Charlotte Hardy

I love these paintings by Charlotte Hardy.

They have a vintage quality and seem to tell a story.
I hope that you all had a safe and happy evening.

bed time

It seems like yesterday that I would put my oldest to bed, holding my breath so he would stay asleep as I walked out of the room. Now he is at school in NYC. (Taking photos when he should be asleep in his dorm.)

Praying for every one in Sandy's path.

lighting

I am a researcher.  I love love love to dream and research and dream some more and go on Pinterest etc.  But our new store will be opening in 4 weeks so I need to make some decisions.  I need 4 pendant lights for the dressing rooms.  

I like this one from West Elm it is $149.  The size is very nice and I loved the round shape but the color wasn't right for me.

This one is from Terrain and is $218 for the larger size that I would want.  I haven't seen it in real life but it looks beautiful on line.

This one fromWorld Market is $69.99 and is 30% off today making it $49.  So I got 4 of them and might paint the insides pink and the outside gold.

If you have any better ideas...please let me know before I break out the paints.  Now I am off to figure out carpeting.

today

Today is my birthday.  The day started with a fun party with the office and my favorite croissant egg thing from Panera.

Some of my kids had school and others were home for Fall break.  Those that were home were put to work.  (Fortunately they had fun.)

Here is what I shot with my i phone while Scott used the fancy camera.
Here we are shooting some of the Spring line in front of a giant piece of beadboard in our kitchen.

Then we went down the street to my friend's fabulous house to shoot some of our upcoming Holiday collection.

I have a lot of respect for people who do this day in and day out because I am exhausted!

Leopard Jacket

Here are the photos Scott took of Charlotte before Homecoming.

In our house if you wear one of my prototypes...

in exchange...

I get to use the images on our website.

fall shoes

These fun Christian Siriano shoes are only 24.99 at Payless.  I haven't seen them in real life but they are looking perfect from my lap top.

canvas bag

Every season I find a few things that I seem to grab time and time again.  This fall the mini red bag is one of those things.

It is the perfect size for every day.  I also love that it fits my i pad and a ton of fabric swatches which comes in handy lately as my approach to decorating the new store is a LOT of hunting and gathering.

A Flair for Vintage Decor

Today I popped into Holly's for her fabulous sale.
I couldn't resist a visit next door to A Flair for Vintage Decor.  The beautiful offerings always put me in a good mood.  As an added bonus Caroline was there with her beautiful new baby girl.

I snapped some photos of a few of my favorite things.

moroccan upholstered benches

I am in love with this style bench and want to have 8 in the new Atlanta store.  Does anyone have a source for them?

Westside Provisions District

We are very excited to be opening a store in Atlanta's Westside Provisions District!  Construction should be starting any day and we hope to be open in the first half of November.

(Please fill me in if you know of anyone who might love working in a wonderful new store!)

landscape painting

Some of my favorite memories of college were jumping in my red Saab and heading out to paint. I would drive along the roads of rustic upstate NY until I found just the right spot.

I love these small works by Harry Stooshinoff.

They remind me that one day (probably when the kids are grown) I will return to painting.

vintage fridays

I love Fridays when I can fit in a garage sale. Here are some of today's treasures...

There were lots of fabric swatches so these came home as inspiration for future lines.

It was also a treat to bump into Kathy from My Interior Life.  She had blogged about some couches on Wednesday that I ran out and bought on Thursday so it was nice to get to say thanks in person.

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

blue

I am loving the look of this hand bag/ clutch. (It might have a proper name that I know not of.)

photo via The Sartorialist.

MBA Crew

Our Saturday was very full. Two soccer games, ballet, a Nutcracker parent meeting, a regatta and Home coming.  I wanted to be at all of it (well maybe not the Nutcracker parent meeting because it is about my 10th year) but we had to divide and conquer.

Owen's first regatta was the event I had to miss.  Knowing that Scott would be there with his camera made it a little easier.  Owen is a Junior School rower and a coxswain for the High School.

I hope that you all had a great weekend too!