Late Summer Supper Club

Hello friends, and happy Labor Day!

It's been quite some time since I've posted here on AlexandraBeeBlog.com, but my heart has been longing for more of a creative outlet, and the blog seems like the best place to flex my creative muscle at the moment.

If you'd like to read more on this, check out my "On Hospitality" highlight reel on Instagram. In short, though, I've been musing over this idea of Southern hospitality - or graciousness, warmth, welcome - in all aspects of life, not just entertaining. I'll be experimenting with some different ways to bring you content (with a good dose of my usual "lifestyle" content mixed in) in this area over the  next few months. As I find myself reading blogs less and less, I'm not sure where to strike the balance between here on the blog, and micro-blogging, a new term I learned which is essentially blogging via Instagram. (Any thoughts?) Stay tuned.

Being that Labor Day is the unofficial last day of Summer, I wanted to share a recent supper club dinner party before shifting gears to all things Fall. When it comes to entertaining, one detail is often the jumping off board for all others for me. For this particular evening, these beaded placemats "Millie" found at Home Goods and gifted me for Mother's Day were that one detail.

Because of their coral design, I knew a seafood meal was in order, and other coastal details like shells might have to play a part on the table. I also knew, I wanted pink to be the other main color on the table and toyed with the idea of pink candles, napkins, peonies, or glassware.

I really wanted pink peonies for the table, but wasn't able to track any down, so opted for my other go-to: white hydrangeas. They have such a simple elegance, require no floral arranging skills, and last forever (our party was 3 weeks ago, and they're still going strong on the table!). Pink glasses gave a dose of pink to the table, as did my tobacco leaf china. 

The Staffordshire dogs had been moved from our mantle to the table while we had painters in the living room earlier in the week, so ended up on this tablescape somewhat by accident. I loved the way they looked mixed in with the shells and other decor, though. 

With all the colors and other elements on the table, I decided to stick with classic white linen napkins. These from our wedding are a favorite to use at dinner parties. One napkin is embroidered with my monogram and another is embroidered with Bryce's. I put these at the heads of the table, and the remaining napkins are plain. I never bother to iron my napkins. I think the wrinkles have their own kind of understated elegance and put people at ease and keep things from getting too stuffy. 

For menu, we started with a simple cheese and charcuterie board, thanks to Trader Joe's. Their apricot stilton and marcona almonds are two of my musts for cheese boards!

For the entree, I knew grilled shrimp over twirly pasta would fit the coastal theme. One of our guests is dairy free, so we opted for this dairy free pesto over angel hair. We topped it with grilled shrimp, charred cherry tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts. We also served my go-to arugula salad and bread.

Finally, for dessert, we served this Molten Chocolate Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream and Pistachios. In addition to being dairy free, it was also gluten free, paleo, and oh so delicious!

A wonderful night was had by all, and the marvelous company and pretty table, made all the dishes the next day well worth it!

Are you in a Supper Club?

What are your favorite summer eats?

Have a great (short) week!

Weekend Recap

Happy Hump Day, readers!

I don't consistently post weekend recaps (or consistently post anything, haha) on the blog these days, but every now and then a really great weekend comes along that's worth documenting here. This past weekend was one of those weekends and I'm excited to share it with you...and that we're halfway to this coming weekend!

Our weekend started with the absolutely perfect Valentine's Day dinner party hosted by our friends Blair and Davis. Our friends, Emily and Frank were also in attendance and whenever the six of us get together it is a guaranteed amazing time!

Blair's tablescape was equal parts formal and whimsy and absolute perfection! I loved how she had cute details like the sparkly pom poms on the table and those marble and gold foil candlesticks were stunners!

 

We even each got our own bag of Lindt truffles at our place setting as favors! No detail was spared!

Just as important as the tablescape is the menu! I took sweet potato ham biscuits, shrimp and grits cakes, and cheese crackers, compliments of The Orderves Company (more on that in a post coming soon!).

