Farmstead Foraying: more Preppy Autumn Pleasantries

Autumn afternoons are perfect times for leisurely country-roading and...
...local farmstead-foraying for a bounty of delightful delicacies including...
...old fashioned soda to sip when back onto those country roads heading to...
...my uncle's riverside farm for further outdoors-enjoying with my favorite guy!

The cool crisp days during Autumn Season are always so perfect to get oneself out into especially when they're paired with stunning blue skies overhead!

It's an incredibly rare day when things align to where James and I actually have a "free day-off" together...whenever this happens, we take full advantage of it. Recently one of these beautiful fall days this month found us driving along the country-roads of coastal South Carolina's marsh edges ending up within the still-cute areas of Bluffton. Old Bluffton as our local friends call it.

Bales of hay, pumpkins, sunflowers and tractors were decorating galore' the landscape down one of the rural roads we were driving along. James and I stopped by the most-festive of these small local farmsteads and happily stocked up on their offerings of fresh produce, gourmet canned goods and some old fashioned bottles of orange-flavored Nehi soda. I snapped a couple of pictures while James finished putting a bag of seed corn into the back of his truck he had also purchased and it just felt like... the-perfect-autumn-day.

I have been missing our usual kitchen gardening out on the island with now being mainly here in downtown Savannah. Purchasing herbs, peppers, sunflowers and such from the great markets nested within the historic district still isn't anything like actually growing these myself in our raised beds set out near the island's waterline marshes off our yard. Juggling two garden areas just wasn't possible this year while hopping back into a busy career and dashing between two home locations trying to transition, continue caregiving etc. So I let the island's kitchen garden take a rest after its early-spring production. Awaiting this next spring is an expansion of the in-town courtyard garden. The gradual transformation of our carriage houses' plain courtyard garden area into more of a garden ensues potted-gardening structuring which will eventually include some herbs and possibly heirloom tomatoes, peppers and such.

Looking forward towards our retirement years, James and I are contemplating moving full time onto his family farm and dabbling in some gentleman-farming. Right now out there in the almost middle-of-nowhere-midstate-South-Carolina it's acres n' acres of soybeans, cotton and trees. We envision re-building the farmhouse again in the middle of a cluster of stately pecan trees and having a large area for organic gardening whose excess we could can into gourmet-goodies, cut into bountiful bouquets and even bake for selling at a local roadside stand or the local farmer's market. The proceeds would go to charity and the process of all of this would keep us happily busy and out of trouble in our 70's and maybe even beyond as we age out of our life span.

We're aiming to still be productive in our old age if our ole' bodies allow this to be so...less shuffle boarding on cruise ships and more shucking corn for whipping up into upscale salsas for sale ;) You know me, it'll won't be painted wooden country roosters n' raffia stylin' but rather toile' fabric lining willow baskets with french wired ribbon styling and elegant labels and so forth n' so on...

But until then, farming for me will remain decidedly within kitchen garden parameters unless...

...we're being more city-mouse at the moment like now and so it's "farming via country roads".

Prairie-Preppy...the Pleasantries of Autumn Sunflowers

Huge sunflowers are so-festive this time of year and...
...there's something odd-but-enchanting about their peculiar scent.

Everyone's familiar with this iconic Vincent van Gogh painting however...

...in my humble opinion, this study he did of sunflowers is much more incredible.
Inspired by images of sunflowers, I began to dabble away...
...and watercolored my own little simple-study of sunflowers, what fun!
Watercolor dabbling and spicy tea sipping provides a pleasant autumn evening.

It's kinda' fun during the autumn months to go a bit more "rustic", a tad "rural" with a dash of "prairie romantic" thrown in for good measure: small county fair attending, old-barn building antiquing, farmers' market foraying, sipping spiced cider from a pottery mug and of course...indulging in lots of bright, big ole' sunflowers!

I was at the grocers the other evening and just couldn't pass these sunflowers by...

Have enjoyed having them in the carriage house here and one rainy evening, I decided to do a watercolor study of them- happily painting away to the quiet hush of gentle rain coming down outside the windows. I lit a scented candle, tucked a comfortable little pillow between the small of my back and an upright chair at the table in the living room and just dabbled to my delight.

