Another Sweet Franklin has Arrived!

In addition to it just simply being the most wonderful time of the year, my heart gets so full with the enormous amounts of love captured in Lifestyle Sessions this time of year. You may remember The Franklins from their family collection we did just before Josephine made her arrival, well now, we have the completion of their family...for this year. (;

Vickie loves being pregnant and is so very natural at being a mother, both of which she wears quite well. Josephine is the third beautiful addition to this giant-hearted family I'm grateful to call close friends. As you know, I love mother and child interaction in photographs. It speaks for itself, more powerful words than I could ever convey...

Josephine is Vickie's third all natural birth, and this time, at home--in a tub, in her bedroom, with her two girls and her husband right by her side. I can't even imagine the peace and beauty in that.

I love these photographs of Vickie and her three girls so much. They are such timeless heirlooms in their family history--a time that she will look back on someday, of when all of her babies were small, when they loved unconditionally, when they snuck into her bed in the middle of the night, when they needed her for everything. I'm not a mother yet, but I know, this is a time of love and satiety every mother wishes she could bottle up and save forever.

Birth order truly intrigues me. My friends and I discuss the quirks of it often. The first child tendencies, the second child tendencies, the toss up of the third, and so on. I'm a textbook first child and my sister is a textbook second, so it thoroughly intrigues me to observe this in other families. I love the spunk of the second child--the rebel, the mischief maker, the big, guarded heart, and the one that keeps everyone laughing. I love it. And I especially love it in Sofia in these photographs. (:

This session and this family is special to me in so very many ways. I hope it fills your heart as it did mine this holiday season. Now, go show this week who's boss!

Lauren + Trey {engaged} - Part II

I just adore the class that these two exude and the sweet dynamic they share. In case you missed the first part of Lauren and Trey's session, you can check it out here. Now, if only I wouldn't be so antsy to see all of the fabulous planning Lauren has up her sleeve for October. Undoubtedly, it will be breathtaking.

For now, here's part two of their sweet engagement sesh...

Happy Friday!

Lauren + Trey {Engaged} - Part I

When Lauren and I began collaborating on the style of this session, I knew our outcome would be fabulous. And oh my word, it was just that! My jaw dropped and wheels started turning as I learned quickly how much I adored these two, how much this session would come to feel as though it were straight out of a Jcrew magazine, and how excited I'd be for documenting their wedding next October.

Lauren's a sweet Southern girl and an organization obsessor after my own heart. And Trey? He's just the type of comic relief most of us Type-A girls need for the perfect balance in our lives. That's just one beautifully pieced dynamic I learned about their sweet relationship. Scroll, and swoon, over part one of their classic, timeless style...

When Lauren showed up with red wine AND s'mores, there was no question she was destined to be my bride...

This little fella? His name is Teddy. He's perfect. Trey shared with me that he briefly debated naming him Chewie before they decided on Teddy...and then I died.

Lauren and Trey, from your sweet, Southern hospitality, to your classic style, to your inviting persona, you had me at "Hello." I cannot wait to get to know you even more and collaborate with you to create perfection for you next October. Stay tuned for Part II. Happy Hump Day!

Creating an Inspiring Workspace {Part I}

I'm not sure if it's the part about me where I'm an organizational freak, or if it's the part where I've been "designing" my own bedroom since I was like eight years old, but as a creative entrepreneur working from home, an aesthetically pleasing workspace is directly proportional with my drive for positive productivity. Or...that's what I've been telling myself at least. Shh...

But really. I think when you work a job that requires you to be on your toes in the creativity department, it's very important to have a workspace that mirrors that. Additionally, for a while now, I've had a vision of a place where I could meet with brides and prospective clients that was professional, inviting, and most importantly, me. A space that fit my style, that fit my brand, and that fit all of the warmth and professionalism I want with my clients and friends. Because almost all of the time, my clients become dear friends. And the more my brand has come to define me--who I am and what I represent--the more this rings true. Which truly, y'all, is what I have always envisioned--a business that exudes warmth and top-notch professionalism, but where my clients feel like they know me enough for us to cozy up on my couch with a glass of wine and cheese and have the best conversation.

