Memory Lane...

Today we are thinking back...

Way back to when we first started blogging...

How we felt?..What was it like starting out?...

This is really taking us down memory lane...

Like many bloggers, our first introduction to blogs was through Joni Webb of Cote De Texas...

We had a fascination with Houston designer Pam Pierce's work and so I googled to see if she might have a website (at that time she did not)...the search lead us to Cote de Texas... we immediately fell hook, line, and sinker into the world of design blogs...

Pam Pierce now has a website and is still a constant source of inspiration for us...

That was a little over 3 years ago... It may sound ridiculous, but it's true...our professional world has completely changed as a result of blogging...We are exposed daily to the best of the best in interior design...

Bloggers search high and low for the ultimate in design inspiration...Does your designer or decorator blog?...If not, how much innovation and new ideas are they being exposed to?

As much as we appreciate the inspiration from others and the forum to share our own ideas, it's the friendships we have forged that really enrich our lives and encourage us to keep doing what we do...

We think back...it's friends like...

Debra with Acquired Objects....is the sole proprietor of a company called

Oreillers~

Antique European Decorative Pillows and Textiles

Specializing in 15th - 18th Century European Textiles

Debra will tell you that I was one of her very first commenters when she started her blog and over time we have developed a mutual admiration for one another...She has an amazing antique textiles business...You should get to know her if you don't already...We follow each other, we email, talk on the phone...Debra has even purchased things from our online store for her Studio and garden...Debra is our friend...

Debra with 5th and State...

It was probably 3 years ago, Debra did a post about antique firebacks and their many uses..I went out to my front porch with my pajamas on and took a picture to send her of the fireback that we had installed in the stone by the front door. She amended her post and added my image..

That was the start of a wonderful friendship...Debra is so talented. She has three shops in the Chicago area where she not only does interior design but is a fabulous landscape architect as well...she redesigned my gardens...

We keep talking about it and it hasn't happened yet...but we will meet face to face... Sister and I are dying to join Debra on one of her guided tours of European gardens and antiques in either France or England...we love each other... We are friends...

Sam Hoffer with My Carolina Kitchen...Sam is a writer and food contributor and shares  the most amazing recipes...

She has done guest posts for us and her calm and gentle spirit are a constant encouragement to us...we follow each other on facebook and keep up through our blogs...Sam is our friend...

Sharon with Roses and Rust from Cape Town, South Africa...yes, I said South Africa...We share a passion for European design. She does some of the most beautiful posts...

We email sometimes but wish she lived next door, so we could chat for hours...Sharon is our friend...

We met Monika Clawson with The Splendid Willow not long after we started blogging...We both participated in a virtual Soiree with 41 other bloggers that was part of The Shiny Pebble Design Challenge that began at midnight and  lasted well into the wee hours of the morning...

Monika is a Swede living in Seattle...she is a fabulous designer...

Monika has an amazing online store Splendid Avenue,  filled with unique and exclusive items that she is bringing to the US...

We email, talk on the phone, encourage one another, and exchange ideas...I love her accent...Monika is our friend.

Julie and Danni are new friends of ours with T & G Interiors...We share a similar design aesthetic and have really benefited from our conversations back and forth via email...

 

It's going to be really fun watching their business grow..Julie and Danni are our friends...

John Kelsey and Sally Wilson the dynamic married couple that also partner in the business

Wilson Kelsey Design...

These guys have phenomenal talent...

 

John's design insight is unsurpassed...You need to get to know him, he's a wealth of knowledge...John and Sally are our friends...

Kristie Franklin with La Reportiste is a true and loyal friend...although we have never met face to face...I can tell you she has a heart of gold...She's also creative and sells her hand-made creations in her Etsy Shop...

Kris doesn't always blog about design, but often about issues that concern her...she never misses one of our posts...she is our friend...

Renae Moore with Moore Designs is one of the few blogging buddies that we have actually met...Her husband had a temporary assignment with his job that brought him to Little Rock for several weeks.  Renae came to see him and we had lunch and she came to my home and visited Fabulous Finds...Renae is delightful...and very talented...she loves working with fabrics...

 

We keep in touch and are always available to each other for advice...Sister gave her some tips when Renae hit a snag on a paint project...Renae is our friend...