Lately it's been raining a lot in Savannah which I've been really, really loving. Any other setting, yes, it may indeed get quite tedious to have days and days of rain but here where the Spanish moss drips rain droplets down onto the curvy eaves of Victorian homes and then puddles them onto the sloping expanses of brick steps while mixing this all in with the scented greens, florals and dirt aromas of a tiny courtyard garden...well, now that's actually been downright delightful!

I also valued the rains we experienced out on the island where one could watch storms approach from across the marsh towards the house and then pass along on out into the ocean. Out there I felt invigorated with being literally and proverbially out in the middle of the rain's moving landscape whereas here I feel cozily cloistered within our tucked-back pied a terre' setting.

It's been an incredibly-busy autumn with both James and my careers and so the quiet rainy evenings we can spend at home have been wonderfully restorative.

My wellies are dripping on the floor, the umbrella's leaning against the door, some sunflowers are in a pitcher by the art easel while in the kitchen cinnamon spice tea is seeping as above our roof the skies continue weeping and so... all is sooo very-right in my Savannah Autumnal World.......

...........here's hoping that all of my blog readers are experiencing a wonderful autumn as well :)

A Preppy's Autumn 2011 Stylin'...the classics with a dash of luxurious shine

Jones New York puts the new shiny-sheen perfectly into tweed
Shine, sculpture and deep neutrals add the-pretty to Burberry's neo Preppy
As always, Ralph Lauren gets-it completely right...the look, the lifestyling...

This autumn styling season relegates those thick boxy plaid flannel shirts and heavy tall leather riding boots we old school Preppies love to clunk around in to...well just clunking around the more rustic areas of the countryside as Fall Fashion"s classic staples have gone so wonderfully elegant this season.

Plaid flannel and wool tartans, cashmere cardigans and leather belts, denim and courderoy and all the fabrications of cooler weather classics have been elegantly reinterpreted oh so very prettily!

Shiny detailing such as metallic-sheen leather and the sparkle of a smattering of tiny bugle beads lend a going-out-for-the-evening excitement to the usually more staid wardrobe pieces like cardigan sweaters, high-heeled pumps and thin wool shawls. Animal prints are muted, neutrals are deep and rich, leathers are supple and the overall contexting is all about luxurious comfort. Tall boots have sculpted heels while the calf line is lean, molded to the skin. Blouses are silk shantung. Tweeds have silvery threads intertwined in the woven fabric. It's very day-into-evening without being tacky or too over the top. Finally fall fashions are getting the lighter, more feminine side of pretty that sometimes seems completely relegated to spring's wardrobe stylings.

I really like this direction...the Return To Preppy-Pretty Without Being Patronizing....

...how refreshing, how completely comfortable! How perfect for Fall: this year and every year.

Savannah Swish...some more spottings of it out n' about town

Savannah Swish is quite delish at an artsy cafe' with retro-leanings which is...
...the wonderful Gallery Espresso! Such indoor and outdoor high stylin'...
...as well as spotting it while antiquing in our neighborhood...and while...
...happening upon an awesome band at a retro-bar where even...
...the ladies room is high-styling. Totally impressed me ;)

A little spot here, a dash of it there...

Savannah Swish sightings have been such fun to come across as I settle-in to life around this historic downtown area.

Above are a few more photos of this delightful traditional-meets-retro styling! Enjoy....

Savannah Swish...Southern styling with a modish-retro twist

Growing up in n' around Savannah and then returning frequently, for years and years and yes, years...the overall style was and still is traditional. Traditional with a "capital T". Tradition makes a Preppy's heart happy that's for sure.

Nothing much new was added-in to the styling parameters around here in my earlier Savannah days excepting the fun, bright patterns of purveyors such as Lilly Pulitzer and Vera Bradley. My first bikini was a Lilly one and my mother started me out on the "Black Walnut" Vera Bradley pattern of which I still have several pieces and pull out each autumn to enjoy using. That was bold-stuff back then... the swirls n' swishes of these distinctive prints! Now they're par-for-the-Preppy-course around here, Beaufort, Charleston and other southern coastal spots.

My style-eye's so used to these now that they're akin to plaids, polka dots and pinstripes.

