Orchid in a Clam Shell

I dropped my concrete clam shell off to Dunn & Sonnier on Magazine Street to have an orchid placed in it.

I picked it up this afternoon and love it. The floral designer not only added the white orchid but also added willow and English ivy. I adore the way in which the green ivy spills over the shell to soften it.

The shell was placed on the sofa table in the den. I love how the orchid brings the outdoors in. It captures the lushness of the courtyard beyond the den.

I thought this was funny.....
What color do you see now?

Orchids, y'all!

Gilded Clam Shell

It was over a year ago that I added painting the inside of my large clam shell that resides at the base of the mantle in the parlor to my summer to-do list. Somehow I just never got around to it all last summer. Hmmmmm?

Fast forward a whole year and voila! I finally painted the inside of the shell a golden shade.

I found the paint, Liquid Leaf, at my local Ace Hardware.

I taped the edges and went to town painting the shell's inside. I love the golden glow of the painted shell.

I added some sea glass and bleached starfish to the shell, and I think it looks great at the base of the parlor mantle.

Gilded shell, y'all!

Curiosities {Summer 2015}

I have always enjoyed collecting natural and vintage elements for my vignettes for a while. I feel that the textures and colors add to the overall effect of any display.

Every time I walk next to the table at the bottom of the stairs, I smile. I love the collected look of the items on the table. From the vintage leather-bound books to the silvered trophy cups, the vignette captures my love of bringing some soul to the space.

I recently found these quills while browsing the gorgeous Dunn & Sonnier shop on the corner of Magazine & Jackson Streets. 

The vintage darts were purchased a few months ago from another Magazine Street fave, AKA Stella Gray. 

Along with a collection of feathers, these finds look perfect in my trophy cups.

The cloche featuring bits of sea fan is from another Magazine Street fave, Pavement.

I always find that vignettes tend to work better with vintage or natural finds.

Magazine Street Faves:

Dunn & Sonnier

AKA Stella Gray

Pavement

Curiosities, y'all!

Share Your Style #19

Hi y'all! I hope you have been having a great week. If you live in the South, you already know it is HOT. It's summer time after all. I introduce you to this week's host, Barbara of 21 Rosemary Lane.

Hi everyone and welcome back to another Share Your Style link up party! This week your party hostess is me, Barbara from 21 Rosemary Lane, and I am absolutely thrilled to be here hosting. Remember there are 7 other blogs also hosting this party so when you link up with one host you will be linking with all 8 of us from the Share Your Style team!!

 Sherry @ No Minimalist Here

Debra @ Common Ground 

Barbara @ 21 Rosemary Lane

Lynn @ The Vintage Nest 

Kelly @ The Essence Of Home 

Martina @ Northern Nesting

Ron @ Uptown Acorn 

Amanda @ Dixie Delights

Myself and our little family are spending a few lovely days relaxing at the beach enjoying the surf and sun, so there was plenty of time for me to sit and peruse through all of your fabulous links from last week's SYS party.

This week I am coming to you

Well summer is off and running and so is the incredible amount of inspiration from all who linked up to SYS #18. There was an amazing number of creative DIY projects, room makeovers, recipes, fun ideas and much more from last week's party, that I really had a tough time narrowing down just what to highlight. So without further ado, here are a few links I hope you will enjoy checking out!

From Beyond the Portico Sheila shared some tips on how she created this darling throw pillow for her screened in porch.

The Curator's Collection revived two gorgeous 1920's chairs with MMS Milk paint and a grain sack striped upholstered seat cover for a romantic shabby look.

 Another chair makeover came from A Stroll Thru Life. Marty was brave enough to remove the rush seats from two of her beautiful 1972 dining room chairs and replaced them with stunning new seat cushions. She gives a wonderful step by step tutorial on just how to achieve this look.

Michele from The Joyful Home shared her sister's stylish formal living room of which she helped to decorate with some of these beautiful elements.

 Back Porch Musings enjoyed a delicious scoop of French vanilla ice cream with a fresh strawberry and some milk chocolate pretzel bark, all in a pretty yard sale glass. Now how simple yet elegant does that look?

And finally Julie from A Little Farmstead shared the most adorable old fashion baseball themed birthday party for her 6 year old son.

Complete with hot dogs, Coca-Cola, the cutest party favors you ever saw, a rousing game of baseball and even a Babe Ruth cardboard cut-out to help welcome guests to the party.

If your link was featured this week please make sure to take our "Featured My Style" button to proudly display on your blog.

Now on with this week's party. Please remember to have a link back to one of our 8 hosts and to be a bit of a social butterfly by visiting some of the other party goers!

XO



An InLinkz Link-up

The West or Bust

I need some advice from my readers, please.

I will be traveling out West in July and would love for your input on places to visit, restaurants to eat, bars to sip, shops to peruse....

I would appreciate any information on these three cities:

Seattle

Portland

Palm Springs

Thanks for your comments!

The West, y'all!

Let's Do Lunch

I love my teaching job especially in the summer. It gives me and other teachers the opportunity to "do lunch" in the normal way without the kiddos.

Such is the case this past week. I was able to do lunch with co-workers and friends on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, a few co-workers met at an Uptown fave, Clancy's. 

On Friday, J & I celebrated with my co-worker and BFF Paige at Galatoire's, one of the most entertaining places to dine for lunch on Fridays. We were joined by her hubby Joe and a couple of her close friends. Happy 33rd, Paige!

If you have not been to Galatoire's for lunch on a Friday, put it on your bucket list now. You will never be disappointed.

It is always a great opportunity to catch up with friends to see what's been going on with them during the summer. It's also nice getting out of my swim suit and looking dapper for a change of summer pace.

Pocket Square NOLA Couture

Doing Lunch, y'all!