Jen Bowles Design

Easter Report

We colored eggs.
And we decorated them too.

On Sunday the kids {successfully} hunted for their Easter baskets.

And for eggs.
Family came to visit.
And candy was consumed.

Hope you had a wonderful day as well.

(and I hope Typepad isn't making you underline everything you type...grrr)

Weekend Greetings

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

Welcome once again to Friday!
Isn't it wonderful that this day comes once every week without fail??
I've been taking notes, just so I wouldn't forget, about what is making me happy this Good Friday...  

• The sun is shining.  Special bonus: it's warm.  Forecast is for rain showers later, but for now, bright, brilliant sunshine.
• Skirt magazine's Featured Artist page .  Wonderful artists with lots of links!
• My woman has been relocated.  This morning I liberated her from my basement studio space and moved her into my main floor office space.  Against the freshly painted walls and newly "mistreated" windows, she's looking lovely once again.
• This $82 fireplace makeover by The Lettered Cottage.  Great ideas, photos and tips.  I'm on the lookout for fireplace re-do inspiration.  While I don't need to replace our mantle, the ugly brick and brass fireplace cover have got to go!

Wishing you a wonderful, Springy afternoon!

Best Friends Banner

Because her Daddy has a well-timed business meeting and because she has the day off from school on Friday and because she has the best parents ever, Ebby is heading to North Carolina tomorrow morning.  She gets to spend a little over 24 hours hanging out with her BFF whose birthday just happens to be next week.  Of course Ebby had to bring a gift with her.  Rather, several gifts.  Ebby made a bracelet and matching necklace.  She bought gum and M&Ms.  My assignment was to get a $15 Target gift card and a Best Friends picture frame.
I went to Target but they didn't have a suitable frame--and then I totally forgot about the gift card while I was filling my cart with $1.02 boxes of saltines and such.
Fortunately, I was able to redeem myself. 
I picked up a "friends" banner from the dollar spot and assured Ebby that I could doctor it up and make it into a fabulous present.
I believe I succeeded.
I had a hard time wrapping this one up.  I may have to return to Target and get another "friends" banner to cut up--I love this thing!                            

What I did:
First I cut the letters apart in the Target 'friends' banner, which left most of them with large gouges.  I checked my stash of KI Memories chipboard letters and found the letters for 'best' which I then sanded, glued and glittered.  In the meantime, I prepared the banner pieces. I covered scrap chipboard (the fact that my family consumes a box of cereal a day is a double edged sword...) with scrapbook paper on one side and pages from a vintage typewriting textbook on the other.  I used my compass to make varying sizes of circles and cut them out.  I also used my favorite Big Shot die (the lg. scalloped circle).  I did some arranging and re-arranging until I was happy with the overall look.  Then I stitched a few of the pieces, glued on the letters and added the embellishments--goodbye gouges.  Next I printed out the pictures and mounted them to covered chipboard.  Finally I strung it all together and declared it my most favorite banner I've ever made.
Until the next one ; )        {click on any picture to enlarge}    

 

Savannah Favorite: @home vintage general

When I was planning our trip to Savannah, I found an awesome resource:  the design*sponge Savannah city guide .  Written by a Savannah insider, the guide gives you not only an exhaustive list of the places to shop, dine and stay, but also a wonderful overview of the so-called Hostess City of the South. 

Read it.  You won't regret it.

It was while perusing the d*s Savannah guide that I read about @home vintage general.

Located in the Downtown Design District on W. Broughton Street, @home is an absolute delight for anyone who appreciates treasure hunting, painted furniture, unique home decor items and vintage inspired vignettes.
Super gracious owner and
SCAD grad Liz Demos
refers to the shop as her 'creative laboratory' and her experiments are delightful. Liz also works as a freelance producer & photo stylist for several shelter magazines and her artful hand is evident throughout the shop. 

My favorite little corner was the office supply area.  It was there I spent quite a bit of time digging through wire baskets of vintage trading cards, game pieces and flash cards. 
I really loved the giant scissors and all of the wonderful ribbon and trims as well.
Of course the store windows were delightful and the selection of children's merchandise was unique.  And I was thrilled to actually look at several vintage school charts in person (too bad they were too big for my carry-on luggage...).  Did I mention the wonderful soaps or the cards and the vintage millinery and sewing supplies??

Vintage General.  An excellent description and an excellent store.

And to think we almost didn't make it there {eek!}.  On Friday afternoon we were on Broughton St. and had visited several shops.  I had my trusty travel notes and somehow had gotten it in my head that @home was on East Broughton Street.  We walked a few blocks and after passing a car dealership, were met with several empty storefronts.  My heart sank.  Fortunately on Saturday we continued our trek farther down West Broughton and were duly rewarded.

