August in Instagram

Summer is over. It doesn't feel like it really began. Too much work, too much rain. Next summer will be better! Let's get ready for Fall! Heading out to a college football game tomorrow. Very fitting, don't you think?

August had us making videos for last days of summer, going to church, Haven in Atlanta, the beach, the beach! Exploring old buildings in downtown Birmingham, teaching cheerleaders, research for The Chapel Market, loving scenes from Hansel and Gretel, decorating for Christmas and friends bringing back prizes from New Orleans! Planning a new house!  It was a fun month!

Lucy's Lockets vs. Lucy Lockets

I, for some reason, started out calling my jewelry Lucy Lockets. You know that nursery rhyme? Lucy Locket lost her pocket? Or something like that. I have a friend, Ashlee, that would always say Lucy's Lockets. I would correct her, as I do. (sorry Ash. I love you more than life). Now, I've started doing the same thing!! So, the question. What do I call them? It seems that Lucy's Lockets is appropriate since I have the Lucy's Inspired umbrella. Branding. Keep it simple stupid. All those things I tell people all the time on how they should present their brand. This is my open apology to Ashlee. You were right. I apologize for correcting you. You should smack me in the head and tell me why. You would never do that, though. Thank you.

So, with all that gibberish. Here is the big news! The Etsy shop is STOCKED!!! I had a few left over from Haven and finally got pictures of them. They are all up. The necklaces are sideways. Who knows why. I will fix them one day.....maybe. Let me know if you know an easy way to do that. I guess photoshop, but who has time for that? I did talk to an Etsy expert a few weeks ago, I LOVE CAROL,  and she gave me a million tips on how to run Etsy to my advantage. I need to work on putting those tips into place. I did update a few about me things. If you take a peek at my shop, let me know what you think and if you have advice....bring it on! I need it!!

Lucy's Lockets will be in a couple of Holiday Magazine issues. Can't wait to see that! Ah-mazing! I've had a blast getting to know Ande. If you know who she is, you know the mags to look for! (Wink) If not, I will make sure you know when they hit the newsstands! So much fun! If you follow me on Instagram, there are hints there!

Back To School - August 19

First day back. Summer is over. I have a 13 year old 8th grader and an 11 year old 6th grader. Been a few years since they were in the same school. Same carpool line. Emma is very excited about her little brother being at school with her. He's pretty excited to be there, too!

NOTE: He just walked in my room with his new Alabama dry fit shirt, Alabama basketball shorts and new under shorts. He can't wear ANY of that to school tomorrow!

Dress code is a lot more strict at the middle school. They have to wear a belt every single day. He has worn a belt or pants that need a belt a total of 8 times in his life. He'll be fine, but it's going to be a big adjustment! Emma will wear her cheer uniform tomorrow. She has to be there at 7:15 am to get ready for the pep rally. She always looks so cute and I'm so proud of her! It's going to be early.....for sure. They will be excited, though. It's Tuesday I'm worried about! Hopefully, they can get in bed early on Monday night.

Emma just walked in for me to help her iron her shirt. While we are waiting on the iron to heat up she says we have to leave at 7:05 in the morning. Then she asks if I will drop her off first or John Connor. Ummmmmmmmm.......You go to the SAME SCHOOL! She was like. oh. yeah. I guess we can leave at 7:10. (giggle)

And now on to memory lane......so many pictures to choose from. Be still my heart!

5 year old birthday party. Cheer theme. We had Hoover cheerleaders there for inspiration. I have a feeling Emma may be doing that for a couple of little friends soon! 

Here she is helping the 2nd graders with their dance before the season starts!

2004

 First day of Kindergarten.....seriously? Oh my heart!

 2007

 He couldn't wait to ride the bus. He'd been watching Emma go for 3 years. It was finally his turn!

Will go for either of these next two shots in the morning. I have a feeling we will be running late and no one will pose for pictures!

Inspiring Design Books

I'm a sucker for a good design book. I can walk in Anthropologie and want to walk out with 10! I've been walking around the house and gathering my design books. One of my recent favorites is Rough Luxe. It's a compilation of the Rough Luxe Hotels around the world and several other spaces that have the same aesthetic. One of which, is in Alabama! You can see some of the images from the Alabama space in this NYTimes article.

