November Self Portrait

This morning I was listening to my new favorite podcast. This week's topic: the value of reflection and finding one word to describe 2016. My mind started to wander. Not so much for a word to explain all of 2016 because this year has been such a whirlwind, but a word that describes November. Maybe this would be a way to come to terms with this month, the spectrum of emotions experienced, the events that have occurred and the overall shock I feel.

Dumbfounded. Embarrassed. Discouraged. Deeply sadden. Words to relate my feelings for (and with) my country. For my friends and family. For a sweet little girl fighting for her life.

The ultimate word is Numb. November has been numbing in a capacity I haven't experienced in a very long time - or maybe ever. And to wrap the month up with a red bow, I was involved in my first-ever car accident on the way to work. Everyone involved was okay, however, my car is not.

We have to look backward in order to move forward with any real clarity. I suppose I am still in the process of looking backward because at this time I just can't find any clarity.

Lantern Asia

None of the whispers or photos of Lantern Asia could do it justice. Norfolk never ceases to surprise and delight me with the imaginative, beautiful and special spectacles.

Happy Birthday Deb!

Happy Easter!

I was thrilled with the way these Easter vignettes turned out for Table Seven Antiques. This gorgeous shop in Ghent has been a client of mine for years and lucky for me has turned into a wonderful friendship as well. The backdrop for these photos is a late 1800's bread board. Stunning, right? Just take a few minutes to look around and there are photo backdrops everywhere!

We featured themed basket ideas the week leading up to Easter and it was a big hit.

. . . for the craft cocktails lover

. . . making Good Friday great

. . . basket essentials

. . . for the manly man

. . . for the foodie

. . . must have basket sweets

Mid-Summer Fantasy Fest

After such a pleasant surprise stumbling upon the Mid-Summer Fantasy Fest last year, we put it high on our weekend to-do list last weekend. Riding bikes to Town Point Park, we ended up making a date night of Friday. We even hit up two wedding favorites, the Marriott Bar and The Taproom.

#41: Bike Rides

#45: Date Night

#22: Fantasy Fest

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to see my 92 To-Do's for this Summer - and to see the brave souls tackling their own lists!

Relax.

Checked off "relaxing" from the list by hitting up the Hermitage Museum's Sunsets on the River. If you haven't been, it's a Summer must. Good music, tasty beverages, delicious food.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to see my 92 To-Do's for this Summer - and to see the brave souls tackling their own lists!

Wedding Wednesdays: The Venue

This may have been one of the most stressful decisions of the entire wedding. I had always dreamed of this picturesque view of a pond with a giant weeping willow tree, dinner by hanging lanterns and dancing under the stars. Obviously with a December wedding (in Virginia) in the works, this wasn't an option - unless we wanted to be ice skating on the pond and bundled in our parkas. So, no outdoor venues, which automatically cut 75 percent of the options (including Mike's dream of renting a big house on the Ocean and having a week-long wedding celebration...darn :).

My number one choice was the Woman's Club of Portsmouth. This gorgeous venue was recently renovated and would have been perfect for our vintage chic theme. Mike immediately canned the idea of Portsmouth in general, but I called for details and found out we wouldn't be able to stay past 11 p.m., which simple wouldn't do for our NYE wedding.

The Obici House in Suffolk, top
Yacht Club at Marina Shores, bottom

We considered the Yacht Club at Marina Shores, but this venue really shines with warm-weather weddings when you can enjoy the deck and water views. We talked with the event planner at the Obici House in Suffolk, but dates, the commute and rising rates within a week, left us unable to commit.

From top left, The Parlor on Granby, pretty warehouse wedding ideas, The Wells Theater and Vintage Kitchen

We decided it was really important for all of our visiting guests to see where we met and have built our lives together, which narrowed it down to Norfolk-only venues. I tinkered with the idea of the Arts District...a loft, warehouse style wedding? The Parlor on Granby wasn't able to hold our growing guest list of 150. The Texaco Building wouldn't be completed in time. Vintage Kitchen wouldn't return our phone calls. But perhaps The Wells Theater? We were good on dates, fees, it was in our beloved Norfolk ... but we might not have use of the theater because it'd be between shows and sets would be under construction.

Somehow I came across The Woman's Club of Norfolk website, which didn't help one way or another. It was hard to get in touch and schedule an appointment, but when we finally met with Mrs. Miller and walked around the house I started to foresee a wedding. That is, until we saw the reception hall. It was dingy, dirty, the floors were in bad shape and the "stage" was covered in a dark brown poop carpet (the color, not the smell) that was frayed and frankly, terrible. I said thank you and left without a second thought. Mike, on the other hand, was totally in favor. We'll re-carpet the stage, they'll clean the house, we'll rent furniture and have them de-clutter the rooms. These seemed like pretty lofty requests to me. However, as I started to show pictures of the house to family and friends (one being an interior designer), I gained some assurance it wasn't really as bad as I thought.

The reception hall of ugly.

The main house was beautiful and full of history, stunning antiques and pretty much my idea right before my eyes. Once we added decor, food and 150 (drinking) guests, you'll never notice the other stuff, they said. I prayed they were right because we signed the contract and promised myself I wouldn't question it. But I did, until the day of setup.

Weekend Catch Up

#17: Take a Nap

#45: Bike Rides, note this is not the bike I rode...just an adorable one I saw while thrifting.

#47: Paint Toenails

#67: Homemade Laundry Detergent, made it but still a little leery on using it.

