Congrats to the winner of the $75 credit to Joss & Main…

I was super excited to see Sarah’s name pop up as the winner, since she and I were in the same Bible study for a few years!  Congrats Sarah, I’ll send you details on your big win today!  I can’t wait to see what you purchase with your $75!

Thanks to Joss & Main for hosting this giveaway!  If you’d like to join Joss & Main, click here.

The $75 giveaway to Joss & Main ends tomorrow night, 7/7, at 11:59pm EST.  Make sure you enter here!  Your chances are looking good to win!

Here’s a sample of some recent sale items:

a sampling of what you could get with your winnings!

Head over to this post to find out how to enter!!!

Get excited, I have some fun eye candy for you today!  {Beware: this is a long post!  But a good one!}

me in front of the inn at willow grove

Over Memorial Day weekend, Husband and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary at a newly renovated antebellum inn located in Orange, VA: The Inn at Willow Grove.

{Orange is about 40 minutes from Charlottesville, a nice drive through the country, and only about 20 minutes from Barboursville Vineyard and their fabulous Palladio Restaurant – totally recommend both!}

Y’all.  Willow Grove was AMAZING.  Really.  The inn went through a massive renovation, where the interior was completely gutted, leaving the exterior as really the only original part of the inn {though you wouldn’t know it seeing all the beautiful moulding inside!}.  The initial structure dates from the 18th century (on the left with the wood siding), with the bulk of the inn added on in the early 19th century (the center and right with the brick).

the inn at willow grove

There are 14 rooms (I think 5 rooms inside and 9 cottages around the property), 2 restaurants: Vintage, a 5-star restaurant (housed in a new wing of the house on the right in the pic above), and a pub (housed in the basement through the ground floor door).  I was blown away by how luxurious the inn and restaurants were furnished – an absolutely stunning mix of antiques and contemporary furnishings and accessories.  We got to talk to the owner of Willow Grove, and he told us his wife previously owned a gallery (hence the fabulous artwork) and did all of the interior design herself (impressive!).  Want a little tour?

First up is the sitting room just off the entry.  Um.  Gorgeous.  The coffered ceiling, the drapery, the lighting, the velvet chesterfield sofas, the art, the mirrored coffee table, the zebra rugs…  I wish I had taken more pics of this room, because the upholstery, case goods, and mouldings were glorious!

the main floor sitting room

We ventured upstairs to our room.  Um.  Again, glorious!  Can you get over the zebra stair runner, the stained banisters, balusters and treads, with the simple white spindles and risers, the art…just beautiful!  I wish I had taken a picture of the massive antiqued mirror on the second landing…

such a perfect stairwell!

Up one more flight of stairs and we were at our room: “The Loft”.  It was spacious, comfortable, and very private.  My jaw pretty much dropped when I walked in, because I had no idea what to expect.

We opened the door into a beautiful “receiving room” – basically a hallway to access the sitting room, bedroom, and bathroom.  Sitting on a rustic console was our bottle of bubbly (yum!), a silver tray with full ice bucket, and bottles of Voss water (they didn’t miss a detail!).  How awesome is that abstract art and the green lamp?

Each morning we’d get a knock on our door and handed a silver tray.  On it: french press coffee for two and a paper bag full of the freshest, most delicious beignets I have ever had.  Finger lickin’ good.  Such a tasty way to start the day.

Here’s another view of the receiving room.  Aren’t the wingbacks perfection?!  And the antique rug?  And the zebra crewel pillows?  Not to mention Husband pouring champagne!  *Cheers!*

a view from the sitting room

Here’s a close up of the chairs – I wanted to take them home with me and throw that rug over my shoulder on the way out:

The sitting room is located at the front of the mansion; the window is the arched window in the pediment of the house.  It had a super comfy contemporary sofa (down cushions of course), a flat screen TV on another rustic console, a pair of slipper chairs, and a glorious zebra area rug.

our little sitting room

Every night when we came back to our room, a tray of tea (hot water in thermoses and Trappe tea in the cute triangle packaging) and snacks (petit fours one night, truffles another) were placed on the coffee table.  Bliss!

Next up, the bedroom.  Tufted, linen-upholstered, nailhead trimmed headboard?  Check!  Natura mattresses with massively thick down mattress pads?  Check!  Luxurious Anichini linens with down comforters and fluffy down pillows?  Check!

can i go back please?!

And a close up of the headboard because we all love them:

this headboard is on my wishlist

And then the other cute details of the room, like a comfy chaise with metal pig side table, office nook, and antique shoe mold used as a door stopper (yes please!):

the bedroom was better than home!

