thankful thursday {link up}

{Link up your own Thankful Thursday post below...}

This Thursday I am thankful for...

1) Warmer weather. This week we have been enjoying warm breezes and even a little bit of sunshine! It has been SOOO great. Yesterday it hit the 70's!! I am definitely a warm-weather-kind-of-girl... there's just no denying it.

2) Sweet tea. Since I gave up soda for Lent this year... sweet tea is like my cheat drink. I don't drink it a ton... especially here in Louisville... but if I'm at McCallisters, it's pretty hard to pass up.

3) Little Cat. Oh, Little Cat... He's such a helpful assistant... both at home and work. And even thought he's not exactly, ahem, little anymore... he still curls up on my desk like he's invisible. Makes me smile every time:)

I always love reading all of the Thankful Thursday link-ups each week... and last week there were several that made me smile. But I loved Lindsey's post, over from Sensible Nonsense about her grandmother's button collection. For one, I love when things are passed down from generation to generation... big or small... and secondly, did you see those beautiful vintage buttons Lindsey inherited? I can't wait to see what craft ideas she dreams up with those beauties... she's already posted about a few!

What are you thankful for this week? Grab the Thankful Thursday button from the right sidebar and link up your own post below. Be sure to visit the other Thankful Thursday participants and share the love!!

Also linking up with:

Kate Says Stuff

The Fontenot Four

First Day of My Life

happy february 29th!!

{source}

If I were a better planner, I would be having a party tonight. I mean... it's February 29th, people! A day that only comes around every FOUR years... definitely worthy of a celebration, don't you think?

Hmmmm... let's see... at my Leap Year party, we would start at 9:29pm... serve Leap Year cocktails (recipe here)... have guests make one prediction about an exciting event that will happen before the next Leap Year... and eat frog legs. Sounds fun, right? Be looking for your Leap Year party invitation in 2016:)

Happy February 29th!!

top 10 :: reasons why february was awesome

{source}

Dear February,

How did you do it? How did you manage to turn a seemingly quiet, eventless month into sheer awesomeness? You turned simple, everyday moments into things worth remembering. I'm not sure if it was because of my new planner or my commitment to starting Project Life... either way, I found myself writing down the simple everyday things that make up life... the tiny things that I want to remember... the good... and the hard. For that, I am grateful.

You were a month of dinners with friends, baby showers, minimal travel, new drinks, and new experiences. And to top it all off, you're adding an entire extra day this go around... who knows what you have planned for tomorrow?

February, I think I love you.

Thank you for bringing joy to the everyday.

Love,

Julia

-----------------------

Here are my top 10 things that made February awesome...

1) My Erin Condren planner arrived... and was immediately put to good use.

2) We went to the U of L symphony both with friends and to watch friends perform. I'll definitely be doing this again.

3) I went to a baby shower in a Mexican restaurant... perfect combination, if you ask me. We celebrated with our friend Kristi, who just had her sweet baby boy yesterday!!

4) We watched the super bowl in our living room with some of our absolute favorite friends.

5) We ate dinner at with some friends... with the most adorable place settings, delicious food, and Coke in glass bottles, with real cane sugar (makes such a difference, no?).

6) We discovered a new speak-easy bar that has live jazz music on Thursday nights and amazing cocktails.

7) I finally got serious about organizing my pantry.

8) I celebrated Valentine's Day with my community group girls... you can't go wrong with chapstick and nail polish... and little mini pink laundry baskets;)

9) We drove to Nashville, TN to celebrate our friends Holly & John as they prepare to welcome their first baby in April.

10) We participated in our first Ash Wednesday service (and Lent season)... bright and early... but it was amazing.

There you have it... the top 10 things that made February awesome... or at least the top 10 things that I had pictures of:) Happy February!

Linking up to Many Little Blessings

weekend festivities...

This weekend was fabulous. We started a tad early with an amazing date night Thursday night. This was technically our Valentine's date. We had a gift card and some Valentine's cash, so we were able to enjoy a super romantic evening at a pretty swanky restaurant in Louisville... The Mayan Cafe. It.was.amazing.

