stunning

erin trumble photography: sr portraits

street art

we found this gigantic mural in downtown grand rapids today. they have some amazing street art up here.

erin trumble photography: sr portraits

erin trumble photography: sr portraits

these are a few of my favorite from day one of shooting my sister's senior portraits. enjoy!

isn't she just ridiculous!

we made it to michigan safe and sound. here's to wishing everyone a safe and cozy wednesday. the boy and i are enjoying the cooler weather, my parents new cozy house, and lots of love. hope everyone else is just as lucky. p.s. how awesome is my new mug from yellow branch pottery.

yummy candy necklace

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. antibiotics. i am not normally one to take a lot of medication. as a matter of fact, i kind of hate it. i'd rather have a cup of soup, hot tea, and vitamin c. but after many days of trying to heal myself the "homemade" way i gave up. but i am feeling much better now.

2. lots of movies and popcorn. the boy was such a trooper this week. he knew i felt like crap, and he did his best to take it easy with me.

3. the boy had his trial gymnastics class this week. it was an awesome evening of flips and jumps and joy. he loved the class and has been begging to go back ever since. can't wait until october when his class starts.

4. feeling better i finally made it back to ballet. ugh....it's amazing what 13 days of illness will do to a person. it was tough, but i made it through the class. it felt amazing to be back.

5. the boy and i made plans with some friends to go to leapin' lizards for a play date this week. the best part was that the hubs surprised us and met us for some hanging out and jumping around! love that man.

6. saturday morning at 8am came very early this week, but what more could you ask for than the hubs and the boy already smelling of sunscreen and sporting their bathing suits jumping on the bed chanting "beach! beach! beach!" we got the best parking spot at the beach, dug an impressive hole, swam, skimboarded. it was a perfect early morning beach trip.

7. i went grocery shopping alone this week....enough said.

8. date night! the hubs and i decided with all my feeling under the weather and about to leave for another week....date night was in order! we planned to see a movie...that didn't work. so then we tried to have dinner at our new favorite spot...kitchen was closed. so we ended up at our favorite little irish pub eating fried foods and drinking beers with friends!

9. you ever set a plan that completely falls through but you end up having a blast getting distracted. this morning we tried to go buy a beach umbrella (that is much harder than you would think) and a velcro toss toy (also impossible to find) to take to the beach. we ended up driving all over town in monsoon rain storms and playing tag in gander mountain. oh it was a blast.

10. my new candy necklace. yum.

mud run

one week from today i will have mud in places i don't even know about. so so so excited to run the grand rapids 5K mud run with lisa, alyssa, and paige!

gold!

i have totally been crushing on this gold nail polish trend. i have been searching for the perfect shade and i found it today! dandy lion from nicole by opi is awesome! it kinda reminds me of wonder woman. what made it even more appealing is that in was on clearance at target for just a $1. gotta love a good deal!

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. once or twice a year i make it out to my parent lake house on lake santeetlah. it is my heaven on earth. i think deep down inside (as much as i love living on the beach) that i was meant to be pickin' a banjo in the back woods of north carolina. spending the week up there was so rejuvenating (even if i was sick half the trip).

2. haley and paige drove up with my cousin to surprise my dad and spend some time with us at the lake. it was the best surprise! my dad was blown away. i had such an amazing time with them! the two of them are growing up to be such amazing women and i am so proud to be their big sister!

3. one of my favorite things about spending time in NC is checking out the local artist. we usually head into asheville and hit up some galleries, but this time we stayed very local. yellow branch farm and pottery as well as bee global will always be on my "must go to" list when i am up there.

4. the boy was so amazing on the plane. i was worried about the flight home since we didn't even take off until about 9pm. he fell asleep before we even left the ground and slept until every last person was off the plane. what a champ.

5. as i mentioned i got sick on vacation...bummer. but i must say, that if you are going to get sick you should do it when we are with 15 of your closest family members. i had so much help with the boy. it was the biggest weight off my shoulders to have all the help. thanks everyone!

6. as much fun as i had in north carolina this past week the highlight had to be getting home to see the hubs! unfortunately he couldn't make the trip, but we sure missed him! it is so good to be back in his arms.

7. nyquil - even though it makes me do funny things in my sleep.

8. sharing in the excitement with my two favorite people from ouraugust. not only is it their month (both of them celebrating birthdays in august), but these two little lovers just got engaged! jump on over and share the love with them! i know that they will have a long life together full of laughter and joy. best wishes!

