New in The Shop - Free to a Good Home Listings...

The first two of our new Free to a Good Home listings are in the shop, a victorian silver syrup pitcher and a vintage silver over brass sugar scuttle!

Often when I am antiquing or go to an auction I end up buying whole boxes of silver, and there are always a couple pieces left in the box that just aren't quite right for my store. I hate to see them pile up and just sit around in storage, so I am starting to offer these pieces in my shop occasionally as "Free to a Good Home" listings! This means the item is free, you'll just pay $8 to cover UPS ground in the US or USPS first class shipping to Canada.

To keep it fair, and to make sure many people have the opportunity to get one these items, please only buy one "Free to a Good Home" listing at a time (so if there are multiple listings in the shop, just pick your favorite one, please don't buy all of them). If you would like to be notified as soon as our "Free to a Good Home" items go up in the shop, please follow us on facebook or twitter!

Shop Sale!

Save 15% off all items in the FQMercantile etsy shop, even sale items, from now until the new year! Just enter code HAPPYNEWYEAR at checkout, the sale ends January 1, 2011. All items purchased during the sale will ship when we are back in town the first week of January.

Happy Holidays!

I'm taking a bit of a blog break for now while I am out of town celebrating the holidays with family. I'll be back to blogging next week and will start adding some new items to the shop then as well! Happy holidays everyone!!

My vintage aluminum tree!

In The Kitchen: Lavender-Lemon Honey Cookies

I set out to make molasses cookies yesterday evening, only to find I was out of molasses and ginger, oh and ground cloves too...clearly it was time to find a new cookie. This recipe follows the same basic plan as classic molasses cookies, but uses ingredients I happened to have on hand last night. I must say, the cookies were rather good, in fact, this year for Christmas Eve I think I'll be making these rather than those molasses cookies!



Lavender-Lemon Honey Cookies

• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup lavender sugar*
  
• 1/4 cup good honey
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• the zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons
  
• Extra sugar for rolling

Mix butter, sugar, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and egg together in large mixing bowl. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Add dry ingredients to honey mixture and stir until well combined. Refrigerate until dough has hardened, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375F. Scoop out dough and roll into 1 inch balls, then roll the balls in sugar and press lightly to slightly flatten them. Place cookies on parchment covered baking sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet immediately and cool on rack.

Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies.

*I've found lavender sugar at the local Charleston Farmer's Market (from Tiverton Farms), but you can buy it online, or you can make your own by combining 1 cup sugar with 1.5 tbs lavender and half a vanilla bean. Let the sugar mixture sit for 3-4 weeks, shaking the container occasionally, before using.

Sunday Shopping: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well, the holiday season hit me hard, between running the shop and travel and making gifts, this blog has been woefully neglected. I did manage a Sunday Shopping post this week though, and there will be another In The Kitchen coming in the next few days, I promise!

For this Christmas-themed post I've chosen 10 of my favorite holiday decor picks, from etsy and beyond...

Vintage Mercury Glass Ornaments




Forest Theme Tree Topper with Toadstools
this is seriously out of my price range, but still amazing





Vintage Bottle Brush Trees





Joyeux Noel Burlap Banner


Antique Silver Baskets
shameless shop plug, I know, but around the holidays I usually have a silver bowl or basket
filled with ornaments & greens in almost every room



Tinsel Chain Garland






Christmas Stocking made from a Vintage French Grain Sack
Glass Clip-on Toadstool Ornament





Vintage Ribbon
for trimming the tree and decorating packages




Gingerbread
I know this isn't a decor item, but nothing says Christmas to me more than a big slice of warm gingerbread
topped with lemon curd, so I had to end with it. (by the way, this Smitten Kitchen gingerbread is one of the best I've ever made!)

A warm cup of soup

I'm spending the next week doing some end-of-the-season antiquing for the shop, and every time I travel north during the winter (I know it's not officially winter yet, but it certainly feels like it) I realize how spoiled I have become by the warm Charleston weather. Though I tend to complain and swear I am never again traveling north between the months of November and April, the cold does give me an excuse to cook lots of warming meals, like this Carrot and Fennel Soup (via Orangette) with goat cheese toast and crumbled pancetta.

Sunday Shopping: Tea Time

Birds on The Greens Breakfast Set

Lovely Antique Silver Plate Teapot





Cantaloupe and Vanilla Bean Jam

Antique Silver and Mother of Pearl Butter or Fruit Knives

Koi Cup





Vanilla Oolong Tea

Handwoven Cotton Towels





Paris Teapot





Aunt Birdie's Lavender Tea

New silver pieces added to the etsy shop

Lots of new silver pieces have been added to the FQMercantile etsy shop just in time for holiday entertaining! 3 and 5-arm candelabras, a beautiful antique hand chased pitcher, silver trays, a tea pot, napkin rings, and more...visit FQMercantile to see all the new pieces.

Sunday Shopping: Winsome Wood

Turned maple burl bowl






Maple cutting board with a natural edge






Box elder vessel






Vintage general store scale with wood base






Heirloom quality cherry kitchen utensils (I have quite a few of these cherry wood cooking & serving pieces, and years later, after almost daily use, they're still as beautiful as when they were brand new!)

Spiced Breakfast Quinoa with Coconut & Pecans

I have never been a fan of oatmeal, cereal or grits for breakfast (though I can't denounce grits entirely, otherwise I might be asked to leave Charleston. Shrimp & grits is one my my very favorite foods, I swear!). I came across a recipe for sweet quinoa recently, and once I tried it I was hooked. This is now my go-to breakfast grain, for days when an apple just won't do. It's quick, easy and oh so good!



Spiced Breakfast Quinoa with Coconut & Pecans
1/3 cup quinoa
1/3 cup almond milk (plain or vanilla flavor, though if you use vanilla only use half the honey)
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom

Rinse the quinoa, the put all of the above ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Once the quinoa is done cooking fluff it a little and put it in a bowl. Stir in the following ingredients:

2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 handful of pecan pieces

...and you're done!

Sunday Shopping...

A uniquely shaped vintage turquoise birdhouse






A beautiful handcrafted textile succulent in a vintage bud vase






Clever recipe cards letterpress printed on birch veneer






A stunning cocktail ring in red rutile quartz accented with garnet






A beautiful porcelain lace bowl

In The Kitchen: Apple Upside-down Cake with Cardamom & Cinnamon

It's just starting to feel like fall here in Charleston, and fall to me means apple cider, apple cake, caramel apples...basically anything spiced & apple-y. I found this recipe via Not Eating Out in New York, and followed it exactly with the exception of adding cardamom to the apple/cinnamon/sugar mixture.

As I was taking it out of the oven I accidentally grabbed the handle of the skillet this was baking in without an oven mitt, and subsequently dropped the whole pan on the floor (fortunately it didn't fall upside down) resulting in scrambled cake. Still, this was amazing. Worth the burn.

A few favorites...

This week is filled with antiquing and waiting-at-5am-in-a-field-type flea markets, and I'll be posting some photos of the markets & finds next week. For now though I thought I would start my new blog off with some favorite, antique-filled rooms found around the web...

a beautiful room in a London TV/film location home {via lovely clusters}

I am in love with this long, thin room. Its the exact shape of my office, which I long to make a library & reading room once I can organize my office & move everything into the guest room. {via this is glamorous}


speaking of libraries...this is the room of my dreams. {via flickr}


this beautiful bedroom with antique portraits {via Rue Magazine}


of course, no rooms with antiques post would be complete without a mention of Coco Chanel's Paris apartment. *sigh* {via Living with Style}