Entre Nous.

The long and the short of it

Tickets went on sale today at 10:00am for the 2007 SCAD student fashion show, where Marc Jacobs will receive the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from André Leon Talley himself.  Apparently everyone is Savannah will be in attendance, but me.  I started calling the box office at 10:00am on the dot. After receiving a busy signal and hitting redial numerous times I finally got through at 10:15am only to be informed that the tickets were sold out.  Such a disappointment.  And yes, I can probably find tickets on Craigslist going for triple the price, but I'm so not going that route.  Rather I'll be at my computer watching the live webcast.

Where the river meets the sea - Part II (FINALLY)

First let me profoundly apologize for the large time lapse between my last post and this one.  I did sincerely intend to write about the rest of my trip to Savannah in a more timely manner.  But unfortunately free time has been nonexistent since returning from Savannah.  Days after returning from Savannah I had my going away party.  Then came Thanksgiving.  A few days after Thanksgiving I flew to Mexico for a week.  Then upon my return to Washington I had oral surgery to have two impacted wisdom teeth removed.  I have no joke been in bed for five days.  I still have tons of packing and good byes to take care of before I leave for Savannah on the 19th.  Without further ado.  Or as Paul Harvey would say, here's the "rest of the story"... 

 

We walked around the corner to look at the apartment, but before we got there I spotted a "for rent" sign attached to the stair railing of a gorgeous brick apartment building.  There was a couple standing near the apartment so we inquired as to whether they knew anything about the for rent sign.  They informed us that they were the owners, so I asked if they wouldn't mind showing us inside.  Unfortunately they had not brought the key with them, so we waited around a little while for their daughter in law to return and let us inside.  The couple is so sweet in that southern way you imagine people in Savannah would be.  The apartment is four stories high.  On the garden level lives two international SCAD students.  At the parlor level the owners son and daughter in law reside.  The third floor belongs to a man who works for Pier 1.  It was the 4th floor apartment that is for rent.  Soon enough the daughter in law returned and let us into the apartment.  The apartment is jaw droppingly gorgeous.  And within moments of being inside I said to myself "you will be mine".  First of all I should mention the hardwood floors.  They're stunning.  The apartment door opens into the livingroom where the focal point is the non optional, but still lovely, fireplace.  Turn right and you've got the bedroom which overlooks the striking tree lined streets and rooftops of nearby buildings.  The bedroom also has it's own lovely fireplace.  The bedroom has not one, but TWO closets.  One is even a spacious walk in.  The bathroom had been recently remodeled and is just perfect.  But most importantly it has a bathtub!  I've gone two years with only a shower and I swore my next apartment would have a spacious bathtub.  If you turn left when entering the livingroom you enter the dining room and kitchen.  The apartment is so spacious you could seriously fit my current apartment into one-third of this one.  It even has what I consider luxurious in a rental apartment, a dishwasher and a washer and dryer.  There's a door in the kitchen that leads to a deck and if you take the stairs down all the way down to the garden level there's a nice courtyard for all the tenants to use.  The only downside was unfortunately the price.  The apartment costs as much as my apartment in Berkeley and $600 more than I'm currently paying.  I was hoping to find something more budget friendly since I wont be able to work much while in school.  But when you take into consideration the great/safe location, the dishwasher and washer and dryer, as well as the personable land lords, it's kind of a no brainer.  But since it was only our second day in Savannah I still felt the need to see some more apartments before committing to this one. 

 

We headed back to our Bed and Breakfast for afternoon tea.  It never occurred to me that the tea wouldn't be hot.  But even in winter people still drink their tea iced.  Sweet tea is quickly becoming my beverage of choice.  Living in Savannah could be very bad for my teeth.  After tea we thought we'd drive out to Tybee Island to have dinner while watching the sun set over the Atlantic.  Unfortunately the drive out to Tybee took a tad longer than we anticipated and the sun set before we found a place to dine.  So instead of eating out on Tybee we decided to check out Paula Deen's brothers restaurant, Uncle Bubbas Oyster House.  I ordered the shrimp and grits and honestly up to that point I had no idea what grits even were.  But they tasted delicious and are apparently a "low country" specialty.  I learned that grits are even eaten at breakfast time.  Grits sort of resemble cream of wheat, in my opinion.  After dinner we headed back to our Bed and Breakfast.