We went all out and ordered the Tuna Ceviche as an appetizer... I meant to take a picture, but before I realized it... the ceviche was all gone... oops.

I did remember to snap a quick photo of our entrees... I ordered the pork, which was incredible... and Lance ordered the salmon. Lance said his meal was equally amazing, but I wouldn't know for sure, since he didn't let me steal a bite:)

The ability that this chef had to mix so many different ingredients to come up with just the right flavor was incredible to me. There were so many flavors going on... it was so, so good. Almost as good as the pomegranate crepes we had for dessert... OMG... amazing. I would show you a picture... but yeah... that didn't happen. Lance had to keep me from licking the plate clean. Swear.

Anyhow... moving right along...

The rest of the weekend was exactly how I imagined it... sleep, laundry, errands, cleaning, crafting... It was perfect.

I visited a new antique/thrift shop that just opened around the corner from our house... Yesternook. I might have come home with the above items. While I still love the Goss Avenue Antique Mall, this place has waaaayyyy better prices. That basket was $5, the apothecary jar was only $2.50, and that sweet little mirror was only $1.99. Not too shabby if you ask me.

I finally did some much needed grocery shopping. You know it's bad when all you have in your fridge is pickles and salsa. Pay no attention to all of the frozen pizza. It was 10-for-10 at Kroger, okay... geez, don't judge.

I tried out my new Essie sparkle nail polish... "a cut above."

...I love it. There's no rule about not using sparkles on your nails if you're over 30, is there??

Saturday night, my sister's best friend was in town for a local volleyball tournament (she coaches)... so Lance and I met up with her for (a super late) dinner. She's getting married this summer and we're so bummed we can't make it... this little visit made up for it.

Then I spent all day Sunday crafting and cleaning. I finished a few projects that have been lying around unfinished for months now... feels good. Will show more photos soon... promise.

How was your weekend?? Busy? Relaxing? Productive? Lazy? A bit of everything?

wedding photography... preserving your memories

Your wedding day is one of the most memorable days of your life... and preserving those memories is important. When I photograph a wedding, my favorite part of the editing process is selecting photos for the bride and groom's customized DVD. I create a canvas DVD case that holds 2 customized photo DVDs... it is always the icing on the cake...

There you have it. Pretty as a picture... tied with a bow:)

How are you preserving your wedding photos?

jumping on the project life bandwagon

I have mentioned Project Life a few times here and there. And if you browse any scrapbooking/crafty blogs out there, I'm quite certain you've heard of it. My first attempt at the whole Project Life thing was last year around May... my mom bought the set for my birthday... and while my intentions were good... I couldn't quite keep up. And I had this weird thing about starting in the middle of the year... kind of freaked me out. I am really, really good at saving memorabilia.... but really, really bad at printing pictures.

So... I kept thinking about it... and since I already had pretty much all of the supplies, I figured I would give it another go. I needed a new plan of attack this go around though...

1) Print photos monthly.

Printing photos is key to making this project work. Quite a few Project Lifers print their photos at home. This is an option for me, but not really that realistic. I decided to start sorting my photos by month in iPhoto, which makes it incredibly easy when I get ready to order. I usually order my personal prints directly from iPhoto... the quality is good and it's super easy... I don't have to upload photos to another site.

2) Write stuff down weekly.

I started jotting down a list of our weekly activities and events in a simple little notebook. This has been super helpful when I'm trying to sort photos by week and attempting to remember what we did a month ago. My blog posts and planner have been extremely helpful for this project as well... all serve as great memory joggers.

3) Maintain a workspace. {photo source}

Okay... so I haven't quite figured out where this should be for me yet (because that photo is definitely NOT my workspace... I wish). But I do believe that this project should be left out in plain sight somewhere. This is a project that ideally you should be able to work on anytime throughout your day. Ali Edwards is a great example of this... she keeps the majority of her Project Life supplies out on her kitchen counter... then when one of her kids says something funny, she grabs a little card right then and there and jots it down... she talks a lot about her process in this post.

