twenty and counting

It's been a rough week. Work really kicked my rear and had me waking up in the middle of the night stressed out and worrying over various projects. Not to mention this preggo heartburn is a major bummer. I've been popping Tums like they're goin' out of style. {note : I promise not to bore you to pieces too often with my annoying symptoms. It won't happen again. Maybe.} Anyway, I really struggle with leaving work alone at the end of the day. As much as I try, it never seems to happen. Paper, pantones, clients and fonts, oh my! There is always more to do and my pretty lil' computer is just sitting there... enticing me back over.

But on with some less stressful, really FUN news : my belly hit a pretty big milestone. We went to the doc this week and had the 20 week ultrasound. Yowza! That little "cashew" we last saw is growing. Now I realize it's supposed to be growing here, but seeing it is just so wild. We had to close our eyes at one point since we're not finding out if it's a boy or girl. Apparently we're in the minority because the nurse seemed shocked and said only a tiny percent of folks choose the surprise factor. Well, we're in that tiny percent so mums the word. So sorry, but it'll be one heck of a surprise on the big day. It still doesn't seem real sometimes.



The lights were dimmed and hubs kept squeezing my hand. We just watched in awe. Somehow everything seemed calm and bright for that moment and I finally felt at peace.

grey gardens

I don't have much today, but will share my vote for a great movie to rent. Grey Garden's rocked. Fascinating, bizarre and beautiful all at once. Momma and I watched it over the holidays and were mesmerized with the house and the larger than life personalities of Big Eadie & Little Eadie. It's a weird story and yet it's totally captivating. Drew Barrymore is incredible in this role. I wanted to find out about the real characters to see if the movie re-make had embellished. They didn't. It's all real and you can't even believe it.

photos via greygardens

bedroom dilema

Our bedroom is currently in a state of confusion. The curtains are too long, our new bed fills up the entire room, the rug doesn't go, my side tables are hideous, and hubs claims the bedspread from Anthropologie is like one of the tapestries I had in college. Harumph. I'm not a fabulous decorator by any stretch of the means, but I do think I have a pretty decent eye. Which is why it drives me batty to walk in there and feel like nothing works. I have been keeping a file of bedroom images from magazines and blogs and hopefully it will transpire into something glorious. Though I'm secretly hoping that when my mom & aunt Louise {who's an interior designer} come for a visit next month, they will be the ones to turn my mess into greatness. Or at the very least, something presentable… pretty please! We shall see.

images via domino * house beautiful * and unknown (so sorry!)

belly laughs

There are pregnancy books, blogs, newsletters, websites and even iphone apps. Overload and overwhelming. Honestly, I am better off not knowing every little detail. Some of it kinda freaks me out. However, over the weekend I started reading a hilarious book called Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. It arrived in my mailbox a couple days ago from my sweet friend Molly. It's very light and funny with a couple of informative tidbits mixed in. Plus I realized I'm not alone in wanting to pop Tums continuously. Thank you Mols! Hubs keeps asking me if I'm reading up on this whole thing as if to say… do you have any idea what you're doing? Well no sir, I don't. I'm counting on instinct to kick in thank you very much. My plan is to rely heavily on all my friends who have bambinos. Ladies, be on the look out for my frantic calls for help!

west end walk

The weekend weather was a total drag, but earlier in the week, hubs and I headed out for a walk. The West End is an area of downtown where you can usually find swarms of people outdoors. A hub for walkers, bike riders, children feeding ducks and dogs playing. There's even a row of art galleries with their doors open and the Reedy River running by. So we parked in town and then followed a path down into Falls Park. It seemed like everyone in town was out, soaking up the much missed sunshine. Big buddy was a trooper and seemed to really dig the quaking ducks. He's feeling so much better on the steroids. We are so thankful to see some personality coming back!

memory making

Well I have a new project to add to my list. Scrapboxes. Yepper, I am definitely going to create one of these little beauties. While working and watching the Marth Stewart show, yes I am multi talented and can two things at once, I was inspired by this craft segment. Darcy Miller, the wedding guru, creates these amazing family collages in box frames. She even had an opening to exhibit her work, called Family. She takes family photos, scraps of paper, epherma from vacations, or even old baby toys to create these memory boxes.





Ya know when you have some memorable things that are too bulky or awkward for a scrap book? That's where the shadow box comes in. I wish I could say I was a big scrapbooker, but no. I just pile things neatly or not so neatly into drawers or bins around the house, saving them for I don't know what. And I used to be so good about keeping up with photo albums, but even that has eluded me lately. Sadly I haven't even put my wedding album together. I thought I 'd save a little dough and get really crafty and make my own. Well that sure hasn't happened, but one day I swear I'm going to do it. I promise.