Blair and Davis outdid themselves with our dinner menu. We feasted on salad, beef tenderloin, and lobster pot pie! Blair even made extra puff pastry in the shape of lobsters for dipping! No...detail...spared!

For dessert, we had Shyndigz Oreo Cake. So grateful for these wonderful friends and can't wait for our next get together!

Saturday morning, I taught barre and then my girlfriend Amanda and I hit the road to Raleigh. In snow and rain, no less! Right before Christmas, I had ordered a chair from Beau Dandy Goods in Raleigh. Bryce had just been to Raleigh for work and was planning to head back in a few weeks, so Ashleigh was sweet enough to offer to hold the chair so I wouldn't have to pay high shipping costs. Well...Bryce never made it back to Raleigh and doesn't anticipate a trip there soon, so Amanda and I decided to road trip to get the chair...and it was so fun, y'all!

The weather had cleared by the time we crossed the border into North Carolina. After picking up the chair, and meeting the sweet golden retriever, the "Beau" of Beau Dandy Goods, we headed to brunch at Hummingbird at the recommendation of Ashleigh, Beau's mom.

Hummingbird had a cool vintage meets industrial meets girlie vibe and we loved it! The food was also deeelicious! Amanda and I both chose the Shakshuka, which was burnt tomato, eggs, herbs, and feta baked in a Le Creuset gratin dish. We were very hungry from barre and our time in the car and it did the trick! It was a definite comfort food and it was as if an Italian dinner entree had merged with brunch! I also ordered grits on the side that were cheesy perfection, and Amanda ordered hash brown that were also tasty.

 

Our next stop was Cameron Village for shopping! Charlotte's Inc was at the top of both our lists as we've followed them on Instagram for quite some time. I didn't save any pictures at Charlotte's, but I did get this dress for 70% off and these earrings in the turquoise! We also popped into Uniquities and The Impeccable Pig and then discovered Steven Shell Living on our way out and decided to pop in! It did not disappoint!

 

I fell in love with these gorgeous oversized fern prints that were a steal for just $69! Ferns are a personal favorite and were a big theme in our wedding floral scheme, so I knew I had to indulge. I thought a pair could make a fabulous statement and chose the two on the right below. The maidenhair was a must, because it was one of my favorite details in my wedding bouquet and last summer Bryce planted a maidenhair with black stems like the print in our garden. I picked the second, more traditional fern, because I thought it paired best with the maidenhair in terms of color and scale.

 

Our last stop was Vita Vite at the suggestion of a sorority sister who lives in Raleigh for a quick bite before hitting the road. It had a great energy and vibe and art was displayed for sale all around the restaurant.

Amanda and I were both still somewhat satisfied from brunch so opted for cheese and charcuterie for dinner. We also split a baby chocolate eclair, because as it turns out, Amanda had never had an eclair before...she liked it!

 

We hit the road and made it home in time for each of us to snuggle our pups and head to bed. We both agreed that getting out of town was good for the soul and invigorating! It made me think I really need to do impromptu day trips, or even just a night away more often! One of my favorite things about Richmond is that we have so many cool destinations within just a few hours of us and I want to take better advantage of that moving forward!

Sunday Bryce and I had brunch at a Richmond favorite, Lulu's (three words: red velvet waffles) with some friends who are expecting their first baby next month. I couldn't make it to the mama-to-be's shower, so this was our chance to celebrate with them. I wore my new earrings!

After that, we headed home, got my chair styled and had a lazy Sunday! We watched As Good As It Gets on Netflix that night with Chinese takeout and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was a weekend that was one for the books, and one where I truly savored every moment...living out my word for 2019!

Did you have a good weekend?

Any fun plans for the weekend ahead?

Do you take advantage of day trips to places near your hometown?

Have a great day!

Bedroom Design: Reality

TGIF, readers!

Those who follow along on Instastories know I decided to delay this post to today, since Bryce had a work dinner last night and I chose to spend Wednesday night focused on him rather than blogging.