 

On Monday, after omelet for Breakfast, we saw a few more apartments.  Although the   were in better neighborhoods than what we viewed on the first day, they still were a bit on the run down side, despite the apartments deceptively nice exterior.  There was actually one apartment I quite liked, newly remodeled.  Darling interior and exterior.  Plus it had 2 bedrooms.  The second I could use as an office, or eventually get a roommate.  But my overbearing Mother disliked the fact that it was on the ground floor.  So to ease her worry I decided not to take the place. 

 

After viewing a few apartments I went to meet with my advisor at SCAD.  She's the coolest girl ever.  We have been exchanging Emails and phone calls since I found out about my acceptance to SCAD back in May.  She even sent me a Birthday card.  She and her husband moved to Savannah so he could attend film school at SCAD.  Anyway, she offered some good advice about getting more fellowships and even offered some words of wisdom in regard to the apartment search.  She actually all but insisted I take the 4th floor apartment in the brick building that I viewed on Sunday.  She said the price was not that high for the location and she was even a tad jealous that I'd found such a place.  She eased my mind and I decided to go ahead and take the apartment.  After leaving SCAD we went back to the Jones St. apartment to meet the landlord for one final walk through and to sign the lease.  It was such a relief to know that I found such an ideal apartment and still had a few days in Savannah to explore my new city.  After signing the lease we went to have lunch at an establishment known as Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room. 

 

We kept hearing from the "locals" that if you want to try real southern style home cooking, then Mrs. Wilkes' is the place to go.  Think fried chicken, corn on the cob, biscuits, grits, black eyed peas, yams, collard greens, okra, mashed potatoes, corn bread, macaroni and cheese and beyond.  The restaurant just happens to be located a stones throw from my new apartment.  This could be a good thing or a really really bad thing because the food is not exactly low cal.  The story behind Mrs. Wilkes' is an interesting one.  Mrs. Wilkes' has been in operation since before WWII when the soldiers began taking their dishes to the kitchen after a meal, a tradition that continues today.  It really was a boarding house for years.  After Mrs. Wilkes died in 2002 the restaurant closes for a few years but eventually her family reopened it.  Mrs. Wilkes' is only open for lunch 11-2pm, Monday through Friday.  There menu does vary slightly from day to day and you can go online to find out that days menu.  The food is served family style.  You're seated about eight to a table.  Unless you come with a large group, you're bound to be seated next to at least a few people you don't know.  We dined with two local businessmen, two women in town for business from New Jersey, and a couple from Japan.  The portions are enormous.  You first decide which direction to pass the dishes then you attempt to fit a little bit of everything on your plate.  For dessert, it's banana pudding.  Oh and if you ever put in an appearance at Mrs. Wilkes', bring cash.  They don't take plastic.  Also be warned that a line forms early outside of Mrs. Wilkes', so get there early.  Yes, you'll stand in a long line.  Yes, you'll sit with a bunch of strangers.  Yes, you don't get to order anything, whatever they cook that day is what you get.  And yes, go anyway.  Seriously make a visit to Mrs. Wilkes' a priority if you're visiting Savannah. 

 

From Mrs. Wilkes' we headed back to SCAD to go on a tour of the campus.  There was only I and another girl (a junior in high school) and her father and my mother.  They showed us buildings of significance to our interests.  The SCAD library, which is located on Broughton streets among stylish retail shops, was once a department store.  The old dressing rooms now intimate study rooms.  Another building worth mentioning is the newly opened student center.  Which is located in the Saint Andrew’s Independent Episcopal Church building, think Moorish Mediterranean-style architecture and stained glass windows.  Really breathtaking from the exterior and interior.  On the first floor is the cafe, new sparkling Macs and study tables.  On the top floor you will find flat screen TVs that you can either watch TV or dvds on, or hook up your video game console.  Incredible.  Also, something I've never seen before nor even knew existed can be found on this same floor, napping pods.  Take a power nap while listening to your iPod or other serene music.  I also discovered the fact that SCAD is known as the ivy league of art schools. 

