My Dear Sister.

All photos on this post were taken by the talented, highly esteemed Sarah Massie, Mint & Honey Photography.

My Dear Sister. The Bride.

I have so many hopes and wishes for you. I hope you don't mind.

I wish for you all the happiness.

That your heart and your home would be effervescent with silly amounts of joy and laughter, all day, everyday, for all the days of your life.

That your dreams would remain in the forefront of your periphery and on the tips of your fingers. That every possible investment will be made into those dreams, which will turn to plans, which will turn to present, which will turn to experience, and crescendo into your most impacting memories.

That you would learn the patterns of a powerful partnership.

That you would invite Jesus to saturate this union of souls.

That you would, holding hands with your beloved, take risks that make you sweat.

That you would know when to not risk it all.

That you would be imaginative, free, overcome with the ease of being yourself.

That you would listen, always.

That your words would be gentle. Gentler than mine.

That you would know the elegant intimacy of only one other.

That you would allow your character to be challenged, vulnerable to his input, and therefore sharpened. Sharpened by questions, sharpened by encouragement, sharpened by a great many calls to action.

That your heart would remain intact, ever and always open. Don't hide it away, especially if you're hurting. Lay that wound open and figure out, together, how to help it heal.

That you would give everything you have. Give it all away. It's counter to our culture, but please dear, be counter to this culture we live in. Don't let today's ever-shifting society norms define this lifelong covenant.

May this wild, precious life of yours be marked with a legacy of wisdom, truth, generosity, joy, dreams fulfilled and a momentous partnership that looks to the Heavens for guidance.

My hope is that you will be given to, completely. That you will be honored. That you will be equally safe and challenged. That you will be well loved, celebrated in your best and worst moments, calmed down, cheered up, smiled at, embraced, cherished for who you are, pushed forward into your dreams, pushed even more forward to face your fears, and laughed with. I hope you laugh so much.

Make his happiness your priority, and may he do the same.

I am proud of you both. I believe in you both. I trust you both.

And it goes without saying, but I love you.

Love,
the sister of the bride.

P.S. - I love our sisterhood. May it blossom into the strongest, fiercest, tenderest support system for your new partnership to fulfill and flourish. And while I'm making some declarations, may I still be able to dip into your closet every now and then. Oh, may it be so. :)

All photos by Sarah Massie, Mint & Honey Photography

Happening Lately.

Happy Monday, friends!

I hope your weekend was less soggy than mine :) We've been having some dreary, sopping weather that has stretched into weeks over here. I don't mind the rain at all, it's nice to fall asleep with that hushing sound in the background - but - enough is enough. My son really wants to play outside. I want to run outside! It's time, dear clouds, for you to PART.

Which takes me back to last weekend, when we frolicked on the sunny beach for a total of 30 minutes.

We've had a wild few weeks! Two weddings, two weekends in a row! My sister's at the beach, my friend's at the farm. So much love to be celebrated, and it's such a blessing to be part of people choosing each other forever. I'm really honored. I have no "good" photos, because when you're in a wedding you're BUSY. But I have a messy array of selfies haha. I feel like a 13-year old.

As much as I have loved every minute of celebrating these gorgeous couples and their promise to love and to cherish - I have also have missed being away from my son so much. Yesterday I pretty much pummeled him with hugs and kisses and way too much excitement. I made him lay in bed with me, which was nearly impossible, because he is budding into toddler-hood beautifully and wants to MOVE. That's when I pull out my iPhone and we play a few apps and I pretend like he just wants to sit there and snuggle with mama without the coaxing of baby apps. And guys! He's finally saying it! MAMA. He's been saying Dada since he started talking, and he would say Mama every blue moon, but it always came out of his mouth kind of like an accident. But NOW! He looks right at me and says "Mama!" and I can't believe how my insides just turn melty and it's so wonderful. How does this little person have so much power over me? A simple word is arresting.

I'm looking forward to settling into some "normal" life and getting ready for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Clean up my haphazard-looking garden. Maybe clean the bathrooms, too. And do a few fun holiday things. Like figure out where I'm going to put a CHRISTMAS TREE in my new house! And maybe make an advent calendar :) You know, normal things. I hope you are doing well and settling nicely into this fall season that we're having! I've got some fun posts for this week so make sure to check back tomorrow! Love love love.