Carla Aston of Carla Aston Designed, formerly Design in The Woods...Carla is another person that we would enjoy sitting and discussing this business with for hours and hours...she probably wouldn't have the time though, because her business is growing by leaps and bounds...she has an incredible new site that you need to visit if you haven't already...

Carla is a very professional designer and a an important thought leader in our industry...she is  definitely an asset to the design community...

Carla is our friend...

We could go on and on and on...we have lots of friends in the Design Blog world...WAY, WAY too many to mention here...I know this has been a long post so I hope you haven't dozed off already...

Thanks for indulging us in our little trip down memory lane..

We appreciate each and every follower...we care about every single friend...and we get excited to see what the future holds for all of us...

It's your turn. Let's talk!

And please join other bloggers as they share tales of friendships made and partnerships formed through out the Design Blog World..

Click here to see those posts...

To follow our blog...click here.

To follow us on Pinterest...click here...

To follow us on Facebook ...Click here.

To inquire about our design services either in home or online...click here.

Cultivating A Beautiful Life...

 It's that time again...when a varied group of bloggers that make up the group By Invitaton Only formed by the talented and gifted Marsha of Splenderosa, post our version of a given topic..

This is Chapter Eight...

Our theme for this month with a special nod to Spring is "Possibilities and Rebirth" the "Garden" as a metaphor for life...

So many of life's lessons can be learned from gardening...Cultivating a beautiful garden...or a beautiful life is one in the same...

It requires...pondering... planning... creating... perseverence... patience... pruning...nourishment.. love...care...

via Braebournefarm.blogspot 

via Dress Design Decor

 via Google.com

via loveliegreenie.tumblr.com 

via lovemyearthblogspot.com

via Google.com 

via suziebeezie.tumblr.com

via peterfudgegardens.com

via mossacres.com 

via 25.media.tumblr.com 

via moonlightrainbow.tumblr.com

via braebournefarm.blogspot.com

via kirtsy.com

via inspirationlane.tumblr.com

via o-r-i-e-n-t-a-l.tumblr.com

via lovliegreenie.tumblr.com 

via Tumblr.com

unknown source

via chicweedwordpress.com

via latimesblogslatimes.com

via stopwatchgardener.com

via zenbohemian.tumblr.com

via tartanscot.blogspot.com

unknown source

via galleryapartmenttherapy.com

via stylishcorrespondence.com

the realanastaciatumblr.com

via unknown source

Cultivating a beautiful life...just like a garden is hard work.  Some things need to be dug up and replaced.  Pruned back ...neat and orderly...and others just need to run wild!!!!

It's your turn.  Let's talk!

Be sure and visit the other bloggers in this group for lot's of inspiration on cultiviating a beautiful life.  To visit the other sites click here.

Party Dressing...Can Be So Much Fun...

The Sisters just love a great party...and can hardly wait to attend the Christmas Party that Tina is hosting at Enchanted Home.  

 

Of course a fabulous party means fabulous clothes and we've been asked to share what we'll wear...

The pressure is really on...

We've been working really hard... may need to check into a spa for a few days just to get ourselves

together...

It's going to be a little vintage black dress for me...

and these fabulous  heels...

 you can never go wrong with

diamonds...

It's all red for Sister...

We'll send ahead a case...

And wrap a few fun gifts to take with us...

Maybe we'll hire a driver...

What are we waiting for?  Let's join the party...

Click Here

ck Here.

Images via Pinterest

It's All In the Details...

Gustave Flaubert, the French writer best known for his novel Madame Bovary, is generally  attributed with the saying, "Le bon Dieu est dans le detail".

Over the years this expression has morphed and changed but the simple message remains the same...and that is… that whatever we do, should be done thoroughly and to the very best of our abilities.

The details are what make all the difference...

 

 

 

 

 

Details can be very simple or extremely elaborate. The complexity is not the point...

It's as Gustave Flaubert tried to convey...that whatever we do, should be done thoroughly and to the very best of our abilities.

We're thrilled to participate in an international blog party today.

 

Please join us there for lot's more beautiful details from all over the world.

Click here.

It's your turn.  Let's talk!

