i just dropped little one & a carload of her precious girlfriends off for their last day as 6th graders. madison is trying to make plans for this evening to kick off her “senior summer” . miss social- butterfly emi will officially be a highschool junior come 11:30 today. i’m not even going to discuss the fact that i am old enough to have a first born renting a house. a HOUSE for cyring out loud as she rolls out her junior year…in college?

caroline & her buddies met up this morning at chicfila for a last morning breakfast run & photo. cute cute girls!

i’m tyring to create a more efficient ( for my website) workflow as far as adding images to my portfolio and blogging them during the season in which they were actually photographed. i’ve shot several engaged couples recently & am wanting to share a few from back in the fall! ( figured i needed to clarify that as the girls are sporting boots & the leaves are falling in the same post i’m talking about 91 degrees in atlanta!)

also, registration has begun for my mini summer ecourse!

morning friends!

i’m super excited to share with you the launch of jeanne oliver’s summer ecourse series, The Creatively Made Home Summer Series. this series will consist of  several short courses you will be able to view ( from the comfort of your favorite comfy chair or your screened in back porch while sipping lemonade) throughout the summer. each course is only $10!  this is going to be a fabulous series including:

*Take your photography to the next level

*Learn beauty and fashion tips that will help you dress for your age and body type

*Decorate your home for summer and create your own DYI projects

*Learn how to make jewelry and incorporate vintage treasures into those pieces

*The basics of beekeeping

jeanne has designed a network that serves a creative community that has been designed to inspire, encourage and connect you with other artists. this network is free to join. once you are a member you can connect with other members, chat, join in the forums, join free art courses and even purchase classes. this network is amazing. she’s put together courses on home decorating, launching your own small business and art.  her famous “journey to letting go, creating beauty from ashes” art course is high on my list to take this summer once life settles down.

jeanne invited me to create a series on summer fashion and i’m so excited, flattered, & honestly a little nervous. i’m NOT a cute 22 year old fashion blogger. i don’t even watch Project Runway. what i am is a regular woman with an average budget who loves all things related to fashion & style. we’ll chat about “must have’s” for your wardrobe, how to look effortless & classic, and throw in a few summer beauty tips along the way. we’ll also cover all ages! my portion of the series will launch june 24th.

yesterday i invited a few of my girlfriends over for a little photoshoot & video making afternoon. we had so much fun trying on jewelry, encouraging each other to take a step out of our fashion comfort zone & playing dress up. i can’t wait to share with you! c’mon over , i’d love for you to join me too!  

for all of jeanne’s courses, click here

for the summer series list, click here

to join my fashion ecourse, click here

well ya’ll snatched up those samples in a flash! thank you….it helps me keep a nice inventory selection for my shows. honestly i’ d keep it all….

i wanted to show ya’ll a few of my recent faves. the necklace on the left is the bethe rope. i’ve mentioned it before. you can double it or triple it up. great worn alone & great layering piece too. made in ethiopia from melted down artillery. love that! i’m pretty sure it’s still in our top 3 sellers.

on the right is one of my new fave pieces, the dangling shells necklace. featured recently in Lucky magazine… i think it’ll look great with your basic tshirt or even paired with a button down oxford shirt. mix a little fun with a little classic. super cute.

i was playing around with one of our big sellers this spring, the la jolla, a fun colorful pop of color on its own, but look how fun it is paired with the minted and the zoe.

while each of these pieces are great stand-alone, they really come to life all added together. i love layering my jewelry, but i usually only add/layer one thing at a time. for example, if i were wearing two or three of these necklaces together, i might pass on bracelets and wear only smaller earrings. or if i stack a wrist full of beaded or leather braclets i won’t also pair a big necklace simultaneously. i love big & bold jewelry but not all of it all at once.

also shown here is the super duper cute esperanza’s makeup bag. this makes the cutest birthday gift for all ages, graduation gift ( add a little starbucks giftcard inside) and a fun teachers gift too. these are made by our exclusive to noonday sewing group that was formed last year in rwanda. our Noonday customers put a group of women through sewing school in Rwanda and this is part of their first collection. thanks to their new skills and work opportunity, these women are able to create a more stabilized income for themselves and their families. win. win.

i also ordered the layered leaves necklace. fun statement piece!

ok friends, that’s all for today~ hope ya’ll have a great weekend!!

morning friends!

in an effort to keep a great selection of samples for my trunk shows, i’m listing a handful of my personal samples for sale. most all of these items are still available via Noonday  ( so if my sample sells you can still purchase at full price) .  these are all in great “like-new” condition.  i would keep every single piece we sell however i must occasionally use some restraint.

please note because these have been samples each sale is final. i can not have any type of let me know if you don’t like it/exchange/warranty. i hope you understand. payment is due upon receipt please.

i’m selling each sample at 40%  off retail. i’ll send you a paypal invoice and will add $6 shipping  so please include your email in the comments so i can contact you.

also, i am including the description link so please refer to that for all your product details. thank you!

