Comfort

More joy, more laughter, more love

Collectively, we are all going through a difficult time right now. When things get difficult, regardless of what is at the root of it, I think the only salve is to create opportunities for more joy, more laughter and more love. Connections are a basic human need. We need each other. For me, connections at the table with an amazing meal, simple or complex with friends and family all around, is grounding and lifts my spirits.

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Photo by The Little Plantation

Think of your most memorable meals throughout your life. Chances are there was delicious food, coupled with emotions and connections. Perhaps there were tears, or belly aching laughter, mixed with love, friendship and contentment. To be sure, stories were told. Memories were created.

Since I am a trained artist, I approach entertaining, setting the table, menu creation and cooking all with an artist’s sensibility. I love layers, whether I am painting or setting the table. Layers of colors, textures, flavors and sensations. In fact, I created the term “Luxe Farmhouse” for August Table specifically to mean layers of rustic charm and simplicity mixed with elements of surprise, whether it’s a glint of shining metal and something sparkly and luxe, or a burst of intense flavor paired with a simple staple.

August Table Seraphim Aphrodite Napkin

This weekend, try to connect with others. Meet outside and bring your masks, practice social distancing for sure. Studies are showing that it’s far less likely that you will get COVID-19 if you are outside, where there is a breeze. If meal prep is not something you want to do right now, you can buy simple ingredients and assemble them in a beautiful way, or simply just buy a loaf of bread, cheese and grapes. Break bread with others. It’s been too long cooped up in our homes without connections.

Photo by Inspired by This

Wishing you love, laughter and joy this weekend,
Carrie

Carrie Allen created this site as a way for people to share stories about things they love. She loves chasing quiet, authentic moments and sharing them with her family and friends. Read more about her inspiration here.

Tags:

august table, Connections, Cotton Linens, Entertaining, friendship, Gather, Inspired by This, Luxe Farmhouse, picnic, The Little Plantation

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Gather – Flowers for your table

Wildflowers collected from our fields in White Stone, VA

I firmly believe that when you gather friends and family at the table you should always have fresh flowers there too. They elevate the experience and can be done simply and inexpensively from gathering wildflowers in various shapes and sizes to pulling together one flower, in one color, to make a statement.

Wildflower arrangement by Jamie Campbell for Decoratop

You can pick one vase to fill for a center arrangement or find various jars, cups and vases in varying sizes to place organically around the table and house.

Roses in a cup by Jamie Campbell for Decoratop

When I have a special event, dinner or meal and want that extra help I love collaborating with a florist in order to get more unique flowers than are readily available in the yard or at the local market.

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Photo by Will Hawkins / Flowers by The Wild Bunch

It’s also fun to add in fruit and vegetables as part of the table decor.

Photo by Jen Huang

Deer Pearl Flowers

Floret Flowers

Think about what season you are in and pull from what is growing at that time. Lilacs are my favorite flowers and I love to fill vases of them in the spring all over the house for their soft color and lush scent.

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Mason Jar Vase and Lilacs by Country Living

If you have a large group, it’s fun to have flowers run down the entire table so that everyone gets to enjoy them like I did last summer for a large family gathering in the photo below. I worked with Cindy at The Wild Bunch in Kilmarnock, VA. She does amazing work.

Photo by Anne Sophie Marchal / Flowers by The Wild Bunch

If you do not have a garden or yard to pull from, visit your local market or grocery store. When in Boston, I love what Trader Joe’s keeps in store year round and look for groupings of one type of flower to mix and match colors as opposed to the prearranged bouquets. Another favorite – peonies…

Peonies / Photo by Amber Lilyestrom

When creating your own arrangements, you must strip the stems of all leaves for the part that will be below the water line. This slows up any bacteria growth and keeps the water clean longer. I like the flowers to be cut shorter in the vase, so that the flowers are poised just above the top of the vase and often tie the vase or jar with twine or a ribbon. Cut each flower individually to fit your vase in order to have various heights and place them loosely for the look you want.

Flowers by The Wild Bunch

Tags:

Country Living, Design, Dinner party, Entertaining, Flower Arrangements, Flower Arranging, Flowers, Gather, Lilacs, Peonies, Roses, Southern Living, Wildflower Arrangements, Wildflowers

Comfort

Carrie Allen – Passion Prints

I have spent much of 2019 thus far looking inwards and reflecting on what’s important in life, what’s important to me, focusing on my daily rituals, which ground me and give me a cadence I crave, so that I can be true to my authentic self and show up every day full of love and inspiration in all that I do. (At least that’s my goal…of course we all have good days and bad…)

August Table “Sequoia”, “August”, and “Talelayo” block prints in Tern Gray

Following your bliss and passion are key to finding happiness, key to slowing down and embracing each moment. Life is better when you slow down and pursue things you love. One of my passions is Indian block-printed textiles. Patterns made with wooden blocks, hand printed by skilled artisans, with natural dyes, derived from indigenous plants – indigo, turmeric, hibiscus, pomegranate and ochre. Each print has imperfections that add beauty to the overall artistry.

While block printing was first developed in China roughly 4500 years ago, the practice of block printing is about 2000 years old and trade in cotton cloth is said to have existed between India and Babylon from Buddha’s time. It was on the Indian subcontinent where hand-block fabric reached its highest visual expression.

Photographs by Mehera Shaw

In home workshops scattered throughout India, you can still find chippas, a caste of printers who continue day after day to stamp lengths of cotton fabric with color using hand-carved wood blocks. They were taught this trade by their parents, who were, in turn, taught by theirs — each generation working almost exactly as the one before, going back at least 300 years. They are truly skilled artisans. The recipes for the plant-based dyes are developed within the families and kept alive for generations. The colors are dependent on the quality of the plants, the water and skill and knowledge of the printing masters.

Last year Krister and I worked with an amazing team in a little factory in India to design our own block-printed textile patterns for linen napkins and tablecloths – and August Table was born. August Table and our block print designs bring together so many passions for me. Passion for connecting with loved ones over a meal, passion for baking and cooking, passion for entertaining, and a passion for trying to inspire others to find joy in the same. I also realize I have a love for styling photographs with our textiles, slowing down in the present to capture a moment of our daily lives.

August Table “August” print napkin in Tern Gray

Additionally, we get great pleasure in knowing through the production of our textiles we are providing a source of income to many village families in an environmentally positive approach with mill made cotton and natural dyes. Using cloth napkins is good for the environment while also bringing a touch of boho elegance to your meal, and the linens get softer and better with each use as they age. A few of my favorite shots from 2018 with our textiles are below – a visual diary of quiet, caught moments, special moments, celebrations and more.