A Very Good Day

Today was one of the good ones, y’all. Just a really fun day with family and friends and our hearts are extra full.

Hoping to share more soon xx

Out of Town Guests

Our best friends Matt & Beau are in town for a while while after evacuating Louisiana because of hurricane Ida.

It’s a heartbreaking reason for their visit, but we’re so happy they were able to evacuate and shelter in Tennessee for a bit. How long will they be here? No one knows, but I know I speak for both of us when I say we wouldn’t mind if they stayed as long as they want to.

Because of crazy schedules and then becoming parents and then the pandemic, we went years without seeing them and suddenly we’ve seen them three times in the last few months. The kids love them and, after a stressful few weeks with work and renovations, them being here is just the bright spot we needed in our lives. Again, I hate the reason they’re here, but I’m glad they’re safe and I’m glad for their company.

We finally got to show them the farm and Holiday House after they’ve had to hear us talk about it for a few years. Also, they’re amazing cooks. Last night they made the most delicious chicken Parmesan and homemade Caesar salad that I’ll be dreaming about for years.

I’m just feeling so grateful for their friendship tonight.

Everything is Beautiful in The Clouds & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? It was another crazy one for us: we’ve been at Holiday House renovating it, with PJ being there every day this week. The best part? School was cancelled for the boys yesterday and today due to a shortage in staff because of covid. I’m being sarcastic about that being the best part, by the way 😂. Nothing like renovating a house in 93 degree weather with three kids who would much rather be at school than in a half-renovated trailer. However, they make their own fun and love playing at the farm, so it isn’t too bad.

Meanwhile, we've been dealing with some drama with our big tiny project that I can’t remember if I told you about on the blog or not? I know we mentioned it in our last YouTube video, and it was supposed to be here and worked out by now, but almost 3 weeks later and it’s still not settled. It’s caused a lot of anxiety and stress this week and PJ dives into more in this week’s new YouTube vlog premiering Sunday. Ugh. What a week, y’all.

In other news, and on the plus side: the pond is coming along great (finally) and so much progress has been made in such a short amount of time. It looks amazing!!! You can (sort of) see in the picture above how big and deep it’s going to be. The pond guys are confident it could be finished within a few weeks and then it’s up to Mother Nature to fill it up. We’ll see!

It’s going to be another nonstop weekend over here: we have a collaboration to shoot, Holiday House to work on, and then we have to get ready for an exciting thing next week that we can’t wait to share, but first we have to get the supplies for it. Stay tuned!!!

Lastly, we were driving home from the farm yesterday and our oldest was pointing out animals he was seeing in the clouds. I mentioned to him how beautiful the cloud shaped like a dog was, and he responded with, “Everything is beautiful in the clouds” which for some reason really resonated with me. It made me stop and think, yes, everything does seem to be more beautiful in the clouds. Such an accidentally profound statement from a six year old, don’t you think?

Have a great weekend, friends xo

Pond Progress at Ocoee Farm

Finally!

After months of being delayed due to horrible weather, the guy who is building our ponds at Ocoee Farm was finally able to start this week!! He and his team began the digging and clearing for the pond by our warehouse building (that will one day be a house for our family) and it’s already looking so good. Of course, to everyone but us it probably just looks like a bunch of overgrown grass with big patches of mud (because that’s exactly what it is), but we can see the progress already and we’re over the moon excited.

This photo below, where the big pile of wood is, is exactly where the future pond will be. It’s going to be a pretty good size, and hopefully it will be a way for us to cool off during the scorching summer months. Remember when PJ built us a small, temporary pond behind the warehouse and the kids swam in it this past spring? We’re going for that except bigger and less muddy…and more permanent, of course.

And just for even more context of where it’ll be, the pond will sit directly to the right of the warehouse in this photo below. Can you imagine?! We’re so excited to get started designing that house (one day) and then on top of that, having a pond that we’ll be able to just walk out the front door and take a dip in sounds so idyllic to me. This is a ways down the road dream, but PJ is taking the steps in order to make it happen and it’s all so exciting.

PJ walked the land with the pond guy yesterday as they laid out the parameters and talked about sloping hills, future driveways, and where the other pond is going. That’s a whole different story for a different day, but I don’t think anything feels better than seeing progress being made on a future dream. Because when the progress is happening, it’s suddenly not so much in the future, but very much in the present.

