thankful for these two fellas tonight

{cotton fields with sister}

Sorry for my absence!  I've been in Georgia, and busier than a bee getting ready for some gorgeous October weddings.  My papaw had surgery this week and we didn't get the greatest news following.  The night before and the days following he greeted us in his pjs.  Striped pajamas head to toe, the kind no one wears anymore but should. He has a voice you would expect to hear in movies.  An accent blended from  Mississippi and south georgia.  He's a gentleman through and through and has always called  me every kind of southern endearment.  He is just the cutest.  My papaw passed down to me quite a few things ... The love of florals, photography, the romance and mystery that is the south.  We both have the same deep set dark brown eyes and the ability to get quite olivey in complexion if we so choose.  He gives great belly laughs and y'all, it is thee sweetest sound.    And even in his pain he still manages jokes and joy.

I almost didn't make the trip to see him this past week.  You see, JB had been gone since Sunday for business and it meant I'd miss him for a couple more days.  Having him come home to an empty house after working straight 13 hour days made my heart ache.  But my husband has this gift of being the least selfish person I know.  He always knows what is important.  To him, there was never a question whether I should go.  I'm (as usual) thankful for my husband.  He always gives me perspective and reminds me to focus on what matters in the long run.  I'm grateful his thinking is never short sided.  Having someone I listen to and respect turn my head towards what's important, and away from what's not is a huge comfort and blessing.

so to these two guys... i love y'all.  i'm overjoyed my son will have bits of both of you. 

Nothing you really like is ever out of style.

There's a few things that have been part of my wardrobe for ages and there's no end in sight.  To name a couple of these I'll include touches of lace, stripes, leopard, maxi's, polka dots, riding boots, anything that'll define a waist, tortoise, and chic pencil thin black pants.  In doses, all of these things are so good.  I'll totally be that old lady rocking some polka dots one day.  I love to see how these items get remixed and revamped through the years.  I hear something like "lace is big for the fall", and I'm usually all "when pray tell did it ever go out?!".   I've always been super particular about what I wear, and it's a rare day when I ever ask someone for their opinion.  I think if I've gotta ask "do you like this?" ... I'm obviously not sure if I really do.  So it's a moot point and onto something else.  I've always stuck to my classics and mixed trends in here and there.  and I've loved this quote since I read it in a box from Furbish.  It's thought of often when I'm not sure about sticking to my guns on something for work too.  Long story short, here's my picks for fall.  and may you always be true to your taste (:  !

{maxi dress, chunky knit dress, polka dot sweater, chunky knit sweater, cords, high heels, polka dot flats, peplum, and eye glasses}

What are a few items you just can't stop buying no matter what magazines tell you?

Letters to Tuck // Volume 7

{Via Juliet Jones}

Dear Tuck,

Your dad and I have been kinda adventurous since we met.  We dated long distance until we married!  Trips were in order then.  To Texas, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mexico, Louisiana, Grand Cayman, etc... pretty much wherever I could catch your dad while he was playing ball.  Then we married and the adventure didn't stop.  We honeymooned in The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.  We moved across this gigantic beautiful blue ocean called the atlantic to a perfect little place called Basel, Switzerland.  And then the traveling really began.  Together we've visited 21 countries!  When we moved home, the adventures slowed down but came in different forms.  A sweet puppy, Lola.  Lots of weddings all over.  New careers.   and our greatest adventure:  You. 

we love you and we can't wait to adventure around with you by our side.
mom

fear of labor and delivery

{the past ten weeks through my instagram}
{what I'm wearing:  Left to Right.
First row: 1&2: Tibi via Rent the Runway // BCBG from Marshalls
Second Row:  PBJ Boutique // forever 21 // Camilyn Beth
Third Row:  All H&M (2011 season)}

this was the chapter in my book this morning.  the one i've been avoiding.  but avoiding only works for so long.  tomorrow I will be 6 months preggas!  time to face the music and figure out the birth plan.  even writing this post makes me a bit uneasy ... talking about childbirth always ends with an involuntary frown and eyes as big as saucers.  my pulse quickens, i probably have a few beads of sweat pooling on my gigantic forehead. but why?  i have never really put it into words.  how silly.  look at all of the people around me.  somebody somewhere gave birth to them! 

