The Stead

Had to post this one.....Tomatoes from Homestead at our fresh market! I was so proud to see my hometown representin'!

Spring

Spring cleaning. Spring swinging. Spring playing. We did it all this weekend. We shared so many blissful moments this month. I am grateful. We played outside, visited friends, shopped at the market, hunted for eggs and tasted fresh oranges right off the trees! It was a caloric and sugar-filled weekend! Just my style!

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The Whole Package

I am totally pimpin' the goods this week! Can't help it - I am proud! Here is the "suite" of work I created for Aimee Reed Photography. I love it. She loves it. Her peeps love it. I hope you do too!

PS - she is super talented and so reasonably priced. Please check her out soon at www.aimeereedphotography.com

PSS - What do you think of the  new header? I cant get it to fit all the way across. Anyone know how to do that?

PSSS - I need to get over the dots!

Fit For A Princess

We will celebrate our god-daughter's fourth birthday next week. Hard to believe! I wish we could be in St. Louis for the bash, but we'll be sending a package to our lovie, including my latest creations. She loves princesses - and this prissy little design is just right for her! Happy Birthday MK - we love you so much! Your colorful spirit is a blessing. Can't wait to play soon.

Lily sends kisses!

Easy Breezey

Isn't the weather AMAZING! We are enjoying the sun and breezes before the inevitable summer sun comes our way. Here are a few pics of our lazy weekend at home. Have a great week!

Putting it out there

My classes are wrapping up and I have had the chance to try to design a real logo and stationary package for a sorority sister in Lakeland, who is also a brilliant photographer! Her site will be up soon - aimeereedphotography.com.

I am also working on stationary for Lily -- she is an easy client to satisfy (sort of).

Beyond learning software I am also learning how to overcome the fear of presenting my vision to others. What if they don't like it? What if I suck at this? What if my designs are lame?

This is no different that the zillion of moments everyday that I have to remind myself that "it's not personal." 

So here it is. My first logo/business card. And Lily's stationary. Can I tell you how stoked I was to learn how to apply polka-dots! Love them!!!!!

Again, thanks to Bayfront Medical Center, my director and team for giving me these past few weeks to learn this amazing platform. I've already completed a few projects at work and I look forward to contributing more to help manage our workload.

As part of my cirriculm, please send feedback. This will help me with the current lesson - How To Grow Thick Skin & Take Feedback Positively!!!!!!!

The Luck Of The Irish:

In color or black and white, she is why I am lucky everyday!

(Fancy photoshop work, huh???)

Saturday

Ahhh. 

Finally home for a weekend. 

Went to church. Watched a movie. Cleaned the house - sort of.

Did some laundry. Went to the market. Uploaded some photos.

Played in the bed. Plopped on the couch. Paused to listen to the wind outside.

Paused again to appreciate the beautiful sunshine. Refilled the diaper bag. 

Thought about cleaning out the car and carseat. Decided not to.

Washed my hair. Didn't blowdry it. Caught up on blog. Drank a diet coke, in a glass, with ice.

Got dressed for a run. Sat back down instead.

And, its only 2:06 on Saturday. Ahhhhhh!

Join In

I am a joiner. I like being part of things. SGA. Sorority life. Junior League. Work committees. It's always been who I am. Until recently. Joining has become a challenge. I have struggled to find groups that fit me and feed my soul. I have found it quite hard to meet other women who want to invest in new relationships. And, so I have missed the security a "joiner" feels when we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

Last night we attended the fish fry at our church. A - maybe we'd meet some new people. B - no mess to clean up at home. C - they have a great playground. 

What does this have to do with joining? Well I recognized a familiar gleam in Lily's eyes when we rounded the corner and heard the noise of children on the playground. At least fifty of them. 

"She might freak out," said Buck. We'd wait and see.

She paused for a moment and headed right into the crowd. She navigated through the mob to get to the slide. She dodged running tweens to grab an open swing. She exchanged pleasantries with a slightly-older child and they crawled up the stairs side by side.

She joined right in. She was happy to be part of the chaos. She found something that feed her soul.

We found fried fish to feed our bellies!

PS - i really think the church should provide "greeters" at functions to help new members get to know each other. 

PSS - I should probably stop complaining and volunteer to do that!

What is Yoohoo, Anyway?

Papa Salty just called to correct my spelling of Yoohoo - the milk of the south! The product placement in this photo was of no help to me as I tried to get the spelling right! Now I know......and to Lily's dismay, Yoohoo is not going to be a staple in our fridge. But she'll always have something to look forward to when we point it north to SGI.

Salty & Sweet

There is nothing better than a little something salty mixed with a little something sweet! That is exactly what Miss Lily got this weekend in St. George Island. We drove up for a beach weekend with Papa Salty! A name never fit so good. Salty is just that - a man of the sea, owner of a bait and tackle store, island godfather.....a sweetheart of a grandfather. Lily and Salty became quick friends - greeting customers at the shop and sneaking sips of Yoohoo when mom wasn't looking. I think Lily was treated to an entire sticky bun (I found the wrapper, but didn't even ask). 

The sweetness continued with a stop at the local ice cream parlor and a surprise visit from her sweet Aunt Becca. Mom finished her 5K seven minutes faster than the last run - sweet! 

Lily concluded her exciting weekend with a sweet kiss from her Papa Salty -- and to continue my overuse of this pun....leaving was bitter sweet!

How To Get What You Want

Persuasion is an art form. Some girls bat their eyelashes. Others twirl their hair. While I would prefer that Lily develop a style based less in flirtation, I have to give a nod to what works! In this case, she propped herself on a cooler and doled out affection for desserts! One. Two. Three of them. Chocolate and key lime pie! Well played Lily. Well played.

Water Lily

Sunshine. A slight breeze. Buckets of water. A hose. An ocean. A boat.
These are a few of our favorite things. Put them all together, and it makes for a pretty fantastic day! Thank you grandparents and Mullins family for a special, water-themed day!