Category Archives: Beauty

Wedding Season

Oh my word. I can’t describe this holiday season without simply calling it Wedding Season.

I can’t complain – we celebrated with practically every friend we had this holiday/wedding season. A season that lasted one whirlwind of a week! We started out with Christmas. We celebrated early with all our Bainbridge family, then headed to Bristol to my parents’ house Wednesday evening after I closed up the Shop. We spent late nights and long days getting ready for my little sisters’ wedding on Saturday! Our family friend, Ben Walden, did all the flowers, and they were gorgeous!

We took a little break for Christmas. We had a light lunch and some delicious refreshments. Clearly.

Back to wedding fun. We worked hard, but at least we had plenty of those refreshments. ;)

The wedding was beautiful and sweet and perfect for the happy couple. For those of you who don’t know, my sister married Marc of Southern Restoration Furniture. :) We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Marc and Cullen and Maggie into our family this Christmas!

Have I mentioned I like to knit a lot? It was a hand knit Christmas this year, thanks to the Fuzzy Goat.

A blaze orange beanie for the good Doctor…

Pumpkin and purple wool beanies for the kiddos…

And a tweed beanie for Marc, which he promptly put right to work in his shop!

All the knitting deets are on my Ravelry page, btdubs. Be my friend?

That giant wood slice became their gorgeous wedding cake stand, by the way.

In addition to delicious food we had catered by Monica Brinkley and friends and the cake by Katie’s Cakes in Havana, Marc brought souse from Jones’ Meats, and I put together a cheese table with cheeses and meats from Sweet Grass Dairy. Ben Hall, the photographer, took some far better pictures than I – you can find a sneak peak here! I threw together this chalkboard sign for the souse table. Never thought I’d see the day I wrote a chalkboard sign that said this:

There was a Steel Magnolia’s-style groom’s cake… red velvet armadillo in all its glory:

A pretty bride…

A dapper groom (decked out in Gang Warily leather suspenders from Maiden South, natch)…

Lifelong friends…

And lots of family!

So happy for Marc and Anna Jo. Congrats, loves!

Then we moved on to wedding number two in Ponte Vedra. The rehearsal dinner was on NYE, so we celebrated accordingly.

NYE bathroom selfie to show off my new hair, since you couldn’t really see it in AJ’s wedding pics. Thanks, Sister, for my new do! You can find her at Haute Headz in Tallahassee, if you want one fo yo own self.

Long time man friends, just taking a few pulls from a Fireball bottle in a parking lot… Just like old times, I’m sure. Or new times.

The festive groom:

Then on to the wedding.

And the newly married couple! Congrats Jon and Rachel!

And thennnnnn we went to wedding number three in Amelia Island! 1) It was gorgeous, 2) I want to live in the Amelia Island Ritz. Just sayin’.

Ready to see one of our very best girl friends walk down the aisle!

One stunner of a bride, if I do say so!

They’re hitched!

Super romantic wedding reception that we were sad to see end.

But we wrapped up with a late night fireside catching up. It was a wonderful end to a most wonderful week! SO glad we got to spend so much time with so many cherished friends.

DIY Body Scrub

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As you may remember, I got really, really, painfully, stupidly sunburned at the beach a few weeks ago. I know. I’m an idiot. Normally I’m crazy careful about wearing sunscreen and not getting burned, but I guess we all make mistakes. Anyway, in the weeks since, once the burning, shivering, and waves of sheer pain subsided, my skin started peeling. My arms and legs needed some TLC desperately. With my confidence boosted after I made my homemade body butter, I realized that I could probably cobble together some DIY body scrub, too! So I did.

I scoured Pinterest for some easy instructions on how to make it, and after reading about 40 bajillion of them, I realized that the basics of all of them were the same.

oil + salt or sugar + scent = scrub

So I grabbed a jar and started improvising.

DIY Body Scrub

ingredients

– 3 tablespoons sugar
– 3 tablespoons sea salt
– 2 tablespoons coconut oil
– 2 tablespoons honey
– a few drops Vitamin E oil

instructions

Warm coconut oil to room temperature, or just warm enough that it is liquid, rather than solid. I did this by microwaving in 10 second intervals – you don’t want the oil warm enough to melt the sugar. Mix all the ingredients in a jar until combined.

