Spending time with family, enjoying a good meal, and a long drive through the mountains are among Mr. Mickey’s favorite things, so that was our Father’s Day plan.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny but brisk cool day, so we took or wore layers to keep warm during an outing in Banner Elk, NC. I wore a blue Perfect Shirt from Talbots a couple of years ago. The fifty-one-inch scarf is several years old, but the twill silk is warm enough when I wrap it around my shoulders. I found the cute handbag at T.J. Maxx last week. Bamboo handles always win me over! The white jeans are from Talbots here. The sandals are the Rosemarie Patent Leather Sandals by Stuart Weitzman.
Mr. Mickey wore a layered casual look with tasseled loafers and a sleeveless sweater vest for extra warmth. Unfortunately, in Banner Elk, it was only sixty-eight degrees!
Since it was Father’s Day weekend, I offered to treat him to whatever events he wanted to attend. He chose to have a lobster roll at Antler’s Bar in Blowing Rock on Saturday, and his choice for Sunday was brunch at the Blue Ridge Room at the Omni Grove Park Inn.
We dressed in appropriate resort casual attire. My wide-leg slacks and cardigan are from White House Black Market here and here. The silk camisole is from Lily Silk a couple of years ago. The Sam Edelman block-heeled sandals are also not new.
A blue blazer with khaki pants, a soft blue shirt, and complementing pocket square with two-tone shoes are a winning look for gentlemen. The combo looks timeless and stylish while remaining appropriate for many outings.
Several readers asked to see photos of the progress as I redecorate sections of Mr. Mickey’s home at his request. Below is an example of small changes that can make a significant impact. Too many snapshots and photos can take away from important artwork and sculptures. Too many fabrics, textures, and patterns too close together can make a room feel overly busy. I removed a rug, covered the plaid stools with neutral linen fabric, and added fresh pink and white lilies in a tall crystal vase to give more importance to the J. Cotter Silver wall plaques and the Frederic Remington Bronze Statue.
He loves all the changes I’ve made but asked that the tribute to his parents, who were married for seventy years, remain. He had their personal items encased in shadow boxes and framed their wedding announcement and marriage certificate. I’ve always enjoyed seeing these beautiful mementos of his parents.
Wonderful tribute to his parents in shadow boxes!
I felt myself relaxing just reading about your Father’s Day weekend fun. Mr Mickey has good ideas.
The small changes you made certainly is a great example of less is more.
Both of you look happy and content. The clothing you both selected looks becoming.
Your changes are timeless and elegant! The way you dress (and Mr. Mickey too!) are the perfect example of Southern charm and good taste. So enjoy your blog.
Sounds like a perfect weekend. Love cooler temps! A wonderful day celebrating Mr. Mickey. He’s a gem for sure. A keeper! Always love your fashion style!
I love the decorating you did Susan! Sounds like you enjoyed a relaxing weekend after all the hustle bustle of moving. You both look great! Thank you for sharing. Reading your blog is always a treat!
both looking very stylish on both days and the redecorating is also stylish.
What a lovely tribute to Mr. Mickey’s parents and their union of 70 years.
so true that small changes can make a large impact! and sometimes it’s not what we add, but what we take away or reposition, that makes a difference.
i’ve always thought you can learn so much about people by the way they treat/treated their parents, and in Mr. Mickey’s case, his love for his parents highlights just what a gem he is!
I have been reading your blog about your move and downsizing, but have not had the time to comment. I am the Executrix of my Mom’s estate. She passed away 3 months ago and the job has been endless. Even though my sweet mom has been trying to declutter and give things away for several years, there was still so much to go through from Christmas decorations to kitchenware to so many collectables. My brother, sister and I would have “pick” nights once a week in which I would set things out and display them for us to take turns selecting. It was very arduous, but a lot of conversion and memories flowed. However, it has really made me look at everything in my own house and eliminate. If I selected something of my Mom’s, something in my house had to go. On Saturday, we had s huge 4 family yard sale in which things were sold from all of our houses.
I’m sorry for your loss, Cindy. Your system is one my sister and I will follow when the time comes. Thank you for sharing your tips.
Please come and remodel my house!! Hahaha! Love what you’ve done. Removed a bunch of mismatched family photos, painted the picture wall Toasty Gray and am adding only black and white family photos with black frames. And only a dozen or so. It’s a start!!
That’s incredibly touching of Mr. Mickey’s mementos! I love that. Happy Father’s Day to him. Your white outfit is stunning on you!! I am going to enjoy your decorating tips.
