in it to win it

Maybe it's all of the competitions I have been watching lately or maybe it's the fact that I have to figure out a way to let people know I will be open (because I forgot to order my invites again), either way I am having a painting giveaway- yea! Now my oops can be your gain. One lucky winner will have his or her choice of one of these 12"x12" paintings. 

The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday afternoon. All you have to do is head over to my Facebook page and follow the directions.
 
On your mark, get set, go!
    
Good luck!
 
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Going for the Gold

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We spent the entire weekend glued to the television watching the Olympics. Besides making me wish I was in London, the Olympics have renewed my obsession with laurel wreaths. 

If I were an Olympic athlete, and believe me we never have to worry about that, I would much prefer something gilded & laurel to any kind of modern Olympic award. 

I would gladly take any of these over a gold medal any day of the week.

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Completely unrelated to any Olympic laurels, although designed by Laurels,  I would also gladly take this desk 

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and these lamps  as prizes.

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Go team USA!

Pinch Me

I must be dreaming. I have had a huge design crush on Courtney Giles since reading a feature about her on Habitually Chic. Her designs are so amazing.

This is the room that started the infatuation. There are many more gorgeous rooms on her website. Here are a few more faves.

Oh, Klismos chair, I ♥ you

Courtney designed a guest room for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Decorators' Show House. Her room was spectacular.

Love the colors & the canopy.

Absolutely love the furniture. That chair, footstool, and ottomon are to die for! 

It's all in the details

and she is fabulous with the details.

I love the canopy tie-backs and piping & I really love how my paintings look in this room. Yes, you read that correctly, those are my paintings in a Cortney Giles room. I am a very happy artist. What a way to end the week!

Happy Weekend!

All Photos via Courtney Giles

A Few Favorites

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Last night's party was such a hit! Everyone had so much fun and the gallery looked so pretty. I finally have paintings on all of the walls and with the exception of my awning, the gallery is finally finished. It's a great party space & I am really starting to get excited for White Linen Night. Now it's time to prep for next week. 

Looking around the gallery last night I made a mental list of a few of my favorite things. 

My new favorite hors d'oeuvres is a pretty crudité platter.

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I have never been much of a crudité fan but Martha has converted me.

Not too bad of a copy, if I do say so myself. The dip was delish. I switched the dill for basil and chives. It was gobbled up right away.


My favorite things on my studio walls right now are my new book shelves. 

I have been looking for some sort of bookshelf for the books that I like to keep in the studio. I wanted something that was modern and wouldn't take up too much space and these shelves fit the bill perfectly.
 
My new favorite book is Marrakesh by Design.

Although I have had this book for a while now, I just had the chance to read it. The photos are gorgeous, it's packed with great info, & there is a source guide in the back. I love when books have source guides. Now I am dying to go to Morocco and stay at Peacock Pavillions.

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I mean... really?? How fab is this place?


My last favorite is Perrier Pamplemousse Rose.

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I pretty much love all things pink grapefruit. I first had this water years ago. It was love at first sip. For some reason I could not find it anywhere in New Orleans. I just found out that the grocery right next to the gallery has it in stock and I have been guzzling it like crazy. I am becoming quite an aquaholic:)

Art Party

Everyone is gearing up for White Linen Night. It's hard to believe it's next week. It will be my first big party at the gallery. I would love for you to stop by if you are in town. This year's party will be a little more low key than last year's. I have been so busy with work and everyday life that I haven't had as much time to plan this shindig. I forgot to order my invites- whoops! If you haven't received yours yet, don't worry, they will arrive sometime late next week. Hopefully before the party:)  

The CAC dropped off White Linen invites yesterday. I think this might be my new favorite quote.

Mark your calendars for August 4th, 6-9pm. Now I better start getting ready for tomorrow night's little get together.

Pick-Me-Up Truck

I had a really, really early appointment at the studio today. I am not a morning person in the least bit. By 10am I was already dragging and needed a little caffeine boost. We have an adorable new coffee company in New Orleans called Brigade. Their coffee is amazing!

