A Time to Celebrate!

I am so proud of my friend James Farmer! Not only is he one of my BFFFFFFs, but he's cray-talented and a fantastic author! His latest book, A Time to Cook hit shelves a few months ago - it's a follow-up to his first book A Time to Plant. 

James has been on a 'round the world book tour, and happened to be coming to Gainesville. He had a super successful book signing at The Crystal Plate, a fabulous boutique here, and the evening called for a celebratory dinner party at Casa Griffin! 

James can do it all! He's a beautiful landscape and interior designer, speaker, friend, entertainer, author, and cook. It's natural to celebrate him and his many talents!

I had a ball planning the menu, painting the menu card and invite, cooking, and designing my tables for the dinner. James had already met many of my Gainesville friends, but I wanted to make sure he was introduced to a few more of them, and that he had a chance to relax and chat! 

I used pomegranates on the invite and menu in honor of James' family's maternal side - the Grenades, from pomegranate. James loves the pomegranate, and uses them often in his arrangements and table scapes.

In planning the menu, I kept in mind that I didn't want anyone to have to sit and eat, but casually dine and chat too - so everything we made could be eaten standing, but one could certainly sit too! :) 

James has a fabulous recipe in ATTC for asparagus with tarragon butter, as well as the Sea Island corn muffins. I was lucky enough that chef JTF made them himself for the party! 

James arrived in Gainesville a day early and made this girl very happy! We had a ball arranging flowers, fluffing, cooking, and gossiping. James, David and I have too much fun laughing, catching up and reminiscing about people from our childhood! 

We spent the day getting the house party-ready!

James grabbed the most gorgeous branches in shades of gold and red to fill my containers.

I found these gorgeous salmon roses that looked lovely with Dusty Miller from the yard.

The tropical loveliness in my bedroom came from my flower of the month club - one of my favorite gifts from my hubs. Ever.

Pumpkins and lanterns on our front steps greeted guests as they arrived.

James' favorite color is "plaid" so I used the purple and green Scottish wool blanket on my dining room table. A mix of mercury candle sticks, vases and votive holders were placed among white pumpkins under green hydrangea and branches pulled from the yard.

In the kitchen, I used dried blue hydrangea with cat tails and cotton. James deftly tucked in the gorgeous gold leaves! 

We were so excited to wait on our guests to arrive! And we had a ball - it was a fun night with great friends, toasting to James! 

A Time to Celebrate!

I am so proud of my friend James Farmer! Not only is he one of my BFFFFFFs, but he's cray-talented and a fantastic author! His latest book, A Time to Cook hit shelves a few months ago - it's a follow-up to his first book A Time to Plant. 

James has been on a 'round the world book tour, and happened to be coming to Gainesville. He had a super successful book signing at The Crystal Plate, a fabulous boutique here, and the evening called for a celebratory dinner party at Casa Griffin! 

James can do it all! He's a beautiful landscape and interior designer, speaker, friend, entertainer, author, and cook. It's natural to celebrate him and his many talents!

I had a ball planning the menu, painting the menu card and invite, cooking, and designing my tables for the dinner. James had already met many of my Gainesville friends, but I wanted to make sure he was introduced to a few more of them, and that he had a chance to relax and chat! 

I used pomegranates on the invite and menu in honor of James' family's maternal side - the Grenades, from pomegranate. James loves the pomegranate, and uses them often in his arrangements and table scapes.

In planning the menu, I kept in mind that I didn't want anyone to have to sit and eat, but casually dine and chat too - so everything we made could be eaten standing, but one could certainly sit too! :) 

James has a fabulous recipe in ATTC for asparagus with tarragon butter, as well as the Sea Island corn muffins. I was lucky enough that chef JTF made them himself for the party! 

James arrived in Gainesville a day early and made this girl very happy! We had a ball arranging flowers, fluffing, cooking, and gossiping. James, David and I have too much fun laughing, catching up and reminiscing about people from our childhood! 

We spent the day getting the house party-ready!

James grabbed the most gorgeous branches in shades of gold and red to fill my containers.

I found these gorgeous salmon roses that looked lovely with Dusty Miller from the yard.

The tropical loveliness in my bedroom came from my flower of the month club - one of my favorite gifts from my hubs. Ever.

Pumpkins and lanterns on our front steps greeted guests as they arrived.

James' favorite color is "plaid" so I used the purple and green Scottish wool blanket on my dining room table. A mix of mercury candle sticks, vases and votive holders were placed among white pumpkins under green hydrangea and branches pulled from the yard.

In the kitchen, I used dried blue hydrangea with cat tails and cotton. James deftly tucked in the gorgeous gold leaves! 

We were so excited to wait on our guests to arrive! And we had a ball - it was a fun night with great friends, toasting to James! 

Fall Styling and a new piece for the kitchen

It's not too late to spruce up your home for the fall season and Thanksgiving holidays coming up! 

Can you believe it's right around the corner?

I ran across this gorgeous porch for your Wednesday inspiration! 

I love the purple and green with the corn stalks!

I also loved this little green and white fall tableau....super sweet for an entry table or dining centerpiece.

And if you're like me and have plenty of dried hydrangea around, try sticking them in a footed bowl with plenty of feathers and acorns. Tuck a few leaves and acorns around the bottom and ta-da! You've got a fun, woodsy arrangement!

On a different note, Santa came a little early for the Griffins. I spotted this amazing piece at our local Lakeview Interiors antique mall and could just feel the potential. The paint colors and odd appliques on the door had to go. Immediately.

And the paper eyelet border affixed to the shelves? DIY gone wrong.

I knew the piece was super old, and man, could it hold a lot of stuff.

The price was crazy good, so Santa made an early delivery to us!

And here's the AFTER!!!!!

The wood is definitely pine. There's a touch of tongue and groove on the sides and in the back, so that's super fun too. The paint has seeped into the grain over the years and I love it.

Once those weird appliques came off, the front looks super chic!

It fits perfectly on the wall in our kitchen and gives me maja room to hold more entertaining pieces.

How lovely is this hardware? I just think its fabo!

I showed this piece to our painter, and he knew just the look I was going for! 

I think they did a super job!

If you're interested, this piece is at the Athens Antique Mall.