Social Graces

7.16.2009

made my day

This morning before I left town for work I got a call from our upholsterer saying that if I'd like to stop by to see the sofa he re-upholstered before he delivered it back to my client's house it was ready. I was there in a flash. You see, this is the stuff I love - the more "decorator" stuff. It's so fun! I love, love, love the way it turned out. The Schumacher Imperial Trellis print on the front is one of my all-time favorites and finally someone else shared the love. The rest of this client's living room make-over is just has fabulous so hopefully I can show you the finished project in due time. Enjoy!

Tonight I'm helping my dear friend Kelly of Bella Flora arrange flowers for a wedding this weekend. I've been having wedding/party withdrawals so this will surely satisfy! Back to work...

summer nights

But first...

MISS MANDY'S HAS RE-OPENED!!

This is one of my absolute favorites shops in Tallahassee and in the last month they have relocated to a better, larger space. I am now pleased to announce they are back in full swing! Unbeknownst to me, they opened their doors this past Tuesday so when I drove by yesterday to just check I was delighted to see their two signature foxtail ferns flanking the front door and the always welcoming OPEN. So I immediately called Lane and she and Camp met me there in record time. The new store is beyond fabulous and has even more salvaged furniture and accessories than before. Good move Mandy...welcome back.

Ah, summer nights. When the sunlight lingers until almost 9:00pm I am happy. The Gunters have been extending the invite to dine with them lately. They are so sweet to have me for dinner and whenever I question it they say "well we usually have just enough for one more! " Thank you, sweet friends. It's so fun visiting with them after a long day at work and we always manage to scheme new furniture arrangements for their house. Of course the obvious reasons why I enjoy these nights so much are they are just a hop skip and a jump down the street and the food is always delish. Whenever they say, "charcoal grill" I say, "See you in a few!" Last night we had this great tasting grilled chicken {charcoal of course} pasta salad. We paired it with none other than a summertime favorite lemonade--raspberry lemonade to be exact! It was all so colorful and refreshing.

check out lane's blog for the recipe {and a similar blog post, haha}

I may start selling this from a make-shift stand in my yard

7.15.2009

Sales is not my forte so here's my pitch:

Helping others has never tasted so good!
{and that was even borrowed!}

Pre-order sales are going on now and the brand new Junior League of Tallahassee cookbook is only $26.82, which includes tax. If you are interested in purchasing one leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll send you a form.

Keep in mind these books are great for Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays--really any holiday--and you know how much I love a good holiday!

7.11.2009

let them eat cake

{image via kate spade}

Thank you Marie Antoinette. It is no surprise that I love a good dessert. So this weekend I'll share what I've been up to {hint: cake}. On Friday, I went to dinner with friends to celebrate Danielle's birthday and we had a delicious cake from The Cake Shop. On Saturday, sister, Sally Kate, and I went to one of our favorite local shops, Simply Entertaining, for their Simple Idea Saturday. We learned how to make and sampled the fruit salad with lavender mint simple syrup and blueberry mojitos. Indeed they were simple recipes and I can't wait to try them myself. They were both so refreshing and tasty! We also had a good lunch and stop at the farmer's market. Then it was off to pick up Lane and Camp for a cupcake date at the newest place in town Lucy & Leo's Cupcakery. They have been open for less than a week and so of course we had to see for ourselves what all the buzz was about. No doubt I love the name/concept of a cupcakery and the decor was chic and cheerful but the cupcakes...well they get mixed reviews. They were good and the peanut butter frosting was top notch but if cupcakes are their specialty they need to step. it. up. So therefore, I will say it here for the millionth time my allegiance is to The Cake Shop. And if you're ever in Ocala my vote, hands down, is for Betty Cakes :)

Hope you're having a fabulous cake-filled weekend too!

birthday bliss

the spread at simply entertaining

sally kate {wearing her first bow!} and camp

both reaching for the cupcakes

locally grown zinnias from the farmer's market

7.05.2009

wonderful weekend

I am back from a wonderful holiday weekend full of fun in the sun and family {mostly Marcus's family...but they claim me and I claim them :)} and friends galore. I was able to leave Tallahassee earlier than my estimated countdown on Thursday afternoon but not without going through yet another storm, but we won't go there. Let's just say I despise Crawfordville. Shortly after making my turn west onto scenic highway 98 I saw the water but more importantly the sun. Hello vacation! Sister and Marcus rented a house on the beach with Hillary and Jason for the week and they were so kind to include me. It was a house full of two lively young families and moi, Aunt Sister as Owen and Harris joined in on calling me :) We all had a ball!

On Friday me, sister, Sally Kate, and Hillary met Lane and Camp for lunch at....The Owl, no surprise there! We splurged and ordered anything and everything that struck our fancy and it was divine. We also laughed a lot and had a surprise visit from Marcus - just in time to eat what we couldn't. We also went to the newest shop on the block in downtown Apalachicola The Green Door. It did not disappoint. It was fab-u-lous and featured a local artist's paintings, fun jewelry, and vintage lagniappe. {Thank you Lane and Hill for the pictures...I forgot my camera on Friday!} We also enjoyed a relaxing late afternoon on the beach and then a bay-side party.

Saturday brought the 4th of July and the half birthday of yours truly. As mentioned before, I do a lot of sleeping on vacations. So as everyone prepared for the big island parade I was still comfortably content in my pjs. Come one {literally, you could just enter yourself}, come all - the annual SGI 4th of July parade was in full swing. We decorated Jake's truck and all of the little cousins piled in to wave, throw candy, and shoot water guns at the crowd. SK was left with me as we finished our morning nap and then she and I joined the gang on the sideline just as the family float drove by. As far as I knew the parade was right outside our front door...but no one told me it was a block in front. So there I was - pjs, glasses and all - walking down the sandy street with baby in tow. At least I had on shoes.

We spent another leisurely late afternoon {my favorite part of the day} at the beach. Thanks to the Dunhams for the provided tent/shade! That evening we went to join the rest of the family for a low-key celebration. In years past, the Randolphs have hosted a huge 4th of July party including tons of food and a dj. This was after all where sister and I met Marcus, Hillary, and Jason 6 years ago. And we've been celebrating the 4th with their family ever since. We ended the night watching fireworks off the beach on our balcony.

Check-out time on Sunday was 10:00am so I packed up and headed out. I was going to be darned if I got stuck in the midst of bad weather again. So I said farewell and made my journey home. I'm not sure when I'll be back but I can tell you that there's a wonderful article on Apalachicola in this month's issue of Southern Accents.

In other news, yesterday I received approval to register for the NCIDQ exam to become a licensed professional interior designer. The test is the first weekend in October and I.must.start.studying.

And just to let you know the kind of frazzled day I am having...I just stuck my black pen, not in its proper catch all mint julep container, but my full glass of water. oops.