Wedding Wednesday

I have been engaged for a little over a year! The problem I have is that I like everything! I regularly vacillate between a farm wedding, Gatsby style wedding, and a small elopement.  The other evening I was analyzing this with one of my friends, and we came to the sad conclusion that I am stalling.  I recently read this brilliant article on hellogiggles.com - http://hellogiggles.com/for-anyone-who-has-lost-a-parent-or-will-lose-a-parent, about what life is like when you have lost a parent. In my case, both my parents have passed away.  This article made me realize that planning a wedding without my parents makes me profoundly sad.  Getting married is a delightful and exciting time, and I want to savor it and enjoy it, but it is really tough to do knowing that my parents won't be there. So, I thought that writing regularly about the wedding will help me to start planning and find joy in this process.  Below is my favorite picture of my parents, my uncle, and I.

Love you more!

My fiancé and I are Birthday people. We love Birthdays in a childish way, but those are the 2 days of the year that we put the most effort into! So, on Valentine's day we just do small, charming, gestures to show our adoration. This year, I did a photo shoot with our fur babies!  Here is the final result!

Here are a few outtakes. Please note how amused the dogs are!

Floyd

Lola

Trudy

I am so excited to give this to him!

XOXO,

Christy

Mentor Inspiration

I have been very fortunate to have found a multitude of wonderful and insightful mentors during my lifetime. Since my Mother passed away when I was young, I seek out advice, wisdom, and information from a variety of places. This week I was able to spend a few days in Knoxville with one of my longtime mentors. We have known each other for well over a decade and I still learn something new from her - every time I spend time with her.  It's an amazing feeling when someone knows all your dirt, and still likes you anyway.  She is ingenious, creative, and perceptive. Her children are brilliant and hilarious.  Recently, she moved into a new home that is absolutely stunning.  She has a knack for making her home both relaxing and inviting. Here are some of my favorite details;

                                                      A stunning door she had specially made.

Her tough guard dog that was enamored with his reflection!

My sleeping partner for the trip.

Creative decorations.

Every time I leave her home I feel inspired and rejuvenated. I believe it is good for my soul, to surround myself with people like her. Here's to being inspired!