decatur

thanks for all of your sweet and encouraging comments. thank you again and again for your support! this morning i went to decatur with my mom and matilda to visit rachel and take advantage of some expiring scoutmob coupons. i could have spent hours in cook's warehouse, but tilda wasn't having it. a customer just told me about this book. have you read it? i picked up this beautiful cutting board that you always see on the food network and added to my le creuset collection.

i love decatur so much and dream about buying a home there. i just love the feel of it. the people are so friendly and there's a lot of diversity and culture and really delicious food.

i was finally able to try out farm burger today. get in my belly #1 no bun. seriously so good. matilda had the chicken finger pops which came in a little tin cup with french fries spilling out. what's with kid menus? there are never any healthy items. i should have gotten her the quinoa burger.



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rebuilding my temple

i'm writing to you from the beautiful outdoors today. unfortunately this makes me slightly paranoid, because my friendly street perusers may be tempted to come and swipe this here computer. i digress.
i have been busy learning a lot about nutrition. i go to a class every week called rebuilding the temple. it's led by my friend paul who literally rebuilt his temple (he lost 100 pounds) and is a walking example. he's a great teacher too, i highly recommend this class. i've learned so much. for instance i now use this instead of this when i'm cooking. i've been eating a ton of this. my favorite breakfast treat is faye greek yogurt with a spoon full of peach preserves + organic peanut butter. i mix in some cinnamon and shredded coconut and i'm a happy girl.


{love this shop}

did i mention i've lost 20 lbs? i have completely cut out refined sugar and most grains and i feel amazing. sam and i allow ourselves one free meal a week and i now realize the definition of a treat. i look forward to planning out what i want to eat. my last favorite meal involved banana pudding ice cream!



right now i'm drinking green tea and reading this. i've decided i really don't want to read or watch anything that doesn't nourish me. i feel like i have been living on a diet of brain candy and it leaves me feeling pretty sick. not that i don't think it is fun to indulge in trashy tv, i just don't want to do it every night! hello dancing with the stars i'm talking to you.

i'm still chipping away at this. sam and i visited 2 churches over the last 2 weeks and feel strongly that we want to call trinity our home. the sermon this past sunday was really incredible. it was about simplicity and i just feel called more and more to focus on the basics and to stop wanting so much. we were instructed to do an exercise of gratitude where we go through our closets and donate whatever doesn't make us truly thankful to have it. read: do i really need five cream flowy tops? NO.


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southern flourish fall 2010

the fall issue of southern flourish is here! i am in love with the cover story, a beautiful fall party in charleston. the recipes are delicious and i adore the shopping guides and home tours! hope you enjoy the typically southern portion where we get to be flies on the wall with three awesome southerners! enjoy.

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second

this weekend was all about matilda, as it should be! our baby girl is now a "preschooler" according to babycenter. say what? before i was pregnant i would obsessively go to that website and read about pregnancy success stories and when i got pregnant i used it all the time to see what was happening each week. now, i never look at it! i don't need to, i have this living, breathing beautiful girl growing so fast before my eyes. it's amazing really.









we went to the atlanta zoo and had a cookout with delicious burgers on the grill. quinoa mac and cheese, stewarts orange cream soda, and heavenly cupcakes from miss mamie's. may i recommend the sweet potato. you're welcome.

matilda received so many sweet phone calls, cards, messages, and treats from our sweet family and friends. we felt really blessed by everyone that made a fuss over her. it really means so much to us to feel the love! birthdays mean a lot to me, especially hers.

see more here.

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southern flourish fall issue

here's a little sneak peek at the fall issue. i am really excited for you all to see it. there are so many great stories, ideas, eye candy. i think you're going to love it. i'll be sharing a few of my favorite ways to celebrate fall and giving you a glimpse in to the lives of some really cool southerners!






spend 24 hours with the fabulous stylist annette joseph, the creative jason travis, and DIYers john and sherry petersik.


and this cutie pie and co-editor is our cover girl.

the issue will be live this monday, september 20!

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october wedding

with the help of my saintly mama (til was in a bit of a mood this afternoon), i was able to finish the last of the flower girl dresses. i really hope that everyone is happy with the dresses, especially the sweet bride. i can't wait to see them on the girls.




i am finally caught up on all of my orders, giving me a chance to work on some gifts, new fall looks, and matilda's halloween costume!

i have been a busy bee with the fall issue of southern flourish and getting ready for matilda's second birthday this weekend. we've had a series of mini celebrations in lieu of a big party this year. i'm looking forward to not stressing and just taking it all in with the main focus of celebrating matilda. she said "oh mama" so softly tonight when i was singing her to sleep. i asked her if she would sing me a song and she sang in the sweetest, smallest voice, "ABCD, hjfb ABCD." i love that girl.

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guest post: down and out chic

my boo christina just got hitched! hooray! i was so honored to fill in for her on her fabulous blog. check it out here!



have a very happy weekend! i have lots of things to share with you all soon...xo


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re-evaluating

hello. hope you all had a very relaxing long weekend. i am incapable of relaxing, therefore we tackled a lot of projects that have been sitting still. not one project is 100% done, but hey it's progress.


we got to spend a lot of time around this bonfire and i loved it. i feel really blessed to be a part of such an awesome and eclectic community of people.

i've been thinking a lot about goals and went back and made my goals "smarter." most of them were vague and had no way of being measured, so i'm working on making them more achievable.

one of my goals is to not worry so much about what other people think about me. i've been really struggling with self doubt lately. i've been put through the ringer in the last couple of years. i think that most of us stumble and feel insecure in our twenties. i've dealt with a lot of heartache and i've had to learn who my real friends are. tough growing pains, but i'm grateful for them.

it's yoga month. here are some great ways to celebrate it.


{image}

in other news... i've been really struggling with being a mother of an almost 2 year old. matilda is going through "a change." she hits me in the face (nothing new) about 100 times a day. she's also screeching at the top of her lungs when she doesn't get her way. i find myself just staring in to space without a clue in the world of what to do with her.

l-"do you want to read a book?" m-"no"
l-"we need to change your diaper." m-"NOOOOOOOO"
etc.



she is also as loving and sweet as she can be, it's just not as often. i'm tired, but i love her more than anything and i want to guide her and raise her to be loving and respectful. i've tried ignoring, time out, calm, not calm. i would love some advice from you veterans. please and thank you in advance.

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around the house...

i de-babyproofed our living room! the coffee table is back, we have a place to put our drinks and rest our feet. this makes me both happy and a tiny bit sad.



my big girl in one of her favorite spots, snuggling with hee-haw. isn't this chair fantastic? i got it here.



no it's not cold enough for this hat yet. this was an out take for a shoot for the fall southern flourish. keep your eyes peeled... it's coming soon!


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baby bloomers

my sweet friend lara and her identical twin sister requested a pair of "girly" bloomers. girly, i can do. i loved switching gears and whipping up some bloomers. i hope to have some available in the shop soon. i am almost caught up on all of my orders. thank you all so much! i have the BEST customers!


i used contrasting polka dot trim for the little leg openings.




i made a circle design out of pink poplin ruffles to cover the bum. the end.


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