 

After our SCAD tour we headed back to our Bed and Breakfast for another round of afternoon tea and a bit of a rest.  After our tea and sweets we looked at some shops then decided to brave the line at Paula Deen's, The Lady & Sons, for dinner.  After a very filling lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' earlier in the day this might not have been the best idea.  But I was determined the dine at Paula's restaurant at some point during our visit to Savannah and this was just about our last chance.

 

The line at The Lady and Sons was long, as it always is.  But after asking around we discovered we could get a seat at a the bar with little or no wait.  So that's what we did.  And it ended up being a fabulous place to sit.  The bar tender, I was informed by the hostess, was "eye candy", and she was correct.  Seated nearby us it turned out was one of the chefs, there on his night off.  He made suggestions as what to order, since we declined to eat another buffet for dinner.  The buffet being what most people order when at The Lady and Sons.  We ordered seafood dip as an appetizer, which is made up of blended crab and shrimp then served with toast points.  Delicious.  We shared an entree, due to our filling lunch.  We ordered crab stuffed shrimp on recommendation from the chef.  He did not steer us wrong.  It came wrapped in bacon with jasmine rice and asparagus.  Then we ordered Paula's phenomenal banana pudding for dessert.  After dinner we headed back to the Bed and Breakfast for our last sleep in Savannah.

 

On Tuesday, our final day in Savannah, we decided to explore the city a bit more.  Since signing the lease for the apartment we could relax some knowing that we had accomplished our goal for our trip to Savannah.  For breakfast we had waffles with the pecan syrup again.  Then headed out to browse in some shops and walk through some squares. 

 

For lunch we stopped in at Clary's Cafe.  Another place featured in "the book" and "the movie" as people in Savannah refer to it.  It's actually fairly close to my new apartment.  The interior was filthy.  Instead of actually wiping of the tables the food remnants were simply pushed onto the chair.  Finally we found a somewhat clean table and ordered.  The food was just atrocious, greasy and lacking in flavor.  This might be the place to go for a basic BLT or whatnot but I wouldn't recommend anything else.  Although the place is always packed again thanks to "the book" and "the movie".  After our disappointing lunch we headed to a place I was not going to miss visiting while in Savannah, Back in the Day Bakery.

 

I'd discovered Back in the Day Bakery while poking around online.  Their specialty is cupcakes.  Once we entered the door I quickly realized they're also known for their incredible sandwiches.  Clearly we should have gone there for lunch instead.  We ordered cupcakes and coffee and sat down for while.  The bakery is just darling and the staff amazing.  I only wish it wasn't so far from the downtown area I'll be residing in.  Without a car 15+ blocks seems like way too far away.  The cupcake was delicious, naturally.  A few doors down I discovered a vet that sells my cats specialized cat food.  Now I'll have a reason to travel out towards the direction of the bakery.  From the bakery we decided to put in an appearance on Tybee Island before driving back to Jacksonville to stay the night.

 

I'm a sucker for island communities, having been raised in one myself.  But truthfully, I don't consider an island that is connected by a bridge to the mainland a true "island".  Nonetheless Tybee is a nice place.  We didn't have time to explore much but instead went straight for the beach.  Think endless sand, blue water, birds, and two person swinging benches up and down the beach to relax in.  I can see myself spending a lot of time on Tybee during the really humid months.  We left Tybee and headed to our hotel in Jacksonville.

 

We arose early on Wednesday morning and boarded our flight to Atlanta then boarded another flight bound for Seattle.  It was a successful trip in that we accomplished all we set out to, I just wish we had some extra time to just enjoy and poke around the city at our leisure.  [pictures descriptions to come]

Where the river meets the sea - Part I

Early Friday morning (November 10th) my Mom and I caught our flight to the East Coast.  We were flying Delta (for the first time).  Our flight took us to Atlanta, Georgia where we changed planes and ended the days journey in Jacksonville, Florida.  We stayed Friday night in Jacksonville then headed to Savannah early Saturday morning in our rental car. 

