5.28.2014

Memorial Day Weekend Snapshots


After a busy work week, I was SO looking forward to the long weekend with my family and friends! I finished up orders Friday afternoon and after the post office, went straight downtown to start celebrating! My brother and I wondered around downtown before meeting up with Robbie and my parents for dinner. He wore a Sweet Tea Monograms PFG (he and my dad have their shirts embroidered with their initials in nautical flag!) and I matched with my new C. Wonder nautical flags bracelet (and old Lilly Starboard Bangles that I wear almost daily!) I went patriotic in my Star(fish) and Stripes outfit in an old C. Wonder striped dress (similar) & C. Wonder starfish sandals (similar) as I browsed some fun shops on King Street while waiting for dinnertime. I took advantage of the Splash Into Summer promo at Palm Avenue and purchased a pretty new dress that is definitely going to be a summer staple. Also, I was loving this "Blue House" dishtowel at Anthropologie- love anything with pineapples!


The streets of downtown Charleston were looking great Friday evening!


We ate dinner at The Drawing Room, the brand new restaurant that just opened in the newly renovated Venue Hotel (downstairs from Vendue Rooftop!) After dinner, Robbie and I headed back and waited for our company to arrive!


We all enjoyed catching up Friday night, hit the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and shopped on King Street a bit Saturday afternoon before our dinner reservations at Magnolias Saturday night. This is one of our absolute favorite restaurants so we try to just save it for special occasions and since one of the couples that came up had just gotten engaged a couple weeks before, we figured this was a pretty special occasion! We had an amazing dinner (more on that in another post!) and finished off dinner with drinks at the Gin Joint across the street. We all loved ordering the "Bartender's Choice" where we could select two adjectives (I chose refreshing and fruity) and the bartender came up with something for us. We always a really neat experience here and this time did not disappoint!



Sunday we went out on the boat and cruised around to Morris Island for a bit! After a great time out on the water, we came back and cooked up some dinner with more of the fresh mahi mahi Robbie had caught- soaked in a basil, cilantro marinade and topped with mango salsa- along with some twice baked potatoes and yummy asparagus. We finished up the night with a game of Cards Against Humanity, which of course brought many, many laughs!


On Memorial Day we took it easy and went for a little cruise before bringing the boat back in. I brought out my red white and blue on the boat with my Lilly Pulitzer Sparks Fly Callahans, navy tank, and patriotic Tervis Tumbler. It was great to have some time to relax a little before it was back to life, back to reality after such a great weekend! We also finally had a chance to sit and reflect on the importance of the holiday and give thanks to those who serve and protect our great nation. Hope everyone else had a great weekend as well!




P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Sweet Tea Monograms Patriotic Bow Tee! Giveaway ends next Sunday and the shirts are on sale only until Wednesday!

5.27.2014

From the Line to Dine: Mahi Mahi Soft Tacos


A few weeks ago Robbie and I went offshore fishing with one of his co-workers and her husband. It was my first time going out that far (about 50 miles offshore, which took around 2 hours to get to our destination) and.... though I may be tentative about joining again soon (seasickness is no joke!) it made it all worth while when we came home with some great fish (a blackfin tuna that we cooked last week over a Napa Cabbage salad, a few mahi-mahi, a wahoo, and some snapper!)

This dolphin, or mahi-mahi, was one of the biggest fish we (he) caught that day and I was so excited because mahi is one of my favorites to cook/eat! I quickly headed to Pinterest for some recipe ideas and when I found this one for Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos from Charleston Magazine, I knew I'd have to try it!



Mix together your seasonings (I used cumin, black pepper, a dash of cayenne pepper, Garlic Sea Salt mix from Trader Joe's and Everyday Seasoning from Trader Joe's) and use as a dry rub on the mahi-mahi filets and drizzle with olive oil. Let these marinate a little while mixing up the guacamole and salsa. (I cheated a little and bought fresh salsa but also cut up some grape tomatoes and added a little bit of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.)


Since I don't have a real grill, I heated up my George Foreman Grill and cooked the filets for around 10 minutes, though the time will differ depending on your grill and size of the filets. I checked them often and since they get cut up for the finished product, I had no problem cutting them into smaller pieces to cook towards the end. When they were done, I took a fork and broke it into pieces to be easier to eat in the tacos and added a little bit more seasoning!


When the tortillas are warmed, fill with the seasoned fish, cheese (I used pepper jack), guacamole, tomatoes, salsa, Mexican rice, and black beans - yum!


Something about eating what you've caught (or in my case, watched being caught) makes it taste 10x better! These also made great leftovers for lunch the next day, which in my book is always a plus!

