Open Door

WE ARE MOVING!

2014-11-02T12:22:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to tell you that we are moving our blog to a different URL: http://opendoorshop.wordpress.com

We have been busy working on a new look, new website and new bridal registry. We hope you can take a minute to check out the new blog. We are really proud of the way it looks and think it aligns well with our new branding.

So, head on over to http://opendoorshop.wordpress.com for great entertaining tips and inspiration for your everyday entertaining need.

Thanks so much for reading and please let us know if you have any questions!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Everyday Decor: A Splash of Halloween

2014-10-22T03:00:00.000-04:00

Can you believe October is almost over? Going through our calendars yesterday, we realized Halloween is around the corner and neither of us had done an ounce of decorating, let alone bought a pumpkin! Considering it is already the 22nd, we knew we had to act fast, so we threw together this simply stated look for the upcoming Halloween holiday. We assembled it on an entry table in Marion's house, but we think it could look great on a mantle.

We gathered eucalyptus, greenery, white pumpkins and some decorative votives and layered them together on the table.

Voila, an easy way to add a splash of Halloween!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Everyday Entertaining: Sunday Morning Coffee (part two)

2014-10-17T16:22:00.001-04:00

Last week, in this post we showed you a simple/clean coffee setup for your overnight guests. We had so many people tell us how much they liked the post, that we decided we needed to do a second installment. So, here is part two!

We like to use a tray to create a "station" for your guests. It let's them know that, "This is out for you to enjoy."

Snip some greenery from a nearby plant to make the area a little bit brighter.

Terrafirma Tray | Mugs | Fish Sugar Dish | Creamer | Bud Vase

Don't forget to show us how you entertain on instagram by tagging us and using the hashtag #ODentertains. You might inspire our next blog post!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Friday Favorites

2014-10-16T21:25:00.000-04:00

We are one day closer to unveiling our new website, branding and updated blog look. We think you are really going to like it! In the meantime, here is a round up of our Friday Favorites.

1. We were excited to read about Lauren Lail of Library Vintage on the So Good this week and then we were really flattered when we saw that she mentioned us in her feature as one of the "Can't-Miss Spots for Gifts". Whoa, thanks Lauren!

2. Last night we went to the Fall Runway Show at Hampden Clothing. It is always so exciting see what looks they have created.

3. Great news, our horn bangles are back in stock! Buy them here.

Have a great weekend,

Marion + Leslie

Everyday Entertaining: Sunday Morning Coffee

2014-10-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Everyone loves waking up to the smell of coffee. We like to think it's the perfect way to greet overnight guests. But...sometimes your guests may wake before you, so it's a good idea to set up the coffee spread the night before. No one wants to fumble through the kitchen looking for mugs or forgo sugar because they couldn't find it. Here is one of our favorite early morning coffee spreads.

Mugs | Dish Towel | Creamer | Wooden Platter | Fish Dish for Sugar (on sale)

It looks pretty inviting, right? Just make sure your coffee maker is set to brew or leave out a few pods for the Keurig. What other tricks do you have for entertaining overnight guests?

Marion + Leslie

If images are borrowed from the site, please provide a link back to our original post and make sure credit is given to us. Thanks!

Friday Favorites

2014-10-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

What a busy and productive week (don't you love that feeling). Did you see our favorite gold glasses featured on Sweet Southern Prep this week? Ashley (from Sweet Southern Prep) made this delicious pink cocktail in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It looks delicious (and really pretty in our gold leaf glasses).

Alright time for Friday Favorites:

1. Did you see the latest in our sale? We are making room for holiday goodness and added some AMAZING things to our sale section like this and this! It's a whale of a sale.

2. Garden & Gun put together the perfect list of restaurants and activities in Charleston. They pretty much nailed it! If you live in Charleston or are heading this way, you should adopt this as your bucket list.

3. Will you be entertaining guests this weekend? This butternut squash dip looks amazing! It's perfect for gathering around a fire pit or watching a football game.

Have a great weekend!

Marion + Leslie

Everyday Recipe: Leslie's Go-To Salad

2014-10-07T07:54:00.001-04:00

With the temperature dropping (a little), we have moved our dining outdoors. That means Bowen is on the grill, and I am whipping up my favorite side dish, Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad. I started making this salad this summer when Natalie Mason posted it on her blog Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers. I paired it with the round serving bowl and serving pieces to create the perfect outdoor ambiance!

