This is going to be one sappy post, so apologizes are in order in advance. I blame it on being 100 months pregnant. 

 I have to say that with my job, I am surrounded with people that are at their most vulnerable, their most stressed, their happiest, and one of their life's most important moments. I sometimes see the worst in people when they fight with their mothers and fathers, but for the most part, I get to see their best. How many other careers offer that? The past few weddings that I have been a part of, the couples have been so sweet, so grateful, and really, really dear. This isn't always the case, I promise! It is just what I needed after a tough summer. 

Marriage is such a sacred thing when you think about it. I am one of the lucky ones whose marriage has gotten better day by day. I can't say that it has always been an easy road. The first year was tough, and I made it a lot harder than it should have been on myself and on the husband. He was in law school, we were so poor, and as he finished law school, we moved a long ways away from my family, started new careers, and began a life that was all our own. What I can say is that it was worth the heartache and the tears because it has gotten better than I could have ever imagined. No grand gesture has prompted this post except for the fact that an ordinary day that I don't get to have too often with my husband, one of a late breakfast and running errands, reminds me how lucky I am to be in a partnership with a kind, patient,  and loving husband. 

As we are rounding out the third trimester of our first pregnancy, I am so excited about becoming a mother and seeing Grayson become a father. I have to say, selfishly, I am a little nervous that it won't be just the two of us anymore. Tilley-Gray has already stolen Grayson's heart and she isn't even here yet!  When we were in marriage counseling with our minister before our wedding, he told us that a marriage should always hold God first, your husband/wife second, and your children third. I strive to honor that and I look forward to having our little family of three, starting traditions, and enjoying more days like today.

I'm off to Bald Head Island for my last wedding weekend on the island until this baby comes. I had a few weddings in October, but the doctor warned me that unless I wanted to have Tilley-Gray on Bald Head Island, I better not be over there in October. (Once you are there, you are pretty much stuck on the ferry's schedule.) It is going to be a fun weekend with really great vendor friends!

I'm not one to rush summer away, but there is something about being 100 months pregnant and enjoying a slight nip when I walk outside first thing in the morning.  I leave you with these fall inspired goodies to take you through the weekend. 

Lots more posting and inspirations next week, I promise! 

The classic tailgate cocktail, bourbon ginger, with a twist from Garden and Gun. 

I love long maxi skirts in rich fabrics with pleats! Gorgeous!

Autumn colors with deco jewels

 Atlantic-Pacific blogger continues to inspire me. 

Husband, birthday is next month.  I love those shoes and you can find them at Zara. (they ship now!!! size 6)

BLACK OUT

That's what I did this morning when I went to Target. I woke up like it was Christmas morning and marched to my computer to see what goods were available online. EPIC fail. Everything I wanted was out of stock. It was 7am. Good gracious; this was going to take a little more work. 

By 8:15am, half decaf coffee in hand, I braved the mini-van and SUV filled Target parking lot and ran into  Target. I wasn't expecting the mobs of soccer moms that I was about to run into. I grabbed a cart and took it to the home department, only to find that my one "MUST" item was gone right before my eyes. Someone else was buying TWO of those gorgeous throws for their beach house. I just wanted one for the nursery. Was that too much to ask for? 

After that heart break, it was on. I was more motivated than ever. Baby clothes? Got em. Trays for entertaining? Tumblers for cocktails? PJs? Robes? Sweaters and dresses and zig zag lounge pants. Make-up cases and headbands? I grabbed them all. Then I started editing when I looked like every other crazy woman that I was overloaded with this Italian goodness.  I decided I needed it all. And then I went to check out. The lady in front of me spent $2400 dividing it on three credit cards. The one in front of her...$6000. This was out of control. 

I'm having a baby. We need a new vacuum cleaner. My husband needs new suits. Do I really need all of this? I had to have a quick "come to Jesus" with myself to bring it back to reality. And I'm proud to say that I did. I bought the pieces that I really loved, and moved on without regret. 

What about you? Were you in Target this morning? If so, what goodies did you score?

Thursday's Pick Me Up

These beauties came in the mail today and did not disappoint. No, they are not the old school ones Stubbs and Wooten. Lawd no, I've got a baby to pay for these days. These beauties are from Asos and fit my feet and my budget just perfect. 

Not convinced? Kanye West just signed a deal with Stubbs and Wooten. 

Olivia Palmero

 Ryan Gosling 

Nicki Hilton

Create your own custom pair here

Hair Envy

As we pass Labor Day and say goodbye to the last days of summer, the heat outside just doesn't want to break. The best solution is to pull your hair up into a chic little bun, twist, or braid. I love all of these!

Nesting

At almost 29 weeks pregnant, the nesting has kicked in officially. Cleaning, organizing, and cooking sure do make me happy these days. I hope I can keep it up until her arrival in November! 

If you are not on Pinterest, let me know and I will send you an invite! All of the below recipes are on my "favorite foods" board. 

I hope you all have a fab Labor Day weekend!

xoxo

Bad Behavior and Gallery Walls

A few weeks ago, I finally got myself in a state of mind to spend a significant time at the craft store, Michael's. I love craft stores, but the framing department at Michael's isn't always a pleasant as say, looking at Martha Stewart glitter and holiday fluff. I had a interesting experience at Michael's so read on if you wish. If not, the photos are below...

 I was armed with 9 prints and frames from West Elm that needed to be custom matted and a half caf Starbucks coffee. It was 105 degrees outside and I was determined to finally check this off my list. As I approached the framing center at Michael's with my 60% coupon, there were only a few people in line. After about 15 minutes of patiently waiting, a line of 10 or so more customers had formed behind me. As I approached the desk with my 9 items to be framed, a large woman with a cut-off Nascar t-shirt loudly asked if I wouldn't mind letting someone with not "30 friggin thangs" go first. I politely said "no" and continued my business. I was on a mission. 

There were a few people working at the framing center, and as they continued to help customers and check them out, racing lady continued to comment about "how dumb and incompetent" the people that worked there were, it had taken "over two friggin weeks to get my sh*t done." (My face is growing red with embarrassment for the sweet workers.)  I told my little lady that was helping me not to worry about her and that she was doing a great job. My coffee was starting to kick in and my patience at this point was surprising me minute by minute! 

As I finished my selections in 10 minutes flat, I paid and turned around. The racing lady grimaced as I walked by. I stopped and for some reason, I looked her right in the eyes and  told her "You should be ashamed of yourself!"  Looking back, she could have split me in half so I'm not sure where that courage came from, but the moral of the story is, be patient with the people at Michael's framing department. My 9 frames were done in record time!

So, back to the main point of this post. We have collected prints from one of my favorite websites 20x200 for the past year or so. When I order the prints, I typically order the West Elm gallery frames as well. I like that they are clean and simple and fairly inexpensive. I'm not huge on having personal photos displayed in my house, but these are two of our favorite wedding photos that our wedding photographers gifted to us after so many of our friends used them for their weddings. This blank wall in our kitchen is now filled with photos and art work that we love! 

We first arranged the art work how we thought it would look best on the wall on our kitchen floor, rearranging it a few times until we got it just right. 

When hanging pictures, these little guys are the best because you don't have to find a stud in the wall and they are a lot easier to install than using a nail and hammer. Just push them into the drywall and they can support up to 50 lbs!

Grayson is an expert hanger, so he was the chief on this project. (He would tell you that I was the chief, telling him what to do, but he is really better at this than I am!)

We first started with the center photos

Adding them one by one

And this is the final product! I have really enjoyed having this in our kitchen. I love that it's not 100% symmetrical and they are photos and prints that we have collected over the years. I hope to add more to this wall soon!