My dream of dressing in tennis whites has died...

After trying on a tennis dress today and wondering "why does this look so ridiculous on me?" I've come to the realization that I don't even know what a tennis dress is supposed to look like on much less what the tennis fashions are these days...  

Which led me to wonder, who do I want to be my tennis fashion icon? Anna Kournakova maybe a little too sexy, Serena Williams a little too wild.  And then I remembered -- Melanie Oudin and her amazing shoes at the US Open!

You can design your own pair like them at adidas.com!

but  first I'll give you a little background on my relationship with tennis..

I've never actually played.... but when I was college, I came across the CUTEST tennis skirt one summer when I was working in retail. I was looking for any excuse to justify its purchase. I considered wearing it as a running skirt - I mean what could be better than that - wear comfy spandex underneath but not feel so exposed!?!but my friends told me was a completely ridiculous idea...

Funny how now Lulu Lemon has 3 different styles of running skirts on their website...

I TOLD you it was a great idea!!

It was about that same time that my mom told me I was not allowed to start any sports simply because I liked the apparel associated with it.  (Bermuda's were kind of in that summer and I was also considering golf.) That kind of put the tennis thing on hold for awhile, but for Christmas 2 years ago, I asked for a racquet and some sneakers, but found that finding court time in NYC was more of a challenge than I was looking for. 

Now I live where it's warm most of the year and there are tennis courts a plenty! Thus the adventure today in tennis outfit shopping.  

It was just one of those commical things where I started trying dresses on and had to keep sizing up and sizing up until I realized I was never going to be comfortable playing tennis in what is effectively a bathing suit with a 2 inch skirt attached...

I finally ended up with a fairly simple skirt by Nike --- to bring it home and realize that it's labeled a GIRLS size medium, not a womens!? At this point, I'm beyond confused.. but it does explain why it was cheaper than the other ones I was considering! 

Ironic though -- the whole reason I got into tennis is now becoming my biggest obstable!  But regardless, I've got to hit the courts in my girls skirt and ugly sneaks, if only to give myself the reason to invest in a pretty pair like Melanie Oudins!

My amazing Palmetto Bluff adventure

On Martin Luther King Day, I found myself with a little extra free time.  The granite place that I had planned to visit with my Dad was closed for the holiday and the weather was just beyond beautiful.

We had driven past the sign for Palmetto Bluff, which has a fairly non-descript entrance from the main road.  I thought I remembered it being the location of the Tree House, but being new to the area and with the South Carolinian's over-use of the word "palmetto", I was no longer sure if this was the site for the Tree House or just one of the many developments down here.

We decided to chance it and I'm so glad we did!!! It ended up being the best afternoon!  The drive in is about a 4 mile long path between overhanging trees covered in spanish moss.  You pass a bridge overlooking the marsh and it's truly breath taking and immeadiately relaxing.

Although it's new construction, the architecture is done in true lowcountry style down to the gas lantern street lights and pavers on the road.  Pictured here is Buffalo's restaurant where I enjoyed a lunch of fried green tomatoes, roasted portabella flatbread and a chocolate chip cookie. I'm salivating just thinking about it, but besides the menu, the setting is just fantastic with fireplaces inside and a beautiful patio overlooking the water.

These are the awesome water views I'm talking about!!! And these are just the pictures that I took myself.. It's even more beautiful when you check out the photos done by the professionals.

The restaurant also looks over to this adorable chapel.  I could barely contain myself during lunch as I was declaring " Dad, THIS is where I want to get married!!!"

Isn't it just so cute?!!? I had always thought I'd end up getting married on Nantucket, but that's what's so great about this place, it really feels like the "Nantucket of the South." Beautiful with the historic charm, but with better weather and easier to get to!

Here's the adorable inside!! It will have to be a small wedding, but when my brother came to visit, he and I were already calculating how many people we can cram in a pew. (And amazingly I have not scared off the boyfriend yet with this wedding talk haha!)

