Sneak Peek!

 Here is a a look at a piece I will have above my dresser in my newly remodeled bedroom!  I finally broke down an ordered this amazing mirror I have been drooling over for months now.  I knew I wanted my new mirror to be frameless, but all of the frameless mirrors I found were either boring or cute but out of my price range.  This mirror is from Ballard Designs and right now, all of their wall decor is an extra 20% off.  This really helped make up my mind because I love a discount! :) I can't wait for it to get here!

Isn't it dreamy?!

Check back to see it hanging on my wall soon! I can't wait to post pictures of my room when it is complete!

Look Out World! Here I come!

I LOVE to travel and always take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.  I mainly do this because I know one day, when I settle down and have a family, that may not be possible (for example: studying abroad in Paris for 5 weeks).  It is only March and I have so many trips planned for this year and I'm so excited!  I love experiencing new places for the first time and visiting places I have already been.  Traveling also gives me an excuse to take plenty of pictures, which as you know, I love to do! :) So here is my traveling itinerary for 2011 so far....


Jekyll Island {March 3-6}
My mom had an art conference at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and my brother and I tagged along.  It was so nice to get away.  The weather forecast predicted rain all weekend but we didn't see a drop! The temperature was just right but still too cold to lay out.  We wanted to stay at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, but they were booked, so we made our reservations with the Hampton Inn.  It is brand new and was sooo nice! The nicest Hampton I have ever stayed at.  My brother and I checked out the beach and the hot tub the first day together. I was so happy to see the ocean I squeeled. Lol!  It was nice to walk along the beach and look for sand dollars. Cody found one but I wasn't so lucky. Once mama got back to the room, we headed to the Jekyll Island Club hotel to look around and visit the shops.  That night we ate at our favorite resturant, The Crap Trap, on St. Simons.  I had the grilled shrimp and she crab soup.  I can't visit that place without some crab stew.  It is sooo good! I bought my 10th tshirt from there and we headed back to Jekyll. 
Saturday, we slept in and visited Driftwood Island while mama was in her afternoon meeting. I have always seen beautiful photographs taken there and I wanted to get some to ulitmatley make black and white and frame for my dad for Father's Day.  That afternoon, once mama was out of her meeting, we went back to St. Simons to shop around the village. We love the village and always have to visit while we are in town.   We ate at another favorite, the 4th of May, for dinner.  I had crab cakes with veggies and they didn't dissapoint! The 4th of May is also famous for their dessert.  We got a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of strawberry cake to-go and enjoyed it later in the room. The strawberry was my favorite. It was amazing!
Sunday, we checkout and took one last walk along the beach.  We also went back to the Club Hotel to visit a couple of shops we didn't visit the first day and then we made our journey home. I always enjoy trips with my family and this weekend was no exception!
Here are a few pictures from our weekend....



Our wonderful room with the most comfortable beds!



One of my favorites. Cody and I exploring Driftwood Island.



So beautiful!



Love this!



Cody and I went to pick up mama one day at the JICH and this is how we found her...
enjoying a Bloody Mary on the front porch.  I decided to join her! :)



We visited the Sea Turtle Center.  I love turtles!!



The historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel



Cody and I had a picture made with this tree when we were little.
We had to recreate it! So cute!



The beautiful boardwalk that went from our hotel to the beach.

 

One last walk on the beach before heading home!



 Statesboro {March 12-13}
This weekend I will be going to Statesboro to my aunt and uncle's house.  My cousin, who lives in Atlanta, will be coming as well.  Saturday we plan to get hit the shops and boutiques early and enjoy a good lunch at some point in the day! I always enjoy spending time with my cousin. We are the same age and best friends.  My aunt loves having us as well since she doesn't get to see either of us that often.  We laugh all weekend when we get together.  It will also be the weekend before my cousins birthday so we will be celebrating that as well.

 Jacksonville {March 19-20}
Let the Bachlorette Weekend begin! My friend Amanda Burch (who's engagement pictures I featured in a previous post) is having her bachlorette weekend in Jacksonville.  We are going to spend Saturday soaking up some sun and later enjoying wine and seafood. This bachlorette weekend will be really laid back and spent catching up with our girlfriends while celebrating Amanda's upcoming marriage.


