theamericansouth – Ann Street Studio

Snapshots from Savannah

January 8, 2015January 10, 2015Posted in TravelTagged forsyth park, magnolia hall, magnoliahall, savannah, Savannah Georgia, savannahga, savannahgeorgia, the south, theamericansouth, travel, vacation16 Comments

Looking back on a few days off where I looked forward to what is in store for 2015. We are already planning shoots in Palm Springs, Paris, and Argentina so this year, though just born a week ago, is already full of dreamy promises. Doing what you love most for a living means you’re willing to commit more time to it than a typical job so it’s not often I take a day off or have a moment to reflect on all we’ve done and the amazing people we’ve met.

After spending Christmas in Texas with my family, I found myself in Savannah, a place I call home – my adopted home. Like New York and Paris, I am at my best self here, but unlike the two metropolitan cities, in Savannah I come to relax. To walk her beautiful parks at dusk, to feel the damp southern air kiss my skin under an umbrella of enchanting moss hanging from live oak trees. We eat, we drink, we spend afternoons whittling away the hours on big southern porches while we outline our dreams for another year but always leaving much open to new directions we could never anticipate.

*PS- An update on my Savannah recommendations – I love walking Whitaker street from Gaston to Broughton and popping into little hidden boutiques and amazing home decor shops. One Fish Two Fish led me to score two amazing new bedside lamps.

Of course the food scene in the south is one of the biggest draws. Now added to my “MUST EAT” list is The Florence for dinner and for lunch Green Truck Pub has the best burgers IN THE WORLD. I called it.

The only thing that could make Savannah even more dreamy is having the utmost pleasure of staying at SCAD’s Magnolia Hall. The southern mansion of my dreams that sits atop Forsyth Park (see the view from the front porch on a foggy night above). In 2014 I had the great honor of working with SCAD, covering their Savannah campus that makes the word “impressive” a tremendous understatement. Remember when we went to Lacoste after that?… it only gets better. Thank you SCAD for the southern hospitality and adopting me into your family, it’s an inspiring group of people.

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HUSK

May 16, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in TravelTagged charleston, charleston sc, comfort food, drink, food, food & drink, food and drink, food&drink, husk, interior, interiors, restaurant, south, south carolina, southcarolina, southern, southern food, theamericansouth, tibi6 Comments

Talk about COMFORT FOOD. Husk is Charleston’s perfect combination of modern day sophistication and down-home goodness. The second you walk onto the double-front porch and feel the coziness of being home, it’s like the whole experience has you wrapped in a cashmere blanket. The board on the foyer wall lists all the local farms, fishermen, growers who supply your food. It feels like one big Southern family here with roots that extend for generations. On the drink menu they serve things like cider made from the same recipe as its creation 100 years ago or house-made soda concoctions and old classics like Cheerwine Soda from Salisbury, NC, the old soft drink company still run by the same family. With a menu that changes twice daily, it’s so hard to decide what to order! As far as the classics on the menu go, I’m always a sucker for southern catfish, which is outstanding here, but word has it they are the best burger in town. So add it to your must-eats list and feel free to take me with you when you go….

PS- the pig ear lettuce wraps are DELICIOUS, the selection of Madeira wine is fantastic, and their pimento cheese crostini haunt my dreams…

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Cumberland Island in 15 Seconds

April 18, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in Travel, VideoTagged beach, cumberland, cumberland island, georgia, greyfield, greyfield inn, greyfieldinn, horses, island, jfk jr. wedding church, places15s, placesin15secs, red epic, theamericansouth, travel, vacation, video, wild horses, wonderlust19 Comments

Miles of empty beaches, wild horses , a dream home and dewy air… this is Cumberland Island, Georgia.

Paris in 15 seconds / Patagonia in 15 seconds / Atacama in 15 seconds / Brazil City in 15 seconds

Cumberland Island

April 17, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in TravelTagged baptist church, boats, clawfoot bathtub, cocktails, cumberland, cumberland island, cumberlandisland, design, destination, eggs, first african baptist church, GA, georiga, getwaway, gogo, historic, horses, interior, interior design, interiors, island, jewelry, jfk jr, jfk jr wedding, jfk jr wedding chuch, JFK Jr's wedding reception, leisure, national seashore, nature, pamento cheese, picnic, romantic, southern, southern homes, southern hospitality, theamericansouth, travel, white house, wild horses7 Comments

I remember that photograph. It was instantly synonymous with American style, American royalty, and that fairytale wedding to Prince Charming. I never forgot that image, the beauty of the moment, the elegance and intimacy of the chosen venue. Such an interesting choice to make for such a famous last name. Fast forward nearly 18 years later, and I’m standing on the steps of the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island thinking about all the dreams that one photograph gave me as a child. I remember reading about how the guests stayed at the Greyfield Inn where the reception was held but as time passed these little details faded away, now those faded details are a part of my very personal memories. Cumberland became more than a dream, but a cherished experience.