Tomato Corn Avocado Salad

3 ears corn (husk and silk removed)
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Coarse Salt and Ground Pepper
Fresh julienned Basil

Stand ear in a large wide bowl; with a sharp knife, carefully slice downward to release the kernels. Discard cob. Add tomatoes, avocado, scallions, lime juice, basil and oil to bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss gently to combine. Enjoy!

Friday Favorites

2014-10-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Hello Friday, glad you're here! It's time for our Friday Favorites, but first a quick recap of the week. On Wednesday we attended a fun event in our neighbor's space, NOVEL. Novel was hosting a Beauty Event for Pout, a makeup studio in Columbia, SC. We learned all about makeup lines that are easy to use on the go and some tricks to applying makeup.

On Thursday, we attended an event at Billy Reid Charleston featuring the latest work from Raven Roxanne! She is one of our favorite Charleston artists.

After a busy week, we are ready to kick back in Charleston this weekend. Now time for our Friday Favorites:

- Have you all heard of The Bitter Southerner? Oh boy, it is just wonderful. Every Tuesday they publish a great story from the South. It's just one per week because the focus is on GREAT. Read it here.

image from The Bitter Southerner

- Do y'all know about The Real Real? It is a luxury consignment website where you can find pre-owned designer items at a steal. It basically puts eBay to shame. Everything is fully authenticated and the prices are amazing! Sign up here.

That is all for this week! Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to shop for your favorite fall entertaining essentials in the shop.

Best,

Marion + Lesie

Everyday Recipe: Marion's Go To Salad

2014-09-30T13:01:00.000-04:00

In a last ditch attempt to squeeze in a few more "summer meals," I made this Lemony Shaved Summer Squash and Pecorino Salad from one of my favorite cookbooks, Home Cooking with Jean-Georges. This is one of those easy salads that looks much more complex then it actually is. I threw it all together in our Montes Doggett Bowl and used the Rustic Salad Servers to serve it up.

Lemony Shaved Summer Squash and Pecorino on Arugula:

2 large lemons
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup EVO
2 cups packed arugula
2 small or 1 medium yellow squash (sliced paper thin)
2 small or 1 medium zucchini (sliced paper thin)
2 ounces aged pecorino cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Grate the zest of one of the lemons directly into a jar or bowl with tight-fitting lid. Squeeze a 1/2 cup of juice from the lemons and add the zest. Add the salt and oil, cover tightly, and shake vigorously.

Spread the arugula in a single layer in a serving dish. Scatter the squash and zucchini on top. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the cheese all over. Grind the pepper over everything and serve immediately.

Friday Favorites

2014-09-26T13:57:00.001-04:00

Here is a little run down of some of our favorite things that we have come across this week:

1. We have been dreaming about this Sullivan's Island home that was featured in Charleston Magazine this month.

2. We plan on trying out this fabulous White Chicken Enchilada Casserole from Natalie at Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers.

3. Finally, we are so excited to entertain with this Montes Doggett Serving Bowl.

Happy Friday,

Marion + Leslie

Do you mix and match?

2014-09-18T11:37:00.001-04:00

Do you mix and match? During the cooler months, I wear a pair of leopard flats with just about everything. They are comfortable and really easy to throw on. No matter what other patterns or colors I have on, my leopard flats always seem to work! Take it from Song of Style, she mixes plaid and leopard and it works too!

Mixing patterns is a must, but how can you incorporate it in your home? Well a year ago, Leslie and I found this amazing linen line that is all about mixing and matching. If you are familiar with the shop, then you know we are talking about Pehr Design. The entire line of casual linens is meant to be "mixed" and "matched". This week, we received their newest collection of dinner napkin and I can't stop talking about them.

Don't these napkins work well together? The takeaway, if you are brave enough to mix and match fashion, then it's time to take it to the dinner table.

Our Birthday Recap

2014-09-07T16:09:00.000-04:00

Last week we celebrated our one year anniversary. We launched www.opendoorshop.com on Labor Day in 2013 (a year flies by). To celebrate this milestone we decided to throw a birthday party at the showroom. While we are predominately an online business, our showroom is used to warehouse all of our merchandise and offer a place for brides to register in person. Being able to open up the showroom for guests was a lot of fun and forced us to put the finishing touches on the space. Here are some of our favorite photos from the party.

Thanks to everyone that came out to help us celebrate. It was a fun night! If you missed it, but want to stop by for a visit, just send us an email at info@opendoorshop.com and we can set up a time to hangout.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Inspiration: Floral Tablescape

2014-09-02T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today is the day, Open Door Shop has officially been open for ONE year. Thank you so much for all of your support. It really is a blessing to go to work everyday doing something you love! If you are in Charleston, we hope you will stop by to celebrate with us (see invite here).