9. the boy did his first zip line at his friend olive's birthday party. barrel o'monkeys is an awesome family run kids gym in delray beach. the boy and i have been before, but he was too scared to do the zip line before....but today was a new day! thanks to a little persuasion from mommy (i told him it was like a super hero....how could he say no?) and the instructor letting me take him on the ride....he did it!

10. i have not legitimately cooked dinner since i have been home from my trip (baked chicken and mac and cheese doesn't count). between me and the boy being sick and the lack of food in the house it just hasn't happened. all the pizza and take out is taking it's toll but sometime it's nice to have someone else make dinner. as i am writing this now the hubs in on his way home from picking up dinner at chili's. yum.

some inspiring textures and colors

bee global

on our western north carolina artisan adventure we stopped in to the bee global gallery. what an amazing and refreshing experience. from the second i stepped out of the car i knew that this place was going to be special. the contemporary building is beautifully and organic placed among hills and fields of wild flowers. there is a calming "buzz" almost like a hum all over the gardens and in the gallery.

the gallery and the gardens are full of the perfect mix of old and new. i found out that the bee keeper wife is also an avid bottle collector which made me adore them even more! the smells from the candles (and hives) that fill your nose inside the gallery are fresh and natural and not at all overwhelming or perfumy. all of the beautiful lanterns are made with flowers from the garden.

i fell in love with these giant hanging hive sculptures. and bonus, they are repurposed from plastic bags. i love recycled/repurposed art. they were so awesome.

yellow branch pottery

if you are ever passing through stecoah, nc make sure that you stop at yellow branch pottery and cheese farm. you will be greeted at the door of the gallery by karen mickler. she was kind enough to let me explore through her work space and snap some photos. i love finding the beauty in other artist creative processes. her gallery was just amazing...and i can't wait to use my new coffee mug.

then we wandered up to the farm where you can normally find bruce making the most delicious cheese. we missed him unfortunately, but we did spend some time with some adorable little calfs.

the lake life

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. cool weather in august. its so funny listening to everyone complain about how hot it is up here in the mountains, meanwhile i am searching for a sweater. the weather is absolutely beautiful up here.

2. working out with my step mom...she's the best motivator.

3. sunset cruises.

4. watching the boy fearlessly swan dive/belly flop into the lake from the dock and the boat. this kid is lake boy to the core.

5. stoney hollow farm. i am so sad that they are selling the farm. i am afraid that whom ever buys it won't be able to live up to it. this farm is a you pick/ self service farm. you literally leave your money wrapped up in the freezer. got to love the honor system.

6. the boys first jet ski ride....even if he didn't love it....it was "too loud"

7. having an abundance of help with the boy. between my dad, step mom, and all my sisters it's been really nice to not have to be constantly worried about the boy.

8. the look on my dad's face when two of my sisters showed up at the lake to surprise him. priceless.

9. the boys new love for kayak rides.

10. being surrounded with so much love, family, and laughter.

11 years later

"l'amore che move il sole e l'altre stelle" - dante alighieri

happy anniversary to my amazing dad and step mom

28 minus 20 equals 12?

my baby sister isn't much of a baby anymore. as a matter of fact she's growing up quite quickly. last night we had a pretty confusing conversation about her actual age. we have always been 20 years apart....things like that just don't change, but in my head i was convinced that she was in her tweens. but the math just wasn't adding up. i know that i am not in my 30's (yet). as we were cruising the lake on the jet ski i kept counting....28 minus 20 equals 8....but you are at least 12...huh? she finally settled it for me....she's really only 8. i guess i get it, my entire childhood everyone always thought that i was older too.

back to the jet ski....she was driving. my sister, my baby sister is absolutely fearless compared to my grandma jet ski driving. she goes fast....way faster than i would ever dare. she knows all the fun maneuvers and loves nothing more that jumping the wakes. i am not sure which she gets a bigger kick out of though, the rush of the ride or the fact that her oldest sister is hanging on for dear life and squealing with joy.

stoney hollow farm

today we took a trip up to stoney hollow farm. i could wander the grounds of this farm all day. the boy put it best when he said: "i love this big back yard". we played with the donkeys, ate berries right off the bush, and saw some of the pretties tomatoes.

leaving on a jet plane...

today the boy and i are making the adventurous flight to knoxville and then across the tail of the dragon then up to the top of thunderbird mountain. we can't wait to be with my parents and family!

Free music - Leaving On A Jet Plane

a peak inside: my workspace

thought you might like a little peak inside my jewelry tool box. it's full of vintage beads and odds and ends.