A Summer Engagement Party

Hope you guys had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! Ours was spent in the mountains with great friends, in the cooler temps, celebrating the end of a wonderful summer and {fingers crossed} the soon-to-be-here fall weather. 

I wanted to share a few photos from a recent dinner party, hosted to celebrate our cousin and his bride. An Asian themed dinner was held at the beautiful home of my awesome in-laws, and we gathered in the early-August Middle-Georgia heat to toast the bride and groom. My husband, David, and I love going "home" to see all of our family and friends, and were thrilled to celebrate this special couple and their upcoming wedding. 

Earlier in the summer, I had a fit over a huge bolt of Schumacher's Zanzibar Trellis in Canary to make into tablecloths for my party stash - I had a total vision of this setting the tone for the night, paired with my mama's, my aunt's, my MIL's, and my blue and white china. Toss in plenty of palms and hydrangea with mixed fruit and I knew our Asian-influenced theme would be so fun! 

I also used my favorite Citrus Garden tablecloth, and an old antique textile with the white and yellow ones, for a neat mix of old and new. 

My darling bestie, James Farmer, lent me all of his red and bamboo chairs to surround most of the tables - its probably no secret that he has the best stash of party gear in GA! :)) 

A Summer Engagement Party

Hope you guys had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! Ours was spent in the mountains with great friends, in the cooler temps, celebrating the end of a wonderful summer and {fingers crossed} the soon-to-be-here fall weather. 

I wanted to share a few photos from a recent dinner party, hosted to celebrate our cousin and his bride. An Asian themed dinner was held at the beautiful home of my awesome in-laws, and we gathered in the early-August Middle-Georgia heat to toast the bride and groom. My husband, David, and I love going "home" to see all of our family and friends, and were thrilled to celebrate this special couple and their upcoming wedding. 

Earlier in the summer, I had a fit over a huge bolt of Schumacher's Zanzibar Trellis in Canary to make into tablecloths for my party stash - I had a total vision of this setting the tone for the night, paired with my mama's, my aunt's, my MIL's, and my blue and white china. Toss in plenty of palms and hydrangea with mixed fruit and I knew our Asian-influenced theme would be so fun! 

I also used my favorite Citrus Garden tablecloth, and an old antique textile with the white and yellow ones, for a neat mix of old and new. 

My darling bestie, James Farmer, lent me all of his red and bamboo chairs to surround most of the tables - its probably no secret that he has the best stash of party gear in GA! :)) 

One Fun Family's Dining Room

Now that I've shared the living room and keeping room with you guys,  I wanted to share more of this fun historic house, oozing with charm and details and natural light. The dining room got a little re-fresh with new paint, window treatments, a gorgeous chandy, all over those incredible freshly-refinished floors. 

Here are a few peeks around the space! 

(ps. see last week's post for more on this house!)

The room is separated from the living room by those gorgeous stained French doors. 

{Swoon} 

My client has the most fun artwork to chose from, many of which has been done by close family and friends. This pair of countryside oils was just the right color punch for this corner. 

And raise your hand if you're as obsessed with Belgian linen panels as I am?!?!?

They literally work in every space. (That's why you guys see them in my rooms so much!) 

Love this little peek from the living room to the dining room. 

And that you can see our punches of black around the house. Black adds prominence and sophistication to a room...especially via an antique tole platter and antique table and chairs. 

On the other side of the dining room is the small sitting spot in the kitchen. My client and I share a mutual love of Chinois...a touch here and there is happy happy happy. 

We both fell for the lacquer-red toile for a small shade, and complete with a zebra needlepoint rug. 

A set of old wing backs are now covered in indoor/outdoor polka dots and look completely refreshed! 

One more charming space that saw some fun additions is the tucked-away home office, with all of the original wood moldings. We added the mod Moroccan rug along with gray linen panels and salmon trim...tres' chic indeed! 

Hope you guys have a fabulous Monday....stay tuned for more next week! 

Oh, and head over to ShopMGD on Instagram for some super cute original artwork!!! 

One Fun Family's Dining Room

Now that I've shared the living room and keeping room with you guys,  I wanted to share more of this fun historic house, oozing with charm and details and natural light. The dining room got a little re-fresh with new paint, window treatments, a gorgeous chandy, all over those incredible freshly-refinished floors. 

Here are a few peeks around the space! 

(ps. see last week's post for more on this house!)