The day is full of delight with the kind of youthful energy and discovery you find in a F. Scott Fitzgerald book. We went on hour long hikes, took bike rides to old cemeteries and rode around horses grazing beneath the ruins of the Dungeness mansion. We rode for hours down the seashore without ever seeing another person, finding seashells and chasing horses. One of the most charming rituals of the Inn is how they make their guests picnic baskets for lunch everyday you can take with you on your private adventures. On our second morning we rode with the house naturalist on a tour of the island where we visited that famous church, saw the house where President Jimmy Carter ate at multiple times, and discovered Plum Plantation which took my breath away. The history and nature, preservation and privateness is so far beyond anything I have ever experienced that I can only describe this stretch of land, twice the size of Manhattan, as magical.

If you ever need to find that corner of the world where things just are… where you can sit in the natural silence of the world alone and breathe in the sunlight, taste the salt of the sea and feel that life is just simply beautiful… then come to Cumberland Island. My heart will be there waiting for you.

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Greyfield Inn

April 16, 2014June 2, 2016Posted in TravelTagged clawfoot bathtub, cocktails, cumberland, cumberland island, cumberlandisland, design, destination, eggs, GA, georgia, georiga, getwaway, gogo, greyfield inn, greyfieldinn, historic, historic hotel, hotel, interior, interior design, interiors, island, jewelry, jfk jr, JFK Jr's wedding reception, john f kennedy jr, leisure, pamento cheese, personal-favorite-hotel, picnic, romantic, savannah, southern, southern homes, southern hospitality, theamericansouth, travel, vacation, white house17 Comments

While we were in California last year, spending the day photographing Lake Tahoe with our friends, Adam Katseff and his wife Amy, they told us about the Greyfield Inn…the magical place they stayed on their honeymoon, one that they knew I would LOVE (turned out to be a major understatement). I knew the name sounded familiar, and once they mentioned it was on Cumberland Island, it all came back to me…an enchanting wedding, an all-American couple…but more on that tomorrow…

After hearing about it, I knew I had to see Greyfield Inn for myself and with the trip down to visit SCAD, it was the perfect opportunity. I’m an extremely visual person and I’m sure it comes to no surprise to you that I quite often dream about the way life looked “back then”. I think walking through the doors of Greyfield will be as close as I will ever get to knowing the way it might have actually looked…

You leave your car on Amelia Island and Mitti, one of the four owners and inheritors of Greyfield and the Carnegie property, takes you by boat to Cumberland Island. Walking up from the dock the giant, old live oaks seem to wave at you with their long fingers of Spanish moss, diffusing the afternoon sun into a sparkling haze underneath their centuries-old canopy. Then, from behind the trees you catch the first glimpse of the four story white mansion they call Greyfield. Built in 1900 as a wedding gift to the Carnegie’s daughter, Margaret, this home is still furnished with many of the original pieces of that era but with exceptional modern day comforts (ummm…air-conditioning). As you walk up the grand staircase to the second floor porch lined with rocking chairs and swinging daybeds, you regret how short your stay is. Now, up in the canopy of live oaks, you overlook the property of white picketed fences and fields of grazing wild horses and as they offer you organic rosemary lemonade, if you’re like me, you think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

The house, grand as it is, still holds a very sweet intimacy. At night, sitting out by the waterway looking back on her, she stands a soft pearly white in the light of the moon, framed by Spanish moss draped trees with a golden light glowing out of every window, so warm and welcoming you would swear the evening was meant just for you. The charm extends to the inside with its historic clawfoot bathtubs, immaculate upkeep, full service bar, organic meals, classic high quality southern linens and L’Occitane toiletries. Every evening, men in dinner jackets and ladies in our sweet southern dresses snack on hors d’oeuvres and classic Southern cocktails (recipe for my favorite below!), awaiting a dinner bell around 7:30 where we all move into the formal dining room for that night’s seasonal meal which at times can harvest ingredients from Greyfield’s own impressive garden.

I know on busy New York days or times when I’m caught in a blizzard, I will think back on this memory and my soul will fill with the warmth of these sunny afternoons, lost on Cumberland Island in a dream called Greyfield…

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Guide to Savannah

April 10, 2014March 23, 2016Posted in TravelTagged city, georgia, guide, home, paris of the south, savannah, Savannah Georgia, south, southern, theamericansouth, tour, travel27 Comments

My love for Savannah started on a father / daughter trip about five years ago – obviously I got to pick the destination – and something very strange happened to me…I felt at home there and that took me by surprise. I enjoy Texas, where I was born, and I love New York, the place where my work and dreams are, but every time I get down to this small southern town I get that feeling of peace, that I am where I belong. Savannah has so much of what I love about New York to it: it’s walkable, has great restaurants, beautiful parks, great coffee, art, interesting people, antiques and historic dreaminess. I’ve gone back every year since over and over again, tweaking my list of must-dos, and must-eats. Here is my guide to Savannah if you’re just visiting like me or thinking about going to SCAD one day.

