Style File: Sport Jackets and Slip Skirts
3 months ago
Levees in our backyard
So some of you may be wondering... why Levees & Lace???
Growing up, I was always super girly. I wanted to wear anything that was pink, sparkled, and had a skirt. As I got older, that didn't change much {although hopefully my sense of style changed a little}, but Sarah and I began to realize we did not live in the most convenient place to find the latest trends or try them out for that matter. Just beyond our backyard was not Neimans or Saks, it was a rice field field {see below}. However, thanks to our amazing parents who traveled with us all over the country, we were exposed to much more than what was in our "backyard". These family vacations helped cultivate our love for fashion, travel, food, and a world outside of the Mississippi Delta while at the same time giving us a great appreciation for where we were raised.
Here is a bit of a description about where the "Levees" of Levees and Lace originated and what it means to us.
It has been more than sixty years since Papa {our grandfather} moved to Mississippi to farm rice--a business that our family is still in today. As you can imagine, we grew up eating a lot of rice {had to support the industry}. Granny {our grandmother} rarely served a meal that did not include some version of it on the menu. Her famous white rice {recipe below} was delicious and really didn't need anything to help jazz it up, although there was typically at least one type of gravy for Sunday lunch.
I am often asked why I buy rice from the grocery store if we farm it. Well I guess you need to know a little more about the process of farming {if it was as easy as I am about to make it sound, everyone would probably be doing it}. After the rice has been planted and grown tall enough, the field is flooded. Levees {the small dirt hills in the pic below} are used to move water throughout the field from higher ground to lower lying areas.
The water is drained from the field before it is time for harvest-at which point the rice turns a golden brown color. We {Daddy} uses a combines to harvest the rice from the field {shown below}.
Chalk paint transformation {part 1}
Labels:
DIY,
Interiors,
Paint projects,
Sarah
·
When my good friend, Jane, asked me to help her paint a piece of furniture for her little girl's "big girl room", I jumped at the opportunity! She told me that she wanted a "chalk paint look", and I knew this would be super fun and easy :)
After talking with her I realized that Jane did not know of Annie Sloan Chalk paint and all of its glory. So, we talked about colors, and I dropped by an Annie Sloan dealer in Jackson, MS for a can of "Pure" and "Clear Wax".
Here is a picture of the inspiration of Ava Montgomery's "big girl room"....
...We thought a big white chest of drawers would fit in perfectly.
Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take a before picture of the chest, but just try to use your imagination. First I had Jane, with some help from her sweet husband Richard, remove the handles and knobs and fill the holes from the hardware with wood putty. After Jane's husband and dad moved the piece out to their lake house and set us up in the basement/garage, we started painting. We started with a quick thin coat of paint, no sanding involved! {This is the greatest part about using chalk paint}
Then, we let that coat dry over night. Next we sanded the spots where the holes had been filled. This could have been done first, but we did not have the sandpaper until the next morning. Then, we continued with a second coat, and, in some places we even added a third. We were shocked at how quickly the entire job went, and Ms. Ava Montgomery even got to "help" transform this piece of furniture for her room!
Lastly, we decided we could not wait on hardware to be ordered/shipped so we headed into Oxford to find some knobs. After some debate with the store owner about whether or not they would work correctly, we decided to purchase some beautiful glass knobs from AC's. The knobs were originally made to be used as door knobs (not pulls), so we made a quick trip to the hardware store to purchase some nuts. With the minor adjustments the knobs worked perfectly! We couldn't be happier!
The last steps are to wax the chalk paint using clear wax for a more finished, matte result and to add some knobs or handles to the doors (the ones we purchased were too big and bumped together).
Stay tuned for pictures of the the final product in Ava Montgomery's finished "big girl room"!
Enjoy,
Sarah
Daydreaming of sunshine....
Labels:
Fashion,
Nicole,
Summer Style
·
The One Piece:
Looking forward to some time in the sun soon!
Enjoy,
Nicole
Shhh...
The color I chose is Petal Rose, but I have heard great things about many of the colors. It never dries your lips out and is sheer enough to swipe on quickly. Enjoy!
Sarah
Sun room redo...
Labels:
DIY,
Interiors,
Paint projects,
Sarah,
Sarah's house,
Stencil
·
For the love of stenciling....
Since buying a house in February 2011 I have learned many new DIY tricks and experimenting with new things is one of my favorite things to do. Most recently, I decided to try an all over wall stencil in my sun-room. Here is the before...
