South of MaDi: October's Halloween, Decor + More

South of MaDi: October's Halloween, Decor + More: “October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.” ― Keith Donohue There is something in...

October's Halloween, Decor + More

“October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.” ― Keith Donohue

There is something in the air; an anticipation that the last week of October brings to our neighborhoods and even our senses.  In Jacksonville; from the smallest of modest homes, to the largest of grand riverfront estates; the spooky and whimsical decorations present to us a sneak glimpse to the excitement of All Hallow's Eve as it approaches.  Porches are decorated with pumpkins and fall flowers.  Cobwebs spread a thin blanket on boxwoods, trees, hedges and iron gates.  Skeletons, graveyards and spiders display across the yardfronts, beckoning us to look, but daring us to step closer.

Not only is this a holiday for the children, but the adults seem to enjoy the indulgence and participation of the sinister evening it as well.  Though Southerners are known for their hospitality all year long, front doors open upon this night to eeriest of strangers who are extroadinarily unrecognizable.

Here are some clever ways to decorate your home for this wicked night.

Fill lanterns with candy corn for an illuminated treat display.

Dried beans and twine to fill hurricanes.

Add Corn Stalks to porch columns for fun textural element of suprise.

Gourds of all shapes and sizes add interest to this fireplace hearth.

Have a great front porch?  Let your imagination go wickedly wild!

Use dry erase markers to spook up your mirrors.

Happy Halloween!

Photos courtesy of:

Elizabeth & Beverly Sleeth's Annual Pumpking Carving Contest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Sleeth.

Mrs. April Blackwood Young

www.hgtv.com

www.chickabug.com

Autumn in the South: Fall Gathering & Recipes

 "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I don't know about you, but when the weather man announces that Autumn has arrived, I get really excited about the change.  Isn't that we love about seasons, after all? Change.  As for me and my family, it is a season of hospitality.  It is a gathering of sorts in honor of football games, pumpkin carving and the sharing of recipes.

To embrace what this Seasonal equinox and solstice has to offer, we hosted a Fall fellowhip in our home full of neighbors and close, cozy friends.  This was no large production.  An impromtu message (via text), "Come as you are on Sunday, the door will be open.  Bring a dish to share."  Our invitees only had a day or two's notice.  By Sunday evening we had a group of forty adults, boisterous children and hand-held babies with a dining room table packed with delicious hors d'oeuvres, side dishes and desserts.  What an Autumn blessing.

Knowing that the blog deserved a couple of recipes, we decided to treat our guests to these tasty delights that we share with our readers to enjoy.

Sunflower Seed Cookies

 

We called these "After School cookies" growing up. My mother kept these in a tin can containter that was a perfect snack while doing homework in the kitchen.

 

1 cup of butter (room temperature)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick oats

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup cranraisins

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Step 1: Take first three ingredients and blend well together in a bowl.

Step 2: Beat eggs and vanilla together in a separate bowl.

Step 3: Add Step 1 & Step 2 together

In a separate bowl; combine flour, salt, baking soda and oats.  Stir well.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Add sunflower seeds, pecans and cranraisins to mix.  Stir together.  Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 2 dozen.

Spiked Cranberry Punch

 

Recipe from Virginia Hospitality, Junior League of Hampton Roads

 

1 quart cranberry juice

18 ounces pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup bourbon

1 cup rum

2 quarts ginger ale, chilled

 

Combine fruit juices and liquors in punch bowl.  Chill.  Pour in ginger ale just before serving.  Serves 15-20.

Note: Use some punch and freeze in ice cube tray; float cubes in pitcher or punch bowl.

*We recommend to Garnish w/ cranberries, ginger zest or a lemon twist.

 Serve in your favorite barware.  Enjoy!

Art in its many forms: Inherited Fingerpaintings

"Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in."  - Amy Lowell

Many art and antique pieces found in homes are those treasures that have been passed down from generations.  Although these keepsakes and relics may not be worth much to an appraiser, they can carry meaning and historical value in a family.

Here, we share a couple of our Favorite Things with the Art & Antique Show in Jacksonville, FL from our own art collection.

Description of memorable piece in your art collection:

Two fingerpaintings of underwater sea life, painted in early to mid-twentieth century.

Share any background information that you may have on this item.

