Thoughts For Thursday

It's #tbt and today I'm linking up to bring you Thoughts for Thursday! Lately, I've been daydreaming about my week in Pawleys Island SC. We returned late on Tuesday night, and although we do live in a tropical paradise year round, nothing can compare to the beaches of South Carolina! Why is it so perfect? Let me give you a few reasons...

Southern Cooking. It's fried. All of it.

We ate a lot of fried food last week. I mean a lot. We had fried chicken, fried crab cakes, fried flounder, fried okra, hush puppies...i can go on. And, if it wasn't fried, it was cooked in butter, mayonnaise, and/or cheese. Macaroni and cheese casserole, coleslaw, biscuits, cornbread, tomato pie, "vegetables" (like a wolf in sheep's clothing - no nutritional value there). One time we had boiled shrimp, but I bet there was butter on that too. God bless beach eating. #notbikinieating

Fried Chicken, Rice and Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, biscuits..and Tomatoes. with Butter. Just kidding. :)

One of our 'healthy meals' - boiled shrimp, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, corn on the cob (buttered of course) and tomatoes.

Afternoon Thunderstorms

I do live in the land of daily 3 pm storms, however there is something much different about storms at Pawleys Island. You can actually smell the rain coming in, and afterward there is a nice cool breeze. (This never happens in Florida.) One night in particular, the water was amazingly still after the storm, the sky almost blended into the waterline. It was just stunning.

Front Porch Rocking & 

The Dawson Boys

y husband's family has a wonderful tradition of gathering together 5 families each year at the beach.  The group has grown to quite a crowd, so each family usually gets their own house on the island, and each night we have music and cocktails on the porch. Two brothers in the group, "The Dawson Boys", spent their youth writing songs, making music, and booking gigs. Each year at the beach they bring out their gear, play us their latest song, while we rock away in our chairs. 

The kids are eager to get some glow stick jewelry, and leis to celebrate our birthdays, and our last night at the beach.

Each year it is a tradition to end beach week singing "The Piano Man" and as you see here below, my generation crowded up on the 'stage' to belt out the nostalgic tune.

Waiting for the festivities to begin, and holding one of the youngest of the Pawleys clan (no, not mine :) )

Books. Lots of them.

Sure, you can read books at any beach, but there's just something much more peaceful about Pawleys. Perhaps its because their aren't 6,000 international drunk tourists, or spring breakers crushing beer cans on their heads (we only crush ours with bocce balls). Still, this is the only place that I can sit down and really ready a book cover to cover -- virtually, of course. #kindlefanatic

What Remains is an amazing book. Of course I didn't get to finish it until I was on a plane. And sobbing in public.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn...a book club read - so good, I ordered Sharp Objects. I'll let you know what I think!

Dune Photo Shoots

A few years ago, while dating, my husband and I started taking pictures in the dunes each year. The path from our beach house is in the perfect location to catch the sunlight as it sets. Here are a few photos from years past, and this year.

 2012 - My personal Favorite - The PERFECT sunset!

2013

2014 - It was a cloudy day, but still turned out great!

This year our nephew joined in on the photo shoot!

Can't wait to get back there next year...only 363 more days to go!

XOXO,
M

Sewing Progress...almost done!

Victory! I have managed to (almost) complete my first sewing project! I've been traveling a ton as of late, so I haven't really been able to devote as much of my time to sewing as I'd like, but slow and steady wins the race, right? I am still working on my skirt, but it is taking a little bit longer than I expected. I've taken some time to practice a few skills and improve before I really get going on the DVF fabric. In the meantime, I really wanted to make a few pairs of palazzo pants for this summer. I bought some really great light weight fabric with a tribal print on it - so that my crooked seams wouldn't  be noticed :) My inspiration was a pair of palm print palazzo pants at Zara.

 Here is another pair that I love almost as much.

I love how these pants are comfortable and casual, yet can be dressed up and great for a night on the town!

Here are a few photos as I went through the process, and the finished result! (Note - I haven't hemmed the pants yet, and need to make a few minor finishing touches on the drawstring, but you get the picture!)

A little shot of the finished product from Instagram...

It's especially important to press your seams open after you sew them, it helps to ensure that everything lays flat.  Once you have your seams pressed, it is a good idea to zig zag stitch up the raw edge (or another stitch, its up to you) to prevent the seams from unraveling as you wash and wear it. This not always necessary, but with this fabric, it is. (see the raw edge hanging off the ironing board? That's from one wash).

This handy tool helps to measure my waistband and help to make sure that it is even all the way around. It's also used for hemming as well!  The pattern for these pants actually called for a stretch jersey yoke, but I thought that might look strange. So, when cutting out my fabric, I gave myself several inches at the top as an allowance for a drawstring waistband.  Important Tip: This fabric is on that frays (see hem above) so to prevent my seams from fraying, I folded the very top about 1/16 of an inch, and then folded it over (the above picture is after the second fold.) So, when I sew the seam along the bottom, I am not sewing on a raw edge that could unravel, I'm sewing on a folded edge -- to both the raw edge and the fold are secured. I also used a zig zag stitch for this to make sure it was good and tight.

The pattern up close

I'm planning on wearing these pants for an upcoming plane ride (maybe the ride home, because I still haven't gotten around to the hem...) So I'll snap a 'transit' pic to show you!!

