Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wed Day- JP and Michelle

  Today will mark the last Wed Day you will see here on pepper & pikey.  I will now be collaborating with Teresa Brunner of tropicaldmc on her very own blog (stay tuned for the web adress!)  which will profile all the many weddings and events she coordinates flawlessly (and many that I decorate and style for).  To go out with a bang, here is a lovely little wedding we did last year.

All images by Diana M. Lott photography

"Taken" was big theme within this wedding, an adorable reference to JP's genius grandfather who wore a necklace that read just that to ward off other women.  Smart man, grooms take note!  

 

These two had a very carefree, laid back vibe about them, which was a very good characteristic given their wedding day.  The tropicaldmc team finished setting bright white paper lanterns draped elegantly over the pool and such was the sight that we all had to stand back and admire how gorgeous they looked at this Long Bay location.  I remember wishing I had my camera to take a few shots as the sky was this brilliant shade of blue that framed the paper lanterns just perfectly with the turquoise pool in the foreground and the beach in the background.  Unfortunately there wasn't time.  We left in a hurry to pick up flowers and a few other supplies and received the call.. . . the call you never want to receive on a wedding day.  RAIN!  Lots of rain that came fast and furious and with virtually no warning!  We rushed back to the property to find all those lovely white paper lanterns soggy, torn, and flopping on the strand of lights.  It was a sight that nearly made us all weep.  There would not be time to hang more.  I quickly put the ladder in the pool and raced to get all the evidence out of sight before the guests arrived.  The family must have had a good laugh at me fully clothed in the pool, struggling with the ladder, cutting down what was left. 


I reluctantly went into the kitchen and was met with Michelle's saddened face peering out the window.  She was such a trooper, I saw not one tear fall!  It was a terrible shame that mischevious rain wiped out those poor paper lanterns, but these two could not be dampened by mother nature's curve ball.



They had done so much with all the little DIY details.



They put on their smiles and had the best time regardless!  Brides and grooms should all make that decision before the big day that, no matter what happens, enjoy it to the fullest and take every moment as a blessing.




JP and Michelle, not only are you a special couple, you were model clients that handled your day with such poise.  Thank you so much for your adaptability.  We know you two are able to weather any storm, big or small, and hope to see you back in the Turks and Caicos to celebrate your 50th wedding anniversary!


Their invitations mimicked boarding passes, great idea for a destination wedding!



To see more of this wedding, please visit One Lovely Day and pretty little weddings and chez wedd (my this wedding is popular!)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Battle of the Bands


Be sure not to miss this Saturday's night of local music!  A rare showcase to benefit Provo Children's Home and :ona-glinton-primary-school.  Be there or be square!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Father's Day

  I'm a tad tardy on this but I do believe I have heard dad say a time or two, "better late than never."  Yesterday I met with a journalist writing a book about conservation, here in the Turks and Caicos and throughout the world (stay posted for more to come on that topic) so I didn't have the chance to get this post done quite in time. Yesterday's Father's Day is the very first my father has spent as a retired man!  Last Wednesday, June 15th, marked Larry's last day at the company he has loyally given his service to for over 20 years.  His nearly 35 year career as a heavy equipment salesman, traveling all over the great state of Wyoming, plus Colorado, Utah, Montana, and beyond, is formally finished.

Now it's time to . . . . .  

tinker with your favorite toys,



travel,

take to the open road on two wheels,



and take the time to have a beer with your buddies!

Congratulations Dad!  Your family can't thank you enough for all of your hard work over the years; all the icy roads, the long weeks away from home, and the rough days. I can't ever recall you having anything but laughs and loyalty from your many customers.  Your attitude was always pleasant and professional, an attribute I aspire to very much in my own career.  Cheers to you, hats off!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Potcake Place

 
One of the most near and dear to my heart not for profits in the Turks and Caicos is potcake place.  We welcomed a potcake into our lives in 2004 and have had so much joy thanks to her.  She makes us laugh each and every day!  The first time I couried a puppy to a forever home was in 2007, Houdina/Serendipity, a sweet girl who journeyed with us to New York where she was introduced to her new family.  Since then there have been many trips and many fosters.  The butterball pictured above was with us last February, she had made quite the impression on a group of riders at provo ponies and within a record breaking 24 hours gained so much popularity she found her forever home.