However, there's a new fresh pattering in-town I've noticed crop up around these parts lately. It's not one particular styling or brand, it's more of a movement.

Some would call it retro but I like to think of it as, Savannah Swish!

It's a dollop of Artsy-Retro added into the traditionalism that's so Savannah. It's undoubtedly majorly influenced by the predominance of SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. It's funky, fresh and pure fun. It's not really my style but I sure can appreciate it when I see it.

Savannah Swish is...kinda' Betty Boop meets Scarlett O'Hara!

Scarlett O'Hara on a good day that is. The flirty side of her rather than the manipulative one.

The flirty flounces of Forties kitchen colors and Fifties kitschy patterns n' prints and Sixties psychedelic graphic designs and Seventies haute hippy all collide together in a riot of lifestyle offerings ranging from refrigerator magnets to cocktail dresses to garden sculptures and beyond.

The colors are bright and bold. The designs are noteworthy. The feel is whimsical yet artsy.

It even translates into a street-scene vignette like the one I walked by today just off of Chippewa Square: a bright red mod designed scooter parked near an old wall and flanked by garden urns showcasing a simple flowering of white vinca. I snapped the picture above and smiled...

...I may have returned home to a whole lotta' tradition but I'm also discovering new things too!

P.S. when I have more time out n' about town, I'll add more pics of Savannah Swish styling ;)

Preppy Past Times...the pursuit is decidedly not towards perfection

Happily reunited with my grandfather's violin at the carriage house tonight!

My violins have been out on the island during our move-transitioning. Here I am caught-on-camera playing away a few years ago looking more serious than I ever am...

...since I've always played "just for the fun of it" since I was a young girl...

Ahhh, to pleasurably pass the time away with leisurely past times....

Playing around on stringed instruments, both the violin and viola, has been one of my favorite past times since I was in fourth grade. It's been over 30 years now with my screeching-away formally within an orchestra and informally with being a trio consisting of me, my mother and my younger brother and just happily alone in the living rooms out on a mountainside, an island and now here in a small Savannah carriage house.

I've never been too-serious about my violin playing but maybe it's because I'm a Preppy.

Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals) work hard and play hard, BOBO's (Bohemian Bourgeois) work hard and play hard but try not to look like it and Preppies, well us Preppies may or may not work, may or may not work all tooo hard and as for playing...

...well, let's put it this way, if you see what looks to be a dyed-in-the-100%-wool Preppy trying too hard while they're playing...then they're probably a Preppy Poser rather than a real Preppy.

Real Preppies are from WASP-stock or attitude where leisurely pursuits are just that, leisurely.

There's no trying to fit-in, there's no trying to prove anything or become a professional by perfectionist proficiency with Preppies.

If one's naturally talented in something that's one thing altogether but this doggedly striving to perfect one's game so to speak simply isn't within a true Preppy's cultural vernacular.

To some degree this has hindered present day Preppies as to predominating within today's culture of constant pursuit towards innovation, improvising, investing and ipo's n' such but heck, we're really all about generation after generation of "capital-T tradition" over change and the predominance of trust funds do foster a bit of complacency amongst us. Preppy millionaires yes, Preppy billionaires...not so much. Preppies eschew any 5-minutes-of-fame for the most part and think that our generations-old lifestyle becoming part of a purveyed lifestyle trend for the masses truly misses the whole point of what the definition and distillation of all-things-Preppy really is.... quite oxymoronic indeed!

We may have smart phones yes, but we're for the most part driving older cars, wearing even older cardigan sweaters and have no desires to turn our past times into mega-media-merchandising empires. Try as she might, Martha Stewart is not an authentic Preppy...sorry. Alexandria Stoddard is however and though I don't know the background of Charlotte Moss, just the way she cultivates her designs and presents her stylized proferrings as well as her personal self hood strongly suggests a patrician kind of Preppyness. There's an ease to the luxuriously-limited design worlds and lifestyles of Stoddard and Moss that has never been present in all that constitutes Martha Stewart's vastness, bless her ever-striving heart.

Yes, I'd like my decor'-inspirations and decorators to always be Preppies but I'd like my architect, contractors and plumbers to be decidedly non-Prep.

