but now – the love affair is back on.  they have a line with milly that hits stores may 30th!  me and milly – we’re tight.  we’re like that motion where you have two fingers and point to your eyes and then someone else’s.  i get them, they get me.  i love their colors, their styles, their patterns, and everything i order in my size is like it was made for me.

and don’t EVEN get me started on their milly minis line….i die.

i just realized they have THIS!  rinne clearly must own it.

they have the BEST long maxi dresses.  here is one from the BR/milly line – apparently if you’re famous you get an early release…

here’s more sneak peeks.  those shorts will be mine…

apparently they are making men’s clothes in the milly/BR line as well!  maybe rbb and i can match some days instead of me and rinne  (just kidding – he would sooner go nude.)

may 30th, i’ll be ready!

xoxo

available in the etsy shop here.

and i just love when i get to attend a shower for which i do the invitations!  the mother-to-be is a neighborhood friend who just moved away to another state…boo hoo!  but i loved getting to see her with her adorable bump and catch up a bit.

here she is (wearing a SUPER cute black dress in the middle – i seriously want that dress, maternity or not!) with all of the lovely hostesses.

the shower was a perfectly southern spring affair.

here i am flapping my jaws (big surprise) while emily opens her gifts.

amy and emily, who used to work together and i met through two totally separate avenues!  love when it all intersects.

emily, i expect lots of pictures since i can’t just pop over to see that cute girl once she gets here!!  congrats!

xoxo

i opened up the local atlanta magazine JEZEBEL and saw this:

how in the hey….  i mean, i knew there was an article written and a photo shoot but i had to wait until i saw it with my own two peepers to make sure it was real.

so it is.  confirmed by the table of contents.  (for some reason, that really blew my mind)

so if you’re in line at the grocery store or in a doctor’s office and see the may issue of jezebel, you can check out a familiar face on page 82. (well, familiar-ish – i was totes air-brushed.)

as with most things in life, this wouldn’t have happened without a little (lot) of help from my friends.  cassie, the ultimate PR maven who is so generous with her fab ideas – and merrell, who can really put a pen to paper beautifully.  can’t thank you ladies enough!

behind the scenes info, if interested: 

- i was photographed in the worldwide HQ.  do you see the SHELVES?!  i told rbb his woodworking career will totally take off now that he’s been published.  this shoot happened at the perfect time – i had just gotten the pink curtains (which i LOVE – kate at just kate did them and they are so, so pretty) installed a couple of weeks before, and generally gotten the office under control and organized just prior to this.  and by “just prior” i mean like the night before.

- in finalizing details of the shoot a couple of days ahead of time, i told the photographer what ONE outfit i was planning to wear (colored jeans, bright solid top, wedges).  she basically was like “yeeeeah, that sounds cute but we’re gonna need something a little dressier.  you need three options, and only one should be that casual.”  OMG.  upon the completion of her sentence, i completely freaked and drove straight to the mall to basically turn into julia roberts handing salesladies fistfuls of cash in exchange for anything that looked cute and current.  NOW I SEE WHY STYLISTS EXIST.  the outfit that appeared in the magazine is a milly dress that i found way on sale during my spastic shopping excursion.  the pink belt i had lurking in my closet; i think it’s j.crew (they have the absolute best skinny belts, imo).  thank goodness i had a hair appointment the day before and my girls there could give me a good blowout / curl.  oh, and cover up some majorly unsightly roots.

- i love how in the article they mention the companies where i used to work (that was added after a fact-checker called me to run through basically all of the declarative facts.  i felt SO big time).  it was while working at those firms (turner construction company and HOK) that i learned graphic design software, all about white space and visual composition and i swear, if you work for picky architects (they all are) ever in your life, you can work for anybody.

thanks a million to JEZEBEL for the feature!  i am so very, very honored to be a part of the may issue!!

xoxo

and i know i’ll get a ton of questions on how i look so good for my age.  the secret is all that BACON.

one of my friends forwarded this email to her mom friends with girls…you know i was all over it.

although first i need to convince rinne that cheese dip doesn’t really work as an accessory.  while it is delicious, however!

