Lilly Pulitzer for RMHC

Happy Friday readers!

I hope you've had a great week! We are still adjusting to life as "puppy parents" so excuse my blogging absence!

Today I am excited to be sharing an upcoming event with my local readers: A Lilly Pulitzer shopping event to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Richmond. Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 13th from 11 am - 4 pm. 10% of all sales will benefit RMHC of Richmond, AND, for those that aren't local, you can call in to place orders for the event at (804) 396-6139. I'll be there to shop alongside with you, and help you to style the pieces!

To prepare for the event, Allison, RMHC of Richmond's Director of Development, and I did a little "market research" earlier this week. It was so fun checking out Lilly's newest arrivals, before they even launched online...and let me tell you friends, they won't disappoint!

Here's a peek at some of my favorite pieces from the new line, with sizing details!

First up, I have been dying to try on a pair of Palazzo Pants for the longest time, but shied away from them, certain they'd look ridiculous on my petite frame. When I tried them on, I immediately wondered what I'd been waiting for...not to mention, isn't the Multi Garden Exotic print to die for!? They are so flattering! I styled them with a classic white Elsa Top, tucked in, the Coastal Tassel Necklace, the Knotty Clutch, and finally the Kristin Leather Wedge.

For sizing reference, I sized up to a medium in the Palazzo Pants. I had room in the waist, but needed some extra room for my rear. If you're a bit curvy like me, I'd recommend sizing up, but, if you have a straighter figure, trust them to be true to size! In the Elsa, I am wearing a small, and liked the bit of extra fabric to flounce. Elsas are pretty forgiving. I own both an XS and M and love them both! The XS I wear more for work, and the M, I love to wear with skinny jeans and boots for more of a loose, flowy vibe in cooler months!

Next up, was my favorite piece in the entire store: the Celyn Romper! I eyed it immediately on a mannequin and it was love at first sight! Needless to say, I couldn't resist bringing it home with me!

I thought the neon color paired best with flashy gold accessories like the Bask in Wicker Clutch and Kristin Leather Wedge. The Lexy Aviators with pink lenses give the look a very Miami vibe, right? Knowing that my other two Lilly rompers run on the small side, I grabbed the next size up in this romper. I am a pretty true size 6 right now, and am wearing an 8 in the romper.

Shorts with wedges and a fun top are another favorite look of mine in the summer months, so I couldn't resist styling an outfit with the Buttercup Shorts. The Pink Pout Too Much Bubbly print was speaking to me, and I thought they would go perfectly with the Fifer One Shoulder Top that Allison and I both spied when we first got into the store. I decided to switch to the Bridgette Wedge for this look and they turned out to be hands down my favorite shoes in the collection! So sweet and very me, with a pop of gold! Finishing touches for the look were the Lexy Aviators, Flamenco Pineapple Tassel Necklace (love, love, love!), and Tiki Palm iPhone Wristlet.

I loved this outfit and am thinking of getting the top when I am back for the event on the 13th. For sizing, the shorts are true to size. I am wearing a 6. Sizing of the top was a bit more ambiguous. I am wearing a small, but still had some extra room in the top elastic. I may try an XS when I am back. 

In hot weather, I always gravitate toward comfy "throw on" dresses, so I immediately eyed the Ophelia Swing Dress. It would be perfect for a day of errands or shopping, but is nice enough to dress up for a date night or work, as well.

With shopping in mind, I threw on some comfy McKim Sandals. I'd say this dress runs, true to size. I am wearing a small.

And last, but not least, you can't prepare for a Lilly shopping event, without trying on a classic shift dress. I picked the Lynn Shift Dress and absolutely loved it! The Multi Out to Sea print is gorgeous, and I love the lace detailing and flattering neckline. The sweet Bridgette Wedges were the perfect complement to the dress, as was the Bask in Wicker Clutch.

As is typical for me, I sized up in this shift dress. Even when I was a 2/4, I often wore a 6 in Lilly shifts, and am wearing an 8 here. 

Do you have a favorite look?

Have you shopped Lilly lately?

Don't forget to mark your calendars for August 13th at the Short Pump Lilly Pulitzer Store. You can see the Facebook event here.

