooking club that meets once a month.  She was in charge of the appetizer this week and was looking for something simple AND impressive ... hard to find.  Well, she did it! She found this recipe on the Food&Wine website, so you know it has to be good.

It calls for Fig Jam, and guess what?  We have the delicious Fig Butter from Stonewall at the Shanty ... it was perfect!  I would recommend this for any entertaining you may be doing this holiday season.  Click here for the full recipe.  Enjoy!!

Make Cake

Melissa Gray is a National Public Radio (NPR) employee and  author of a brand new cookbook, All Cakes Considered.  Since noboby looks forward to the start of the work week, Melissa had the great idea to bake a cake every Monday for her co-workers.

Her mama used to say “cake brings people together.” She wasn’t a pro, she just wanted to make cake. So she tried many recipes, from her grandma's to Paula Deen’s. After a year of  tweaking and perfecting, she put the company's favorites in this book.

Wouldn't this be a great gift?...add one of our cute vintage style aprons with this and someone is going to squeel with delight!

I loved the cover so much I took it home just to make my kitchen look cool. Instead something else happened…. I don’t know if it was because the kids were being perfect, the house had miraculously stayed clean from the day before or my head was, for the moment, clear of all the “to-dos.” But I decided MAKE CAKE!

After choosing the recipe on page 122, Paula Deen’s Grandgirl’s Apple Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia, I got Caden and Norah in their aprons, my Kitchen Aid Mixer out of the closet (dusted it off) and we got busy. We were measuring, chopping, mixing, and giggling.  It was so much fun!

When David came home the house smelled delicious, the kids were happy….and there was a beautiful cake sitting on the counter.  If he didn’t see the kids he probably would have thought he was at the wrong house.

It was the perfect day!

I have since made this cake three times: Thanksgiving, Black Friday at the Shanty and for a friend. It is so so good. It's rustic looking, yet insanely moist. Everyone loves it and wants the recipe. Click here to get it, or come get the whole book and see how many other great recipes there are. I think I am going to try "The Man Catcher Sour Cream Pound Cake" next….not because I need to catch my husband....but boy, if he liked the Apple Cake……..

Moral of this Blog? Go go make cake!! Cake makes people happy!!

Freakin Cute Jeans!

I love Jeans! I love our Jeans!  So I am always excited to get in new pairs. We got 2 new styles in today and I am ESTATIC…that’s a fancy word for HAPPY (Norah has me reading a lot of Fancy Nancy lately). I am showing them below but want to disclaim my pictures a bit. I am working on my photo skills….send any helpful hints my way.

This first style is a skinny jean. They have the coolest back pockets and are super soft with a great med wash. Put some boots on and your ready for one of those kickin’ it days or getting your list of holiday errands done. Put your heels on and add a top with a dash of sequin, sparkle or ruffle and your ready for some holiday mingling. Cool @ $68.95

This second style is a trouser jean (picture does not do it justice…you’ll have to take my word). I am wearing them as we speak. The wash is darker and the fabric is a lighter weight so they are great for work or dressing up. The pockets have a simple yet interesting detail making it easy to wear with tops that go over them (no bulkiness). Lastly and my favorite is they are flared just right to make even short legs look like runway legs. This pair is just perfectly perfect @$68.95

Again, apologies for my picts...the inseams on both styes are 33.5 inches not as short as they appear.

We can ship. Contact us if you’re interested in these or anything else you happen upon on our blog.