serenbe.

oh serenbe. i have been wanderlusting for you since i first saw you. well, i actually first saw you in a wedding magazine, but i don't have record of that...

a few weeks ago my neighbor katie and i talked about taking a field trip. we looped in jen, willow, and christy to join us in a mini-van excursion. we packed everything but the kitchen sink and left early yesterday morning...




the homes are stunning, but we were more taken aback by the gardens.





me made a pit stop at blue eyed daisy bakeshop which could not have been more quaint.






we enjoyed a picnic under the gazebo and bounced on an in-ground trampoline for dessert.




lastly we snuck in to the inn at serenbe. dear sam, please take me here.






see a whole lot more here

ps speaking of my darling husband it is his birthday today!! we have a lot of special things in store this weekend to celebrate. enjoy your long weekend. see you on tuesday!


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picnic dresses

introducing the first of several "picnic inspired" dresses.




{what a hoot dress}

featuring birds, flowers, pastels, bows, and gingham (quintessential picnic if you ask me). convo me at homemadegrits.etsy.com to reserve the size of your choice. available in 0-6 months up to size 6.

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i got mail!

don't you LOVE love to get good mail? yesterday i hit the jackpot. doesn't it seem like that's how it always goes? all bills or all fun...
here's to fun mail!

1. i received a wedding invitation to my darling friend christy's wedding. i don't see christy nearly as much as i used to. we used to see each other all the time. it makes me sad that we don't anymore, but she's a friend i'll always hold dear and i'm looking very much forward to making a fool of myself on the dance floor at their wedding.


is this invitation unreal or what? christy is an incredible artist and hand drew/painted every piece of their invitation. that's right.

2. my country living. love.



and last, but certainly not least...

3. i won this book from caroline's adorable blog: coeur de la. aren't give-aways awesome? she also wrote me a very sweet note. thanks caroline!!



now to find time to read all of this goodness...

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turtle pool

sunday was so hot that the only thing to do was blow up the turtle pool. we don't have an actual pool, so i just stood under it's spraying head. ah, the glamourous life. matilda learned to love it. just took a little time...





amazing what a difference a year makes!


in other exciting news, i've recently discovered that i can now get matilda to smile on command. all i have to do is say, "show me your teeth!" however, the results are a bit mixed.



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summer.

it sure feels like summer. i'm in love with the idea of picnicking, slowing down, and retreating. dreaming about faded quilts, lemonade, and oversized fans. a siesta is in order.


ruffled blog


nibs blog


golden afternoon tea room







the sweetest occasion

i may or may not be doing a line of picnic-inspired dresses. stay tuned!

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oh friday!

matilda, 20 months

thank you all for the great encouragement about the dresses! i can't tell you how much that keeps me going. here's to a fabulous weekend. i secretly want to be under the covers listening to the sound of the expected rain.

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*new* in the shop

antoinette dress
*sold*


avocado dress
*sold*


carnival dress
*sold*

i will be adding more and more dresses. i am so excited to be able to offer girls sizes and will be working very hard to plump up the shop for all of your summer needs!

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master gardener spring garden tour

for mother's day mama took rachel and i on a garden tour/plant sale hosted by the master gardener volunteers of cobb county. we started at the plant sale where i was sure that if i turned my head that my picks would be gone. people were snatching up plants left and right. the plant sale is open to the public and the prices and plants were hard to beat.




this little yellow plant was so tempting, but i ended up walking away with some echinacea, bee balm, and a little funny white flowered plant whose name i've forgotten.

the first garden tour we went on started out pretty status quo is the front and ended with the most beautiful garden surrounding a pool and looking over a lake. what a dream to live there i'm sure.




the next garden was a woodland garden full of rare climbing hydrangeas, azaleas, and oversized hostas. there was also a tiny creek that led in to a big creek. it was so private and shaded and truly designed for birds. there were birdhouses everywhere. lovely.



the last garden we went to was my favorite. there was a mixed perennial border and a succulent garden and it was so whimsical.





clever ideas...


use your pot trays as art

make a path out of wine bottles

use broken pots as part of your landscaping

see more pictures here

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emma watson| teen vogue

this very well may be one of my favorite shoots of all time. it was the inspiration for our little shoot on sunday.







insanely beautiful. the rich colors, textures, the estate! i don't think i've ever confessed my love for teen vogue on here before, but they have some of the best styling around. olivia loves it too.



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