THINGS I LEARNED ON VACATION:

I am completely and absolutely obsessed with beach glass. Sea glass. Mermaid’s tears. Whatever you want to call it; I love it. I have collected beach glass from pretty much every beach I have ever visited: Cape Hatteras, Oʻahu, France, Fiji, Australia, Mexico, Tahiti, Spain, Tortola and so on and so forth. But on our recent trip to Puerto Rico, my cup literally runneth over. I had to make myself stop picking it up (...okay, so maybe just a piece here or there...really special pieces, like the blue and red-colored beach glass that rarely- if ever – washed ashore in Wrightsville Beach) because my luggage was going to be overweight if I didn’t stop! As it was, I distributed my cache among my bag, the boys’ backpacks, and snuck even more into the board bag....

It’s all about the cover up. This is truer with each passing year. Sigh.... 

One of the great pleasures of watching children grow up is getting to the point where you can sit down for a meal anywhere and turn it into a memorable event. Beachside shack, tacos stand, or fine restaurant; it was a pleasure to eat, drink, and laugh together. We shared conversations and all types of Puerto Rican fare. Although, a few evenings, I thought the boys were going to fall asleep at the table. 

Dogs chase iguanas and iguanas can swim. True story; with pictures. While we were in Rincon, Volcom sponsored a surf contest at a surf spot called Domes. While watching, and endlessly waiting for Bo’s and Andrew’s heats, we heard some commotion and looked over to see three dogs chasing a large iguana through the crowd. The iguana made it into the water just ahead of the dogs. It began to swim. Quickly, one of the dogs lunged in and got the reptile in his jaws. The crowd was able to get the dog to release the frightened iguana, who then attempted to swim away, although still stunned and in shock. 

 An island kid ran up, grabbed the creature at the neck and tail, and calmly carried it the 15 yards to the lush tropical growth at the edge of the beach. And, there in the palm tree, the colorful iguana recovered from the ordeal. We later saw the boy at a nearby marina; he said it was no big deal. Maybe not for him. You won’t see me rescuing an iguana anytime soon, though.

My son, Andrew, and his good friend, Bo, are intrepid treasure hunters, adventure seekers, and as mentioned before, awesome dinner companions.... They managed to surf most every day. Bo is a competitive surfer, who I fully expect to be the next Kelly Slater (i.e. 11-times World Surfing Champion). He is even double-jointed in his hips like Slater. The week after we returned home, Bo surfed in Florida to claim the 3rd place in his age group in the NSSA Eastern Championships. Andrew’s competitive sport is soccer, but he loves surfing, too. I so enjoyed watching those two in the water.

On the one day it was completely flat, they took their money, rented a paddleboard and spent the entire day on the ocean. They spotted exotic fish, eerie coral formations, and gifted me with yet more seaglass. Towards the evening, as Robbie and I were lounging and enjoying an adult beverage, Bo paddled the board back to us since their rental was due back. We spied Andrew down the beach, struggling to pull to shore what looked like a giant cinderblock. Bo went back over to Andrew, while Robbie and I continued to lounge (the resounding theme of my vacation). 

Soon, we looked up to see the two of them struggling with yet another object. Deciding that we’d better investigate, we headed their way. When we got there, I was amazed to see the treasure they had discovered on the reef! Two incredible architectural remnants: they looked to be part of a column or balustrade, perhaps. (Unfortunately, in my photos, they look more like tombstones.) They were quite large and extremely heavy - probably 35-40 pounds. Bo and Andrew were so pleased with themselves and their discoveries. I wish I could have brought the pieces back home…..they were quite the find. We told a local Rincon shopkeeper about them, and showed her where we had stowed them. She was thrilled and was going to feature them in her lovely shop, The Red Door at Sandy’s Beach, Rincon, PR. She promised to try to discover their origin and let us know. Or maybe my imagination is a better place for them to live…on the veranda of an elegant turn of the century Puerto Rican oceanfront home.

And isn’t that exactly what vacation is all about. Those moments when real life is better than anything you could ever imagine?

Signs of Spring

Signs of Spring
 
I love spring. To me, it is absolutely intoxicating. After the bleak winter landscape- which I will admit has its own beauty- warmer days usher in new growth and rebirth. The longer days bring more time to enjoy this extraordinary place we call home.
 
Here, in no particular and- by no means comprehensive- order are some of the signs of spring around our house:
 
The first sighting of a green ribbon of color in the marsh grass is an occasion of joy for me. I am fascinated by the marsh that surrounds this little island, coloring our seasons with its varying hue while teeming with life. In August, it is fully green from top to bottom; combined with the azure summer sky, it can take my breath away.


That little slice of verdant green lets me know that the marsh is waking up.

I so loved this picture of Andrew in the August marsh grass that I used it for a Christmas card in 2008. Not kidding when I say I really am taken with the colors of the marsh.