This is actually what the room looked like when we bought the house, so the previous resident had actually taken all of the items. It was first carpeted and we had the floor tiled when we did some work in the bathroom across the hall.
This project was inspired by a beautiful wall covering that I found from the Thibaut Geometric collections.
After I figured out how much the wall covering would cost (approximately $400), I started looking into less expensive options. My mother-in-law (who also happens to be an interior decorator) told me to look into wall stencils. After researching a few places online, I decided to go with an all over wall stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils since they had one that looked very similar to the lattice design that I liked. I also had to decide on a color that looked similar to my original inspiration. After debating for a long time, I decided I just needed to pick. After trying my first sample pick, I decided on Sherwin Williams "Aviary Blue".
Directions....
First, I had to prime the walls, and I chose to use a plain latex Kilz.
Next, I painted the entire room bright white with a latex paint. And, finally, after two coats of boring white, I got to start stenciling!!!!
Unfortunately, I decided to start at the bottom (just because it was easier), but after the project I learned that it would have been a much better idea to start at the top. The stencil company sends a straight edge stencil that is smaller and easier to navigate the ceiling line. Since I started at the bottom the repeat did not end at the correct part of the design to be able to use the small stencil.
After one (or a few) mess ups I quickly learned how to line up the stencil quickly and easily. I simply followed the directions provided by Cutting Edge Stencil which can be found here.
Lastly, I decided to just do the one "plain" wall in the room and finished it by painting the rest of the room blue. And, here is the finished job.
I would love to know what you think!!
Enjoy,
Sarah
Hair vs. Humidity
Anyone who has experienced summer in the Mississippi Delta
knows that you are guaranteed a few things: crops growing in the fields as far
as the eye can see, mosquitoes the size of birds (ok maybe not quite that
big—but close), and the nearly 100% humidity. In this sort of heat, there is no
such thing as “glistening”. This is the kind of heat that makes a southern lady
sweat. It makes you wonder why you just spent so much time on your hair since
five minutes after walking out the door it became a “giant frizz ball” [or for
some people it falls flat--clearly my sister and I do not have the second
problem].
For days like this, I’m a big believer in going with whatever
is natural (I have not always had this philosophy). Let’s face it, your hair
will most likely end up taking that route anyway. In my case, I have curly hair
so I just try to calm it down and keep it from frizzing.
Below are a few of our favorite products and tricks that we
have picked up throughout the years…
t-shirt… When I wear my hair natural, I “towel” dry it with a
t-shirt. I heard about this concept from other people and thought it seemed
pointless. Joke’s on me, because I tried it and my curls are much less frizzy
when I scrunch my hair using a t-shirt after washing it instead of a towel.
iSO Tamer… This is my all-time favorite curly-hair product. I
started using it in 8th grade and have tried other products several
times. More expensive products might I add. This one has two great features—it
does not make my hair “crunchy” and it is very inexpensive in comparison to
others.
Frederic Fekkai
Glossing Cream… I love to use this product after my hair has been fixed all
day and I need to make it look good better at the end of the day—or as
we call it, “spruce up.” I remember the first time Sarah told me to try this.
We were in Oxford and had been out shopping most of the day. We only had time
to run home and “spruce up” before going to dinner. Here is the pic from that
night.
UpDo’s… If I know
I am going to be out in the heat for a long period of time, I have learned to
just go ahead and put my hair up before I leave the house. This helps me avoid
the impromptu “messy bun” fiasco in a public restroom where there may or may
not be a mirror depending on the venue. A bonus—pictures typically look much
better. More to come on this topic in
the future…
Sisterly Love
·
So, here we are! The glamorous farmer's daughters from Hollandale, MS. This is one of our finer moments in life on one of our infamous family vacations. I am not sure of our exact ages (or location), but you can clearly see that we had a keen sense of fashion from the beginning ;-) We still love our accessories!!!
Over the past 6 months or so my sister and I have discussed starting a blog, and today we have finally done it! We hope to bring everyone our perspectives on life in the south from topics on our own home projects to those on fashion and our idea of glamour.
My name is Sarah, and my sister is Nicole. We grew up "smack dab" in the middle of no where on a farm in the Mississippi Delta. No, we did not heard cattle or milk the cows every morning, but we did learn to enjoy delta sunsets, sweet tea, and a laid back southern lifestyle that most may never understand.
I currently live in Indianola, MS and work as a pharmacist, and Nicole is in Atlanta, GA working for a digital marketing company. We hope that we can provide a very diverse, interesting, and informative place for our readers.
Enjoy,
Sarah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