Halloween In St. Augustine.

Last weekend was, quite literally, a blur. A stupendous, messy, spastic blur. It actually feels more like a dream than something really that actually happened, when I sit down to think of it. My family all convened in St. Augustine, Florida to celebrate my sister's wedding. But we also celebrated my niece's birthday the night beforehand with a massive party and oh yeah, this was all on Halloween, too. It was crazy fun and also just a little bit crazy. I am so grateful when my family is all together because it's a rarer occasion these days. It's one of those things that has to be cherished, and every time we're all together, I can't help but hope and wonder when the next time will be. Is that fatalistic or something? Never living in the moment? I don't know, but I try. I really try. I just love these souls so much!

My beautiful Aunt Shirley flew in for all the occasions and I truly can never get enough time with that amazing woman. She's the kind of person you want to corner at a cocktail party, stuff hors d'oeuvres in your face and just listen to - listen to her brilliance (she's a PhD in psychology, WHOA), listen to her traveling tales, listen to her Italian embellishment. It's just the very most fun.

My sister knows how to party. She dressed up her daughter the birthday girl as Star Bright, and she was Star Light (Star Bright's mom I think? I'm not up on my unicorn fanfare). I was completely lame this year and sort of forgot about costuming me and Stevie - oops! There's been a lot going on! But Everett went as a little fish. To be honest, he wasn't really that into it either. I think he was mesmerized by his Auntie Star Light, to be honest. Okay, I was a little too. I mean. LOOK AT HER.

That's a horn.

That's a tail.

That's my sister.

We are weird people.

I love it.

A few more of the evening's festivities:

That's my family - we are strange, we are off-center, we are goofy and over-dramatic and overly-celebratory and emotional and about a million other grand adjectives. I adore these precious cogs in the universe, weaving in my world a steadfast harmony of perfect, fearless love and overwhelming acceptance and appreciation for each other. I am learning learning learning all the time about this love - this love that trusts and celebrates and doesn't entertain a worry for the future. I'm grateful for this family that allows me to practice that love, day in and day out, letting me make epic mistakes, holding my hand while I figure out the right way, and encouraging the heck of that journey. Love is such a journey, friends. I am learning how to cultivate this pure kind of love, so I can be the best wife, the best mom, the best daughter and sister - and those are all the same kind of love, but they're really different too. Sometimes I fail at showing the right kind of love. Sometimes I'm a crummy sister. Sometimes I'm a selfish wife. Sometimes I'm a scared mom. But I am trying, re-trying, re-working this stockpile of love in my gut, attempting to get it right. To show it right. To be right-minded. And really - aren't we all? Well, those are my Halloween revelations for you. I guess that star light really hit me smack in the head. I hope your Halloween was happy and fulfilling and sugary, my friends :)

PS - I am heading into another wedding weekend! My dear old friend is getting hitched and I get to be with her every step of the way this weekend. I am the luckiest, being surrounded by ALL THIS LOVE. xox.

Farmer's Market Finds With My Sister.

My sister got married this past weekend. It was a gorgeous, memorable, beachside ceremony and I am so happy for her. Because life obviously changes SO MUCH after you get married, I wanted to make sure to spend as much time with her as humanly possible before the wedding. In the weeks leading up to her nuptials, I was soaking up EVERY moment with her. I invited her over every single day. And made her do life things with me. And force fed her all the autumn things I've been cooking. And made her play with my baby. No I'm kidding, she actually wanted to do those things because she is the best sister. And we did wedding stuff, too. But since she is moving an hour and a half away when she returns from her honeymoon (WAAAAHHHHHH), I just wanted to absorb every opportunity to spend time with her before her life changes. Marriage will do that, folks.

Last weekend we hit the Farmers's Market in my town. And we went via golf cart! Have I told you that we drive golf carts around like cars? Well in my town there is more golf cart mileage than actual road mileage, which makes it ridiculously easy to get almost everywhere on the golf cart. So on top of the alfresco ride, we enjoyed the quaint fall activity of trolling the farmers market in search of everything home grown and specialty. And I got to soak up sister time and taste test peppers and goat cheese and preserves and it was pretty much perfect.