I'm excited to share the final post in my bedroom refresh series. Hopefully the next post related to this will be a reveal of the updates in the next few months!

If you're just tuning in, be sure to check out the other posts in the series:

• Part 1 - Eight Interior Designers to Follow
• Part 2 - Beautiful Bowood Bedrooms
• Part 3 - Bedroom Design: Dream

In these posts, I started with the inspiration for a bedroom refresh, and worked my way up to a design. Today I'll share the plans I have to incorporate into our bedroom now.

As mentioned in the Dream post, pattern play is still a must for me, but I decided to go with a bit more neutral palette.

After playing around a bit, I decided on this combination: Kravet Xu Garden Veridian (existing shams and bedskirt), this neutral leopard (not sure of fabric source, but have chosen this bolster and these pillows in it), and Colefax and Fowler's Bowood.

I actually polled on Instagram asking for a vote on this combination and the vote I got was about 60 yay/40 nay. I was surprised, because it's rare to get such a close split. I'm wondering if the Bowood feels too traditional or grandma-ish for some? I also have had some reservations, because while it's timeless; it is definitely on trend right now. I keep seeing it over and over as I scroll Instagram, so while I'm about 90% sure I'm going to stick with the plan as shown here, I'm going to keep thinking on it a little longer. I don't want to go with Bowood because it's in now and then regret it. Plus, I keep coming across other fabrics I love like this one. this one, this one, and this one.

Okay, so assuming I stick to the plan, let me share it! If I end up veering off the Bowood path, the overall plan will remain the same, the Bowood pieces will just be replaced with a different fabric.

As mentioned on Tuesday, I've wanted to add a bolster to our bed for a while. I excitedly told Bryce my plan was to reduce the number of pillows on the bed, but he wasn't all that impressed decreasing from 7 to 5 (not counting the pillows we sleep on). I originally chose this leopard, but decided the neutral would be more versatile than blush and liked the idea of adding velvet into the mix as a new texture. 

The impetus for the rest of the plan came when we decided to convert our sunroom into Bryce's office. We're still working to complete that update, but have started the process. Namely, we moved the club chairs from the sunroom into our bedroom and the leather chair and plaid ottoman (that never really matched our bedroom) down to the sunroom. This gave me a springboard to create the seating area I've always wanted in our bedroom and do some additional updates to tie the whole space together.

This is the starting palette:

 

The blurry spot in the photo below is a bookshelf I edited out. It's an eyesore providing storage in our 1950s home that has next to none, but it's getting out of our bedroom, so I went ahead and removed for these purposes. Additionally, I had envisioned the chairs flanking the window seat, but the window isn't actually centered in the room, so this layout worked better.

So now for the fun part! I played around with different combinations to find the perfect design.

I played with the idea of keeping our ikat pillows (I do really love the pattern mix) with the bolster, as well as two small bolsters. Neither was quite right...

I also played with the idea of adding both Bowood and the leopard on the bed, and really love the look of the 3 Bowood pillows with the bolster, but that would increase not decrease the pillow count.

I finally settled on the original, simple plan of just the bolster with the existing matelasse euro shams and trellis standard shams. It evokes the calm feeling I'm going for, and I love that it lets the trellis shine.

Wanting to still incorporate the Bowood to this part of the room to make the overall plan flow, I decided to go with a Bowood tablecloth for my nightstand. The thought is that in a future dream bedroom that will hopefully have the space for matching nightstands, this table could perhaps go into the seating area.  You can see a mock up here, with the throw I mentioned Tuesday (comes in 29 colors!) for an added pop of color.

Fun Fact: 

My grandmother petit point embroidered 

the bench at the end of our bed as a teenager!

 Next, I turned my sites to the sitting area. I opted to add leopard pillows to the chairs to match the bolster and a basket beneath the existing table. As mentioned Tuesday, I find that natural fibers bring a cozy feel to spaces, and I have a few baskets similar to this one throughout our home. I even already found the perfect, rectangular shaped one for this space at Home Goods, my go to source for baskets!