Another favorite that I've looked at hundreds of times is, "Decorate", by Holly Becker and Joanne Copestick. I found this one on Amazon. There are so many images that I have bookmarked. I'm all over white walls to showcase the unique pieces I've been collecting over the years. My husband is not a fan. We've built 6 houses and are working on floor plans for our 7th now. I have a feeling he is going to have a little more input this time around....

French Flair has so many gorgeous images! The cover drew me in immediately. This is a super thick book. I want to tear out all the pages and wallpaper my walls with them!

I bought this book last night because I saw it at Anthro the other day. I refrained from buying it then because I already have too many. I couldn't stop thinking about it and ordered it from Amazon! I can't wait for it to get here!!

Do you have any favorites that I need to look through? 

On the Hunt for Old Doors

The house at Moon Glow will have a lot of character. It will be a two-story home with a small basement garage. There will also be a workspace/office/studio space for me in a separate tiny house. I may be more excited about that than anything! {wink}

One of the most important elements in building a house will be the doors. I won't have pre-fab, all matching doors. I'm sure it's easy for you to guess where I will shop for these magnificent doors. Southern Accents Architectural Antiques will be my go-to. If they do not have what I'm looking for exactly, I will have them on the hunt for me! I was looking through Velvet and Linen's blog yesterday of their new Patina House and got very inspired! Here are a few that I pinned from the SA website. I would love to have pocket doors for the bedrooms and my bathroom. The pocket doors with the track hardware are what I'm thinking will be in my bathroom. They are so pretty in person! They are keeping them for me at the gym until I can install. I hope they don't charge me a storage fee...it could be 6 months!

There are two of these, I would love to have them as the front doors.

These would be used as pocket doors. I'm thinking for my bedroom. 

I think this one would be great for Emma's room?

I love the chippiness of this door. I would probably use this one in my separate tiny house.

There are a lot more doors to be found! If you see any you think I might like, let me know!!

These are so popular for basements or a wine cellar. 

Saving Moon Glow Lake

I'm married to a land developer. What this means is that he takes gorgeous pieces of property and turns them into suburban living spaces. Sometimes it feels like he is taking a natural habitat and destroying the land. His favorite spaces are ones with a view of water and plenty of trees. Some lots will be over an acre and most will be at least 3 acres. He always wants to keep as many trees and natural habitat as possible.

There's a new neighborhood in town and it caused a LOUD protest. A beautiful lake in the middle of the woods that was private property was sold to my husband. He brought in a very well known housing developer that will create a community of over 140 houses. This area was untouched and couldn't be used by the public. The neighbors pleaded that it was the last natural habitats in North Shelby County. I'm happy to say, there will still be plenty of room for the animals and the lake! We feel like saving it is using the land. Before, it was used once or twice a year. Now, we will have standup paddle boards, a small boat, fishing, swimming, and tons of fun on this lake! We will enjoy it everyday and so will lots of other families. Thankfully,  there are so many natural spaces throughout North Shelby County that will never be developed because they have been turned into area parks.

Here is an aerial view of what the lake looks like. We will be toward the back of the lake.

I'm meeting with an architect today to see a 2nd version of our house plans. I envision lots of windows, light colored walls, and timber framing with hand hewn beams. I will always have a rustic look to the homes I build. I'm not a fan of modern style. 

via

I want my home to be comfortable and cozy. With a background of light walls and ceiling, I want to add pops of color along with leather couches and salvaged tables. I will also use industrial lighting and mix in chandeliers with as many prisms as I can find! 

I'm on the hunt for doors right now. They need to be purchased before the floor plans are finalized!

2nd Avenue Shopping

Birmingham, Alabama has been getting a lot of press lately. Namely in the New York Times as a place that is on the comeback. You may remember me saying that at the Southern C Summit someone said it was the next Portland. We all got a kick out of that and blew it off. Well, "they" just may know what they're talking about!

I met with a new friend, Becky, that is like the mirror image of me. We have very similar taste and drive to be creative. She has a much better background in creativity than I do, but we believe that if we joined forces in some way....the world wouldn't be able to handle it! So, we had lunch on 2nd Avenue North and she was running a little late. I took this opportunity to do a little shopping. I started out on 3rd Avenue South and popped by a little shop called Retriever Antiques. < Hello, what a cute name!
I was very disappointed to find her closed for the day.