 

Our rental car was equipped with GPS which ended up being such a godsend.  The drive from Jacksonville to Savannah on Saturday was pretty easy if not that scenic.  I had arranged appointments all day on Saturday to view apartments.  Because of our busy schedule we weren't able to check into our Bed and Breakfast until later in the afternoon.  Due to not knowing the layout of the city of Savannah most of the apartments we viewed were located in unsavory parts of the city.  It was really discouraging that first day because we were looking at 1 bedroom apartments in very sketchy parts of town that were renting for $800+.  After several disappointing apartment viewings we went to check into our Bed and Breakfast.  The placed we stayed at, called Savannah's Bed and Breakfast Inn, was just adorable.  Our room was on the ground floor, or "garden level" as they like to call it in Savannah.  The room had an exposed brick wall (a look I love) and exposed wood beams.  The Bed and Breakfast was located a block from The Mercer House (if you've read or seen Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil you'll know what I'm talking about) in the Historic District. 

 

Savannah is located 18 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean and was the first "planned" city in the United Sates.  James Oglethorpe was the cities planner.  You'll see the Oglethorpe name constantly when you're in Savannah, we actually stayed in the Oglethorpe room at our Bed and Breakfast.  Savannah is made up of 24 squares that are placed in a symmetrical grid throughout the city.  The squares are a mix of lush tropical gardens and  ancient live oak trees covered with Spanish moss.  Savannah has the largest Historic District in the United States.  Many of the houses and buildings look very much like they did when they were originally built.  And much of the preservation can be accredited to the Historic Savannah Foundation and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).  SCAD came along in the late 1970’s.  Since its founding the school has been responsible for the restoration of a great number of the buildings in Savannah.  The residents of Savannah are so grateful for the role SCAD has played in the restoration of the city.

 

Our Bed and Breakfast was located in the part of the city known as "NOG", which stands for North of Gaston St.  Anything north of Gaston is considered the really old district.  Unfortunately even if you live in a historic home, if it's not north of Gaston, no one cares.  The district south of the Historic District is the called the Victorian District.  There are nice pockets in the Victorian District but it still needs a lot of TLC before it achieves its full potential.  A lot of the apartments I was looking at were in the numbered streets in the Victorian District.  Unfortunately they were in blocks that had yet to be properly restored.  The apartments were in neighborhoods where I did not feel safe, the quality of the apartments were dreadful, and they were asking way too much for rent.  After wasting all of Saturday and part of Sunday looking at apartments in unsavory parts of town I kept hearing people offering the same advice.  Which was, don't rent anything south of Forsyth Park (the largest park in the Historic District).

 

Okay, so back to the story.  After checking into our Bed and Breakfast (this is still Saturday btw) we decided to take one of those super touristy bus rides around the Historic District.  We hadn't yet had the opportunity to see much of the city besides the Victorian District.  So it was quite the surprise when we realized that everything in the Historic District was just as charming as we imagined it would be.  It's not cleaned up for the movies, it really does look as lovely in person as it does in film.  After our tour we headed back to our Bed and Breakfast for "wine and cheese".  When I made the reservations for the Bed and Breakfast the girl I spoke with informed me that she was from Washington as well.  Saturday evening we got to speak with her.  She was super nice and gave some helpful advice about the apartment search.  For dinner we went to a restaurant called The Olde Pink House.  The restaurant is housed in a brick Georgian mansion that was built in 1771 for James Habersham, one of the wealthiest Americans of his time.  The old-time atmosphere comes through in the original Georgia pine floors of the tavern (located downstairs), the Venetian chandeliers, and the 18th-century English antiques. We tried to get reservations but of course they were booked full until 10:00pm.  So instead we headed downstairs to Planters Tavern.  They serve the same food as in the restaurant but the Tavern is definitely more atmospheric.  There's live piano music and great cocktails.  The decor is really interesting, especially what's adorning the wall above the fireplace.  We shared an order of fried green tomatoes (my first ever) and they were sublime.  I ordered the pan seared sea scallops (which were enormous) with mashed potatoes, eggplant and green beans.  The meal was just delicious.  Then we headed back to our room for a short but deep sleep. 

