Personal | The Beauty of Calm & Consistent

Sometimes I have days where I just feel overwhelmed. Not defeated, not hopeless, not even stressed....just, overwhelmed. Usually in part by the amount of things that I need to accomplish for my clients, my business and my life, and in part by the things life throws at me that are completely out of my control.

Sometimes those things are incredibly deep, emotional, and hard to understand. Like the untimely death of a young man, through an accident that no one could predict or prevent. When sadness like this touches my life - even in a distant way, but personally affecting many people that I hold dear -sometimes I don't know how to just go on living and managing all the things on my plate.

But it's when I reach the state of this kind of overwhelming thought and feeling that I'm beyond grateful to be able to look to the One who more than knows what to do with all of the things set before me. All of the things that I'm responsible for, all of the things I feel ill-equipped to handle, and all of the things I can't understand and can't control. It's the reassurance of His all-knowing, all-understanding and all-loving ways that remind me I don't have to try to figure out how to juggle things that overwhelm me. I just need to look to Him, one day at a time, and walk in the grace and peace He freely and overwhelmingly provides to cover over even the most confusing life situations.

Today, I stand in immense gratitude of this grace and peace. And as I was pondering all of this, these photos of Fort Bluff, TN came to mind. The beauty and calmness of nature serve to remind me of how constant, unchanging, and stable God is. And in my life there's often nothing more amazing to me than knowing that God is a consistent, calm, stabilizing force that's the same yesterday, today and forever.

May you all be encouraged to rest in the grace and peace of the Lord, no matter what life is throwing your way today.

Marvelous Mondays | Aimee Bontreger

I love weekends. And I really love when Mondays are occasionally an extension of the weekend. I mean, who doesn't want to lounge by the pool, do a little shopping and get their nails done all on a Monday afternoon when they'd normally be working? I, for one, would take that opportunity any day of the week.

AND, as it happens, today has been exactly that. Why? Well, not because I own my own business and can set my own schedule (no, honestly, I don't do this every Monday), but rather because my super awesome sister and my equally fabulous cousin drove all the way from Indiana to hang out with me for a few days! This, people, makes me happy. I love these two a TON and our time together is always filled with much laughter, moments of spontaneous movie quote-age, random bursts of song and always-enjoyable heart-to-hearts.

So, this brings me to today's truly follow-worthy feature:

Aimee Bontreger's Blog

Sure, I may be biased in thinking my sister is very talented and a tremendously gifted (not to mention witty) writer. But, I'm most definitely not alone in those sentiments. She's committed to blogging every single day, and because of that you'll find quite the variety of subjects sprinkled throughout her posts. From the conspiracy of midwestern windmills, to interviews with noteworthy and talented individuals, to dream interpretations and exciting real-life experiences, Aimee's blog is sure to have something for everyone. Her writing ability is truly remarkable and her unique personality is pretty much like none other. I love the real, in-person individual that she is, but now that we live in other states and often have long distance communication, I love that her blog is a place to keep up with her latest musings and catch continual glimpses into her personality, thoughts and humor. So, without further ado, head on over to her blog and start reading! (And then follow her on Twitter and tell her how awesome & hilarious she is. :)

And furthermore, enjoy the rest of your marvelous Monday! I know I shall. :)

Personal | Teapots, Flowers, & Happy Bridal Showers

Even though I've lived in Richmond for over 5 months, now, I still often feel like "the new girl in town". Not in a bad way, but in the sense that I'm still adjusting to my surroundings and getting to know people. And I feel like that's probably perfectly reasonable and normal. I mean, 5 months isn't really that long, after all. But because of that, one of the things that I've looked for and put intentional effort into finding is opportunities to hang out with and get to know other ladies in the area. For those of you who know me, you know that I love people and I really value making new friends, and deepening relationships with current friends. So, when I got asked a couple months ago to work with two ladies I hadn't yet met to head up the decorations for the bridal shower of a friend (and my first bride of 2011! :), I quickly volunteered. Especially when I found out the theme was a "vintage tea party". Could there BE a better combination than making new friends AND creating a pretty environment based on a theme that was perfectly up my ally? I think not.