And then the bathroom (sigh).  Marble everywhere.  Heated floors.  L’Occitane products.  Kohler Purist fixtures.  Heated towel rack.  Toto toilet.  Body jets in shower.  They really didn’t miss a detail in designing this super functional (given the space!) and fabulous bathroom.  Here are a few shots:

I loved the custom vanity and how it fit so perfectly into the slope of the roof:

looooove the special details in the tile work

Although a small bathroom, there was plenty of room for two people to stand at the vanity with that expanse of tabletop.  And isn’t the towel storage perfect?  And the tile?!  I L-O-V-E wall-mounted faucets, and this was no exception.

great towel storage for a small bathroom with no linen closet!

The shower was perfectly tucked beneath the slope of the roof, and covered top to bottom in more marble tile.  I adored the floor mosaic!  The shower head + body sprayers + handheld sprayer were so wonderful; I hope to incorporate the same into a future bathroom renovation (way down the line of course)!  And of course the heated towel rack and heated floors just made the whole experience better!

love everything about this shower

Now on to the rest of the tour.  We ate dinner in their 5-star restaurant, Vintage, located in a new wing off the house.  I don’t remember what I had but I remember it being delicious.  I ate every last bite (and was tempted to lick the plate).  I didn’t get any pictures of the restaurant, but it was beautifully, tastefully, and trendily decorated – I loved it!  {Vintage  would be a perfect place to have a rehearsal dinner!}

Our second night (a Sunday) we ate in their pub, located in the basement of Willow Grove.  It was very cool, with the original beamed ceiling, travertine floor, great lighting, lots of wood and dark leather, exposed stone and brick and a bar with lounge area (and awesome industrial cart tables) – perfectly masculine and pub-like but not at all a cave.

the pub bar area

The pub also had tables for dinner (with linen slipped chairs and great chandeliers) and an outdoor patio (where we ate) with dancing frog fountains attached to stacked stone walls.  The pub’s menu was more limited than was offered at Vintage, but the food was fantastic, perfectly portioned and priced, and presented with a modern flair.

one of the pub's rooms set for dinner (love the abstract art!)

To round out the tour, the grounds.  Willow Grove has (I think) an additional 9 outbuilding cottages, equipped with fireplaces, porches, and the same amenities, luxury and taste as The Loft did.  We didn’t get to go inside (they were all booked!) but I got a few pics of the exteriors.  All over the property were little seating areas, fountains, and beautiful landscaped pathways.

They also have a dedicated event space on the property: a brand new barn fully decked out for a wedding reception space, and adjoining tented area.  These were set away from the mansion so as not to disturb guests when a wedding is going on.  We didn’t get to go inside, but if it was anything like the mansion, I’m sure it was amazing!

the grounds at willow grove

Basically, Willow Grove was awesome.

Anyone in the DC metro area or in Charlottesville should definitely make a trip to Orange for a weekend away or a special dinner at the Inn at Willow Grove – you won’t be disappointed!

Has anyone been to Willow Grove and had the same experience we did?  Or stayed at a glorious B&B? – I’d love to hear about it and put it on my “to visit” list!

{I wasn’t compensated in any way for this post – I was so impressed by our stay that I couldn’t help but write about it!}

***********

Have you entered the $75 giveaway to Joss & Main???  Giveaway ends July 7th!

Have I got a treat for you this fine Friday!

The fabulous people at Joss & Main, flash sale site for the finest brands and designers for your home, are giving away a $75 credit to Joss & Main for one lucky reader!!!

Joss & Main features exclusive, members-only events that showcase premium home decor brands at discounts of 25-70% off retail. New sales launch daily at 11am and are up for 72 hours.  I’ve had my eye on a few recent items, check it out!

How about this beautiful Kathy Ireland rug – retails $1267, on sale for $745:

kathryn ireland home rug

Or these great black and chrome nesting tables – retail for $349, on sale for $250:

chrome nesting tables

I’m in love with this round silver sparkle mirror – retails for $450, on sale for $199:

round silver sparkle mirror

Here’s how to enter:

1. Sign up for Joss & Main using this link.  (don’t worry, it’s free!)  If you’re already a member, you’re still eligible.
2. Check out Joss & Main’s latest sales and comment below with what you’d use your $75 winnings toward.
3. BONUS ENTRY – tweet or blog about it for an extra entry.  Just make sure to come back and comment that you’ve tweeted/blogged.

The giveaway will be open for 2 weeks and ends at 11:59pm on Thursday, July 7th.  The winner will be chosen using random.org, and announced on Friday, July 8th.

Good luck!

Hello my blog friends!  Okay, was my last post SERIOUSLY April 22nd?!  TWO MONTHS AGO?! Wow.  Y’all probably thought our cute little cottage got swept away in the Vicksburg flooding!  Thankfully, most of Vicksburg proper is set up on bluffs high above the river, so although we were close to the flooding proximity-wise, we were far away elevation-wise.  The house is high and dry!

