It's a Brand New Day!

Great quote: Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Good morning! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Mr. Southern and I got a bit of gardening accomplished- mostly weeding, admittedly, but rather cathartic! Madison, our youngest furbaby, tossed up Daddy's sock that she apparently had eaten last week when Mommy was out of town. Of course, we thought the culprit was Tilghman! (sorry, that is probably TMI). Needless to say, she is feeling much better and is now getting along fine with foster dog Kaylee.

Speaking of dogs, last week we attended a fundraiser for the Atlanta Humane Society, hosted by the fine folks at Sweetwater Brewing. We got to meet Lemonhead, an incredibly sweet Staffordshire Terrier rescued from a dog-fighting ring in Atlanta. After socializing (and after I-nicely- finished grilling of one of the directors), we had a tour of the facility.
Friday night, Habersham hosted another Garden Party with a few tasty snacks and wine. Few things better than sipping wine in the garden.
It's no secret that I would replace all of the grass in our backyard with gardens and pathways if Mr. Southern would allow me and Habersham is just the place for inspiration (I also posted about them last Fall).

Honestly, not to knock anyway, but how many garden centers have staging like this?

Not to mention their fabulous indoor spaces, a respite from the chilling temps, featuring items that look equally great indoors as out.

Love this little guy...This little house was too expensive for my taste (well over $200!) but oh so cute.


This little bunny would be a welcome visitor in any garden... and just in time for Easter.



LOVE the look of these edibles.

And as we did last fall, we finished up at Alfredo's, a great old-school Italian place.


Have a fabulous week!!

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Pull up a Bench

It has been a week! I feel so unbelievably guilty for my lack of presence in the blogosphere. I missed the connection so much, yet somehow was completely sucked into my work sphere. Last night at a fundraiser, I met some gals who had heard of my blog through a mutual friend and it occurred to me that this is a commitment just like anything else. Yep, it's a bit indulgent, certainly doesn't pay the bills, but boy does it add a lot to my life. For the bit that I invest, it pays tons in returns! So thank you for your patience through my challenge to juggle it all (how do you guys manage to raise children too!!?? We had doggie bath night recently and it nearly killed me!) So THANK YOU for sticking with me!

I'm celebrating my return to Blogland with the announcement of my Interior Designer, Claire Watkins from the blog High Gloss Blue. Claire is a fellow resident of Atlanta and I fell for her sharp wit and enthusiasm for design. As you likely heard me mention, I finally came to the realization that while I LOVE home decor, I really do need assistance. My own space is much too personal to critique and, having lived here for four years, I certainly don't have that fresh look. I would imagine that having a design-loving blogger for a client may not be the easiest task, but Claire handled it in stride. She took all of my suggestions to heart, gave me guidance, but in the end, is allowing me to make my own decisions. With her eye and framework, however, I feel much more set up for success.

As all you designers/experts in your field have said, it is so much better to just hire the talent from the beginning. One would save so much time and money. During our walk through the house (which I was SO nervous about!) I kept saying, I bought that because I thought... and that because I was thinking... blah blah blah. The advice, "buy something because you LOVE it and you will find a home for it"... ignore that voice. That is just not true. Unless you happen to own four homes and then yes, that object will likely work in one of them.

OK, so onto the redesign. I have several rooms I want to update and, like many of us, a limited budget. So we broke things down by room, but keeping in mind the overall "master plan." One of my first projects will be the breakfast room area, just off the kitchn.

I am blessed in that I've inherited several antique pieces of furniture. The down side is that I feel compelled to use these pieces and am hesitant to change anything. Our breakfast room set is a great example. I freely admit it- I'm not an oak person. But this set is very oak. Claire suggested painting the hutch (below)- which Mr. Southern nearly passed out over. But since I agreed not to paint the kitchen cabinets and showed him some lovely examples of painted furniture, I think we've gotten to an OK to paint.

Could we pull off the Belgian/Swedish look here a la Brooke, Joni, and Gina?

via Velvet and Linen

The other challenge is seating. These chairs just are not super comfortable. But they've been in the family for years! So, I will let them rest in the attic and just go for the comfort (I'm hoping) Parsons chairs and bench from Ballard Designs. Oh yes and the walls. I loved the red wallpaper when we first moved in but have realized how drawn I am to neutral palletes. So at some point this paper will go and be replaced with (ideally!) grasscloth- but done in vinyl for washability. I've heard that these options are great, despite all the negative connotations of vinyl paper.

First, the eye candy inspiration for creating a great breakfast nook (though some of these are a little "country" for me)... I grabbed these images for their banquette seating, which Claire suggested for the far wall in the bay window.

Young House Love

The Kitchen Designer



Country Living


Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens

Here's the Ballard Design bench Claire suggested paired with several of the fabric samples she had.

There's the Como Ikat Dijon from Sunbrella...

the Daphne

I honestly forget the name of this one and it was not in our sample list, but I like it!

Easy Care Anya in Chocolate (Mr. Southern worries this is too busy)

and the Arabesque- which here looks far less pretty than the actual fabric sample.

And of course, must replace that builder light fixture. Claire selected this one for us from Pottery Barn, which I think will work perfectly.

I'd love to hear what you think! OH! And, I have my very first giveaway coming up this week, so please stay tuned!

-Emmie

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Meet This Atlanta Power Couple

Alisa Barry and Smith Hanes via Country Home

We had a lovely weekend with the girls and tons of fun (a little too much fun Friday evening... the wine was flowing freely and before you knew it, we had gone through many many bottles. How old am I???).

On Saturday, we headed out to Virginia Highlands- a great little area of shopping, dining, and super-cute houses. (Note to self: home tours in December, which I missed last year. Must do in 2010!).

For me, Virginia Highlands is one of those great areas that you should get to often, but somehow don't. Saturday, I made the great discovery of Bella Cucina...

Their mission? "To enhance the lives of our customers everyday through the spirit,
beauty, and sustenance of artful food."

The shop is actually part of an enterprise, created by Alisa Barry because of her "passion for food and all things Italian." She also has a blog, The Art of Food, which I encourage you to check out! Note that her last blog posting was on Meyer Lemons. Yes, I think we have a connection.


Needless to say, this little stop had me at hello. Their fabulous little sauces are not cheap but they are delicious and the store offers several recipe cards to make the most of their little jars of heaven. While checking out, I chatted with the clerk about the decor, which I also loved, and found out that the shop owner's significant other (husband? I'm not sure) is a designer and was behind the shop's decor.


Meet Smith Hanes.

Smith has also been involved of the design of Serenbe, this amazing little community centered around smart development and protection of greenspace.

Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop

The Farmhouse at Serenbe

And one of my favorite restaurants, JCT Kitchen.

Smith is not limited to commercial projects, either, and brings this modern country farmhouse look to Atlanta residences.













Alisa and Smith's home, a 1908 Sears kit house, has also been featured in design magazines. These photos all courtesy of Country Home. The couple's love for art and modern flair is evident throughout the house.





And there we are. I hope that you enjoyed this little introduction... Off to Miami today for work!

Emmie

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