GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // OCTOBER 4, 2016

Gratitudes

I woke up Saturday morning nervous for Courtney + Eric, you see they had planned to have their entire wedding outside. It was raining so hard in the morning that it woke me up as it tapped on the tin roof of the old farmhouse we rent. It was a downpour, the kind of rain that makes you want to pull the covers over your head and sleep all day. I got up and started my wedding day routine: coffee, social media, packing, shower, getting ready and out the door. This time I kept checking the weather and grabbed trash bags, my raincoat and anything else I could think of that would help keep me dry. Thankfully the rain let up as I drove over to Higher Ground Farm. We got lucky, it didn’t rain the rest of the afternoon! The ceremony, portraits and reception went off without a single weather related hiccup – well minus the dance floor being a little slippery! Courtney and Eric married on top of a hill that over looked Virginia farmland. They had a beautiful handmade arch of raw wood decorated with sheer white curtains, pumpkins and mums. It was so perfectly fall in the Old Dominion. Guests witnessed their vows and first kiss from rows of hay bales covered in white cloth. The reception kicked off with introductions and a noodle bar served by Timberlake Catering & Events. As soon as dinner wrapped up dancing and props from the selfie station were a huge hit. These two said goodbye to their guests as they walked through sparklers to a getaway tractor.

Friday + Sunday were probably my favorite dates this week. My boyfriend took the day off so we could have a much needed day date. Our schedules don’t align perfectly so much of our actual dates get pushed back to the off season and with the fall wedding season already in full swing, I’m practically not available for fun anymore. Friday though I held the day open. I scheduled blog posts, edited, send out galleries and answered emails so I could be present. The rain didn’t bother us in fact, it was welcomed on Friday morning as we stayed in bed a little longer with all of the furbabies. From there we both got up and headed to lunch – yes I realized we skipped breakfast but sleeping in felt so good!  We grabbed lunch at our favorite Indian post in Gainesville – Taste of India. I ventured out and tried their lunch buffet and it was delicious. I definitely recommend it. While at lunch we made plans for our next adventure: beer tasting at Ocelot in Dulles. We both like IPAs and enjoyed the See the Light. From there we headed to grab some movie candy and we started binging on the newly released Luke Cage series on Netflix and around 9pm I was asleep! This was the first time in a long time we were able to spend time together outside of the house and without me feeling tied down to the computer.

Sunday after Courtney + Eric’s wedding I woke up early and began my after wedding routine: backing up cards, battery charging equipment cleaning and a ton of coffee. I wanted to make sure I could make it out to Berryville to see my dear friend Julie, owner of Beaumont House Designs. She was featured as one of Clarke County’s Studio Tour. The whole weekend she was welcoming visitors to see her workspace and build bouquets or flower crowns from her flower bar. Devin and I drove down and decided to make two bouquets with a twist. We would build them separately and ask visitors to vote, loser has to buy dinner. While I’m sure everyone that visited Julie’s studio was very nice, I question their sense of style because I lost – badly. On the way home we stopped by Veramar Winery and enjoyed a brick oven pizza and a glass of rose before heading to grab chinese take-out. From there we hopped back to our house and enjoyed a few more episodes of Luke Cage before again I was twitching asleep on the couch.

Transitioning away from rich reds and deep burgundies, I wanted a cool neutral for this week. You’ll see me with Cement the Deal, from OPI’s Fifty Shades of Grey Collection. This cream polish has a blue base that reminds me of a lake side pebble. I think it’ll go great with the new flannels and cable knit grandpa sweaters for the season.

Breakthroughs

My office has been a wreck since I left for Italy. It has become the “catch-all” for the entire house. There are three boxes of kitchen odds and ends that need to be unpacked and put away, old mail, prints, film scans, two vacuums and so much more. When my workspace starts to look like an abandoned thrift store, I ignore it and build a new workspace. For the past 2 months I’ve hunkered down in the sunroom surrounded by green plants, a wall of vintage animal prints, a papasan chair that the pups love, strands of Edison lights and warm sunshine. I’ve made this small space my office. I have realized that I need a clean and organized workspace in order to feel at peace to really work. If it’s not I find myself cleaning and organizing in order to feel settled. As soon as I get a free weekend I’ll be tackling my old office to reclaim the space and make it inviting and motivating. Until then I’ll hopefully keep the sunroom neat to wrap up these September wedding galleries!

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.