Anyhow, more on that topic is actually for another time. This blog is just a small introduction into my workspace, and moreso, how FLIPPING AWESOME my parents are. Seriously. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that my parents built me this amazing wine shelving similar to one I loved at Pottery Barn. The wine shelving? Oh yeah, they refurbished it from an old entertainment center. I'm truly bragging about them because this is a disclaimer: I HAVE NO HANDS ON TALENT WITH BUILDING OR PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER, WHATSOEVER. Seriously, it's embarrassing. But hey, everyone has their strengths, and my beautiful parents have the best knack for refurbishing and building things. My mom says it's stress relief. My dad? Well, he grunts and groans a little, but I think he loves it. (;

Their newest project, after I sent them a photo I liked from Wouldn't it Be Lovely, is this ahhhmazing shelving made from plumbing pipes that has my office almost complete. This would have been incredibly hard for my talents, but according to my dad, it was "fairly simple" in the putting together world of things--for those of you now itching to try it (small tutorial below). But scroll on, and enjoy the beginnings of my new workspace...

Almost everything on my shelves has some sort of significance. This magazine clipping is from one of the first-ever photographers to inspire me to follow my whims and enter the wedding industry. To create a journey for myself that would give me the courage to define my style and embrace the vision I had for an experience between my clients and I, instead of taking every job that came my way. And the lovely vintage cameras? Compliments if my way cool father-in-law. He finds the most awesome of things.

This last photo may not seem like much, but for me, it has the most significance to me on the entire shelf. Lara Casey's Make it Happen print holds so much weight in my heart for the journey I've been on this past year identifying my brand, my business, and what matters most. It reminds me that I only have one life and executing it as beautifully and meaningfully as I can by filling it with as much love and beauty as I can, is what is important.

And those stack of babies on the right? That's the beautiful new stationary that goes out to my clients. (:

For those of you now wanting to try this at home, materials for the shelf alone costed me $254.81 (tax included). Not bad, considering all furniture I was considering buying with this much storage space and style was at least double that.

We roughly used the outline of directions from Wouldn't it Be Lovely, but tweaked it a little.

Here's what he used:

 Tools: - Power Screwdriver/Drill - Stud Finder - 1" Hole Saw - Circular Saw/ Hand Saw/ Table Saw (or some other way to cut the boards to length) Channel lock pliers or pipe wrench

Materials: - black 1/2 inch pre-threaded pipe (I got mine at Home depot) I bought the following lengths for this shelf: - 6 of 12 inch

- 3 of 10 inch

  - 9 of 18 inch

- 11 of 8 inch

- 14 elbows

- 12 three-joint connectors (AKA Tees)

- 6 wall brackets (AKA end flanges)

- 4- 1 x 12 boards, (we used #2 & better pine because we wanted a knotty look) 3 cut 78 inches & 1 cut 46 inches( these lengths allow 7 inches hanging out on each end of pipes, if you desire less shorten accordingly)

wood stain

#14x2 inch wood screws

Directions:

- Clean the pipes, this is messy, but helps a lot

- Paint Pipes with Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint. We used Rust-oleum Universal Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze.

- Using the Stud-Finder, find the Studs in your walls that are best spaced for the shelf & mark them. - Mark where the corresponding holes will need to be on the pine (32 inches on center, apart from each other), drill 1 inch hole 1 1/8 inches to center from outside edge, this will leave 5/8 inch of board to edge so it won’t break during assembly. NOTE: You will only need holes in the front. - Stain the wood & let dry according to stain directions. I wanted my wood a little white-washed to match my style, so my mom used Annie Sloan paint, then wiped off, and added Annie Sloan Dark Wax to get this effect. 

We actually didn't even screw into the floor, just the top wall, and everything is quite secure. Trust me, my dad is a triple checker. - Start building from the bottom up, screwing the pipe into the brackets and joints, adding the boards as you go. NOTE: the backs of the shelves are resting on the elbow joint, it's very sturdy and does not need to be attached in any other way than through the one pipe in front. Once assembled, make sure everything is level and lines up before you screw the brackets into the wall.