Many of you might be intimidated by the sewing machine, and that's ok...it takes time to get comfortable. One thing I think I can teach all of you (that you will use TIME AND AGAIN) is a blind hem stitch. A co-worker of mine helped me learn the stitch and I've already hemmed two items at home. It's done by hand, so all you need is a needle and thread. I'm going to use the same technique on these pants, so I'll post a tutorial as soon as I get it done!  For reference, here is a picture of what my last blind hem looked like:

I did this hem for Seersucker Thursday on a skirt that was too long. This shows the underside of the skirt hem - from the front is unnoticeable. I tried to take a photo, but you really couldn't see! (ignore the stitches above the hem, those are some loose strings from where I attempted to do a blind hem on my machine #impossible).

I'll keep you updated as this new little hobby of mine continues! If you have any questions feel free to ask! After I finish my hem, I'll show you the completed look!

xoxo

M

Photo Shoot with Dogs Life Photography

This past Christmas my mother and father-in-law gave us a gift certificate to have photos taken of us and our 'children' - a hound mix and a Shiba Inu. (Yes, we are those people). To call my husband and I 'dog people' is a gross understatement. In our family, dogs are like children, not just pets. We have been known to have doggie stockings at Christmas, and celebrate dog birthdays - for our Shiba's 8th birthday we let him sit at the table to eat his steak. (Not even kidding.) At least we come by it honestly - my mother in law has a dog watering station in her front yard for the neighborhood dogs to enjoy, and my mother has a "I <3 My Granddogs" bumper sticker on her car. Maybe its genetic.

Lucky for photographer Tom Brodigan, there are people like us, obsessed with the idea of a dog photo shoot. We met Tom up at a dog beach in our area in hopes to get some great shots of our dogs running around, playing and going nuts.  Unfortunately our Shiba (Barley), who is probably smarter than us, quickly realized that he was under a microscope (or camera lens) we mostly got a lot of sideways glances and angry faces. Thank God our life-loving hound was none the wiser and gave us some great expressions! I was so worried that our efforts would be for naught. But when I got the proofs back from Tom, I was so pleasantly surprised at how great all of the photos really were! You can really see the mark of a great photographer when he can coax a smile out of a Shiba, and turn it into a collection of amazing photographs!

Barley panics being this close to the water...

This is what we refer to as a 'Shiba Smile'

Sweet picture of Barley

Sunbathing

Happiest Little Hound Dog

Family photo - and Barley is none too pleased.

Candid Moment

One of my faves!

After our shoot, Tom sent us a CD with all of our images, and this amazing photo book keepsake.

       

                           I just love the way it looks on this antique brass tray table!

       

        

        

If you're interesting seeing more of Tom's work, checkout www.dogslifephotography.com!

                                                              Xoxo, M

Birthday Weekend Update - The Raleigh Hotel

Hey Friends!

I made it through the big 3-0 and I'm starting feel ok with it. It's hard to be depressed about your age when your husband plans a mini-honeymoon for you, and whisks you off to a glamorous hotel for an amazing weekend! As I shared in my Friday Post, my husband and I went to The Raleigh Hotel in South Beach to celebrate. It was a fantastic weekend away, and the hotel was easily one of my favorites. If you ever consider going down to South Beach, I highly recommend this hotel! The pool is obviously its best feature, but I just love the art deco decor, blended with modern touches, resulting in a retro chic feeling that made you feel as glamorous as an Ad Girl from Mad Men. (And, seeings as I secretly wish I lived in my grandparents era, it was RIGHT up my alley...)

An impressive front drive..

a photo of Jackie hanging in the lobby area...but I'm not sure who she is with. The walls were covered with photographs of top models, celebrities, and fashion icons, like Versace.

 Here are a few shots of my favorite spots at the hotel:

Bathroom:

The bathroom was floor to ceiling mint green tiles - just like most 50s style homes - but the single glass divider panel between the shower and the rest of the room made it feel like a completely updated and modern room.

Bedroom

I didn't grab a shot of our room, but here is a stock image to give you an idea...the ocean is right out that window!

The view from our window!

Pool/Patio

My view from the breakfast table...

 Beach

 Dress: Milly NY (can only be found here); Shoes: Jack Rogers Mid Wedge; Bag: Kate Spade New York (last year); Jewelry: Hautelook Earrings, Calvin Klein tortoise shell bangles, Nordstrom Watch

Checking out the Cabanas on the beach (clearly after hours...) as we walk over to the SLS for a night cap!
Excuse the blurriness...my photographer is a little new at this...

Restaurant

The Hotel Restaurant, Michael Schwartz, was truly a fine dining experience. The dishes were interesting, and exquisitely prepared. My husband got the ceviche and fried hominy, and I had a crab cake over a carrot puree (seriously - it was outstanding).

For those interested in a menu snapshot...

I ate too fast to take snapshot of dinner, but here is the most important meal of the day, dessert.

Lemon Bread Pudding (the things that look like chalk is meringue)

Of course, I had the Tequila Mockingbird. And the Oaxacan. But not all at the same time :)

This is just a little glimpse into our trip...more to come later after I upload all my photos!

xx

M