After a hard week of writing down at Tybee I decided I needed a junking treat. So Friday morning, I saddled up and rode over to an estate sale run by my favorite dealer. The sale was in Buckhead, which usually means primo stuff. Not this time! I should have been tipped off by the fact that Vicki, the dealer, was standing in the front yard of the house when I pulled up. Why? Because the house in question had been shut up for five years, after the late owner's wife passed away. And during that time, the rains came. Followed by the twins; mold and mildew. EEEEWWW. A huge dumpster in the backyard had already been filled up, and the rest of it should have followed. Vicki admitted that she would have been standing out in the street, if it were possible. I did, however manage to scrape together a cardboard box full of stuff priced at the grand total of ten bucks. For my money I got some nice old '20s-40s sheet music, a small white matte pony-shaped pottery vase, a big seashell and three silverplate dog show coasters. All of this is destined for my booth at Seaside Sisters. On Saturday morning, the one day when I had only two hours to junk because I had a date to babysit Molly, there were sales galore. I was headed out to some sales in Midtown when I happened across the Lake Claire neighborhood sale. Now, in Atlanta, I have pre-determined ideas about what kinds of loot certain territories will yield. Buckhead? Pricey (and over-priced) designer goods and primo estate sale stuff. Morningside? Yuppies selling their old Pottery Barn stuff, plus the occasional good granny estate sale--at which there will inevitably be a 1920s Grand Rapids mahogany dining room suite, a moth-eaten mink collar, a walker and a potty chair. Decatur? Mid-century ranch homes with endless basements featuring rumpus rooms with moldy sleeper sofas and elaborate built-in bars with kitschy cocktail accessories and 40-year-old unopened souvenir rum bottles. Candler Park? Once in a while you'll hit a good estate sale, but these days, I expect to find badly-framed posters, old bongs and the inevitable Whole Earth Catalogue. So I had no expectations for the Lake Claire sale, which is sorta part of Candler Park. I was cruising down the street when I passed a sale featuring racks of children's clothing and toys. But out of the corner of my eye I spotted what looked like a piece of wicker. My husband thinks I have a built-in wicker warning system. I slowed and then backed up. I sauntered over to the wicker, which turned out to be an adorable rocking chair, which was heaped with over-priced used children's clothes--like a $10 Baby Gap dress. I asked the price. The woman running the sale wrinkled her nose in disgust and explained that it was her husband's grandmother's chair "and it's been painted like, a hundred times." So? "Would you pay, like, five dollars?" Would I???? Sensing she had a sucker on the hook, she demanded a whole dollar for the accompanying wicker stool. Sold! The rocker is destined for Molly's room, the stool will head down to Tybee.





With little time left, I discovered that Druid Hills was having their neighborhood yard sale. Talk about frustration. In the past two years, I've scored big in Druid Hills, which, for those of you outside Atlanta, is the neighborhood around Emory University, where DRIVING MISS DAISY was filmed. Huge old homes, big money, even more monied yuppies than Morningside. The sales were scarce, because lots of people had decided that more threatening rains would mean more flooding. But I did find a sale at a huge home where the owner was closing out her children's clothing and accessories business at the Merchandise Mart. With the clock ticking, I scored three never-used pairs of baby shoes for Molly. Total price--$12. This morning, Katie wanted to get in on the fun. We hit several sales, picking up nothing except for a couple of DVDs for our movie library at the beach. And then we went back to Candler Park, hoping for another good score. And I hit. Check out the vintage dime store shopping baskets and the rack they were displayed in. I remember these baskets from Kresge's and Woolworth's when I was growing up. They'll be headed for sale down to Seaside Sisters.

Truly, I had no idea Atlanta would be subject to torrential rains and flooding over the past week. It's just that I had a speech to give in Savannah, and another down on St. Simon's Island, and then a book-signing with my friends at GJ Ford Books on SSI on Thursday. And so Mr. Mary Kay and I planned to spend the weekend at The Breeze Inn. And a very pleasant weekend it was. The summertime heat and crowds are gone, the weather had a hint of fall. The news from Atlanta was not good though--our sump pump conked out, the basement flooded, hot water heater had to be repaired to the tune of $400, ect. But hey, our damage was nothing compared to what I'm hearing and reading about other parts of the Atlanta area. On Friday we kinda messed around the house, kicking back. We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Sundae Cafe, and went to bed early. Saturday morning, we went out in the boat. The tides down here have been freakishly high this fall, so the fishing wasn't great, but it was good to get out in the boat and be on the water again. Saturday night we went to a fun dinner party at Hallie's house--billed as a "Deen Family Reunion"--but without any known members of Paula Deen's family in attendance. (Unless you count the life-size cardboard cutout of Paula.)
Our hostess's request was simple: bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert culled from any cookbook written by Paula or any of her family members--you know, like Bobby and Jamie Deen, or her brother, Bubba Hiers, whose Uncle Bubba's Savannah Seafood Cookbook was co-written by my good friend Polly Powers Stramm. We chose to make Black Pepper Shrimp from Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics. And when I say we, I mean, Mr. Mary Kay, because he is the seafood chef at our house. The recipe was simplicity itself; very fresh shrimp right off the boat, sauteed in butter (of course!) and garlic, liberally sprinkled with fresh-ground coarse black pepper and baked in the oven at 450 degrees for about five minutes on each side. Naturally, we had to gild the lily a little, garnishing it with thin slices of lemon and finely chopped fresh parsley. Everybody raved about the finished dish. And of course, the buffet table--spread with all that buttery Paula-inspired goodness, looked like a cardiologist's worst nightmare. We joked that we should have had a dish of Lipitor in the middle of the table. Thankfully, two people did bring fresh green salads. But it was all yummy--especially the four different dishes contributed by our friend Diane of Mermaid Cottages. The cream cheese frosted carrot cake she brought--with little candied apricots made to look like carrots, was just outstanding. Sunday morning, before taking my husband to the airport for the flight back to Atlanta, we decided to try a new restaurant on Tybee, JJ's Cafe. It's located on Highway 80, where George's used to be. I'm happy to report that the food was great, and reasonably priced, so we'll be back. And now, with Mr. MaryKay back in Atlanta, dealing with non-functioning air conditioners, and refrigerators on the fritz, I'm hard at work again on SUMMER RENTAL, my book in progress.

I am really, really, no kidding winding down my promotional blitz for THE FIXER UPPER. I'm starting a new book, and really, I am so ready to ditch the whole make-up and Spanx routine. Not that I don't love meeting and talking to you guys. I just wish I could do it in my jammies and scuffies. But there are a few more events this fall where you can catch me. And Spanx or no, I'm really looking forward to all of 'em. The first one is this weekend, at THE AJC DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL. Oh yeah, there'll be some other authors hangin' around. Like 200 or so, including my former AJC colleague and Pulitzer Prize winning buddy Doug Blackmon, and Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse books that are the basis for HBO's TRUE BLOOD series, and an awesome range of children's authors. As for me, I'll be presenting Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Decatur Presbyterian Church Sanctuary stage. Hey, my kids went to pre-school here! So you could get your funnel cake and then come see me. Details here.