I guess I should fill you in on what’s been going on!  Well let’s see…

We MOVED.  Yep, it’s true.  This happened about when I fell of the face of blog-land.  The move is only a temporary one (we’ll be back!), but Husband had to leave for a stint overseas, so I decided to come back up to Virginia while he’s away.  Just when we were getting things settled, we packed everything up and put it in storage, got a renter, and moved!  I guess you can see why I haven’t had much to blog about lately without a house of my own to work on…

i miss you, little house! (and goodness i have some work to do outside when i get back...)

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Charlottesville with the parentals, in DC, and at the bay house.  I’m fortunate that my current project for my day job lets me work remotely, but alas, it’s soon coming to an end and I’ll have to be back in DC full-time on a new project.  I will miss this view!

down by the bay...

Stella turned ONE today!  My how the year has flown!  She is seriously the best dog and I love her to pieces.  I might be moderately obsessed with her.  I plan to bake her a doggie-friendly birthday cake tonight and take pictures of her in a birthday hat.  My little furby. 

miss stella, all grown up!

Within the last few weeks, I was bit by the Pinterest bug (thanks Laur).  I ended up transfering over all of my saved inspiration images from the last 2 years to Pinterest, so now the world has access to so many of the images I love.  Follow me!

my new obsession

So that’s about it!  Sorry again for the blog absence…  I’m trying to figure out what direction I want my posts to take for the next several months, so expect some different content very soon!

Also – I am super pumped to have been contacted to do a $75 credit toward Joss & Main giveaway starting Friday – check back tomorrow!!

When we bought our little M’ssippi cottage, there were two old gas heaters left by the previous homeowner.  One was some sort of funky art deco heater (with too many broken/missing ceramic inserts); the other was this cool wrought iron faux coal basket gas heater:

We tossed the art deco heater (no bites on Craigslist and even the antique shops didn’t want it!) and decided to move the wrought iron heater to the living room hearth.  And there it sat all winter.  By the time spring rolled around, we decided we’d finally hook it up – funny because we totally could have used the extra heat on some of those cold winter nights!

gas heater moved to the living room hearth

The heater was FILTHY with years of dust and who knows what, plus super rusty in places from the humid M’ssippi summers.  After detaching it from the gas pipe (which wasn’t connected to a gas source, don’t worry), I took out each and every coal briquette, scrubbing off the years of grossness.

all clean!

See those funny honeycomb looking things?  Those are ceramic inserts that provide radiant heat for these old timey heaters.  The flame heats the underside of the inserts, which in turn heat up the briquettes (also ceramic) and they put off heat without needing a big flame or a lot of gas.

Here are’s peek of the inside of the basket:

Each of those little holes is where the gas comes out.  The ceramic hover above them, and the briquettes get piled up on top of the inserts.

The flame height is controlled by this weird looking contraption on the underside of the heater.  When you twist that lever, it opens/closes a cover, letting in more/less oxygen.  The more oxygen, the higher the flame.

At the end of February, we called our plumber in to inspect the heater for safety and to install a new gas line.  The old pipes sticking up from the floor weren’t connected to anything, and since we no longer had a heater in the bedroom (the other side of the fireplace), we needed that line pulled out.

It didn’t take him long to attach a new pipe to our gas meter and get this heater hooked up!  [Don't worry - we made sure he installed a master on/off switch on the pipe behind the heater so the twist lever doesn't accidentally get knocked, leaking gas into the house!]

the new gas line being put in

I put the ceramic inserts back and piled on the briquettes, and later that night we lit the heater!  I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t nervous the first time we lit it [I may have even hidden around the corner while husband lit it!], but we survived and it definitely heated up the room nicely.

I’m so glad we finally cleaned up the heater and got it functioning!  Check that project off the (never-ending) list!

the fireplace "after"

In one of my more thrilling blogging moments, I’m guest posting over at Brooklyn Limestone today, sharing my favorite nook: our living room.  Make sure you check it out all of the other awesome nooks shared by other bloggers over the past few weeks!  And to those visiting from Brooklyn Limestone, thanks for stopping by!

Stefanie (aka Mrs. L) chronicled one of the more amazing home renovations I’ve ever seen in the blogosphere (or anywhere else for that matter!).  She and her husband lovingly restored a neglected, run-down limestone row house in Brooklyn, seeing past the grunge and grime and layers of paint to the amazing bones the house had.  Combined with her fabulous taste, the result is nothing short of incredible!

