Orange Boxes

One of these orange beauties came home with me from Paris. As excited as I am about having an Hermes scarf (currently being framed to go over our bar), I can't help but to say that I'm almost as excited about the orange box that it came in. 

Holiday Music List

Tis the season for parties, and they are here in full force. While even the hostess with mostest can have her candy canes in a row, music is something that can wobble even the most glamour holiday soiree. Here is a list of Christmas tunes that will give any party that extra zing. 

Sugar Paper - Los Angeles Stationery Store & Letterpress

I'm back and inspired by the letterpress workshop I attended this weekend in Raleigh. Our teacher was as old-school as they come, with a startling attention to detail in the days of rush-rush and hurry. Letterpress is a craft that takes a lot of patience, an extraordinary attention to detail, quick hands, and dedication. Here is an inspiring video from Sugar Press that shows how much really goes into making these beautiful papers.

Have a Cozy Weekend!

What are your plans for this weekend? Jennifer, Brent, and I are off to Raleigh to take a letterpress workshop from master letterpress guru, Officina Briani. I hope that your weekend is filled with lazy mornings and warm nights!

Life's Updates

After loosing our camera in Paris, I have made a promise to upload photos on a consistent basis and share photos with family and friends whenever possible. I hope that these don't bore some of you to death, but I wanted to share life's updates from the past month.

First things first, I am NOT a sports fan, except when it comes to Carolina basketball. I have no control over it and no excuse, except to blame it on my father and now my husband. We were invited by our sweet friend Dustin to join him for the UNC vs UNC Asheville game and sat in row G. Those are the best seats I have ever sat in.

While the game was a little closer than we would have liked, the real entertainment was that John Edwards was sitting across from us. Have you read The Politician by Andrew Young? It is fascinating! 

Wedding season is officially over for the year, but Salt Harbor has been busy with other projects including a holiday photo shoot for Wrightsville Beach Magazine. Salt Harbor was not only featured in the magazine, but also made the cover! Fisherman's Wife let us borrow beautiful china, glassware, and linens, while Jennifer brought the entire coastal Christmas look together. Isn't that view incredible?

We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws in Ocean Isle Beach and I made my first pumpkin pies (forgot the egg white so it didn't quite set), cranberry sauce (used a grapefruit instead of an orange on total accident but had a nice surprise), and a healthy green bean casserole. This photo was taken in our kitchen by Gray while I was on the phone with my mom, trying to figure out why the pumpkin pies weren't firm after being in the oven for over an hour. Mom came to the rescue and it made her feel better that I still, in even the smallest way, still needed her. 

 While I had cooking adventures of my own, on Thanksgiving day the husband got brave and made gravy with Cognac and wine. The Cheek family loves to add alcohol to everything. My mother in law always says that if you don't like the food, drink more wine. Don't mind if I do! Their house is always so full of life, with a lot of big personalities, five indoor dogs, and constant comradery between everyone. 

Thanksgiving Day was followed by a Flotilla oyster roast with a lot of our close friends. They had a beer truck, band, oysters, brunswick stew, as well as a huge television outside so that no one would miss the games during the party. 

Have I ever mentioned that I have two SINGLE brother in laws? Aren't they adorable? They are the best brother in laws I could ask for and I still can't believe how lucky I am. They came to the party that night and we had the best time. Clif (left) and Baxter (middle) are fabulous candidates and I have witnessed that they make great boyfriends. You can get in touch with them by sending me presents from Net-a-porter.com. I have a wish list waiting for those of you looking for great husbands and will send you right to them once the goods arrive on my doorstep. :)

Two of the boats

The band took a break and opened up the party to karaoke. It was a hit, and both Gray and Baxter participated.

 I can't quite remember what Baxter sang, but I'm almost positive it was Snoop Dog. He knew every word. Don't let the guy in the camo fool you. That's big Dane and he can rap with the best of them. 

Gray and our good friend Chris sang Digital Underground's Humpty Hump. Gray was that for Halloween last year and just can't let go.  Unreal...

Lastly, we bought a real Christmas tree tonight and have started decorating the house. I love how the house smells this time of year. The tree isn't quite up to sharing status, but as soon as it gets there, I'll be sure to post. 

xoxo

Christmas Inspiration

The husband and I are staying in tonight to decorate our house for Christmas. This time of year is full of dinner parties and work obligations and we have plans almost every night from now until Christmas. Whew! I'm missing a great party tonight, but I'm not sure if the tree would go up before Christmas if we didn't do it tonight. I'm exhausted just thinking about it all! 

We are having a little soiree of our own December 19th for our neighborhood's annual Christmas Crawl and will have over 100 people in our tiny house, so the pressure is on! Here are a few photos I have pulled for a little decoration inspiration...

 I have ordered boxwood and will  make wreaths for our front door and double windows and hang them with thick, black and white striped ribbon.

 I'm trying my hand at paperwhites for our bar and entry table. They smell so good and I've heard they are hard to kill. What a plus!

Black and white wrapping paper keeps things contemporary while red taffeta ribbon will add a touch of glamour under the Christmas tree. 

White hydrangeas like in Aerin Lauder's home are inexpensive and make a bold statement for any holiday party.

Paperwhites and metallic are classic holiday combinations

I'm a sucker for that real tree smell, but this is a great alternative. I love that they have used a beautiful urn as their tree stand.

Another great photo of Aerin Lauder's home. Everything about this says holiday without the typical red and green combination.

Off to make the perfect chili and turn up Bing Crosby's holiday station.

I hope you all are having a great time decorating this holiday season!

xoxo

Art Love

I was flipping through the December issue of Elle Decor when I spotted a piece of art work that I absolutely adored. After google searching the internet and learning that the original piece was, of course, $5,000.00 I found 20x200, the most amazing place for inexpensive art. Not only did they have the piece that I was looking for in several affordable sizes, I also found four other prints that should be at my doorstep in no time. We are talking $20.00 a piece people. Incredible!

 I have had such a hard time with art in the past. It's either way to expensive, too cheesy, or just not right for our house. I found five great pieces that I think are a great start to a home art collection. 

This is the piece that led me to 20x200

I love this piece by French photographer, Christian Chaize.

This bird's eye view of a shipyard will satisfy the husband until he gets the real deal

I love the colors in the abstract painting. It's called Sugarcoat and when you look closely, you are able to see tiny pieces of candy

I love this so much. Photographer Sharon Montrose has a series of baby animals and has taken their profiles. Wouldn't this be great in a large scale for a modern nursery?

This graphic painting by Valerie Roybal has layered books, journals, and letters. Love!

So, this art is inexpensive, which is great, but framing can be the deal breaker when it comes to actually hanging the art in your house. Founder of 20x200, Jen Bekman, shares helpful tips in framing art here.