A Peak Into My Office…

Since I work from home a few days a week, I need to have a designated workspace so I can “leave work at work” (for the most part at least) when I finish work for the day. When I started pulling things together for this room, I was going for a “vintage glam” look. I knew I wanted pinks and tans with gold accents. I repainted the room around Christmas, and used Sherwin Williams Bona Fide Beige for the walls and Sherwin Williams Smoky Salmon for the ceiling.

Side note: painting is a lot harder and more time consuming than I thought it would be. Especially painting a ceiling.

My desk is made out of old doors and salvaged wood that came from Old House Salvage. We didn’t make it ourselves, but looking back, I wish we would have. It took a long time for Old House Salvage to finish the desk, and I think it would have been a quick project. It’s certainly not the most practical desk, but I love how it looks.

Old House Salvage is the place to go if you’re looking for salvage doors, windows, hardware, or wood. You never know what you’re going to find when you go.

I got the fabric for the curtains on sale for $2.99/yard at Tony’s Fabric. My Mema is an amazing seamstress and made the curtains for me, and I love how they turned out. You can’t tell from the picture, but they have a little bit of shine and puddle at the bottom, which is exactly the look I was going for. The chandelier is from Lowe’s, and it’s actually on sale right now for $86. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the blank wall above my bench. I started playing around with the idea of a gallery wall with photos that I had laying around, but I already have a gallery wall in our living room. I got the idea for the vintage fashion magazine covers and started searching the internet.  I found a few vintage Vogue covers that coordinated well, printed them out, bought a few frames on sale at Michael’s, and stuck them on the wall. All the pillows are from Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. I use the gray cupboard to store miscellaneous items. It was a cheap Craigslist find that was blue when we bought it. We originally painted it black for my office in our townhouse. Now it’s on its third color and still going strong. The striped chair was the last thing I bought. I had been using a rickety/semi-broken antique chair, and I thought the room need a bold pop of pattern. I mentioned the idea of getting a black and white striped chair to my mom, but I wasn’t sure where in the world I was going to find one. A few days later, she was at At Home (formerly Garden Ridge), and found this black and white striped chair. It was the perfect size and was exactly what I was looking for to finish off the room.

Life Lately

I’m not sure how we’re already a quarter of the way through 2015, but somehow we are.

I also just realized the last time I updated this little blog was the beginning of January. Oops.

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the Moore house…

January was pretty uneventful for the most part. At the end of the month, I was able to go up to New York for a few days for work. A few of the chefs we represent were invited to cook at the James Beard House in New York, and we went up with them. You know, for support. We did work while we were up, but it was a really fun trip with a lot of good food. I also learned that it’s fun to travel with chefs because they pick good restaurants to eat at, and when the chefs in the kitchen find out a group of chefs is dining at the restaurant, they start sending out all these dishes for us to “try out.” I certainly wasn’t complaining.

I grabbed brunch with my old roommate while I was up there and snapped a photo of the building I used to live in in Brooklyn. Oh the nostalgia.

Instead of fighting the crowds on Valentine’s Day, we had a few couples over to our house for dinner. It was supposed to be a “guys cook for the girls” type thing, but I think it ended up being all hands on deck 🙂 Dinner turned out pretty well, and I was happy to have an excuse to break out my china.

We also spent a good bit of time in February car hunting. Andrew’s car got hit and totaled (no one was hurt), so we threw ourselves into scouring the internet for a car. We ended up finally finding one last weekend, the same day that Andrew had to turn in his rental car. We are now the owners of two gold Camrys (except Andrew’s is much newer than mine). We really branch out. We’ll replace my car with an SUV in a year or two, but for now, we’ll drive matching cars.

At the end up February, Andrew and I headed up to Asheville for the weekend. When we were reflecting on 2014 at the end of the year, we realized some of our best memories were from weekend getaways, so we’re trying to be more intentional about planning little getaways this year, even if it is just an hour or so up the road. We tried out some really great restaurants in Asheville including Rhubarb, Nightbell, Wicked Weed Brewery, and Biscuithead.

Last weekend, I drove to Savannah for a reunion with my college roommates. We rented a little carriage house through Airbnb spent the weekend exploring the city. Savannah is such a charming little town, and as always, I loved spending time with my old roomies. I sure do miss living in the same city as those girls.

Christmas Recap

Christmas 2014 was one for the books. We stayed around the Upstate, but we were able to see and spend time with both of our families over the holiday.

On Christmas Eve, we ate an early dinner with my dad’s side of the family. After dinner, Andrew and I came home and watched Christmas Vacation, a must-watch for me during the holiday season. I’m pretty sure my brother can quote the entire movie.

On Christmas morning, Andrew and I woke up and opened up our gifts from each other. Big gifts for Andrew were a new golf club and a USA soccer jersey. My big gift was a Kate Spade watch.