As soon as she was on a plane to Washington, we discovered she had a brother (the similar looking fuzzy bundle pictured above left).  Once Mike and Susan, the parents of the newly named Caicos, heard the news, they welcomed "Turks" to the family with open arms.  Here they are reunited, enjoying the cozy company of eachother and their new home (above right photo by Mike and Susan).

Photo provided by Mike and Susan

Turks and Caicos are quite the lucky pair!  I am certain that these two  are loving their new lives as trail guides, trotting alongside these horses within the Washington wilderness!
 

Meet our new foster, found just two days ago in South Dock.  She grinned depsite her white gums and bony little limbs and had us at hello.  She is now well on her way to getting healthy and hopefully in another couple of weeks she will be just as plump as all puppies should be!



We are still considering names for this little tyke, but she will be ready for her forever home in a few weeks.  Potcake Place now has a new home themselves thanks to the generosity of veterinarian Mark Woodring and Animal House.  If you are visiting the Turks and Caicos and would like to meet and greet a potcake or two, please stop by their location in SaltMills-Plaza.  You may meet a potcake you can't live without like Lily . . . . 



or this tiny little lapdog I got to babysit for a Potcake Place volunteer's all too quick trip into the Graceway Gourmet at last Saturday's market.  These three adorable potcake pups are looking for forever homes, can you help them find one? If you would like to lend your assistance to this great organisation please visit potcake place - how you can help page.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wed Day - Stephanie and Andy

Last month I posted about the styling I did for the wedding of stephanie-and-andy and asked readers to stay posted for more pro photos to come from brilliant.  Not only do I have a few photos from their big day, but I also have a teaser from their sail provo boat trip aboard the 52ft Arielle.


There is no better way to enjoy Turks and Caicos azure seas then out on the open water.  What a great way to enjoy the time with family and friends.


Speaking of friends, Stephanie is lucky to have these sweethearts.  Each and every one of them were wonderful to be around.


The private elevated beach at footprints on the beach villa makes a beautiful platform for a wedding.

These floating lily lanterns needed to be photographed at just the right time to get these incredible reflections in the pool.  Nice job Brilliant!

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Queen's Birthday

Image from here

Today is a public holiday here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The first official Sovereign's Birthday was celebrated in 1748 in the United Kingdom and became an annual tradition throughout the British Empire.  Though Queen Elizabeth II's actual birthday is on the 21st of April, the Queen's Official Birthday is celebrated on various dates throughout the commonwealth, many occurring in June.  Turks and Caicos celebrates with Australia on the second Monday of June.  To read more about royal birthdays and celebrations in the Turks and Caicos, please visit tcmuseum.org.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

June Market


    Today is Market Day at the graceway-gourmet.  I will have a few new shadowboxes and necklace/scarves to browse as well as this reusable shopping bag (inspired by this DIY country living market tote).  We hope to see you there!  Come by to shop from 9am to 1pm, a portion of all proceeds goes to a different local charity every month.  Buy local!




Friday, June 10, 2011

TCI Environmental Club Outreach



With the success of our World Environment Day "day without plastic,", the TCI Environmental Club hopes to gain some momentum with the youth with outreach activities at the schools.  Lynn Robinson started this great initiative a few weeks ago.  Today I will be talking to students at the Oseta Jolly school about the environment and what they can do to protect it.  How much do you know about the Turks and Caicos Islands environment?  Do you know how these islands were formed?  (follow the links to find out!) inaugural-post, halimeda-and-penicillus, halimeda  Do you know about our rare Tropical Dry Forest environment and why it is so special globally? environment.tc  Do you know some of the plants and flowers of the Turks and Caicos Islands?environment.tc/Plants  Do you know what endemic species are and what are the endemics of the T.C.I.? treasures.com/turkscaicos  How about reptiles, did you know we have many not found any other place on earth? reptilestci and Caribherp  Have you heard of Ramsar and what studies have been done here? jncc  I invite everyone to continue to learn about the environment and all the fascinating things that take place in nature.  Please take a little time this weekend to find out a little something new about your home environment.  Love where you live!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Wed Day- Veena and Litty


 While checking on Brilliant's blog for stephanie-and-andy's posting, I ran across this gorgeous recent Turks and Caicos wedding.  Meet Veena and Litty; beautiful couple photographed beautifully in all their wedded bliss by Andy Mann.  They don't call themselves Brilliant for nothing!