1. cascading falls regular $148, sample sale $88 (SOLD)

( HUGE personal favorite. looks fabulous even with just a white tshirt & jeans. show stopper & fun statement piece)

2. violet necklace regular $28, sample $17 (SOLD)

this is a crowd favorite. looks great layered ( especially if you already have the minted)  i have it displayed here with our ever popular, HUGE seller, the bethe rope. the bethe  sample is NOT for sale i just wanted you to see how great it looks layered with one of our metals pieces. the bethe rope is made from upcylced bullets and artillery in ethiopia. what was meant for evil, now bringing an avenue of hope for others.

3. violet horn bracelet regular $30, sample $18 (SOLD)

fun piece made of wine colored paper beads & pieces of carved horn

4. embroidered belt ( sold out & discontinued on our site) regular $70, sample $42 (SOLD)

size large, length 47inches

5. striated gourd bangle regular $24, sample $15

6. dainty everyday necklace regular $30, sample $18 (SOLD)

7. urban knot necklace SOLD

8. gold beaded strand earrings sample $15 (SOLD)

9. looped drop earrings regular $26, sample $16 (SOLD)

for any friends local to the Atlanta area if you’d like to partner with me & be a voice for these artisans please let me know. we can work together & have a fun show at your home!

courtney’s blog is a continual source of encouragement. heck. courtney is a continual source of encouragement. there are a handful of us that contribute to her blog series.

i was thinking today about courtney’s question to me, “what is God teaching me right now as a mom”?

I’m sure every mama with multiple children at multiple ages senses the tension of walking a delicate balance. the delicate balance between the joys and heartaches of our children, while often times on polar ends of the spectrum and often times simultaneously. the art of being able to smoothly transition from joys and accomplishments of one while another is struggling with heartache or disappointment.

read more here

i’ve mentioned before that this has been a mighty tough year for madison. not only is the junior year notoriously known as the most stressful academically, but she’s also chosen a very rigorous academic load. i’m not going to review and list some of the challenges she’s had this year. nor are all of them things i can broadcast to the blog world ( despite how much i love you) but suffice today she’s had a hard hard year.

i’m SO darn proud of the accomplishments she’s made this year however if NONE of those were part of her story, i’d still be just as PROUD of her. i would. our children seem to be under so much stress and so much pressure to perform. i pray that i am not heavy on my girls to “be the best”. i do. the world puts enough of this on them. i’m not a helicopter mom. i’ve probably never held up a flash card. we didn’t have college level curriculum in my highschool.  the college admission process wasn’t near as competitive as it is now. and yet my girls each have a high level of internal motivation. not all about the same things, but internally motivated nonetheless. i don’t want my girls to feel they have to do something or be something but i do want them to find their passion. and if their passion lines up with their gifts, the world is their oyster!!

ya’ll really rose up and encouraged me after my post earlier this week and the reminder about the highlights. having said that i’ve also laid open my heart & exposed my fears and failures here over & over again. a friend had commented that my life had turned out perfect and her’s not so much. i’m telling ya’ll. well you know what. on second thought, i’m going to chose to not even go down that road. but i will say this, we have no idea what folks are going through. we don’t.

i’ll take it as a sign that my adobe flash just crashed and maybe i should climb off my soapbox before my feet even get planted up there and go drink some coffee instead.

the birdies are outside my window putting on quite a glorious performance. the forecast was rain & thunderstorms-however it’s gorgeous right now. praying that rain will just all go-away. profound praying at it’s finest. madison will begin getting ready later this afternoon for her first prom! she’s going with a great guy who she’s been friends with since kindergarten.

wishing each of you a wonderful mother’s day weekend!!