White jeans plus a cute top equals a perfect outfit. Still chilly outside, but tired of your heavy winter clothes? Pair a chunky fisherman’s sweater with white jeans and natural boots for a cool March day.

Weather warming up? Well, what spring top do white jeans not look good with? For this beach dweller, white jeans are the staple of my wardrobe from March through September.

Parking meters...and the crowds that accompany a warm spring day are always a sure sign of spring. I get it. Wrightsville Beach is a great beach with beautiful water.  Why wouldn’t anyone want to spend a day or a week or a lifetime here? Just please be respectful and leave only your footprints. And please don’t complain about the cost of parking… what else can the whole family do for the entire day that costs less than $20? Remember; it pays for the lifeguard and trash services which enable you to enjoy a clean and safe beach.

Pollen. Ah-shoo! Enough said.

Spring cleaning: In my home, January is for organizing, followed in March by my version of spring cleaning. A laundry frenzy ensues with warmer weather. Slipcovers are washed- of course, with Good Home Company laundry detergent and fragrance- along with coverlets, blankets, and shams. Then the fun part: I always change out the rich velvet pillow shams on my sofa for lighter cotton or linen. This year, I am using navy batik pillows on my cream denim sofa (washed so often it is actually white). I am sure that will be no surprise to anyone who has already read my previous entry on indigo love!

 
Bed linens are also tweaked for the season. Many of my clients have a “winter” and “summer” bed. This fall, a client bought a Bella Notte's silk/velvet quilted coverlet for winter (dreamy) and will switch to the lighter weight “Adele” coverlet for summer. Just adding a bit of white can seasonally change your bed. Try it.
 
Live oaks are the rule breakers of spring. In the Coastal South, we rely on our beloved live oaks to bring a rich green to our landscape most of the year. In March (not autumn, like most of nature), the live oak’s glossy green leaves are quickly shed, leaving bare branches reaching for the sky and tons of leaves blanketing the ground. Then, seemingly in a matter of days, new spring-green leaves unfurl, once again coloring our world.
 
March Madness- it isn’t spring without NCAA basketball. Is there anyone left who doesn’t fill out their own bracket? Grandmothers to kids, it is a rite of spring to fill out that bracket!  I am an NC State fan, but Carolina rules with by husband and son. Usually, I end up rooting for whatever underdog remains towards the end.

It seems as though the Final Four always falls on our spring-break vacation, meaning we have managed to watch games in Costa Rica, Mexico, and the British Virgin Islands, among others. My son always makes friends while watching basketball games in another country...and I love that. This year it is Puerto Rico.
 
Lastly, the outdoor shower! We live in a very small, very old, and very beloved beach cottage. That means in the winter, our family shares the one full-sized bathroom. But from March to December, we enjoy our amazing outdoor shower. It is large, beautifully landscaped and covered by a tin roof.  With incredible water pressure and steaming hot water, it is one of the many things I love about our home. That the sand stays outside is just a bonus. Robbie usually turns the water line off by mid-December, although Andrew would keep showering outdoors even in January if we allowed it. This year, he probably could have...

The side view of the outdoor shower amidst the jungle...with some swimwear out to dry, of course.

Oh, there are many more signs of spring. Grilling out. UPS overload at Airie Moon. Wisteria. Step back and enjoy nature waking up and warming up.  

Sunday

Just playing around with my iPhone camera on an early spring Sunday....

I love the morning sun. With some good music playing in the background, a little coffee and a newspaper- the kind on newsprint, not on a screen- and I am perfectly content. 

...Walking the loop in the quiet early morning, under the oak trees with some good music and, again, I am (even more) content.  It is the simple things.

Beauty all aound….with the mild winter we have had, my yard is already showing signs of the lushness that overtakes it in the summer.

My Indigo Spires salvia has sprung from the earth already, and it even has a bloom.  It has lived in this spot for years and I love the way it looks against the cedar shake and discarded coral-encrusted shells.

Violas.  Smaller than pansies, and larger than Johnny-jump-ups.  They thrive in pots on my steps throughout the winter and into the spring. Every day as I walk past, their abundance brings a smile to my face. 

In our yard, the sculptural winter crepe myrtle is also functional.  The ever-present soccer balls are herded here.  In the summer, they are much harder to find, hiding amidst the lush growth of our garden, some not to be found until the following fall.  And the fence has performed double-duty for years, acting as a rebounder as well as a boundary.

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower; I simply adore them.  This plant will be overtaken with huge, heavy purple blooms by late spring.  I would never have a yard without hydrangeas.  I was thrilled today to see they are already leafing out, and remembered to add aluminum sulfate to the soil so that the blooms turn blue and purple.  Why?  Because those hues looks better at my house than the typical pink hydrangea bloom.... 