Feeling extra super grateful this evening for PJ today and his ability to make so much progress happen.

Have A Lovely Evening & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? Ours was nonstop, filled with doctor appointments, emotional school drop offs, and super tight deadlines. It doesn’t look like the weekend will be any less eventful: we’re shooting a campaign tonight, tomorrow, and two on Sunday. Wish us luck!!

I’m keeping this Happy Friday post short and sweet today because we gotta get to work. Hope you have a lovely Friday night, friends, and an even better weekend. See you on Monday!

xoxo

An Unforgettable Night

Morning friends, and happy Monday.

I didn’t have my phone on me for most of the night (which was a welcome change, one that I quite enjoyed), so these were some of the only photos I was able to get of my brother’s wedding last weekend.

It was an unforgettable night celebrating our family; I just can’t wait to get the actual photographer’s photos back because mine are a little sparse. I was the best man, so I (nervously) gave a speech that PJ (graciously) helped me write, sis was the flower girl and was escorted down the aisle by her handsome brothers, and my brother said “I do” to his wife (and my college classmate who has felt like part of our family for years) in front of our friends and family (who traveled far and wide to be there).

After being delayed over a year, we were all excited to finally see them married, at the same place they met four years earlier, no less. It seems surreal to think my brother is married, because now that means that three out of our four siblings are now. How did that happen? When did we all get to the ages where that starts regularly happening?

To be honest, though, I’m happy we’re all finally at these stages in our lives. I tell PJ all the time, now that I’m 30, I feel the age I’ve felt internally for years. I am enjoying getting older, and, luckily, PJ is enjoying the gray hairs that keep popping up on the sides of my head. It’s a win-win.

Sharing a few more photos in the slideshow below…

…and if you want to see the entire wedding weekend in video form, you can click here.

Exciting Plans Ahead & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends!

How was your week? This was the first week, officially, that all three kids were in school! Sis started yesterday (expect a recap next week), and though it was only a half day and she was only gone for a few hours, we definitely felt the effects of her being gone. We missed her!

We miss all of them when they’re at school, but to be honest, it was kind of nice having her here with us during the day while the boys were at school. That one on one time with her is so important, so essential, and not to mention…one kid vs. three at home all day is SO MUCH EASIER. Why did no one tell us this? 😂

Of course, what she gains from school is extremely good for her, things like social skills and crafts and art projects; things that we can’t, or don’t have time to, give her during the day. So we know all in all a school setting is better for her right now. That may change going forward, and depending on how the school year goes with Covid, we may end up pulling all of them out, but for now they’re all in school and they’re all, thankfully, loving it.

We checked the kids out early yesterday for a short-ish road trip to look at something exciting, something that’s been on our radar for years, and we can’t wait to get started on it!! I want to reveal more, but we’re working out the logistics of it currently and I can’t say too much. It feels fun and fresh and has us both looking forward to the days ahead. It’s always a good feeling when you allow yourself to get excited about something. I think we’ve both been in this rut, creatively, for a while now, and, as creative people, that’s not a very fun place to be.

But I know that’s life. There are constant ups and downs when it comes to the gears in your brain turning and producing the way you want them to. Sometimes you’re on a high and you’re rolling and the ideas are just flowing out of you, and other times you feel stuck, like you’ve been doing the same thing over and over and you need to come up with something new and different to reinvigorate your spark. I think that lies ahead.

We’ve been talking so much lately about our work, our job, our business, and the direction we want to take it, and I think we’ve finally reached a resolution where it’s all starting to make sense (to us) again. We’re excited about the future, and we’re excited to have these spaces online to share our thoughts and ideas and dreams and life. It’ll be one hell of a scrapbook one day (it actually already is!).

Lastly, speaking of new and different, I made a few changes on the blog going into the weekend (what else is new)? After four years of the color orange on the site (a nod to Tennessee), I have officially retired it, and in its place, a warm, happy gold takes over. I also changed the font to a sans serif to (hopefully) make it easier to read, and lastly, replaced the logo (again) with PJ & Thomas. It’s back! And this time, I think it’s here to stay. So things shouldn’t change too much more around here and this will be the new look going forward. I’m going to regret saying that in a month when everything looks different again 😂.

Have a lovely weekend, y’all, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter!! The next one goes out today.

xoxo