Fooling Around with Firewood

Architecture
December 8, 2014

Good Morning Lacquered Lifers! Hope everyone had a good weekend! It has finally gotten a a little chilly here in Charleston, so we can indulge in one of my favorite winter things … building a fire. When we moved to Charleston from our apartment in New York, I was so excited to have a fireplace, but for the majority of the year here in South Carolina that fireplace sits empty. So when it is finally just cold enough to justify having a fire, I’m psyched. Sitting in front of a fire on a cold evening, or having a fire in the fireplace while you entertain, just makes everything seem more festive. But where to store the wood? In our living room (above) we keep it in the bottom shelf of the built in bookcase, and similarly in the homes below, the owners have found inventive ways to keep their firewood close by. viaviaviavia

If you don’t have an obvious spot to keep your firewood, a couple of my favorite options are here, here, here, and here. Enjoy staying warm!

A Scrooge and a Spruce

Garden/Floral
December 2, 2014

Good Morning Lacquered Lifers! Does anyone else feel that over the years the Christmas decorating has started earlier and earlier? Growing up, we never got into the full swing of Christmas until after December 17th, because that is my brother’s birthday, and we tried our best not to let Christmas overshadow it. Last year, I tried to continue that tradition with my own Christmas decorating … try finding a tree in Charleston on the second weekend of December. So this year, I am going to pick out my tree this week, and just not pick it up until the second week of December. Try as I may, I cannot jump so easily and quickly from Thanksgiving into Christmas. However, I will try to do a little bit of organizing ahead of time. Going thru my Pinterest boards, it seems that I’m quite taken with small, simple accent trees. Via
How pretty is this Tabletop Spruce? I think that something like this would look beautiful in the study or on the dining room table. Church Street is not a big house, so I can’t go too crazy with lots of mini trees but I think I’m definitely going to need at least one … and maybe purchasing this will persuade me to start in on the Christmas decorating a little earlier this year.

A Charleston Thanksgiving

Entertaining
December 1, 2014

Good Morning Lacquered Lifers! I hope everyone had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! As promised, here are photos of my Thanksgiving table. A big thank you to my father for handling the photos while I was knee deep in turkey and sides in the kitchen. Also a big thank you to Mr. B for doing the flowers, they turned out beautifully. He also had the genius idea of making a second smaller arrangement to put on the table while we were all eating so that we could all see each other … can’t say I would have thought of that alone. It was a beautiful day here in Charleston, and I feel so lucky to have spent it at home with my family. China: Spode Heritage (blue). Chargers: World Market. Silverware: Gorham Fairfax. Knives: Laguiole. Napkins: Ballard Designs. Salt & Pepper Grinders: antique, similar. Glassware: World Market. Julep Cups: gift, similar . Placecards: The Printery. Tablecloth: gift, similar. Turned Candlesticks: antique, similar. Silver Candlesticks: antique, similar.