live * love * Lilly

I had the great pleasure of spending my evening with two fab gals at a local boutique for their Lilly Pulitzer launch party!

Lemonade girls welcomed guests with pink lemonade and lime green whirly pops at the most darling stand you’ve ever laid eye on.  Inside were all sorts of divine sweets and treats, and of course LILLY.  A cookie artist was monogramming pink and green confections right there in the store – I could die at the cuteness!

    

Afterwards we rehashed our purchases and caught up on love, lives and local gossip over cocktails and chips at Marlow’s. 

It was a PERFECT evening!!  Now, if only we can get some warm weather down South – I cannot wait to wear my new white eyelet shorts!!!

xoxo

Lake Side Supper Club

As I mentioned back when we had our Chili & Beer Tasting, we thank our lucky stars each and every day for the great group of friends we made in our "new" neck of the woods.  Each month we leave the littles at home and convene for Supper Club.  Last weekend, new friend A and her husband hosted a so-Southern lake side low country boil.

Is this not the loveliest lake house entry ever?  I swoon every time I drive up to the place and then I drool myself around the house.  Oh, and A painted the fish herself on reclaimed wood.  (more to come on her work!)

 We dined on a traditional low country boil, dumped right smack on the table in the precise way these things should be done.



 After supper the ladies retired to the porch and the boys took their mischief downstairs to the dock and game room.



And so went another memorable night with friends.  Can't wait till next month, y'all!
xoxo

Prayer Request

It’s with a heavy heart that I want to ask all of you to pray for two friends of mine facing tremendously scary health issues…


Sorority sister L is just the sweetest, smartest, most gracious Southern belle you could ever hope to know. Last week this healthy, happy mommy was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer called primary angiosarcoma of the breast and she will have surgery next week in hopes of removing the cancer. Please pray for L’s doctors and pray that the cancer hasn’t spread beyond her breast. Pray for courage and hope and peace for L in the coming days. And pray for her two darling littles, her husband, her family and all of the people that love this precious gal.

As if that news wasn’t terrifying enough and saddening beyond belief, my vivacious, full of life, fun loving friend H was travelling abroad on vacation with her husband and contracted an unidentified strain of bacteria that quickly made its way all through her lungs. She was one of the first friends I made on our move three years ago and she immediately welcomed our family into her fold of friends. Today, she is back stateside in the ICU on a respirator and with failing kidneys. Please pray for H’s strength to battle this bacteria. Pray for her two beautiful girls, her husband, her family and all of her friends.

I know this isn’t the usual décor, party planning and crafty fluff that you come to my little slice of the web for, but I feel compelled to ask everyone I know to pray for these girls over the coming weeks. It will make a difference.

xoxo

High Tea at the Ritz Buckhead

Since we’re scattered about the metro Atlanta area and have nine littles between us, I don’t have the occasion to get together with my best college gals as much as I’d like.  But when we DO find the time, we do it right :-)  On Sunday we celebrated all four of our birthdays over high tea at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead.

There really is nothing like walking into the splendor that is the Ritz.  The lounge was understated elegance, the Wedgewood bone china exquisite, the service unrivaled, the eats divine and the company perfection.  We were formally escorted to a lovely and sumptuous little banquette seating area.  With the classical pianist tinkering away on the ivories, it was a feast for the senses and a scene straight from Downton.



Between the four of us, we shared pots of vanilla bean, orange jasmine and peach tea, served in the English tradition with loose leaves steeped and poured through sterling strainers.  We noshed on savory tea sandwiches – turkey open face canape, ham and cheese, egg salad, smoked salmon and caviar, cucumber dill and lemon ricotta, prosciutto and melon, shrimp profiterole – while catching up on our goings and doings. 

 
And then we were presented with a scrumptious selection of pastries.  The scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves were some of the best I’ve had.  Add to that the grand marnier profiterole, macaroons  tortes and tarts and it was heaven on a three tiered tray!



I only regret that we failed to get a picture together after the food coma set in.  I sure hope that we make this an annual tradition!

Happy birthday, girls!
xoxo

Chocolate Tasting

I spent last Friday night sipping on wine and tasting all sorts of divine chocolates with blonde AW. She brought over the treats as a “working dinner” to discuss her up and coming foodie blog and, I must say, it was quite likely the best girls-night-in I’ve ever had!



The Mo’s Dark Bar (laden with bacon) was like a dream come true, and the salted chowchilla almond bar was simply to die for.  All were from Whole Foods. 

What’s truly ironic about me blabbering on about chocolate is that I went the first twenty-nine years of my life not liking the stuff.  I strangely started craving it when I was pregnant with John and have loved it ever since.  (As an aside, I craved Chick-fil-A milkshakes with Whit, gained an obscene amount of weight both times and had humungous 8 and 9 pound babies.  I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that your body craves what it needs.  And my body obvi needed chocolate cakes, pies, bars, doughnuts and milkshakes.)

This would make a fabulous party – have everyone bring a chocolate bar and bottle of wine.  If you do it you positively MUST invite me :-)
xoxo