#74: Clean House, thoroughly at 2 a.m. on a Friday night after Belmont. 

#84: Flea Market, unfortunately I can't say I'll be returning to this one. 

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating. 

#85: Bastille Day

Bastille Days in Ghent, a first-time event was held last week on Colley Avenue in front of Blair Middle School. I had the privilege to be in the know about this event from the beginning because I was asked to design the posters!

Like any inaugural affair, there were some aspects that had to either be nixed or downsized, but in less than a few months this event was pulled together and a great success. I was so excited that my design was very well received and found its way all over Ghent. The Harbor Gallery is selling 12x18 versions, framed and unframed. The Alliance Francaise Norfolk was selling t-shirts and it made it's way into the "Passport" that attendees used to discover all the events and specials.

The two-day event included Can Can Dancers, wine & cheese tastings, French story hour, tricycle Tour de Ghent, waiter races, French themed movies at The Naro, antique markets, fresh flowers, a guillotine photo booth, music and so much more!

Community paint project. There were two easels set up with blank canvases that anyone walking by could paint on. Here, someone started an Eiffel Tower and these girls were adding their artistic touch. This is a great idea for an art pop up or a feature at an art show.

We tried the all natural crepe with brown sugar and butter...delicious. Monique's Crepes is a Richmond-based food truck and has lots of events on their upcoming schedule.

Bastille Days t-shirts! 

Table Seven's adorable setup! They had lots of French inspired gifts, books and candy, I loved the Eiffel Tower suckers. Hopefully next year, the market can include more vendors with an even more eclectic collection of French-inspired vendors and booths.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating. 

Monday Musebles

Pleasant surprise from Emily. A thank you gift for her visit last month.
Can't wait to start a project (or find one in the trash) for these cuties.

Some weekends can be extremely productive. Others can be a disappointment in regards to the activities you may involve yourself in. Saturday, we made the wise choice of skipping the annual Wine Festival, but ended up at Smartmouth for Growler Power Hour ($10 off all growler fills). That still wouldn't have been a bad idea, however, we continued our shenenagins until the early hours of the morning. For as poorly as Sunday could have been, I actually remained moving - and crafting - the entire day. Managed to bake a cake AND make lunch for the entire week. I may not be 22 anymore, but it sure pays to be able to drink like one ;)

Smartmouth unveiled its Outta Your Gourd pumpkin ale. It's a must-try!

What a full day of crafting actually looks like, a big giant mess.

Spent Saturday morning with my favorite antique lady, Leigh Greer. You have to check out The Pilot's article on her beautiful shop!

Chili, in which every condiment in the fridge was used.

Spice Cake Box Mix + 1 Can Pumpkin + Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting = Bomb Diggity

Self Portrait: August

One of my best friends sent me this article earlier this month. We hadn't chatted (via the phone or gchat video) in nearly two months because our lives were just "crazy busy." Go read this article. Please, I insist. I'll wait.

READ IT.

Welcome back. Pretty awesome, right? I rarely read. Anything. But, I read this article start to finish (go ahead, give me a gold star, Adrienne). I found so many truths in this article. I was in that latchkey generation (as a morning attendee) and spent an equal amount time after school, outside in the woods finding the edge of the earth, or wetting my pants on the softball field. That is not something I modeled my idea of adulthood after (especially the latter), seeing that I perused a career in 'journalism graphics.' However, it definitely set the stage for the creative, inspiring, can't-sit-still type of job, I would eventually want.

After reading that article, I started paying close attention to my reaction to "How are you?", and others reaction as well. Busy literally the only thing people said. I was bound and determined not to give this answer, but found myself just dancing around the fact that I was crazy busy. Yes, it actually is all taken on voluntarily, my ambition or drive to learn or my addiction to 'busyness,' as Kreider states. And he's right, for what am I so very busy for? So people look at my blog? Repin my latest furniture how-to? Retweets, Facebook likes or networking opportunities? What does any of that actually matter?

So this month I tried to remain unbusy. Not take on any [more] obligations. Tell people 'no thanks,' with no further explanation. React with "I'm doing great", and leave it at that. It was not well received. I tried to relax on the couch a couple nights with Mike, and my legs twitched as if they need to be released of the "idle demon" living within them. So I took a step away and looked at the big picture.

Yes, I'm busy. And yes, it's all self-inflicted. But I love it. I'm becoming a part of this amazing city I call home. I'm trying my best to make a difference with serving as different roles in community organizations. I'm meeting fresh faces who are vibrant, supporting and loving people, by designing wedding invitations, flyers, logos, making handmade crafts, taking pictures and drinking! So what is the point to all of this, you ask? I've realized my role is to be who I am. I know I'm a little quirky and I have my faults,. I'm loyal and hope that others are to me. I love my family and friends incessantly, and can't get enough of them. I absolutely do not know how to relax. And, I just hope to make a tiny little difference, somehow.

I walked out of work today, got in my car and set my bags down. I turned down the music and took a deep breath. It's the minutes of serenity this that make it all okay. The one time Mike and I had a picnic at the beach and I refused to go running because I wanted to sit and watch the Ocean. And like this entire afternoon at The Hermitage (below) that balance out my life. Life is too short not to be busy.

P.S. If you made it through all of this reading, you deserve TWO gold stars. See me after class :)

Live Music

Atlas Genius at The NorVa

Gary U.S. Bonds at Norfolk's first First Fridays

Bayou Boogaloo at Town Point Park

I'm participating in my third 92 Days of Summer challenge. Read about the project here.