Straying on Saturday

Stray at Home 2014 is in the books!

It was my first Stray at Home to participate as a vendor and I had an absolute blast. A BLAST I tell ya!

I think getting my booth design put together was one of the most fun projects I’ve worked on in a while. I was almost always that member of the group class project in college who wanted to do the whole project myself (especially if I didn’t know/trust the skillz of my other group members) so it would get done my way, so getting to do a project like this all by myself was a dream! I was pretty pleased with how everything turned out!

Making the sign and the three easel things were my primary orders of business. And they were all fairly easy and cheap! The sign was done with popsicle sticks, card stock, and fishing line. Thanks to my SummerHouse girls for helping me figure out the logistics of getting the letters to “float” inside the popsicle stick honeycomb the way I wanted! I actually think I got more compliments on my sign than I did on my cards! Haha! Maybe I should go into the sign making business??

And the easels were 100% glued together. Not a screw or nail used! If you look too closely, you’ll see that they’re pretty rigged, but they served the purpose I needed them to serve! I think I got all the materials I needed for those at Lowe’s for about $40 or so.

I could not have done ANY of the setup without the help of my woooonderful husband Price! To be honest, I could tell he wasn’t really looking forward to helping me that day, but he said he ended up having the best time out there and he didn’t want it to be over! 🙂 When you do outside-the-box stuff with the one you love, I think that’s a recipe for definite fun! Thanks again to my all-time favorite teammate!!

P.S. That picture of him was taken early in the day before he knew how much fun he’d be having! He took mine early in the day too, when I just knew he’d have a blast!

We had a glorious time sampling iced coffee, craft beer, local food, and fabulous live music. Oh, and we scored with some pretty awesome finds from several of the other vendors! I honestly loved every single booth that was set up out there on Saturday. I could’ve spent a thousand bucks! (But I didn’t. Thankfully!) I seriously can’t wait for the next Stray at Home, which I believe will be SAH Holiday!

Even though the rain cut the day short by about an hour, Price and I agreed that it was one of the most fun days we’ve spent together in the recent past. And the rain actually made it even more exciting for some reason! 🙂

Anyway, thanks to everyone who came out and supported the event! I loved getting to visit with so many people that I don’t get to see enough!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day so far! Thanks so very much for stopping by today! 🙂 XO!

We’re Only A Day Away (From Stray!)

Stray at Home is TOMORROW!!!

I can’t believe it’s actually here! I’m so excited! This will be my first outdoor show where I have a full booth set up and everything… I’m a tad nervous but mostly just ready to get out there and do my thang!

Not only will there be about 30 artists, but there will be some awesome live music, craft beer trucks, food trucks, an iced coffee station, a cornhole tournament, activities for kids, and just a general day of fun spent discovering new things in your own back yard! (so to speak…)

As far as what will be in The Lovely Bee booth? Allow me to give you some hints! Of course, all of this stuff is more fun to look at in person so I hope you’ll make it out for a couple of hours and see what Stray is all about! 🙂

There will be SO MUCH MORE in my booth! I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!! Can’t wait! 🙂 Thanks for stopping in today! XO!

Little Winter Trip to the Big Apple { PART 3 }

The sights of a wintery NYC were freaking fantastic, as highlighted in Part 1 and Part 2, but what’s a vacation without great eating?! We had some wildly divine food and drinks that are worth sharing!

A little restaurant called Fig & Olive was recommended to us by a friend here in Jackson, and we loved it!! They have several locations, but we went to the one on Fifth! We went for brunch on a Saturday and the service was slightly slow, but I will say… They were pretty busy. The food and drinks, however, completely made up for the slow service in my opinion! It was a Mediterranean place with a vibrant atmosphere. So fun!

Between meals one day, Price and I stopped into the little local Christmas Market in Central Park that Katie, Jordan, and I had stumbled upon early in the trip before Price got there! We got Bantam Bagel’s cream cheese stuffed bagel balls, which were the perfect little size! K, J, and I had gotten these bagel balls the day before so I knew I had to take Price back to experience this lovely little snack!

After a little research, it turns out that their permanent location is Bleecker Street! I certainly want to make them a part of every NYC trip from here on out! 🙂

One cool little place we ended up going a couple of times was the beer garden esque restaurant at our hotel, The Hudson, called Hudson Common! The restaurant was one huge, open room with long tables and a beautiful bar! We only went to have a drink a time or two, but never did get food. The menu looked delicious but we were never there at the same time the kitchen was open! Anyway, I fell in love with their Pink Slip cocktail. Totes recommend for the ladies! (It’s pretty girly, so guys, stick with beer…) 🙂

Laconda Verde in TriBeCa was another place recommended to us by friends from Jackson. This dark, cozy, modern Italian restaurant was simply amazing! The menu was really unique and the service was so friendly! We got seats at the bar so thankfully we didn’t have to wait for a table, and the bartender serving us was so personable, attentive, and gave us some great local tips!

