The Graduate - Boutique Hotel

Let's take a moment to just stare at all this pink.....

Have you ever felt like you just wanted to hug a place? 

That was my immediate feeling when I walked into the Graduate Hotel in Oxford, MS. As soon as we walked through the front door I immediately squealed! I got a few sideways glances and heard one man even say "Oh, geeze...really?" but I just didn't care! I felt like I had died and gone to chic heaven! Never in one place have I looked around a room and honed in on every detail. The way that these items were mixed, the unexpected details at each corner, keeping a fashionable ambience that is quirky and darling and at the same time you want to say "ohh...that is so Oxford" about little details...it immediately was a place I wanted to cozy in and stay for a while.

So some of you reading are fellow southerners who have been or at least have heard of this adorable town. The others of you who are asking yourself, "wait, that is in Mississippi?.." while yes, it is. In fact Oxford has recently received a ton of publicity. While it is home to The University of Mississippi and has received some rave reviews over the party scene and tailgating, Oxford itself has also won a few accolades. It has received no. 15 on the Fastest Growing Small Towns in the country by Forbes as well as in the top 20 Most Charming Small Towns in the US. Yes, if you haven't heard of this charming little town, I'm happy to introduce you. Garrett & I (my better half) met in this little town just three years ago. It is the hometown of our alma mater and the special place that we like to think of as a honeymoon when we go back. 

We met in the Grove (where we tailgate before our football games) for a home game. Our mutual friend introduced us. As soon as we introduced ourselves, he jumped in to telling me jokes and making me laugh...hard..like the kind of laugh that's really not that feminine or attractive. It's not that I have a weird sense of humor or anything but I feel like it is unique. For the man I just met to have me laughing so hard that I snorted was kind of a big deal. The rest of that day we kept wanting to hang out with each other, stealing glances and getting caught with a sweet grin. You could say that we were smitten. For the next few weeks we were absolutely inseparable, being asked by friends if we were okay because they hadn't heard from us in a while. 

Things were pretty much perfect for the first few weeks..well that was until I received some AMAZING news for me, but not so good for us. I had recently graduated and was still in Oxford applying and hoping for opportunities in the city. My dream job out of college was to be an event planner. I had been applying for weeks to some of the top planners in the biz. A letter to Dallas, a letter to Charleston, and a few to Atlanta and Charlotte. 

Well, one of them bit!! I was ecstatic! That was, until I looked over at Garrett while I was receiving my offer... I knew what this meant. I was leaving Oxford and leaving him. 

He was so happy for me, but we both just sat there and stared at one another with polite grins both thinking the same thing. "What will this mean for us?" We told each other we would be able to make it work and that I should accept the offer. After all, Garrett was raised around Atlanta. To him it was still home in a sense.

So I moved. 

A few weeks of traveling and seeing one another things were getting harder. I was having to work more weekends and he wasn't able to see me as much as we both wanted. We knew things were getting to a make or break situation. I was devastated but I was working my dream job! I mean, I worked my whole life for this! I couldn't give up on it now, and especially not the opportunity I was given.

So Garrett did something kind of, well, crazy... one weekend he came into town to see me with a lot more stuff than usual. We spent the weekend together, and then the week turned into another week, and finally a month. I mean, they say time flies when you're having fun, but a month seems like a stretch, right? 

Then it occurred to me....

"Wait, do you live here now?" 

..well the answer to that question is yes. Here we are now, three blissful years later and neither of us have looked back...however the one place we look back at is the place we met. 

This sweet little town called Oxford.

Welcome.

What's behind door no. 1?

Heisman!

When Grandma's old couch gets an upgrade...

Maybe a place for tea?

Gotta love the farm scene over these game spots.

He'd never let me have these pink vinyl floors but I can still dream about it!

 The unexpected details on each corner.

This green geometric rug <3 !

Don't you want to stay here for a little while?

Always... those little details.

Shaken, not stirred.

Oxford, we love you.

Easter Brunch

Spring is finally here and I could not be more excited! I love seeing everything come back to life after winter....including my diet ;) .

I have been making Easter Brunch for as long as I can remember, and in my household, we prefer tradition. I always make lamb, a casserole or two, my fresh rosemary bread and deviled eggs! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it..

This year I will not get to decorate my table (sobs silently). Yes, our dining room is well...in progress. As I mentioned in a previous post, we made a big move a year and a half ago! We transitioned from a one-bedroom apartment to a townhouse; and while it has been so exciting to finally have stairs, and a guest room and a bonus room, the dining room has well...taken a back seat. I'd take pictures but I'm too embarrassed to show you all. Each room in the house has been a job. I'm on a first name basis with all the sales people at Home Goods now. "Yes Michelle, I'm back for the third time this week." (Is there a Home Gooders Anonymous club?)

