gracie | senior session

there are so many things I love about creating and working with my hands. photography is one of those things. I must admit, though, I am a rookie. and I am okay with this. and while I'm being completely candid, I prefer to photograph still life. I enjoy capturing photos of my family and friends and pets and the children I nanny; but I prefer to shoot things that are still, that I don't have to coach, that I can arrange just so and step back and not worry about them moving. I have much respect for photographers that photograph actual human beings. I think it's honorable and challenging, and I am so glad there are people who choose this aspect of photography. I just can't handle that pressure. that, and I don't feel as though it is my calling.

but sometimes, there are exceptions to this "rule" of mine. usually these exceptions are family members or people I've birthed. sometimes it's close friends or even acquaintances.

one of my favorite exceptions to the rule and human beings in general is my younger sister. she is incredible. she's an artist. she can sing. she's athletic. she is kind and tender-hearted. she can dance. she's hilarious. she is genuine. she is brilliant. she's weird. she is beautiful. she's brave. she's so many things. so many good things. 

Gracie graduated from high school in May and I had the honor of taking her senior portraits. we had so much fun capturing these photos. some were taken in my parents' yard, some on the football field of her high school. a few were taken in front of a blue brick wall that caught her eye. some were taken in our favorite antique + thrift store, some in her favorite diner + place to get ice cream. the best part about our "shoot" is how much fun we had doing it. the other best part is that this is so her. if you know my sister, you know this is right up her alley.

but enough with the commentary! meet Gracie, my sweet baby sister who is full of life and just so much fun.

the nursery.

On August 29th, 2015, my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby. we were stunned and so unbelievably excited. it didn't seem real for the first few months [still doesn't sometimes], but eventually it began to sink in as we began to prepare for this sweet baby and all the changes that would take place.

One of the things I was most excited about was creating a nursery. I had a vision in mind of what I would like for a boy or a girl. it wasn't a one-size-fits-all, gender neutral nursery; but it would have been very similar, regardless of the gender. I wanted simple, classic, quiet.

The day before thanksgiving, we found out we were having a boy! I was ecstatic. I've always wanted an older brother, so I always dreamed of having a boy first. this was literally a dream come true.

As excited as I was about decorating a nursery, I didn't really get started on it until March. I'm sure this surprised some; it surprised me a little. but I didn't want to jump the gun; plus, we had lots of furniture and things to shift around to make room for baby.

The day before my first baby shower, I finished the nursery. mostly, anyhow. several of my precious friends came in town for the shower and that gave me the motivation I needed to really wrap things up in the baby's room. I'd been dreaming about what I wanted our nursery to look like for months, maybe even years, and slowly gathering + collecting these items the previous eight months.

so one Friday morning, my parents came over to help bring all my dreams to life. my dad hung the curtains my mom had sewn for the room, on the curtain rod he painted the perfect shade of gold that I had searched months for. a beautiful, antique garden gate hung on the wall over the buffet [now a changing table] and a boxwood wreath hung over that, like a bow on top of a gift. my artist little sister created priceless artwork that decorated the walls, sweet watercolor paintings of baby animals. the buffet and armoire I spent hours, even weeks, restoring and refinishing looked just like they belonged, just like I envisioned. the crib that my husband so lovingly assembled sat in front of the one window in the bedroom, framing it perfectly. the crib skirt our baby's great grandmother made rested around it, gently flowing onto the carpet.

it. was. perfect. it was my new favorite room in the house. I loved walking in there. I found any excuse I could to do it. it was everything I dreamed it would be and more. 

and then on March 9th, less than a week later, our home flooded. this crazy, unexpected rain rolled into town and flooded homes, streets, businesses, churches, everything. it was devastating. and the tiny white house was no more.

So, here we were, eight months pregnant and temporarily displaced. my gracious parents have taken us in for the time being. and we had to set up a nursery. again. this time wasn't quite as fun or exciting. it was marked with tears and sadness and bitterness and even a little anger. it actually took me a little while to get around to doing anything because I had already done it all and set up this perfect [to me] nursery and then it was washed all away, along with the rest of our home.

but my family was so kind and gentle and patient and helped me to slowly pull myself together and recreate this nursery for our baby. and you know what? it's even better than I dreamed it'd be.

it is now complete, minus the little boy who will one day make his home here.

The beloved buffet-turned-changing-table that has been in the family for years did not make it through the flood. talk about heartbreaking. I cried many tears over this. then we decided to improvise with our potting bench, which used to serve as our entertainment center. this was the first piece of furniture I ever bought for our home. before we were married, I snagged it at a garage sale for forty bucks. it's one of my favorite pieces. I'm sad that the buffet couldn't weather the storm, but I love that this piece is getting use again for yet another unconventional purpose.

My sister + I created this little mobile to hang over the crib. I wanted something sweet and serene and, frankly, not stupid to use as our crib mobile. so I came up with this idea of little floating clouds made from book pages. I cut out some of my favorite excerpts from Robin Hood and used them for my clouds. you can find a diy crib mobile tutorial here.

thanks for taking a look! hope you enjoyed.