We headed over to my parents house mid-morning to eat brunch and open gifts with them.

On Christmas afternoon, we drove to Clemson to spend time with Andrew’s parents.We actually celebrated Christmas with his family a few weeks ago while his brother and his wife were in town, but we enjoyed breakfast for dinner with his parents on Christmas.We also finished up one of our projects, a second bench for our farmhouse table, while we were there.

We missed seeing the rest of his family for Christmas, but we’re heading down to his brother’s new home in Myrtle Beach next weekend to spend time with them and work on some house projects.

The day after Christmas, we celebrated with my mom’s side of the family. All of the cousins were able to be there, which is always fun. As everyone gets older and starts getting married and having kids, I realize that it’s harder for everyone to juggle schedules and get together like this. I’m so thankful we were able to be together and don’t want to take these times for granted.

The annual cousin picture is always entertaining. I’m honestly not sure if we’ve ever gotten a picture with everyone looking at the camera with their eyes open. I think we did pretty well this year, but the first picture gives you an idea of what it takes to get everyone in place for the picture.

I’m ready to do it all over again! Here’s to the 2015 Christmas countdown!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love the holidays. No, I didn’t put my Christmas tree up mid-November, and I haven’t been listening to Christmas music since October. However, I have been regularly asking Andrew if he’s excited about Christmas since June.

I think he’s glad the holidays are here just so he won’t have to hear me ask him that anymore. Until next year at least.

The last month has been pretty busy with moving, Thanksgiving, traveling, and Andrew’s birthday, but we’ve been getting settled in and have enjoyed getting our little house ready for Christmas. Here are a few pictures!

Go soak up the rest of the holiday season!

Goodbye, First Home

We officially move into our house in two weeks.

Even if our current home isn’t actually “ours,” it will definitely be bittersweet when we move out. We’ve loved living in our little downtown townhouse. It was built in the 1940’s and is oozing with character, which is something I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find in a rental. I love the chunky baseboards, crown molding, and every single little creak from the original hardwood flooring.

We’ve made a lot of memories in our first home together, and it will be a sad to leave, but we’re really excited to move into our new house. It will be fun to have a place of our own, and there are definitely some things we won’t miss about living in an old house. And even though we have great neighbors, we probably won’t miss having people on either side of our walls.

Here’s a peak into our little home for the past year and a half…

Welcome to University Ridge Condos.

Here’s our little living room, which is actually bigger than our living room in our new house haha.

Our entertainment center was a huge steal from a thrift store – only $85 and made from real wood. I’m not sure if we have a place for it in our new house, but I’m hoping I can make it work somehow because I really like it and it was the find of a lifetime.

One of my favorite parts of our house is a our coffee station. Our kitchen is TINY, so we had to get creative to fit everything, so we created a little coffee station. The dresser was actually my Mema’s dresser when she was in high school. My great grandfather painted it with car paint, which is what is still on it. All we had to do was clean it up and add new knobs, and now it’s one of my favorite pieces in my house.

Welcome to our dining room.

And here’s our little kitchen. If you blink, you might miss it.

We had to think outside the box when figuring out how to fit everything. We used the open shelves for plates, and keep most of our food in the cabinets. All of our appliances are in a storage closet in our living room. My Kitchenaid is in the bottom of our entertainment center.That’s normal, right? Also, when we moved in we realized that there weren’t any  drawers in the kitchen. Again, we had to get creative – notice the silverwear and other utensils on the shelf above the sink.

The bedrooms are bathroom are upstairs. All of our furniture in our bedroom came from an auction or Marshall’s. My grandparents made the headboard for me the Christmas before we got married.

And last but not least, my office.

University Ridge, we’ll miss you!

Life Lately

Well, it’s been over three months since I’ve visited this little space on the internet. A lot has happened during the time. The most significant thing? We bought a house!

After a few months of searching, we finally found a little bungalow that’s being built near downtown only about 5 minutes away from where we live now. Since we bought it before it was finished, we’ve been able to pick out paint colors, countertops, flooring, etc. It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s definitely kept us busy over the last several weeks!

Before all that happened, we finished out summer with a few trips to the lake, a weekend getaway to the beach with friends, and a trip to Colorado to visit family.

Fall was here before we knew it, which is my favorite time of the year (although I have been talking about Christmas since March…). Fall always tends to be a busy season, and this year is no different, especially with all the house happenings. I also flew up to NYC two weeks ago with my mom and sister for a little girls trip, but I’ll save that for another post. Last weekend, we headed up to Clemson to watch our Tigers beat NC State, and for the first time this year, it actually felt like fall. Then it got back up to the mid-eighties this week…

Here’s a look at the last few months in pictures…

The biggest, and most delicious, cinnamon roll at Johnson’s Corner in Colorado. It’s even bigger in person – it can easily be split between 4-5 people.

