so long, august... hello, september

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Oh August... I will miss you.

Thanks for slowing things down a little. You were a month of beginnings... a month of routine... a month in Louisville (well, for the most part).

You kicked things off with a beautiful wedding celebration. We spent time with family. We unpacked boxes and adjusted to life with one bathroom. We put the suitcases away for a while. Lance prepared for a new semester, while I had a couple of small photo shoots. We enjoyed a visit from Lance's mom and her husband. The girls had a craft night while the boys played poker.

Oh, but hello September.

Yes, I hear you... trust me, I haven't forgotten about you. How could I?

With all of your flight confirmations and hotel reservations? I'm pulling the suitcases back out today and getting my camera equipment together... because September promises to be a very exciting month indeed...

top 10 :: reasons why snail mail is better

I'm a huge fan of old school snail mail. Nothing quite beats opening up your mailbox and seeing that one handwritten envelope mixed in with bills and marketing ads. About a week ago, I received the absolute kindest letter from a family member. It was such a pleasant surprise, and the letter came on a day that I really needed it. She will probably never know quite how much her handwritten words touched my heart, or the power of her encouragement. And sure, if she had emailed me, the words would have still been extremely thoughtful, but there is just something about holding the paper in your hands while you read... reading a letter in someone's handwriting is almost like hearing their voice... I can't quite describe it. Regardless, I'm a huge advocate of snail mail... and here are 10 reasons why you should be too...

1) It's a good excuse to buy stationary. {photo}

2) You get to pick out pretty stamps at the post office.

3) You can practice your penmanship.

4) It's a great way to get rid of that stationary you've had since 6th grade.

5) Your words become so much more genuine when written in your own handwriting.

6) You're much more likely to reminisce over old letters.

7) You get to put that little red flag up on your mailbox.

8) It's a good excuse to find the perfect ink pen.

9) You can reflect your mood by changing your handwriting.

10) You have the ability to make someone's day. {photo}

So... go ahead... pull out that pretty stationary and favorite ink pen... put your handwriting on paper... splurge on a $0.44 stamp... make someone's day... I promise you will.

Linking this up at Oh Amanda.

weekend in review

This weekend was fabulous. I mean, you just can't beat an 80's craft night and beautiful weather. Here's the rundown of what we were up to this weekend...

Friday night, about 15 of my favorite girls came over for an amazing craft night. We sung 80's songs at the top of our lungs, played with puff paint and all went home with friendship bracelets...

We all needed a little refresher course on how to make friendship bracelets, but after a few rounds of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and some gummi bears, we were all braiding away.

Lance and I spent most of Saturday volunteering at our church's Medical Clinic. About 3-4 times a year our church hosts a free medical clinic for the neighbors in the community. We have doctors, nurses, dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors and people doing hair and nails... it's quite an event, and I always feel so blessed to be a part of it.

Saturday evening, we headed over to the University of Louisville's men's soccer field to watch the #1 ranked Cardinals take on the #2 ranked UCLA Bruins. Sometimes I forget how close we live to the UofL campus. It was so easy to grab a bite to eat and head over to the soccer field.

The stands were pretty much full by the time we got there, so we found a great spot on the top of the hill. It was fabulous. UofL won 2-0... guess they really are #1 in the nation. We will definitely be doing this again.

Then I finished my weekend off with a relaxing Sunday. It was a nice day with no agenda... perfect for a few home improvement projects. I decided to go ahead and paint the little $4 night stand I found at a yard sale a few weeks ago. It turned out really cute... don't worry, I'll be sure to show you guys the finished product soon.

So... that was our weekend in a nutshell. It was so nice to soak up some time at home, seeing that this coming weekend starts another whirlwind travel series. How about you? How was your weekend?

hoehler family {louisville family photographer}

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of snapping a few photos for the beautiful Hoehler family. This is such a sweet family and little Martin is just too cute for words! Adorable, right?

{Be sure to share the love... Which one is your favorite?}

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thankful thursday {link up}

{Be sure to link up here or over on Jamie's blog!}

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1) Craft night. I.LOVE.CRAFT.NIGHT. And tomorrow night I'm hosting the coolest craft night ever. I'm have a group of girls over and we are going to make the crafts of our youth... for me this means the 80's... think friendship bracelets, puff paint and bedazzlers. Watch out... it's gonna get crazy. Expect a full review on this next week:)

2) Gummi Bears. Specifically the Haribo brand. For some reason I have been on a major Haribo Gummi Bear kick lately. I'm blaming it on my sister-in-law (who's sweet tooth is worse than mine) and the fact that she bought some last month when I was in Georgia. I mean, I might have bought the 3lb bag recently... maybe...

3) Walking. Not simply the fact that I can walk, although that is something definitely to be thankful for... but more specifically, I am thankful that we live in a location that I can actually walk to places if I want to. We are within walking distance from some great restaurants, several corner shops, a Kroger, and our church. I love being able to just walk out the door and down the street to get dinner. And it will be even better when it starts to cool down a bit.

What are you thankful for this week? Link up your own thankful thursday post below...

embrace the camera

This week I'm embracing the camera with my absolute favorite person...

Pay no attention to that really weird bow in my hair... it was the ribbon that was tied on the napkins and silverware... somehow it ended up in my ponytail.

Click here to link up in this week's Thankful Thursday.

oh, how pinteresting...

I'm craving fall. I'm wanting to build something with the old fence in the backyard. I'm dreaming of beautiful rustic goodness. And thanks to pinterest, there's plenty of inspiration out there...

Linking up to The Vintage Apple this week... what have you found pinteresting lately??

top 10 :: grown-up school supplies i need

I seriously love school supplies. I can't help it. Every single year before school starts, I always find myself wandering down the school supplies aisle... perusing the discounted pencils, glue sticks, crayons, and markers. It's some type of gravitational pull. Actually, who am I kidding... I go down the school supply aisle all the time. There's just something about a pack of new ink pens and an empty spiral notebook... it gets me every time.

So... here's my list of grown-up school supplies that I desperately need. I'm pretty sure I would be more productive with everything on this list...

1) Days of the week clothes pins... brilliant. I'm pretty sure this is my kind of calendar. Found at Papers + Presents.

2) Washi tape... yes please. In all of the above colors. Found at Happy Tape.

3) A pretty pencil pouch. A definite must for the school, ahem, work, year. Learn to make your own at Sew, Mama, Sew!

4) Pretty leaf post-it notes. I would use these everywhere... so pretty. Found at Design Vagabond.

5) Miniature hanger paperclips. How adorable are these things?!? I need some. Found at Photojojo.

6) A scrapbook rolodex. I am sooo doing this. Found at Blue Moss Girls.

7) Beautiful leather notebooks. Available in every color imaginable... and they're eco friendly. Found at Kate's Paperie.

8) Office essentials. There's something so beautiful about the simplicity of the classic supplies. Found at pinterest.

9) Map love. Long ago are the days of boring maps... I will definitely be trying this. Found on Not on the High Street.

10) Strings of inspiration. Everyone needs a little inspiration every once in a while... and I love this display idea. Found on Dream Book Design.

Linking this up to Oh Amanda and It's a Crafty Life.