Flower Friday & Happy Long Weekend!

dahlia, zinnia, jasmine, knock-out rose, scabiosa pod, mint, queen anne's lace, seedum, foraged greenery

Hey gang!  

I hope you all have big plans for the long weekend.  This is my first weekend off in what feels like forever and a day.  I have college friends coming to stay with me and cheer on the Bulldawgs at our season opener against Clemson.  I just had to put together some bright, cheery wildflowers to celebrate the occassion :).

I'm also predicting a low country boil and some brunching over the next few days... and I'm not mad about it.

Let's get this party started!

New Weekly Feature | Floral Friday

Chrysanthemum, Moonberry Carnation, Flowering Oregano, Limonium, Stock & Queen Anne's Lace

I'm on a mission to make carnations cool again.

Who's with me?

Have a beautiful weekend, gang.

Things Are A-Happenin'

via

Since Tailor & Table launched last fall, we've been lucky enough to book some ah-mazing clients (seriously, I want them all to be my BFFs).   The tricky thing about events is that clients tend to book their designers waaaayyy in advance (which, for the record, I totally recommend).  This especially rings true with weddings, which most of 2014's events happen to be! 

Since last October, we've been meeting, planning, placing orders, and designing every last detail for our lovely clients day in and day out.  While it's been fun, T&T has been anxiously counting down the days until our events actually started happening.  Folks, the waiting has finally come to an end and I, for one, could not be happier about it (patience is not one of my virtues).

THIS WEEK IS THE WEEK!

Things are a-happenin' around here!

We have two events this week.  Go big or go home, amiright?

First, we're hitting the road for the SOLD OUT NotWedding Charleston.

From Charleston, we'll head to Atlanta to give the sweetest couple a classically stunning wedding.  Think marble and lace and gold candelabras, OH MY.

I thought I was excited when we launched T&T. Then I reached a new high when we booked our first client.

But neither of those times really compare to the way I'm feeling today.

I'm anxious, excited, thankful, and so proud.  

But mostly, I feel happiness.  The kind of happiness that starts at your toes and travels up to flush your cheeks and plant a smile on your face.  I've had good days and bad days as a entrepreneur, but I think these are going to be the best of the best.  I can't wait to see where the next week take us.

Here goes nothin'!

I plan on blowing up Instagram this week (via both Tailor & Table's account and my personal account).  If you love design and have good taste, follow along.  If you don't, perhaps this may be more to your liking?

Calling All Charleston Readers!

Engaged?  Have friends who are engaged?  Plan on getting engaged soon?

This opportunity is for you!

As some of your know, I am one of the founders and designers at Tailor & Table, a design studio who focuses on event and floral design.  As a business owner, there are good days and bad days, but the day I got the phone call from The NotWedding asking T&T to be a designer for their Charleston event was a GREAT day!

Here at the studio, we've been working so hard to make this the most gorgeous night, ever.  We're pouring our hearts into this and nothing would make me more happy then for ATT, etc readers to be there to celebrate with us!  This is a great opportunity to meet the designers behind Tailor & Table AND meet the girl behind the blog!

The Charleston NotWedding will be at the picturesque Boone Hall Plantation on July 9th from 7-9PM.

Come eat, drink, and dance under the oak trees at the most fun fake wedding everrr. 

You can register HERE at the NotWedding website. 

Now -- here's the fun part.  

I have a few GOLDEN TICKETS that will get you into the event FO' FREE!

Leave a comment below telling me what you love most about weddings -- is it the exchanging of the vows, seeing the bride in her dress, the open bar...? 

Winners will be announced next Friday!

Good luck!

Wedding Wednesday with Bonobos

Married and engaged ladies -- I don't know about y'all, but finding the perfect suit for Levi was one of the most frustrating parts of wedding planning.  We just wanted a modern, slim cut suit in a breathable fabric.  Everything was either too high school prom or too "I borrowed this from my dad".  Neither is a good look for the biggest day of your life!  

I wish we would have known about Bonobos and their slim cotton suit three years ago.  The fit is flawless and cotton is perfect for summertime affairs!  Can we also talk about that shade of navy?  It's so divine that I felt inspired to put together a design board using the suit as my main source of inspiration.  It's a shade that could go with almost any palette, but I love the way it compliments rich berries and wood tones that remind me of late summer!