4) Create a spot to corral all of your stuff.

Like I said earlier... I am really, really good at keeping stuff. You know... the ticket stubs, business cards, pretty packaging, mail from friends... stuff. I very well might be a closet hoarder. Previously, I was just keeping piles and piles of this stuff everywhere. I finally decided to use a little wire basket that I already had as a "landing pad" for stuff. So far, it's working out quite nicely.

5) Get over perfection.

This is probably the hardest part for me in regards to any kind of scrapbooking-type project. Especially when you read other scrapbooking blogs and see how absolutely amazing their Project Life album is. But this project isn't about making things beautiful... it's about making memories... and keeping them. Sure, you can pretty up the pages a bit here and there... but for me, the point of this project is to simply get the pages done.

So. There you have it. I finally gave in to the Project Life craze. And I really, really hope I can make it a habit. I'll try to post pictures of my album progress every so often.

Interested in seeing more about Project Life? Here are a few of my favorite spots for inspiration...

Becky Higgins ...the creator of Project Life herself.

Ali Edwards ...always, always a fan of pretty much anything she does.

Elise Blaha ...she just jumped on the Project Life bandwagon too, and I love her take on it... as I do anything Elise whips up with paper and scissors.

Cathy Zielske ...a long time scrapbooker... but fairly new to Project Life... Cathy's a witty one and many of her posts will make you pee in your pants with her honest humor.

Michelle Wooderson ...she is a 4 year Project Lifer... serious, I tell ya. She has a great post explaining her workspace and Project Life process here... be prepared to get a little (or a lot) jealous of her amazing craft space.

What about you? Do you participate in Project Life? Have you even heard of it? Interested in trying it maybe? Come on... you know you want to...

thankful thursday {link up}

{Link up your own Thankful Thursday post below...}

This Thursday I am thankful for...

1) My recent antique finds. There is a huge antique mall literally right around the corner from our house. I know I've mentioned the amazingness of this antique gallery before... but it truly deserves it's very own post (note to self... write post about awesome antique gallery ASAP). Last week a found a couple of small treasures... a little bronze bud vase and 2 tiny round frames with pictures of some Victorian chicks in them. I'm hoping to get creative and transform my finds into something fabulous soon.

2) Where Women Create magazine. I've just recently discovered this magazine... and it is ahh-mazing! It reads more like a book and at almost $15 a pop... it should. It is filled cover to cover with stories of creative women and gorgeous photos of their work space. It's jam-packed with pages and pages of inspiration and creativity.

3) Oreos & milk. Yum. I've been on a bit of a milk and cookies kick lately. It's been my nightly snack. I prefer the Golden Oreos, but the original are always a tasty treat... double-stuffed though... that's a must.

I always love reading all of the Thankful Thursday link-ups each week... I was a little late reading through last week's linkups, but I loved Jen's post over at A Drop in the Bucket... a beautiful sunny day at the park mid-february?? Definitely Thankful Thursday worthy!! Loved the pictures she snapped of her kiddos, but the self-portrait was my favorite... with that sunshine streaming through... sigh.

What are you thankful for this week? Grab the Thankful Thursday button from the right sidebar and link up your own post below. Be sure to visit the other Thankful Thursday participants and share the love!!

Also linking up with:

Kate Says Stuff

The Fontenot Four

First Day of My Life

giving it up...

Yep. That's right. I'm doing it. All in this year. Giving up the ol' DP.

I am participating in Lent this year. First time Lenter here. I mean, I have gone to a few Ash Wednesday services back in the day, but I've never actually committed to the season of Lent.

Some of you may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about. What is Lent? (no... not the lint in your pockets... totally different) Lent is a season (Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) that many Christians observe as a time to prepare their hearts for Easter. Many people participate in Lent by praying and fasting in order to focus their thoughts on Jesus and His great sacrifice. If you would like to learn more, I found this article to be helpful.