But  don't worry, while I've started to pick up the southern use of"y'all,"  I'm still in the NYC dating mentality and in no rush to go down the aisle -- ALTHOUGH, The Inn at Palmetto Bluff  was just voted #1 Resort in the US by Travel and Leisure which I'm nervous will eventually lead to higher prices and limited availability as it becomes increasingly well known. I'm simply in love with this firepit/adirondack chair/palm trees combination.

The site once housed the Wilson mansion which was built in 1902 for a wealthy New York banker.  The structure burned down in 1926, but the stone stairs and columns remain.  I just find the ruins fascinating! There's just something about aged material and that connection to the past that I love.

As you can tell I'm kind of obsessed and I'm certain that I'll share more pictures of Palmetto Bluff in the future since I make sure to go there at least every time we have guests in town!! Above is a picture of some shops and I haven't even been into them yet, I still have so much to discover there!

You had me at The Treehouse

I've started dating a great guy here and in one of our early conversations he shared with me this amazing company, Reclamation By Design. Now, I don't often watch videos on the computer, but he recommended that I watch their Tree House video.

I was floored! I'd been loving the look of recycled building materials - all the wear adds so much character!! But this home is just so far above and beyond what I could have imagined. You  have to watch the entire video - it's awesome, I mean it's basically what made me fall for my boyfriend! ha ha

Here are a few pics of the house, but really they don't do it justice like the video does.

The doors leading into the library are handmade chestnut originally located in a 19th century New England goverment building

I just die over the ceiling in this kitchen.  I really wanted to add beams in my living room renovation, but just decided it wasn't really going to work in my 80's contempo space. (Hilton Head unfortunately had a big hit of development in the 80's so rather than gorgeous low country architecture, we're kind of stuck with a bit of a mess.)

Budget restrictions prevented me from having salvaged wood floors or beams on the ceilings, but I am going to have a beam for the mantel.  Reclamation By Design not only designs homes but they also sell reclaimed materials, so I'm very excited to check out what they have.  I love the piece they used above the fireplace in the tree house.

This picture is not from the tree house, but I just wanted to share it as my inspiration for my fireplace.  We ended up going with a limestone instead of concrete, but you can get the idea. I can't wait til it's complete!

It's grey and rainy outside and raining coffee on my grey walls inside

I'm trying to keep the blog from becoming a running list of my living through a renovation complaints...  

But I'm really wondering, what interior design god did I offend today that had me trip on the edge of the torn up flooring and spill my coffee all over my freshly painted bedroom wall???

I'll be completely honest though, I haven't fallen in love with the grey that I picked for the walls... (Sherwin Williams Grey Screen SW7071).

It's way too lavender.... is this a sign that I should repaint in a new shade!?

Shopping Sick

I realized yesterday, that I'm suffering from some shopper's malaise. I'm feeling a bit unfulfilled.  It's not that there aren't some fabulous places, which I've been dying to share with you... It's just that I'm realizing, in NYC, I walked everywhere I went.  Which meant that every single day was at least a window shopping adventure. Unless you consider Home Depot a shopping adventure (which I do not), I'm only getting a good shop in about once a week.

Shopping to me is less about actually spending money and buying things, I mean let's be real, I'm not a Rockefeller. But my thrill with shopping is seeing new objects, trends, colors and finding inspiration.

I also realized, to my shock and horror that it took so long to notice (that's what happens when your house is turned upside down with renovation construction) that I haven't signed up for any catalogs to my new address!!


Of course, straigh off to J.Crew I went and now in 2-3 weeks, I will have my catalog and all will be well again.

 

I can at least get to a J.Crew outlet store down here, but the one true void in my life --- West Elm. Just going to the website to sign up for the catalog made me swoon.

But now that I have diagnosed my problem, I'm working on ways to fix it! Another contributing factor was that I was missing the blog, but with the house design process there just wasn't the computer time to do it! But I think we're getting there!!