When we remodeled our house after destruction from Hurricane Fran, we added a back deck and back door off of our bedroom.  We quickly realized that the hot afternoon sun would render the deck useless at that time of day, and make our bedroom stifling.  Palm trees to the rescue.  They provide us with shade, color, and texture, while the shushing sound of the fronds blowing in the breeze soothes us. 

Then there is Sunday dinner.  Roast chicken breast with lemon.  Roasted baby potatoes, carrots and peppers.  Fresh strawberries with brown sugar. 

A lovely day, indeed.

Color Theory - Navy

Right now, I am infatuated. Besotted, in fact. With navy. The color. Yes; this underappreciated inky, indigo blue is having its moment in the sun.

At the January International Gift Market in Atlanta, I fell in love with these navy pillows from Georgia’s own Lacefield Designs.

Don’t they look pretty with white bedding, in our shop?

The ambergris candle from Simpatico with its dark blue hobnail glass also caught my eye, and it smelled as distinctive as it looked.

These lovely new rugs from Dash & Albert perfectly punctuate a room’s ambiance with their graphic panache. They are also transitional; working as well with traditional décor as with contemporary. City-style, beach cottage, or mountain retreat: I can imagine these rugs in any one of those settings.

I am so enamored of navy right now. In a short matter of time, I purchased all kinds of navy goodies for Airlie Moon, and for my closet. Two navy knit tees (no, it isn’t redundant to have two navy tees- you have two pair of jeans, don’t you?), a navy linen batik hippie top, a navy-and-cream striped shirt, and a navy dress are all recent additions to my spring wardrobe.

…On trend with navy.

All this talk of navy blue...and I am reminded of what is now a vintage sarong. When I was in my very-early 20’s, living at Wrightsville Beach, working at the surf shop (yes, it was as fun as it sounds), I bought a beautiful coral and white batik sarong from a little boutique, Pacific Trader. Oh, how I loved that skirt. Somehow, as I have never been a fabric store frequenter, I acquired some amazing indigo-and-white batik fabric. I took it to my sweet grandmother (Mamaw) who was quite the seamstress, and asked her to duplicate my beloved sarong. She labored over it, and created this incredible skirt that still hangs in my closet two decades later. Looking at that skirt reminds me vividly of a wonderful time in my life, and a Grandmother’s love.

I guess that digression was to politely point out that I have always had a crush on blue. My aesthetic has forever been inspired by nature, and blue is everywhere around us - the deepening sky at twilight and the water that ranges from the clearest blue on a sunny day to the deep indigo of a storm-swept sea.

I even painted some interior walls indigo recently. For a bachelor’s apartment in DC, we used navy in the foyer, and again for an accent wall in the bedroom.

Just last week we selected a rich deep blue-grey to complement the tabby fireplace in a client’s media room. Navy linen has become one of my favorite go-to fabrics, most recently upholstering two very structured chairs that sit in the foyer, in front of white wood paneling.  Combined with two spectacular Louise Gaskill teal chandeliers and an ornate settee with navy-and-cream linen batik, it is going to be stunning! Oh yeah, and outside the door is only the Intracoastal Waterway, Masonboro Island, and sky. Remember that nature-inspired aesthetic? There it is.

Follow Airlie Moon on Pinterest to see all the many ways I am loving navy right now. Here is a peek at a few of my favorites:

Freshen up your white. Punch up your aqua and teal. Mix it up with some coral. Add a little navy to your life.

Shopkeeper.

Shopkeeper. “Someone who owns or manages a store,” according to Webster’s. I kind of like the sound of shopkeeper. Officially, I am the president of our family-owned corporation, but I think shopkeeper more accurately defines me.

On paper, I am qualified. I was just 15 when I took my first job, a retail position at our family friend’s store. My sister Leigh Anne began her retail career at the same store. She too is a shopkeeper, owning her own clothing store in Greensboro, NC. Yes, it is super cool and I guess we both caught the shop-keeping bug early. Later in their lives’, when we opened Airlie Moon, my Mom and Dad also caught the bug, becoming shopkeepers extraordinaire.

In a beautifully lit and wonderfully accessorized Nancy Meyer rom-com, the shopkeeper’s life is at once quaint and glamorous. The reality is that it is a tremendous amount of hard work. There are shipments to unpack, floors to sweep, merchandise to arrange, bills to pay and employees to manage. There are customers to please, orders to write, and now, social media to navigate.

It’s not glamorous. I’m not changing the world. But in our own small way, we want to make a little piece of your world shine a little brighter. Whether it is a new luxurious set of pillowcases to lay your head upon, or the perfect card to send just the perfect message to someone special, our goal is to make your life a tiny bit more beautiful.

Maybe I am not saving lives, or setting the world on fire, but somehow being a shopkeeper fits me like a glove. And what more can one ask for in their profession.