I'm not sure what is keeping me from making progress in there. I bought this REALLY great piece for a steal when I first moved in. It's a wine rack with storage from Pottery Barn and it was brand spankin' new. A girl purchased it and when she got it home it didn't fit where she hoped it would, so she sold it at a used furniture shop I frequent. You better believe as soon as I saw it I grabbed the first sales associate nearby and forced him to guard it as I continued to browse. Luckily, it fit for me! Ever since that one great purchase, I just haven't done a thing. I promise I will be making strides come this summer and will keep all of you posted as I do.

I'm still going to cook my traditional Easter Brunch, but this year we will be dining al fresco considering the war zone my dining room is in (okay it's really not THAT bad, but I'm a perfectionist). 

For my theme, I decided rather than having all the ultra-bright, ultra-pastel, traditional table thematic we see on every magazine cover, I wanted to create a spring theme that was a little more toned-down and hair whimsy. As airy and soft and delicate as spring is, I wanted my theme to reflect that. Soft linens, delicate lace-inspired plates, touches of easter in unexpected ways and a punch of color to disrupt the neutrals. 

Below are a few photos that inspired me, followed by instructions on how to achieve the look and where to purchase the items to complete it.

Photo Source : Local Milk

Photo Source: Country Living

Photo Source : Southern Weddings

Photo Source : Elizabeth Anne Designs

Source Unknown

Putting it all together:

Grapevine Wreath / White Footed Bowl /  Egg Cups / Linen Napkins  / Moss Bunny / Terrafirma Ceramics Plates (mine are in dark brown but I love this baby blue)

Hanging Wreath as a Chandelier:

Take some eucalyptus (usually Whole Foods carries this or you can find it at a local florist) and attach it to your grapevine wreath, being sure to have it drape down some on the sides. You can use hot glue or florist wire to attach it to the wreath. You can do this same-day or a day ahead of Easter. Attach your wreath to the chandelier in your dining room using fishing line or thin wire. If you're dining al fresco like me, use some fishing line to hang it from a tree or pergola if you have one.

Tea Stained Eggs:

Use 4-5 bags (depending on how dark you want them) and steep in boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove the bags and add 1-2 tbsp of vinegar to the tea. Add your boiled eggs and leave them in the dye for 3-4 hours (check in to see if they are the color you want). Make sure they are completely dry before adhering names.

Bring water to a boil with eggs immersed. Let them boil for 1 minute and then keep them on a hot burner with a lid for 10-12 minutes.

Boil water for your tea. Add 4-5 tea bags to the water to begin steeping your dye.

Let the bags sit in the water for about 15 minutes and then add your eggs. I only made two eggs for this project so I added them straight to my pitcher. If you are making 6+, I recommend adding 1-2 more bags and increasing the amount of water by 16 oz. Let them sit in the water for 3-4 hours checking on the color every hour until they are at your desired darkness.

Adding Names:

....if you'd like to attach names to the eggs download the font Modesty (link) and upload it to your Silhouette / Cricket software. Create your names in one file and send it to your machine to cut. I am using black self-adhesive vinyl for my eggs, but I think a baby blue, yellow or gold would look great, too. I'm using font size 45. 

Once they are done, cut around each name with a pair of scissors and using your tool, remove the vinyl around the name being careful to keep the dots of your "i's". I didn't use my transfer paper to adhere the names to the eggs because I feared it might interfere with the dye in the area.

Type up your names.

Have your machine cut the names.

Adhere the names to the tea-stained eggs.

egggggg-cellent

Creating your Centerpiece:

If you already have a footed bowl, use it! Grab a piece of floral foam and soak it in water until it's full (about 30 minutes). If you live in a town that is beautiful in the spring, drive around and look for floral trees. I found all of these within a block from our house!

All of this was FREE! You don't have to spend a fortune to create a beautiful arrangement. Look for floral branches and a few vines to create the look I put together.

Let's start with your oranges. Take bamboo skewers and snap them in half. Arrange 4-5 oranges in your bowl pushing half the skewer in the orange and the other half into the floral foam. Be sure to have at least two in the center on opposite sides and a few touching the rim of the bowl like the picture above.  Follow by filling in the blanks with your floral branches and flowers. The thick twigs on the pieces should push easily into the foam. Make sure you cut them down so just the flowers show in your centerpiece. If you have any left over eucalyptus, drape a little off to one side of the arrangement.

Menu:

For the menu, here is a free print file from yours truly! Just save it as a .jpeg, upload it to Word (or similar), and then under formatting options, use "Tight" or "Behind Text", add your menu and print. 