Here are a few of my favorite of her renovation before and afters…

Her kitchen:

her kitchen

her master bathroom

her vestibule

Thanks again to Stefanie for having me over!  And if you haven’t checked out Brooklyn Limestone, you absolutely 100% must.  I think my first visit was about 4-5 hours poring over her renovation posts. 

Thanks to the *52* of you who entered to win your choice of one of these beautiful Jessica Smith Jewelry necklaces!

The very lucky winner, according to random.org, is….

Congrats, Karen!!!!  I’ll email you with how to get in touch with Jess!

For everyone else, if you’re interested in purchasing a necklace, visit the Jessica Smith Jewelry website or send Jess an email at jessjiao at gmail dot com.  She does custom pieces too!  Her jewelry would make a great Mother’s Day gift, graduation gift, bridesmaid gift, or just a plain ol’ gift for yourself.  Happy shopping!

Since I (finally) shared what I did in the dining room on the walls, I thought it was about time to share what I did with the dining room chairs: new fabric!  Recovering the chairs was a way simple switcheroo that totally changed the vibe in the dining area, and it only took me about an hour!

Here I am getting started.  What was originally on the dining chairs was gold diamond fabric I put on a few years ago (and pretty much immediately disliked):

All I needed was my new fabric (purchased from the Premier Prints bricks-and-mortar store in Jackson), a screwdriver, scissors (for cutting the fabric and popping out the staples), and a cheapo staple gun.

I flipped the chairs over, one by one, and removed the seats (Stella was very interested in what I was doing):

starting on chair #1

Off came the gold fabric, to reveal the chair’s previous incarnation, some “Wow I’m from the 90s!” flamestitch fabric that my mom used before my parents gifted us the dining set:

holy 90s

[Sidenote: I do realize flamestitch is all over the place right now, and I definitely think it's cool in some applications, but the colors in this particular fabric screamed 90s!  Just wanted to put that out there for all you flamestitch trendsetters!  ]

Beneath 90s fabulousness was a totally 80s rust/cream/pale blue stripe fabric (which totally brought back memories of “fancy” dinners in the dining room when I was little):

I pulled that layer off and discovered the original gold-ish, textured pleather, which I gather was the original fabric on the chairs from the 60s (I think?):

I decided to reattach the striped fabric since a layer of batting was beneath it, adding a little cushion to the otherwise hard seats.

So then I used the flamestitch fabric as a template to cut my new fabric:

Finally, I stapled the new fabric onto the seat, reattached, and voila!  A whole new look!

Rinse, wash, repeat on the other 3 chairs, and I was done in no time!

It was such an easy change, and, to me, made a huge difference to me!  I like that it’s a neutral color in an interesting pattern…not too flashy but just works.

Have you done any high impact, low effort projects lately?  Do tell.

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Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for your choice of one of five gorgeous Anthropologie-ish necklaces from Jessica Smith Jewelry!  Giveaway ends Tuesday night!

Have I got a great giveaway for you or what?!  I’m super excited with this one.  One of my nearest and dearest friends recently launched her own jewelry collection, Jessica Smith Jewelry.  She’s always been the craftiest of our friends and has given some of the most thoughtful, handmade gifts over the years, so it was no surprise to me to see her latest creations!

Last year, Jess was asked by a bride-to-be dear friend to re-create a colorful necklace from Anthropologie so it could be worn at by the bride at her reception.  Um, can you say amazing?!

morgan's reception necklace

Here is the beautiful bride wearing the necklace at her reception:

beautiful!

I was in Colorado with Jess a few weeks ago and she gave me my very own necklace, the Leila. 

i love mine so much!

Jess creates custom necklaces using any color combo and flower style you want.  Or, she can re-create one of the necklaces she’s already made.  Her necklaces cost between $45-75 and can be purchased through her website.

Up for grabs this week is one of her amazing necklace creations.  The winner has their choice of one of the following 5-flower necklaces:

{1} The Ashley S-J, {2} The Leila (pick 5 flowers), {3} The Jess (pick 5 flowers),
{4} The Jordan Green, {5} The Laura

To win your choice of one of the above beautiful Jessica Smith Jewelry necklaces:

1. Leave a comment telling me which necklace you’d choose if you win.  Please make sure to provide me your email so I can contact you if you’re the winner!
2. Tweet about the giveaway (with a link back to this post) for an extra entry.  {Make sure you come back and comment that you tweeted!}
3. Write about the giveaway on your blog for an extra entry.  {Make sure you come back and comment that you posted!}

*Giveaway is open to US residents only.  Only one comment per email address.

The giveaway closes Tuesday, April 19th, at midnight EST!  Winner will be randomly chosen using random.org and announced next Wednesday, April 20th!

Good luck!!!

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