A Touch of Southern Grace

Friday, April 24, 2015

Happy Hour Time

Well aloha Friday! It is about time you finally decided to show up! I can hardly believe that we are entering into the last weekend of April – I had a feeling that 2015 was going to be a fast year, but it seems like time is flying by in the blink of an eye. Here’s to a weekend spent outside enjoying the perfect spring weather with family, friends, and our favorite furry four-leg companion. Cheers!

“If I make a fool of myself, who cares? I’m not frightened by anyone’s perception of me.”

~ Angelina Jolie

Drink Special!

Hanky Panky

1 ounce Italian Vermouth

1 ounce dry gin

2 dashes fernet-branca

Ice cubes

1 orange peel for garnish

Shake with ice and strain over ice into highball glass, garnish with orange peel twist

Around Town!

Nashville, TN: Nash Spring Bash at Centennial Park, Sunday, April 26, 12:00pm

Franklin, TN: Main Street Festival at Downtown Franklin, Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, April 26

Biloxi, MS: 23^rd Annual MS Coast Coliseum Crawfish Music Festival, Friday, April 24 – Sunday, April 26

Charlotte, NC: The Joffrey Ballet Concert Group at Elevation Blakeney, Friday, April 25, 7:30

Vinton, VA: Vinton Dogwood Festival at Downtown Vinton, Friday, April 24 – Sunday, April 26

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

It's Swimsuit Time...Almost...

{Via}

It’s almost time for swimsuit season! Feel free to get excited, because swimsuit season means sun, warm weather, beach trips, days spent by the water, drinks with tiny umbrellas, and of course time to break out your favorite swim wear!

After a cold winter I always get excited for the warmer days that are just around the corner. Is there anything better than walking on the beach in your favorite bikini, the sand between your toes, the sound of the waves gently crashing onto the beach, a cool summer breeze blowing through your hair, and the sun on your back?

Swimsuit season has not even officially started yet and I have already noticed that there seems to be a one-piece bathing suit trend. Every year I plan on adding a one-piece to my collection of swimwear, but have yet to do so…maybe this will be the year I will finally give in and buy a one-piece... When it comes to swim suits I tend to gravitate to the hot/fun color or the classic colors – no in between. Although, I always prefer a classic looking bathing suit, however, trendy can be fun every now and then.

One Piece Bandeau

Bailor Bikini

Seersucker Ruffle Bikini

Mix-and-Match Peplum Tankini Top

Mira Bikini

Bow Bandeau

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Sitting In Bars With Cake

A couple weeks ago I picked up a copy of Sitting in Bars with Cake by Audrey Shulman; which happens to be her first book, and a deliciously entertaining read. Before I even began to discuss this book there are a few words of advice I must give: If you plan on reading this book have a piece of cake, cupcake, cookie, just something sugary close by – the delicious cake recipes throughout the book will activate your sugar tooth.

It is probably safe to say that at some point in time we have all concocted a plan to get a guy to ask us out. I was not as creative as Shulman – back in college my patience wore thin with one guy I was kind of interested in and he was obviously interested in my so I ended up asking him out…lesson from that experience, never go out with someone who does not have the confidence to ask you out. Audrey Shulman’s strategy is actually quite genius, but you would have to have just the right personality to pull it off. Over the course of one year she took 50 cakes to bars {never visiting the same one twice} around LA and tried to bait a boyfriend with her baking abilities. Which, if you think about it actually has some logic to it – what kind of guy would turn down homemade cake and would you really want to date someone who doesn’t like cake?

In case you are wondering… Yes, Audrey Shulman is a real person and yes, these cake baking, barhopping adventures she’s written about happened in real life. She is writing from her own personal experience, which just happens to make for a really good read.

After living as a single woman in LA for a few years Audrey was getting tired of spending her Saturday nights in and decided to take a proactive approach on the dating front. Audrey turned to her baking, but instead of eating the cake herself or at a birthday party, she went to different bars around the LA area bearing a cake in had, which would be her ice breaker when talking to a guy she might be interested in.

Sittingin Bars with Cake recounts Audrey’s year spent baking her way to a boyfriend, or at least the hope of finding one. Each story in the book is paired with a cake recipe fitting to the situation. It’s filled with stories that the reader can relate to on some level. Plus, I love how she sectioned her book off: sweet, salty, bitter, fruity, and savory – each one of these sections containing stories about guys that have one of these 5 traits or the interaction she had with them fell under one of these 5 categories.

Sittingin Bars with Cake is a book I definitely recommend – it not only has entertaining stories, but delicious recipes as well. This is not a spoiler to the book by any means; I had to do a little research to find this information out…the ending of the book never stated if she did in fact bake her way to a boyfriend, so… Incase you are wondering what the end results of Shulman’s cake baking, barhopping experiment was: she grew as a person, meet interesting people along the way, broke out of her comfort zone, and got a book deal, which in my opinion is better than a boyfriend. After her cake baking adventures ended she was set up on a blind date with someone she really hit it off with and who happens to enjoy cake!

Monday, April 20, 2015

Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Collection

Every year Vineyard Vines comes out with a fabulous collection just for the Kentucky Derby, which, I can never resist sharing. For those of you who are from the South you fully understand that horse racing is part of the culture in the springtime.

The Kentucky Derby will be here before you turn around – the first Saturday in many is only a few weeks away… Every year there is one piece out of the Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Collection that I just cannot help but fall in love with and this year it is the Racing Horses Sash Dress – seriously, how perfect is the bow, it make the whole dress! Here are a few of my favorite pieces out of this years collection.

Race Day Hat

Embroidered Roses Shift Dress

Seersucker Pleated Skirt

Racing Horse Sash Dress

Mint Julep with Gingham 2-PanelBow Tie

Seersucker Sport Coat

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Sunday Night Thought

Keep Calm Lilly Is At Target

Keep Clam, Shop On, Lilly Is Finally At Target! On Saturday night did anyone else experience that magical, exciting feeling that you used to feel about Santa Clause coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve over the Lilly Pulitzer for Target finally being released Sunday? I own up to the fact that I was pretty excited Sunday night before I went to bed – can’t wait to shop the Lilly at Target in person!

Today is not the day to stop at Starbucks for your usual morning beverage! Venti drink or a Lilly shift for $38…hummm...well Alex, I think I’ll take Lilly Shift Dress for $38 – what do you have to say about that Trebek! If you have not already devised a shopping strategy here are a few tip courtesy of InStyle {click here to view}.

In the image above are my top 10 Lilly for Target Picks!

1. ShiftDress – Fan Dance

2. ShiftDress – Upstream

3. ShiftDress – See Ya Later

4. ChallisPompom Shorts Upstream

5. GoldSandals – Pineapple

6. GoldPlated Wine Topper With Corkscrew

7. GardenStool

8. PorcelainDessert Plates

9. Espadrilles– Upstream

10. CeramicMugs with Gold Caddy