 New York {March 23-27}
Ok...so this might be the trip I am the most excited for! My childhood friend Abby and I will be going to visit our friend Kristin who lives in Manhattan. She is attending PA school in the big apple and this will be our last chance to take advantage of a free place to stay before she graduates...JK KRISTIN! Lol.  I have been to NYC before (with Abby actually) and cannot wait to see places I didn't get to explore my first go round.  I have a list so far that includes: walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, seeing another Broadway play, spending more time in Central Park, Kleinfield's ("Say Yes to the Dress" film location), China town, SOHO, Little Italy, and of course eating at some good resturants.  It will be great to visit places that "locals" visit since Kristin has lived there for a couple of years.  I am also glad I won't have to spend all my time waiting in lines to see the Statue of Liberty and The Empire State building since I saw those places on my first trip. Yay for 5 days in New York during my favorite time of the year...spring!


Fernandina {April 1-3}
This weekend will be very special to me.  My friend Amanda Burch will be tying the knot with her sweet fiance, Tyler Kirkley.  She asked me to photograph her big day and I am so honored to do that for her.  I'm sure I will be nervous but happy at the same time to be apart of their day.  The wedding will take place on the beach outside of her grandparent's beach house and the reception will be held at the Residence Inn.  This will be the first beach wedding I have ever attended and I'm so excited! My mother has agreed to go with me (which didn't take much convincing since it's at the beach) to be my right hand gal during the festivities!



Costa Rica {May 28-June 3}
This week I will be on a mission trip with my church in Perry, Grace Church.  We are going to teach bible school and do a few other things.  Last year my mom went and she is going again this year.  It will be nice to have her there.  Along with working, we will zip line through the rain forest, visit some shops, and the beach.  I know this will be a rewarding experience. I am blessed with so much and feel this is my opportunity to give back in some way. I love working with children and can't wait to see their smiling faces!


Panama City {July 15-17}
Bachlorette weekend #3 starts here! This weekend is for my childhood friend Sarah Lamar.  We are going to have a fun weekend! We will also be throwing Sarah a stock the bar/lingere shower while we are down there.  I can't wait to start planning it. This is another weekend I'm most excited for! I love Sarah and can't wait to give her one last fun weekend with the girls before her big day!


Young Harris, Ga {July 29-31}
This will be my last trip of the summer (my bank account will probably be glad). :)  My mom and I will travel to Young Harris, Ga which is located almost on the TN line.  Sarah Lamar will be marrying Trent Tallent at the Brasstown Valley Resort.  It is a beautiful place located in the mountains.  As I wrote about in a previous post, I will be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I am TOO excited to do this and so incredibly honored Sarah asked me to play such a special part in her wedding day.


So...my world travels started last year when I went to Paris and have steadily continued until this point. Look for blogs about my trips as they roll around.  I love traveling and feel I am a lucky girl for each opportunity that I'm given.  I feel it's so important to experience new places and I'm thrilled to be doing just that!

Tweet-Tweet!

I am in the process of remodeling my room at my daddy's house.  I have decided to incorporate birds into my decor.  I fell in love with the idea of decorating with birds at my friend Dorothy's wedding last fall.  She used birds throughout her reception and even on her pretty invitations. My room is being painted khaki and my accent colors are powder pink, teal, and chocolate brown.  The birds I have found are usually brown in color so they are working out great with these colors I have chosen.  While in St. Simons a couple of weekends ago, I went into one of my favorite stores located in the village. It's called, Dutchman's, and they had tons of bird accessories at the time.  I just had to share them with you all. I am also including the china I hope to have someday since it goes along with my bird obsession.  It's called Chirp by Lenox.  It was also introduced to me by my friend Dorothy who has the china.


Beautiful bowl for jewlery or other small items.



How stinkin cute?!? A wine topper with birds AND candle holders!

My future china! :)

The square plates.

Love turquoise!!

I love love love this Christmas pattern!! I can't wait to have my own house!

 

Super cute clock! The Easter Bunny is bringing me one similar to this! :) I had been
searching everywhere for a small clock to go on my matel and when I found one with a bird, I had to have it!

I had to have this! That is a mirror inside the cage! The 3 hooks will be great for me to hang
small things on.

I love these green birds!!

Check out these beautiful prints!

I saved the best for last!  This was the coolest item in the whole store!  It was a bird
cage with a light bulb and bird inside.  It hangs from the ceiling.  I wanted it so bad! Sorry for
the bad lighting! Hope you can get the idea...



Chairs...Simple As That.

