This past weekend, we felt a family trip was necessary. To re-charge our batteries.  That, and we missed my aunt’s cooking. Georgia was warm, sunny, and welcoming. My family was loud, full of life, and energetic…especially while cooking breakfast. At 8 am. They were all, psshhh, who sleeps in on vacation?

It was just what we needed. After relaxing and doing as little as possible, we’re home and back to our normal routine. Things are going to get extremely busy for us and its moments like the ones we spent in Georgia with our family that reminds me to stop and breathe. And sleep in once in a while.

Oh, and did I mention the amazing weather? Heavenly. We take pictures of each other. I prefer pictures of Adi and this picture proves why….I may be biased but he’s just adorable.  Before dinner, we took a walk in Piedemont Park in the city. And the light? I was all take my picture standing right in the middle of it! My cousins & Adi decided all that walking was too much for them. And the one making a funny face? That’s Josh…who apparently is the comedic in the family. 

Happy Wednesday!!

I can’t believe it’s  been nearly 2 weeks. After many trips to craft stores and back, pouring over blogs for inspiration, and working within a very tight time-frame, we pulled it off. I had every intention of posting this sooner but somehow, time flew by without so much as a warning. That “time” guy…so inconsiderate. It would be nice if he just warned us that he was deceiving and sneaky and that 10 minutes is never 10 minutes.  And if he’d just….oh nevermind…I’ll spare you my ranting.

Where was I? Oh, yes. My sister-in-law’s bridal shower. We planned a simple yet colorful party inspired by fields of flowers. We added hints of daisies and moss wherever we could for a “softer” feel and made pretty much everything except for the table cloths and chairs. Because really, that would require a lot more time…which we all know how I feel about right now. It was a beautiful party and personally, I think this would be lovely as an outdoor wedding as well.

Because I was one of the hostesses, I didn’t shoot much with my camera but I did manage to grab a few. Also, because of the lighting (fluorescents should be illegal and banned for everyone’s sake), I edited the photos differently than I normally do. Here’s what started the whole thing: “field” flowers and bright mason jars: Add a little moss and a few branches and voila!

You can’t have a bridal shower with a “fields of flowers” theme and not have fresh lemonade. With my beautiful sister-in-law

*On a side note, I’ll be in the Atlanta area this weekend visiting family so if anyone is interested in a mini photo shoot, just write me an email and we can discuss further! *

It’s official. Kids are returning back to school and summer is drawing to an end. When I was little, the first day back to school was a dark, dreary day. It was the day I mourned sleeping in till 10am and staying up past midnight, hanging out with friends on weekdays, sun kissed skin and beachy waves, summer crushes, and having tons of time to catch up on all the books from the public library. As college approached, summers were never quite the same, as school was suddenly year round and the luxuries of summer activities were reserved for available weekends. And thus came something called adulthood. As Adi and I were leaving church last night, the kids were dreading what was coming today. They were holding on for dear life as they desperately tried to preserve their last night of freedom in the form of football and ice cream (we have a pretty cool church, what can I say). And I? I smiled at the thought that before these kids even know it, work will fill their summers and cramming for finals in the middle of August will be the norm. Life thinks it’s funny that way. Still, summer will always have that freedom-feel to it and I for one, will miss it. Probably not as much as the kids waking up at 5am to catch the bus, but nevertheless, I’ll miss it. Happy Monday to you and here’s to being an adult and no longer eating in a crowded lunch room.

And here’s to our adult summer…

all images via House Beautiful.

I am writing this before I even begin my day, just pining for it to already be over. And in less than 5 months (!!!) I will be most likely repeating myself with a few more exclamation marks. By nature, I’m a people pleaser. This means, I don’t know how to say “no”. As in, that word does not exist in my vocabulary. And as a result, I’ve signed up (once again) for much more than I can handle because I’m afraid of saying that two letter word. Well internet, I’ll have you know, that I have been practicing in front of a less intimidating mirror and am hoping things will turn around. So, even though it kills me to say no when my mom asks me to come over and try her new cheesecake, or when my friends ask me to join them for a movie, or worse than anything, when Adi asks me to go to the gym with him, I will stand my ground and mutter those 2 letters with my head held high. Ok, so maybe the gym thing won’t be that difficult to turn down. But it’s all about prioritizing from this day forward. =)

Here’s a picture of a special birthday we had a few weeks ago at my church for a very special woman who turned 95. That’s right, 95 years old. She is such a blessing to our church and I can’t begin to describe how wonderful she truly is. This whole post has got me thinking that if I ever want to see 95 and still be kicking, I’d better say a lot of “no’s”. Happy Tuesday to you!

Hello all and happy Monday to you! This weekend has flown by and here we are, a new week yet again. I can’t remember the last time I’ve juggled so many things and with midterms approaching faster than a  I can blink, I feel there are not enough hours in the day. Which is why I’ve been staying up at odd hours of the night trying to play catch-up.  So you can imagine my annoyance with Adi this morning when he decided to bang on every counter top we have and make what seemed like breakfast for our entire street. I eventually but reluctantly got out of bed and began asking him why he couldn’t prepare his breakfast a little more quietly for the sake of his wife’s sanity. But before I could continue he told me that in fact that loud breakfast was made for me and as I walked towards the kitchen, there it was. My loud little breakfast made with love and quite the ruckus, waiting for me to indulge. As far as I’m concerned, he can now wake me up with pots banging anytime.

I don’t know about you, but this week has been interesting, to say the least. You know those weeks that are dragging yet flying at the same time? I’m pretty sure that’s some sort of oxymoron. Regardless, today’s a new day and when I came across these images, I breathed in a huge sigh of relief. Because really, what can be more perfect than a morning that starts with a cup of coffee, some good reading material, a fluffed up flaky croissant, and a gorgeous purse ready for the day’s adventure. Did I mention the most beautiful carrera marble? Yes, the perfect start. Happy Tuesday!

*images via {this is glamorous}

I  wish I could start off this post with something really interesting and inspiring. I’ve been racking my brain trying to find some sort of energy to be upbeat and positive but the truth is, I’m in a place where I feel drained. I’m approaching mid-terms of thesis with more to do than I know how to even begin, seeing off my best friend to Kenya for a year tomorrow, there’s the never-ending editing that takes up literally every free moment I have, and oh yea, I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired and all to unsure lately. Not to mention, my sister-in-law’s bridal shower is this weekend which has been difficult for the simple fact that all I’ve wanted to do is dedicate 100% of my full attention to it and I haven’t been able to. This all sounds very much like a bunch of complaints which I hope to make clear…is not…really…sort of. I like to think of it as “healthy release” being that I often find my blog to be my own personal journal that I just happen to put out there on the most public forms of display. =) I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking to achieve through this post but this is where I am today. I’m hoping that in some time from now (crossing my fingers for next week), I can look back and see how things have changed. For now, I will leave you with an image that makes me happy to have in my home. For some reason, getting a breeze of these beautiful gardenias makes things just a tad bit better. That and the delicious raspberry cupcake I just ingested…