Designer AND Family Friendly

This beautiful home has it all. Pets. Check. Kids. Check. Designer flair. Double check. Just goes to show that creating a warm, inviting, family-friendly home with boatloads of style is in no way mutually exclusive. All of this should come as no surprise as this lovely place is inhabited by one half of the talented team behind AND GEORGE. This mother and daughter duo are not only shopkeepers, but have a terrific blog. Be sure to pay them a visit and prepare to be inspired. AND GEORGE is synonymous with Southern charm.

{images via Southern Living}

Southern Comfort

Although I wasn't born in the South, I've called it home for most of my life. So even though my southern roots do not run deep, I have a special affinity for this unique cultural region of our country. Tara may no longer exist, but the romance of the South, especially with regard to the architecture, centuries old live oaks draped with Spanish moss, and our world famous southern hospitality nonetheless remain alive and well. Hence, I am always charmed when I come across a beautifully preserved southern gem. This house on the bayou is no exception. Be sure to read the GARDEN & GUN article, here and see more photos, here.

Daily Pretties, A Threesome {and the aletafae giveaway winner}

From designer and fellow southerner, Jenny Keenan, a bevy of pretty. What a gorgeous combination of textiles, texture, and color. See more of Jenny's design work here and be sure to check out her fun new blog, Jenny's Southern Comfort.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the winner of the Aletafae pouf giveaway is....drum roll, please....Number 24, as chosen by random.org. The lucky comment belongs to Sarah of La Maison Boheme! Congratulations, Sarah! I'm so excited to see which pouf you choose and I hope you'll post a pic of it in your home!

Thanks everyone for participating. I wish I could give one of Aleta's beautiful poufs to each and every one of you, but the consolation prize is that they are so reasonably priced and wonderfully versatile you can purchase one of your very own, here. Once again, thank you Aleta for your generosity. I love supporting small businesses, especially when they are run by talented mamas who create beautiful handmade goods.

Happy Weekend, friends! I hope all of you new-to-me faces continue to visit. It was wonderful to hear from so many new readers!

Lowcountry Lovely

My, my ya'll isn't this one a beauty. A gorgeous southern grand dame made livable and modern, but with an undeniable southern flair. This beautiful lowcountry plantation, from Maresca and Associates Architects, manages to stay true to its southern roots while at the same time drawing inspiration from around the world. I spy a bit of french, some shaker simplicity, a global accent or two, maybe even some New Orleans flavor. Throw in spectacular centuries old live oaks dripping with Spanish moss and people, Tara never looked so good.

{images via Maresca and Associates, Architects}

"Vestiges of Grandeur"

Continuing on the theme of the South, some beautiful images of homes which have seen better days. And yet, in my opinion, although these homes are no longer habitable, they are perhaps more beautiful in this grand state of decay than they once were in their finest...

{images via Richard Sexton}

"Southern Exposures"

I grew up in the South and have lived here virtually my entire life. Although this is not my birth place, in essence it is my home, the only place I know. So these images of great southern homes truly resonate with me, they are everything I associate with the South; whether "grand or humble, antebellum or modern," they are "all bound by land, heat, and history." Especially, heat, I can personally vouch for that one!

Although I have never visited any of these particular specimens, chronicled in the above photographs, I have seen them all through my car window driving through small towns whose names I don't remember, on the way to family vacations. As a child, and now with my own children, these homes are stored away in my memory bank, at once so foreign, and yet so familiar at the same time.

{all images and bits of text via the wonderfully written, beautifully photographed Garden and Gun}