The Year of the Bird

Ok, so I was really horrible at blogging about Jay Bird last year.  Here's our recap of 2011 in photos...what a year!

January

{jay's first haircut}

February

{visiting horses at the polo field, monster jam truck rally...
yes we're fans! checking the house construction,
hanging out at westside provisions}

March

{savannah trip...beach picnic, impromptu swim at tybee, st. patrick's day}

 April

{atlanta march of dimes walk...go team jay walkers!}

{easter}

{cousin jj's little league baseball game...pretending to play, 
atl hawks basketball game, the masters,
pimento cheese sandwiches at the masters...yum!}

May

{mother's day at the swan coach house, sweet piper,
at lala and epaw's dock in savannah, jay turns 2!} 

June

{birthday party at the pool, braves game for father's day,
hospital stay for exploratory surgery, bff cookie visits at the hospital}

July

{pirate ship cruise, annual rosemary beach vacation,
fourth of july, more house construction}

August

{moving day...finally!, first day of preschool, PK2 classroom}

September

{georgia tech football game...on the field with daddy}

October

{pumpkin patch, boston trip, atlanta zoo
mother-son cowboy party at school, halloween,
playing on the inchworm before trick-or-treating}

November

{big surgery...feeding tube placement for failure to thrive,
mimi & pawpaw visit and bring lots of cars,
cousin jj's cowboy party, playing in the leaves, happy boy at
chuck-e-cheese with lala & epaw}

December

{cousin cookie's  mickey mouse party, visit with santa,
riding in daddy's new bike trailer!}

{christmas morning}

Last year definitely had it's ups and downs, but we are truly blessed.  Here's to regular blog posts about Bird in 2012...so I don't have thousands of photos to go thru at the end of year!  This child must have felt like he had the papparattzi following him around!!!

xoxo,
Bird's Momma

Tour Tuesday!

While on vacation this summer at Rosemary Beach, Mother and I stumbled upon this showhouse and it did not dissappoint!  Neither of us can pass up a home tour and we lingered way too long at this one, but it was the perfect escape from an afternoon rain shower.  As an extra bonus, we also discovered my new favorite shoppe along 30A!  More on that later...

Showhouse: 
2011 Designer Showhouse for the Arts
{benefiting the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County}

Location:
Blue Mountain, Florida

Details:

Diamonds on a bleached starfish.  Perfection.

A stylish beach snack - peanuts in a glass compote.

Burlap, silver tray, books, topped with an oversized shell.  Love.

Oyster plates - my latest obsession.

An absolutely perfect vignette.

Sea life pillow done in a coastal chic way.

Large coral and books - and an amazing view!

Even the doorknobs were gorgeous. 
I must get backplates for some of mine to recreate this look!

The guest cottage kitchen.   

The entryway - beautiful marsh photography as art.
{I'm not sure about that large Torchiere-like lamp}

Crusty old architectural elements - yes, please!

I love a bed flanked by built-ins!

Hope yall enjoyed my favorite parts of this showhouse!  This house was truly gorgeous in a non-cliche coastal way.  It was by far one of my favorites to date. 

Anyone know of any good showhouses coming up in the Atlanta area???

xoxo,

Bird's Mama

In the Market for...PINK!

I'm not sure what has gotten into me, but all of a sudden I'm in the market for a little pink in my house!  Maybe it's this image that has been floating around on the blogosphere...

elissahudson's etsy shop
she's also a SCAD grad!

Now, Sister is a pink person, but not me.  Never have been.  When we were much younger, and my parents were building their home, Mother let us choose what color we wanted our rooms to be dectorated with.  Sister chose pink and I choose light blue...natch.


So now with the holidays over, it's time to get back to decorating the new house.  I'm doing the same basic color scheme (blue/grey/greenish, lambswool, and tan) throughout so everything will flow together nicely.  I do have a few accent colors here and there for some rooms as well. 

Our master bedroom is defintely a great candidate for a fun accent color!  That's where the pink comes in...I'm thinking a darker shade of bright pink {just a tish}.  Let's hope the Mister goes for this!  Here's the decor plan so far:

Fabrics
The main fabric in the room is Botany Flora by Robert Allen.  It's the perfect taupish-grey color!  There are two windows with floor length panels in this fabric layered over natural bamboo shades (blackout lining on both the panels and the shades...we like our sleep).

Robert Allen Fabrics


I'm still looking for the accent fabrics, but this one is definitely going to make a little appearance!  I love the color, the pattern, and the velvet plushness...

Robert Allen Fabrics
Dotscape in Brindle

Other fabric options...

