Bespoke Cabanas & Boutique Tents

 This is the season for soirées!

 In Lexington, they begin in Spring and don't slow down till the end of summer. It's during this time when we find ourselves running & jumping at Keeneland, Rolex, the Triple Crown, High Hope Steeplechase & on the Polo fields as well!

Also on the calendar are dinner parties & birthday parties, weddings & graduations, bourbon tastings & barbeques!

Whatever the occasion, outdoor entertaining is one of the hallmarks of summer that I love, be it a rooftop garden, an elegantly manicured patio or sprawling lawn.

The sun shines bright on our old Kentucky home & the sky tends to open up on a moments notice. Wanting to avoid being drenched by occasional rain, we find ourselves seeking stylish shelter!

The best person to seek stylish shelter with is Anne Girault at Boutique Tents! Anne can renew your vision & your faith when it comes to entertaining in the great outdoors.

Whether you're hosting a fundraiser that calls for seating five hundred ~

Or cocktails at six ~

Boutique Tents has a beautiful array of bespoke cabanas, boutique tents, and timeless umbrellas that will complement your own personal style!

Anne has been immersed in the oeuvre of tents for nearly a decade. Her creations are inspired by her love of fashion, travel, motifs in nature, textiles, architecture, and interior design & it shows!

A valance with three layers of color, texture, and motion and the hand-painted pattern on the interior roof are fine examples of the innate sense of craft and workmanship that transforms these tents & cabanas into exquisite environments.

  Her designs are so richly detailed. I love the classic style and touch of whimsy!

Perhaps you would prefer that weekend guests slip out of their wet suits outdoors as well.

Boutique Tents has got them covered!

And a beautiful bespoke umbrella is guaranteed to add character to your inner sanctuary and provide a charming place to plan your next soiree ~ quick before the summer ends!

Here's a sneak peek of a new parasol prototype & custom cocktail umbrellas for a wedding. At Boutique Tents the planning never ends!

 

  Boutique Tents offers more than couture party cabanas, tents & scalloped cocktail umbrellas... on their website you'll also find custom fabric valances, beautifully hand-painted aisle rugs and banners!

I was so pleased to discover Anne Girault and her gorgeous Boutique Tents!

We became social on Instagram & she is so nice!

Be it a summer soiree or relaxing with the Sunday paper, I love to be outdoors and enjoying my surroundings, doesn't everyone?

Thank you, Anne!

All images here are the property of Boutique Tents unless credited by photographer or designer and are used with permission.

Returning to A Place Called Home

Patricia van Essche and her delightful illustrations are always a breath of fresh air here at The Lisa Porter Collection. You can imagine how thrilled I was this evening to find that she is the Chic Illustrator of the Week in the digital publication of
Town & Country magazine! 

Congratulations Patricia ~ XO 

www.pvedesign.com

"They always ask,

'Hey mom, do you like doing that? How much are you getting paid for that'!"

Illustration by pve design for J.McLaughlin

"I hope I give them a good lesson for the future when I tell them often:

learn to love what you do and it will love you back!" pve

These wonderful words of wisdom are from the lovely & talented wife, mother & artist Patricia van Essche, seen here with her three children who ask really great questions!

Patricia's incredible art has me thinking about how each one of us has in a corner of our memory, a place that we once called home. 

www.pvedesign.com

These homes are the safety deposit boxes of our memories.  Loving marriages, great parties, happy childhoods, and long-held family traditions.

 

www.pvedesign.com

Some families live in a home for a little while and some families live in a home forever!  Either way, feelings of security and emotional comfort grow naturally from the sights, sounds & scents of the familiar.

www.pvedesign.com 

With each home that my husband and I have lived in, I have certain distinct memories.  I can close my eyes and visualize bringing home our newborn babies, the smell of rising bread, the feel of beach sand on the kitchen floor, the sound of my daughter's voice as she comes through the door, and the scent of a freshly mowed lawn by my son.

www.pvedesign.com

Our move from California to Kentucky was a biggie!  In the last ten years, so much good life has been lived here. I'll always hang on to memories of planting my first garden & the day a brand new puppy named Gracie arrived.

"Home is where the heart is and when a commission comes to me, all I can imagine are the many hearts who have entered this home. A home is where the heart is even after one moves on." pve

www.pvedesign.com

So very true!  Everyone leaves home and everyone finds a place to call home.  Turns out that the end is many times the beginning!