We spent a beautiful weekend in Hilton Head with friends. One of the few times that I was glad it was still hot in September.

Last weekend in Tigertown…

Life in the Lowcountry

Andrew and I just got back from spending a few days in the lowcountry of South Carolina. We started our trip by heading to Charleston around lunchtime on Friday for a wedding I was in this past weekend for one of my college friends.

I met Lindsay, the bride, my freshman year of college when I auditioned for one of Clemson’s a cappella choirs. I had to audition in front of the current choir (talk about intimidating), and Lindsay was one of those members. Thankfully, I made the choir and also made dear friends along the way through the a cappella choir and a larger choir we were part of. I refer to them as my “singing friends,” and it’s like a real life episode of Glee when we hangout! They’re so fun!

Lindsay and her husband met while getting their master’s degrees at the College of Charleston. They have multiple degrees in music and are extremely talented. I always tell her that their kids are going to be so talented – they can just have a little family band! Since Kyle and Lindsay are both music people, I knew music was going to be a major part of the wedding. Let me tell you – they did not disappoint. During the ceremony, a 20 person choir sang two songs, both of which were songs we sang in choir at Clemson. I’ve never heard more beautiful music at a wedding ceremony. It gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes.

The reception was at the Francis Marion hotel in downtown Charleston. Momentum Party Band played at the reception, and they had people dancing from their very first note until the end. I had never been to a reception with a live band before, but I’m a major fan now. Lindsay and Kyle even got up on stage and performed!  I’m not talking about some drunken, karaoke performance – they sounded incredible! I mean, who does that?

I hardly took any pictures all weekend – guess that means I was having a lot of run, right? I posted a few below. The music cake and the guitar pictured were from the rehearsal dinner. Isn’t that the coolest cake? They also had all their guests sign the guitar, which I thought was really unique.

All the bridesmaids on the way to the ceremony at St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant.

After the reception, Andrew and I drove to Fripp Island where my family was vacationing for the week. Since we were already in that part of the state, we decided to add a few days to our trip to enjoy the beach. We had never been to Fripp Island before, but we loved it. It’s very private and we had the most perfect weather – breezy and sunny, without being too hot. Fripp Island also has deers everywhere – they walk right up to the yard and remain completely unfazed when cars drive by.

I love the beach and it was great to spend time with family and have a few days of down time at the end of a busy month. Definitely wishing we were still there!

 

 

Weekend in Big Canoe, GA

We spent this past weekend in Big Canoe, GA celebrating one of my dear friends and college roommates, Rachel, as she married her best friend. It was a beautiful weekend, and once again, I’m thankful that weddings bring so many of my college friends together for one big reunion and celebration.

Rachel is from Atlanta, and even though Big Canoe is only a little over an hour away from Atlanta, it really seemed like a destination wedding in a way. Big Canoe is a beautiful, private community tucked away in the mountains of Georgia. It was beautiful. Rachel’s parents were so sweet and rented houses for the bridal party and their spouses to stay in, so it was like a little mini-vacation with friends.

Rachel was one of my very first friends at Clemson. We lived on the same hall our freshman year, and then roomed together our junior and senior years. Rachel is one of my sweetest friends and has a lovely, gentle spirit, although she’s certainly not afraid to insert a quick comeback or sarcastic comment into a conversation, which is one of the many reasons I love her. I have so many memories with her from Clemson – everything from sing along dance parties to winning the cake decorating contest at the dining hall our freshman year (we may have gotten the girls on our hall to vote for us multiple times…), from  hiking (and getting lost) to Creeper Trail, to beach trips and football games, and everything else in between. Here’s a picture of us from the summer after our freshman year – back when we were just babies.

The entire wedding weekend was beautiful and everyone kept saying it was “so Rachel,” which I think it a huge compliment. I love it when a wedding truly reflects who the bride and groom are.

We kicked off the weekend with the bridal luncheon at the lodge, which included lots of girly food and a stunning view.

Later that night, we came back to the lodge for the rehearsal dinner. Lots of kind words and laughs were exchanged about the happy couple. It was a fun rehearsal dinner that may have ended with my crazy friend Stephanie doing the Cupid Shuffle with a bunch of old ladies in the pub down the hall from the rehearsal dinner.

 Saturday was full of getting ready and pictures, and it was time for the wedding before we knew it. The ceremony was very personal and sweet – my favorite kind of ceremony. The reception consisted of good food, lots of dancing (including teaching Rachel’s Southern grandmother how to “make it rain”), pretty decorations, and King of Pops stand. I’m not super familiar with King of Pops, but their Salted Chocolate Popsicle was delicious. I may have also tried their Strawberry Lemonade Popsicle. They were both good, but the chocolate was my favorite.