What a lovely weekend! You both look smashing! Love the subtle changes you have made in the décor. The tribute Mr. Mickey had made with memorabilia of his parents is priceless. I will concur with Miss Adele: “his love for his parents highlights just what a gem he is!”.
Love the shadowboxes! You look gorgeous and Mr. M is very handsome.
You both look wonderful and I’m always inspired by your upscale casual looks- love the chic simplicity of the blue blouse with white jeans. So flattering! And as we swelter in over 100 degree temps here in Austin, I’m pretty jealous of your cool weekend. Enjoy those cool temps!
You two look awesome, as usual! NIce decor changes too.
Love the tribute shadow boxes for Mr. Mickey parents as well as the changes you made for the wall plaques to be the statement. Thank you for sharing.
You both have impeccable style and taste! I sure do like how Mr. Mickey created those shadowboxes as a tribute to his parents. We did something similar to commemorate my dad’s service as a Marine in the Korean War. You certainly have a flair for decorating, Susan. Glad the two of you had a wonderful Father’s Day.
I love his parents’ mementos. Gives me something to consider doing with special items that belonged to my parents & grandparents, You two look timelessly classic always. I so enjoy receiving your e-mails.
Absolutely love the wall dedicated to his parents.
I love the remembrance of Mr. Mickey’s parents. How super special. The changes are nice and not hard to get used to since they are small changes.
Have fun – we have 100 degree weather around the Midwest.
Patty V
Elegant Couple enjoying the Father’s Day Week-end.
Love seeing the Before and After pictues of Mr. Mickey’s home.
Could you possibly identify a replacement for Lancome’s Bienfait Multi-vital (cream in jar) at BeautyCounter. I’ve looked but I feel like I’m lost in a forest without a compass. Thank-you.
Countertime Antioxidant Soft Cream here is the daytime moisturizer. The richer nighttime moisturizer is here. Sunscreen for your face is here. Pat it on over moisturizer to get even more sun protection.
I love Mr Mickey’s tribute to his parents! You both look so sharp in these photos.
Oh my…I love the tribute to his parents. I have several,of my mother’s items and you have given me the perfect suggestion on how to display them. I like the changes you have made to Mr. Mickey’s home.
So good to see posts again. Glad you two have worked out an arrangement that is suitable to you both. I always enjoy your posts and I do get inspiration from them!
You both seem to have made a lovely, sweet romance together. What a blessing, what a treasure.
You look gorgeous in the white suit.
Everything you’ve decorated looks great. I can’t get over how different the stools look after you recovered them.
Have a lovely week.
Always love seeing/reading about you and Mr. Mickey’s latest adventures and style. It proves the point that buying quality classics can take you anywhere and last and stand the test of time in still looking current. Thanks for sharing the decorating changes—looks fabulous!
What a lovely tribute to Mr Mickey’s parents!
I love the photograph of the two of you behind Mr. Mickey, and the “I love us”! How sweet! You two are such an inspiration, and it’s fun to vicariously enjoy your outings. My husband and I will be spending a few days visiting dear friends in Banner Elk next week. What a lovely area! I’ll have to search some of your earlier posts where you write about some of your favorite places and restaurants there.
Great idea Mr Mickey! The mementos are beautiful and Susan, how lovely! The small changes made just the right impact. Superb job! You both look great. I use to vacation quite often in Boone and Banner Elk in my 30’s and visit friends in college in Boone in the 70’s when there wasn’t even a fast food eatery. Those were the days. I agree the drive up there is spectacular no matter the year. Thank you for sharing. Amazed at the difference recovering the stools made.
What a beautiful blog!!! I so look forward to reading and learning from you. Susan you have a gift for teaching all things beautiful. Mr.Mickey looks terrific . Take care, Bette O’Connor
Love today’s post with your attire for several great destinations plus seeing the redecorating! Nice portrait of you and Mr. Mickey in the background! What a difference the linen makes on the two stools! So calming to the eye! Would you consider hanging the two framed pieces at the same height?
Since the ceiling is very tall, the uneven heights are more pleasing to the eye while standing in the room.
Thank you for a lovely post and for sharing your life with us. We all love you Susan.
Thank you, June. I feel the love!
Love the outfits. Thanks for including links to the restaurants. I have made note of several for our future travels.
Loved the shadow boxes the Mr. Mickey did for his parents. What a great way to save some family history.
I love your blog of the awesome trips you two take together. You both have such a warm, caring relationship. I’m so happy for you. I was hoping you would someday move into his home. Thank you for the pictures of the redecoration. The ideas of his mementos of his parents gave me a good idea to do for my friend. His mother is turning 100 in August and I’m going to do this for him. His dad passed years ago and they were married 50 + years and I think this is a great idea when she passes and I can get the stuff to do this. Thank you so much.