They have the cutest little setup in the most adorable Citroën H Van.

I'm loving their logo! Keep your eyes peeled for this truck- you don't want to miss out. Follow their Facebook or Twitter for location updates. Soon there will be another wheeled coffee shop on the streets.

French Truck Coffee has been around for a bit now but has only been available at local markets and by delivery. Their coffee is super fresh and tastes out of this world. We have brewed their coffee at home and I'm looking forward to seeing how it tastes when it's brewed by professionals. I can't wait to see this yellow H Van around too.

New Orleans has always been known for its cocktails but we are also a coffee town. It's exciting to see this new take on the old coffee shop. I wonder how many more trucks will pop up. 

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Rumor has it that the St. Germain H Van is on its way to town for Tales of the Cocktail this week. I don't think a van could get much cuter than this or more delicious. I am a big fan of St. Germain. There's another rumor that Brigade will be spiking their coffee in honor of Tales too. Sounds like it's going be a fun week:)

on ice

It is so hot. I mean really, really hot. Even with the new AC it's sweltering. We have been trying everything to cool down. The only thing that seems to help is ice, and lots of it. I have been making iced tea by the gallon. My two current favorites are hibiscus and rose tea. This time of year both teas can be made from scratch.

I had to make a quick trip to Lowes today and they had tons of beautiful hibiscus plants.

I wish I had room for one, but my roses have taken over the courtyard and there is no space at all. 

The good news is that you can buy dried hibiscus flowers online. The recipe is super simple whether you use fresh or dried flowers. 

Hibiscus Tea

1/2 cup of dried flowers or 8 large, fresh, chemical-free blooms (stems removed)

4 cups of boiling water

Add flowers to water and let steep for about 15 minutes but not too much longer or the tea will be bitter. 

Strain & Serve over lots of ice with big wedges of lime. 

*Make sure you save the flowers. It's really easy to candy them- the candied flowers are the perfect way to dress up a summer cocktail. Here's the candy how to.

My rose tea can also be made with fresh or dried roses but I definitely prefer the dried version. The best fresh roses to use are Rugosa roses with large petals, but any sweet scented rose should work. It's also best to use organically grown roses. Make sure that the plants have not been treated with chemicals. The plus to using dried roses is that they look pretty even after they have steeped. You can usually find the dried buds at international markets. They are available online too. I like to add loose black tea leaves to the mix. This tea reminds me of one of my favorite teas from Ladurée. 

Black Tea with Roses

1/4 cup of rose buds or petals

1/4 cup loose black tea

4 cups of boiling water

Add the roses and water to a pitcher and let steep for 2 minutes

Add the black tea to the pitcher and steep for 5 minutes

Strain & Serve over ice

If you are in a candying mood, it's also easy to candy rose petals. Here's how. I always sprinkle a petal or two in the champagne coupes when I serve my favorite Rose Royale cocktail. {Truely I prefer to buy them candied and skip the dirty work}

Here's to cooling off!

Happy Weekend!

{via cloth & kind}

I am so excited!!! One of my paintings was featured on one of my fave blogs of all time. Do you read cloth & kind? If not, you are really missing out. Krista has an amazing eye for textiles and design. She is a "self-diagnosed textile addict":) I am afraid that I might be one too. At least I'm in great company. She also has the most amazing textile file on Pinterest. Be sure to check it out. 

Thanks so much for the mention, Krista! You've made my week.

Le Vaporisateur

My candle makes the studio smell so amazing that I decided to order the Cire spray too. The bottle design is so pretty and fun to spritz. I really think everyone needs a bottle of their own. It makes me happy just looking at it.

I saw this on pinterest and have to say, it's true for me.

Who could pass up such a pretty bottle in such a pretty box. Don't you just love the colors? 

My candle's box was a beauty but this one is the most gorgeous. 

Cire Trudon candles and sprays are a definite weakness and I believe I am hooked. Who could blame me?

I like the colors + it's pretty & it smells good

I was doomed from the get go.