{these beauitful images of madi were all taken by the amazing camille deann}

so i’m running outside & i pass our UPS guy, not our usual UPS guy, as i am lifting the cover thingy so i can turn off the water to the house. i know it’s super tight & since i don’t have the bar key thingie i know i might not get it turned off. so as i wiz past the UPS dude i am yelling, “PLEASE HELP ME MY HOUSE IS FLOODING” . which in hindsight might have been a bit much but seriously, we all know how fast water damage happens & i honestly wasn’t sure what was happening. would another pipe burst? oh my. so dude looks at me blanky and says flatly “call your water company”. “PLEASE JUST HELP ME turn this knob, i can’t get it”.

for your visual, i’m on my knees in my cute white jeans trying desperately to turn off the water to the house while UPS guy stands there like “what”? three times. i kid you not. i beg him to help me. i’m pretty sure i got another “call your water company” line before he finally reaches in & instantly turns the knob. hallelujah. i say thank you & wiz back in. by this time smk has “called her dad” and he’s on his way & she’s mopping up the water. 12 towels later.

ya’ll if i had not been here i can NOT imagine how quickly the entire downstairs would have flooded. that entire scenario with the UPS dude couldn’t have lasted 3 minutes. and i had 12 towels ( mostly large beach towels) sopping wet. & poor brinkley would have been here. and what happens when water gets in the outlets? oh my heavens.

well ya’ll probably don’t want all the details. well i actually already gave you all the details, but a good samaritan helped us get things under control until our regular plumber could arrive the next day.

blown pressure valve + blown reservoir thingie on our hot water heater =blown ( already cheaply repaired by previous owners) pipe under bathroom sink. thanking the lord over & over that i was here and that i knew how to cut off the water to the house and even for slowpoke, didn’t want to do anything out of his job description UPS dude.

aren’t you thankful you just gave up 5 minutes of your life that you’ll never get back to read about my water problems? i’m so sorry…

i posted these images of sisters a few weeks ago but when my site got hacked my host provider needed to restore my wordpress back a few posts, so i lost the original post. these little sisters were so precious to work with. they had driven in from alabama that morning. gone to Mary Poppins at the Fox theater for what turned out to be close to 4 hours ( technical delays). met me at downtown, change outfits multiple times, all before eating dinner. i have worked with adults that weren’t that cheerful and i bet that had full tummies! ha!

as much as i’d love to tell you i rise before the dawn & get my day going, it’s a painful shock to my body when dan wakes me each morning at 6am before he heads off to work. obviously i just gave away the secret that i don’t make him a hot breakfast. like ever. but atleast i’m out of bed (most days) before all the girls & that my friends, is a true labor of love. mama needs her 10 8 hours of sleep.

as evidenced by the plethora of colorful sorority comfort- colors tshirts added to my laundry inventory,  savannah is back home! she’ll be here only about 3 weeks before she heads out for her summer intensive discipleship program. each of you who purchased glittered monogram canvases &  painted states helped make that dream a possibility for her. & i thank you!!

she lived in her sorority house this year & loved it. i know it surely was a tender few days as all those girls packed up & pulled away.

in other news….ya’ll were so cute about yesterday’s basic wordless post. the teal blouse several of you emailed about was from free people. the funky cross necklace was made by browneyedfox a few years ago. look her up on instagram. you’ll love her. the two piece dress emi was modeling is a sherri hill prom gown. ( who knew a two piece “gown” was all the rage…supposedly a HUGE seller this year) madison had produced a fashion show at their school and emi was one of the models.

speaking of fashion. don’t laugh…but over the next few weeks i’ll be creating videos for jeanne oliver’s summer ecourse series. she asked if i’d talk about summer fashion.  i’ll share riveting things like how to stack your arm accessories and the joys of hip shoes. so stay tuned for more information on that!

meanwhile. i’ve been in such a fun season of photoshoots. weddings, engagement sessions & senior photos. so fun! thankful for clients who have become repeat clients & friends. thank you rebecca for always encouraging me! rebecca here…she’s just worked her a%@ off and lost 50 pounds. old school. eating less & exercising more! way to go girl!!!

in other exciting news. i’m beyond fired up & excited to tell ya’ll i’ll be traveling with jessica & a few other noonday ambassadors to guatemala!!! hopefully dan can teach me some basic spanish between now & august.