 

We got up early Sunday and had waffles with pecan syrup for breakfast.  Then headed off for another day of apartment searching.  Most of the places we looked at were just as derelict as the ones we'd seen the day before.  We decided to pop into the Mercer House gift shop to sign up for a tour of The Mercer House.  They only show the first floor apparently due to Georgia fire codes.  The back garden (where the tour began) was just stunning.  There's a sunken sitting area made of bricks, like nothing I've seen before.  The girl giving the tour informed us that it actually stays a few degrees cooler than the  rest of the yard.  We of course weren't allowed to take pictures.  Apparently the sister and nieces of Jim Williams still use the Mercer House.  The house was stunning, just like what you see in the film.  His collections are astounding.  I really wouldn't mind paying again to take a second walk through the house.  They really don't mention the film much except to point out that amongst the family photos is a picture of Kevin Spacey in his Jim Williams garb.   

   

After our tour we went to look at some shops located a few blocks from where we were staying.  Savannah has a great bunch of shops in what is described as the design district.  Although some were closed due to it being Sunday, quite a few were open.  While in one of the shops I mentioned to the owner that I was in search of an apartment and eventually work once I get settled.  She told me to bring in my resume, then informed me that her sister lives around the corner and is renting out her carriage house.  One thing that really stood out to me about the people in Savannah is how nice they were and how willing they are to assist you in whatever way they can.  We walked around the corner to look at the apartment, but before we got there I spotted a "for rent" sign attached to the stair railing of a gorgeous brick apartment building....To be continued.

[The picture collage at the top includes pictures of the exterior and interior of our Bed and Breakfast along with a picture of the square our room looked out to.  The picture collage in the middle includes pictures of Club One, where Lady Chablis performs when she's in town.  There's several pictures of the river front.  One example of the Spanish moss that adorns many of the trees in Savannah.  Several pictures of the numerous churches.  And a look at the Talmadge Memorial Bridge.  The picture collage at the bottom includes pictures of The Mercer House and the exterior and interior of The Old Pink House restaurant.  As well as a picture of another Savannah square.]

Georgia on my mind

In case you're curious as to why there's been no recent mention of my move to Savannah or the beginning of graduate school at SCAD, let me explain why.  In June, after trying to work out how I'd have enough money to cover a cross country move in addition to paying the cost of tuition, I made the decision to defer enrollment for a quarter.  I've been working an extensive amount of overtime this summer in order to have enough saved to cover the cost of the move and some of the tuition.  In November I'll be flying out to Savannah to find an apartment to rent for December.  Then in December I'll officially become a resident of the South.  Classes begin early January, so I'll have a bit of time to get settled into southern life before school begins.  One positive aspect to starting school in the winter in Savannah is that I'll be missing the height of the heat.  So anyway, that's the story in case you were wondering.  Oh and the wallpaper on my computer at work is of one of Savannah's squares, so I could keep focused on the reason for my extensive hours at my desk.  Also, that Kiehls Coriander lotion is a godsend for dry hands.

Home is where the art is

West Elm, Williams-Sonoma's urban-oriented home furnishings brand, has entered into a partnership with Savannah College of Art and Design that will provide a collection of limited printed reproductions of original art by emerging artists for the retailer's customers.

Currently West Elm is offering "striking studies of objects found in nature which are set against a dramatic black background. Limited reproduction prints of silver gelatin photographs by artist Chia Chiung from the Savannah College of Art and Design, whose work ranges from portraiture to fashion, travel to documentary photography. Framed in lustrous black wood behind glass.  Purchase either the white feather, nest or beads."  The prints retail for $29.00 each or $79.00 for three.