State of Gray

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Day Trip to C'ville & Posh Box Summer Giveaway

Before we travel up toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, for a day in Charlottesville, let’s have a look at my Sum Sum Summertime Giveaway! Several of these items I got in Charlottesville for this! For those of you that are new, I try to do a giveaway for my readers, with an assortment of goodies, seasonally. It’s time for the summer one and here it is…


$296 Value

1 winner

Enter for a chance to win this great collection of goodies.

Check out all the items below.



This is my Sum Sum Summertime giveaway! I love nothing more than assembling a group of my favorites and this is also a way to say thank you for supporting the blog.

I will announce the winner on June 21 - the first day of summer!

you have to be subscribed to the blog to be entered.

If you are not subscribed , click here!

Here’s what’s in the Sum, Sum, Summertime Posh Box…if you want to check them out further, click on the images for links…

This Kai body buffer is wonderful. We carried this at Posh and it was a huge seller at Christmastime. These two spongelike bars release scented foaming bubbles, and feature the wonderful Kai scent, along with palm, coconut and olive oil. No sulfates, parabens or phthalates.


A pretty notepad is always useful and this one is by Laura Park.


Wavy Wicker Orchid Basket from Amanda Lindroth, one of my favorite places for all things wicker and summery! This is great for turning a grocery store or local nursery orchid into a pretty planter for your home or a gift. It’s 7”x 7”.


A great beehive turkish hand towel in sunshine yellow from my friend Becca at Let’s Talk Towels! Love it in my kitchen!


The craft sizes of Weathered Bronze Finish from our friends at Tichacek Finishes. These were gifted to me for this giveaway. Great for painting anything in your garden or on your patio for this weathered bronze finish.


A great book for ideas about eating and living outdoors, with seasonal recipes and thoughtful tips.


A pretty rattan wine bottle holder in natural/whitewash, from Caspari.


The brand new 2024 17 month planner from Rifle Paper Co in their blossom print. I almost kept it…. 😬

The best sunscreen for your face, in my opinion. I wear it alone or under makeup. No white sheen and has moisturizers built in.


A beautiful tulip patterned turkish towel, also from Let’s Talk Towels. Love this one.


And now…a ladies’ drive to Charlottesville for the day…

Charlottesville is about an hour away from RVA and an easy day trip for shopping and lunch. It is very historic as well. We did not do any of the historic things on this quick visit, having done them many times in the past, but I will list some at the end of this post.

It is the home of the University of Virginia - UVA - with much of the campus designed by Thomas Jefferson. His mountaintop home, Monticello, is nearby. The city is a gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and near the Shenandoah Valley.

Here’s what I wore - very comfy and easy…

J Crew Blazer(similar) | Gap t-shirt (on sale) | Levi’s Dad Baggy Jean| M Gemi sneakers - the best, so comfy and I’ve had them 6 years…one of the few things I will spend $$$ on | Kate Spade purse from 7,000 years ago

Click to enlarge images if you want!

Our first stop is always Ivy Nursery. I love that place. They have gorgeous plant material, wonderful pots and planters, a terrific gift shop and the best place to have a topiary, terrarium or orchid planter put together for yourself or someone special.


Did I tell you I like it? Honestly it’s my main reason for going…



Next stop was Kenny Ball Antiques. They were loading up for High Point, so we missed some goodness in the truck but there were still beautiful things. I’m taking measurements next time. I saw several reeeeally pretty mirrors that would work in my dining room. Next door was Helen Storey Antiques, which had pretties too…


A few doors down is the fabulous Shade Shop. Jackpot. So much pretty in one store, I can’t even. They have the most gorgeous shades, hands down, and lots of really pretty lamps and pillows as well. I’ve been dreaming about it.

I might get the blue one for the floor lamp in my library/living room. ❤️


It was time for lunch so we went to our favorite place on the town mall - Hamiltons. Always a nice lunch. There are lots of nice shops on the mall and we can never hit them all.

And it’s across the mall from the one and only Caspari Design store in the country! There is one in Paris and one in Charlottesville. The company is headquartered there as well.

It’s filled with dozens of gorgeous displays like this. Everything from Caspari paper products - wrapping, serving ware, cards, tabletop - to Vietri, John Derian, garden things, clothes and baby items. It is a treasure trove of beautiful things for gift giving and for the home.

This is the other main reason I come - I love this store - it’s gorgeous. It was our inspiration for Posh, and we modeled our store after it. It was a mini version of this.

The day we came, not quite a month ago, it was Historic Garden Week in Virginia, and they were having a reception that night. They were doing a garden display with the hanging water cans and had placed these ceramic floral pieces on the table underneath and were adding moss and twigs, etc etc.

PS - if you go, it’s always closed on Sundays.

We also went to…

We had every intention of hitting these but ran out of time…

  • Be Just - beautiful minimalist home store - has since moved next to Kenny Ball!

  • Folly - home furnishings

  • Scarpa - great clothing boutique

  • Barracks Road Shopping Center - good shopping but a lot of chains too.

All in all - a fun day with my girlfriends!


Places to See Nearby…


A COUPLE OF THINGS TO NOTE:

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I am so appreciative of you and thank you for telling your friends about State Of Gray. The more in our lady tribe, the merrier! Good Luck!

THE GIVEAWAY ENDS ON JUNE 19, 2023 8:00 AM EST

WINNER IS CHOSEN ON JUNE 20, 2023

WINNER IS ANNOUNCED ON JUNE 21, 2023 8:00 AM EST