The last of my outfits from my summer 30 for 30, a peek at the florals I designed for a wedding at Mackay Gardens, and a fun night of music and celebration at the Gram Parsons Derry Down.

{Remix #28 of 30 :: texture knit tank + white ankle skinnies + nude stiletto sandals}

A long-time reader recently mentioned that she missed the bits of my personal life that I used to share on the blog, so I thought it would be fun to start a new series to about what we’re up to on our weekends, including what’s happening at the flower shop. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details of the Sundays I spend Netflix-binging in my sweatpants.

Have I told you before how terrible I am at snapping photos of our floral projects? I’m so focused on getting everything perfect, packed up, and delivered on time that documenting the process usually slips my mind.   We have a lot of weddings and events on the calendar through the rest of the year, so hopefully this will inspire me to be more diligent about photographing our work; and maybe help me do a better job of updating the shop’s Facebook page in the process, ha! (Two birds: one stone.)

{Remix #29 of 30 :: denim jacket + printed wrap skirt + suede ballet flats}

Last Saturday’s wedding was at Mackay Gardens, a beautiful lakefront property that began as a 8,000 square-foot private estate in 1915. It became a municipal property and event venue in the early 2000s. (You may remember it from my post about Sara’s garden wedding a few years ago.)

The sweet bride, Nicole, picked some of my favorite flowers for her big day: hydrangea, garden roses, champagne roses, and dusty miller with seeded eucalyptus and white spray roses. She opted for delicate wood hand fans for the bridesmaids instead of traditional hand-tied bouquets for her outdoor ceremony; we dressed them up with a little cluster of garden roses and dusty miller tied with double-face satin.

{Remix #30 of 30 (delivery duds) :: denim cut-offs + olive wrap-front blouse + suede ballet flats }

I wrapped up my all my flower deliveries around noon, spent a couple of hours tidying up the shop and cleaning our delivery van, and then went home for a quick nap before I came back downtown for a party at the newly-remodeled Gram Parson’s Derry Down.

I posted about the Derry Down project launch back in September of 2014. Here’s a little blurb from that post:

In the heart of my hometown, there’s a tiny building with a big history. In 1964, Bob Parsons bought a place for his step-son, a young growing musician, to hone his talent for performing on stage. His step-son was Gram Parsons, who would become one of the most influential musicians of our time. Today is the 41st anniversary of his passing; he was only 26 years old, but in his short lifetime he created a new genre of music, “Cosmic American Music,” and influenced countless musicians.

Over the years, the Derry Down housed a number of musicians — The Allman Brothers and Tom Petty both performed on its stage — and later became a teen destination. Today, like so many great pieces of history, it’s become a victim of time; it’s been empty for years and fallen into disrepair. But there’s a big community movement, spearheaded by Main Street Winter Haven to restore the Derry Down to it’s former glory, while preserving its history and honoring Gram’s legacy.

Well, we did it!! Thanks to over $100,000 in cash donations and huge in-kind gifts of labor, time and materials, the Derry Down is finished and she’s beautiful. We saved some of her original charm (including leaving the original paint on the walls like you see behind me below) and gave her several modern upgrades to make her the perfect little downtown music hall and event venue.

We celebrated the project’s completion and honored all the donors at a big party Saturday night with a great show by Have Gun, Will Travel, and I spent the night behind the bar slinging drinks with some of my favorite people from the Main Street Winter Haven board of directors.

And, of course, I had to bring along some fresh blooms for the celebration. What’s more Americana than sunflowers in mason jars? ;)

Part of our fundraising efforts was the sale of personalized bricks for the walkway into the venue. Most are names of individuals and businesses, but this brick right by the front door is my very favorite.What else could a happy Southern girl need?