Away at the Bay, a Bachelorette Weekend

My College roommate, Abigail is getting married in August.

Her soon-to-be sister-in-law, and sweet friend threw a lovely bachelorette weekend. 

Destination....Fairhope, Alabama.

Everything was exquisitely planned and just the relaxation the doctor ordered.

Here we are at the local farmer's market.

After leaving the local market we drove a few miles to our wildlife day cruise in the bay. 

Abbie was so suprised!!

The guide must have thought we were crazy!!

 

Here is the beautiful bride on the left and the maid of honor on the right!

Bridesmaids with the Bride on the day crusie.

After the busy morning we shopped around downtown Fairhope and then returned to 

the bed and breakfast for the Lingerie shower.

Aren't these lingerie cookies the cutest?

Our adoreable "Favor" hand-painted, customized wine glasses.

The blushing bride opening her gifts.

Screened in porch progress Part 2

Well.... after 4 long months we are refocusing our attention outdoors. (the front of the house has been our focus thus far.)

Here are a few pictures to show you what we hope to achieve in our outdoor space. 

Currently the ceiling is exposed revealing nails and other imperfections that come along with a roof. Therefore i lean to my beautiful and timeless friend, beadboard.

Everything vertical is being painted stained ultra pure white.

The floor will be stained and sealed in a stain called Tugboat. 

Anyone ever stained a deck with this color before?? 

Please share your experiences.

This is where i need each of your thoughts and advice.

Currently we have an opening longing for french doors and stairs leading down from the porch. Where the stairs will lead to is a small patio of brick pavers. Do we like this look?

Currently I have mixed emotions.

(under the previous deck we ripped out we discovered brick pavers laid in the ground)

Keep in mind this small patio will house the gas grill and outdoor prep station.

Follow me for a minute back to the end of February for our deconstruction

Here is pond removal

The small deck we removed {brick pavers revealed underneath}

This opening will have french doors.

 Hot tub found a great new home.

Hello opening, how I have wished you didn't exist for the past 4 months.

Now we have lumber to fill this hole... one small problem, only 10 feet long boards instead of 12.

{Thank you little brother for going to get wood for us!! 
And daddy buying it as a wonderful surprise!! 
However, we will need to borrow your truck yet again to buy the right size! oopsies}

Mosquito infested, money pit, you are not missed... how would you like to be transformed into this?

recap:

• railing has been removed for sanding, removing staples from previous screen and painting
• bearings where hot tub were have been installed
• paint purchased
• hope to buy correct sized lumber tomorrow
• a vision of some sorts has evolved.

Sweet friends your thoughts are very much appreciated!!! 
Hope you have a great tuesday, stay tuned for Part 3!!

Painting Decisions...

I have been kinda holding out on you guys..... so here it is.....

I am redecorating my DEN!!

The one thing i wanted to incorporate most is another JBR original... so here are some of my inspiration pictures.... pretty pretty please help me decide which i should have inspire me...

Prettys

Upon a recent trip to a fabric store, I found this beautiful bed!! 

I think I will make a comforter like this for our bed in the winter to give the master bedroom a cozier feel.

You better believe I want a monogrammed pillow like this!!

This pillow and chair are just too cute for words.

19 months

Okay, lets be honest.... I haven't blogged much about the fam lately, and... i keep forgetting to take pictures.... this is aweful of me... i am missing out on sooooo much... so please excuse the extremely long post and ton of pictures.

We have been swimming at my parents quite a bit lately, and so have the pups. 

Buttons still doesn't get the open your eyes when i take your picture. haha

I am so thankful I have had the opportunity to stay home with AC over the past few weeks. 

WE have had an awesome time. 

At 19 months, our fave words are:

• mine
• no
• dis
• ouside
• olors (crayons, aka colors)
• ukie (lukie, our dog)
• she has also said poppy, my dad
• baby
• dis is how (one phrase....)

we have lots of.... "hey pumpkin, look at mommy!!" and the response is usually a melt down...

Then i end up bribing with the paci...

(no she isnt missing any teeth, not sure why she looks like she is....)

Grammy had to steal some sugars.....

And my cousin Amy came for a quick visit..... 

So glad she got to come in town and we got to catch up.

Much love from us to you. Have a wonderful thursday....

I am linking up with my friend Gini's thankful on a thursday..

Calligraphy

I have always always loved calligraphy. Whenever i get a wedding invitation in the mail and find the handwritten art i stop and stare for  a few seconds. 

I decided this last week that learning how to write in this style must be added to my bucket list!! Here are a few of my fave images.... Enjoy.

 Isn't this an adorable idea of a wedding??

For one of my favorite invitation sites check out Bella Figura.com. 

Unbelievably beautiful fonts. 

Hope each of you had a wonderful Fourth of July!!

Ours was spent working on projects... surprise,  surprise...

Vesta Home Show 2

This was the second home at the show..., this home won best in show and by far was my favorite....

 

This bathroom was to die for!!

 

This bedding was very formal but elegant, and the otherside of the room looked like this.

 

Don't you just love it?

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This is the third house... 

I didn't love the outside of it but the inside.... oh dear heavens, I felt like I was literally walking the pages of a magazine. 

This home had exquisite furnishings. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. (sorry i wasnt able to get more upclose... baby was very busy that day.)

 

 

This is the room in the carriage house over the garage (detached from home)

 

This home reminded me so much of New Orleans

The baseboards of this kitchen had the coolest feature.

You did a gentle touch with the shoe and the baseboards were hidden drawers under the kitchen cabinets to hide cash, passports, and jewelry. Genius idea!!!

Hope all of you enjoyed looking at these beautiful homes as much as i did. Now i am full of ideas and bursting at the seems to implement them!!

This past week has been pretty hectic. 

• I finished the nursery bedding i was working on, 
• finished the other set of panels for ACs room. (yes the fabric did retire and it took me forever to find more... but hey its the risk you run...)
• cleaned out the garage
• organized more clothing
• cleaned out/super detailed my car
• cleaned off all the walls where little bit decided to use an expo marker and create her own art....

JOY!!  

Hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July!

Vesta Designer Home Showcase 1

First off i owe you guys an apology... i didn't hold up my end of the deal with blogging twice a day... i am so sorry, but getting two shipments of fabric in the mail/ finishing my friend's nursery bedding got in the way. Anyway, I wanted to share with you what my hubby and i did saturday night....

The 2010 Vesta Home Show Tour

Yall are probably thinking, "What the heck is this thing??"

 Well, you see, the local Area Home Builders Association gathers and several builders decide to build homes to showcase in this yearly event.

awesome design + best interior decorators in the city= I am there!!

Okay alot to share so this is the first of several posts.....

This is the first home. Very different but had incredible bones!! Here is what i fell in love with in the home.

One of the master bath vanities.

Walk in closet off of master bath

simple bathroom yet still chic, 

ps i am totally making me some preserved boxwood arrangements soon. love them.

Dining room from the stairwell looking into living space and then courtyard. 

ADORE this fixture.

The designer for this home is Amy Howard. 

I am blown away with everything she placed in this beautiful home. 

More to come....