 So, there you go. If you feel like being handy, go get it! Happy Tuesday!

This is What Makes us Girls...

"We spend a lot of time, as women, analyzing and trying to fix the things that aren't quite right, and we should spend more time appreciating the things that we do like."

 No matter how gentle your heart is, how graceful you appear, or how much you love, I've learned that always, always there will be naysayers. I've learned that whether you have tough skin and seemingly unprecedented confidence or a gentle aura and a welcomed warmth, someone will find a way to try and downplay what you have to offer. I've learned that perfection is an illusion, and in fact, one that the more you chase it, the harder it comes crumbling down. I've learned that everyone is fighting their own battles and being grown up is the most interesting balancing act.

Comparing, struggling, striving towards a new perfection, daily. It's something that just makes us girls. I've learned that in the fear of being broken or losing control, we sometimes fence ourselves in. We create pretty boundaries that make everything tidy and in place, but while we're doing that, we're missing out on what's going on outside of the fence. Not to mention, we're probably driving ourselves crazy. I'll be the first to admit to you that I'm guilty of this. It's an ever-changing balance game.

What do you do to keep the balance in?

Life is a balancing act, fact. Nonetheless, we all have to live it, we all have to balance, and we all struggle. But why? Shouldn't life be a beautiful, carefree experience? We only get one; so the most logical answer would be to live it as beautifully and carefree as possible, right? But, oh yes, then there's the part where you're a grown-up, where you have daily stressors, weekly obligations, and too many people to give your attention to. Then what? How do you keep beauty and balance in that? I've decided to make it a point over the next few weeks, to try a few things to manage life and the happy, healthy balance. Especially for the women out there who feel as though they're fighting an endless battle in try to do it all and be it all for everyone, this is for you. Stay tuned for some tips and tricks, and more importantly, some translucence, on what I've learned and the things that work and don't work for me.

In the meantime, if you haven't seen this Dove Real Beauty video that went viral a few months ago, you should most certainly click the link and take a few minutes of your morning to watch. And if you have seen it, watch it again. It'll get your day moving in the right direction, especially if your morning started off on the wrong foot.

You are beautiful. Happy Tuesday!

No-mayo Chicken Salad + Kendall Jackson Avant

There's something about a delicious, healthy life and the enjoyment of a corresponding wine that just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Cooking a delicious, healthy meal, pairing the perfect wine, and mixing good company might be one of my most favorite things in the whole world. I'm pretty sure I could talk about good food and good wine for days AND I absolutely love when people share healthy recipes and wine recommendations with me. So, I've decided to make weekly foodie posts with new, healthy recipes I'm trying and fabulous wines I'm diggin'. Sounds like a win, right? I thought so too.

So, here's our first ever of many "What I'm Loving" foodie posts. I imagine a crowd roar in my head here...

First of all, let me start out by saying that Preston and I have adopted a new way of eating that we've come to absolutely love. I talked about some of those changes a little in this post. With that, we've given up (for the most part) wheat, red meat, and several other things that we realized might be bringing down our energy levels and contributing to other problems. I'll talk more about this in a future post. Among that, we've eaten much more fish, the occasional chicken (hormone-free when possible), fresh fruits, veggies, and grains. This week we were both a little fished-out, so I decided to try my hand at a healthy, no-mayo chicken salad to eat on some lettuce wraps. OH MOMMA, let me tell you, this chicken salad did not disappoint!

Here's what I used:

2 Large Chicken Breasts

1 1/2 Avacados

2 Boiled Eggs

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil (remove stems)

1/4 Cup Dried, Unsweetened Cranberries

4-5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Seasonings: Sea Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cayenne

Wraps: Romaine Lettuce

Add desired amount of chicken salad, roll and eat. Voila. (: I'm honestly terrible with measuring out my seasonings, so I'll try to be better with that. Be sparing with the sea salt, but the rest you can pretty much season to your preference. Remember, put less and you can always taste test and add more.

And because the aura of a delicious dinner is best paired with a little vino, this is one of my favorite Chardonnays I recommend to pair with such a light meal. I'm mostly a red wine girl, but hot summer days sometimes make a cool, crisp white a great change of pace. For those of you who may not be akin to Chardonnay, I still highly recommend you try this one from Kendall Jackson.