then this morning when I faced my fear // the chapter, I realized I'm not scared of a lot of what they say freaks people out about birth.  i've been through some physical pain in life due to my open heart and lung surgeries.  the nurses kept telling me then - "giving birth to you will be easy peasey". oh sure ladies. but really  physical pain isn't what freaks me out or causes me rapid awkward breathing.  i've had two epidurals before ... and they felt like a little finger prick on my spine.  i'm not scared of the epidural (though I have yet to decide).  when the chapter mentioned being afraid of IV's, I had to giggle.  i had one i lived with for months.  due to my heart issues, i have to be in a hospital as i'll need extra attention.  so water births around my small town or home births are out of the question for me. 

when i really examined what it is that freaks me out...  it is the shrieks i hear in most labor videos.   i get. incredibly. uncomfortable.  they're what I think of when I think of birth unfortunately.
 my birth plan might include having someone stick a sock in my mouth.
and then the big one i really didn't know i had until recently ... i'm afraid of a c-section.  which makes me feel oddly vulnerable to admit here.

and yep.  fears.  they stink, huh?  lots of prayers over here are happening, and attempting to meditate (which is sort of a joke with my brain).   trying to get over this fear of labor and delivery.  and in the end, the fact that we get to take home a little 8-or so pounder who i am going to snuggle the tar out of.  how truly amazing. the end justifies whatever means.

and you?  are you like one of those built for childbirth that pops them out, no big?  or do you get all cross eyed like me when someone tells you they were in labor for 2 days hollering throughout? 

Letters to Tuck: Volume 6

{Print by Oh My Deer Handmades} 

Dear Tuck,

The above color is my favorite.  If my soul had a color, that'd be it.  And those words, well that's pretty much all I can muster without becoming a crying fool when I think about how much I love you.  

I've been thinking about what your favorites are going to be.   There's no telling.  Thinking about what your favorites will be got me thinking about my own and how badly I'll want to share them with you.  Sharing all of the blessings of life with you is almost too much.  So here's my little bucket list for us, as a fam.  

take you to the amalfi coast and swim in blue grottos

go deep sea fishing and show you the color of water at 10000 feet

watch you fishing with your dad in our backyard

see you throwing a baseball with your dad

introduce you to the deliciousness of avocado 

blueberry pickin turned into blueberry pie makin

lightning bugs on a mississippi summer night 

the ole miss grove on a fall saturday

your grandmothers kind eyes

riding horses through fields and streams

hiking blue ridge mountains

switzerland in the summer 

your dads silly side

boat rides to see the sunset

gelato specifically stracciatella and movenpick

watch when you understand what Jesus did for us

a good shrimp po-boy

when you learn how to ride a bike

...

What's incredible to me is the fact that this is just the beginning of a list that could go on for days.

Life is filled with so much beauty.  I hope you always try to look for that in any situation.  

I can't wait to get started on this list with you.

xxxxxxxxxoooooooo

momma

Guilty // my crimes against men // dressing like a blogger

Yesterday I read both Jenni and Raven's blogs about dressing for their husbands.  Which had me thinking.   and nodding.  oh goodness yes I dress like a blogger.  red lipstick?  sometimes.  I own two bubble necklaces even.  I wear maxi dresses on the daily.  I have been known to wear high waisted shorts!  Oh my, and even a high waisted bathing suit.  probably so on the NOT attracting men list it's not even worth mentioning.  all guilty.  So I decided that night at dinner I was going to ask JB what he didn't like about the way I dress.  Because ultimately, I want to dress so my husband thinks I'm cute drop dead gorg.

Around the age of 21 I read Return to Modesty by Wendy Shalit , which sparked me devoting an entire class doing an independent study for how modesty works for women in the business field, particularly in male dominated fields.  I was pretty obsessed with this whole concept for a while, as you get when you study something intently for 6 months.  Since that time I became more of a modest dresser.  Though admittedly I have shown quite a bit of leg in my day.  My husband and I started talking around this time too (it was a couple years later we actually took talking to dating) ... aside from knowing me growing up, this is how he's always seen me.  Turtle necks and one pieces were somewhat of a staple there for a while.  So perhaps he's just used to it, and anything is a welcomed change from those darned turtlenecks.  But still, I needed to just ask.

Interestingly enough, at a bachelorette party in Miami a few months ago all of my girlfriends and I were lounging by the pool.  We heard one guy ask another "Why are all those girls wearing 1950's bathing suits?!"  I hung my head, I was one of the worst of them all, in a one piece.  We all of course thought his question was hilarious and repeated it throughout the day/night.  Later we got to talking to the guy who made the comment who said his wife dresses like us but that he doesn't like it.  This was probably my first realization that maybe my husband doesn't like my dressing.  But I never went home and asked.

