weekend...approved!

It's always fun to get away - go off to a coastal destination and relax..live the good life...besides no one knows you there. So that's what we did. Me, Beth and Lane. Three days, one beach house, and about twenty meals enjoyed along Florida's Emerald Coast or better yet The Beaches of South Walton. It's corny, but this is a destination I've been dreaming about going to. Of course I've been to Destin and the up-and-coming/still sketchy Panama City Beach but it's the tiny stretch of hoity toity beaches in between that my heart's been set on. The beaches run one right into the other along Highway 30A. It's a fabulous drive and an even better adventure when set out on foot.

Every event was a highlight on this trip and the countless pictures tell everything...well, almost everything. We enjoyed using Lane's new camera and Beth and I were quick to model. The weather was down right chilly but ultimately beautiful. But the company was best...lots and lots of laughter! A much needed fall break.

It was also so neat to finally see things I've been reading in design/architecture magazines since high school such as the chapel in Seaside {mon favorie!}:

just gorgeous...so simple and elegant

And then there's the 2005 Southern Accents Showhouse in Watersound. We only drove by this exclusive neighborhood but here are a few small images I treasure:

So on to the food. One word...delicious! Here's where we ate and things worth noting :
Great Southern Cafe
{I had the Grits a Ya Ya...which was ya ya good which translates to fantastic. All I have to say is that they were Smoked Gouda cheese grits and we craved them for the rest of our vacation.}
Queen Bee Cupcakes
{A little disappointed. Nothing beats The Cake Shop. that's all.}
Wild Olives
{A yummy little market-deli-bakery in the heart of Rosemary Beach. I had a roasted veggie sandwich on ciabatta with hummus and a roasted red pepper tapenade.}
Bud & Alley's....Pizza Bar, that is
{Third time's a charm on this one. Pizza was calling our name and so were the Gators. We watched the end of the nail-biting game at this gourmet pizza cafe on the beach. Food of choice=excellent!}
The Red Bar
{We had breakfast at this beachside staple on Sunday morning. The eclectic atmosphere was fun and the food was delightfully filling.}

I'll let our fun pictures tell the rest of our fabulous weekend...enjoy, we sure did!

our weekend home

photo shoot #1: me, lane, and beth

we love the self-timer setting

great southern cafe...approved!

saturday we spent leisurely walking around rosemary beach and selecting our dream homes...

at first this one was my favorite...I just loved the green

@ wild olives

and then I spotting this beauty after walking down to the beach...I looked back from the water and she said "come live in me" OK!

don't worry there's a carriage house for my guests

had to take pictures from all angles.
the architecture in rosemary is so unique. each house a different combination of styles. I fell in love with this one's island old colonial style.

surprise, surprise...a wedding being set-up. don't worry we drove back by later that night to check out the scene. the reception was so swanky and everyone was on the dance floor with the band.

go gators!!

after a long day of enjoying ourselves we ended the night with a foot sugar scrub {compliments of pish posh pitchouli's} and cocktails.

happy friday to me

Today is my Friday, tomorrow I'm taking the day off in honor of taking {and completing} the NCIDQ. Weekend trip to the Florida panhandle here I come!

In other weekly news, my Pamela came to visit!! The rules are eat good food, laugh, share clothes, and stay up late when she's in town. We abide by them wholeheartedly. Pamela is a bigshot accountant in Tampa for Ernst & Young {quality in everything we do} and often travels to my neck of the woods for recruiting events. It's these recruiting events I speak of that I have always been so intrigued by. In college, they wined and dine potential employees like it was going out of style as I, the lowly interior design major, stayed back at the sorority house jealous of the rare and eager recruiting style of the accounting world. But as a good thoughtful friend, Pamela would always bring me back a gift. There's nothing like collecting accounting firm paraphernalia. I got so many lame, I mean cool, gifts in my college years. So it made me feel better - made me feel like they wanted me too. Now since Pamela often works the recruiting circuit she still gives me silly gifts! I also liked/still like to throw out accounting jargon in front of my accounting friends. They realize my need for acceptance in the big scary financial world :)

I love when E&Y comes to town:

everyone needs an e&y hacky sack

who knew pamela could juggle?!

dessert at FGF

harvest pumpkin cake

another pumpkin cake...we all have a slight obsession with pumpkin :)

31 years

Happy Anniversary to my dearest M & D!! What a blessing you both are in my life and as always a wonderful example.

xoxo

baby shower supper

That's it. I want a new camera. After last night's baby shower my camera has been put to shame. Perhaps it could be a nice Christmas/birthday present since I will be turning..gasp...25. I think it's only fitting.

My dear friend Kasey is expecting twin girls in December and we threw her a fabulous baby shower supper to sprinkler her with love, monogrammed gifts, and matching little girl ensembles! Mollie and Adalynn will arrive in approximately two months if Kasey can stand it any longer. Mom-to-be looks great, is still teaching, and says she is feeling good too. So 60 of her nearest and dearest came out to celebrate. I've taken a liking to after work hours soirees...unexpected and everything wonderful mid-week. Weekend parties are so last year.