I decided Bowood could have its place in our window seat and couldn't resist a fabulous monogram, as well for the window seat. It adds another pop of color and I really love a monogram in a bedroom. Our bedding doesn't really lend itself to monograms, so this dupioni silk pillow brings the couture monogram look I love in bedrooms. I've also already ordered this pillow for the space opting for my monogram. Bryce and I are not the hugest fans of the couple's monogram (just our preference!) and instead have opted for the more traditional Southern route of using her monogram for linens and his monogram for barware. Because of the size of the window seat, I created a custom order for a toddler sized pillow, and will need to go with 16" pillows in the window seat. 

And just because I'm obsessed with this pillow, I'll show you a close up. Aside from having to go with a smaller size, I chose everything else to be identical to this one shown in terms of monogram style and color selection. I can't wait for it to arrive!

So there you have it!

I plan to order the leopard bolster and pillows next, and as mentioned am going to think a little longer on the Bowood. I'm 90% there, but just want to give it some additional time to be sure, especially considering it's more of a splurge fabric, and that we have a few other little home refresh projects going on right now. 

Did you like this four part series, or did you get bored?

Are you a fan of Bowood?

What colors and style do you have in your bedroom, or want in your dream bedroom?

Have a great weekend!

Bedroom Design: Dream

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Did you have yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

I always think back to my kindergartners on this holiday. You can read a little about my lessons around the holiday, in this post from my teaching days.

Now for today's post...Friday turned into Tuesday! I was very excited for my 3 part series posting Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but the end of the last week just got crazy! That said, as I've put the finishing touches on this post, I've decided it's just too much content for one post, so the 3 part series will now be a 4 part series. I hope you're not tired of my bedroom yet!

As mentioned last week, I've been wanting to refresh our bedroom a little bit over the last several months. Over the last year or so, I've found that I'm drawn more to calm and neutral spaces and want a bit more subdued and serene design in our bedroom. When decorating our current house, the balance is always in choosing where to splurge and where to save. We know we won't be in this house forever, so I try to splurge on items I know I can use down the road; and save on items that may not be a fit for a future home. For example, I'd love to get an updated rug for our bedroom. That said, it just doesn't make sense to splurge on that now, when we may be in a bedroom that needs a bigger or smaller rug once we're in the next house. Pillows and bed linens, however, will "fit" in any bedroom so I have no problem splurging on those now.

All that to say, it doesn't mean I don't dream of the ideal bedroom, so for today's post I thought it would be fun to start with the dream and then share my reality design in Part 4 on Thursday.

We'll start with the focal point of a bedroom, the bed and then we'll look at my dream bedroom sitting area.

Similar to my Gift Guides, I'm linking my rationale for each design element, with links, below the design image. If you want to skip that, you can just scroll through and admire the pictures!

As a reminder, here is a picture of the current situation. I still do love everything about it, however, it just doesn't have quite the serene, calm bedroom feel I want at this stage.

Let's break it down:

The Bed: This is our current bed. It is actually 4 posters, but for the purposes of creating this design, it was easier just to crop out the end. I do get a few requests on Instagram for the source of this bed each year. It was handmade by a local company, Suter's, that has been in business since 1839. It is the Pencil Post Bed in mahogany.