My Great-Grandmother, Nellie Quick, was originally from Laurinburg, NC but later moved to West Palm Beach, FL in her adult life.  Nellie was a self-taught artist who created an art studio in her home in Florida. There she fingerpainted using different parts and components of her hands including her nails and knuckles for detailing her favorite subjects; which included landscapes, gardens and sea life.

It has been said that one can decipher what kind of mood Nellie was in by her pieces. Some of her finger paintings are playful and whimsical; like in the pieces that I inherited of fish, turtles and frogs that seem to frolic and dance within their underwater habitats.  In her other works are dark hues of purples, blues and blacks which lack much color in the subject of trees and gloomy flowers; perhaps painted in her not so good days.

Nellie wanted to share her talent with others, so she later taught fingerpainting lessons in West Palm Beach.

If I could guess, just like many of artists, she never would have guessed that her artwork would be hanging in so many homes scattered around the country.

When did you acquire these pieces?

After my grandparents died, we were cleaning out their house in Richmond, VA, and we discovered my great-grandmother's paintings in a book that had been stowed away for decades.  My parents later had several of them professionally framed and gave them as Christmas presents to each of my siblings and myself in 2010.

How have you used or displayed these pieces?

I keep one in my son's room and the other in my daughter's room, although I am known to move things around a lot in my home.

Why is this piece special to you?

I never met my Great-Grandmother Nellie, but I am told she was a sweet, loving and nurturing lady who raised three girls, including my grandmother, Gracie.  She passed down several characteristics of her own personality, including the passion for cooking, hospitality and creativity. Her childlike expression of art is now a staple in my home and I hope will remain in my family for many generations.

Please share your involvement with or connection to the Women's Board at Wolfson Children's Hospital?

This is my third year volunteering with the Art & Antique Show.  I serve on the Young Collector's Booth committee and assist in writing for the group.

What are you looking foward to most about the 2013 Art & Antique Show?

I am really looking forward to our guest speakers this year, especially James Farmer who will hopefully have a special presence at the Young Collector's Booth.  I also am very excited to see what the dealers bring and offer to young audiences who are just starting to collect.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about yourself or your collection?

As a designer and collector, I am inspired by the history of objects of art, furnishings, and decorative items that can add to or enhance an interior.  Each one-of-a-kind object should tell a story and create a dialogue between its space and those who are inhabiting that space in a moment.  I like to tell clients to hold out for that special item that really will make an impact in their environment and hold more meaning in the long term.   

South of MaDi: Mama's Got A Brand New Bag: The Lucy Canvas

South of MaDi: Mama's Got A Brand New Bag: The Lucy Canvas: I'm very hard on my bags because I tend to carry a lot of stuff with me. - Laura Linney When South of MaDi discovers a product line t...

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag: The Lucy Canvas

I'm very hard on my bags because I tend to carry a lot of stuff with me.- Laura Linney


When South of MaDi discovers a product line that carries a good story with every stitch of its woven history, we can't resist but to share it.  And as the approaching Summer months begin, we restock our lives with flip flops, suntan lotion, and replace our rusty, worn and tattered warm weather items.  This season is about un-apologetically having sandy floorboards, bocce balls and horseshoes rolling around the trunk and a plethora of beach, river and lake gear that might as well stay put in the car since we cannot live without these essentials until Labor Day.  Without a good sturdy bag, we wouldn't be able transport these necessities from car-to-beach, deck-to-pool, or dock-to-boat.

With this notion of Summer essentials, we introduce you to Lucy's Canvas bags.  In the mid-1970s Lucy Mackall made her first canvas bags in her apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts and sold them from a kiosk in Faneuil Hall.  Back then, they were made by hand by Lucy and her cousin, Grace Rowe.  The line sold into the tens of thousands out of several Lucy's Canvas stores.  They became an icon of the late hippy/early disco Boston and Cambridge scene.  Some do say to hold on to the iconic things for they will rotate back into fashion eventually.

Fast forward to summer 2012, where Lucy's children, Savannah & Clayton, thought up the crazy idea of bringing back their mom's hit line of bags, with some moderate updating.  What you see now is the unadulterated result of their mother's brained idea from a second generation perspective.  If you are lucky, you have owned an original Lucy Canvas bag (now considered vintage).

We love this story of a young woman in 1974 who had a simple idea, brought the concept into fruition as a successful business, to later have it revived by her own flesh and blood.  Our favorite for this year is the Summer Breeze bag.  We can't wait tote the Lucy Canvas this Summer and share her and her children's story!