View full recipe here

5.26.2014

Monogram Monday and a GIVEAWAY!


Happy Memorial Day y'all! Last summer I offered a limited amount of these adorable patriotic bow monogram tees for the Fourth of July. It's that time of year again and these shirts are making an appearance on my Etsy site again! They will be available to order here until June 4th (or until I hit a certain number of orders) to ensure that I can get them out before July 4th!

Note- most shirts were done with red & white thread, but I chose to use the "sunrise" thread on mine (above) which is more of a coral, so that is always an option too!


Patriotic Bow Monogram Tshirt

And, to celebrate the season and the good old US of A, I'm giving away one of these tees to one lucky reader!

5.24.2014

Memorial Weekend

It's officially Memorial Weekend, which is always one of my favorites because it means summer is here!!! Though I know we all love to go celebrate this three day weekend at the beach, with some great friends, and good food & drinks- it's important to remember what the weekend is really about: celebrating and giving thanks to those who sacrifice their lives for ours and our country.

I love this post from House of Hendrix blog about 10 ways to say thank you on Memorial Day.
photo via House of Hendrix

Also, featured on the Today Show yesterday morning, PetSmart has started a special service offering service dogs to veterans called PetSmart for Patriots. They are also contributing $1 of every Patriotic Dog Service (which includes a Patriotic Top Dog Package, Patriotic Puppy Playtime, and Patriotic Treat Time) towards the Canine Companions for Independence Wounded Veterans Initiative. Read more about this PetSmart Gives Back Partnership here, here, and here


5.23.2014

Five on Friday!


1. Furbish Studio Trays
Ever since since seeing Jamie of Furbish Studio (and I Suwanee Blog) speak at the Southern C Summit a couple weeks ago, I have been eyeing just about everything from her shop! These trays are at all at the top of my wish list!

one // two // three // four // five

P.S. Everything on their site is on sale through for Memorial Day Weekend! Use code "SUMMERTIME" for 15% off!

2. Summer Salads
Summertime in Charleston is already hot & humid and I'm constantly craving something cool and refreshing to eat. Pretty sure this weekend a Caprese Salad needs to be made- with juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil- yum! What are some of your favorite summer salads??


3. White Jeans
With the official start to white jean season (though I broke mine out weeks ago- rules are made to be broken!) so I loved this guide on how to Keep Your Denim Clean and Crisp!


4. Red, White, and Blue Bell
Just in time for Memorial Weekend, Blue Bell ice cream has released their Red, White, and Blue Bell flavor. It is a mixture of strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry ice cream and sounds so so delicious! I haven't had Blue Bell Ice Cream in so long but I'm hoping to find this in a grocery store soon!



5. Lilly Pulitzer new arrivals
Last but not least- I wanted to share some of my favorites from the newest Lilly Pulitzer delivery... pretty sure I need to get a second job to support my Lilly addiction, it's getting pretty serious! And especially after seeing all of these amazing new arrivals in some of my favorite colors- coral/pink, blue and white, perfect for a patriotic Memorial Weekend! I am loving all of their classic shift dresses because they can so easily be dressed down for daytime and dressed up to wear at night!

Shop some of my favorite below!


5.22.2014

The Southern C Summit: Day Two



In case you missed it, I wrote a little summary of The Southern C Summit: Day One yesterday - and now I'm back for Day Two! 

Thursday morning started off on a very big note with a session about "Building Your Brand DNA" by first hearing from Sully Sullivan, a Charleston photographer with so much passion and energy about what he does! Sully does his own thing when it comes to photography and that's what makes him so unique- he is 100% himself!

Next we heard from Caroline Nuttall from CHARLIE Magazine, who shared the quote above about having a purpose and staking your claim in something. She stated the importance of meaning something to someone instead of just everything to everyone.

Robert Prioleau from Blue Ion, a digital marketing agency, finished up the "Building Your Brand DNA" session by encouraging everyone to "share the energy you're made of" and be honest, authentic, and true.

We next heard from Christopher Lester, the Director of Concierge at Emma Marketing, about the importance of email marketing (among many other things!) Christopher was a hoot and very entertaining, while being very informative as well!

L to R: Hanna, Chassity, Libbie, Liza

I was so excited for the next session to hear from more very talented a creative ladies! 

First we heard from Hanna Seabrook of Gadabout and Creative Director at Southern Proper. I've been a big fan of Hanna's for a while since I've seen her featured in Matchbook Magazine, Glitter Guide, and more


Next up was Chassity Evans from Look Linger Love blog, another lady I've been a big fan of but even more so this spring when Lilly Pulitzer featured her in their Style Seen section of their blog!


