Candice Olson Eye Candy

I'm spending the week away from home, stuck in a hotel for a four-day meeting. Fun! So this won't be long. Just some quick pretty design rooms from Candice Olson. LOVE her. She was one of the first "celebrity" designers I ever fell in love with. I'm super picky for sure, but she's someone who is able to wow me even when the design isn't MY style. Now THAT, is the sign of a fabulous designer in my book.

Enjoy!

guilt-free Tory Burch!

I just (pre)ordered myself a pretty little tee-shirt from one of my favs, Tory Burch...and I paid FULL Price...and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about it! In fact, I'm rather excited about spending the $$.

Here's Why:

1. It's super cute.
2.It was only $29.00.
3. I got Free Shipping.
4. 100% of the proceeds from the shirt is going to the relief efforts in Japan!

Want to do the same? From now until September 15, 2011 you can buy this shirt designed just for this cause and the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross to benefit the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami relief efforts. $29 for a TB shirt, free shipping, and helping a fantastic cause...what are you waiting for?!

J's Shower: Part I

So I've been talking for a while about J's bridal shower and gave you a little teaser here. There's just too much to share in one post so today I will rave about all the food related items. My lovely co-hostess, Lauren and I split the duties between us. I took decor and she took the food. And boy-oh-boy did she do a fabulous job. I'm definitely going to steal a few of those recipes!

{The complete food table}

Lauren worked super hard on all the yummy food with the help of her sister, Jenna who so graciously let us use her house for the party. {Did I already mention that neither Lauren nor myself live anywhere near Atlanta?!}. The menu consisted of Caprese skewers {love these and I love to make them even though I can't eat them}, Pimiento cheese sandwhiches, Turkey canapes with cucumber {stealing that one!}, Pizza cups {stealing that one too!}, Mexican roll ups {what a great idea!}, Deviled Eggs, Fruit Platter, Krispy Kreme bites {genius!}, and CUPCAKES!! You can clearly see "Pigs in a Blanket" written on the menu below but alas, there wasn't enough time to make them and there was nothing I could do about the menu at that point. Oh well. Everything was awesome!

I just printed the menu in green ink and framed it. Super easy and added a nice touch. Plus, if anyone wasn't sure what something was, they could easily deduce from the list! I did the same for the drink station too.

I heart my green kate spade plates and they went so perfectly with the shower decor!

...but I do have to admit that it kills me that the stripes aren't all going in the same direction. oops.

Those are the turkey bites in the middle and they were the bomb. Yes, I just said "the bomb".

My ladies made similar utensil packets for my bridal shower.

Fork, knife, spoon + luncheon napkin + cocktail napkin + ribbon = practical, portable, easy and PRETTY!

I used four different "Keep Calm" posters throughout the space. It went with the decor and they kind of tied the different spaces together. Genius. {If I do say so myself}

I'm just now realizing that I didn't get to taste a cupcake! Shame on me.

Okay this picture is so obviously not from the shower, it's from the Pottery Barn website, but I have a whole bunch of these Great White Mingling Plates and we used them at J's shower. They are the absolute perfect thing for finger foods and wine glasses when not everyone is sitting down or, people are sitting but have nowhere to set their drink down. I have some wooden ones too but these are simply my favorite for one reason: DISHWASHER SAFE. I think I might acutally buy more of them! Oh yea, and they fit the champagne flutes as well as the wine glasses {bonus!}

This pic of the drink station is a good example of why I wish I had taken a minute to take pictures before everyone showed up. Regardless, there was plenty of tasty drinks to compliment the delicousness of the food. Lauren and I kinda split up the drink duties. There was Champagne {extra dry which is ever-so-slightly less brutal than brut}, Asti Spumante {my absolute fav, and sweet champagne without the tart}, tropical punch {think pineapple and orange, not fruit punch} and Orange Juice to mix with the bubbly, and water with lemon slices {more for looks than taste}. We also had some of the mini cans of Coke and Diet Coke {we were in Atlanta, afterall} and you gotta love the green and white striped paper straws to go along with it all. I brought in big wine glasses and champagne flutes so that there would be enough matching glasses. I"m not a perfectionist or anything.

These decanters are the best things ever. KH and I each bought one right before my bridal shower and we used them both for J's shower. I have to tell you it's very convenient to have matching ones because they get used ALL the time! I also have matching 1 gallon versions but with us, go big or go home.

{I took this advice literally that day}

{Have I mentioned how much I love me so Asti? Seriously, if you haven't tried it you are missing out. It's champagne for people who don't like champagne.}

I'm seriously hungry after writing this post. Stay tuned for details on the rest of the decor as well as favors and prizes!

Happy Drink and Wear Green Day!

{IRISH I was on a beach somewhere.}

In honor of the holiday today I thought I would post some GREEN fabulousness.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Please be SAFE if you are going to partake in any shennanigans this evening!

Fabulous Finds... in {Kate} Spades!

I own a few Kate Spade items {including wedding china} but I've never been a die-hard fan of the brand overall. Occasionally I will find a piece or two I like but generally speaking I find things to be just shy of amazing. So, I tend to just look them right over. But, it appears as though Kate has remodeled her website, and the whole line of products along with it - and I have to admit, I'm loving it!