Links 
(this is not quite so bright in person)

Lagoon Park

Stella

Wide Whale Stripe

The perfect pink cording!
{4025LN}

Paint Colors
I went with a very pale grey on the walls (Gull by Martha Stewart).  For an accent the fireplace mantle is going to be a medium grey (Sharkey Gray by Martha Stewart), and the trim is white (White Dove by Benjamin Moore).

Sharkey Gray

Gull

*Although the Martha Stewart paint line has some fab colors, I have seen some not so great reviews about the paint itself.  Our painters used all Benjamin Moore paint and color matched to the MS colors.

Flooring
The floors are the same 5 inch oak planks that we have throughout the rest of the house in a custom medium stain.

Tile
I chose a polished white carrara marble hexagon tile for the fireplace surround.

Bathroom
The bathroom is all polished white carrara marble and dark cabinetry with polished chrome fixtures.  I'm thinking white towels with bright pink monograms!

Bedding
New bedding was definitely a must since our old bedroom was chocolate brown.  I just purchased two sets from Target's Fieldcrest Luxury Hotel collection.  I chose white sheets - one has a double row of satin stitching in grey and one is white on white (will do a pink monogram on this set).  Target's version has the look of Restoration Hardware's Hotel collection, but are less expensive.  Did I mention we have a large dog that shares the bed with us???  I also have a white fur king sized blanket for the bed.  I LOVE the look of different textures on a bed.

Finishing Touches
A sisal rug (natural, not pink!), a lumbar pillow on the bed with an oversized pink monogram, a small vase of fresh pink flowers on each bedside table, lampshades in a pink print, and maybe a set of pink books...

custom Nancy Drew books
covered in pink jackets with gold paint

Oh lawd... I've totally fallen for pink.  I can't wait for it to all come together!  Let me know if yall have any ideas or see any good pink out there!

xoxo,
Bird's Mama

P.S. Be sure to follow my blog - when I reach 50 followers I'm going to do a fab giveaway!

2012!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I cannot believe it's September!  Where did the summer go???  I totally did not mean to neglect the blog, but we've had a lot going on since my last post...in JUNE!  Here's what we've been up to:

Bird's Hospital Stay (Sis did a sweet blog about coming to visit)
Rosemary Beach Vacay (I cannot wait to feature the show house I toured while down there - amazing)
We Moved!  FINALLY!!!
Celebrated Birthdays
Bird's First Day of Pre-K2
Big Outdoor Landscaping Project (I know, we just moved in...)
Flights Booked for a Fall Trip

I'm sure there's more, but this list makes my head spin thinking about the busy summer we've had.  I've been decorating every spare minute I get too!  I'll start doing blog posts on the house as soon as a few finishing touches get done.  There are about 2 dozen window panels waiting to be hung - scheduled for next week with the drapery hanging guy!!!  Who knew there was such a person, but it's a good thing - the Mister can fight like nobody's business in the courtroom and write hundred page legal documents, but it's a different story when it comes to home improvement projects.  Since we moved, he now rides his bike to the Ace Hardware - which means he only buys what he can fit in his pockets...

Now I'm off to pick up Bird from school, run a couple of errands, and then we're heading down to the first GT football game of the season!  Fall is officially here!

I'll leave you with a pic of Bird (this is for you mom).

Pirate Cruise - Summer 2011

xoxo,

Bird's Mama

Weekend Recipe: Coca-Cola BBQ

I decided to dust off the crock pot and give her a whirl before she gets packed up for the big move!  A recipe that calls for a can of Coca-Cola, barbecue sauce, AND is easy...what's not to love about this!

So, first let me tell you how things go around here.  The Mister walked thru the kitchen while I was getting started and was the perfect gentleman to stop and ask if I'd like him to open the bottle of barbecue sauce for me.  How sweet, right?  Well, the Mister somehow unscrewed the cap and THEN decided to go the extra mile and shake the bottle for me.  Yup...he shook it *without* the cap on.  Thank goodness our current kitchen has undestructible Absolute Black granite counter tops.  I'm not so sure how our white marble in the new kitchen would have stood up to this mess!  Bless his heart.  Back to the recipe...

Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork
Southern Living Magazine
October 2010

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (3 to 4 lb.) boneless pork shoulder roast (Boston butt), trimmed
• 1 (18 oz.) bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
• 1 (12 oz.) can Coca-Cola

DIRECTIONS

1. Place roast in a lightly greased 6 quart slow cooker.  Pour barbecue sauce and coca-cola over roast.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

2. Transfer pork to a cutting board; shred with two forks, removing any large pieces of fat. Skim fat from sauce, then stir shredded pork back into sauce.


