Monday, Monday

We're hoping our restful weekend will prove to be the best preparation for a busy week! A handful of big events and some very important meetings are sure to keep us on our toes these next few days. Juggling several projects is nothing new to the MCD team, as each football weekend in the fall is a whirlwind of similar scale. We've learned that the best way to balance the chaos is by treating our minds, bodies and spirits with 6-8 hours of sleep each night. Although we're strong believers in making our beds with custom bedding, our top pick for a ready-made quick fix is the soft, comfortable beauty of Pom Pom at Home Collection bedding. Pictured above (and available through our store) are pillow shams from Pom Pom's Mathilde collection. Always partial to a neutral color palette, we love the look of the gray and white, especially in the soft morning light.

Longing for Long Island

Lunch isn't something we take lightly at Matt Clinton Designs. Neither is food, for that matter! Pictured above is the famed roadside lobster roll shack, Lobster Roll Southside, in Amagansett, NY. From a design standpoint, the retro-Americana look ties in well with the subtle nautical themes our clients and customers gravitate to when the weather heats up.

Back to the food...for those not privy to the New England lobster roll, it's lobster meat, a little mayo and a few other ingredients mixed together (sort of like chicken salad) served on a hot dog bun (or a fancier roll). If you ever get your hands on some fresh lobster meat – which can be quite a feat in Tuscaloosa – we recommend trying this recipe straight from the restaurant. We've also used fresh crab meat or Gulf shrimp. It's not quite the same, but serve it al fresco with some iced tea or a cold beer and it's sure to evoke lunch hour on the East End, or any coastal getaway. Bon appetit et bon weekend!

Stone Containers of Spring Blooms

This image (compliments of Dabbs Anderson, our artiste friend) is from a few weeks ago. That's Dabbs carrying a lovely arrangement we used at Kozy's restaurant for our friend Caroline's birthday. It was mid-March and the Japanese Magnolias had just burst into bloom at Caroline's house. We foraged those from her yard and along with a few other stems and some pretty greenery, we made a lovely table scape for dinner.

De-Clutter with Recycled Magazine Boxes

After Christmas, we put all of our recycled magazine (and grain sack, and tire) products on sale. We still have a handful of the merchandise left, including these boxes. A new survey shows that the top reason for “spring cleaning” is to rid of clutter. There's some stuff you just can't part with, though. So instead of throwing out the clutter, we recommend sticking it in a cute box for storage. We've got these in assorted sizes and the price is right (ranging from $18-30).