To our dearest readers — we hope you’re lounging somewhere cozy and feeling grateful today. We count ourselves lucky to have built a family of fantastic readers and we are thankful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo, Team CS photo via autumn cozy
photo by jessica attie This delicious recipe for candied orange olive oil cake was given to us by our sweet friend Celine Ord of the blog Aquahaus. (We took the liberty of naming it after her!) Check out the full party where Celine served this amazing dessert here. Recipe originally adapted from Epicurious.
I love Halloween because it’s the one time of year I get a free pass to explore the darker side of my aesthetic — and I suffer from a lifelong proclivity towards all things antique, spooky, and strange. The older I get, the more I appreciate the subtler charms of my favorite holiday: the inevitable […]
photographed by Jessica Attie As children we tend to dream of the place we’ll live as adults, and that our best friends will be right next door. Turns out that street really does exist — we found it in a quiet corner of Travis Heights, a historic neighborhood in South Austin. None of the four […]
When you receive an invitation to spend the weekend in St. Helena, you start looking for flights immediately. That’s just what Michael and I did when Julia and Chris Lake asked if we’d be interested in visiting Esser Vineyards, the beautiful mountainside retreat that was Julia’s childhood home. As an event planner extraordinaire who currently […]
It’s a small world sometimes — when we reached out to our friend Katie Crown at ELLE Magazine to talk about being part of our Besties series, we were surprised and delighted to learn that her best friend is Marissa Lippert, a New York nutritionist (and now restauranteur) whose work we’ve admired for years. We […]
Sometimes we play a game here in the office where we look through all the old posts in the mono monday feed and pick our favorites. It’s somewhat mesmerizing to watch the seasons change over and over through the feed, and fun to look back on the old trends we explored — some good and […]
We’re still swooning over Alyson Fox‘s chic home tour from last week, and today she’s giving us a backstage pass to FOX_A, her new clothing line set to launch in early October. We met up with our favorite down-to-earth designer in her home studio to talk about fabrics, the business of fashion, and what it […]
“The listing we found just said ‘VIEW,’” says Alyson Fox of the rustic green hilltop she and her husband (creative director Derek Dollahite) would eventually build their future home on. “There were no pictures or anything. And when we finally drove out here, we knew right away it was special.” The two decided to take […]
If you (or any of your friends) have children, you’ve most likely been in a room with one of Rebecca Finell’s designs. The iconic green grass drying rack she created is on the windowsill of practically every new mom we know. Rebecca’s already built and sold her first product company, Boon, and after taking a […]
Three months ago my closet was a mess — and when I say a mess, I mean I had to call in the professionals. With a little help from Jill Siegel and Peter Stafford of California Closets, I was able to transform the scariest room in my house into a place of inspiration. Getting ready […]
Some might argue that staircases are inherently dramatic — they’re architectural in an ancient way and provide instant intrigue to a room. What’s up there? There’s truly no version of my dream home that doesn’t have a staircase, although sometimes they’re simple stone steps and other times they’re carved from dark wood. We’ve rounded up ten […]
Our “Month of Travel” on the blog has been particularly inspiring for me — we’ve connected with travel writers, friends living abroad, and photographers documenting incredible adventures on instagram. We even spent an entire happy hour on Camille’s patio swapping vacation stories with our contributors. While I’ve found great new destination cities and landscapes, some […]
If you’re a person who loves design, you may find yourself prone to short-lived love affairs with trends (read: phases). I’m no different, I’ve been through neon jeans, ikat prints, and yes — I even had my moment with the chevron. That’s why when I find something that appeals to my “forever taste”, I know […]
One of the best things about summer is fully indulging my love affair with hats. (You’ll rarely see me on a hot day without my favorite straw fedora from JM Drygoods.) It’s an accessory that serves so many purposes: protecting fair skin from the harsh summer sun, adding a bit of flair to a ho-hum […]
Downton I adore you, but my first love on PBS will always be Antiques Roadshow. If you haven’t already discovered it for yourself, the show is part adventure, part history lesson, and part treasure hunt for those who love history and stories revealed through unique objects. With the Roadshow stopping in Austin this year to […]
When we first created the Besties series on the site, I had this particular pair of stylish creatives in the back of my mind. Claire Zinnecker and Kate Stafford Weaver have both long been part of the Camille Styles team (Kate lends her photographic eye to Pretty Simple and Claire has created dozens of ingenious […]
If you’ve spent even one summer in Austin, then you know the absolute best way to spend it is underwater. Our sizzling city is blessed with some of the best public swimming pools in the state, and our natural water swimming holes are truly magical destinations. That’s why I’m completely enamored with the instagram account […]
While our enthusiasm for bikini shopping may vary from year to year, our love for poolside accessories is absolute. (We know from experience that a great pair of shades, printed sarong, or straw hat can transform the shy-est of swimmers into confident cabana hopper!) Of all the gear packed in our beach bags, it’s the […]
I have fond memories of visiting my next door neighbor’s house as a child — they spent the first two years of their marriage traveling the world together before settling down in our small town. I loved pouring over the artsy albums commemorating their trips that they kept on the living room coffee table. In […]
When we discovered fashion blogger Nikki Chanel via Instagram, we couldn’t help but pour over the images of her fabulous outfits and incredibly well-dressed friends — and when we learned that her very best friend is none other than the oh-so-chic champion of social advocacy in Austin, Virginia Cumberbatch… well, we pretty much had to […]
It’s Friday again, and I’ve found myself in an all-too-familiar spring routine — packing my bags for an out-of-town wedding! Between our friends (and our boyfriends’ friends), Chanel and I have joked that we should start a kickstarter campaign simply to fund our wedding-going activities. But as much as we like to complain, we still […]
It’s strange when you stop and think about it: with all the years our moms spent wiping our tears, packing our lunches, and tucking us in at night, there’s only one day a year set aside to appreciate them. It’s a thankless job at times, but an undeniably important one. The lessons instilled in us […]
Lately I’ve been on a quest of sorts — a quest to understand happiness. It started with watching documentaries about the human condition like I AM and 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama, and ultimately led me to stumble upon an incredible site called Happier. Happier is an app for your phone — I can […]
Don’t have a ticket to Churchill Downs this weekend? Never fear — NYC-based party planners Julia Lake and Brita Olsen have stepped in to show us how to host a fantastic Kentucky Derby watching party, no travel necessary. With charming Southern details and a dedicated “gentlemen’s bar” this is one party the boys will love, […]
