Archive for June, 2015

Date: Jun 16 2015

Filed Under: Entertaining, Fashion

So there’s this new travel web series called Taste Buds that is hosted and produced by real life friends Krissy Wall and Jessica Jardine. They basically travel around to their favorites cities meeting their friends that live there and exploring the best places around. Not a bad gig, huh? And it’s fun to see where all they go. They reached out and asked me to share one of my favorite spots here in Charleston, so I grabbed my real life friend, Gray, for a girl night at one of my favorite places, Xiao Bao Biscuit.

 

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And there I am posing in front of Xiao Bao Biscuit (XBB). When the weather is nice I like to grab a table outside on the patio, like we did this night.

 

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XBB serves Asian Soul Food inspired by kick-ass grandmothers everywhere (their words). Perhaps the best thing on the menu, and definitely their most popular dish, is the Okonomiyaki. It’s a Japanese cabbage pancake and it’s one of my most favorite things to eat here in town. I recommend loading it up with the suggested bacon, egg, and pork candy.

 

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While the okonomiyaki and other favorites are always on the menu, XBB rotates in seasonal dishes made of fresh ingredients.

 

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Two of my other favorite dishes are the Chao Shou, aka pork dumplings, and the pan seared local fish.

 

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Really, you can’t go wrong at this place no matter what you order (unless you’re a wuss like Gray and can’t handle spicy food). It’s even the only place that I’ll order tofu (named Mapo Doufu on the menu, and naturally I add the suggested pork bolognese to it).

 

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And hey Taste Buds, I have sooooo many more amazing places to show you – I think you should make a stop here in Charleston soon :)

 

Wearing:

asos off shoulder bodysuit, similar skirt, similar sandals,

louis vuitton speedy bag, jcrew earrings (on sale)

 

Be sure to check out the Taste Buds web series. Below is the latest episode in Nashville. So many cute places that they visit, especially the chocolate factory, Olive & Sinclair, that makes “chocuterie”! Get it? Inspired by charcuterie. So great.

 

 

Photography by Gray Benko. Thank you to Ford for sponsorship on this post.

Chassity

Comments: 11

Date: Jun 15 2015

Filed Under: Decor, Entertaining, Family, Fashion

Good morning! Getting this post up a little late this morning after traveling this weekend and getting in late last night. I had so much fun in St. Louis! What a beautiful, laid back city. Gray and I gained a total of about 50 pounds from trying out all the restaurants :)

 

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I’m wearing my pink high low lace dress up there. Here’s some more of my life lately!

 

Stopped in at Indigo & Cotton for some Father’s Day shopping. It’s my favorite store for guys here in Charleston.

 

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My new KAS blue and white dress – love it!

 

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The kids taking a popsicle break in their Conflicted Pixie tent that she was kind enough to send their way.

 

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Burger night at Two Borough’s Larder.

 

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Went to the Spoleto finale out at Middleton Plantation last Sunday. So much fun. My friend Anna was whipping up flower crowns on our ride out there :)

 

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With some friends out there – Anna, Ashley, me, Haskell, and Charlotte.

 

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A clean kitchen nook is a good nook. Usually there is stuff piled all over this table.

 

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Cuteness at St Alban.

 

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One of my favorite pairs of sandals right now, and this adorable bird embroidered shirt.

 

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Artist Mallory Page came to town last week and had an art show. Love her pieces!

 

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More pool chaos. I sorta feel like a lifeguard these days just constantly scanning the pool.

 

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And the perfect stripe tote.

 

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I’m always on the look out for awesome clutches that aren’t insanely priced and when I saw these new fold overs at GiGi I nearly jumped. It’s the best fold over that I’ve seen yet.

 

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So these knotted rope earrings (on major sale) and this printed dress – really into them both.

 

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Chassity

Comments: 3

Date: Jun 11 2015

Filed Under: Fashion

Some of my most favorite news things I’ve discovered on the internets this week.

 

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navy dress, pineapple earrings, stripe bag, beach dress,

green/white necklace, white shirtdress, nude sandals,

print dress, blue stripe dress, green off shoulder dress

 

If you’re looking for a great pair of nude sandals well those adorable ones up there are under $60! And how great is the shape of that white shirtdress?! I’m in love with the blue and white stripe dress! And that super cute stripe bag is only $60.

 

If you’re on the hunt for fun summer dresses, how cute is that dip dyed one up there? And so happy to see that off the shoulder green dress finally back in stock! The color is gorgeous.

 

I’m on my way to MO this morning with my friend Gray for the Garden & Gun Magazine summer travel trip! I hope you follow along on instagram :) By the way did you see Instagram’s new site design? So pretty and clean.