I loved reading Patricia's interview when she sat down with another one of my favorite artist, Anne Harwell at Annechovie.  Found out that Patricia is a Kentucky-bred, born & raised right here in the Bluegrass!

www.pvedesign.com

Thank you so much, Patricia, for allowing me the privilege of sharing your incredible artistry & your words of wisdom here at The Lisa Porter Collection. 

All illustrations courtesy of Patricia van Essche of pve design.

Arizona Citrus

And as we slowly ease into the new year I find myself dreaming of warm temps, sunshine, and citrus. All this because we just returned from a Christmas holiday with family ~ way out west in the Arizona desert.

On this trip, I started a new morning routine.

Picking fruit.

Just steps off the patio of the ranch house where we stayed!

 In Arizona's warmer regions, citrus trees are a yard or garden staple. In the Bluegrass of Kentucky, they are not. Among the most gorgeous desert botanical landscape were grapefruit, orange and lemon trees. Lot's of them!

The heady fragrance of citrus brings back childhood memories of running through orchards in Arcadia ~ zigzagging past whitewashed tree trunks ~ while playing outside with friends.

Freshly picked grapefruit adds the perfect shade of pink to the back patio.

Oranges, grapefruit & lemons oh my!

The fruit was not enough. I snipped the branches of waxy green leaves too. They were a welcome addition to the Equipal table on the sun porch!

On the last day, I rested ~ at the Spa at Camelback Inn ~ overlooking Camelback mountain.

I dreamt of all those orchards that used to fill up the valley of the sun & the last few handpicked grapefruit I, unfortunately, had to leave behind.

Speaking of ~

Whether you're in Arizona, Kentucky, or wherever, this Broiled Grapefruit Recipe by Jessica Helgeson over at SEE SALT will put you in a very happy place! Ruby red grapefruit crusted with caramelized brown sugar and drizzled Grand Marnier liqueur.

What a wonderful way to chase the chill away ~

Happy New Year!

The Thoroughbred Club of America

December ~ A time when we do our best around here to slow things down a bit all in the honor of friends, family, and traditions. Over the years we’ve come to know what we like best. What brings back the fond memories, what makes us the most comfortable, and what makes us the most grateful.

December is also a time to celebrate & shine. This year the Thoroughbred Club of America here in Lexington was ready to bring a fresh look to their treetops, tabletops, and time-honored traditions. I am honored that they asked me to bring that fresh look to their beautiful club for Christmas.

It was an absolute pleasure!

With my photographs & the sentimental prose of Edgar Albert Guest ~ I'm happy to share the results with you!  

 

"When Friends Drop In" 

It may be I'm old-fashioned, but the times I like the best

Are not the splendid parties with the women gaily dressed,

And the music tuned for dancing and the laughter of the throng,

With a paid comedian's antics or a hired musician's song,

But the quiet times of friendship, with the chuckles and the grin,

And the circle at the fireside when a few good friends drop in.

Though I sometimes like an opera, there's no music quite so sweet

As the singing of the neighbors that you're always glad to meet;

Oh, I know when they come calling that the fun will soon begin,

And I'm happiest those evenings when a few good friends drop in.

 

There's no pomp of preparation, there's no style or shame or fuss;

We are glad to welcome callers who are glad to be with us,

And we sit around and visit or we start a merry game,

And we show them by our manner that we're mighty pleased they came,

For there's something real about it, and the yarns we love to spin,

And the time flies, Oh, so swiftly when a few good friends drop in.

Let me live my life among them, cheerful, kindly folks and true,

And I'll ask no greater glory till my time of life is through;

Let me share the love and favor of the few who know me best,

And I'll spend my time contented till my sun sinks in the west;

 

I will take what fortune sends me and the little I may win,

And be happy on those evenings when a few good friends drop in.

Edgar Albert Guest

Many thanks to everyone at the Thoroughbred Club ~ I wish you all a very Merry Christmas & a joyous new year!

  Merry Christmas & thanks as well to

Joseph & Shannon Hillenmeyer for the fireside chats in the pouring rain, beautiful Christmas trees & heavenly greens!

Photo | Longshadow

A very special thank you to my assistant Taylor for making the hustle & bustle so much fun! 

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