This year for the season of Lent, Lance and I have decided to give up soda. I wasn't entirely on board at first... I mean, I love me some Dr. Pepper. And I wanted to take the whole Lent thing seriously if I was going to commit. I started trying to think of other things I could give up... things that would be easier...

But then I realized... that is the whole point. It isn't supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be a sacrifice. It is supposed to be hard. The whole point of giving something up is to feel the void that it leaves. Not that Dr. Pepper is going to leave me heartbroken or anything dramatic like that... but I will notice. I will want one. And it is in that very trivial moment of Dr. Pepper detox that I want to remember the much, much greater sacrifice that Jesus made for me.

What about you? Are you participating in Lent this year? Are you giving something up?

------------

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

-Psalm 90:14

nashville weekend festivities... {and a bit of window shopping}

{source}

On Friday Lance and I drove to Nashville, TN for a whirlwind weekend. And when I say "whirlwind" what I really mean is... drive down on Friday afternoon then back to Louisville late Saturday night. But it was so, so worth it.

The weekend trip was initially planned all because of a baby shower for these two very special friends. John and Holly are going to make amazing parents and I'm so glad we were able to help celebrate with them this weekend.

The baby shower decor was absolutely beautiful. I loved the pom-poms, and the cake was amazing!!

John is big-time snowboarder, and I'm pretty sure this little baby boy might start snowboarding right out of the womb. No... really.

While the baby shower was our main purpose for the trip to Nashville, there was another very special part planned to this whirlwind... my BFF!!

My childhood bestfriend lives in Franklin, TN with her husband. I was so, so, so excited to get some quality time with her this weekend!!

Lance and I met Christi at her office on Friday. Doesn't she look all business-like:) Her office is beautiful and she has quite the view...

Pretty swanky, huh?

One of the best things about visiting my friend Christi is getting to window shop at all of the amazing boutiques in the sweet town of Franklin. Christi and I jokingly started calling all of the boutiques "torture chambers," since that's exactly what they were. We wanted everything... but couldn't afford anything:)

I mean... just look at all of this eye candy... this boutique was probably one of my favorites... tons of beautiful linens, rugs and wallpaper designs. I was in love with that burlap lamp shade...

...there were gorgeous displays set up everywhere. I loved the impact of all of these pillar candle holders grouped together...

...these vintage wash basins were awesome... I'm hoping I can find some for cheap at my local flea market soon...

...I caught Christi admiring one of her favorite local artist's work. Christi has two of these paintings in her house and they are beautiful. The coolest thing about this artist is that before starting her piece, she writes a prayer for the recipient on the canvas, then paints her artwork directly on top. Very cool, huh?

...I loved these nesting bowls. I immediately texted this photo to my dad since he has recently started doing some woodworking as a hobby. He has been making some beautiful bowls and I thought a nesting set might be a fun project for him...

...one of the first stores we went to was jam-packed with clever decorating ideas. I loved how they used an old door for shelving above clothing racks. I've already shown this picture to Lance, asking if he can replicate:)

...that same boutique also had these amazing light fixtures... sigh... I wanted these so bad. We are trying to figure out how we can replicate these as well:) Do any of you guys do that?? Walk around in stores thinking, "hmmm, how can I make that??"

...my favorite store had the most gorgeous bed linens I had ever seen. The toupees and creams on this bed were my favorite. I love that crocheted blanket on the end of the bed...

...Christi was lusting after this beautiful set... I'm pretty sure she added it to her home decor budget... we stared at it for a good 20 minutes, just oooohing and aahhhing over the textures and pillows... no lie.

...this is the same store... I thought that little burlap "decorate" banner was just adorable, and again, was walking around thinking, "hmmm... I can totally make that." My only purchase for the day came from this store... an awesome set of numbered stamps that I cannot wait to use.

So... there you have it. My weekend (and window shopping) in a nutshell. Told you it was whirlwind... and told you it was fabulous:)