Dwell by Cheryl: Table Decor

Showing posts with label Table Decor. Show all posts

"Black Southern Belle's 2016 Tastemaker Summit Charlotte"

Every now and then you meet someone with whom you immediately clique. Such was the case when I finally met the woman behind Black Southern Belle. It seems like just yesterday that I received an email in my inbox from Michiel. She had just launched her blog/website and was looking to feature black, southern women who were creative entrepreneurs. Glad to help, I submitted my first post to the new blog and it was featured on May 11th of last year. You wouldn't believe the growth of Black Southern Belle (BSB) since then. When we finally met face-to-face last year, I think we could've talked for hours. I absolutely loved her desire to create a place where BSBs could find a hub to support other black women in the south through using their services and/or reading about their life and achievements.

Shortly after launching BSB, she created the Black Southern Belle Collective. Her vision for this arm of her brand is to create a curated network of diverse Southern-based vendors who are interested in investing and supporting each other’s business success and providing unique opportunities for the Black Southern Belle consumer. How awesome is that?!? The development of the collective was the impetus for the Tastemaker Summit she recently hosted locally.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography
NOTE: How awesome is this program by Suite Paper?

I'll be honest, I was excited about this event from the very start. I knew if Michiel had anything to do with it, it would be absolutely fabulous...I was right!

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

The event took place at my design pal, Danielle McKim's TUFT (Today’s Unique Furniture Trends) location. The stage was beautifully set for what was sure to be an event to remember.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

If you're local and you haven't checked out Tuft, you need to. Danielle's storefront offers beautiful furnishings, art and accessories.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

There was so much pretty, it was almost hard to take it all in. From the swag bags we received upon entering to the amazing programs and souvenir books. It was all just perfect!

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

The place was a buzz when attendees began to arrive likely because so many of us were already friends, followers and fans of one another on social media. Meeting and chatting in person was icing on the cake.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Speaking of cake...The food was artfully prepared by Gravy Waltz and

let's just say I had my share of delectable delights.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Michiel opened things up by sharing her story with us and welcoming everyone to this inaugural event. I was fortunate to be one of the distinguished panelists for the day along side LaVonndra Johnson, Founder of Elle VJ and Dainty James and Mary Guerry, Sales Manager for Charleston Visitors Bureau. We kicked things off by discussing the importance of partnering with brands and business to build your own.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

I loved sharing my journey with the group. The attendees were so engaged and so very supportive.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

The opening panel was followed by Stephanie Gibbs who gave us the low down on creating amazing floral arrangements. Let's just say I left with a page full of notes and a shopping list for what I need to make my own arrangements that I can only hope will be half as beautiful as hers.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Next up was my friend Jill McKenzie of Steve McKenzie's in Atlanta. I actually met Jill a couple of years ago at the Design Blogger's Conference. She's an excellent resource for designers and apparently an expert on setting a beautiful table. She shared with us four seasonal looks that were simple, unique and absolutely beautiful.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Thanks to Jill I spent the following day combing the aisles of local thrift and resale shops looking for great pieces to add to my seasonal tablescapes.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

LaShawnda Beacoats, Editor in Chief and my connection with Pride Magazine, was up next to moderate the second panel of the day. This group, which included my friend Jennifer of Pure and Simple Organizing, shared with us the value of PR and media in building your own personal brand.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography
(L to R: LaVonndra Johnson, Founder of Elle VJ and Dainty James, Leah Knepper Associate Vice President, French/West/Vaughan and Jennifer Burnham, Owner, Pure and Simple Organizing)

The final panel of the day focused on adding a storefront to your brand. These inspirational guru's (L to R Nicole Clayton, Owner, The Cloth Mill at Eno River, Ariene Bethea, Owner, Dressing Rooms Interiors and Jill Mckenzie, Co-owner, Steve Mckenzie’s Not Pictured: Danielle McKim) shared the good, bad and the ugly as it relates to taking on a retail or event space.

Photo courtesy of Denise Benson Photography

In addition to the dynamic speakers and workshops, the opportunity to connect with so many other black southern belles was priceless.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

Courtesy of AMB Party Booths

If I could do the entire day over again, I would. That's just how amazing it was. Oh, did I mention it was my 40th birthday? I can't think of a better way I could've spent it. There is nothing like encouraging and being encouraged by others. There was definitely a sense that we are all in this together and that's a great feeling to have.

Before I sign off, I'd be remiss if I didn't shout out the person responsible for making it all happen. I have a feeling the half has not been told. I'm so proud of what Michiel is doing and all that she's accomplished in such a short time. I'm amazed by the fact that she's so very willing to not just to promote herself but also to promote others.

You know, we BSBs get a bad wrap sometimes. We're often presumed to be snobby, stuck-up, unapproachable, etc. (Not true by the way.) Sure, we may be a little prissy (ok a lot prissy), and we may like nice things, but we also have HUGE hearts and Michiel is a shining example of that if I've ever seen it.

#BSBproud

Photo courtesy of Michelle Flowers Photo

Be sure to check out www.blacksouthernbelle.com
Until next time...

