It’s Friday, Let’s Celebrate!

Entertaining
February 21, 2014

Time to celebrate! A big thank you to all of you who were so congratulatory yesterday about our Southern Living story – it was much appreciated. So today, in honor of my excitement over your comments and support, it’s time for a cocktail party! Click on the photos and/or the item names to be redirected to the websites. Loving both of these sets of glasses from Anthropologie. I purchased the Sparkle Rimmed Tumblers (top) and used them as water glasses on my Christmas table. And these Champagne Bubble Glasses (bottom) are so much fun! They really make every drink look celebratory. I think the set of Gold Cheese Knives and the Marble and Wood Cheese Board from West Elm would definitely be perfect for the cocktail party spread. I am lucky enough to live just down the street from Charleston’s amazing goat.sheep.cow., where you can provide your own platter and the wonderful staff at goat.sheep.cow. will choose your meets, cheeses, other delicacies, and style the platter for you! Which is exactly what I did during the Southern Living shoot, and the platter is featured in one of the garden shots. Finally, these Gold Flecked Cork Ice Bucket and Coasters from C. Wonder are to die for. Just throw some ice in the bucket and put some of that Anthropologie glassware on those coasters, and we’re ready to party! Happy Friday!

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Church Street Cheap & Chic

Cheap and Chic
February 20, 2014

This Fall, W and I were grateful to have Southern Living come and take some pictures of the house for the magazine. I just received my copy of the March issue, and I am so excited to see all our hard work in print. As a northerner, having my house in Southern Living is just one more step in my assimilation into the South. A big thank you to Francesco Lagnese who took the pictures (website here), and to Erin Swift (website here) who did the styling.Instead of showing you all the pictures from the magazine (you can go pick up a copy if you’re interested!) I wanted to do a little Cheap & Chic of the Week with the photo of my garden. Since most of the items in the garden are catalog purchases, I thought I would give you my sources so it might help you style your garden to get ready for spring! Click on the photos or the item name to be redirected to each website.Guests often complement the wicker chairs in the garden, and are always surprised when I tell them that they are Ikea. The Byholma chair is $89.99, and while they are not made for outdoor use, with a little sanding and sealing they have held up well in the humid South Carolina Lowcountry.The Cafe Backless bench from Ballard Designs is what I used as the coffee table in the garden. It was the perfect size, and the right look, and it’s currently on sale for $99 down from $199. Definitely a good deal.The backless bench repurposed as a coffee table looks great layered with this Rattan Tray from World Market, only $19.99. I leave the tray out in the elements and so far after about six months and a winter it still looks great. I also don’t worry about it because it is so well priced I can always buy another one!These 20″ square outdoor pillows that I used are also from Ballard Designs. The pattern is Callisto Stripe in Indigo and they are in an easycare fabric. I have left these pillows out uncovered all winter. And yes, this is not Connecticut, we did not get a million inches of snow, however, we have had a ton of rain and ice and the pillows still look great. They are also currently on sale for $24.99, and remember Ballard Designs entire website is 20% off through February 24th. Hope you all enjoyed a little tour of my garden, and some Cheap & Chic of the Week finds. If you are interested in more pictures of my house, go pick up a March issue of Southern Living. (how delicious does that charcuterie/cheese plate look? Thanks goat.sheep.cow. !)

photos via Southern Living

First Street to Church Street: Julia, You’re Invited.

Architecture
February 19, 2014

The House on First Street, title of a great book, New Orleans home of a great writer, Julia Reed. I am a big fan of Julia Reed. As a Connecticut girl who has adopted South Carolina as her home state, Julia Reed has been quite the inspiration. Not long after my husband and I moved to Charleston, my aunt sent me a copy of Julia Reed’s But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria! A book full of stories about friends and family, eating and drinking, entertaining, and all the other things that southerners seem to have a knack for. I devoured that book, and have subsequently sought out her her other books, articles in Garden & Gun, and features in Southern Living. Despite the fact that I know absolutely nothing about Julia other than what she has written about herself, I am convinced that Julia and I would be great friends. I would invite her over for cocktails on the porch and dinner in the garden, and we would drink too much and laugh too hard and it would be fabulous. We could bond over historic houses (obviously), preservation (definitely), great Southern cities, and how to make a good Southside.Julia was assisted in her First Street project by friend and amazing decorator Thomas Jayne, who was an apprentice to Albert Hadley. Need I say more? You loyal Lacquered Lifers know how I feel about Mr. Hadley … In her book, The House on First Street, Reed regales us with stories of the trials and tribulations of a home renovation in post-Katrina New Orleans. Although I absolutely cannot relate to what the citizens of NOLA experienced with Katrina, I can understand the frustrations associated with a construction project. Somehow Julia manages to make some of the most stressful moments something to laugh about. I don’t have nearly the number of cookbooks that Julia has, however, we did install shelves in the kitchen specifically for my cookbooks. Even so my kitchen bookshelves are full, and I think I may have to take a cue from Julia in the next project for back of the island shelves.Ready for a party. Julia, just let me know what I can bring over for the potluck. Thanks to Sara Foster, I can do a mean deviled egg … So when I’m in New Orleans next month, don’t think I won’t be strolling past the house on First Street and imagining all the laughing and drinking. Julia, let me know if you’re ever in Charleston.

The House on First Street and But Mama Always Puts Vodka in Her Sangria! are available at Barnes & Noble here.

Photos via Southern Living & Elle Decor