These ladies model the streets of Charleston well! :)

We heard from Libbie Summers next, who is a Culinary Author, Producer, Stylist co-creator of Salted & Styled. She showed us the cutest video she created on 11 Fun Ideas For Decorating a Cake that was so fun and made everyone in the room want to start decorating one too! I loved the nostalgia feel that she added with some of the old-fashioned candies and she mentioned how this nostalgia really interests her other readers too! 

After we heard from Libbie, Liza Graves, Co-Founder of Style Blueprint, shared how she started her business and how Style Blueprint provides an online version of "girl talk" to their readers.


Libbie signing copies of her book Sweet & Vicious that we picked up before lunch.



After that it was time to head next door for lunch at Fish!


 




We had a great lunch, with more great Firefly cocktails, followed by an even better dessert- these Goo Goo Cluster brownies were to-die-for!


Mom and I accidentally coordinated outfits which actually happens often when you have such similar tastes as we do! :)


Time to head back for the second part of the day!


Jamie (on the right) from Furbish Studio and I Suwannee blog was up next after lunch giving tips on how to be a creative C.E.O - and how to that sort of "swagger" that is necessary to be to successful. I was so bummed I didn't get a chance to get into her pop-up Furbish shop while she was in town (because sometimes as an entrepreneur you have to learn you just can't do it all- little life lesson & note to self) but I am lusting over everything in her online shop!




Last but certainly not least, we heard from a panel of ladies who are all editors of popular publications: Caitlin Moran of Glitter Guide, Katie Armour of Matchbook, and Erin Shaw Street of Southern Living


Like I mentioned yesterday, one of the greatest things about this event was meeting and networking with new people but I was so excited to see a familiar face the first day! Lauren and I both grew up in Richmond and crossed paths a few times but it was great to see her and hear all about her new company, Dotted Line Collaborations. You can read all about her experience at the summit here on her blog!


I also loved getting to meet Andrea, a fellow Lilly lover, from The Glam Pad and to finally meet Emilie from Shell and Chinoiserie, a Charleston gal with a fabulous touch for interior decor and design!


Special thanks to my amazing mother for joining me during this great event! Here's another picture of our fabulously (unplanned) coordinated outfits!

Mom's: similar scarf // Elsa top // cardigan // pants



Mine: necklace // similar jacket // tank // pants // shoes, similar 

Looking forward to the next Southern C Summit!

Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale!

Nordstrom's Half-Yearly Sale is here!! So many goodies to chose from, especially with all of the other great sales happening lately, so I've found some pretties that are on my radar (aka in my shopping cart) and a few others that I have my eye on!

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight


Shop Clothes


Shop Active





5.21.2014

The Southern C Summit: Day One


I am so excited to (finally!) share how wonderful The Southern C Summit was that I attended a few weeks ago. It was a great experience with so many smart, motivated, and creative minds- I left feeling so inspired!  The Southern Coterie was created by Cheri and Whitney to be "the virtual front porch of the South" and is an online place that brings together people, places, and the things that inspire them!


The first speaker of the event was Amy Wallin Smilovic, the owner and creative art director of Tibi who put an emphasis on authenticity and creating something you are passionate about. 


These notepads were created by Tara Guérard's paper company, the Lettered Olive- an extension company of her highly successful event business, Tara Guérard Soirée. It was great hearing from Tara and what stuck with me most about what she said was to charge what you're worth and surround yourself with positive people, or more specifically, "marry a good man, hire a good bookkeeper, and hire a good nanny (that’s not too cute)."


I was so lucky to have my mom join me for the summit! 


These Firefly Peach Moonshine Margaritas were amazing!


One of the best things about this event was getting to network and meet other successful and creative people! Mom and I loved talking interior design, home remodeling, and blogging with Krystine, a real estate agent, designer, and adorable momma who also lives in Charleston!

After the day sessions, we took a quick break (took blog photos with Mom!) before heading to Cocktails & Conversation at High Wire Distillery on upper King Street.





We tasted "nibbles" from some great local restaurants including Magret duck over spinach from High Cotton, chickpeas with harissa from Butcher and Bee, BBQ crab salad from Circa 1886, and charred octopus (I was excited to try this one since it was something I never would have ordered out!) from Charleston Grill.


Loved talking marketing and email tips with Jenn from JAM it up!, another super talented and smart lady! 


Be sure to check back tomorrow for The Southern C Summit: Day Two re-cap!