When planning our party, we talked a lot about flower arrangements and how we would incorporate them into our tablescape. We wanted to use the floral arrangements to add height to our tablescape and we were both drawn to the wispy arrangements that looked "less arranged". Since I can't unveil our tablescape on the blog quite yet; I thought I would share some photos from our inspiration board that inspired our floral tablescape.

via

And since I am a sucker for secrets....here is a sneak peak at one little bud vase.

Best,

Marion (+ Leslie)

We are having a party!

2014-08-25T03:00:00.000-04:00

We are so excited to announce that we are gearing up for a party...Open Door is turning ONE! We launched Open Door Shop last Labor Day and my how we've grown. We can't thank you enough for all the support and feedback! If you are in the Charleston area, we would love to have you stop by Wednesday, September 3rd for shopping and fun!

Hope to see you there!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

OD Entertains: Easy Appetizer (Part 2)

2014-08-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we showed you an easy appetizer that we made for our girl's night. Today we want to show you an even easier appetizer (yes, it's possible). Vegetable crudite is an easy, colorful appetizer to assemble minutes before you run out the door.

Vegetable Crudite
- Ranch Dressing (store bought or homemade)
- Raw Veggies (i.e. cucumber, carrots, endive, radish, snow peas, etc.)

Directions:
1. Wash and cut all vegetable into bite size.
2. Assemble on platter.
3. That's all!

Cut veggies.

Assemble on platter.

This appetizer will look so pretty when it's assembled, people will think you worked on it all day.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

OD Entertains: Easy Appetizer (Part 1)

2014-08-21T12:50:00.000-04:00

We had a fun girls night at our friend's house this week. It was the first chance that we've had all summer to get together. Our friend, Lindsay, suggested everyone bring a bottle of a wine and an appetizer instead of having just one person in charge of dinner. It was a great idea! We threw together this super easy appetizer. This Quick Cucumber Appetizer is not only pretty, but works as a healthy alternative to a cheese platter.

Find the wooden platters here.

Quick Cucumber Appetizer
- 1 English Cucumber
- 1.5 Cup Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese
- Herbs (rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1. Cut cucumber into 1/4 inch slices.
2. To create the cream cheese spread, add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and any herbs that you have on hand (I added chives and rosemary). Stir it all together until it is a creamy consistency.
3. Use a butter knife to spread the the herbed cream cheese on each cucumber slice.

***The amount of herbs depends on your preference and what herbs you have on hand.

Check back tomorrow for our other easy appetizer.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Weekend Recap

2014-08-18T17:26:00.002-04:00

Normally our weekend recap is focused on the weekend, but since you haven't heard from us in sometime our recap is a bit more expansive. Here is what's up:

1. Did you read this article on Southern Living's blog. It really captures southern style and features some of our favorite people from Charleston.

2. Last week we went to an event thrown by our favorite blogger, Jessica, from Bare Beauty Blog. She was showing off the newest colors from RMS Beauty. If you don't know about RMS Beauty, then you are living in a cave, not really. We only learned about it a year ago and since then we can't keep our hands off of it. They pride themselves on using natural organic ingredients to create makeup products. Read more here.

Photo from the RMS event.

Newest RMS Beauty Products

3. Have you seen the newest line of ceramics that we are carrying in the store? We added Earthborn Ceramics to the shop and have had overwhelming feedback.

Shop Earthborn here.

I think that pretty much catches you up. It feel good to be back on the blog train!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Everyday Entertaining: The Guest Bathroom

2014-08-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

Oops! We took a little blog hiatus last week, but we are back and ready to go. Leslie and I have been busy working on some fun Open Door events and changes and forgot to update the blog! I am hoping this blog post will make up for the absence.

This past weekend I looked for new towels for our guest bathroom, which inspired me to do a little tidying up in the guest bathroom. I loaded up on extra toiletries to have on hand when guests visit and created a little extra space in the closet for our visitors clothing (i.e. I donated my formal dress from sophomore year of college). Here some guest bathroom essentials that I think take your gust bathroom to the ext level!

Glass Carafe | Bath Towels

Horn Bowl | Guest Soap Set

Shower Gel | Tin Tray

Take a look at these other essentials from some of our favorite magazines and blogs.

via

What essentials do you keep in your guest bathroom? Let us know!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

The Perfect Gift (Seriously)

2014-07-28T14:17:00.000-04:00

Ta-da! We did it! We found the perfect gift, a wooden pineapple platter. It is hard to find a more appropriate hostess, house warming or welcome gift then the pineapple

Wooden Pineapple Platter, $25

Pineapples have been symbolizing hospitality and warmth since the days of Christopher Columbus. Seriously, when his men landed on Guadalupe in 1493, they were welcomed with fresh pineapples. In Colonial America, hostesses would set a fresh pineapple in the center of their dining table when they had visitors for dinner. It was also Colonial Americans that began to carve this fruit into bed posts, exterior facades and foyers.