So, throughout March I worked with two fabulous ladies - Gail (who organized the entire shower) and Anna (who was my decorating partner-in-crime) to pull together this envisioned theme, culminating in what I'd say was one very successful (and pretty!) bridal shower on March 26th. It was fun to put my creative energies into a new facet and to get to know both Gail and Anna who are most definitely as amazing as I'd heard they were. :) Plus, it was really fun to get to do something for Kari as a friend, before getting to take on the role of her wedding photographer. (Both roles are pretty equally awesome, and I'm so grateful to be her friend AND to be entrusted with documenting her day. I can't wait!)

Without further ado, here are some of the pretties of the day. :)

We created the entrance spot with this cool hutch (that Kari & her fiance Peter already had!) and lots of random stuff compiled from me, Anna, Kari & Peter's moms, and other generous friends.

One of the main things we wanted to incorporate in the "vintage" aspect were photos from Kari & Peter's own families. So, this awesome large portrait is Kari's mom. How cool is that? Every bride should have something awesome like that for their daughters to one day admire. :)

We then used these black dividers to lead the way down the hallway to where the shower was taking place.

And even had Peter's grandmother's dress on display!

The table-top decor, probably my favorite, was made up of a different hat box, teapot, and pair of gloves on each table.

Accompanied by a different set of China (belonging to someone in either Peter or Kari's family) on each table. I love the way it all looked elegant and flowed wonderfully, while being eclectic.

(Btw, it was super fun to get to put some of my own favorite teapots to use....the green, brown, and ivory floral ones. And I really love the turquoise one that Anna brought, too. I was so tempted to swipe it, afterwards... ;)

Also on each table, there were two sets of Scrabble pieces, and the table members had to work together to spell as many wedding-related words as possible. Kari then chose the word board she liked best, in the end. It was such a cute/fun idea that I can take no credit for. MaryAnn, another friend, added that touch.

The meal was a "light lunch" and all of the beautiful (and delicious!) food was prepared by the groom's super talented sister Anna and their mom, Liz.

Along the walls we strung wedding/couple shots from parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles of both Kari & Peter, and a few shots of them, as well. There were so many great options to choose from! I love how cool vintage wedding photos are, and how that coolness multiplies even more when they're actual family photos.

We also had some tulips sitting on a table near where Kari would open gifts because her dad has nicknamed her Tulip for a long time, and it's SO fun to be able to work in meaning like that. (Gail was brilliant with that one!)

It was such a fun time, and I loved seeing Kari encouraged, blessed and supported as she heads into this most exciting and incredible phase of life.

(And I also love this shot of Kari's grandma, and Peter's grandma, apparently sharing comments while Kari opened gifts :)

So, there you have it! I'm so happy that I got to help with it, and I'm beyond excited for Peter & Kari's wedding on April 23rd!

It's such a blessing to have friends here in Richmond, and I'm so happy that Gail and Anna are both new ones, now, thanks to collaborating together last month. :) Hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of the lovely afternoon!

Portraits | Last Florida Beach Installment

Ok, friends and readers! The final installment of the Florida Beach Shoot is here! I wanted to snap a few carefree photos of both Aimee and Emily together, before we left the beach, and I think these captured some of the fun we were all having together. :)

Ahh, the ocean wind strikes again! Gotta love the hair flying everywhere. :)

Again I ask, aren't they just beautiul?

After I finished photos of them, Aimee snapped a few of me. So, while it's not normal for me to post a photoshoot of myself on my own blog, I figured it wouldn't quite be rounding out this shoot properly if I didn't share these, too. Plus, I enjoy getting to change it up and be in front of the camera now and then. Thanks for playing photographer for a bit, Aimee!

She was saying ridiculous things and mocking me as she took these. :P

My hair was definitely crazy. Having bangs doesn't work out super well in high winds...

Probably my favorite shot. It's just happy and expresses "me" so well.

And the wind/hair combination strikes again! But I like it.

So, there you go! You have now experienced our beautiful sunset shoot at Sanibel Island. I wish I could be transported back there, right now, as Richmond has been struggling to figure out that it's Spring these last couple of weeks... But here's hoping it'll have nicer temperatures in store this week!

Next post to come (soon!) will be an update on my March goals and my list of goals for April. Stay tuned!