Have a great weekend!

Follow

Richmond Musts with Deep South Details

Happy Hump Day, readers!

Today is actually my "Friday" as I am headed to Charleston tomorrow for one of my best friend Anna's bachelorette party! I am feeling really sad about leaving our Millie girl, but know she will be in good hands with Bryce. I let him know that I expect lots of pictures of the baby throughout the weekend.

Today I am excited to share a recent interview I did with the Dana and Kendell of the podcast Deep South Details.

I first met Dana in April while at the Southern C Summit in Charleston. We had a great chat over cocktails at The Striped Pig Distillery. She was so down to earth and had me laughing while we talked. That being said, I was thrilled to hear from her partner in crime, Kendell a few weeks ago, asking me to come on the podcast to talk about Richmond. Since getting to know Kendell, she is just as much fun as Dana, and the two are certainly a dynamic duo.

Their timing was also perfect, as I am planning to launch a new series on the blog called "Richmond Musts" later this summer. So much is happening in my hometown, and I regularly get emails asking for Richmond recommendations. I thought a series devoted to all the fun happenings would be a great fit for the blog. In the interview I covered Must Eat, Must Drink, and Must Do as a sneak peek of what's to come in the series.

Click here to listen to my interview..I guarantee after listening to one episode of the Deep South Details you'll be hooked and wanting to listen to more. I love listening while I'm getting ready in the mornings.

You'll hear me spill all the details on the following favorite spots:

MUST EAT

Edo's Squid

Heritage

Shagbark (blog post here!)

MUST DRINK

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Ardent Craft Ales

Blue Bee Cider

Quirk Hotel

MUST DO

Maymont Park

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts or "VMFA" for short

Monument Avenue

I always find it funny hearing bloggers actual voices for the first time!

So tell me, what are some of the musts for YOUR hometown?

Have you listened to Deep South Details before?

What else would you like to see on my Richmond Musts list? So far the plan is to cover Must Eat, Must Drink, Must Do, and Must Shop. Anything else I should add?

Have a great day!

Shagbark Soft Opening

Happy Tuesday, readers!

Good weekend?

The most exciting part of ours was getting the chance to attend a soft opening at Bryce's stepbrother's new restaurant, Shagbark! We are so proud of his stepbrother, Walter, and let's just say the new restaurant did not disappoint!

We ate at a high top table in the bar area, and I have to say, it's my favorite space in the restaurant. There is lots of natural light, gorgeous grass cloth wallpaper, custom lighting, and stunning oil paintings!

The name Shagbark pays homage to a Shagbark Hickory Tree which was used to create the communal table in the restaurant. Our hightop was also cut from the Shagbark, as you can see above. The tree used for the project came from a property on the James River. It's important to mention this, because the entire restaurant pays homage to the bounty of Virginia. The shagbark tables, the art on the walls, and just about everything on the menu is hyper local, from right here in Virginia. 

We sipped on cocktails while salivating over the menu. Bryce had the Shagbark Sour pictured above and I had the Shagbark Smash.

We started with the Manakintowne Farms Squash Blossoms and Chicken Fried Chesapeake Bay Oysters. The squash blossoms, were fried with an herbed goat cheese, roasted peppers, tomato coulis and basil oil. The goat cheese reminded me of a creamy pimiento cheese and complimented the blossoms so well! We were also, as always, excited for Walter's oysters! He fries them up regularly at family dinners, so I was pleased to see how he put a restaurant spin on them. They were served with Byrd Mill stone ground grits, shoots & sprouts, dill pickle remoulade, and Tabasco butter. The oysters were scrumptious, and it was a real treat also getting to indulge in some grits!

For entrees, I ordered the Pan Roasted Carolina Grouper and Bryce chose the Autumn Olive Farms Berkabaw Pork Chop.

I can never resist a well prepared fish dish, and well prepared this certainly was! The grouper came with Victory Farms spring leeks, Florida rock shrimp, sweet corn, parmesan risotto, and champagne-citrus butter. I ate every bite.

Bryce's pork chop came with black sticky rice, roasted sweet potato, garlic broccolini, and lime-scented coconut curry broth. It was so juicy and good! 