Today, the pineapple is still used to symbolize hospitality, especially in the south. So next time you are asked over for dinner, why not bring this pineapple with you.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Open Door Shop x Annie Reeves Collaboration

2014-07-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

If you follow us on instagram, then you may have noticed our feed was exploding with beautiful pictures from around Charleston! Well, one of our favorite lifestyle bloggers, Annie Reeves, took over our instagram account yesterday to show you her favorite Charleston spots.

Today, we teamed up with Annie again for a fun collaboration (#ODSxAR). We asked Annie to curate a Wedding Gift Guide. So last week, she stopped by the showroom to curate a collection of gifts to make giving a wedding gift, easy-peasy!

As you can imagine, this girl has style!!! Annie's curated collection of Wedding Gifts are classic with a fun twist. We love how she mixed gold with some of our vintage items. We would be thrilled to be on the receiving end of any of her gift picks.

Shop more of her curated collection of Wedding Gifts at www.opendoorshop.com and be sure to check out Annie's fabulous blog, www.anniereeves.com.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Weekend Recap

2014-07-15T07:50:00.000-04:00

It is time for our weekend recap! Leslie stuck around in Atlanta and went to Scott's to shop for her new house. She found some cool mirrors and rugs.

I flew out from Atlanta and headed to Miami for a friend's bachelorette party. We spent Saturday by the pool at the Delano, which was a little slice of paradise.

Sunday morning came too early and it was back to the Airport for my flight to Charleston. We are busy in the shop this week planning some fun events for the end of the summer and making room for all of our fun goodies from market. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Market Recap

2014-07-11T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hey Readers! We have had a jam packed week in Atlanta attending the gift mart. We always love an excuse to visit "A-Town". It is a chance to visit friends and family and a great opportunity to find some special places to eat (ahem....Empire State South and Watershed). Let's just say, it is important to treat yourself after a long day at gift mart.

We thought we would share some pictures from where we stayed, what we ate and what we bought! We are pretty pumped about the things we have coming to the shop this Fall (I know it is only July, but you have to plan ahead).

Our awesome pad for the gift mart.

Perfect spot for wine and cheese after mart.

Delish food at Empire State South.

No dinner is complete without Bocce.

Our favorite spot to grab baby items and table linens.

If you are familiar with Earth Born,
then you know why we are excited...if not, you will soon see!

Well, that is a pretty brief summary of our time in Atlanta thus far. Every time we're here, I wish we were staying longer, but I guess that is what keeps us coming back. Be sure to stay tuned as we begin to receive some new shipments...we think you're going to be pretty excited about what we picked up.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

Obsession Of The Week: Wallpaper (Again)

2014-07-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

We are always dreaming about wallpaper. In fact, you may remember this post from last year. Well, we are still dreaming and wanted to discuss some creative uses for wallpaper...wall panels. Wall panels are a great way to incorporate pattern and color into a room. It is also a great way to use your favorite, slightly more expensive wall paper because you don't need as much of it! Here are a few of our favorite styled wall panels:

via

If you are hooked on this idea, check out Hunted Interior and read her step by step DIY on Wallpaper Panels. Please let us know if you have done this before...we want to hear all about it!

Best,

Marion and Leslie

Weekend Recap

2014-07-07T10:20:00.001-04:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! It is Monday and we are kicking it off with a little weekend recap.

Leslie had a relaxing and patriotic weekend in Murrell's Inlet, SC.

And Marion ran the Peachtree Road Race with her husband in Atlanta, GA.

We are gearing up for Atlanta Market this week. Make sure you follow us on instagram to see the latest trends in interiors and get a sneak peak on new items heading to the shop.

Best,

Marion + Leslie

What We are Packing: The Fourth of July

2014-07-01T08:01:00.002-04:00

FINALLY, time for a little R&R. While Fourth of July is really fun in Charleston, it is nice to head out of town for a little relaxation. Marion will be celebrating in Lake Oconee and I will be in Murrells Inlet, SC. Some of our essentials include breezy shorts, statement earrings, and of course the best sunscreen. See what is in our bag.

Top, Shorts, Earrings, Sunscreen, Hat, Tote, Necklace, Shoes, Bathing Suit