Although it's a Chardonnay, it's made in a way that brings together two separate blends, allowing you to taste more of the fruit-forward notes you would find generally in a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, yet combined perfectly to still taste the slight oak notes that bring in the warm vanilla and spice you often get from a Chardonnay. This little mix of flavors is why it's one of my favorite whites! Some of my near and dear friends like to giggle at me for this, but I like to think that my favorite Chardonnays have a nice, slight buttery taste. Make fun of me if you will, I'll keep appreciating my hints of butter. (;

So, if you're feeling the urge for trying something new, light, and delightfully refreshing, these are definitely my two top recommendations for this warm summer week! Happy Wednesday, my friends.

What I'm Loving: July 2013

I was brainstorming how I'd effectively start sharing with you guys on here, instead of just through Instagram, which I LOVE, (I'm an Instagram junkie and I don't see that changing anytime soon!), but I wanted to really connect, with more consistency, with more purpose. As I was brainstorming, a GINORMOUS light bulb went off for me. As you probably know, I'm a lover of a list including, but not limited to: all things pretty, a warm, inviting home, being a organization obsessor,  living a healthy life enriched with good food, good wine, and good friends. Clearly, the list of things I love goes on and on. That's when I realized, "HEL-LO Kali!"  My friends and I share the products, tips, foods, wines, shows, bargain finds, etc on-the-reg!  Alas, we have "What I'm Loving" posts. Every month I will share with you guys the things that are making my world a better place that month. Because if I'm loving them and they're in my top list (which means it's probably more like I obsess over them), I'm assuming you might just love them as well.

Sooo, here we go, with the top things I cannot live without this month...

JOSS AND MAIN is a site I came across recently that has ahhh-mazing deals on items for the home that have high-end designer looks--rugs, furniture, accent pieces, pretty much anything for the home! Since I'm constantly looking for pieces to add to my house to warm it up and switch it up, finding this site was like hitting gold.

Joss and Main presents classic, quality looks at extremely reasonable prices, up to 70% off in some cases! What I really love about the site, is the way they curate the collections into "Inspired Galleries" for sale. Joss & Main doesn't just put pieces up in a gallery labeled "Furniture" or "Decor," instead, they have curators who piece together looks perfectly into a gallery. The pieces are only on sale for a short amount of time, but they're honestly so beautiful and perfectly presented, that you'll know 100% what you want when you see it on their site. If you're looking for a little home revamp, or even just an accent piece to brighten up a dull corner, I highly recommend you check them out!

After many years of struggling with my weight, I've come to adopt a healthy mentality, instead of a skinny one. And what did I learn? If you focus on being healthy and educating yourself in that department, weight no longer really becomes an issue. When you fuel your body with the things it needs, it performs as a well-oiled machine. Which brings me to my new motto...

"A green smoothie a day will keep the doctor away!"

Ok, maybe Hippocrates said it a little more eloquently when he said, "Let food be thy medicine," but either way...I'm singing these praises, loudly. Preston and I have recently adopted the habit of daily green smoothies and let me tell you, the way it has transformed our daily lives has been mind-blowing. Just a few of these benefits we felt for ourselves were extreme increased energy, diminished cravings for sweets, breads, and pastas, clearer and brighter skin, and clarity of mind...just to name a few front-runners. Other fabulous health benefits of a daily green smoothie include: natural weight loss, increased consumption of fruits and veggies, easy digestibility, clearer skin from the intake of water, fiber, vitamins and minerals, fewer mood swings (hello!), and a stronger immune system.