And of course, we couldn't resist dessert! We shared the dark chocolate tart, which came with chocolate ganache, banana ice cream, and candied peanuts. It was heavenly and I especially can't wait to enjoy the banana ice cream again sometime soon!

Before leaving, I had to snap a photo of these gorgeous Shagbark panels!

To get the recipe for Walter's delicious chicken fried oysters, which was featured in Garden and Gun, click here. 

You can read an additional Garden and Gun spread from a couple of years ago, featuring Walter, as well as several other top Southern chefs here. The piece, titled "For Love of the Game" shares a hunt on the same James River farm where the Civil War-era Shagbark Hickory in the restaurant originally grew.

And last, but not least, my favorite piece leading up to Shagbark's debut, can be read here.

For those of you in the Richmond area, Shagbark officially opens to the public for dinner service tomorrow. However, the restaurant is unofficially open to the public tonight. If you're in the mood for an amazing meal tonight, stop by! Your tastebuds will not regret it!

Are you a local?

What are your favorite Richmond eateries?

Have a great day!

Follow

Weekending

Happy Friday readers!

It's been a busy, long week over here!

I've been wanting to recap our weekend all week, and now that the new weekend is here, I guess it's as good a time as any!

Last weekend was a fun one for the books! The highlight of the weekend was probably puppy-sitting Bryce's parents new pup, Beau! He is the cutest, sweetest little yellow lab and it makes me so excited for when we will have a lab puppy of our own! We are currently on the list for a litter that should be born in the next few weeks. A few people are ahead of us, and we want a black female, so fingers crossed that it all works out!

Side note: I have been living in this T. Marie necklace I bought while in Charleston. 

Tiffany, the designer behind the fabulous necklace is an Atlanta native and was a fellow Southern C Summit attendee! Also, these coral jeans I bought last summer in NYC are a wardrobe staple (I wear them about once a week!) and are currently WAY marked down, here!

After feeding and playing with Beau for a bit, we headed down to the newly opened Quirk Hotel Rooftop to celebrate our friend Greylan's birthday!

The views of the city were absolutely incredible, and the rooftop had a bit of a beachy, cool vibe! Most of us in the group are Richmond natives and kept saying "I don't feel like I'm in Richmond!" We've seen our city grown and change a lot in these last few years! 

I sipped on a couple of Hummingbird cocktails, which I would highly recommend, and then we, with most of the group, headed next door for a delicious dinner at Graffiato.

Saturday  morning we were up with Beau bright and early and headed to the South of the James Farmers Market! It was our first visit since this fall, and I was excited to see that the market has expanded this year!

Beau was a trooper his first time at the  market and it was so fun showing him off! We picked up some yummy local arugula, mushrooms, and honey! I also grabbed some pretty flowers to take to my mom for her birthday. 

Finally, we ate a quick bite before heading home! We tried out the Southern Charm BBQ stand, and were not disappointed! This BBQ bowl with smoked cheddar grits was on point! We also couldn't resist sharing a Mrs. Yoder's donut...they are our favorite of all Richmond donuts! Local friends, they now have TWO food trucks at the market, making the donut line much more bearable!

After the market, we got to work in the kitchen! My mom's birthday was on the 15th and we were headed to my parents that evening to celebrate. I had offered to bring both a salad and cake. I fixed my go-to arugula and quinoa salad (recipe here) and tried a new cake recipe! It was a hit, and I will be sharing soon!

I clearly still need a little practice when it comes to the chocolate ganache icing, but, nobody complained about that yummy pool of chocolate!

Sunday was low-key. We took the pooch for a walk, I got a run in, and we did lots of yard work! Our front bushes were in dire straits and Bryce's mom was nice enough to gift us some boxwoods! We dug out the old bushes, weeded the beds, and planted 6 cute little boxwoods! After such a productive morning, we wound down with a yummy snack and some House of Cards!

And now another weekend...and birthday...is here! Tomorrow is Bryce's mom's birthday! We are having she and his stepdad over for an al fresco dinner tonight to celebrate! Rain is in the forecast for the rest of the weekend, but I'm hoping it will give us an excuse to both relax and get some things done inside around the house!

What have you been doing lately on the weekends?

Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

Have a great weekend!

Follow

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday readers!

Did y'all have a nice weekend?

Ours was great and I'm happy to share it with you today.

Once the weather warms up, I find that the weekends go by so much faster because we spend more time out and about rather than cooped up inside.

My weekend kicked off with an April Fool's Day Tea Party and Luncheon that my mom hosted for my grandmother. My aunts and cousin Margeaux were there. I couldn't stay as long as everyone else, because I had to get back to work, but it was nice to get some family time in!

After work I headed home and Bryce and I chilled for a little bit. We started watching Call the Midwife on Thursday night at the recommendation of a few coworkers and are hooked. We sipped on a beer and enjoyed an episode. On a side note, I mentioned on Instagram Bryce is thrilled to be drinking beer with me these days. I am not a beer fan, but have discovered that I love sour beers! My favorite so far is Duchesse De Bourgogne.

After an episode, we got ourselves in gear and headed to a nearby restaurant Postbellum for dinner. They have a rooftop bar and the weather was too gorgeous to not be outside. I ordered the Romaine Salad that was topped with crispy brussel sprouts, fingerling potatoes, and nuts. It was delicious! Bryce got the Cabot Cheddar Burger which was equally good! We weren't too far from Shyndigz, a dessert bar I've been dying to try. When it first opened it was walking distance from our house, but we never got around to visiting. Being so close by on Friday  night, I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by. That being said, we were still too full to think about dessert, so we decided to do a little bar hopping. We walked to nearby Rancho T and sipped on a cocktail there. I feel like I am constantly saying this, but we have been going, going, going lately so it was so nice to have some quality time and conversation just the two of us on Friday  night! After Rancho T we made our way toward Shyndigz which is on the same block as the cool new hot spot, District 5. We pretty much never "go out" anymore, but I still wanted to check it out. It was only about 9:30, so we were able to get 2 spots right at the swanky bar. I got the Peach & Razz Margarita. The bartender warned me that it was sweet and she was not lying! It was very good, but took me a while to drink!

After District 5, we finally made our way to Shyndigz and it did not disappoint! We ordered the chocolate peanut butter cake and the key lime pie. They were both amazingly delicious, not to mention huge. Needless, to say I felt a little jittery on the ride home. Definitely had a sugar high!

Saturday morning we slept in and then I headed to my cousin's bridal shower. I wore this dress that arrived on the doorstep just in the nick of time Saturday morning. It is currently 40% off with code TICKTOCK and is a great piece that can be worn for work or play!

This necklace that my cousin Margeaux gave me as a surprise "surcie" paired with it perfectly!

I was charged with the task of making her ribbon bouquet!

I finished the bouquet when I got home with the help of scissors and glue! My mom had the great idea of incorporating these paper flowers that were used as decor and cupcake toppers at the shower and I thought they aded the perfect finishing touch.

Bryce was fishing with friends when I got home, so I had made plans with my friend Amanda. We went for a walk through the neighborhood and to a nearby Starbucks. It was a nice chance to get some exercise and girl time in one! That evening we headed to a friends for dinner. It was organized by Bryce and some of his hunting buddies and I have enjoyed getting to know their wives better over the last few months. We had an amazing steak dinner and even better company!

Sunday we went to brunch and the grocery store before getting the house ready for my Ronald McDonald House Red Shoe Crew meeting. The 2nd annual Red Shoe BBQ is coming up soon on April 29 so this was our last meeting together before the event. Richmond friends, you can get your tickets here!

I kept things simple, putting out roasted garlic and tomato basil hummus, pimiento cheese, salami, and marcona almonds. The store didn't seem to carry my normal pita chips, so I got these instead and they were really good!

The weather was pretty enough to open up the French doors and it was so nice to have the fresh air in the house! When Bryce came home, we sat at the table and munched on the spread. I have a feeling we'll be opening these doors up a lot more frequently in the coming months!

I also couldn't resist snapping a few pics of the flowers blooming in our front yard. Everything has really come alive! Next to bloom will be our irises and then it's peony and hydrangea time! I can't wait!

Finally, last night we watched a little more of Call the Midwife and went to bed early. 

What did you do this weekend?

Have a great day!

Follow