Thank you to Liz for letting me take photos of her wonderful shop, I can't wait until my next visit!                                        

One String at a Time

Recently, I participated in the One String at a Time swap hosted by Artsy Mama  on her Year of Color blog.  Each partner made a garland or bunting out of the material of their choice, the only requirement was that it be 48 inches long (includes the string).  Since the mail out date was just last Friday, I'm not sure if my partner has received her package yet (look away, Kathie!). However, since I've posted about nothing but my Savannah trip more than a week, I thought I'd change it up.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific, here's what I sent my partner:
Seems we share a love of the ocean : )  I really enjoyed working with this color palette and making a banner just for fun.  I even managed to use an appropriate book for the background text behind the glittered letters (The Sea at Ebb Tide).

A few close ups... 

See more in the Year of Color flickr pool!  

And now that it's begun to downpour, I must go pick up Cuyler at school.  Perhaps I'll drive instead of walk today...
  
 

Tastes of Savannah

Yes, another Savannah post.
You know you love them ; )

Over the 4 days we were in Savannah, we sampled a kaleidoscope of different foods.
Morrocan on Friday night, Southern food at Mrs. Wilkes on Monday, ice cream at Leopold's, and even a cupcake (or two...).

When I thought about it, I found that 3 flavors stood out as being the 'signature' flavors of my trip:  peach, pecan and honey.

#1 Peach
Not surprising, since Georgia's nickname is the Peach state.  The first food I had in Savannah (at the aptly named smooth) was a Savannah Sunrise smoothie, a delicious blend of pear, apricot, mango and of course, peaches.  It totally hit the spot.

#2 Pecan
Another big Georgia export and one of my favorite nuts.  I sampled some pecan pralines along the river (warm, buttery and oh so good) and at afternoon tea on Saturday one of the cake slices was topped with a pecan half dipped in chocolate and mounted on a dried apricot.  Hmmm, my mouth is watering.  My most defining pecan dish was a baked sweet potato topped with cinnamon butter and pecans at the Express Bakery and Cafe.  Sublime.

#3  Honey
This one was a bit unexpected. I did have the Savannah Bee Company store on my list of places to visit.  I just didn't know how good is was going to... bee : )
Artisanal honey in so many unique and varied flavors--and a honey bar where you could sample several of them including Tupelo, Sourwood, Black Sage and Orange Blossom.  Then they had the so-called dessert honeys:  Creamed Raspberry and Winter White.  So, so delicious.  Finally they had a plate with honeycomb, Granny Smith apples and sharp cheese.  Again, heavenly.
Conviently, they sell 3oz jars of honey, perfect for your carry-on luggage.  It took me a while to decide between the Winter White and the Creamed Raspberry.  I finally chose the Winter White (after a couple of follow-up sample tastes...).  What I should've done is trashed my tube of travel toothpaste and bought both!  Oh well, there's always mail order...
But the best taste of honey I had, and indeed my tastiest memory of my whole Savannah sojourn, was the SCAD/Savannah Bee Honey Almond  ice cream at Leopold's.  To. Die. For.
Truly.   

So there you have it, Jen's Tastes of Savannah.  Nothing from Paula Deen,  nothing fried, not even any grits.  Of course if you go, you should certainly try all of that fare. And then head over to Leopold's for some Honey Almond to clear your palette!

 

Natural Savannah

I've been a little slow getting back into the swing of things this week.  I think it could be jet lag.  While technically true that Boston and Savannah, GA are in the same time zone, I think anytime you go on a plane, especially with connecting flights, you are subject to jet lag ; )
As I may have mentioned, this was my second trip to Savannah.  We went once in 2006, with the family as a side trip from our Spring Break vacation on Hilton Head.  We just spent the day, took a trolley tour, walked along the river and had lunch.  This time the trip was four days and much more "in depth", but one thing was the same:  the dates I was there.  The end of March.
Savannah in the Spring is beautiful.  Savannah at any other time of year may also be lovely, but since I've only been there in the springtime, that's all I can speak to.
It was such a wonderful change of scenery, to leave the cold and dark of Boston (ok, it was 5am...) and be transported to the warmth and color of Savannah.

The flowers and blooming trees are like Mother Nature's sneak preview, the promise that Spring is coming.  Everywhere.
Eventually.

But my favorite natural element in Savannah isn't really that colorful at all.  Mostly shades of grey, brown and a bit of green.
It's the live oaks.
I love the live oaks draped with Spanish moss.  Let's me know that I am indeed someplace different, someplace enchanting and wonderful and slightly mysterious.

{I just finally finished reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a definite must for anyone venturing to or interested in Savannah}

Yep, eventually Spring will be here too.  Right now we're only so far as the bulbs sending their tender green leaves poking out of the no longer frozen soil and the very beginnings of leaf buds on the trees.  But eventually it will be Spring here too.

Without the Spanish moss.

Signs of Savannah