One of the most memorable aspects of dinner at this place was that Price was seated two people down from political author Ann Coulter! Since she was our only celeb sighting, she was by default the most memorable… 🙂

Overall, we LOVED this place! Thanks to the Griffins for telling us about this tasty little jewel!

Cheers to Laconda Verde!

While at Laconda Verde, we struck up conversations with a couple of the people seated close to us. One of these people (actually, it was the guy seated between Price and Ann Coulter!) ended up being the owner of Gramercy Tavern, another local restaurant! He told us to try to come by for a meal before the end of our trip, so Price and I went for lunch the next day!

The wait was very long, but we lucked up again and got seats at the bar, which dramatically cut down the wait time! Price got the burger special and I got some gnocci along with some lovely craft cocktails. It was a FAB lunch in a beautiful European feeling restaurant! I highly recommend this place! (And I also recommend reservations! haha!)

Another AMAZING restaurant that all of us were insane about was called Nino’s Tuscany Steak House. We chose this place based on reviews we found online. We wanted a place that served steak as well as some great non-beef options. Trip Advisor did not steer us wrong! We were having so much fun at this joint that we didn’t even take any pictures! This was one of the few meals that all six of us got to eat together, but we all agreed that it was on the top of our list of favorites from the stay in NYC. Seriously SO good, and based on the small crowd there, isn’t widely known! A diamond in the rough!

The last great meal I wanted to share about was at Paola’s. This place was also Italian (what can I say? We LOVE Italian!) and shared with/recommended by our New York dwelling relatives, the Brickells!

The warm, retro feel in the restaurant instantly made us feel at ease, even if it was pretty high end! (Madison Avenue, white table cloths, multiple waiters per table… You get the idea!)

The food was perfect– Moderately sized portions and really good bread to start with!– and so was the company. We always love getting to visit with the Brickells! To continue this perfect afternoon, we walked a few blocks over to their church post lunch for a 4 o’clock service of Christmas carols! It was lovely!

Although this last place isn’t quite a restaurant, it was definitely noteworthy. Club Macanudo was picked by the guys because of the cigars! It was super manly with lots of leather, and they allowed indoor smoking so Jordan, Price, and I all smoked cigars! (Mine was tiny… That’s about all I care to handle!)

The cocktails were great too. We loved the Manhattan Mojitos! This was a super fun night!!

We had a blast and, as you can guess, all gained weight on this trip… But it was so worth it! Now that January is here, we’ve started “health month” to get back on track with healthy eating a exercise! Wish us luck… 😉

I hope all of you are having a fabulous January so far! Thanks for checking in! 🙂

Stray at Home – One Month From TODAY!

Stray at Home Art + Music Festival is only one month away!!!

I’ve had so much fun being a part of the team to put this festival together, but even if I wasn’t a part, I’d for SURE still go, because it’s going to be awe.some!

Stray at Home 2013 will be unlike anything to ever hit Jackson, Mississippi, so if you’re in town on Saturday, May 11th, be sure to come on downtown to Congress and Amite Streets! You’ll enjoy some live music while noshing on some delicious local fare, sipping some local brews, and shopping with some local and regional craftsmen!

Check out strayathome.com for more info, and please be sure to like the Facebook page and join the Facebook event! You won’t be sorry! 🙂

Parties and Fall Flowers

Last night was the Jackson Restaurant Week VIP Party at the Mississippi Museum of Art! It was a beautiful event and the Art Museum is one of the most gorgeous event venues I’ve ever been to! The party kicks off a week of eating out for charity! See, every time you eat a a participating Jackson Restaurant Week restaurant from 9/30 until 10/6, you get to cast a vote for your favorite of the six charities in the running for a $10,000 check! It’s a really fun week to get familiar with Jackson’s culinary scene, all while supporting six very worthy charities!

As the head party planner for this particular event, my hands were in almost every aspect of it, from restaurant coordination to table decoration! The part of the party prep that I had the most fun with was the flower part!

I got several bunches of stems at Kroger’s flower shoppe and created 14 different small groupings for centerpieces on the smaller tables. I am so in love with how beautiful these flowers are that I must’ve taken 100 pictures of them! Sadly, the party was so chaotic that I forgot to take pictures of the flowers actually on the tables! I did get a few pictures of some of the individual arrangements, as well as most of the arrangements all boxed up and ready to go to the museum!

I’m not usually a fan of roses, but I could not get over how SPECTACULAR these were! I am, however, a huge fan of tulips! 🙂

All boxed up, and looking ever so smashing!

One amazeballs rose!

After the party, the girls from Ole Tavern on George Street took home a few of the flowers to brighten up the bar at their restaurant, and a few also went home with another party-planning friend. The rest came home with me! 🙂 I stuck a few of the tulips in one of my favorite little mercury glass holders and stuck them on a side table in the den.

What a day-brightener!

Although I won’t be planning the next Jackson Restaurant Week VIP Party, I fully plan to attend it and I think you should too! Those parties are always a blast, and a GREAT way to sample some of the fantastic food that will be served up during Jackson Restaurant Week. Here’s to lovely local food!

Another plus about the VIP Parties? The tickets are always so cute they’re almost frame-worthy!