Introducing Libbie Summers

Libbie with her husband Josh and her pup, The Bitch

My monthly feature for The Southern Coterie blog is one of my absolute favorite things to write.  I love diving into the lives and careers of creatives and gleaming so much inspiration.  When I was thinking about a featured creative for the end of the year I knew immediately I wanted to interview the one and only Libbie Summers. Libbie is a fabulous and wonderful friend who has inspired me to think and work outside my box, to not take myself too seriously and yet to at the same time be the best version of me I can be. She is truly the definition of the phrase the bomb.com.

A Glam Gingerbread Party

 

Two weeks ago on a gloomy Sunday a happy Christmas elf appeared dressed in her best red and green to transform our kitchen into a magical party wonderland.  Each year I host something special for our youngest and her precious group of school best friends and this year she requested a gingerbread house decorating party. I invited the group of six girls for a few hours and enlisted the skills of the amazing Jennifer Witherington to help me pull off a party worthy of these precious teenage girls.

Introducing Ginny's Orchids

I have been a fan of orchids for a very long time as my parents always had one or two around the house.  They seem to have the touch to keeping them alive as their's are not only thriving but also blooming.  Since I am known for the brown thumb in the family I have purchased quite a few orchids in my time and most definitely the days before we have company coming.  I will rush out, trade out my brown sticks in a pot for a beautiful new orchid and smile the whole time as if somehow I kept that thing alive since the last time they visited.

Gimlet For The Win

When August Morgan launched their clothing line in the spring I was filled with all the heart eyes for their classic and incredibly wearable designs.   Each and every piece was more amazing than the last and I wore my pink and yellow caftan over and over for the entire spring and summer months.  It was amazing and made so well with so many details and I just loved how comfortable and yet still pull together I felt.  I was hooked.

She Took A Chance And Nailed It

I was so thrilled to open up the November issue of Veranda magazine and spy my friend Danielle Rollins and a gorgeous feature on her newly completed home.  Although I pass the home quite often our schedules have never worked out to pop in for a drink and a tour of the home.  I have watched the renovation from the time she purchased the home and I can tell you the before and after are drastically different.  Having the beautiful issue and seeing the home was more than a treat.  I am honored to be able to share these images with you today along with an interview with Danielle on renovating her home, the journey and this amazing new chapter in her life.

Introducing Elizabeth Wilson Designs

Immediately when I think of Elizabeth Wilson Designs my mind conjures up images of perfectly designed and well made clothes that compliment any woman or girl who wears them.  I can recall the moment Elizabeth's designs caught my eye and I immediately googled and researched to find out more about the darling clothes I spotted on a fellow blogger.  The ruffles were an immediate love for me and I recall vowing now to turn in that night until I had discovered the designer and source for the darling shirt I had spotted. 

PKL Scott Antique Market Tours

Did you hear?  My favorite design duo is headed to Scott Antique Market later this week for guided tours at the best location for antiques in the southeast. I am so excited to be able to share that this talented team is available for group tours to shop at Scott's this month, which just happens to be one of the best months at Scott's for the year. It is a well known fact that is it is the second weekend of the month you will most definitely find me at Scott's at least one day of the weekend.  And even more than that, hands down I will be with one of the PKL team.  Shopping with this duo is not only one of my favorite things to do but is also one of the best ways to find the best things out there.

Eddie Ross And The House of His Dreams

When Eddie Ross and his partner Jaithan Kochar bought their new home it was truly a stroke of luck locating the house that they will call their dream home.  After moving out of Pine Hill Farm a few years ago they boxed up their "pretties" in three pods and set their sights on finding a new home.  At a photo shoot for Better Homes and Gardens they stumbled onto an area on the Main Line of Pennsylvania, an area that Eddie says was completely new to him.  After searching with Jaithan and an agent for a while Eddie told me he just simply stated "I just want an old Colonial in a neighborhood where we can walk to town".  A few months later their agent found exactly what they wanted and the rest is history.

Debuting Prints Charming

When I think of Madcap Cottage my head and heart are filled with thoughts of color, pattern, whimsy and fun.  Add in two fun loving incredibly talented designers, Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, and you have pure design magic. I can not think of one single Madcap room that I have ever seen that doesn't make me smile.  Perfect layers with lots of color and pattern and you end up with happy rooms and, of course, happy clients.