Does your family have a traditional Easter meal? Let me know what you guys make in the comments! Always looking for new ideas.

Bar Cart 3 Ways

A good hostess NEEDS a bar cart....yes I capitalized 'needs'. Although this has become a recent trend in decorating, the idea of keeping refreshments and spirits for guests at their leisure has been a long-standing tradition for several homes for decades now.

One thing I have noticed (much on Pinterest) is the lack of variety of bar cart stacks. To me, they all seem to mimic one another to some extent....keep in mind this is my own opinion.  Blue and white accents have been extremely popular, as well as the striped paper straw and the lucite polka-dot cups and ice holders. And while all these designs are easy to mimic and give off a polished and very cute look, I figured we could use a little originality. 

The other problem I've noticed is, while I see beautifully-assembled carts flooding Southern Living and the likes of them, it is rare that you can find all the pieces to create the cart you've fallen in love with from their immaculate photos. So for those of you also caught in this rut, I've taken some time to put together 3 different carts with links to their make-up and my idea on how to assemble them.

The Girly One

I am what you would call a girly-girl. I love pink, gold and white. The balance of these three colors makes me elated. 

For my fellow girly-girls, I put together a cart that features that theme. I wanted to keep the theme feminine, sophisticated, floral, and simple. I paired silver with gold and old with new. The mix of very modern pieces like the lucite bottle container and the bar cart itself keep the general theme from feeling too out-dated. It freshens the look and keeps it current. I added some nostalgic touches like the coupe champagne glasses and the mint julep cup because, although vintage in essence, the shape and daintiness of them makes you feel oh-so-feminine when holding them.

For this arrangement, I linked a faux-arrangement of peonies, however, I tend to prefer fresh flowers if I can get them.

Lucite Stackable Bottle Holders / Mint Julep Cup / Marble Lamp / Champagne Coup (Set of 4) / Elderflower Syrup / Birchwood Straws / Clamshell Bowl / "Pour Yourself a Drink" Print / Silk Peony Arrangement / Bar Cart < currently on sale!

How I would stack this bar car:

The Manly One

As mentioned in my previous post, my significant other is quite the manly-man. Therefore, I have had to keep my tastes centered on pleasing both parties. Recently I have been working on his office area and one of the things that I have been brainstorming is a very masculine and sophisticated way to put together a cart for his meeting space.

You'll notice I used a lot of black here. I wanted to keep this cart manly and eye-catching, trendy yet refined and most importantly for a man's room: functional.

Here I used an old-school looking bar cart and added some age-old pieces such as the low-ball glasses and horn accents. Although some may think adding a flower arrangement to a masculine area seems strange, I think it adds mystique and sparks curiosity if done correctly. Here I used a black orchid.

Waterford Low Ball Glasses / Whiskey Book / Decanter / Waylande Gregory Coasters / Horn Ice Bucket / Black Orchid / Blue Glass Lamp / Bowl / Bar Cart

How to stack it:

The One for the Beach

With the summer approaching I wanted to add a beach-themed bar cart. 

My folks recently retired to the beach and we just spent the week at their new home. Their place sits right on the water and in the mornings you can see fish flying out of the water and dolphins swimming by. It was really hard to leave!! 

While I was sitting outside one morning, I started thinking of what their cart could use.

I tried to keep this theme upscale but still somewhat 'cute' so it is more approachable to guests. If you've ever been to a beach house, you know that the decor screams "YOU ARE AT THE OCEAN" with mermaids, fishing gear, mounted fish on the walls...the works. However, in this case, I wanted to add elements of the beach theme with small details rather than having it be the over-arching look. 

I give you, the beachy bar cart:

Bar Cart / Vietri Marea Bowl / Browmley Coasters (Set of 4) / Mermaid Bottle Opener / Carmen Pineapple Ice Bucket / Tall Glass Set (6) / Sunburst Mirror

Stacking your beachy bar cart:

Ahhhh... Don't you hear "If You Like Pina Coladas" playing in the background by Jimmy Buffett? ..maybe that's just me. 

I hope I urged you all to create a great-looking bar cart in your own home. Please comment below which one you guys like best! Coming up next are easy to make and FREE flower arranging ideas as well as a great idea for Easter Brunch next weekend. Talk to you all soon!

Gallery Wall DIY

When I moved from my quaint one-bedroom apartment into my townhouse last year, the furniture I had accumulated only filled two rooms in my new home....walking into the bare rooms made me sad, then angry, and finally ultra-motivated. 

Luckily during that time period, my parents moved and some other family began down-sizing which meant I became the lucky owner of tons of their old stuff...and none of it matched.

