Insta New Orleans

Architecture
March 31, 2014

As most of you who follow me on Instagram know, I was in New Orleans Wednesday through Sunday. I apologize for not posting while I was away! I wanted to do a little recap of our NOLA trip through Instagram. For those of you who follow me, this photos will be familiar, but you will get a little more information on what we did … Started off the trip by checking into Soniat House, and immediately strolling around the French Quarter, finding ourselves at Hotel Monteleone’s famous Carousel Bar. We headed to dinner at Sylvain for a Champagne Cocktail, Southern Antipasti Plate, Seasonal Market Salad, and Gulf Shrimp Pirlou. The Southern Antipasto Plate had a black eyed pea hummus that was to die for. The next morning, we had breakfast at Stanley on Jackson Square, and while WWB did some work I took a tour of the Old Ursuline Convent. I felt as though I had stumbled into a piece of 18th century France in Louisiana … it is no surprise since the building was commissioned by Louis XV of France. The views of the French Quarter from the interior of the Ursuline Convent garden were magical.
Later, we headed out to the garden district. We had lunch at Lilette, which was by far the absolute best meal we had during the trip. We started out lunch with 1/2 dozen oysters and a salad of Shaved Hawaiian Hearts of Palm. It sounds simple, but I could eat that salad with parmesan and olive oil every day. We followed up with some Alaskan King Crab Claws with passion fruit butter … yes passion fruit butter … and some mussels in a curry sauce with eggplant bruschetta. This was all along with the most amazing cocktail made called the Lillete Rouge, which tasted like a sparkling sangria. Then it was straight to Leontine Linens, where we met the amazing Jane Scott Hodges … look for more on that tomorrow. Dinner was at La Petite Grocery, where I had Turtle Bolognese! How does one not order that? Dinner was followed by drinks at Bouligny Tavern, which was the chicest midcentury bar (note the light fixture in the window), where I had an Aperol Fizz. Yummm.Friday it poured with rain almost all day. We took refuge at the Beauregard Keyes House, made famous by the 18 months that Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard lived there. The palmetto frond wallpaper in the hallway was a favorite part of that visit. We followed that step back in time with a lunch at Galatoire’s, and dinner at Commander’s Palace. Even in the pouring rain we managed to hit some of the best places in old New Orleans. Saturday morning, after a coffee and a buttermilk drop at Petite Amelie, we did more strolling around the French Quarter, looking out for buildings for me to fall in love with, such as this one. Then it was on to the wedding at Immaculate Conception Church, a traditional Second Line parade around the French Quarter, and a reception at the Opera Guild Home. A big congratulations to Liz and Colin who tied the knot this weekend! It was a wonderful trip, and I’m so glad I can finally say I have been to New Orleans. Until next time NOLA …

Ceylon Away

Finds
March 11, 2014

The weather in Charleston the last few days has finally warmed up, and everybody here is gearing up for spring. Well spring in Charleston, which is in the 70s … so summer temperatures for a lot of people. I spent as much of the last two days outside as I possibly could, and while I did work on my porch I came across the new Ceylon Teak collection from Ballard Designs. The carved legs and back are an ode to British colonial furniture, and remember it’s teak, so it will weather to a beautiful pale grey. I could definitely see myself doing some serious sun lounging on this furniture. Ballard

love seat/lounge chair/chaise/coffee table/dining set

I like to mix up my outdoor furniture the same way I do indoors so that it isn’t so matched, but this collection would mix really well with ceramic garden stool side tables (see here), some metal cafe furniture, and even wicker. There is absolutely no space left in my garden, but if I did have some space I would definitely be trying to incorporate some Ceylon Teak. How fabulous would those chaises look lined up next to the pool that I will have sometime in my future?

deLovely Kitchens

Architecture
March 5, 2014

I have found my favorite kitchen designers. And it is not surprising that they are in the UK. deVOL is located in Leicestershire and they operate the business out of Cotes Mill, a 16th cenutry water mill. Founded by two graduates of Loughborough University in 1989, deVOL employs around fifty staff, the majority of whom are local craftsmen as well as design graduates from the local university. Their website is just full of photos to put in your kitchen boards on Pinterest. This particular kitchen is located in a country manor house in Wymeswold, which is on the northern border of Leicestershire. The combination of dark wood countertops, white cabinetry, limestone floors and the blue Falcon stove is perfection. And this kitchen is only the tip of the iceberg. I highly recommend visiting www.devolkitchens.co.uk . Happy pinning!