The room is separated from the living room by those gorgeous stained French doors. 

{Swoon} 

My client has the most fun artwork to chose from, many of which has been done by close family and friends. This pair of countryside oils was just the right color punch for this corner. 

And raise your hand if you're as obsessed with Belgian linen panels as I am?!?!?

They literally work in every space. (That's why you guys see them in my rooms so much!) 

Love this little peek from the living room to the dining room. 

And that you can see our punches of black around the house. Black adds prominence and sophistication to a room...especially via an antique tole platter and antique table and chairs. 

On the other side of the dining room is the small sitting spot in the kitchen. My client and I share a mutual love of Chinois...a touch here and there is happy happy happy. 

We both fell for the lacquer-red toile for a small shade, and complete with a zebra needlepoint rug. 

A set of old wing backs are now covered in indoor/outdoor polka dots and look completely refreshed! 

One more charming space that saw some fun additions is the tucked-away home office, with all of the original wood moldings. We added the mod Moroccan rug along with gray linen panels and salmon trim...tres' chic indeed! 

Hope you guys have a fabulous Monday....stay tuned for more next week! 

Oh, and head over to ShopMGD on Instagram for some super cute original artwork!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with fun, family time, sweet friends, and delicious food! 

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name..."

Psalm 100:4

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with fun, family time, sweet friends, and delicious food! 

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name..."

Psalm 100:4

Dinner On The Grounds

In honor of my friend's 30-ish birthday today (wish him a happy birthday on Facebook or Instagram), I had to write about his new book and how much love I have for the new addition to my JTF III collection :))) 

Did you guys see my friend James Farmer on QVC a few weeks ago? James and his new book Dinner on the Grounds were featured on the network, and he did a fantastic job! James had prepared several dishes from DOTG...fried okra, dirt cake, and even my grandmother Mama Doris' banana pudding. I got such a kick out of David Venable saying in his TV voice "Mama Doris' BANANA puddin'!"

In case you missed the awesome on-air interview, check it out by clicking here. 

James is beyond talented, is the best friend ever, and family to me. With every one of his books, I become more and more proud of him, and I love that he shares his talents with all of us through these gorgeous pages full of poignant stories, sentimental anecdotes, and tried-and-true recipes. This book, as I wrote about here, is especially close to my heart (I say that every time another one of James' books arrives!) because this one features two of my family's most special occasions, as well as my personal artwork. The book, divided by occasion and menu, inspires me to make ordinary meals extraordinary with James' beautiful tablescapes.... linen napkins, centerpieces, fresh ingredients, and friends and family - life's best moments celebrated together.

You may remember the post I did on my brother Brince's rehearsal dinner. It was an honor to design this special night for him and his fiancé, my now sister-in-law Laura Lyn. And the party is featured in DOTG along with their wedding. How fun is that?!?!

After I  designed and created their rehearsal dinner paper suite (invite, response card, place cards, menu cards, labels, etc.),  James asked if I would contribute my personal artwork to Dinner on the Grounds.  I was immediately blushing - both honored, humbled and maja nervous. 

So, with menus in hand, I set out to paint the delicious featured dishes James had prepared and photographed for DOTG. Definitely my first time painting a hot dog or a shrimp! I had a ball painting each one....ripe strawberries, layered dirt cake, fresh herbs, and much more.

Along with the food items, I designed and painted a "crest" of sorts featuring James' monogram,  inspired by his logo on his website and blog. So, as you can imagine, this book is especially special to me, and I am honored to have contributed to my dear {birthday} friend's latest work.

Here are a few peeks of the book:

The glorious cover...hydrangea, tomatoes, magnolia and silver....if you know James, then you know this couldn't be more "him!"

His tables and food, photographed by his super talented sister and one of my dear friends Maggie, are exquisite! 

The inside of the front cover is a scattering of the menu cards that I painted. My talented friend Lauren of Parkway Press arranged and lay them out for publishing. 

Here's the rehearsal dinner for my brother and sister-in-law.

Read more about it here.

And here!

Their menu card

And here's their absolutely fabulous wedding! 

Brince and Laura Lyn married in August on the most beautiful, mild, gorgeous day - especially for late summer in South Georgia!

Laura Lyn's perfect touches were everywhere, the barn was incredible, and their food amazing! 

See more of her wedding deets here. 

Don't forget to get your copy of DOTG here! 

And Happy Birthday to James!