On top of that, the possibilities are endless for what you can add to green smoothies to cater to your own health needs and taste buds. If you're interested in doing a little tango with some green smoothie in your life, here's a good recipe to start out with:

BEGINNER'S GREEN SMOOTHIE

3-4 Handfuls Spinach

1 Banana

3-4 Strawberries (or small handful of berries of your choice)

1/2 Citrus Fruit (I suggest grapefruit or large naval orange)

TBSP Chia Seeds (optional...they have no taste, will just aid in smoother consistency, and added chia health benefits of course)

5-8 cubes of ice + water filled to cover the ice (this ranges...I add more if it seems too thick)

In case you were wondering, despite the name, green smoothies DO NOT taste overly green. In fact, with the above recipe, you will likely only taste the fruit. Eventually, your taste buds will adapt to the smoothies and you will be able to dwindle down the fruit, but for your first few, add fruit as needed. Tons of fruit is still infinitely better than no fruit. Just to give you an idea of where you will be able to get once you get accustomed, I'm down to 1/2 banana, 1/4 grapefruit, 3-4 handfuls of spinach in mine.

I could talk about this topic forever, so if you are interested in learning more about it, leave me a little comment below and maybe I'll do a separate blog post just on this someday.

I've recently adopted the practice of using virgin coconut oil, not only for cooking, but as a moisturizer. And let me tell you ladies, just go ahead and quit buying those expensive ones with all of their empty promises and toxic chemicals. Virgin coconut oil is rich in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that soften skin, prevents wrinkles, sags, and age spots, and oh yeah, has NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS.

I have been absolutely amazed at what it has done for my complexion. For a few weeks now, I've been applying it at night in lieu of my night time moisturizer after removing my makeup, and I absolutely love what it has done. My face is softer and brighter, and the awful under-eye circles I've never been able to get rid of are much less visible. I love it so much, I've actually replaced all of my moisturizers with it. I've always been a lover of lathering my body up with lotion at night, so instead, I use virgin coconut oil. The smell is subtle, yet soothing, it dries in a few minutes just like lotion, and leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed.

Oh hey...I cook with it also. Double win! But that's for another day. If you want to read more about some beauty uses for coconut oil, this is a fabulous little read.

I'm not even going to lie to you. People have been telling me to try yoga for years, and every time I was a total gym snob and thought, "That sounds really nice, I'm glad you have a metabolism that allows you to NOT bust booty during your free hour at the gym. I'm so NOT going waste an hour of gym time doing some glorified stretching when I could instead be burning oodles of calories with cardio and weights." Holy moly, I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. In the back of my mind I think I knew it would happen, too. I knew that there was a reason these people raved about yoga so much. Let me name a few benefits I've gained, so you can brush me off like I did to so many other people for years. (:

Yoga has showed me that I can get a fabulous mind and body workout without killing myself with a high intensity workout every day. You see, I'm as Type-A as they come. Doing nothing, or heck, even doing something that feels like it could be nothing or something that may just look like nothing gives me anxiety and stress out of the roof. This is why yoga was not enticing to me. I heard what people were saying, but I think I had a fear of wasting time. My valuable time. My only holy hour or so I have  some days to workout, doing stretches. I am here to proclaim at the rooftops to all of you TYPE-Aers out there...WE NEED YOGA. It has improved my work focus and my workout abilities, making me much more efficient at both. Yoga, I will forever sing your praises!

Last, but certainly not least of this month's raves, is Emily Ley's Simplified Planner. Now, I will say, I don't think this planner is suitable for everyone. If you don't use a planner to keep all aspects of your life organized, this might not be for you. However, despite iPhones, iCals, iMacs, I still prefer to have all of my appointments, passwords, client info sheets, everything in tangible form right in front of me. I've found a tangible planner to work best for running my business, my home, and all things in between. If you are a person like me in this regard, this planner is PERFECT for you. Emily is the branding and organizing queen, so her planner is constructed in a way that allows you to easily manage various faucets of life, likewise. It's in binder form, which allows you to personalize it to work best for you.

Emily also has FREE PRINTABLES that appeal to the super-organizer which help with things like username/password keeping, client info sheets, fitness tracking, teacher lesson plans, kitchen measurements, and MUCH MORE. I urge you to hop on over to her shop and check out these and the other fabulous things she has to offer. Her Simplified Planners are SO FAB that they sold out within weeks of release, unfortunately. Luckily, she has been known to release these little beauties twice a year. Who knows, maybe I'll even do a little giveaway for one when her next batch comes out. (;

Whew, what a blog post this was. I hope reading this makes a fabulous start to your weekend. Happy Friday my little lovelies!