Linens: All the linens you see are current, with the exception of the bolster pillow. The matelasse quilt and euro shams were from Garnett Hill and no longer made. I actually hunted for this exact style for a few years when I was still in college. I knew exactly what I wanted and said when I found it, I was going to buy it to have for my "grown up" home someday. I posted about them, actually, in my first few months of blogging in 2011 here. I love is the scalloped edge, the euro shams, and that it's heavier than a coverlet. Garnet Hill, if you're reading here (ha!) please bring the Orleans line back... after nearly 8 years, and Millie, I could use a new quilt! I have found a few similar options here (coverlet, shams), here, and here. I had the trellis standard shams and bedskirts custom made and the fabric is Kravet Xu Garden Veridian. Finally, the bolster, which I'm planning to order soon was something I had thought of incorporating for a while. Once I saw this bedroom by Molly Basile Interiors, I was sold. I was also sold on adding Bowood to the mix! Wanting to add some pattern and texture, while still remaining neutral, I chose this natural leopard in velvet.
Sunburst Mirror: When we first got the four poster bed, Bryce and I were just dating and our home was just his home at the time. The bed felt very traditional to me, so the sunburst mirror and other modern details like the ikat pillows currently on our bed were compromises we made to modernize the space when I moved in. This sunburst mirror was a Martha Stewart for Home Depot steal that was all over the blog world circa 2013ish. It's no longer available, but I've found some similar affordable options here, here, and here. I absolutely love a sunburst above a bed and think it perfectly fits my traditional meets modern style.
Mirrored Nightstands: Given the space constraints of our current bedroom, we're not able to have matching nightstands. Bryce's side of the bed really only has room for a walkway and slim nightstand. My dream is to someday have a pair of mirrored nighstands, though, and these I found for the design come in at a great price point. A close second to mirrored nightstands are these raffia nightstands at a not so great price point.
Bedside Lamps: I'm a big fan of symmetry if you can't tell and these splurge lamps are just gorgeous!
Bedside Art: When thinking of art, my brain went to symmetry again. I didn't want botanicals which would compete with the Bowood chintz fabric, or, mirrors that would compete with the sunburst. I eventually decided to opt for framed calligraphy. While not a big fan of word art, I think in a bedroom displaying your wedding vows or readings as art is quite romantic. It's affordable custom art, and you can bring in some color by having the calligraphy done over watercolor as shown here (though my exact dream one would have more of a pale coral watercolor to tie in with the coral throw), or through different ink choices. The calligraphy shown is from my amazing wedding calligrapher Virginia Lucas Hart (I bet you can spy our custom wedding invites and crest on her Past Work page). There are also many options on Etsy: I liked this one and this one. To frame the calligraphy, I opted for a splurge (since you're saving on the art!) burlwood gallery frame. I love that the burlwood brings another texture into the room and is a nice contrast to the mirrored nighstands and mahogany bed.
Bedside Accessories: I'm drawn to spaces that feel lived in, so topped my dream nightstands with some accessories. Books for both, of course, a stylish table clock for him, a tray and blue and white bud vase for her.
Bowood Bench: Can we talk about this bench!? I'm in love and made it "custom" for this design! Chintz can feel grandma really quick, so the ultra modern lucite bench legs are just what the doctor ordered! A pretty throw (comes in 29 colors!) atop the bench brings a pop of color I love and feels cozy.
Floor & Walls: Last, but, certainly not least, I have to mention the floor and walls. A cream rug feels soft in a bedroom and this wool one is affordable and has great reviews! For fun, I added grasscloth wallpaper to the walls. I've been dreaming of a grasscloth bedroom since seeing the bedroom of the always stylish Sue, the lady behind The Zhush.

The next and final part of my dream design, is a sitting area! A nice little sitting area in a room is wonderful for putting on shoes, enjoying a glass of wine as you get ready or relax with a face mask, and of course, is a place to throw and pile up all your discard clothes (ha!).

When envisioning this room, I simply added some square footage to our current bedroom and adjusted the windows a bit. In my dream design, if you were standing facing the bed in the last image, this set up would be to your right on the adjacent wall. 

Window Treatments: Let's start with that big window I designed! I couldn't stop with Bowood just on the bench, so my dream bedroom would have Bowood draperies as well. Again, to modernize the chintz, they'd be hung on a fabulous lucite and brass curtain rod! I'd also add a bamboo Roman shade. I love that natural elements like bamboo can really ground a space and also make them feel inviting. It's all about the mix and this dream bedroom should feel traditional and modern, masculine and feminine, formal and inviting. 