Making the furniture work seemed to be the easiest part of decorating, but artwork for my walls has been an entire different story!

I'm sure it has something to do with how picky I can be, or my tiny pocket book, or perhaps a combination of the two, but I've figured out a few savvy ways to create an upscale feel for just around $50 bucks!

When I moved in to my pied-a-terre, I instantly signed up for an Ikea Family card. I am an extreme DIY enthusiast and I love creating the look for less. If you need a few ideas for how to get an expensive gallery wall on the cheap, check out my ideas below:

Ikea Frame / Fashionista print - Hope II / Abstract print - Crescendo / Girly print - Red Rising Sun 1

If you've never heard of minted, I apologize in advance for your next 24-hour binge session. They take beautiful art and photography from people all over the country. Even though they offer a service to add on various frames, I've found that the Ikea option can save you a few bucks per print AND the Ikea frame above comes with a mat whereas the minted ones do not.

Another recent idea I tried was to use abstract painted gift wrap from Paper Source!

They come in 19" x 25" pieces, which means you can create a statement piece for just $8.00!!! I get a ton of compliments on the photo above! I got the frame from Target. You can get it here.

Here are three other great looking gift wraps that would make a beautiful statement piece. 

Blue Plum Blossom / Pink & Grey Marble (similar to mine!) / Pool Lake Waves

Doggy Chic

I have always loved dogs. Their loving nature, their ability to show emotion, their sweet warm kisses on your cheek, and of course that bum that won't stop wiggling from excitement as soon as you walk through the door. Yes, dogs are truly a girl's best friend.

Just three years ago, my boyfriend and I adopted a baby of our own, Laila. We discussed getting a dog for months and kept our eyes open on puppies for sale. They were all adorable, but none that I really thought were a good fit for us....until Laila. One morning in May, I felt the inclination to visit our local Humane Society in search for the perfect pooch. This particular morning, every cubby was filled with puppies! Laila was the first dog that caught my attention. The volunteers had named her 'Longitude', which definitely would have to go if we brought her home as our own.

I'm not sure how everyone else goes about choosing their new dog, but I had developed a method of my own. 

Step 1. See how 'needy' she would be.

Garrett & I both have to go out and about during the day for work, and we needed a dog that had a bit of independence.  I tested this by petting her for a number of minutes and then walking away. If she cried for an extended amount of time, I assumed she may not get along well with our lifestyle. She passed.

Step 2. See if her energy level was calm.

Everyone who has ever owned a high-energy dog knows it can be extremely tiring. We needed a pooch that would, with exercise, could be calm around people when they came over. My test was by taking her into the play room to play and then shifting her energy by holding her in my lap. If she was wiggling like crazy to get back down, I assumed she may be a bit too high energy. Here again, she passed. She immediately calmed as soon as I held her....and as a bonus, she laid her sweet little head on my shoulder.

Step 3. How responsive to people would she be considering she was so young and had no training. So I called her over and put my hand down. She immediately responded and came right to me! Three-for-three she was going to be ours!

This was Laila on the way home from the Humane Society! Isn't she just adorable?!

My only concern was getting all the dog accessories to fit my home decor and not look cheesy. This is where I bring you my chic dog finds.

Chinoiserie Dog Bowls from Harry Barker / Tweed Dog Bed from Harry Barker / Hermes Orange Collar with chic gold equestrian detail / Champagne bottle toy (my dog loves this!) / Mungo & Maud dog itch relief spray (essential)

Why I love these: the toile dog bowls look refined and as through they are a casserole from my china cabinet rather than a dog bowl. They seem to blend into wherever I put them and I always get compliments. The tweed dog bed is both refined and practical. It is machine washable and and very soft, so my dog loves it. Sometimes I'll even through a sheepskin on top of it for an extra ounce of 'chic'. The orange dog collar with gold equestrian detail is oh-so-chic. I've yet to find a dog collar that looks quite as dashing as this....now if only I could find a matching bracelet for myself.

What started off as a bit of a joke having Laila trot around with a faux champagne bottle, has actually become her favorite toy! It is the same size as an actual wine bottle and every time she chomps down, it gives her a delightful squeak that she finds intoxicating....(see what I did there?)

Finally, the Itchin' for Relief spray is wonderful during those winter months that dry out her skin. No house guest likes being in a room with an itchy dog. Regardless of if they have a little dry skin or fleas, it makes people feel a bit germaphobic to be around. The spray is all natural and smells like rosemary! It works almost immediately, and lasts for hours to relieve her.

Have any of these products? Have a story of how you picked your dog? Let me know in the comments!!