"even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty."
Psalm 84:3

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times are changing! read about the nursery pt. ii here and the nursery pt. iii here.

the buffet makeover.

let me start by saying I am very pleased with the outcome of this project, but I need to be honest and tell you that removing veneer is not for the faint of heart. I had zero experience, as this was my first time to do so. and for whatever reason, I thought it would be a single, thin layer of veneer and that would be all. this was not the case. there was the top layer of veneer, another layer of thin cheap wood [I'm no wood expert, but I'd venture to say it was particle board or low grade plywood], bits of glue, and then I got to the real wood.

I also made a few mistakes. as I was pulling veneer off of the sides of the buffet, I felt some thin wood so I yanked at it, thinking it was a layer of the cheap wood over the real wood. this was also not the case. that was the actual side of the cabinet and I tore it off. luckily, my handy husband helped me out and we got some plywood, cut it to size, and secured it into place. this was probably a happy accident because this piece has seen a lot of life and needed a few nips and tucks.

before I began this project, I did a little research on Pinterest to learn how to remove veneer. my original plan was to strip the veneer and paint this piece white. you know, my go-to. but I plan to use it in our baby's nursery and there will already be a lot of white in there, so I decided to try my hand at antiquing wax and give it a stained look. I've never done this before either, so this project was an all around experiment. fortunately, it turned out well.

the materials I used in this project are listed below:

• gloves [this is probably common sense and a given when it comes to any type of woodworking project. I am an amateur, though, so it never even crossed my mind until I had sufficiently cut and bandaged multiple fingers.] 
• joint knife
• damp towel
• clothes iron
• orbital sander
• antiquing wax

some pieces were already chipping and curling up. those were easy to peel off or pop off using the joint knife. and then there were other pieces...

for really stubborn sections of veneer, I found that laying a damp towel down and ironing over hard-to-remove pieces helped to reactivate the glue and, in turn, loosen up the veneer. then I used the joint knife to scrape and lift away the damp wood. our little iron has never seen so much action.

another thing I was excited to try in this project was this antiquing wax. it's by Miss Mustard Seed, who is one of my favorite designers. I love her work, and now I know I love her wax. maybe I'll try her milk paint next!

this project took longer than I anticipated. it probably could have been completed in a weekend or two, if I had worked nonstop. I, however, took my sweet time and many, many breaks. so it took me about six-ish weeks. not my best record, but it's done now and I'm happy with it.

ready to see the finished product? here it is!

I chose to keep the original hardware. I love the aged look of it. besides a few new screws, the handles + hinges are original to the piece.

here's a close-up of the top after much sanding and applying the antiquing wax. I don't usually love stained things, but I love this finish. my husband's grandfather, who helped replace the sides, asked me if I planned on filling in the gaps + worm holes. he couldn't believe it when I told him I planned to keep it just the way it was. I think every scratch, dent, and worm hole adds a little character. 

the missing drawers that used to be in the center of the buffet were broken and misplaced before I got my hands on this piece. I hate that, but I plan to have some wood cut and placed in the middle to make shelves and I'll find some baskets to fill them and create more storage.

this lovely piece of furniture once was a buffet in my husband's great, great grandmother's home, then lived hidden away in an old barn for years + years, and now is going to serve as a changing table + additional storage in our first baby's nursery.

maybe once I finish up the nursery and style this piece, I'll get around to sharing it with you. but don't hold your breath... it could be another six weeks or so.

a {mini} Christmas tour.

I can't believe Christmas is already here! every year I feel like it comes and goes so quickly. it makes me sad, too, because Christmastime is one of my favorite times and my favorite holiday, by far. with it comes the best traditions, best sights, best smells... it really is the most wonderful time of the year. so it's pretty much a given that it's my favorite season to decorate for. 

I love having a live tree inside the house—that's one of my favorite smells. and I love having greenery pretty much everywhere. I have greenery [mostly faux] displayed in my decor throughout the year, but I love having real, smelly greenery in the house during Christmas. this year when we went to get our tree, I asked the Christmas tree lady if I could keep the branches they cut off the bottom of the tree. she smiled real big and said, "honey, you can take all the branches you want" and pointed me to a massive pile of branches that had accumulated from all the trees being trimmed. I felt like I was in heaven. "grab a handful! as many as you can!" I shouted to my husband. he's such a trooper and took about three or four loads to his truck. now they fill pitchers, teapots, milk jugs, you name it all throughout our home. I'll be sad to see them go.

the good, prompt, professional bloggers share their Christmas home tours well before Christmas, perhaps so that you'll be able to glean some inspiration and recreate some of their ideas. but I am none of these things, so here are my ideas and inspiration,  just in time for Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

in the past year, I've discovered my love for silver, especially old, tarnished silver. my favorite pieces of silver I've collected so far are teapots, mint julep cups, and platters. I just love its classic, understated yet elegant look.