Club Chairs: These swivel chairs are casual chic and a great price point! To top them off, I added a leopard velvet pillow to each which matches the bolster on the bed.
Moroccan Pouf: A neutral Moroccan pouf adds some masculinity to the space, and while these poufs aren't all the rage they were a few years ago, I still love them! I'll never forget saving up to order a blush pink one for our sun room ages ago that cost $165...which felt very much like a splurge at the time. It's now in our living room and still a favorite.
Garden Stool: I have this very garden stool in our dining room. I treat blue and white pieces as a neutral throughout our home and think it's the perfect little table between the chairs.
Tortoise Frame: I've admired this Kate Spade frame for ages, and am not sure why I haven't ever bit the bullet and ordered it. I go gaga for anything tortoise. It's small size makes it perfect atop the garden stool.
Tocca Candle: As you're sipping wine, propping your feet up on the pouf reading and enjoying a face mask, this lightly scented candle will add to the overall ambiance.

Now, if you've made it this far, a few final notes:

• On the wall to the right of the bed, adjacent to the sitting area, my dream bedroom would have this ahhh-mazing antique bamboo secretary!
• I'd also add a fabulous dresser to the space. I really love this one and this one.
• My dream bedroom would also have a dream closet like this one, and a dream bath like this one.

What do you think?

What would be the musts in your dream bedroom?

Do neutral, calm spaces appeal more to you, or bright, bold spaces?

Be sure to tune in Thursday to see how I'm taking this dream vision and adapting it for our reality!

Have a great day!

Beautiful Bowood Bedrooms

Happy Wednesday, friends!

If you tuned in on Monday, you'll know from that post Eight Interior Designers to Follow that I'm doing a three part series on the blog this week culminating with a design plan to refresh our bedroom.

Monday, I "introduced" you to some seriously talented ladies whose design has been inspiring me, and today I'm sharing a fabric that has been inspiring me.

First, though, I'll note that my design style has really evolved in the last year or so. While still a fan of bright colors and bold prints, I've found myself more attracted to neutral palettes where bright and bold serve simply as "pops" rather than taking center stage. When thinking to design in my own home, an overly loud space feels a little overwhelming and exhausting. This especially rings true to me when thinking of a bedroom.

You can take a peek here at my current bedroom decor. Don't get me wrong, the bright ikat paired with the ultra traditional trellis does make my heart flutter, but, what it doesn't do is evoke calm, relax, rest...things I find to be pretty crucial in a bedroom.

The good news is that our base - white matelasse bedding (similar coverlet and shams) with trellis shams and bedskirt (fabric here) - are classics that will stand the test of time. The rest are just accessories that can be easily switched out with mood or style evolution over time. And I've given a lot of thought over the last several months to how I want to update those accessories. Don't fret, pattern play will still be be a part of the overall scheme, it will just be more subdued and subtle.

One pattern I've kept going back to is Colefax and Fowler's classic Bowood chintz. While it's definitely having a moment right now, it is undoubtedly timeless and as the photos below show, truly versatile.

Let's take a look shall we?

I'll let the fabric do (most of) the talking from here on out...

via

Whens scheming my bedroom plans, accent colors I considered were pink and lilac. I think I've decided on pink, but this bedroom belonging to the stylish Julia Engel does lilac so well.

via

I love, love, love the Bowood headboard and bedskirt and those bed linens are so cute! 

Those sconces are fab, too, while we're at it!

via

The Bowood headboard and canopy! The luxe velvet pillow! The lamp that looks nearly identical to my bedside lamp! Swoon!

via

This space by Clary Bosbyshell, who was featured in my post, on Monday is so cozy and calm.

via

And last, but certainly not least, all the love for this perfectly pink space. Designed by Richmond designer Suellen Gregory, this bedroom belongs to Katie Ukrop the lady behind Richmond's 

(also perfectly pink) Quirk Hotel and Quirk Gallery.

I can't wait to show you the vision I have on Friday for Bowood in our bedroom!

Are you a fan of chintz and Bowood?

Or do you prefer more modern fabrics?

Have a great day!