Please enjoy sister Kelly's beautiful pictures I pressured her into taking for me {with her fancy camera} and a few I took.

we set the tone with vintage baby accessories and "mother" ferns

the sunporch...the bassinet was kelly and kasey's

we strung our old baby dresses in the windows
{compliments of the sisters - mc, holly, kelly, and kasey!}

new monogrammed diaper covers...from me and sister

one each with their name in a light green and one each with their monogram in white thread {my favorite}

we served a sweet tea blend and a festive pink champagne and raspberry punch

the dining room

my favorite detail

the spread...delicious chicken tetrazzini {sans the "m" word much to my liking}, a salad with poppyseed dressing, and mini-biscuits {you, know the kind made of sour cream and butter=to die for}

kelly and I were happily in charge of the decor

kasey posing by her marvy cake...her sister-in-law and fellow hostess jennie made it and it was so yummy! the best part was that she modeled the bird motifs from the twins's crib bedding :)

outdoor seating

overlooking buck lake

socializing

THE sisters

hostess mary alice in the kitchen

caught in the kitchen...I just adore being a hostess.

mom and daughters

the lovely hostesses

something to look forward to

This weekend consisted of one really fun event and one much anticipated, hope-I-never-have-to-take-it-again, Interior Design licensing test...lovingly known as the NCIDQ {National Council for Interior Design Qualification}. Rest assured, I won't go into the dreadful 2 day long test details but know that it's OVER and that I survived.

ready.to.celebrate.

I'm sure you can guess that the fun event I had to look forward to was indeed a wedding! In fact, it was a weekend of wedding festivities that I was looking forward to. David was a groomsman in childhood friends Hillary and Martin's wedding. It was so fun having a date in the wedding and just attending as a guest but still having an in with the wedding party. On Friday we went to the rehearsal dinner at the home of Martin's parents. It was so fun and so snazzy! Everything was beautifully decorated and the food needs a whole blog post dedicated to it. The Powell's set up a tent in the backyard where we dined and toasted all while being serenaded by a jazz musician. To top the night off the caterers flambéed bananas foster table side.

Saturday brought the wedding and Part II of the NCIDQ. I was unable to make it for the actual ceremony but made sure I was there with belles on for the reception. I felt so relieved and was ready to dance the night away! Both the wedding ceremony and reception were held at Bradley's Pond. It's a great venue for a sophisticated rustic vibe. The food was delicious {think shrimp and grits!} and the flowers were pretty...I was happy.

Such a happy ending to my weekend! Now it's time to wait 14 weeks before I find out results from the NCIDQ...talk about a long time. Until then -

a view of the rehearsal dinner tent

inside the tent {sister, do you recognize the fabric??}

david and the groom...martin gave each of his groomsmen a vineyard vines alma mater tie

the reception

one of the best parts about the wedding was meeting more of david's high school friends...this is my new friend anna, fiance of landon, one of david's childhood friends who now lives in north carolina...get it.got it.good.

congratulations mr. and mrs. powell

david, gabe, and martin

with sarah...she goes with gabe {see above}. they live in nashville but we were able to spend lots of time with them while they were down at the end of summer.

come fly with me

This weekend premieres The Quincy Music Theatre's production of the whimsical musical Peter Pan. Sister was the choreographer for this show and I hear it's going to be fabulous! Again, I was her "assistant choreographer" but I'm pretty sure with my new love life I was only available for one rehearsal. Holly's choreographed {and I've helped!} two other productions for QMT - Fiddler on the Roof and Mame. Information on show times and tickets are on the website which I've linked above. And I'm not in to YouTube at all but here is a cool video about the show...watch it here. Peter Pan is a classic in the Radcliffe family, especially the Mary Martin one which I've featured above. We also dressed like characters for Halloween one year. Holly was Tinkerbell, I was Tiger Lilly, and Michael was the cutest 3 yr. old Peter I've ever seen! And of course, mom handmade each of our costumes. Now I know right about this point you're dying to see pictures and I will go ahead and tell you here...you will not see any. I did however ask mom to scan and e-mail me some from Halloween '93...and well I'm still not showing them! Let's just say I was an 8 year old disheveled Indian - not a pretty combination.

With that said {advertisement and mockery above}, I just adore the Leaf Theatre for several reasons. The Leaf Theatre is home to QMT - located in the heart of downtown historic Quincy. It was built in the 1940s and has gone under deep renovations from grants and private donations in the last couple of decades. The most recent renovation was done by Main Street Design, Inc. {the employer of yours truly!}. I love the style and architecture of this theatre. I also did a photo shoot with some other actors for the Leaf two years ago {as assistant choreographer they let me join :)} which I will share with you. You too can see the beauty and energy of the Leaf Theatre. I hope this plug will bring some new audience members to this historic venue for this wonderful musical!

front and center in sister's 4th grade poodle skirt...

a thyme to celebrate

Last night Lane came over and did a photo shoot with her new fancy-shmancy camera of my arrangements I did for the Junior League of Tallahassee's Taste & Toast. The event is tomorrow night at The Brogan Museum to celebrate the arrival of the new JLT cookbook {as I'm sure you all remember...}.

it's here!

This morning the committee chair and I transported everything to the venue and set up for a press conference this morning. The arrangements turned out so wonderful and everyone was beyond pleased! I was so honored to even get asked to do it. A special thanks to Capital City Lawn Care who donated the potted thyme plants and Bella Flora who loaned me the containers. I love arranging flowers - it brings so much joy to my life.

these are the centerpieces going on the food tables

please excuse the towel...we had some leakage.

I spy rosemary and baby artichokes

this large arrangement is for the top of a tiered table displaying all of the cookbooks...you can see the curly willow on the right edge of the photograph...which was added this morning to the arrangement on site.

and here is fern doggy dog...lane let me play around with her camera too!...I love how you can see the movement of fern's tail.

{most images courtesy of lane}