Our son gets married today. Our only boy. To the girl of his dreams. All of our dreams really. And the extra beauty of it all is it’s Mothers Day. Could there possibly be a better way to spend Mother’s Day? Gaining a daughter? The one you’ve prayed for since the day you found out you were carrying him? I think not!
It’s also a redeeming of this tough day for me. When you’ve lost your own Read More
Last week it was prom pictures, and today this moment in front of me looks more like a wedding gown and centerpieces and final details.
All photos are shared with permission from Krista Browning Photography. Krista loves capturing the emotion of people’s stories through pictures. She is based in South Florida, but she is open to traveling to meet your photography needs. You can find her by clicking on the following social media platforms | website | facebook | Instagram | Pinterest. But don’t look for her next weekend, she’s already booked for a little event that’s extra special to my family.
Last days to wrap up ideas and Read More
Have you ever wished for a pause button? One that could make time stand still for a bit so you can soak it all in? Kind of like taking a picture to remember an event, and wishing there was a secret to making these moments last longer than the split second it took to snap the shot.
The only way I’ve ever found to do that is Read More
When the bride is your daughter’s best friend
… and she’s also the oldest of five
… and the other four are boys
When the groom Read More
When you google the word “bonus” one of the first definitions you’ll find is this, “something welcome and often unexpected that accompanies and enhances something that is itself good.” This is the word that’s been rattling around in my head since a Christmas conversation with Grandma Mary, as our kids have come to call her. She and Dad married almost five years ago after they had both walked through the grief of losing a spouse of many years. I knew then that they brought joy and love to each other’s lives. But what I could never have anticipated at the time was the unexpected grace of a bonus mom that I was to enjoy more and more with each passing year.
I’ve heard some use the term “bonus mom” in a negative way. For me, it’s more about Read More
Every now and again the making of a memory looks more like the fashioning of a treasure. It may be the gathering of an entire extended family for a few snapshots, which is largely akin to herding cats. Or the decking of halls and singing along with Christmas classics at Grandma and Grandpa’s home. And sometimes in the making of a memory, a tree crate becomes the reminder for years to come of a chilly afternoon spent creating together in the barn.
There are only a few things you’ll need …
An old barn, that doubles as Read More
Thanks for all the love on the Chalkboard Wall project we completed this week. It’s always fun to watch something come together the way you had imagined. It’s even better when you get to do any project with your favorite people. And as far as were concerned, the challenge of thinking outside the box and using what you have requires ingenuity and leaves behind a strong sense of fulfillment. So just for fun, here’s a little run-down of what really went down in our kitchen the other day in the making of a bargain chalkboard wall.
It’s always a good place to start, this listing of assets and liabilities. It helps to establish parameters and to have a starting point to launch creativity.
Our list of assets looked something like this …
One of my favorite spots in our home is the skinny little chalkboard wall between our kitchen and eating area. For the past 3 years, it has held grocery lists, messages, childhood masterpieces and an assortment of random thoughts. After last week’s kitchen purge, it seemed like the right time to freshen it up a bit and shift the focus a little to make it a chalkboard wall of thanks.
You may remember this shot from last year when I armed our son-in-law with a jar of chalk and a few ideas. I asked him to do something magical and he more than delivered on that request. It took until Valentine’s Day for me to be convinced that maybe it was time to erase his work.
Are y’all just loving all the fall home tours as much as I am? It’s such a colorful and cozy season that invites us to slow down and gather with friends and family. As much as I’m loving all the beauty and inspiration to be found, I’m starting to wonder about my own approach to decorating. What if fall decor is actually about my own vision and creating cozy spaces to gather together instead of some misguided standard I’ve devised in my own mind to use as a standard in which my own home and decor skills are always found lacking? That’s not why people share their home tours, it’s to give us a peek into their homes and special spaces. I’m choosing to enjoy these for the inspiration that they are while at the same time enjoying the beauty that fills the spaces around me.
With that in mind, I would love to offer you a steaming cup of coffee and invite you to sit and hopefully enjoy what I see when I look at our own decor for fall. Beyond that, I would love to see what makes your own decor special and what makes you smile in your own space.
Thrifted couches and a coffee table rescued from the trash pile
**All photos are shared with permission from Krista Browning Photography. Krista loves capturing the emotion of people’s stories through pictures. She is based in South Florida, but she is open to traveling to meet your photography needs. You can find her by clicking on the following social media platforms | website | facebook | Instagram | Pinterest. We are honored for her to have donned a disguise and hunkered down in some bushes on a hot Flordia afternoon to capture these moments for us.**
It all started just over 14 years ago.
She, a 7-year-old pig-tailed blonde sporting glasses and watching out for her 2 younger brothers. He, a sandy-headed 5-year-old ready to run with the big dogs, and do whatever his big sister said because she had convinced him she was the boss of him. It was the first day of a weekly sports club with a pavilion full of kids. New faces fully anticipating a morning of sports and yet slightly nervous about making friends.
