Arizona Red

In August, there was a potential opportunity to move to Arizona. Because of my adventurous spirit, I immediately jumped into daydreaming about Arizona. While I've never had a huge desire to move to the Southwest, I formed the image of my life in a small stucco house opening my glass doors with a rich cup of coffee and admiring the sprawling mountains and bright blue skies. The more I researched "El Pais del Dios", the more I became inspired by the rich hues of the land and culture.

Unfortunately, the "big move" never materialized. However, I am still quite fascinated with all things Arizona. The other night I cozied up in my home (sans internet and television...GASP) and settled in to read Travel+Leisure. Flipping through the articles, I gravitated toward the Top Rated Spa's in the world. I scanned down the list and three of the top ten destination spas were in Arizona. I must not be the only one that wants scenic deserts and gorgeous sunsets.

The reds and oranges are perfect for a fall wedding, but I recently found this DIY wedding on Style Me Pretty. It incorporates browns, reds, yellows and oranges that portrays their style as antique and worn with love. It makes me melt!

To sum it all up, I'm still in North Carolina. But a piece of my heart drifted to Arizona and it may just stay there for awhile.

Keep it sunny!

All That Ruffles

As a little girl, I went to a quaint, little ballet studio for dance lessons. One of my nearest and dearest friends will recall our first recital in our adorable white tutus with pink and light blue accents. It was all ruffles and all fun until we were onstage. During the performance, my ruffle adorned friend called out to her "mommy" and stood there while everyone else had flitted gingerly off stage. I still own the VHS to prove her embarrassment...I really should convert that to a DVD. Anyway, we both have come a long way from that ballet class, but I still adore our costumes and the fantastic ruffles that made me feel so pretty.

Pondering the beauty of volume and layers, I created my first inspiration board entitled "All That Ruffles". The main focus of this board is the camellia. Living in the South, this blossom looks angelic in contrast to our quite dull, snowless winters. I am drawn to very full, layered flowers like camellias and ranunculus. The bottom photo in the board is a picture of the Chanel Winter Wonderland Ball last year. They used ALL camellias and it looked spectacular. It's a wonder to me why people do not use this durable and gorgeous flora. Stay tuned for my camellia centerpieces this winter!

The ruffle effect has a romantic feel that can not be replaced. So my goal is to continue to incorporate ruffles not only into my events, but in my life. The dress above is made by an up and coming designer, Carol Hannah Whitfield. She graduated with me from the College of Charleston and it currently on Project Runway. Her designs are fun, flirty and some are even ruffled! That dress almost brings back my memories of my ballet performance...Thanks Carol Hannah!

Keep it Sunny!

High School Hip

Back in the 9th grade, I went to an all girls private high school. We wore the mandatory uniform, but were left to our own devices to make our very drab plaid kilt and blue blazer (a bit more chic now then when I was 14) trendy and original. Of course, the accessories depended on the person. The "preppy" girls had Tiffany's bracelets and pearl earrings. The "goth" girls had dog collars and boots (when they could get away with it). The list of stereotypes goes on and on. I'm not quite sure where I fit in, but I do remember the one thing I coveted. I thought above all things the one item that would produce my coolness was a Kate Spade pencil case. With a rainbow of colors that kept every pencil, pen and lip gloss in place, I was just dying to have it. Of course, I never got my coveted designer pencil case. I mean really what 14 year old needs that, but one thing has not changed. I am completely inspired by Ms. Spade's fabulous use of color and perspective. I now sport some pretty sassy Spade eye glasses, but I think my favorite item Kate creates is invitations. How on earth could you not have a party with this invite.

Her overall style and color palette (see above: magenta, periwinkle and red) would be genius for a fun, flirty wedding, bridal shower or summer picnic. Ms. Spade - Thank you for inspiring me as a uniform ridden freshman and thank you for inspiring me now!

Keep it sunny!