I added honey because not only does it smell amazing, but I’ve read it has a ton of health benefits for your skin (in addition to the ones you get from eating it). According to an article I found on SheKnows.com, some of the benefits honey can provide your skin are:

Acne: Honey is naturally antibacterial, so it’s great for acne treatment and prevention.
Aging: Full of antioxidants, it is great for slowing down aging.
Complexion boost: It is extremely moisturizing and soothing, so it helps create a glow.
Pores: Honey is clarifying because it opens up pores making them easy to unclog.

So it seemed like the perfect addition, especially since I didn’t have any essential oils on hand to scent it with. The result of this concoction is a sweet smelling, moisturizing, extra scrubby goo that is perfect for sloughing off dead skin, whether or not you’ve recently made a dumb move in the sunshine.

My legs and arms have actually never felt better! This seems timely for everyone, though, as shorts season is already upon us. This DIY body scrub, combined with shaving your legs, which exfoliates them as well, is guaranteed to get you ladies shorts-ready in no time.

Anyone else have any good recipes for homemade body goo? At the risk of sounding pretty crunchy, I am kind of digging making my own stuff! It’s super cheap, doesn’t have any added chemicals or preservatives, and so far, I’ve had really great luck with it. Let me know if you have any experiences with this sort of thing!

Onward Reserve Athens

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Remember when Wheat and I went to Athens a few weeks ago? Not only did we visit Heartwood Forge, but we also made a pit stop to check in with O&P’s newest sponsor, Onward Reserve.

Thomasville-native T.J. Callaway, Co-Founder and CEO, was an SAE at UGA and went on to an investment banking career in Atlanta before opening up Onward Reserve in Athens in 2011. Lisa, the store manager in Athens, said of T.J., “I can’t even imagine him as investment banker, knowing him now. He has so much energy!”

All that energy explains the success of the business, which has recently opened a second location in Atlanta.

I loved that his kindergarten diploma from Brookwood was hanging on the wall – a very nice touch and nod to his hometown.

Also nice? Um, mostly everything. After all, Onward Reserve has been featured in Garden & Gun already.

Upon entry, you’re greeted by Uga clad in a Georgia visor, along with a rack of “$20 Dolla Make Ya Holla” sunglasses.

They also had an impressive selection of koozies to go along with their Yetis.

Speaking of koozies… Wheat’s favorite part? They give you a beer to drink as you shop. I suppose I didn’t hate it, either.

I also loved this pair of Red’s Outfitters sunnies. Debating adding them to my collection for this summer. I think they’d be perfect for river days on the Flint.

Also featured in store are prints from another Thomasville favorite: William Lamb & Son.

There’s plenty of gear for guys and gals, including perfectly preppy croakies and classic Barbour gear.

I loved that they had everything from Filson bags to china.

The back of the store feels more like a cigar room than a shop, where a leather couch faces a custom-designed wood wall by T.J. himself.

Another one of my personal favorites? Last Christmas, Wheat got me the Moonshine Speakeasy perfume from Onward Reserve, and it smells divine. I’m sure the aftershave lotion is just as fab, if you’re so inclined.

Wheat branched out and picked up some Jack Black Shaving Conditioner, and is a complete convert. I’m kicking myself now for not grabbing one of these lip balms.

As for me, I fell in love with the Hudson Sutler duffle bags.

From Hudson Sutler’s website:

sut·ler [suht-ler]

noun. (formerly) A civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp or in quarters.

An appropriate moniker for these American-made, heavy duty canvas bags. I love that they’re made right here in the USA (and have a tiny American flag emblem to prove it) out of heavy-duty canvas and marine-grade nickel. I was a little worried about the white straps, but they’re also conveniently machine washable, too. They’re the perfect weekend bag, combining durability and function with good looks and charm.

It was a really tough decision, but I ended up bringing home the Savannah Weekender (aka the green one, instead of the coral one).

It’s a welcome addition to my closet, seeing as practically every bag or travel accessory I own was given to me for my high school graduation. The problem with this? None of my monograms are accurate anymore. #southerngirlproblems

Harold likes my Hudson Sutler, too. :)

In the spirit of full disclosure, although all links to Onward Reserve are affiliate links, all purchases were made by me and all opinions are mine and mine alone, and always will be. I say they’re a sponsor, but here’s the quick and dirty: I wasn’t paid to write this post, but any time a reader clicks on a link to Onward Reserve through my blog, I earn a commission. It’s a small percentage, but it helps pay for this extremely time-consuming hobby I call Oysters & Pearls, so I hope you’ll understand. In fact, I hope you’ll fully get behind this company! I would never, ever promote anyone or anything that I didn’t whole-heartedly endorse. Onward Reserve is a great company and awesome shop full of friendly people, and I love that.