Shop the Lucy Canvas at www.lucyscanvas.com and visit their Facebook and Pinterest pages!

Lucy with Reynold, Sag Harbour, NY Summer 1985
Love the curly shag and beard!

Lucy with Clayton & Savannah, 1990
Sweet mama...sweet children.

Lema: Le French Skirt

"A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest." - Winston Churchill

In the modern day era, many women have taken a very casual approach to day wear.  There was a time when most of our mothers and grandmothers wouldn't dare walk to the mailbox or heaven forbid, the grocery store without hair and makeup flawlessly intact.  Nowadays, it is not uncommon for women to be seen running errands, picking up the kids and shopping the do-lists in workout clothes, sportswear and all things Lycra.  Of course, the working woman remains in the mandatory professional attire; arriving at the office in the traditional slacks and conservative button ups, more or less. However, one may find that the closet space in-between work, church services and of course, the frequent gym stops, remain the fun and frilly component of a woman's wardrobe.

Alas!  There is relief in what the woman actually wants to wear, befitting to her mood of the hour.  For ladies, this definition of comfort is: to each, her own.  Nevertheless, when women (and men-alike), particularly think of the ultimate ladylike version of dress, the attributes of femininity lies in the simplicity of the skirt.

South of MaDi would love to introduce you to Lema: French Market Skirts; whose company motto is: Skirts that are wrangling ready!  Ready for that shopping list of errands, lunch with the girls, carpool pick up, picnic in the park or perhaps a day trip to the coast.  This one-size-fits-all approach to the wear-and-go Lema skirt feels as easygoing as a trip to the bakery for a baguette on your bicycle.  This wardrobe addition, created and designed by Florida-based, Dee Lea, has become a subtle rage in coastal towns up and down the Southern Atlantic coast and Gulf regions.

Originated in the Summer of 2010, Lea found herself wanting to find a basic concept skirt that she could "throw and go"; much like a skirt she had bought many years prior at a resort, which finally gave way.  "I couldn't find another one like it," states Lea.  So she bought some yards of fabric, hit up a local seamstress in the Florida panhandle and began her "cottage business" that could perhaps be worthwhile.  By the following Spring, Lema French Market skirts were being snatched up at a Seaside sidewalk sale where 25 out of her 30 skirts she brought with her sold.  What began as a hobby ermerged into a business that has been growing since and where currently Lema skirts can be found in small retail shops and boutiques throughout Florida and resort areas on the coast.

The product line was named after Lea's granddaughter, Lea Madeline, where the collections are inspired by the French lifestyle.  Every skirt is a creation of Lea's ideas as she touches every detail of a skirt she sells and has manufactured.  "My skirts are happy, fun and carefully handpicked," adds Lea.  The skirts are meant to be man-handled, gritty and so versatile that the basic concept is to turn the skirt into a dishtowel once it has gone through numerous washes.  The length isn't too long or short, and can be seen paired with ballet flats, wedges or even a pair of cowboy boots.

We wanted to know, how did the French inspire Dee Lea's notions of a skirt?  The spirited Lea reacts to her labels such as the Cote d'Azur, Pistache Bonbon, and Croisette with, "I love anything French!  I could be French if I had to be.  I am inspired by my travels to France and St. Tropez."  Nevertheless, Lea's life grounded in the South also infuses into the fabrication of the skirt.  Lea has an aversion to lining, for she believes that a skirt that is lined is way too hot for the Southern lifestyle.  Doubtlessly, women need to breathe when wearing a skirt; for the tangibility of the garment should flow freely like a dandelion in the summer wind; reminiscent of a little girl twirling in her best Sunday dress.

Where can we see Lema in the coming years develop as the business continues to cultivate in the local fashion market?  Dee Lea hopes to continue the farm grown, washed, dried and trimmed approach to her 100% cotton pieces.  Be on the lookout for the mini-me version for little girls in her secondary line, Willa, and mother and daughter sets as well.

Indeed, there is something so child-like and and oh so "et la douceur" in the essence of a skirt.  Ladies who wear a Lema skirt should feel like the deserving Girl from Impanema, where a whistle is blushingly and coyly appropriate as she walks by.

We believe Churchill would agree!

Please visit and shop Lema: french market skirts at www.frenchmarketskirts.com and on Facebook!