Look Linger Love

 

Last month I had the great honor of co-hosting a welcome home party for dear friends of ours. My lovely co-hosts, Gayle Brooker and Marni Rothschild (both are crazy good photographers), were a dream to plan this pool side dinner party with! Our friends Charlotte and Stephan had just returned from a short stint living in Argentina and we wanted to welcome them home to Charleston and hear all about their fun travels!

 

(Gayle, Charlotte, me, and Marni)

 

 

That’s Charlotte & Stephan up there! Aren’t they so cute? :) They packed up their two young children (friends of Lilly and Fletcher’s!) and moved to Argentina for a 2 month family adventure, all the while making it look SO inspiring and SO easy. Charlotte documented their whole experience on her blog and gave all of us following along the travel itch!

 

 

Their biggest takeaway from their move was to spend more quality time with friends. Hence the welcome home party! The menu from Cru Catering (a Charleston favorite!) was Argentinean inspired, insanely delicious, and absolutely beautiful! We also served Brazil’s national cocktail, Caipirinhas!

 

 

Adorable citrus pool floats!

 

 

I’m obsessed with the calligraphy that Love Letter Gray Calligraphy did for us. Isn’t it pretty?

 

 

All of our decor and florals were by my personal favorites, OOH Events and Out of the Garden. I use them for all of my big parties because they have the best selection! Love all of these chippendale chairs lined up in rows.

 

 

The tabletop rentals are by Polished Tabletop and I really like the chic simplicity of the settings.

 

 

Out of the Garden’s floral arrangements were bursting with color that included lemons, garden roses, tulips, and orchids. Yes, I wore a dress that totally coordinated, ha! And isn’t this bar from OOH Events beautiful?

 

 

Our talented friend Chris Teves played latin guitar music to enhance our Argentinean vibe :)

 

 

Charlotte’s favorite food that she sampled everywhere that she went in Argentina was Dulce de Leche – essentially donut holes with caramel and whipped cream. We made sure we had them on the menu and Cru knocked these out of the park!

 

 

Here is to many more gatherings with friends and loved ones this summer! Thank you to Marni and Gayle for being such amazing co-hosts, to Marni for allowing us to take over her beautiful home (I only wish I could give you a full tour), and most of all to Charlotte & Stephan for being such amazing friends who continue to inspire!

 

Special thanks to these amazing companies:

 

Photography: Gayle Brooker + Marni Rothschild

Catering: Cru Catering

Floral Design: Out of the Garden

Decor: OOH Events

Tabletop Rentals: Polished Tabletop

Calligraphy: Love Letter Gray Calligraphy

Music: Christopher Teves

Extra Extra: Style Me Pretty for the feature

 

 

 

Happy Tuesday! It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a Life Lately post so here we go… there are a lot of pictures and this is not in a specific order…

 

We kicked of Spoleto season this weekend with two fun events. The first was Old Crow Medicine Show at the Cistern. We had dinner with our friends Charlotte and Haskell and husbands before the show. Excuse my one legged photo.

 

(I’m wearing this tee and these sandals)

 

The next night Josh and I went to the Spoleto Soiree at the new Dewberry Hotel downtown. It’s absolutely beautiful and ideally located! And the party was SO MUCH FUN.

 

 

And of course lots of family and friends time took place this weekend (+ a sleepover)…

 

 

I can’t believe I’m going back this far, but we went back to Harbour Island for a quick trip last month. So much fun!

 

(I’m wearing this dress and these earrings)

 

 

The Southern C Summit came to town and it was SO much fun! I spoke on a panel (I got to moderate!) with my blogging friends Grace, Liz (both pictured here), and Caroline about our experiences blogging and I think it went over really well.

 

(I’m wearing this dress and these shoes, this bag, and this laptop sleeve)

 

Beautiful tent lighting at the summit by Stray Dog Designs.

 

 

Fun group summit dinner at Little Jacks Tavern.

 

 

I wore this pink shirtdress with these rockstud sandals (also available here), and this bag one of the days of the summit.

 

 

One of the amazing Summit dinners at Fritz Porter with The Bad Bitches.

 

 

For Mother’s Day weekend we headed down to Palmetto Bluff for an extra long weekend with Josh’s parents. Pure bliss. I love it there so much.

 

(Wearing this cover up)

 

(Wearing this similar dress, this necklace, and these sandals)

 

(Wearing this swimsuit)

 

The kids were so excited b/c the locker rooms at the pool have pre-pasted toothbrushes. Really though, they were.

 

 

Oh, forgot to add this most amazing Southern C Summit dinner hosted by Tara Guerard. It was so beautiful. These two pics were taken by Lucy Cuneo.

 

(I’m wearing this dress and these shoes)

 

The party was featured on Vogue with some of Tara’s tips for summer entertaining tips if you want to check it out.

 

 

Here is my outfit so you can see it better – love this dress! And with these sandals and this bag.

 

 

We’ve been spending a lot of time in our pool.

 

 

And the porch.

 

 

I finished Emily Giffin’s new book (due out next month) called First Comes Love. It is so good! And I’m so excited that she’s coming to Charleston next month for a girl getaway event! I have read every single one of her books and she is honestly my favorite author. I’m thrilled to join her at the event and help open it up with a chat and interview! It will be so much fun. Check out all of the details and get your tickets right here!

 

 

Charleston’s jasmine is in full bloom and the city smells so sweet!

 

(Wearing these shorts and these sandals)

 

Cutest little pineapple chip and dip tray!

 

 

Fun boat day with friends for a special birthday.

 

 

My friend Lauren’s amazing new kitchen. I’m in love with it.

 

 

Stopped into Celadon and found this sweet display of our Real Simple home feature. That store is the best!!

 

 

My little yellow top, Theodosia tassel necklace, and elephant slide sandals.

 

 

These kids are pumped for summer break!

 

(Wearing this tee and these shorts)

 

And one more picture of my San Juan, PR trip that I forgot to include in recap post! This was our favorite spot.

 

(Wearing this cover up dress.)