Chassity

Comments: 5

Date: Jun 10 2015

Filed Under: Decor, Family, Fashion

Late last year I enlisted the help of my good friend Olivia Brock, of the fabulous blog Lacquered Life and founder of Torrance Mitchell Designs, to help me find the perfect shade of pink for my front door. Olivia is an historic preservationist, color guru/expert, and spectacular eating/drinking buddy here in Charleston, and I couldn’t help but abuse our friendship for a little help :)

 

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You might remember my door used to be a minty teal color. I liked that color, but I had wanted pink all along. When we took on our home project nearly 4 years ago it was a big renovation (gutting and adding on), so there were many, many decisions to be made. I had to pick my battles with Josh, and fighting for the pink door just wasn’t worth it.

 

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So back to the point… this past November I showed Olivia a picture of a door that I loved and asked her to figure out what the color was so that I could just simply copy it. She found out what it was, but she also knew that it had been faded in the sun and that we could find a better shade for my home (lighting and shade of white on our brick…). She recommended Benjamin Moore Old World.(2011-40)

 

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She also helped me find a new mailbox, love this white one!

 

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Big hug to Olivia for helping me with my front door :) I love the new color!

 

Sources:

outdoor plaid rug, galvanized planters,

swing bed, white mailbox, rocking chairs,

copper gas lanterns, flying pig, figue dress

 

Photography by Gray Benko.

 

Chassity

Comments: 39

Date: Jun 9 2015

Filed Under: Decor

I’m a BIG BIG fan of Visual Comfort lighting. We have several fixtures in our home. In fact, I think maybe most of it is Visual Comfort. Well there’s a big sale going on (40% off)!

 

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Check out the sale right here, so many of my favorites are included like the Hicks Pendant, the brass Tilden Flush Mount, the Library Wall Lamp, and the Eugene White Pendant.

Chassity

Comments: 0

Date: Jun 9 2015

Filed Under: Fashion

So today I’ve invited my beautiful friend Jessica Morse for a little clean and safe beauty how to. She’s my go to girl for many, many beauty questions (sorry, Jess!). She’s like my personal guinea pig and consultant all in one (her words).

 

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Jess’ passion is discovering truly clean and effective beauty products, and she shares them all on her amazing blog, Bare Beauty. She finds products that actually aren’t made up of unpronounceable and gross ingredients. And today she’s going to tell us a little bit about her 6  favorite summer products. Here are her tips!

 

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BeautyCounter Protect All Over Sunscreen SPF 30 is a favorite of mine and I’ve tried virtually every nontoxic sunscreen on the market (read my annual nontoxic sunscreen post here). It doesn’t leave a chalky residue, it’s perfect for the whole family and it’s a great value. Cost: $26 for 4.8 oz.

 
Suntegrity 5-in-1 Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30 is perfect for a beach day as well as year round coverage and protection. This nontoxic, all-in-one BB cream treats, protects, moisturizes and primes the skin while offering moderate coverage. This has been a favorite of mine for years. Cost: $45 for 1.7 oz.

 
Ilia Beauty Tinted Lip Conditioner in Shell Shock is the perfect bright, happy summertime color. Unlike a lipstick, this lip conditioner goes on sheer, but you can build up the color as you please. It will never, ever dry out your lips and it’s so natural you could put it on your baby – although that would be very strange and pageant-mom of you. Cost: $26.

 
W3LL PEOPLE Bio Bronzer replaced my Nars Laguna Bronzer a few years ago and I haven’t looked back since. It creates a perfectly natural sun-kissed look (No shimmer! No ruddiness!) that’s healthy inside and out, and it’s great for contouring as well. Cost: $23.

 
Kjaer Weis Radiance Highlighter is soooo good. The compact is gorgeous and refillable and this highlighter has absolutely no nasty ingredients, so it gets a 10 for eco-friendliness. But, what I love most is this product’s performance. It’s not too oily, shiny, sparkly or white, and it works on every single skin tone out there. The warm pearl color makes it perfect for faking perfect bone structure – it’s just genius. Cost: $56.

 
One Love Organics Coconut + Salt Mineral Body Lotion is the absolute best lotion for Summer. Organic coconut oil, Atlantic sea salt and organic aloe create the most lightweight, effective body lotion you’ll ever use – and it smells like the beach. Cost: $25 for 3.3 oz.

 

Thank you so much, Jess, for taking the time out of your day to put this together for us (she’s a busy mom here in Charleston, too!). I can’t wait to try out these products. That lip conditioner really is the prettiest pink, I’ve heard amazing things about the BeautyCounter sunscreen, and I’m super intrigued by the highlighter!

Chassity

Comments: 7

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