30 before thirty.

here's the deal. i turn 30 in like 7 months. i'm thinking i need to ring in this milestone er decade in a serious way. there are things that i want to do, see. i want my life at thirty to look a certain way. below you will see thirty things i will accomplish before my twenties are like a faded memory.



here goes:
1. i want to get in SHAPE ie complete level 3 of this.
2.run a marathon. this one is on the books.
3. become a regular goer of church. i have this fantasy about eating breakfast on the square, walking to church, and then doing yoga here. i could not be more excited about lululemon coming to the square.
4. read the entire new testament as part of a devotional.
5. read two books in their entirety. i have this and this by my bed.
6. hike at least twice a week. i love going to the mountain with the fam.
7. go out of the country. really hoping it's here.
8. bring healthy lunches to work everyday
9. impact my community in some way, especially my neighborhood
10. figure out how to eat healthy
11. get at least 2 pedicures. (aka me time)
12. sew multiple clothing pieces for matilda
13. reach more people through facebook and twitter
14. read and understand this book.
15. take an advanced sewing course
16. have my designs in a retail space
17. invest more time in the folks that i love the most
18. give back
19. reach my goal weight (secret)
20. be able to run 3 miles at a time without passing out
21. do more things that scare me
22. do hot yoga
23. see the ocean
24. visit more friends
25.eat more vegetables
26. worry less about things i can't control
27. organize the drawers in my house
28. write more letters and thank you cards. i struggle with this.
29. two date nights a month
30. be able to do a full back bend

the greatest reward would be living a healthy life as an example to my darling girl.

recommendations? comments? life lessons? xo

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BYE

these girls were squealing their heads off while they played a good game of shut-the-door-while-the-other-person-is-in-the-cabinet-and-say-BYE.
seriously. matilda loves her friends.


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tybee

this past weekend sam and i packed up and headed out to tybee island for a weekend wedding. one of my dearest and closest friends, keely, said i do to matthew in an oceanside ceremony. my best girlfriends along with their significant others took over the cutest beach cottage you could imagine for three full days of awesome. we spent the beginning of the weekend buzzing around getting ready for her big day and then celebrating. we ended the festivities with an extended trip thanks to my wonderful parents! saturday was spent at the beach and then we piled in the car and headed for savannah. roadies!















i want to do it all over again.

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modern garden design

as much as i tend to gravitate towards gardens of the english variety, i love the simplicity of modern design.


outdoor bathtub, no big deal


love the use of only a few types of plants. the pop of green against the dark gray is lovely.


the garden here is more tropical than modern, but next to the modern design of the house and furniture it still has that feel. love the thatched roof.


ultra simple with just grass and a few trees. the clean lines where the grass meets the river rocks next to the water makes me instantly calm. the way the light is arranged is positively lovely.


this image never gets old. the grid is so perfectly laid out. something about perfect rows makes me reminisce of peter rabbit.

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laundry list

just one of many unfinished projects

mine is growing by the second. do you also struggle with feeling like there is always something to be done? lately i find that i can never truly relax. we have about 10 projects right now that are about 40% done. it's hard for sam and i to find time to follow through. it is that much harder when you have a darling almost 2 year old who can't sit still. this weekend matilda dipped her tiny hand in black oil based paint, which also splashed on her new dress. good times. also, did you know you shouldn't paint with oil based paint in humidity? yea, that pretty much puts that project off until winter.

a peak at my laundry list:


white cabinets


finish landscaping raised beds


make this happen
i was so inspired by this picture when i saw it on ashley's blog. my dad brought us a beautiful door. we are in the process of painting it. i found the perfect map here.

to be continued...

sidenote: we had a late night homemade pizza dinner last night with the grubbs and we watched brothers. whoa. tough, but extremely well acted movie. made me feel so grateful that sam is not fighting overseas, it also made me so sympathetic to the wives that do have men fighting for us. i feel the most strongly for their children. makes me weepy just thinking about it.

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headless sam.

photo booth with matilda. pretty magical. this super adorable munchkin is currently in timeout for biting my arm. she's not always naughty. she's been nodding and answering "yea" to all of my questions. i like to hear yes. me:"matilda did you have fun with daddy today?" til: "yea" me: "matilda do you have poop in your pants?" til: "yea" and so on.

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weddings!

i love them! i was recently contacted to make flower girl dresses for a new orleans affair. there are going to be six flower girls. i am looking forward to and embracing the challenge. the dresses will be coordinating, but not matching. the bride is my kind of girl. here is the inspiration board she sent me:

my interpretation through fabric swatches...

i'll be showing you all the dresses as they are completed and i can't wait to see the wedding pictures!

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these days

this weekend was jam packed, actually all week was full. we celebrated jake being home for the week from americorp. he leaves today and will be gone until november. we ate a lot of good food and caught up on the last 6 months. i can't believe time has gone by so fast. so much has changed in those months. we miss jake a lot.
saturday was spent observing the union of these two. it was a beautiful wedding at an old house, complete with big white tent, picnic blankets, bunting galore, corn hole, delicious food, and plenty of old friends. after the wedding we spent the night in athens. it was pretty amazing.
sunday we drove home and then i traveled with two of my oldest friends to keely's wedding shower. i am blessed galore.
i'm working on a lot of projects right now as well as keeping my house super messy. i'll be sure and update soon!

thanks to everyone for playing,

and the winner of the giveaway is... janice!


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team france

one of my dearest and oldest friends, isabelle, came to visit last week along with her boyfriend xavier, brother olivier, and his girlfriend carole. isabelle and i were exchange students. we met when we were 15. we could barely communicate and now isabelle is so great at english (me...not so great at french) and i just adore her. we are able to keep up with each other's lives with our blogs and email, but having her here made me realize how much i miss her.


isabelle et carole

tourists in atlanta











don't forget to enter the giveaway!

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giveaway! belle of the wall

i have an awesome giveaway today! the lovely elizabeth from belle of the wall will be giving one lucky person a custom piece of artwork. elizabeth uses fabric and buttons to create one of a kind designs. i absolutely love how charming and quirky they are!






wouldn't you love to have one in your home? i would!

to win simply leave me a comment telling me what you would want elizabeth to create for you (the sky is the limit!)
if you follow leave me a separate comment telling me
share this giveaway on twitter, facebook, or your blog and leave me a comment.

giveaway ends next monday. good luck!


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i love the usa

hope you all had a fantastic long weekend and a very happy fourth. we had our second annual bbq and matilda had a blast...



we celebrated a little early this year because out fireworks went off on the third. we played a lot of corn hole, caught up with some of our favorite people and ate some damn good food!








happy fourth of july! stay tuned tomorrow for a giveaway!!

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