I'd like my florist to be Preppy but my jeweler, hair stylist, auto-mechanic and any surgeon needed in the future to be also decidedly non-Prep. This being said, some surgeons as well as airline pilots, bankers, lawyers, professors etc. are true Preppies who have an innate talent for doing excellent work and truly enjoy having careers however these kind of Preppies are fewer than the majority-Preps out there in the world.

I am in a true minority within my family n' close friends as to being a Preppy female who enjoys managing people, projects and products; whose few years of being a stay-at-home-wife about drove her crazy even with doing a ton of volunteer work and having plenty of writing projects going on until she could segway her "free time" into a graduate degree, wheh. Now that this ole' gal has returned to her business management career, I am so much happier a person and only would add-in working on a doctorate as any further addition into my life. However, the various pastimes I enjoy such as string instrument playing, watercolor painting, needlework, jewelry making, fly fishing and kayaking and skiing and yoga stretching along with gardening, well.........

..........you'll find me relaxing and laughing because leisure is always Preppy-leisurely with me ;)

Society-soap...Town and Country's fun blowing-of-bubbles at hotel soap theory

Soap Bubbles... an oil painting by Charles Joshua Chaplin (1825-1891)

Every month my subscription to Town and Country magazine provides delightfully relaxed sittings of reading (with a cup of tea alongside) a bevvy of witty writing as well as gleaning the latest wearable fashion information, being inspired by the beautiful page after page of photographed interiors and seeing new ideas for current and future gardening projects I find myself mulling over.

Last month's and this month's issues have been especially fun to read with the addition of a series they're titling, "What The Rich Love To Steal." Hilarious!

The first article is all about hotel soaps. My favorite line in this tongue-in-cheek essay (titled, A Slippery Soap) as to the syndrome now recognized as HSS, Hotel Soap Syndrome is the recognition that, "They are a madeleine for the groomed set, a sensory magic carpet to a time out of time." The author, Vanessa Friedman, does a wonderful job of peering into this purveying for the posh. I laughed throughout it because though I'm not a collector of soaps so to speak, I will throw into my airport regulation-sized ziplock plastic bag half-used hotel amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash and definitely those cute little containers of hand/body lotion.

It's part Scottish-ingrained frugality on my part with wanting to not waste things and thus bringing them back with me to complete the use of them when returned home and part... well, partly I guess my desire for extending the experience-feel of staying amid the various truly-lovely hotels n' resorts I've been fortunate to enjoy spending some time around.

Some places I've returned to because I enjoy them so much like the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan and the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Scottsdale. Other places are within a group of well-run hotels and resorts...James and I particularly like the Hyatt properties around the globe for consistency, high level of service and simple-elegant design n' decor for the most part. Then there are stand-alone classics like The Grove Park Inn and The Homestead: two timelessly elegant places where their spas still rank at the top of any spas I've ever experienced!

James and I agree that where we stay is as much importance as where we're traveling around.

We can budget with the best but of course however... as for travel experiences, we try to stay at the best the area we're within offers or close to it. Sometimes it's fun for us to try-out a smaller boutique hotel like we did when in London a couple of years ago: it was right on Trafalgar Square and super-modern. Not "us" but a blast to be in for a long weekend together we enacted at the last minute. Other times, like the week we spent in Paris, it was well-worth staying in a drop-dead elegant place flanked by Tiffany's, Cartier', Louis Vuitton and other fine purveyors not to mention amazing art galleries, gardens, restaurants, petite' cafes, boutique-styles bakeries with the best madeleines and so forth and so on.

This past spring we took off for two weeks and took our kayaks, fishing rods and snorkeling gear with us down to the Florida Keys: dividing time between Key Largo and Key West. I still have some of the half-used hotel amenities from that vacation and am now using them up here in the Savannah carriage house. The tropical scented lotion evokes key-laced sun, sand and sea bliss.

For some reason, it's the lotions which connotate memories the most for me. I enjoy this...

...soaps? Who needs soaps when a small, neat tube of hand lotion will suffice?

Ahh, the lingering pleasantries of hotel toiletries! Just gotta' laugh at ourselves because yes indeed, it IS sometimes the smallest of things which are indeed ever so impactful in life!