homemade grits ad

this is the result of the photo shoot i told you about awhile back. photo taken by the talented andrew lee.


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happy.

with bad news rolling in on the daily. i wanted to share some things that make me extremely happy right now. if you have any good news...TELL ME. seriously. i'm in withdrawals...

1. kate and andy's puppy leon. seriously. the saddest part is that i have yet to play with him.





{andy lee}

2. hearing from a sweet former co-worker and seeing pictures of her gorgeous wedding.



{southern weddings}

3. this lovely lovely blog. hannah and her fantastic recipes and gorgeous photography are a delightful way to spend your morning.



{honey and jam}

4. this book. so wonderful.



5. my incredible, steadfast family and friends.



6. and of course all of you and your sweet comments.

if you have a moment, please pray for my sweet grammy who is having surgery today ♥

ps have you entered the c&g mane giveaway?

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Every Picture Tells a Story by Kate

There’s no place like a funeral to meet your fiancé’s extended family.

This past weekend I traveled to Florida with Andy’s family for his grandmother’s funeral. Walking into the visitation, I found myself in a selfish panic. Which comes first—“Nice to finally meet you” or “I’m so sorry for your loss?” Is hugging appropriate? Would they notice the hole in my blouse? Were people going to cry? Dear God please no weeping strangers. But they warmly welcomed me and the whole thing turned into a bittersweet family reunion, as funerals often do.

After the service we went back to Andy’s grandfather’s house, where photo albums were conveniently strewn. The family started reminiscing, and after a day of trying not to cry, they let a few much-needed tears of laughter slip out.

At one point I was sitting alone on the couch and Andy’s grandfather backed into the empty spot next to me. I didn’t quite know what to say, so I picked up an album, assuming that pictures of his grandkids at Christmas would lead to an easy conversation. But I opened the book to find a collection of photos of his late wife. Not exactly what I had planned. I tried to gauge his reaction, and he nodded, as if to say, “Go ahead. I’m ready to talk about her.” I flipped through the pages as he narrated—there were old black-and-white images of her in sundresses from before they were married, faded pictures of her pushing their kids in a stroller, recent ones of the pair holding hands and wearing matching blue T-shirts at their 60th anniversary celebration (60 years!). Every photo had an anecdote—sometimes about his wife and sometimes about the cabinets behind her, the baby she was holding or the vacation they were on. He got wistful once or twice, but mostly the fond memories made him laugh—and oh, how an old man’s laughter is contagious. When we got to the album’s end I realized that without knowing it, Andy’s grandfather had treated me to an old-fashioned love story.

His grandson and I have a love story too. It began a few years ago, and I commit to documenting it with pictures—real, printed-out pictures that go in albums, not iPhoto libraries or desktop folders. I’ll keep them in order, scribble names, dates and places on the backs and slide them into books that I pull out on special occasions.

I can only hope that 60 years from now I’ll have the chance to sit on a couch, flip through a photo album and tell some wide-eyed kid about how much fun I’ve had with my husband. But since I get to imagine this scenario however I want: It won’t follow a funeral, and Andy will be sitting right beside me—because frankly, I’d rather die first.


{ATL}
click on the image to enlarge

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Just had to share

I cried when I saw these pictures that my friend Andy took of Claire and Kate's (two of my oldest friends...make that lifetime friends) Grandma. They are spectacular. This is also Andy's new site. Enjoy!




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New Banner

Thank you so much to the artistical genius that is Sam Graham and the talented Jessica Mahady for left image and the wonderful Andrew Lee for the image on the right!

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Andrew Lee Photography

After a pleading Facebook message, Andy indulged me by posting our family pictures! I had been dying in anticipation to see his beautiful work. Well, the pictures were definitely worth the wait. See for yourself...

Some of my favorites:









To see the rest visit Andrew Lee's Photography blog.


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I spy

Now to show off some of my Ikeawares. Although they are not very exciting, I am so happy to have functional pieces in my home.




I am extremely blessed to know incredible photographers, one being a best friend, Jessica Mahady who took these beautiful pictures of Matilda. I wanted to display them for all to see and truth be told the bathroom is a great place for this! Thank you Jessica for the beautiful shots. We treasure them.

Speaking of incredible photographers...we spent the day with one yesterday. Mr Andy Lee took pictures of our family and sent me this little teaser. I can't wait to see the rest...



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