Springtime in Charleston.............is the Best

Ahhhh, the first color of the spring (almost summer now) for these "toesies" is "Tangerine Sunrise". I don't really know if that is the name, but that is what I am calling it.  And I do not know what I would do without these Bettye Muller green canvas wedges.  I wear them almost everyday right now.   I love her shoes and they are really comfortable.

A quick detail shot of the office on a lovely Spring day.  Just knowing that fresh flowers and a suzani pillow are there waiting for me makes it much easier to go to work on such nice days.

Oh, the farmers market!  Buying local produce is such a springtime treat for us.  I know it is hard to see in this picture but the leaf of this Arugula is a size and shape that I have never seen in a grocery store.  It is beautiful and spicy too.  Our local farmers market is every Tuesday and goes through the whole summer.  Joe puts this Makoto ginger dressing on all his veggies.  He loves it so much he wanted me to tell everyone about his little secret.  It is a tasty dressing and healthy, too.

This is a Twenty 8 Twelve dress , Siena Miller's line, that I wore to Mother's Day brunch and to a Postcard Art Show at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art here in Charleston.  I will tell you more about the art show and show you the two small pieces I bought in coming weeks, but I just had to show this dress because it is the perfect dress for spring! It looks like a watercolor painting or maybe Monet painted this silk just for me. Regardless, I have been wearing it dressy and casual and best of all it is the perfect accessory to the hydrangeas growing in my yard.

 

This is the first year that our hydrangeas have looked amazing.  We dug a well about a year ago and the yard has been flourishing ever since.  They are blooming like crazy and it is the best!  They are the color of cotton candy and I really do want to eat them.  I think they will bloom all summer because they love this warm Southern climate.  This is also a nice way to save money not having to buy cut flowers for the house.  Hydrangeas really are one of my favorite things about spring.   

 

 Our hanging baskets are happy too!

I did not take this picture, but it would not be Springtime here without a sunset cruise in the boat, riding past the shrimp boats in Shem Creek.  It is unfortunate but the shrimpers have not been able to fish yet this season because we had a harsh winter and the season has been pushed back due to a harsh winter.  It is so hard to make a living shrimping, so we always buy local shrimp when we can.  Guess not until later this year. 

Lily's new swimsuit is ridiculous!  A friend of mine told me that she saw this size 4 girls  Marysia swimsuit on sale at a store downtown.  She is a local Charleston bathing suit designer and her designs are great.  She is making a name for herself. You can even find her swimsuits at Barneys. They are not all children,s suits. She is actually more well known for her adult bathing suits. So, I went the next day to check it out.  Isn't it so   And the accessories Lily selected to go with it are perfect.  Never leave home without your  "Dora the Explorer" headband.  She is much more "styley" than her Mommy on the beach. 

I subscribe to this "Aperture" magazine because it is a magazine about photography and I LOVE photography.  I went to Art Basel in Miami last year with some of my wonderful girlfriends, and the thing I was drawn to the most were the photographs.  I learned so much from that trip about modern art, up and coming artists, framing, etc.  My eyes were opened to a whole new world of art and it was so inspiring.  I thought I would tell you about this magazine now because this month's cover looks really pretty with the flowers I have in my kitchen at the moment!

 

This is a detail shot in Lily's room.  It just worked with this week's springtime theme.  Butterflies, a chick on a surf board and pink linen, what more can I say?  

So, we took the kids one Sunday to "Flush Fest" at the Charleston Tea Plantation.  It is the only tea plantation in the South. WOW, it was amazing!  They have this festival during the first flush of the tea leaves, and I have never seen a crop so manicured and green.  The kids had a blast.  Lily, Jay and our friends' little girl, also Lily, ran around in that hoola hoop for over an hour.  And how about that picture of Joe and the kids in the tea leaves?  The lighting was perfect! Everything was great until we almost got kicked out because Jay pulled off some of the tea leaves.  We didn't know that NO ONE was was supposed to go in the tea fields.  But I got that picture and it was worth it!  After two snow cones, a bag of cotton candy, a blow up slide, a jumpy castle and a few minutes on daddies' shoulders to see Grace Potter, the day was done and  the kiddies slept the whole way home. 

"LIMIES" - our favorite springtime drink.  We just made our first batch last week.  Here are the ingredients:  12 pack of Sprite Zero, two 12oz Limeades, fill the empty 12oz Limeade cans 2x's with Mountgay Rum.  Mix all three ingredients into a large pot and freeze overnight.  The best part of "Limies" is the chipped ice.  We use a rice spoon, that my parents gave us from Drayton Hall  plantation, to chip the frozen drink up and scoop it into a Tervis Tumbler.  These glasses are not the best looking glasses, but they are thermal so they keep the ice from melting immediately.  They get even better the closer to the bottom you get.  But you better watch out because they can sneak up on you.

"A little bird, he told me so
He said come on, get on the go
Open your eyes the sky is full of butterflies
The blossoms on the trees stir up the honeybees
Spring makes my fever right"

 "Spring Fever"
Elvis Presley

See ya'll next week.......Jenny

professional family images courtesy - Andrew Celbulka , non-professional - jenny, feet off dock image - www.corbisimages.com

Me.....