{This is my laptop case. Chic. Durable. Classic. Organized.

and BONUS: Available at the outlet!}

{I'll take one of these please! Reminds me of classic Chanel}

{This phone cover makes me want to go trade my phone in for an iPhone 4!}

{LOVE me some stripes}

{These colors are fabulous. And the idiom bangles are less than $30 each...score!}

{Anyone else have a Beastie Boys song stuck in their head after reading these bangles??}

And finally...I'm excited to see what Kate Spade comes up with for their upcoming expanded Home Collection. I'll definitely have to post and critique on that!

Have any of you lovelies checked it out for yourself? Got your eye on anything in particular??

Tablescape Tuesday!

Welcome to Tablescape Tuesday! I'm a party planner and I also love to play hostess and have people over for dinner, etc. Both personally and professionally, I run accross opportunities to set a gorgeous table complete with linens, plates, glassware, flatware, candles, flowers, etc. It's fun for me to do but it's also fun to see what other people put together. So, I thought I'd make it a regular feature here on City Southern. Every so often {on Tuesdays of course} I will feature fun and fabulous tablescapes - everything from picnics and bar-b-que's to formal dinner parties. I hope you enjoy this beauty.

{photo credit: Liz Banfield}

Sneak Peek: J's Bridal Shower

SO busy today but I really want to post all the pictures from J's bridal shower a couple weekends ago. Thought I'd do a sneak peak until I can write a real post and tell you about all the fabulousness. Can you guess what the theme was?...

Also...happy PI day {3.14} and happy bracket day {march madness}.

Stylish? Me? Why Thank You!!

Seven Random Facts you probably Don't Know About Me

1. I went to school to become a teacher. Obviously, I'm not currently teaching but I think about it all the time....Maybe someday...Maybe if we move further away from DC!

2. I've only ever owned an SUV. I'm dying to drive a sedan but I'm not sure it will ever happen. Maybe after the road trip we just took (2100+ miles in 6 days) the hubs will want to drive the SUV in the family but he loves his sporty zippy car!

3. My wedding bands are a size 4.75...and they are too big! I have very skinny fingers!

4. I HATE cold weather. I'd rather be hot than cold any day. If I want to feel the cold, I'll take a trip to go skiing. Someone please remind me why I live where I do!?

5. I am of the opinion that it is better to own fewer quality things than an abundance of cheap things. {This doesn't mean I believe in paying astronomical prices, or even paying retail if it is avoidable}. Here's what I mean: Invest in a few quality, tailored, classic staples for your wardrobe. A classic black pencil skirt, well-fitting dark wash jeans, a tan classic trench coat, a little black dress, etc. Then fill in the blanks {the trendy pieces} with lower cost inexpensive items. This rule also applies to home decor. Buy well-made heirloom pieces that won't ever ever go out of style, and spend money on the furniture that gets used and abused on a daily basis. If you really love a trendy pattern and can't afford to replace wallpaper, area rug or curtains with it, get an inexpensive throw blanket or a couple of pillows. If you are like me and change your mind often, stick to solid neutrals for your larger expensive pieces and you won't need to replace them as often in order to change the whole look of the room. {I should really do a post or two on this concept!}

6. When I am stressed out, there are a handful of things that calm me down. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for having a good glass of wine with a girlfriend or getting a huge bear-hug from my husband but there are times when it seems nothing will break my bad mood. At these times I either go shopping {tres expensive habit} or I go for a drive. I love to drive, especially by myself, especially at night when the weather is nice and I can put the windows down and listen to my calming music. {I have play lists for "sad, slow and depressing", "so angry I could spit fire", "I feel like singing along" and also "just random good music"}

7. I am very proud to say that I have never ever not once in my life done any drugs of any kind. Not even "just once", not even just to try or experiment. I think it will be a great Ace-Up-My-Sleeve when our kids are old enough and Heaven Forbid end up with a mentality of "well, everyone tries it at least once!" I can proudly tell them: not everyone!

{Random Fact #8: This post took me 6 weeks to write, purely because I couldn't come up with 7 random facts. I was looking for things that are personal but might be interesting to others without being a list of pet peeves. I could have done that in 5 minutes! Also, I don't like to talk about myself!}

So...why am I writing random facts about myself?...

I was looking for motivation to get me back up and running in 2011, and thanks to Casey of Loft and Cottage I found it! She so graciously presented me with the Stylish Blogger Award!! Thanks, Casey - I'm flattered! The rules are simple: Share 7 random things about yourself and then present the award to 7 stylish bloggers from recently discovered blogs. {Confession: I've seen this award passed around in blogland and it's always been 7 and 7, so I'm going by that number instead of 15 like I've seen most recently.}

And the winners are:

Fly Through Our Window

The Pursuit of Style

The Way We Are

Jones Design Company

Horse, Hound, & Home

Life in the Fun Lane

Above All Be True

As part of accepting the award, they'll...
+ Thank and link back to the person that awarded them {me}
+ Share seven things about themselves.
+ Pay it forward to 7 recently discovered bloggers.
+ Contact those bloggers about the award!

There are so many fun and fabulous stylish bloggers that I already follow so I tried to stick to RECENTLY DISCOVERED ones. Make sure you check out these *new* blogs, and also check out Loft and Cottage. Congratulations, bloggers...I'm sure my opinion means the world to you {lol}. And I'm sure most or all of you have probably already received this award! Can't wait to see what's next!