Last night I greeted him with dinner and in a maxi dress no less, I asked him what he thought about what I was currently wearing.  JB looked puzzled.  Is this a trap?  { it must be said, my husband is honest to a fault.}  Even so, I reiterated that he wasn't going to get in trouble.  "I love them on you!".  He looked at me like I had a third eye.  Basically a why are you asking me about fashion look.   I asked him to think really hard... what do you not like that I wear?!  I put my hair in a top knot.  He told me he thought it was cute.  I'm like, come onnnnn... I need to know what you hate, I can take it!  Then it dawned on him.  One night, about 4 years ago I borrowed a dress that looked poufy and "like a cupcake".  He did not like that.  at all.  Hooray!  we're getting somewhere.  No cupcake dresses.  JB had to change for a soccer game, I walked after him to the stairs... calling out RED LIPSTICK!!  You must hate when I wear red lipstick ?!  He responded:  what's wrong with red lipstick? ...  Later last night when he had gotten home I showed him my bubble necklace.  "what does this remind me you of ...." Which you'll all get if you've read Raven's post.  I asked him if he hated them... again, nope.

And then this morning when he was about to leave I asked, what do you really like to see me in?  .... and all I got out of him was a smirk ... Though I don't think I'll be joining the nudist colony anytime soon.

  What I learned from this is my husband doesn't like poufy cupcake dresses, prefers two piece bathing suits (not a shocker), and hates a lot of make up.  This is the perk of having a color blind husband and one completely uninterested in fashion.  annnnnd I'll take it.

And your husband/boyfriend, what does he hate that you wear?  Thoughts?




PS:  We're on The Everygirl this morning & a take your breath away engagement shoot  

10 Gentle Reminders

 

I made this a while back when I found it in my Kate Spade Etiquette Book.  

Something I need to actually print out, and read often.  

Especially today.

 

Healthy Baby

I'm on the granola side of things.  I clean with baking soda and vinegar, take my veggies organic, and am one of those people who use natural deodorant (thankfully I'm not a sweaty person, otherwise it could get ... interesting).   

I can honestly say I've been a pretty relaxed pregnant person.  I've been careful not to consume deli meats, unpasturized cheeses, and all of the other goodies on the no list.  But I haven't gone overboard like I thought I might.  I let myself have a coke if i'm queasy ... I just try to listen to what my body needs.  Heck, I even had a steak last weekend!  Which is something I do just a few times a year and not really on purpose but more as I'm not much of a meat eater, and even less of a red meat eater.   I've been in tune for the most part... I'm exhausted, I get rest.  I'm hungry, I eat.  Same goes for what to put on and in my body.  Thanks to my mom who is light years ahead of everyone else in the health and organic world... I have developed a love for the as natural-as-i-can get away with in products, food, and lifestyle.  So naturally, when picking out things for the babe, I've been reading labels and researching away.  Here are a few items I'm going to give a whirl for baby tuck from aden + anais, Charleston Naturally (who offers 20% off to any of my readers with code FTAT) and Honest Company.  Would love the input from all the momma's out there too!

1.  organic swaddling blankets, 

2.  baby oil.  but not the kind with mineral oil (yuck).  

3.  baby comforter.  read about this one.  love.  

4.  Honest diapers.  we're not doing cloth over here, and these are the next best thing upon researching.  Plus they are pretty darn cute.  

more to come as my knowledge increases!  and if you're a momma who likes this sort of thing, I'd love to hear from you.  

xo

Bouquet of Pencils

Oh that fictional Joe Fox.  

Making me all heart eyes in the late 90's.  

Sending you all virtual freshly sharpened Pencil bouquets as school begins.  

Even if you're not in school anymore... there's just something about this time of year that makes you want to run out  to target and buy every piece of school supplies in the land. 

  { pencil cup holder,  banderole pencil set, things we love pencils,   Le pens,  }

Letters to Tuck: Volume 5

{both dresses are tibi via rent the runway}

My sweet Tuck,

You visited Virginia this weekend.  Your second time!  Already a little traveler, you little thing.  My college best friends are all married off now!  I can't wait for y'all to meet one another.  I've said it before, i'll say it again, a big prayer of ours is that you'll pick your friends wisely, and your spouse too.  I hit the jackpot in both arenas, and know I'll feel the same way about my kids // you.

Can I just express how excited I am to get to meet you in a few months??!!  I can't wait to hold you.

I LOVE YOU,
momma