Images via

Keithahn,Trouvais,girlyme.tumblr,decordeprovence,houzz.com,flickr,stylemepretty,google,bpl.blogspot,

pinterest,ebay, Country Living,White On Rice Couple,The Bottom of the Ironing Basket

The French Garden Soiree

I was so excited when Mona approached me about helping her to design her Spring is Finally Here To Stay party!  However, after "interviewing" her for clues as to what she would like, I began to get a bit nervous. Her only response was "Do what you think- you know me and I am sure I'll love it." Gulp. Talk about pressure!

When I considered Mona, my observations were that she is a true Southern lady, she herself is gorgeous and she lives in an incredible home. She loves all things French, authentically quirky accessories and flowers. Since she was inviting her best girlfriends and their husbands, I decided that throwing a French garden soiree was the solution. And since Debra, from 5th and State, is helping Mona to revamp a few areas  of her garden, it will be looking great.

I began with collecting items and placing them on the inspiration board.  

Let's begin at the front, where Mona's guests will be entering. Previously I suggested her everyday container plants, but it seemed appropriate to change a few items for the party and enjoy them for the rest of the season.

We'll keep the two front urns planted as before, but the boxwood in the containers flanking the doors will be replanted elsewhere until fall and replaced with blooming, deep blue hydrangeas. Mona will purchase the hydrangeas now, while they are offered for Mother's Day, and place them in the containers for the party. When she is ready, the blooms can be cut off and used in a vase indoors; the now small plants can be planted right in the garden, where they will continue to grow in the coming years. (That is how we have collected most of our hydrangeas... and we have many at this point!)

Moving around to the back loggia and patio area, I suggest that Mona add a few gardenia plants, either as topiaries or in a bush form. Their scent will help to create a magical evening as guests catch it wafting by during a gentle breeze.

Her wisteria will hopefully remain in bloom for the big day. It is just so romantic!

Mona did tell me she intended to look around for a few table linens as she was tired of what she had. We found the perfect cloth over at Sharon's (My French Country Home) My French Country Brocante shop. Just look at this beautiful linen (on top)! The second linen is from Karin at the La Pouyette blog, also in France. This fine linen damask was sent to me as loose fabric and is being made into the linen size that Mona needs for her round table.

The napkins are from Garnier-Thiebaut and truly capture the colors of the party.

This photo set the tone for the party: a combination of collected treasures along the way. 

Since lighting is always the key to a great party, we decided to not only place votive candles everywhere, but also to hang them in the loggia. The candles will last 10 hours.

Mona had a dozen of these precious silver leaf votives, so we'll use these and intersperse them with a plainer silver leaf votive on all of the tables. At least eight per table will be necessary to create the sparkling candlelight. 

These candlesticks, found on her last trip abroad, will be given a place of honor on the food station table.

This collection of greens will be on the loggia's mantle. Be they greens from the florist or greens cut from the yard, they always look pretty massed together in a silver urn, or even just a terra cotta pot (lined with a garbage bag or foil to hold the water).

I decided to create the guest table centerpieces with this soft spring color palette.

Some of the flowers that we used are lavender lisianthus, periwinkle blue scabiosa and hydrangeas in soft pink and white. They were placed in old zinc containers and were kept low so Mona's guests could see across the table. Our rule of thumb is no taller than the height of your arm with your elbow on the table and your hand (shaped into a fist) up in the air. Any taller than this will interfere with the sight line.

The silverware is a collection of old family pieces.

 They can be set by the plates or casually grouped for the taking.

Petite vases of roses will be placed on the occasional tables, spread around the patio area for cocktails.

Mona did splurge on a fabulous vase of blue delphinium for the cocktail hour, to set on the bar.

This is how I envisioned her party at the end of the evening.

Good friends, good food, good wine.

A great party!

 And a great party indeed!  Wow!  A huge thanks to Ann.  You are sooooo talented. I don't know when I've enjoyed myself more. 

It's been quite a week...If this is your first time here please check out all the events leading up to this Soire...

First a complete re-do of my gardens by Debra with 5th and State here.  Next Marsha with Splenderosa dressed Sister and I for the party here.  And the Crescendo today with Ann from Plum Siena. 

No Sunday Supper this week.  I'll still be cleaning up from the party and re-hashing everything with good friends.

Speaking of good friends...did you enjoy the party?  It's your turn.  Let's talk!

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