It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy. Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy. Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience. With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all. In her warmest, wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.
Preorder Under the Southern Sky from your bookstore of choice and fill out this form to receive a signed bookplate, 5×7 cards of Under the Southern Sky Quotes by Mesweens Writes and gorgeous 5×7 card of the Maren Devine painting of the Under the Southern Sky cover! PLUS–order in the month of November, and I’ll also send you one of my super cute “I Read KWH” Tote Bags! This is a fun way to surprise someone with a preorder for the holidays, too!
If you haven’t read my novel Feels Like Falling, I would love for you to check it out!
It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy.Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy.Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.In her warmest, wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.
While we love adding modern aspects into our decor, when it comes to the holidays, we’re all about traditions. Christmas in particular is, to us, about family, about everyone gathered around the same tree. And, while it seems contradictory, maybe that’s the reason that we’ve scarcely had a Christmas with only our family around the table… Because, of course, as we all know, family isn’t just what you’re born into.
Family is who you choose in your life, who you love and cherish. Family is the people whose stocking you want to be right beside yours, hung by the chimney with care, on Christmas morning when you wake up, bright-eyed, to see what Santa brought.Christmas morning is magical, of course, but, for us, Christmas Eve has always held a special place. Our Rocky Road candy is waiting beside the fireplace for the big man’s arrival. (Our Santa doesn’t do gluten… Plus, he has to get sick of cookies at some point.) And we turn the logs off, of course. Can you imagine if Santa slid down the chimney into that? Little Will has always been a stickler about this.
The night starts with all the family around the set-to-perfection dinner table. We use it all: the linen tablecloths, napkins, fine china, silver, silver service, crystal…It’s a grand occasion, after all. Why wouldn’t we celebrate it in the finest fashion? Mom always cooks the same dinner: company chicken, brown rice, marinated asparagus, biscuits… Even the slightest deviation in the menu is cause for serious alarm. (And I grew up thinking that you can only eat company chicken, brown rice and marinated asparagus on Christmas Eve.)
For dessert, there are cookies, of course. But Mom and I always cook meringues, as well. At least twice. Because, well, we never can remember if it’s a metal bowl you’re supposed to use or a glass one. (Even now, I have no idea.) And one of us feels sure. And we’re always wrong. Then they don’t stiffen properly. And we have used all the egg whites and we have to go back to the stuffed-to-the-gills grocery store. Then we mash Heath Bar with a hammer and fold it into whipped cream for a delicious topping. I, myself don’t much care for meringues. Neither does Mom. But, like I said, changes to the menu–even parts that no one even seems to like that much–are met with major consternation.
But the BEST part of the dessert. The best, best, best part is the party poppers! The spark, the noise, the faint scent of gunpowder… It’s an event not to be missed, the right compromise for those who are more partial to Fourth of July.
Some years hold musical instruments that we all must learn to play, some have games or tiny treats. But the constant is the crowns. And, if you’re going to sit around our family Christmas Eve dinner table, you wear the crown. No exceptions. Kind of like the meringues.
Dinner holds this kind of magical expectation, that tense balance between wanting to savor every moment and wanting it to be over. Because, after dinner…
Everyone gets to pick one present to open! One well-chosen, hand-picked gift from underneath the tree. But only one. It is meant to whet your appetite, tide you over until the morning when the real unwrapping begins.
And everyone gets Christmas jammies, of course. Because everyone must look his or her most dashing to greet the treats that Santa left.
We tuck in our beds way too late. Far, far too late. So late that when the little feet pitter pat down the hall wanting to see what Santa brought, we might, for a moment, regret how late we talked and laughed into the night. But then, there is coffee and Moravian Sugar Cake. And, of course, more time with family.
The pecan pie will be delicious. Grandmommy’s homemade caramel cake too. But, if you ask us, those special moments, those memories that we will cherish forever, are the sweetest part of all.
What are your favorite holiday traditions? We’d love to know!
Great news, Kindle readers!Slightly South of Simple is now available on Kindle Unlimited. If you haven’t started my Peachtree Bluff Series, now is the perfect time 🍑 And, oh my goodness, thank you to all who have downloaded! Slightly South is
The Huffington Post said of Slightly South:“Writers come and writers go, but Kristy Woodson Harvey is here to stay. The warmth, wit, and wisdom of this novel pave her way into the exclusive sisterhood of southern writers.” I’d love it if you checked it out!
FOR MORE INSPIRATION VISIT OUR INSTAGRAMAND PINTERESTAND OUR TOP TEN POSTS OF 2017 HEREAND TOP TEN POSTS OF 2018HERE.
It’s almost here! It’s almost here! We had the best time at family Christmas #1 yesterday. Lots of food and lots of fun. The snowball slingshot launchers were by far the biggest hit with boys 4-7. Thank goodness the snowballs were fabric, as it was 80 degrees here! As you can see, the stockings are hung by the chimney, just waiting for Santa to arrive…
And the table is reset and ready for more Christmas cheer….
And the kitchen is cleared from the beef tenderloin, salad, rolls, carrots, mashed cauliflower, and, of course, chocolate caramel cake.
We are officially ready for the next event. But, even if we weren’t, our friends at Mixbook have our back, with gifts and invitations ready on the double for every event and gift recipient left on your list.
If you’re wanting to ring in the New Year right or even gather friends and family for a holiday open house, Mixbook has a bevy of beyond gorgeous invitations to make the season bright!
What will our family be getting in their stockings? Photo books from Mixbook, of course! This photo of little Will and my dad, his Howdy, just watching the boats go by. It’s such a reminder of how those simple, small moments add up to something really big.
You know we’re huge fans of gold… and calligraphy… and there were so many chic themes to choose from!
I make these every single year for our families, and, without a doubt, this was the easiest, quickest and most beautiful book I’ve ever made.
All I did was gather my photos, and let Mixbook’s autofill option take over. Usually, this ends up being a nightmare, but, in the interest of research, I decided to try it out. It was wonderful! I switched just a couple of photos that I wanted to be on the largest pages and that was all! The result was fabulous–and took me maybe thirty minutes tops, including the time it took to gather my pictures. Some years, this is a project that takes hours on end.
Speaking of fabulous gifts, Mixbook’s Art Work to Canvas capabilities top our list of favorite, favorite holiday gifts for grandparents, kids, parents and everyone in between. Have you ever seen anything so adorable?
Now that we have finished hauling the rest of the Christmas decorations out of storage it is finally feeling like the most wonderful time of the year! Decorating for Christmas is one of our favorite things to do. If you need a little help getting started–or simply can’t get enough holiday decor–take a peek at this gorgeous Buckhead home from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles photographed by the fabulous Emily Followill Photography.
We hope that whatever the rest of this holiday week holds, it fills you with joy. Thanks for making Design Chic a part of your celebration!