 

Brett and Rachel, we’re so happy for you both as you begin this new phase of life. Hope St. Lucia is treating you well!

 

 

Weekend at HOME!

The saying is true – there’s no place like home. We’ve been in and out-of-town a good bit these past few weeks, so it was so nice to spend this past weekend in Greenville. Don’t get me wrong – I love to be on-the-go and am excited to continue our travels over the next two weeks, but there’s nothing like sleeping in on a Saturday morning in your own bed.

On Friday night, Andrew and I took advantage of our first free weekend night in a while and went on a date to The Lazy Goat. It’s been quite some time since we’ve eaten there, and it did not disappoint. The Lazy Goat has a tapas menu and regular entrees, and for the first time ever, I convinced Andrew to order our dinner off the tapas menu. Andrew isn’t a fan of tapas food because he thinks you don’t get to eat as much since you’re ordering small plates. I’ve tried to convince him that you actually order more plates since they are smaller (and cheaper) and end up eating just as much, but he didn’t believe me until after we came home with leftovers on Friday night. We ordered the Harissa Spiced Hummus, Moroccan Lamb, Truffle Pomme Frites, and the Duck Duck Goat pizza. I think the pizza was our favorite, but everything was delicious. I’m hoping Andrew has a different perspective on tapas now.

On Saturday night we celebrated my brother’s wedding with extended family. It was the perfect little low-key cookout, which is what Katie and Mitchell wanted. I volunteered to make the dessert. I recently got 6″ cake pans, so I decided to make two different 6″ cakes. For the first cake, I made a triple chocolate cake with mocha buttercream, and the other cake was a blueberry cake with lemon cream cheese icing. They both tasted delicious, but I learned that buttercream icing holds up much better in the South Carolina heat than cream cheese icing.

On Sunday afternoon I helped host a baby shower for my cousin’s wife. She has 8 more weeks to go and has the cutest little bump. It was a couples shower, so we decided to do a BBQ. My aunt made a diaper cake with cloth diapers, and it turned out great!

Can’t wait to meet little Baby Banish in August!

Wedding Weekend in Banner Elk, NC: Part 2

We woke up to the sound of rain on Katie and Mitchell’s wedding day. They had a backup plan in case of rain, but they were really hoping to be able to get married in the gazebo. Apparently the Lord just wanted to send a few “showers of blessings” as Katie’s Nana would say, because everything cleared up by late morning.

The girls headed over to Nana’s house to get ready while the boys went out for breakfast. Katie put together a little breakfast for us to enjoy while we got ready. And yes, you read that right, the bride made breakfast for us. We’ve all embraced the fact that Katie can’t stay out of the kitchen, and we just go with it at this point. The girl loves to cook and serve people.

Part of our breakfast consisted of pastries from Stick Boy Bread Company in Boone, NC. Let me tell you, they were to die for. I’m not usually a big chocolate fan, especially for breakfast, but I could eat one of those chocolate croissants (pictured below) every morning.

Everything was so relaxed as we ate and got ready together. We joked that if we did end up running a little bit late, it didn’t really matter since there were just 11 of us.

Katie wore her mom’s wedding dress.  Here’s a few pictures my mom snapped of the original dress when Katie went to get it altered.  They’re a little fuzzy, but you can see that the dress went through a huge transformation. Katie decided to cut off the dress,  get rid of the sleeves, and add spaghetti straps.

I snapped a few photos on my iPhone that I’ve included below, but I didn’t take the nice camera since Katie worked with  Katie Langley Photography to capture her day. Katie (photographer) was so laid back and easy to work with. We were all using our iPhones to snap a few photos to send to friends and family who weren’t there, and she was so sweet about letting us take our non-professional iPhone photos while she snapped away. She kept saying “your photos are just as important as mine,” even though that’s not necessarily true and hers are going to be so much better than ours. We’re all so excited to see them!

Her dress came out beautifully, and she looked stunning in it. These pictures don’t do justice to how great she looked in it – it couldn’t have fit her any better.

The ceremony was sweet and simple. We cut cake, toasted them, took pictures, and then they were on their way! They honeymooned in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and based on the few pictures they’ve posted, everything looks beautiful!

We spent the rest of the weekend exploring Banner Elk, Boone, and Blowing Rock with Katie’s family. Katie’s parents actually met in Banner Elk, so they showed us all these cute little places to eat and shop. Driving around up there was so pretty. I took a few photos, but they don’t come close to showing how breathtaking the views were.

We were sad to come down the mountain and get back to reality, but I guess that has to happen at some point, doesn’t it? Everything went by too fast, but it was such a sweet time spent with family.