A South Georgia Rehearsal Dinner

Today I am sharing a few peeks around a lovely rehearsal dinner I had the pleasure of assisting with a few months ago. 

Photographed by the incredible Ashlee Culverhouse (I am lucky enough to call her "friend"!) and planned by my amazing sister-in-law Laura Lyn (I am extra lucky to call her "family"!), I pulled a few stems from the yard to make loose, herb-filled, hydrangea-laden, wildflower-full arrangements for a fun dinner around the pool to celebrate a really fun couple. 

(I think that qualifies as a run on sentence. Sorry, Mrs. Anderson) 

Ashlee captured these lovely images of the flowers tucked around the party, all planned by Laura Lyn. The bamboo chairs, the long banquette tables, the sparkling votives. Yes, truly Southern, indeed. To add even more novelty to the evening, the party was held on the gorgeous grounds of Laura Lyn's parents' home, surrounded by the prettiest farmland and lush fields in South Georgia. 

Everyone was there to celebrate LL's brother Robert and his fiance' Samantha. 

Tune in tomorrow to see images from their wedding! 

A South Georgia Rehearsal Dinner

Today I am sharing a few peeks around a lovely rehearsal dinner I had the pleasure of assisting with a few months ago. 

Photographed by the incredible Ashlee Culverhouse (I am lucky enough to call her "friend"!) and planned by my amazing sister-in-law Laura Lyn (I am extra lucky to call her "family"!), I pulled a few stems from the yard to make loose, herb-filled, hydrangea-laden, wildflower-full arrangements for a fun dinner around the pool to celebrate a really fun couple. 

(I think that qualifies as a run on sentence. Sorry, Mrs. Anderson) 

Ashlee captured these lovely images of the flowers tucked around the party, all planned by Laura Lyn. The bamboo chairs, the long banquette tables, the sparkling votives. Yes, truly Southern, indeed. To add even more novelty to the evening, the party was held on the gorgeous grounds of Laura Lyn's parents' home, surrounded by the prettiest farmland and lush fields in South Georgia. 

Everyone was there to celebrate LL's brother Robert and his fiance' Samantha. 

Tune in tomorrow to see images from their wedding! 

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!

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!

Personal Paperie: A Griffin family crest

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! We took the little guy with us to Cashiers, NC for the day on Saturday and enjoyed some lake time and played with friends the rest of our long weekend. I've slowly gotten back into the swing of things after our long weekend, and am now heading to Hilton Head to visit my sister Abbye!

If you all weren't able to see this year's showhouse in Cashiers, you really missed something special! James' room was extraordinary!

Back to the reason for this post: I wanted to share the details behind the paper suite that was part of the rehearsal dinner I recently helped design. 

The groom is my husband's first cousin, and we all share our last name - Griffin. In Greek mythology, a griffin was part lion and part eagle. This creature is the centerpiece of our family crest. Years ago, my husband's and the groom's grandmother created the family crest in needlepoint. From this depiction, I hand-painted the crest in watercolor, along with a few other small paintings of the shield and the flowers. 

My friend Lauren Cook of Parkway Press translated the watercolors into our fabulous paper suite for the event. Here's the invitation: 

The crest is centered on the Griffin in the middle of the shield, surrounded by a knight's head, flourishes, and flowers.

The watercolor daisies were printed onto the place cards for each person attending the dinner.

The menu was amazing! The shield topped the description of the night's courses.

A close up of the shield also was printed with the table numbers, directing the attendees where to sit.

In keeping with the black and white color scheme, black and white paper straws and cocktail napkins were used for the night's signature cocktail.

In designing and constructing the seating charts, I kept the colors of the night in mind. Black boards were decorated in marigold and white striped papers with hand written names in gold metallic. 

It was a lovely night, and the personalized paper goods made it so very special! 

Personal Paperie: A Griffin family crest

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend! We took the little guy with us to Cashiers, NC for the day on Saturday and enjoyed some lake time and played with friends the rest of our long weekend. I've slowly gotten back into the swing of things after our long weekend, and am now heading to Hilton Head to visit my sister Abbye!

If you all weren't able to see this year's showhouse in Cashiers, you really missed something special! James' room was extraordinary!

Back to the reason for this post: I wanted to share the details behind the paper suite that was part of the rehearsal dinner I recently helped design. 

The groom is my husband's first cousin, and we all share our last name - Griffin. In Greek mythology, a griffin was part lion and part eagle. This creature is the centerpiece of our family crest. Years ago, my husband's and the groom's grandmother created the family crest in needlepoint. From this depiction, I hand-painted the crest in watercolor, along with a few other small paintings of the shield and the flowers. 

My friend Lauren Cook of Parkway Press translated the watercolors into our fabulous paper suite for the event. Here's the invitation: 

The crest is centered on the Griffin in the middle of the shield, surrounded by a knight's head, flourishes, and flowers.

The watercolor daisies were printed onto the place cards for each person attending the dinner.

The menu was amazing! The shield topped the description of the night's courses.

A close up of the shield also was printed with the table numbers, directing the attendees where to sit.

In keeping with the black and white color scheme, black and white paper straws and cocktail napkins were used for the night's signature cocktail.

In designing and constructing the seating charts, I kept the colors of the night in mind. Black boards were decorated in marigold and white striped papers with hand written names in gold metallic. 

It was a lovely night, and the personalized paper goods made it so very special!