The groom's ensemble can make as much of an impact as the bride's, don't you agree?

Tour de Georgia | Weekend in Pictures

This weekend had me all over the metro Atlanta area for both work and play (although in this case, they felt like the same thing!).  

Friday morning, I met a lovely couple at Atlanta's Piedmont Park to discuss details for their October wedding.  You have to love any meeting that takes place on green grass instead of a board room!

After wrapping up meeting numero uno, we drove about 15 minutes down the road to the charming downtown Decatur, Georgia.  I hadn't been to Decatur in years, and oh my word, y'all -- I'm in love.  It's urban and artsy, but still has a quaint neighborhood feel.  We met with another adorable Tailor & Table client at the Courthouse on the Square (if anyone is planning an intimate affair, the Courthouse ballroom has floor to ceiling marble and is stunning).

After our meeting we wandered around the square and stopped to eat lunch at Brick Store Pub.  I got the veggie sandwich, but my Mom got the Chicken Salad Melt which was to. die for.  They use cream cheese instead of mayo in their chicken salad.  Need I say more?

Despite the fact that we were all STUFFED after lunch, we couldn't leave without dessert! We sampled a few pastries from The Cafe at Cakes & Ale, which were divine.  The atmosphere was really lovely too.

As we were leaving, we walked past King of Pops, an Atlanta staple.  Y'all.  One does not simply walk past King of Pops and NOT get a popsicle.  Two desserts? YOLO.  I got the Ginger Lemonade, which totally helped soothe my overstuffed tummy.

After the perfect afternoon in Decatur, we drove the hour to my absolute favorite town in Georgia -- Athens!  Athens is home to the University of Georgia (my alma matter), and is a little liberal gem in North Georgia.  After stopping to a cup of coffee at Jittery Joe's, we walked over to the baseball field to watch South Carolina (and my baby brother) play the Georgia Bulldawgs.  My brother's team lost, but the Dawgs won, so it all evened out! It was a perfect Friday night.

On Saturday, I made my way to yet ANOTHER one of my favorite places in Georgia -- Roswell.  Roswell is a North Atlanta suburb with a thriving downtown area about 10 minutes away from where I grew up.  I've always loved Roswell and think it is the perfect place to raise a family (maybe one day!).  The weather was divine, so I called up an old highschool friend to meet me for drinks, appetizers, and a little gossip.  

Everyone else had the same idea, because downtown Roswell was packed!  We decided to forego a restaurant in favor of Roswell Provisions, a cute French cafe and bakery.  We bought a bottle of wine and sat out front -- it was perfect!  The owner chatted with us for a while and ended up treating us to a complimentary charcuterie plate, which was so very nice of him.  Meat and cheese and bread, oh my! 

We stayed up WAY too late enjoying our solo cups of wine.  What started as a casual happy hour drink turned into a very fun night... isn't that how the story always seems to go?

I had a client meeting at (what felt like) the crack of dawn Sunday morning.  Afterwards, I drove back to Greenville and took a much needed nap before starting to pack for our trip (we leave Wednesday ---- eeeek!).  

The weekend really made me miss my home state and all of its charm.  It also doesn't help that my parents and a lot of old friends are there.  As much as we love living in Greenville, it's really hard not to get homesick from time to time!  

Where did you grow up?  Could you imagine yourself living there now?

Fri-Yay

via

Congratulations!  You've made it to Friday!  

I've been playing catch up all week, but I did round up some of my favorite links* from around the interwebz for you ladies to browse at your desks while counting down the hours until 5PM.  Enjoy!

Tips on taking unwashed hair to a new level?  Yeah, this article was written for me.

I'm always on the hunt for the world's most amazing white tee.  Although I've heard great things about Everlane's version, I think this pretty (from my favorite shop, no less) is going to be my next tee purchase.

I've been doing really well following the 80/20 Rule, but Levi and I decided to get milkshakes from Chick Fila-A** on our way to the bowling alley*** earlier this week.  I woke up the next morning and felt like I'd hit run over my a Mack truck, then hit over the head a few times with a bottle of tequila.  Apparently there is such a thing as a sugar hangover, and it is real.  Very, very real.