COFFEE JOINTS

LUNCH SPOTS

Gryphon Tea Room
Blowin Smoke
Zunzi’s (Fisherman’s Deck, both sauces. OMG)
Green Truck Pub
Mrs. Wilkes (best fried chicken in the world)
Public
Soho South Cafe

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Squarespace at Heartbreaker Banquet

March 19, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in Lifestyle, TravelTagged fromtexas, heartbreaker banquet, heartbreakerbanquet, lifestyle, square space, squarespace, sxsw, theamericansouth, travel, willie nelson, willienelson12 Comments

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you know by now we have been kicking up our heels at Willie Nelson’s Texas ranch at the third annual Heartbreaker Banquet music festival. The ranch is right outside Austin in a area called the Hill Country…my favorite area of Texas, with rolling hills of mesquite trees, lavender Junes and the best damn BBQ in the world (sorry Kansas). Pulling up onto Willie’s property is like something out of an old Western…which makes sense, since it was the film set for the movie “Red Headed Stranger“! Wood fences with horses everywhere grazing on the Texas grass, leading you up to a a small old Main Street with a general store, saloon and wooden store fronts. All we needed was John Wayne to ride up and say Howdy!

Squarespace, the awesome website design company whose templates make your life easier and your site look amazing, took over the old General Store giving away t-shirts, guitar picks, flasks, bandanas and more. Many of the independent bands playing the festival use Squarespace as an easy way to have a professional site without any of the time-consuming work.

I got to take over their Instagram and capture all the day’s happenings which was one amazing thing after another starting with watching the Portland Tintype man Giles Clement set up his gear to take hauntingly beautiful tintype portraits of all the musicians. I have been following his work for a while as well as the guys in New York at the Penumbra Foundation so I was crawling out of my skin to see his process… and stalking him like a true photo geek. It was also so great to see producers Electric Lady Studios and Robot Fondue at the festival as well; their work is incredible!

The night before when we arrived in Austin, we met up with a couple of the Squarespace musicians where we were introduced to Daniel and the Lion. One of the most romantic and beautiful things about being a musician is that the music comes from within you. While hanging out in the house we were sharing they broke into impromptu song and captivated our souls. They, along with our friend Matt Sucich and Lily & the Parlour Tricks, played the next day in the Squarespace General Store in-between the main stage acts which most famously ended with the man himself, Willie Nelson, taking the stage. When that moment came, I stood there under his microphone, so close to that famous guitar and braided hair, completely in awe that I was watching this Texas legend. I grew up listening to “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” and “On the Road Again”, and now I was here with the real live thing. It was such a moment, such a reminder of where I came from and how important music is to us culturally. It was a day of creative souls coming together, of delicious BBQ, moonshine cocktails, gorgeous Texas skies and making memories with friends.

At one point, Jessica Kausen who manages events at Squarespace, looked around the room and said, “Well. We can thank the Internet for this, that’s how we all met and now we are all here, isn’t that amazing?” Yes, it is.

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Soniat House

January 27, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in TravelTagged hotel, la, new orleans, neworleans, nola, soniat, soniat house, soniathouse, theamericansouth, travel8 Comments

When we were planning our travels to New Orleans to shoot our latest inspiring woman, Christina Graci, I knew I wanted to stay someplace magical, a true “N’awlins” gem: and I found it in the French Quarter’s Soniat House.

We fell in love with the warm Southern charm, the friendly hotel cat, and of course the amazing breakfasts. Now, you go down south for the music and the cocktails, but the food was the shining star of this trip.

We loved the classic French Quarter fare of Marti’s and the modern casual elegance of Lilette in the beautiful Garden District’s Magazine Street. If we are talking about simple pleasures, a cocktail (or two or three) at Bouligny Tavern is the perfect way to end the day in the Big Easy. And you know… I can never come to New Orleans without always stopping in for a few of these….

All of this is barely scratching the surface of all this great American city has to offer…New Orleans, I’ll be back for you…

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Christina’s Guide to New Orleans

January 24, 2014January 5, 2015Posted in LifestyleTagged christina graci, christinagraci, city, guide, guide to new orleans, la, nawlins, new orleans, neworleans, nola, shop, shopping, theamericansouth, tour9 Comments

Yesterday we heard all about the life of our Southern muse, Christina Graci…and today we get insider knowledge about all her favorite New Orleans hot spots! A city so full of culture, life, music, color, food and amazing shopping, it’s no wonder it’s one of the fastest growing cities in America. So here’s the scoop!

Above & Below~ Christina is wearing a vintage dress from an estate sale, shoes by Roger Vivier, vintage tassel earrings, a vintage ocelot leopard belt, and Hope, Confidence, and Stability Charms by Pandora Jewelry.

New Orleans Museum of Art

“Museums are my favorite places to go alone or with my brother, Chad. I am fascinated with history and culture so I truly find visiting the museum enlightening and so peaceful. The architecture of NOMA is beautiful too. It is located in City Park and has great exhibits. What more could you ask for?!”

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