 

This is me, Jenny Keenan, standing in front of my inspiration board at my office.  My photographer and friend Andrew Cebulka took this picture of me just for this day!  You will see many pictures by Andrew.  He has taken most of the pictures of my children, they are priceless to me. 

This is a picture from a Better Homes and Garden shoot at my house about a year and a half ago.  I had this desk area built in after I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I quickly found out that there was no way I could work from home.  After a few weeks of nursing while typing an email, in the dark in the middle of the day, still in my pj's and with no sleep, I was forced to move back to the office. Although I must say, even though this space does not get used like it should, I still love looking at it.   

 Here is a detail shot of the landing at the top of my stairs.   I am sure you are all familiar with this Kelly Wearstler trellis fabric.  I have seen it a million times in every color and I love every installation.  I bought this Italian settee years ago an by putting this fabric on it it instantly changed the look.  It also made for a fun backdrop for some pictures of Lily in her pink tutu.  Some of my favorites.  

 

 This is the "LOVE" tapestry, by The Rug Company, that became famous in the "Sex and The City" movies.  I had to have it in my house with my young growing family!  The detail in the silk yarns is unbelievable when looking at it up close.  It is truly a work of art.  My husband and I own a lot and have plans to build another house but have not been able to do it yet.  If we can build the house one day this piece will go with us and hang high in the family room.  The space is supposed to have vaulted ceilings.  I can also see it going to my daughters home one day.  It won't leave the family.  Such a great word!

I LOVE shoes........they are like little pieces of art that you get to wear and they can completely change your personality and your mood.  I really want to wear black lace shoes just once!  These Christian Louboutin slings would do the trick.......aaaah just once......now where to go??????

Favorite Flower - Pink Peonies!  What is not to love and they are in season right now.  But I did have an obsession for Gerber Daisies when I got married.

My wedding planner, Tara Guerard, and her amazing girls must have stayed up all night making these crazy Gerber daisy ball sculptures.  I didn't even know that these daisy's came in so many wonderful colors, they were like candy.  I wish I could do that night again.  It all happened so fast it is was a blur. Does anyone else feel that way about that night?   Next time, I would go back as a guest so I could take it all in.  I never even had a chance to eat the wonderful food.  Thank goodness for the pictures!  It will be 8 years in October. 

Favorite color - I am addicted to color, it makes me happy.  I cannot say that I like every color but just look at the opportunities in this one fan deck.......so fun!.......soooooo....... favorite color- To Be Continued............

 Oh and I am a textile junkie.  Fabrics and textiles from all over the world are one of my favorite things about my job.  Traveling is inspiration and finding an interesting one of a kind textile is like finding gold. 

This is Lily, 3 yrs.  We call her the littlest one.  She is the comedian of the family and I truly do not think she is trying to be.  She is into Dora the Explorer, Princesses, mommies fingernail polish and stickers.  She can also make a mean piece of cake for breakfast in her pink kitchen.  And yes, her favorite colors are pink and purple but can you blame a girl?  Sometimes I think she is the adult but then I quickly remember that she is not.

Jay, 4 1/2 yrs, the grandparents named him the Grand-One, being the first grand child and all.  He is a sweetie and a sensitive little guy.  Lets see, right now he is into airplanes, sharks teeth, oh and we cannot forget chewing gum.  Jay has already learned to manipulate his little sister to do things for him.  He won't even get off the sofa to ask for a water or a snack.  He sends her running to us, asking for things.  I think this makes him really smart because I would love to have a personal assistant to do all my dirty work.  She does love him so and I know he loves her too. 

And there is Joe, Lily's and my handsome prince, in the background teaching her how to paddle board in a white tutu.  I guess that is what daddies do.  Joe sells commercial restate here in Charleston and he is quite the outdoors-man.  He hunts, fishes and paddle boards, he really does take in all of the natural resources of the low-country region that we live in.  I am more of a city girl myself but I would get in the boat with him any day.  He has already been able to teach the kids so much about this amazing region that we live in. 

Wow this is my first post and a long time coming.  I have had dreams of starting this blog for years but with a full time career, being a mother of two and wife to one, donating time to non-profit organizations,  and still trying to be a bit social, it has been put it on hold.  I even try to fit in a little exercise but that is always the first thing to go!  I love it but as many of you probably know, it is impossible to do it all, successfully.  My father always says “you can’t be all things to all people” but it is just my nature to want to be.  So today is the day!  First let me tell you a little about myself.  I am and interior designer in Charleston, SC, mother of two amazing babies, Jay 4 ½ and Lily 3, and wife to my wonderful husband and even better father, Joe.  I am in constant struggle to balance all the people and things that are important to me and somehow along that way I have become a workaholic.  Being creative is extremely important to me so I am hoping that this will be another creative outlet, as well as a way to express myself through the everyday trials and tribulations that many working mothers have.  It is not all perfect,  I am scrambling, dropping that ball, and even wanting to cry at times.  You will probably get to hear it all but my goal for this blog is to talk about life, family, fashion and design because this is what I live everyday.  And if you have any advice, especially on the mothering thing, I will gladly take it.  I am still learning everyday on a professional and personal level.  So till the next time…..Jenny