Both of the above photos were taken at the stunning coral house, every corner full of lush island inspired allure.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

A Day Without Plastic!

Volunteers at the Quality Supermarket downtown; DECR officer Cleveland Harvey, Sandra Shaw, a young helper, and Pattie Ehlir Carlin, passed out over a hundred reusable shopping bags to  the community, including this fantastic bright orange style donated by PPC.

It has finally arrived after months in the making . . . . . A Day Without Plastic!  The tci-environmental-club, as part of our Campaign to Ban Single Use Plastic Bags in the TCI, has successfully held the first ever Turks and Caicos Islands World Environment Day event. The organisers Lynn Robinson, David Stone, Lindsay Mensen, Roland Wojewodzki, Lormeka Williams, Wesley Clerveaux, and myself, could not have accomplished a fraction of the goals without the assistance of so many businesses and generous members of the community.  We would like to thank grace bay resorts, the veranda, provo power company, wiv, grace bay realty, KB-Home-Center, Building Materials, and British West Indies Collegiate for the donation of over 1,000 reusable shopping bags for today's event.


Volunteer Malcolm Ross with IGA management giving away the reusable bags donated by WIV

   We would also like to thank all of the retailers who agreed to refrain from using plastic bags, welcomed our volunteers at their businesses, and let us speak with their patrons for todays event.  And last but certainly not least, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of the individuals who donated their morning to our cause:
Gabrielle, Jessica, and Guillaume at Island Pride Supermarket, Eric Salamanca of the DECR and Malcolm Ross at the graceway iga, Sandra Shaw, Cleveland Harvey, and Pattie Ehlir Carlin at the Quality Supermarket downtown, Will and Laura Leoncilla of challengeyourworld.com, and DECR director Wesley Clerveaux at the Price Club supermarket, Kenol Joseph of the DECR and Joana Vaz Pinto at the Quality Supermarket on Leeward Hwy, Christa Reckhorn of the free press and Kristi Vestal of after 5 Concierge at the KB Home Center, Lyle Schmidek of grace-bay-realty and Teresa Brunner of tropicaldmc at business-solutions, Lynn Robinson and Subrena Pedican at graceway gourmet, and Stacie Steensland of TC Millwork and Lindsay Mensent at do it center provo


Our final thanks goes out to big blue unlimited who sponsored the purchase of 18" x 24" aluminum "Shop With Thought" signs that were hung at each of the above establishments by tcmillwork volunteer Stephane Gaudet this morning to remind patrons to use their reusable bags each and every day.  It was a real pleasure to have all of these great businesses and people working side by side today for a common goal.

One of the first shoppers to receive her Building Materials reusable shopping bag.  Way to keep it green Do It Center!

Please take the time this weekend to do something for World Environment Day.  Watch the global W.E.D. map come alive with efforts all over the world here.  Be inspired.  Take action. Love where you live.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Grey Blue Week

Recently completed octopus painting, available at framing-grace-gallery

We have had an unusually overcast week here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Moody skies and rainy overcast days must have inspired me as I finally got around to a dying project I had been procrastinating on for quite some time.  I had a couple of pretty blouses that were beginning to look worn, thanks to little spots and stains (I'm famous for never being able to keep anything clean for even a single day).  A couple of tins of navy blue fabric dye, some salt, some hot water, and presto chango! You would never know these:



once looked like this!


I added a coral colored dress and lantern I found at a thrift shop, and a fabulous beaded top that I did not agree with the cream colored base of, and stirred it into the mix.  Pretty amazing that all of these pieces turned out such different shades with the same dye batch, despite some of the fabrics being fairly similiar.  Keep this visual in mind when dying fabrics!  I suggest buying a few boxes or tins of the desired color so if the first round does not come out as intense as desired you can go back to the drawing board and  modify your mix with the dilution of hot water. 




All images by Stacie Steensland


Apologies to the tourists who were expecting the bright Caribbean sun this week, but a few blue-grey days and all the precipitation were a welcome change for residents! Our sunset sail on Sunday evening proved that just about any weather looks lovely in Turks and Caicos!