Notes from Moi
The barbecue sauce I used was none other than the legendary Carey Hilliard's original from Savannah!  It's the perfect mix of not-quite vinagar based, not-quite mustard based.  (It's only sold in the restaurant, so I regularly get bottles imported from Savannah by DaddyO.)  Although the sauce was stellar, this meal gets mixed reviews from us.  I thought it was better served over cheese grits than it was just on a bun.  You just can't get that authentic smokey, slow cooked flavor from a crock pot.  Shocking, right!

If yall have a good crock pot bbq recipe I should try, please let me know!
xoxo,

Bird's Mama

P.S.  Carey Hilliard's is such a hole-in-the-wall, but it is really delicious!  Their Brunswick Stew is amazing.  It's like no other I can find anywhere.  I always have Hilliard's on my must eat list when visiting Mother and DaddyO in the lowcountry!

P.P.S.  Happy Father's Day to all Daddy's out there - old, new, and soon-to-be!  Bird and I are taking the Mister the Braves game this afternoon!

Restaurant Review: Food Trucks

OK, so technically it's not really a resturant, but food trucks have become all the rage in Atlanta this summer!  Every Tuesday night is a gypsy-like gathering of gourmet food trucks near the intersection of Howell Mill and Collier Road.  I was expecting much more of a park like atmosphere based on the artist rendering I had seen.  Ummmm....not quite.  Think more of just a gravel lot.  BUT, the food more than made up for this!  Seriously not the "roach coaches" you might think of when picturing food coming out of a truck-turned-kitchen.  
 


Howell Mill Food Park
Not quite, but maybe the gravel lot will look like this one day???



Here's the run-down on my top three must haves:

Yumbii
Korean BBQ Taco
Asian rib-eye beef, topped with Hankook BBQ sauce and sesame salad.  Served in a soft tortilla.  Amazing! 

Tex's Tacos
Carne Asada Taco and Lime Fries
Not much explanation needed here.  Citrus marinated steak in a tortilla and topped with grilled onions, guac, shredded cheese and cilantro.  The fries...yum...good crispy fries topped with Tex's homemade sweet & salty lime seasoning.  So good with an ice cold Coca-Cola! 

King of Pops* 
Raspberry Lime Popsicle
A homemade popsicle with fresh raspberries and lime.  Tastes just like a margarita, but better, if you can imagine.  The perfect ending to a summer evening!
*These guys have had lots of hype.  Now I totally get what all the fuss was about.



Delish, fun and definitely different for a Tuesday night out!
Howell Mill Food Park
1927 Emery Street
Tuesday Nights
6 - 9 p.m.

Keep your eyes peeled and be prepard to pull over for a delicious snack...you never know where the trucks might pop up!

xoxo,
Bird's Mama

Brass Is Back

Hold onto your hats people...

BRASS is making a comeback! 

I'm only talking about real brass though.  Pretty, unlacquered, antique brass.  It's timeless and can be used with any style of decor.  (By all means, please keep spray painting the hideous 80's brass like stuff.)  Here's some brass I'm loving right now...


Source: Grace Happens
Love the wallpaper!

Circa
THE expert in antique brass lighting.

 

Architectural Accents

Glass and brass doorknobs like my grandmother's house had.




Architectural Accents

French brass and cut glass finial for a newel post - a boule d'escalier.

 



Restoration Hardware
Some of their Antique Brass hardware is 50% off right now!



Let me tell you - we just had all of our oil rubbed bronze hardware installed on the doors at the new house and have done a combo of ORB and polished nickel drawer pulls and knobs on the cabinetry.  But, I will figure out a way to add a little more brass in my life.  I'm already lusting after a faucet in this brass finish for the powder room - we haven't even moved in yet so I'm guessing the Mister will not let me change it out!  Maybe when Kohler or Rohl comes out with an unlaquered brass finish option???



Waterworks 
Definitely has the best unlaquered brass finish on the market.

  
I do have a pair of antique brass andirons coming my way that will be perfect for the living room fireplace!!! I can't wait to show yall!  They were handed down to Mother from my Great Uncle Henry (along with a house full of other antique furniture, chandeliers, etc.).  DaddyO has been polishing them up for me - they had turned completely BLACK up in their attic.  Not the look I was going for - I want a little antique tarnish, but not that much. 

Now, don't say I didn't warn you.  I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the thought of decorating with brass, but I bet you never thought you'd wear high waisted pants, skinny leg jeans, or for goodness sakes - leggings - again either!

Tory Burch

xoxo,
Bird's Mama