guest - check

While flipping through an old (May 2009) issue of House Beautiful, we came across a great little spread on essentials for the house hold. Designer Tom Scheerer curated the list of "Guest Room Essentials," and with graduation, Mother's Day, and spring weddings bringing guests in to our clients' homes we thought it was worth sharing. (we might nix the apple and/or orange and add a mirror with great lighting and a wastebasket).

Bath and Hand Towels, Washcloths

Fresh Soap

Shampoo
Bath Foam

A Unisex Terry Robe

Hair Dryier
Refillable Water Vessle and a Glass

Pad and Pencil

Alarm CLock

Magazines
Hangers

Luggage Rack

Bedside Nosegay or Single Blossom

Orange or Apple

image by Joni Webb via swamplot.com

yes ma'am

We swiped today's blog post straight from Mack. She nailed it...what a refreshing take on Bama Game Day decor inspiration! Here at MCD, we plan to re-stock our favorite (sometimes unexpected) elephant accessories before football season, so keep your eyes peeled for our interpretation of transitional Crimson Tide decorating.

image via modgirl

hollyhock II

Lee Jofa recently launched Suzanne Rheinstein's Hollyhock II collection. Inspired by Rheinstein's personal bevy of antique fabrics, the designs are understated and beautiful. A classic tree of life pattern will always have a special place in our hearts, and we love the pops of pink and muted navys in the Mimi Embroidery design, pictured above.

another storm

The lovelies over at Pi Beta Phi are hosting a little teacher appreciation event this afternoon. We special ordered some happy cherry brandy roses for this soiree, but it seems the Fed Ex truck with our sweet roses is running behind because of this morning's storm...this should make for an interesting afternoon of playing in the flowers.

While we wait and listen to the thunder rumble, we thought we'd share these nautical cocktail napkins from Gayle Warwick Fine Linen. The nautical trend is here to stay and the quality and craftsmanship from the London-based linen designer is unparalleled. The line of luxury linen is only available at a few retailers worldwide, but she will be hosting a trunk show in Hotlanta next Thursday (the 28th) from 10-6 at Gramercy Fine Linens and Furnishings.

new from nest

We love Nest candles and we love peonies (who doesn't?), so we've been pretty revved up about Nest's new Peony Blanche candle. Our shipment arrived today and the shop smells fantastic. Fresh, floral and feminine, it's perfect for Mother's Day. Hurry in - they are sure to go fast!

be bop

We've been be-bopping all over the place the past week and haven't had a chance to share our latest! Last weekend, we put on an amazing wedding and reception at Smith Hall. You may have seen our pictures on facebook. This week has been jam packed with meetings for new projects and planning florals for various UA-related events this weekend (rush, A-Day, meetings, graduation party planning) and more engagement showers (and future weddings...!).

We also had a major breakthrough in the shop: baby's breath. Call us flower snobs, but we cringed at thought of having it in our shop. We needed it for the wedding last weekend to make a sweet halo for the flower girl. It turned out beautifully and we decided to let down our guards (and elitist flower-designing values) and try it in an arrangement or two. We're not ashamed to say that a chic container filled with a big baby's breath bouquet is just lovely.

image via Real Simple.

in case you were wondering...

A refresher course on basic table setting. image via eventmuse.biz

one of our fave floral designs

The simplicity of this arrangement makes it one of our all-time favorites. We designed it for an event in Midtown with Special Events. Taziki's of B'ham catered and are opening an eatery here in May. Check out our FB page. for more pics from the event.

mac & cheese

We usually don't associate macaroni and cheese with Spring. However, we can't think of a better way to nurse yourself through a horrendous thunderstorm or a more appropriate accompaniment to BBQ. Not to mention that Bon Appetit (above) featured it as their cover story for the March issue. The magazine doesn't include a custard-like variation with eggs, milk and a whole stick of butter, but they should have.

Straight out of Luverne, Al., (my mother's mother) Bobbie's recipe is below. She would never use casarecce pasta, but if you can find it (Whole Foods), it's excellent for any mac and cheese recipe.

Bobbie's Mac and Cheese

1/2 package of noodles ( 8 oz. macaorni or casareccre) cooked extra tender, drained.

1 stick of butter (might be a little too much...) combined with 4 oz of cheddar cheese, grated.

Return noodles, along with butter/cheese to pot and stir. Pour into casserole.

Beat three eggs and pour over noodles in casserole.

Add 1 1/2 cups of milk (or enough to cover the noodles).

Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 40 min. (or until the custard is set).

official biz

We have an opportunity to help decorate a colleague's office and couldn't be more excited!Naturally, we turn to designers for inspiration. DVF at work, above.

image via Habitually Chic