Introducing Sweet Caroline Designs

I am completely confident if you were looking for the words "high energy + buffalo check + pink + small business owner" in any google search you would absolutely end up at Sweet Caroline Designs. Caroline Frierson is all of the words above plus so many more. A graphic designer by trade she recently launched the most darling wholesale business which has taken the market by storm.  I love seeing her goodies pop up in my favorite shops and even more I truly enjoy every single product I own.  It is safe to say I am a Sweet Caroline Designs fan!

Warby Parker Goes Archive

Remember this photo from this October 2015 post?  I had the pleasure of trying out five pairs of Warby Parker frames from their Home Try-On to debut their new fall frames.  I absolutely loved the company and the frames were fabulous.  I ended up purchasing the one in the image above, it was by far my favorite of the ones I chose to try on.  Since then my eye prescription has changed but the frames themselves are still timeless and perfect to carry to my eye doctor when my new appointment occurs. 

Introducing THE GROVE

As I mentioned yesterday I had the absolute treat of being hosted at The Grove in Winter Park, Florida for two days last week.  If you are like me you have followed along with The Grove on Instagram since they opened and it was a huge treat for me to get to meet the girls (finally) and to spend some time in the magical shop in one of my favorite places in Florida.  It mas truly magical from the moment the Uber drive delivered me to the moment a second special Uber driver picked me up the evening of the second day.

Fall Done Right ...

 
As I am easing into the beginning days of fall I am loving the idea more and more.  I admitted I am not a girl who jumps right into fall, its more of a slow crawl for me. The end of summer is always a hard thing for me to swallow so I am slower to embrace the new season.  A few mornings of crisp temps does help quite a bit to warm me up to the idea of a new season.  I know its silly but I truly love summer so very much!!

Introducing Art By O'Neill

I had the pleasure of meeting Jessica O'Neill a few times over the last year at various events but I never truly had the opportunity to chat with her one on one.  I was thrilled to learn she would be creating a capsule collection for Waiting on Martha as the new artist in residence and they would be hosting an event so close to home.  I sharpied the date in my calendar and counted down the days until it appeared.

Candlefish For Two

My outfit ... Top || Jeans || Sandals

His flops

As I mentioned before Lawyer and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on August 26.  To celebrate I organized a day for the two of us from the moment we woke up to a wonderful dinner for two at one of our favorite dinner locations.  I truly believe that dating your husband and enjoying adventures together is the key to truly enjoying your marriage.  It is so easy to get bogged down in the day to day schedules and kids needs as they get older and forget all about each other.  I have committed myself (and him) to more adventures and weekly date nights and we have enjoyed each one.  I truly love and adore my husband and its so much fun to carve out time for just the two of us.

Introducing Dress For Cocktails

You know how you are scrolling through Instagram and something stops you in your tracks?  Anyone else do this and then spend forever down the rabbit hole of someone's feed.  I do it all the time but most recently when I discovered Dress For Cocktails.

Jayes Studio + TomTom and Co.

I am so excited to share this news with you I can hardly stand it!  My dear friend Thomas Ard has joined forces with the leader in painted toleware, Jayes Studio, to add his fabulous designs to their fabulous tole pieces and the products hit stores in just a few weeks.  Think fabulous pieces you will want for yourself and every single person on your gift list this holiday season. As you can spy from the image above this collection of blue and white pieces is right up my alley but there are so many amazing pieces to chose from in a number of color stories so you truly can pick from almost any combination.

Can you tell I am literally giddy?

Coffee Please ...

I know without a doubt you are with me on my excitement over the first cup of coffee of the day. I wake up to my 6 am alarm each day and after stretching for a minute my brain immediately starts thinking of coffee.  I literally get excited about that warm cup of strong yumminess. It may be my favorite part of each day when I wake up. 

Introducing LBH & Co.

As you may know I write a monthly installment for The Southern C titled From The Desk Of.  For the last 18 months I have had the pleasure of interviewing some incredible creatives to learn more about their business, their path to success and what drives them personally.  It is one of my favorite things to do each month.

Dinner Party Table Perfection

Happy Friday!!  I say it every week, its my favorite day.  This week has been so crazy that I may have stood on something tall and jumped right into Friday's arms half way through yesterday.  I was so ready for the weekend I could hardly stand it.

Hello Friday, I am so thankful you are here!