I'm a tad in love with TJ Maxx.  My friend Sally and I went this weekend while I was in Valdosta to look around and I couldn't help but ooo and ahh over their chairs.  I love a good chair.  I have always had a little reading corner in my bedrooms and I think they add a lot to a room.  Especially if they are antique or covered in a fun fabric. 

My bedroom is brown, blue, and pink.  This would be perfect in my reading corner!

I fell in love with these chairs and its ottomans.  Literally.  If I had a room with purple, I would have bought these right then.  The rhinstones in the center of the ottomans were the perfect sofisticated touch!

The back!

If this isn't cute, I don't know what is.  The seat lifts up and doubles as extra storage space. 

My first two years in Valdosta, I lived in an apartment that was fully furnished.  When I moved into another apartment that wasn't, I had to bite the bullet and buy furniture.  I visited an anitque shop in Perry where I found a chair with tons of character but was covered in awful fabric from what looked like the 1970's. I bought the chair for $125.  My mom and I took a trip to Hancock Fabrics and found some cute pink and green floral fabric and piping on sale and had it covered.  I was able to get the fabric for $6/yard and paid $100 to have it covered.  I love the way it turned out! Buying a chair and having it covered can be expensive but I felt it was so worth it in the end.  It added the perfect touch to my college bedroom! This rescue story has a sad ending though. I have changed the colors in my room and it would stick out like a sore thumb if I were in there.  It now sits, covered, in our garage. :(  It's so cute though, I can't part with it or re-cover it. Maybe one day I will have use for it again.

My love.

Close up of the piping and fabic.

So comfy!  Wish it still matched my room!



Wooden legs.

This is a chair I found at Dutchman's in St. Simons.  I wanted to bring it home so bad! Isn't it cute?! My camera was dead at the time I took this so I had to use my phone.  The quality isn't that great but it gets the idea across! :)



Love at first sight!! Another TJ Maxx goodie! If I had my own house, I would have snatched these up to use in my dining room.  They would be so fun and lively!



John David {Sweetness}

A few weeks ago I went over to my friend Sarah Beth's home to photograph the new little man of the house, John David.  At this point John David was a month old and so much fun! He was awake the whole two hours I was there so I was able to get lots of cute shots of him interacting with his mom and being a ham for the camera.  Sarah Beth is a previous student of my mother's so this little guy is extra special to our family.  Between takes I got as much sugar and lovin' from John David as I could! He is such a good baby and didn't cry until the very end of the shoot. What boy wouldn't be ready for a camera to get out of his face after 2 hours?!  Here are a few of my favorites....

His signature look.  His mom says he always has his fist up!

My favorite.

I love chubby cheeks!

Baby feet are my favorite!

My Little Obsession...

I have an obsession with picture frames.  Always have, always will.  As you know, I love photography.  I am always looking for a great frame to display my pictures.  I recently moved home from college and among the boxes of junk, is one large rubbermaid box storing ONLY picture frames.  It's a little rediculous. They can add so much to a room, especially if they have a little character.  I usually buy most of my frames from TJ Maxx. They have the best prices and their frames are always so cute! Here are a few frames I have found while browsing other blogs or on Esty. I think I will start buying frames outside of TJ Maxx now! :)

How cute and different?!! There is a window frame similar to this at Pier One.  It's on sale too!

This will be so much cuter with a "real" picture in it!

I LOVE frames made from salvaged wood.  This wood was taken from an old house.  Love the color too!

If I had an office, I would want it to look exactly like this.  On top of that, I am a sucker for black matted frames. I love a good wall collage too!

Can we say adorable?  The metal flower is the perfect touch! I have never seen a frame with so much character!

Blogs & Such

While stalking my friend Sarah's facebook page one day, I ran across a link to a blog she found called the French Flea (http://frenchflea.blogspot.com/). They have really cute stuff and awesome decorating ideas. I recently ordered this switch plate cover for my newly painted room.  I'm going for the shabby chic look if you couldn't tell.

I bought the white one! It's really heavy so it doesn't have that cheap feel.



I discovered this shop on Etsy today thanks to the French Flea's blog...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dedeetsyshop It's a company that makes the cutest pillows I have ever seen! I could have bought every one!

This would be PERFECT for my room! Too bad I have too many pillows already.! This beauty is only $33!

Ok....these are "beanbag bookends"! I have never heard of such but what a cute idea! $18!!

My first apartment when I moved off to school was done in pink and orange.  If it were still these colors, I would so buy this! Plus I have a small obsession here lately with birds. $18!!

Umm...can you say perfect wedding or baby shower gift?! $30!!