Next door is Frontera. If you've never been there before, this is a place full of iron work. Lots of iron decor, tables, stools, you name it. It has a very outdoor feel to it. They also do custom work! I noticed a couple of light fixtures that didn't necessarily fit into the theme. I asked and they were a designers that had them there on consignment. One fit a client's need and the other fit my need. Need, you say? Well, ok, not a need but a love of lighting that I can't quite get over. One was old and the other a reproduction. I will let you guess which one I wanted! {wink} There were also a couple of tables in there that would fit right into my.......um, nowhere. I do not have room for a table! Is it terrible that I want to move just so I will have a place to put more tables and light fixtures? It IS terrible, I know.

I left there and headed to 2nd Ave. North where I was meeting Becky at the Urban Standard. I forgot to get a red velvet cupcake. UGH! How do you forget cupcakes? I tell you how you forget. You start talking to Becky and she is saying everything that runs through your head constantly and you realize you are talking to the person that gets everything you want to do. We have a few plans in place and if our dreams come true, you will be able to partake in said plans. Until then, get down to 2nd Avenue North tomorrow for the Second Saturday Sidewalk Sale on 2nd.  Downtown Birmingham, people. It's where it's at!

 You can see these fantastic chairs at What's on Second. A place where you will find everything from chandeliers to NKOTB board games. #seriously. It's a destination.

For the record, I bought a brand new lens for my camera, ordered it from Amazon on Monday, it came on Tuesday and I should start using it! Iphone pictures are just so much easier!

I'm a DIY Blogger and I Attended Haven as a Vendor

Do I have regrets? Yes. I wanted to go to Haven Conference and be a blogger, hang out with bloggers, and learn from other bloggers about how to be a better blogger. I picked up my game on this blog almost a year ago. I joined a fun group of other bloggers (I've let them down) that were going to support me and I would them. I haven't asked much of them because I didn't have time to give back. #howmanytimescanisaybloggerinoneparagraph

I thoroughly LOVED being a vendor at Haven. I had an amazing booth that was, by far, the talk of the bloggers and other vendors.  I had a lot of cool stuff to show a little of what Southern Accents has at the store.

I also had a great selection of Lucy Lockets! The response to my jewelry was overwhelming! I love it and my friends love it, but strangers? They LOVED it! It was all worth it. They way I displayed the necklaces was my favorite! There's this cabinet full of clip boards at the store and I've been trying to figure out a way to make it useful for 4 years!! I finally found the perfect use for them! Too bad it leaves the cabinet with holes. Thankfully, they clipboards go back and I can "borrow" anytime I need to! {wink}

I do still regret not hanging with the bloggers and learning from them. I met A LOT of them. They all came by the booth and that was fun. I've been going through cards and reading their blogs. So many unique blogs and personalities. I do have a better understanding of the community. I hope to keep conversations going with a lot of them. I had a couple that were interested in featuring Lucy Lockets on their blogs. I'm looking forward to collaborating with them!  Several of the teachers have recaps or "cliff notes" of their classes on their blogs. I'm hoping to read through and use some of the tips for this little space of the internet.

I can't wait to see what everyone does with their findings from the booth. We had quite a few balustrades for sale. We priced them at $10 each and they were going quickly! One blogger is making a table, one a lamp, the marketing director and event coordinator of Annie Sloan Unfolded are doing a challenge to see who can create the most creative piece out of them. I'm thrilled we found something for everyone to think out of the box. That's probably my favorite thing about the store is the inspiration and creativity I find there.


Debbie and Teryl laying out their goods. There's going to be a challenge and I can't wait to see footage of them battling it out! The planning and scheming was in full force! Watch the Annie Sloan Unfolded blog for the final reveal!


Haven and the DIY Shuffle will be in my brain for quite sometime. I'm going to try and keep the momentum flowing here. Would love to know if you like what you see and what you would like to see more of! xoxo

I leave you with a few more pictures of the booth. These were all taken with my iphone and the fluorescent lighting didn't help!

Miss Teryl from Annie Sloan Unfolded wearing her Lucy Locket! It goes perfectly with that top! ;)

 ss Teryl from Annie Sloan Unfolded wearing her Lucy Locket! It goes perfectly with that top! ;)