Mad Hatter

My fabulous friend just returned from a wedding in the beautiful country of Ireland. As two friends with a mutual obsession of wedding design, she automatically sent me the photos of the event. Perusing the photos, my eyes were drawn to the older women of the festivities. They donned one of my favorite accessories, the hat. It was quite surprising to me that none of the younger women used the accessory to show their own personal style. With the resurrection of the hat (think Sarah Jessica Parker), you would think they would embrace the tradition. Alas, no one under the age of 60 was befitted with a hat. And I say, "Shame on you". The hat is such a perfect way to be original. I think you may be able to even go outside of the traditional hat and go for a head piece or feathers. There is an air of romance in a head piece. I have decided that a Mad Hatter Tea Party may be my next venture... Why wait for a wedding across the pond? Of course I endorse wearing a hat to nuptials. As would I would encourage a bride to forego the traditional veil and give another tradition a try. I mean really...if Alice in Wonderland can do it, why can't we?

Charleston Love

New York City? Energetic, trendy. Chicago? Never boring, cold. Charleston? Perfect in every way. I recently returned home from the wonderful state of South Carolina. Every time I pass South of the Border (which I often do), I feel a sense of relief that I'm returning to a place of inspiration and enlightenment. From the remote island of Edisto to the cobble stone streets of Charleston, I discover a whirlwind of beauty.

As I was meandering down King St. and East Bay St. yesterday, I peeked into two very different, but interesting shops. Down on the newly revitalized end of King St. houses a small store front with beautifully made furniture, home decor and letterpress. As you walk in a orange blossom soy candle hits ones nostrils and you instantly feel as though you have wandered into the lovely owner's home rather than her store, Lesesne. It is beautifully decorated and she literally says, "Make yourself at home". Walking through the store, one thing really stood out to me. Designer gift wrap. Yes, at $4.00 a sheet it is a bit ridiculous, but Snow and Graham have beautiful stuff. I purchased two sheets of yellow flowered paper and plan to mount it in large frames to change up my decor in my house. The leftover will be converted into napkin holders for an outside event (I am clinging to the last days of summer)!

The second shop I fell upon was Baked. Apparently, this is a very hip spot with a sister location in New York. It is a fresh look on bakeries. Where cupcakes are almost passe and Starbucks are anything but boring, Baked has your traditional coffees and lattes and offers an incredible array of treats. Most notably, the marshmallow concoctions! They also have a collection of greeting cards by Hello!Lucky. My favorite says the heading "I wanna take you out" with a whole bunch of Chinese take out boxes. Absolutely adorable and original.

Letterpress and cards are one of my favorite things. There is nothing like receiving a card from a loved one or sending a card to a friend. I personally stick love notes or cards in my boyfriend's mailbox. While men may not REALLY appreciate the card, he knows I'm thinking about him. . . and that (I hope) he appreciates.

Keep it sunny!

A Sunny Start

Photo courtesy of Courtney Ryan

on the lovely http://flightofthethorups.blogspot.com/

My name is Samantha and here are the humble beginnings of my design blog. The name of the blog comes from my event planning background. I have planned events on pretty much every day and hour of the year. Monday (check), midnight (check), Sunday evening (check), 7 AM (check). You name the date, time, holiday...I've pretty much done it. But the best parties are always on the luxurious, relaxing Saturday. From a classy Sonoma Valley wedding to a Southern outdoor BBQ, there is nothing better than the fabulous day scrunched in between the hectic Fridays and lazy Sundays that is Saturday. And what goes better with Saturday than sun. So away we go with Samantha's Sunny Saturdays...

Idea for the day: Shoes --- A friend of mine just designed a pair of her very own shoes at Nike ID. Although they were stuck in Qing Dao, China for a few weeks, they are pretty slick. At a wedding I recently attended, my attention was drawn to the dual colored Chuck Taylors all the groomsmen wore. For some reason, they had the word "NEATO" embroidered on the side. While I'm not quite sure why they decided to get that particular slogan, it shows personality.

In events, the bottom line is what will make this different from any other wedding. For a wedding, I think having your very own Nike's would be a great indication of who you are...maybe flip flops on a sunny Chicago beach (yes, there are beaches in Chicago and, yes, I was able to enjoy them over fourth of July) or coveted Christian Loubotins or Manolos.

Bottom Line: Shoes are a glimpse into a person's soul (or sole)...who do you want to be?