First of all - and this really has nothing to do with Saturday - do take a moment to check out the Shop Tart’s latest shoot in Columbia Metropolitan. She’s a freelance fashion stylist in her spare time. You can see two of the shots by clicking on the link and there are two more in the magazine. The article - “The Art of Party Dressing” - was a blast to shoot. The models are dancers from local companies, Jeff Amberg was the photographer, Cille and Elizabeth from Pout did the makeup and Johanna and Tiffany from Austral did the hair. Speaking of, did you know most places will gladly style you for a party? How Hollywood is that? Special occasion makeup at Pout starts at $75; keep an eye on what they’re doing, ask for a few tips and recreate the look yourself next time. Party hair at Austral starts at $55 and we all know a good blowout can last several days, at least a weekend’s worth of parties. Speaking of Austral, the Shop Tart is still thrilled with her Keratin straightening treatment. It takes her so much less time to style her hair. She’s gone from a time-consuming blowout, followed by a wrestling match with a straightening iron and possibly a round of hot rollers, to air-drying and a five minute touch-up with the iron. Heaven! In fact, she can add more parties to her holiday schedule because her hair is ready to rock. And now, back to your regularly scheduled program…

Saturday morning, the Shop Tart woke up in Charleston feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy her day. She knows she isn’t the only parent who miraculously sleeps better when her children aren’t in the house. Love them to bits, but they aren’t exactly Ambien. She slept late, until 9 am. Although she and Mr. Shop Tart love Hominy Grill, it was featured in Gourmet* this month which meant it would be too crowded. They chose nearby Peninsula Grill. Turns out, it was exactly what the Shop Tart craved. Thanks to perfect weather, they dined al fresco on the charming patio. The Shop Tart enjoyed blue crab eggs Benedict, while her husband had an egg-white omelet and potatoes.

She felt like she was on a European vacation, so she savored a small decaf espresso. If she were a better writer, she would be able to describe the perfection of hot, bitter European coffee sipped outside on a crisp fall morning. Oh well, you’ll just have to try it.

After breakfast, they walked up King Street for a bit - nothing on sale at Bob Ellis at the moment, for the curious - and ran into Lola owner Cindy. She was there for parents’ weekend at College of Charleston, shopping with her daughter. The Shop Tart wonders if her own mother would like to pretend it’s parents’ weekend and take her shopping, hmmm? Mom?

They rushed back to Columbia for soccer, stopping only so the Shop Tart could change her shoes, perfect for strolling on King Street, not so much for the soccer field. Later that afternoon, the Shop Tart met Kate, one of the interns, at Cellar on Greene. Professional, right? The Shop Tart highly recommends a glass of wine at 5 pm on Saturday, because it’s the weekend, like a miniature vacation every single week. In fact, you should start even earlier. This Saturday, you can. Cellar is hosting one of their huge wine sales and tastings from noon to 2 pm. Sounds like a perfect tailgate plan to the Shop Tart. On Kaitlin’s recommendation, she enjoyed a glass of this dry Riesling from Standing Stone Vineyards in New York. In fact, she enjoyed it so much she bought a bottle to take home.

They also enjoyed appetizers, including this amazing arugula caesar salad. Ding dang, that was a good salad.

Kate snacked on the ham and cheese plate.

Kate and the Shop Tart chatted about various things, including an upcoming regular feature: Intern Pick of the Week. She can’t wait to see what Anna and Kate find! After her important business meeting, the Shop Tart meandered up to Baan Sawan, where she was meeting her husband for dinner. It was early and they were the first people at the bar. Soon the bar was packed with pros. Travis of Immaculate Consumption banh mi fame was there with his lovely companion Julia, Nick of the Half and Half arrived later and Chef Tim from Motor Supply was there, enjoying a beer while waiting for his lovely editor and wife, Melissa. Sam poured wine, remembering everyone’s preference like the consummate oeno-therapist he is. Soon food was ordered, served and consumed with relish. Chef Alex came out from the kitchen to say hello. All in all, it was one of the Shop Tart’s favorite nights out ever. The food was delicious, too. They started with tod mun, served on sticks rather than in the usual patties in honor of the upcoming state fair. The Shop Tart adores the convenience of food on sticks.

Next they enjoyed a scallop dish, seasoned to perfectly complement the wine from Cellar on Greene, which they had opened on arrival to share with the class.

Travis had come from a wedding he catered. He does that sort of thing in his spare time. The Shop Tart is constantly amazed at how fit and trim he and Julia are. If she lived with Travis, she would be a lot larger than she is at the moment. He brought sweets to share, including these delightful cream puffs with a crunchy, burnt sugar coating. Instead of a wedding cake, the couple requested a tower of these. Once again, the Shop Tart contemplated getting remarried.

There were more sweets…

…including miniature pains au chocolat…

At one point, an attractive young gentleman came into the restaurant. After a short debate, he chose a table and waited, a little nervous, but not jumping out of his skin or anything. Soon, an attractive young woman arrived and after scanning the room, sat down with him. Across the bar from each other, Chef Tim and the Shop Tart locked eyes. No, they were not flirting, as they are both happily married. They simply realized, at the exact same moment, what they silently mouthed in unison, “BLIND DATE.” Jinx. Chef Tim owes the Shop Tart a soda. She considers bubbly a soda, for the record. Intermittent and somewhat surreptitious monitoring yielded the information that, although both parties were darned attractive, there probably wouldn’t be a rematch. They didn’t laugh, not even after consuming an adult beverage. Shop Tart Tip: If you don’t make each other laugh on the first date, you’ll never survive such dicey marital moments as childbirth, sex after childbirth, death, and various other momentous occasions, like arrests, job loss and foreclosure. Those things may not seem funny now, but you’ll need to summon up a laugh or three.

After dinner, they went home. One can only have so much fun in one day, n’est-ce pas?

Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

* Can we take a moment of silence for Gourmet? They are stopping publishing after  nearly 70 years. The magazine was beautiful and the Shop Tart has had a subscription on and off since college. She remembers one specific break-up after which she was comforted by singing Tammy Wynette while baking bread from a Gourmet recipe. Actually, she got quite good at baking bread thanks to that breakup. Guess they’re all good for something. Her singing, on the other hand, did not improve.

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