Carrie Underwood's Leg Workout.  It's worth a try, right?

Something tells me that this recipe is going to be in heavy rotation as the weather gets warmer.

Also, thank you all so much for your kind and encouraging words about launch of Tailor & Table.  Every comment, email, or text meant the world to me.  I'm so glad you guys are joining me on this journey!

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

*Lazy Girl's Guide to Blogging 101

**Best milkshake evahhh.  Levi tried to get us to split a plain chocolate shake.  Pshhhh. Cookies n Cream or get the eff out.  Who does he think he is?

***Smokin' hot date night (no, seriously. the place smelled like smoke and the A/C appeared to be broken)

Finally, the Announcement

just a little peek at my desk

Hi again! The last two weeks have been a whirlwind and I am happy to be getting back into my routine.  New Orleans was fabulous.  So fabulous, in fact, that I forgot to take any pictures.  And the pictures that I did take... well, what happens at Mardi Gras stays at Mardi Gras, mmk?

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I was in Charleston this past weekend for work (lucky me, right?).  I know I've hinted here and on Insta about exactly what "work" means, but for some reason I've been putting off making the announcement.  I don't really know why.  Work is such a HUGE part of my life, that I feel like it's only fair that I share here.  So, without further adieu, I'd like to introduce you to my baby, Tailor & Table Design Studio.

It all started about a year and a half ago, when I was unhappy at my current job.  I was a lead event coordinator at a pretty big event company and while I had the opportunity to work with some AMAZING clients on several spectacular events, I was ready to move on.  It's a job that most people think is very glamorous, but in reality, it's incredibly stressful and draining.  I mean event planning isn't saving lives or anything, but it was named one of the top 5 most stressful jobs by the Huffington Post.  It didn't help that my office was 2 hours away from my house (and clients were even further away),  which meant a LOT of my time was spent on the road.  Needless to say, I was ready for something different.

I took another job in the event industry about 15 minutes from my house.  The commute was a breeze, the hours were regular, and my boss was wonderful.   The salary wasn't terrible either ;).  Yet, I still wasn't happy.  Going from a fast pace job where I had a lot of power to a job where I was just the rental girl who answered phones really did a number on my psyche.  I was bored to tears.  I think I even told Levi one night that I felt like "my soul was suffocating".  Dramatic? Yes.  But that's really the best representation of how I felt at the time.

So.  What's a gal to do?  Stay at a cushy job where there's nothing really bad and keep collecting a paycheck on a regular basis, all while finding a creative outlet outside of work, right?  Wrong.  That would make too much sense, silly.  Instead, after a lot of heart to heart conversations with Levi, my parents, and friends, I decided to take the biggest risk of my life and start my own business.

Now, in all fairness, my (really, really wonderful) business partner and I worked hard for almost a full year before we launched T&T.  We planned this out carefully, so it was far from a rash decision.  We both stayed at our other jobs until we felt ready to introduce T&T to the world.  And then, this October, we did it.  We put ourselves out there for the world to see and boy oh boy, did it feel GOOD (and scary -- very scary).

So what is Tailor & Table?

Tailor & Table is a full-service design studio specializing in events, florals, creative styling, and interiors.  Between the two of us, we have experience designing luxury weddings, styled shoots, store fronts, print editorials, residential interiors -- and the list goes on.  Simply put, it makes us ridiculously happy to make places and products look good. We're based in the Southeast, but we travel just about anywhere, nationally and internationally.  We currently have clients in four states and counting (only one country thus far, but hoping to add onto that soon :))!

The reaction since our launch has been nothing short of amazing.  We've already welcomed the most amazing clients into the T&T family, and I can't wait until their events and projects come to fruition.  They are the best clients in the world -- they put so much trust in T&T, and I can't wait to make them as happy as they make me.  So many amazing things opportunities have come our way since October, and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.  I feel like I'm living the dream, and I don't want to wake up.



So there you have it, folks. The post that I've taken forever to write, and I still don't feel like I did it justice.



Have you ever taken a giant risk?  Did it pay off?
















If you'd like to follow along on T&T's adventures, visit us on Facebook!