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If you look back through our posts, a pattern starts to emerge.  We love that twist of the unexpected, a mixing of unusual elements–Rustic Glitz, Down Home Doily and Red Velvet Variations all have it.  Taking the typical and making it special and fresh.  This outfit is no exception.  Perfect for Sunday Brunch out with the future in-laws, great for a job interview where style matters, just right for whenever you need to feel dressed up, polished, confident and still you.

The necklace has a wonderful vintage feel.  The black gives it weight and substance, but the delicate strands keep it from being too heavy.  The dress is an interesting meshing of highly tailored sophistication, with a twist of whimsy in the lace detail around the waist.  The shoes are a versatile choice for this outfit and countless others.  And the bag (my very favorite element) is one of those perfect bags you search for years to find.  It’s polished enough to dress up, simple enough to be the emphatic exclamation point on just about any of your casual outfits.  Classic, well made, tailored, but not too boxy, just perfect.   What do you think?  Where would you wear it?

Of course, there are always other ideas at Pinterest.
Necklace: Etsy / Bag: Tory Burch / Shoes: Nine West / Dress: Karen Millen

After the glitz and chocolate of the week, we’re ending on a soft and quiet moment-of-zen color palette.  The whispery peach and breezy seafoam are subtle and lovely touches of color.  Perfect for a spring day, a lovely brunch, cake and punch.  They’re the colors of dreams and memories. Soft, watercolors that look fresh and beautiful after the gray days of winter.

Once you delve into the details, you’ll spot some of our favorite other trends…ruffles, dusty miller, anemones…making this palette of pastels a far cry from the ones that graced weddings in the 1990s.  Classic with modern twists, modern with classic style and just plain pretty.

More pretty peach and seafoam as well as the sources for all this gorgeousness on our Pinterest board.

We’ve been working on this Pinterest board for a while…and could barely choose which elements to include on our board!  It’s been getting quite the response, too.  Seems like there is something of an appetite for elevating the homey elements of barns and Ball jars with crystal and glitter and beautiful, sweeping fabric.

What I love most about it is the idea that just a few, special touches can make anywhere seem like the most magical place in the world.  Add some fairy lights, don’t skimp on the sparkle, keep the palette muted, play up the space, and make your day look as special as it feels.  Swanky and sophisticated while still staying warm and inviting?  Absolutely!

For sources & more ideas for mixing up the rustic and the glitz, check out that Pinterest Board

One of the things I love about this concept of “Southern Weddings” is that interweaving of familiar and comfortable sights into the special and fantastic wedding.  It definitely highlights the homey hospitality that we crave.  And speaking of craving…anybody up for some chocolate?

Sheet cake is the epitome of hospitality.  Delicious, familiar and comforting, it would make a great groom’s cake, shower cake, unorthodox wedding cake. You get the idea.  Always a welcome addition to the table.  Maybe even for this weekend?  A perfect thing to bring along this very weekend to your potluck/tailgating/friend’s house.

YUM is our Pinterest Board of recipe links.  We have a couple of different Sheet Cake recipe links there.  Or you can try…

Paperwhites Texas Sheet Cake!

Gather up

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 3/4 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 4 HEAPING Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• 2 sticks unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup Boiling Water
• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (I like the spice, but you can use plain white vinegar.) + enough milk to make 1/2 cup
• 2 Whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

While you’re at it, get together the icing ingredients:

• 1-3/4 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 HEAPING Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• pinch of kosher salt
• 3 drops of Tabasco*
• 1 pound Powdered Sugar

Mix it all up!

Proud as a peacock.  Good description of how a groom should feel as he sees his bride coming down the aisle.  There is a crazy variety of peacock themed wedding accessories out there–from cakes to sashes to florals to fascinators.  As it should be!  The colors are lovely, the feathers have a natural iridescence, the shape adds interest wherever it’s used.

I’m particularly fond of that blue/teal color that seems to be all around this season.  A perfect color for your someting-blue-shoes or your bridesmaids dresses.  Add an unusual and striking centerpiece, some accents to your bouquet and suddenly you have very clear theme that’s fun, dramatic and memorable.

Peacock is EVERYWHERE.  For these sources, as well as a lot of other ideas, check out our Pinterest Peacock board.

I have been spotting Craspedia (known far more cutely as Billy Balls) everywhere!  Why?  Well, they add that special element that’s graphic and textural.  They are floral, but very masculine in feel.  The glorious mustard color is all around, too and works great with a multitude of colors.  Dark teal, purple, orange, brown, light blue…you get the idea.  Put a few together and they look mid-centrury mod.  Bunch them up and they take on the look of the sun.  Or just put them into bouquets and centerpieces here and there for a touch of beautiful irreverence.

Billy balls, billy balls, billy balls–sources and more ideas on our Pinterest!

Fridays seem to be turning into a moment of zen admiration for the South.  Last week was our home turf of North Carolina.  Now we turn our eyes to our neighbor South Carolina.   I love looking at these pictures. It’s like a 5 minute vacation.

South Carolina is so full of grace and elegance.  The swirling wrought iron of Charleston is one of my favorite design elements ever.  It’s feminine and strong and delicate–an easy image to incorporate in everything from your invitations to your centerpieces.  Can’t you just imagine sitting outside in that slightly humid warm air and sipping some Firefly while you listen to the breeze in the trees?

More love for South Carolina (and sources for the awesome pictures) can be found on our South Carolina Pinterest Board.

Who would ever think that pink is so versatile? Earlier in the week we played around with bright pink and navy.  Today we’re going to the opposite end of the pink spectrum.  This barely there shade of blush dances on that line between sweet and sexy.  Definitely girly, but not girlish.  Reminds me of that kind of Parisian pink, but without all the Eiffel Tower imagery.   Its cool and sophisticated, but still very sweet.

(Most especially, I am in love those black and pale pink Anemone flowers!  They seem to be everywhere.  Very graphic, very pretty. They’re that just-right twist of unusual and modern.)

Sources and more pale pink & black prettiness can be found on our Pinterest board!

Went to the pumpkin patch yesterday and picked up some gourds and such.  I had planned to do a very natural, fallish, straw bale set up on the front porch.  And it would have been lovely.  Part of my brain, though, kept whispering to me~~glitter~~glitter.  So today is a trip to the craft store for some glitterizing materials and I am going to have the glam-est pumpkins on the block.

No wonder it’s been on my mind.  It’s everywhere!  A little bit of sparkle makes anything special.  Just a touch of glitz, just a bit of shimmer.  PERFECT for a winter wedding to capture the lights.  Shoes are a natural, but I really love that crushed-diamond look of the ring and earrings.  How about you?  How will you be adding some glitter to your life?

Take a look at our shiny, pretty, glitter board on Pinterest for sources.

Pink has so many possibilities.  It’s feminine, easy to spot in nature, brings out the blush in every cheek.  I especially love this preppy pop of watermelon pink with navy.  The navy keeps the pink from being too over the top girly and the pink makes the navy seem less serious and dramatic. It’s a dash of Lily Pulitzer, a twist of Southern belle and a whole heap of just plain pretty.

Need more watermelon and navy ideas?  Check out the sources for these and some other great ideas on our Pinterest board.