i mentioned a few weeks ago i headed to birmingham to help photograph a wedding. one of my favorite friends lives there so i was able to crash at her gorgeous home. two nights in a row! ashley is a super busy entrepreneur yet she always finds time to encourage and always finds time to make sure we stay connected. what a blessing that is. i want to be better about that. she lives in another state and yet we get together on a regular basis….i fail at that with friends that live here in atlanta.

she even sent home shwings for caroline! chuck taylor fans, rise up & adorn your converse…how cute are they?

we’ve had a big change in afterschool logistics…especially for caroline. she left dance back in january & has worked her tail off to prepare for & try out for a competitive cheer squad. she just made allstar level 3 & began practice last night. the gym is a little bit of a hike for us but i’m very excited about the year ahead for her. way to go little bit!!

pictured below are the first times she was ever put up in a stunt.

we are not a jetset traveling family. we’re not. it just so happens that there are a few trips in the works. madi just got home from california where she competed in DECA nationals!

and to wrap up my random post i have 3 words for you.

crowder itunes session

go download now sister. david crowder singing Old Rugged Cross will blow you away.

you can thank me later

the end

one last word. i’m sharing today about the highlights in our lives. i’m not ( in this post) sharing about the trials. and please don’t think that a post about the highlights is real life-everyday-all the time. i’ve chosen to not share about the argument with one of my girls which lasted for a few days. i’ve chosen to not discuss an ongoing medical situation for one of the girls. i’ve chosen to not share about a few other moving-parts of ongoing issues/concerns. this is just the highlights.

i am overwhelmed by the friends in my life who are currently going through crisis.  a dissolved engagement, a newly diagnosed ovarian cancer/surgery & upcoming chemo, an friend from ‘long ago’ who reached out to ask if i’d like to see her–she’s currently undergoing chemo for breast cancer. i have a friend dealing with anxiety. the list goes on & on. i do not take the gift of any day that we’re given lightly.

again, hear me say, please don’t ever mistake a highlights post for the illusion that life is perfect. all the time.

none of  us knows what’s right around the corner. i want to engage in where i am each day , whether it’s celebrating with a friend or loving on one my girls as they have a day of success. our teens, especially, are constantly beat down. i want to cheer them on whether its a sophmore year at UGA well lived or a trip to cali or whatever. i want them to see me celebrating them. they get enough of the other crap. ( sorry) so yes, i share about the good in them.

anyways. just wanted to make sure ahead of time that we’re all good…thank ya’ll for spending any moments at all to read here on simple thoughts…

i love ya’ll!!

the winner for the $50 carol & company is #78,{ Tanya R – I am in LOVE [yes, in all caps] with the Black Archival Italian Scroll!!!}

congratulations tanya. i’ll send your email to carol & company this morning!!

and

the 2 winners for the Pearl Event are Tracey H. and Cecilia!! congratulations. please email sibi for your information!! enjoy!!!

truth be told, i think i enjoy setting a pretty table more than i enjoy doing the actual cooking. i’m sure there are many shaking heads & looks of disapproval right now! i do enjoy cooking & preparing meals, especially with fresh summer veggies and a breeze blowing through my kitchen window and james taylor or norah jones playing….just not as much as i enjoy picking out lovely dishes and cloth napkins. and flowers too.

kitchen papers is one of my favorite elements to add to our table. they’re fun. they’re festive. they’re affordable. you can even personalize them. and then just toss ‘em when you’re all done. what more could you ask for? besides someone to cook your meal.

carol & company carries a great selection of kitchen papers! today i’m sharing the chevron placemats ( in gold.LOVE), archival perfect setting, ( also shown here), flourish monogram placemat ( personalization available), cutlery table wrap & the dinner napkins.

carol & company is offering all my readers a special 10% off your entire purchase, site wide! ( enter PAIGE10 at checkout) this is good through friday, may 10.

&

one lucky reader will win $50 giftcard!

to enter for the giftcard leave me a comment on what you might chose if you were to win, remember this can go towards anything on carol & company’s site!

i’ll post the $50 winner middle of next week. oh & be sure if you tweet/instagram or do any social media sharing to leave an extra comment for each share so you’ll be entered again!

just in case you wonder,

the dishes & serving ware are all mackenzie childs

red /white bowls with gold rim are from c.wonder

lavender glasses are from anthropologie

as are the salad plate & bowl in last few images