I guess my invitation got lost in the mail. Shoot! This looks like it was so much fun. They even had a photographer there taking portraits + Darcy sketching you, so guests could leave with their own personalized artwork ready for a scrapbox. They're adorable and no detail was left untouched. But of course - it was the Martha team. Even the lollipops had doodles on them. Now those would be adorable for a baby shower. Looks like they're from beau-coup.



In the meantime I'm going to make myself one of these sweet memory boxes over the weekend. Not sure what it will be of but… I'll let ya know how it goes!

photos via weddingbee spread via martha stewart mag

rock paper scissors

I may be a blogger, but I'm old fashioned when it comes to certain things. Like a hand written note. Nothing better than swinging open that mailbox to find a special note from a friend. Of course it helps when it's killer stationary. And a little letterpress never hurt anybody. Letterpress printing holds a special place in my heart. It's tactile and imperfect nature lends itself to cool posters and invitations. I use it all the time for work. So when mom and I went to pick out stationary for the men of the house, father - brother - husband, as Christmas presents, we headed for Rock Paper Scissors in Franklin, TN.

I loved the owners beliefs as well :
* Paper is a lifestyle * The Barefoot Contessa can do no wrong
* There's no excuse not to send a thank you note
* A loaf of French bread and pat of butter can make you feel better
* Gift bags are lazy * As far as gifts go... anything paper is perfect!

This stationary boutique on Main Street was perfect. Dad got engraved long cards with lined envelopes and husband & Wilbur got letterpress note cards. Good pricing, a huge selection of options and the note cards were a big hit with the boys. Momma, we did good! Plus the girl that worked there was really sweet and helpful. Even if you don't need stationary, I would drop in if you're ever near. I kept picking up all the cute paper goods around the store. Hmm… maybe if we get our act together we'll have some Tenn Hens products floating around a store such as this. Yes sirry bob - we're gonna do it too!

working away

image via cleavingmind

I've been workin' like a fool the last few days and that is just fine with me. I'm always grateful to be busy. Plus that means it's hubs turn to do to the grocery shopping and the dinner cooking! Sweet team that we make around here.

Tenn Hens has been cranking out a few new ideas and working on a big 16th birthday invitation. Apparently, a sweet sixteenth is all the rage. I'm pretty sure I just had a barn party with hot dogs and ruffles. Plus I always drew my own invitations and had them copied on neon paper. They were awesome, but I think these will fit the bill a little better for this day and age. During this work overload, I did happen to find the time for some socializing. It's hard to meet new people in a new town and we were so spoiled back home. But we're venturing out and making some new friends. It's funny, I feel like we're almost dating again! Does hubs like the guy? Do I get along with the girl? Hilarious things coming out of my mouth, to people I barely know and no excuse of a buzz! Nice. No, we're actually meeting some super nice folks. Though I felt like I was back in college on Saturday showing up at a party, not knowing a soul. There was a tight group of girls huddled in the kitchen, so I followed the boys outside, played with a big chocolate lab and stuffed myself with their low country boil and steamed oysters. Oh and I watched as one of the boys kept putting old Christmas trees on the fire pit. See… I told you I felt like I was back at Auburn! Alright, back to work chickadees.

blackberry farm

I've always been dying to visit Blackberry Farm. So I was tickled to see Sam Beall on the Martha Show this morning, discussing his new cookbook. I drooled over the photography when I flipped through it at the bookstore. And he cooked carrot souffle on the show - that's my aunt Louise's best recipe ever. Sounds a bit odd, but it's amazing. In fact, I'll have to get that recipe from her and share with everyone.

The farm is a family operated Inn on a beautiful farm near the Smokey Mountains. Apparently the cuisine is a main attraction for foodies all over the country, but they also have plenty of outdoor activities and a spa. Sign me up! I also saw a pretty sweet give-away today of some of their food products on this blog : Spice and Sass. I signed right up. If I win, I'll just close my eyes, pretend I'm sitting outside in a rocking chair in East Tennessee and nibble away on some good ole' southern chow chow!

pattern inspiration

She knows me so well. My sweet, dear, soul sista cousin. I'm a picky lady. I can't help it. I like really well designed things. What can I say… it's a curse. So this fabulous cousin of mine, gave me one such well designed item this Christmas. I think she got them at Anthropologie. Go figure, I'm obsessed with that place. She picked out 2 cloth bound, Penguin classics : Sense and Sensibility + Jane Eyre. Be still my heart. They're beautiful and now I want to collect the entire series. I've literally been moving them around my house, trying to decide which spot looks the best. Suppose I should try and read them again too! I was pumped to see this article about the graphic designer responsible. Coralie designed this 10 book-series and included a beautiful matte foil design on each piece. Ahh, what a dream.