Everett loved strolling around and listening to this beautiful steel guitar. The musician was just plucking away happily, in no hurry to finish his songs. If he had been playing "Autumn Leaves" I might very well had died and gone to heaven right there. It was pretty perfect.

Ignore my wrist brace. It looks worse than it is. Just from carrying around a heavy, casted baby these days. :) But check out that okra!!!

So, we often play telephone with bananas, and when I got some of this eggplant, we couldn't really resist. Usually Elmo calls me. I don't know who calls Everett, he's already pretty private about his phone conversations.

AND I found out that my friend Tim's family has a farm, and they were selling at the market! So if you're in the PTC area, you should totally check out the Sacred Grounds Farm booth. And get the okra. And maybe some zinnias, just for fun.

It was a day of Farmers Market successes. Not only did I soak up sister time, which was the BEST, but I got to pick up some produce that I would never usually buy, like red and green okra and Japanese eggplant. If you have any inspiring recipes involving those ingredients, I'm all ears! What are your favorite farmer's market finds?

My 28th Birthday at Serenbe.

I am loved.

I am overwhelmingly thankful for my kinfolk. They love me well and let me in on their feelings. This year on my birthday, I felt vastly different from a year ago, when I turned 27. I was so mixed up after Everett was born - I was processing his birth and feeling super hormonal and kind of, I don't know, crazed. Sleep-deprived. Void of identity. This year I feel like a completely new woman. I feel strong. Confident. Full. I am working on me and I am poised to give more love than ever, and I am celebrating that feeling. 28 is going to be so so good.

My birthday has come and gone in waves of fun, as I celebrated with Stevie and Everett, then with my parents and sister, and I will keep celebrating into next week with my in-laws and extended family! See what I mean about being a lucky girl? Gosh I could pinch myself. I had such a wonderful dinner date out with Stevie on my actual birthday. We drank wine in the cold September rain at an outdoor restaurant in the city, with just a tiny little canvas umbrella protecting us from the bucketing monsoon, and we laughed and talked and stayed out late and IT WAS THE BEST. I am so grateful for that man, who supports my dreams and lets me talk in loopy circles around him. Who listens to my unedited rants without judgement. Who challenges me, convicts me, laughs with me and gives sound advice, and doesn't question when I order all the desserts. Who sends champagne to the table because he knows its my favorite, and drinks it with me even though it's definitely not his favorite. He's the one guys. After 8 years, I still know that he is SO THE ONE.

I took no pictures from that date. Because I was on a date.

But Serenbe! My parents took us out to The Farmhouse at Serenbe for a birthday lunch, and that place is so picturesque and darling and we really couldn't resist snapping a few shots, especially because Everett was frolicking all over like he owned the place. Friends, Serenbe's southern fried chicken and chocolate brownies are irresistible. But the company of my family, taking turns going around the table and expressing to me the reasons why they loved me? That is the memory, knitted and knotted into the permanent fibers of my heart. My spirits were lifted high on this encouragement, this cornerstone of beautiful souls. These gemstones are my people and I couldn't love them more.

Photos!

This little one is fiercely protective of his Nana.

Ugh, could my sister be MORE of a babe?? I think not. I'm so lucky because I get all her hand me downs! #shesthestylishone #imthecopycat

I met this butterfly. The caterpillar that it used to be is the type that currently feasts on my garden's cauliflower. I almost slapped this thing across the face. If I could find it's face. Does a butterfly have a face? They might be pretty, but these critters are FIERCE when it comes to roughage.

Note my dad's biker tan. He's so rad.

We are weird people. There's nothing else to really say.

Oh, but these boots. They were my gift to myself :)

Aren't they just the sweetest?

Oh heeeeeeyyyyy Everett.

Keeper.

These throwing shots never ever get old. I should frame a whole roundup of them, since I've taken so many.

My mother. Yep.

Everett LOVES my dad's Indian motorcycle. He makes the noises. And he always wants to sit on it. But when my dad fires the thing up, he cries.

This little sequence just KILLS ME.

Wait!

Don't go without me!

There you have it. 28 is going to be so good!

P.S. - If you think I hang out at Serenbe a lot, you might be right. You can check out our blustery getaway there last year here and here, and our magical day when Everett was followed by a butterfly. Oh Serenbe.