in my {mini} fall tour, I shared about how we use our piano as a mock mantle. so this is where most of our Christmas decor is placed. there are little touches of it all throughout the house, but this is the main event.

the thing you have to know about me is I'm the world's cheapest. I think I get this from my parents. this works well for me for a few reasons: 

1. I don't have a huge budget, plus I don't want to spend much money
2. I love the thrill of the hunt

most of the pieces I use to decorate come from secondhand stores, garage sales, dollar stores, or the trash. on the other hand, there are places that don't fall into the previous category but don't break the bank either and I have been known to get myself into spending trouble there. my favorites are TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Stein Mart.

see that cute, little enamel bucket full of berries? I found it one day while antiquing with friends. it was like seven bucks. I was SO excited about it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it at the time, but I knew I needed it and it would come in handy one day. a few weeks later, my uncle was in town visiting and had stopped by my house to drop off some furniture. "do you know what that is?" he asked. "umm... no. but it's cute, huh?" I replied. he smiled and then proceeded to inform me that it was a chamber pot. of course when he told me this, I had it sitting on my kitchen table. we laughed and laughed. I still think it's the cutest little chamber pot I've ever seen.

since we don't have a chimney to carefully hang our stockings by, we hang them on the potting bench that is our entertainment center. it's no fireplace, but it works.

in our kitchen, I set up a little hot chocolate bar that hasn't gotten much use except from myself.

and now for the biggest Christmas decoration of them all: the tree. this is our second year to put our tree in an oversized galvanized tub and I'm not tired of it yet. this is our third year to have lights only on our tree, as we own about seven ornaments. I keep meaning to start collecting those, but here we are. maybe I'll get around to it this year and by next, we'll have enough to decorate it! we'll see... because honestly, I love the simplicity of a tree and just lights.

I set my table, too, but it got about as much attention as the hot chocolate bar.

when I began to photograph my tablescape, I realized the majority of the items on my table came from the Dollar Tree. the gold chargers, the white dinner plates, the miniature holly wreaths, and the gold pears in the centerpiece were all purchased there. the placemats I found in the dollar section at Target—jackpot, I know. the green glasses, a garage sale. the antique toolbox, my husband's grandfather. and the cuties, Walmart's produce section.

I found this precious red + white garland at TJ Maxx one day and decided to hang it on my dining room window, along with two other garlands. the jingle bell garland I made with a little twine + dollar store jingle bells. I purchased the greenery garland a few years ago at Michael's.

and here's a few shots of our hazardous front porch, that started caving in two weeks ago.

and there you have it! this is what Christmas at the tiny white house looks like.

merry, merry Christmas to you + yours.

but the angel said to them, "do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Luke 2:10-12

"now thanks be to God for this indescribable gift, which is precious beyond words!"
2 Corinthians 9:15

a {mini} fall tour.

it's been a little while since I've shared a post, but since fall is coming to an end and winter [if it can even be called that in the south] is just around the corner, I thought I'd take you on a little fall tour of the tiny white house.

it's nothing too crazy or over the top, but I like to add a little touch of fall + warmth to each room. and sometimes that just means throwing a pumpkin on a surface and calling it a day. 

first up: my fall tablescape.

I bought several fake pumpkins for 98¢ at Walmart and painted them shades of blue, cream, and khaki. I used them as my centerpiece and as a little happy for each place setting.

I also gathered chunky acorns to use on the mini cakestand centerpiece. I baked them on 350 degrees for about ten minutes, because I thought that might kill any bugs and funk growing in them. I'm not sure if it did, but I never saw any bugs or acorns rolling around on the table.

one of the not-so-good things about our little house is that we don't have a fireplace. I so hope in our next home we do. so since we have no mantle to decorate for holidays and no reason, I use the top of our piano as a mock mantle. here's what that ended up looking like:

one simple decor idea I came up with was to frame a packet of pumpkin seeds. I emptied out the packet, found a favorite chunky frame of mine, and used double sided tape to secure the seed packet in place. I think it turned out kind of cute. what do you think?

for the coffee table, I used a wooden dough bowl I found at a thrift store and filled it with cotton and a giant acorn I found at TJ Maxx. pretty simple, but adds a little taste of fall.

I also threw a couple pumpkins around the house, on shelves and counters. it adds a little bit of fall and takes almost no effort. 

like I said, nothing much, but it's funny how even little things add a little something extra. like so many other [white] girls, I love the fall. and not just because of pumpkin spice lattes—which I've never had, by the way. it's one of my favorite seasons... mainly because I am a heavy sweater so I sweat less in these months. but I also love the beauty of the changing leaves and scenery, how things seem to slow down, and all the time spent with family. football games are another plus, but that has less to do with the actual game [no offense, athletes] and more to do with the fine cuisine at the concession stand.

I hope you're enjoying these last days of fall and I hope your thanksgiving is filled with lots of family and laughter, delicious food and a grateful heart. after all, we all have so much to be thankful for.

"it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful."
David Steindl-Rast

"give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!"
1 Chronicles 16:34