Celebrating Mary Allyn

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't just hop on a plane for anyone these days. After the kitchen remodel, we're definitely on a budget and leaving Calder is always hard and full of tears. But for Mary Allyn, the question of whether or not to go on her bachelorette party to Denver was never a question.

The second I got the email from Abbey (MAR's best friend from Greenville) about the weekend, I was game. Most of us live all over the country any way, so traveling was inevitable.

Mary Allyn's been an amazing friend to me and the moment we met freshman year at Ole Miss, we instantly hit it off. She is one of a kind. Anyone who knows her (or knows of her), knows this to be true. I always tell people, she is the girl version of Eustace Winn, aka Poostie. And if you know Poostie Pie, need I say more?

I could write a book about Mary Allyn (someone should by the way...not a bad idea). Her southern draaaaaaaawlll is like nothing I've ever heard before (straight from the Mississippi Delta), and she loves to karaoke and sing as loud as she can (some might say she's tone deaf...sorry MAR:)

Because of her karoke/music obsession, we made her sing and pose with every street musician we passed...

She's obsessed with all-things patriotic and her favorite song is "God Bless the USA." She reads "National Geographic" and to this day, her favorite Christmas gift is a new Atlas. She is hilarious and genuine and as real as they come. She knows everyone (and I mean everyone), and will make the most uncomfortable person at any party feel instantly at home.

We lived in Jackson Hole together and have lived in many other shacks together throughout the years. Love you MAR. Such an amazing weekend and so fun to celebrate you and Stephen!!

This was the funniest (and Funnest) thing I've ever done, and probably the highlight of the entire trip. We drove the "pedal hopper" all over downtown Denver for hours—stopping at several bars along the way. We had the music up as loud as it would go, and don't think Mary Allyn wasn't belting "God Bless the USA" on the way back. The driver said he had never seen such a thing. I hate to say it but I do believe him.

 

 Amazing dinner and view at Linger.

 

I loved Bruner's texts throughout the weekend. This one was my favorite. Looks like they missed me a lot, huh?

 On our way up the mountain to Red Rocks...

What a view. I could go on and ON about how amazing Red Rocks was. Definitely something to check off my bucket list. And I'm not one to go on about how good accoustics are but listen to this video and judge for yourself. Bonnie Raitt was great and her songs always bring back so many memories...

And here are the save the dates I designed for Mar and Stephen. Again, I made an exception here since I'm not designing invites or stationery these days. :) Their wedding is in Monteagle at the Assembly, and I can't wait to be in the mountains when the leaves change colors.

And no matter how much fun we had, I missed my Calder-bear so much!

Messy diapers, spit-up and all—that's all I wanted to come home to. I could just gobble her up!

John 15

 

I like to think I'm in control.

Most of us struggle with this, right? Or maybe I struggle with this more than others. I mean, I know I need to give everything to God, but do I really do that? When something bad happens, do I go to God or do I reach for my phone to call my husband or my mom. I'll admit it, I typically grab my phone.

I just got home from our Bible Study and we're studying the book of John. I was so tempted to miss it today because of my busy workload and how I can barely form complete thoughts at the moment, and because I needed to run some errands before I picked Calder up from Mother's Day Out, etc. etc.—you know, the typical things that seem more important! But then I thought...Hadley, just GO. It's ONE hour. You need this more than anything. Those things can wait. 

So I turned the car towards Maribeth's and I'm so glad I did. Today we went over John 13-15 and God was definitely speaking to me the entire time, especially in Chapter 15. It's SO easy for me to loose perspective and begin to take on life by myself; and as a result, I begin to live in this illusion that I'm in control. I forget that God is the vine and we are the branches. Apart from Him, I can do NOTHING. 

I could go on and on because I think it's a struggle for all of us. We all wanna be the BEST mom, wife, friend, daughter, (fill in the ___); meanwhile, maintaining the BEST job, cleanest house, best homemade dinners,  (fill in the ___). And then we realize we can't do it by ourselves. We need GOD.

It was the best hour I could have spent and that to-do list can wait.
I arrived stressed and left refreshed and at peace. 

Our New Kitchen

Our kitchen is finally finished! I can't tell you how pleased I am with how it turned out. Our contractor, Robert Shotlander, was so patient and went above and beyond to make sure the smallest detail was perfect.

The extension Robert built is perfect and we've eaten every meal there since it was installed. I found the stools at Tuesday Morning. They look identical to the ones I almost ordered for Wisteria, and they were half the price.

I love our new undermount sink and faucet. We were in desperate need of a new sink and faucet, and it's the little things that make all the difference.

 

Stone Interiors installed the marble countertops and they were so professional and easy to work with. I highly recommend using them!

What a before and after! I keep pinching myself when I realize this is our kitchen. Of course, we did it all on a budget. We kept our old appliances and didn't have any major changes to the cabinets, other than painting them and adding the extension. It was worth every penny since this is where we spend most of our time.

Oh, and I have to add...to see what our kitchen really looks like, you can come by any day of the week and see tons of toys on the floor—and bright colored sippy cups and baby food everywhere! All quickly stored away in the pantry for my silly little photo shoot!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Still making progress on the kitchen. Countertops were installed yesterday! Subway tile is being installed as I type. Hope to be finished with it all tomorrow. Can't wait to show you the final product soon!

And a few recent pics of our little Calder-bear...

Still trying to figure out what these little legs are for. I'm not rushing anything..that's for sure!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

I saw this on Pinterest today and it made me stop and think, and ask the question—what really matters? Am I focusing on those things? Always good to have a reality check.

This quote is from one of my favorite books Crazy Love by Francis Chan. We did a Bible Study on this book last year, and it definitely makes you think about life from a new perspective. Here's the intro from the Crazy Love website:

Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts — it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same.

Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.

Pantone Fall Colors

Can you believe it's almost fall? I can't. This summer has flown by and I keep reminding myself to soak in every minute before these long summer nights are gone.

Speaking of FALL, the Fall 2012 Pantone Colors were just announced and I had to share these amazing colors. I know I'm a few days behind but I've been a preoccupied these days...

I love them all. Which ones are your favorite?

Kitchen Stools

Last week it was marble—this week it's the accessories. I've been looking for our kitchen stools and still trying to make a final decision. Our space is limited (40" total width to be exact), so I need something small and compact. Each stool can't be wider than 17" each.

Three design options keep coming back to me:

1) This Industrial Iron Swivel Stool from Wisteria

I do love the idea of adding a simple skirt to the stool. My good friend Shannon Cook has great taste and I always leave her house jealous inspired with ideas for mine. She has similar stools in her kitchen and I've always admired them. See her kitchen below.

2) I also love this slipcover look. The kitchen below, designed by Molly Frey, is one of favorites.

These stools below are from Ballard Designs and are a whopping $349 each, which I find pretty ridiculous for what it is.

These below are much more affordable from Pottery Barn—and I like them better too...

3) I've also thought about using these simple stools from Ballard...

And my mom has these stools and I love them too...

Hmmm...so many options to choose from. But no matter what, I keep coming back to the simple industrial stools from Wisteria. That's probably what I'll end up purchasing, but still not 100% so any suggestions are welcomed.

If I had a bigger space I'd think about something bolder with a comfortable back like these...

And like everything, they're a million ways to do it and they all could work and look great...hopefully!