"Friendsgivingmas Dinner"

What an action packed weekend! I had an awesome install on Saturday and hosted my friends for Friendsgivingmas on Sunday. Honestly, I went into panic mode on Saturday night when I realized that I was totally NOT ready for guest and I was absolutely exhausted from more than a week of running.

Thankfully I have great friends who don't mind chipping in and bringing things, so my events usually end up being potlucks. Let's just say that's a great thing for someone as busy as I am.

I was most excited about decorating for the event. I've been dying to use my gold flatware and this seemed like the perfect time. I decided to go with mixed metals since

I had silver chargers and purchased new brass ones at the ReStore recently for $2.00 each!

After picking up some fresh flowers I ended up keeping things very simple. Alstroemeria is always a budget-friendly option and well....hydrangea are hard to resist.

I was really pleased with how things turned out and best of all it was super simple.

The food was fantastic and we all had a fabulous time! I may have just started a new tradition.

Did I mention that the paperwhites I planted in November decided to bloom just in time.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

"The Easter Table"

I'm super excited about this post for a number of reasons. First, I'm exploring incorporating more video into my blogs and second because I'd like to also begin to share some quick nutrition tips with you as well. If you weren't already aware, I'm actually a Registered Dietitian by trade and I must admit after launching Dwell by Cheryl, the thought of leaving that piece of me behind made me a little sad. Well, after receiving some very wise advice from a very knowledgeable source, I realized that maybe I don't have to leave it behind after all. So on today's post, I'm giving it a try. I'd love to know what you think.

With Easter swiftly approaching, I thought I'd share with you a quick and easy tablescape for your holiday dinner. There's just nothing like a beautifully set table to make your meal more special, and it's not as difficult as you think. Chances are, you've got all of those pretty dishes stacked away in the cabinets, so why not use them?

Here's how....

Side note: Don't you love that I'm frozen with my mouth wide open. Go figure. : )

Lastly, since we're discussing entertaining, it's the perfect time to think about what's on your menu.
March is National Nutrition Month and this year's theme is Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.

Most people think that healthy eating is about giving up all of the foods they love, but your cultural traditions and food preferences can easily be incorporated into a healthy diet. The key is:

Moderation- Maybe you can't eat the Glazed Ham, Macaroni and Cheese and Potato Salad, so consider switching out one option to a side salad instead.
Portion size- We all love sweet treats like dessert, but if you're planning on three layer Coconut Cake this Sunday, limit yourself to one slice with dinner.
Physical Activity- Easter weekend is all about celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not to mention sharing the love that He shares with us. What a perfect time to spend with family doing something active i.e. an afternoon walk or a trip to the park.

It's not about giving up your favorites at all. It's about considering your total diet and overall pattern of food you consume. That's what's most important.

For more information, including healthy eating tips, click HERE.

Have a very happy and healthy Easter!

"Winter Wonderland $13 Tablescape"

So pleased that I was able to get almost everything done on my weekend To Do list, especially since it was a pretty long list. One of the first items was to take down the first of four trees and convert the Christmas tablescape to a winter one.

Mission accomplished! As I mentioned in this post, I'd been wanting these First Frost plates from Target for years. Mrs. Claus was able to find them at a discount retailer at home for a great price. Instead of packing them away until next year, I decided to use them through the winter. Why not? The snowflake design certainly makes them versatile enough to go beyond the Christmas holidays.

Target

I picked these small metallic flower pots up at Goodwill (where else?) for $0.99 each. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but for $3.00, I figured I'd find something. I did.

On a late night trip to Lowe's, I scored these metallic pine cones for $2.00 a box, and a scheme was born.

I picked up two boxes of the pine cones, (even though I only needed the silver ones, I figured one can always use gold pine cones), some Spanish Moss and some clearance Christmas cactus. Succulents are big right now and the cactus has that same look.

The addition of some "frosted' garland that I already had and a fabric remnant runner and, "Viola!"

It has the winter wonderland vibe I was going for, don't you think? I'll probably keep it through January at least. I'd say it was $13 well spent. Dinner party anyone? Happy Monday!

P.S. Can you tell I used my new camera?

"Dishing it Up"

I have a small obsession with dinnerware. I'm really not sure what it is about it that I love. If you ever dine in my home, you're pretty much guaranteed not to eat off of/with any paper or plastic products. I'm one of those who believes that the finer things are made to be used and not dusted. Seriously, what good is "good" china if you can't use it?

I'm thoroughly enjoying (at least looking at) the Christmas Fiestaware that I got for my birthday. I have to admit that I used to think Christmas dishes were a little cheesy, but I had a change of heart a while back ago.

www.fiestafactorydirect.com

Today, there are so many options that it's difficult not to find something that you love and that will work in your dining space.

There are traditional options like this classic set....

Mikasa Outlet

And there are modern ones like this Kelly green ikat. Love!

C. Wonder

I heard from a little birdie that Santa picked me up a set of these plates. I've been wanting them for years. Looks like I may have a new tablescape for New Year's.