What a beautiful tribute to his parents, such a lovely way to display these precious items.
Susan,
Layering is something I do when dressing too. The lovely scarf you chose as part of the outfit is more manageable than a sweater that’s taken off and on. Your patent sandals are similar to a pair I wear with pants that are a bit too long. No need to hem. Of course, I wear them with many outfits but it saves time and money for alterations. I may have learned that from you with all the posts you made over the past years!
The small change in decor is a very nice touch. Mr. Mickey has much love and respect in his tribute to his parents.
Thanks for posting.
I love the shadow boxes, the story of life and love of loved ones, the memories and special keepsakes that Mr. M. has on display so beautifully.
When I turned certain ages, my mother (who is 97 and still lives life to the fullest) gave me an embroidered satin bedjacket I wore when I was 6 months old (in 1945) and it was a lovely surprise. I had it framed many years ago. She had also kept the little white gloves I wore when I was 5 years old in 1950, the gloves are in a shadow box with a picture of my mother, my stepfather and myself. I didn’t know she had kept those little gloves for so many years.
I also honor my maternal grandparents by having keepsakes of theirs – their marriage license and certificate from 1918, all the love letters that passed between them in 1918, the year they were married. I treasure those letters most of all that speak of their deep and abiding devotion to each other. Everyone in our family has read those letters. They also speak of life on the farm, my grandfather’s work in the logging camp, family, friends and neighbors. It was history in the making and offers glimpses of life at that time.
Thank you for sharing. You both look incredibly happy, more than ever before.
I especially liked that you moved the photos. I have 2 oil portraits of 20+ year old grand children on my walls, and two scenic paintings and still I put out photos on one console table (and know it is overwhelming) My style is antique otherwise. Oh what to do.
Ahhh…I love this post. Just got it from my spam folder!
It’s so personal and I love what you’ve “done to the place!” The “after” decor is so beautiful. You really have “the touch” Susan!
The framed memories of Mr. Mickey’s parents are wonderful! Such a beautiful tribute.
And of course you both look stunning in your outfits. I love the WHBM cardigan. Unfortunately it’s sold-out in my size.
Seems that you had a wonderful Father’s Day and it was fun to read about it.
Very nice changes. Just love seeing you together. Such an elegant couple. Please don’t stop posting.
What a beautiful job mounting and framing his parent’s artifacts!
And the new covers on the stools and clearing the top makes it all fresher.
Fairly new to your blog and I am really enjoying it. Your style is so classic and timeless. Thanks for including Mr Mickey’s style and home decorating ideas too. You are such an inspiration!
Lovely post, I truly enjoy your blog. It’s so nice to see you and Mr. Mickey sharing such fun excursions with us! You are both the epitome of a loving couple❤
What a lovely idea those shadow boxes of mementos are. I have some things of my parents’ but they are just in boxes and drawers. How wonderful to have them on view.
I love how your small changes made such a difference. You have a great eye.
The tribute to Mr Mickeys’ parents is beautiful❤️
What a difference in your before and after snap shots. After looks so much better.
Beautiful tributes to his parent’s long marriage! Love the changes you’ve made. One thought: most of the time these days, designers hang two pictures that are side by side ( like the Cotton ones), in a horizontal way, not one stepped up like they are now. It actually makes them more important looking and balanced when both are hung horizontally side by side.
Hi Susan.
I’ve just discovered your blog. I’m a 77 yr old woman and a bit of a fashionista. I try to keep focused on fashion and dress appropriately. I’ve loved everyone of your blogs. Please tell me what the shapeware is and where to find it. I know you list it on your blogs but I haven’t been able to find it.
Thank you.
Barbara Guidry
Look for the Ultimate bra at Shapeez.com and get 15% off starting today through Sunday. Use the code SUSAN15 at checkout.
#1 I love your new purse! It is darling and I agree about bamboo handles! #2 the small changes in the table area were absolutely perfect! It looks so good. I’m impressed with your recovering skills. I did a couple of bar chairs with fabric from Hobby Lobby and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I want to redo my kitchen table chairs but foam is now very expensive. Finally #3 I love Mr. Mickey’s parents Marriage Certificate! It is beautiful art work! Thank you for posting for us.
I love the necklace you are wearing with the White House Black Market outfit. Can you tell me where you purchased it? I’ve seen it in several of your photos but haven’t seen a link for it.
Thanks in advance, Janis
The pearl and silver medallion necklace is ten years old. It is from French Kande. I don’t think they have that style anymore. But they do have similar ones.