i love the premise of mother’s day, but i know it can be a hard day for some people.  maybe you’re trying to become a mother and it’s not working out.  maybe your mother has gone on already, and it’s a sad reminder of that (that’s how father’s day is for me). or maybe you are a mother but your baby is still in the hospital…my friend shannon happens to know that feeling. her little boy banks was in the NICU for almost 4 months following his birth last fall.  she organized a goodie bag donation / assembly line amongst a bunch of her friends this week to treat 35 NICU moms at scottish rite to some mother’s day comforts.  they got things like magazines, snacks, thank you notes, lotion, mints, fabric hair ties, candy, water, breakfast bars and more.  i am so thankful to have friends with big hearts like shannon (on the right below, with our friend jennifer)!

this mother’s day, i’ll be thinking about and praying for those NICU moms as well as being thankful for the little people who made me a mother.  and of course i would never forget my own amazing mother – even though she’ll be gallivanting around italy instead (the nerve)!  love you anyway, mom!

xoxo

i just love the crisp and simple look of the card.  i really believe good design is found in restraint.

that AND using double ply, super thick crane stock….

what’s even more exciting, is that the shemies from the kickstarter order will be arriving this week!!  i can’t wait to find this little ditty in my mailbox.

shelton’s been hard at work getting these ready!

so proud of her.  and so HAPPY for her – she made a little announcement the other day…

i mean, is that not the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen??  i love the bevy of good things going on in her life!  you go girl.

and i can barely wait to see how she dresses that bump!!!

xoxo

yes that’s right – INA IN ATLANTA TICKETS WENT ON SALE!  AND I GOT ONE!  IN THE 2ND ROW!!!!!!  i honestly don’t know if that is such a good idea, seeing as how i will quite possibly be foaming at the mouth or nervously church-giggling the entire time ina is RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.  luckily i will be surrounded by some good gal pals that can prop me up if i pass out, which is another definite possibility.

must….remain….calm.

in other exciting news, guess what starts tomorrow.  the ADAC sample sale!!!

(image from when i went two years ago – i still think about this chaise)

it starts at 9:00 a.m. on friday – more info here.  omg i can’t wait!

ok, we may not have any good terrestrial radio stations in atlanta that i can listen to in my car…but we DO have a comedy station that is awesome.  unfortunately i can only listen to it when i’m in the car alone (way too many “ugly” words flying around for the kids’ ears), but it is really good stuff.  92.3 if you’re in or around atlanta.  the other day i must have looked like a crazy person cracking up by myself in the car – they played jim gaffigan’s “bologna” bit.  i found the video here – just watch.  i love jim!

we had a little garden improvement project done this week!  here’s the before – it’s a stone path that goes from our front steps/porch around to our side patio.  the stones on the end by the patio are really steep off the ground – rinne would end up crawling over them.  girlfriend’s cautious.

i never think to take before pictures until work is underway…so that is the sort of before.  instead of clean dirt, we had weeds, clovers and moss hanging out between the pavers.

and here is the after!  nice, even and pretty.

i don’t know what is going on with these kids lately…but they are being such little BFFs that it is just about to melt my heart right out of my body.  the other day i caught them doing this in the car:

and i can’t even talk about the good night kiss situation.  every night rinne proclaims she “want to kiss rusth.”  then he trots in and they smooch.  OMG.

on tuesday night, we took dinner to the park (new absolute favorite thing – take a packed up lunch or dinner to the playground – no clean up, alfresco dining and wears them out!) and as we were walking back to the car, rush points and says, “look mama!  a waterfall!”  i look around and think….huh?!  and then i see what he is talking about.  he and rinne both stared at it as if it were the 7th wonder of the world.

bless those sweet little souls.  i hope they always see the natural beauty in sewer drains.

xoxo

the one i especially have taken issue with lately is granola.  all four of us love to eat granola with either whole milk yogurt or almond milk with berries for breakfast, so we go through it rather quickly.  there are four places that i grocery shop: publix, trader joe’s, whole foods and the dekalb farmer’s market (major heartsies for them).  i have scoured the granola shelves at all of these stores and done a little research on the options…

- publix: the only one they carry without refined sugar is mona’s.  mona’s is a fine option, but it doesn’t have a ton of flavor and is expensive.

- trader joe’s: i have loved trader joe’s for so long (the love affair began when i lived in california as a poor 22 year old and discovered two buck chuck.  it was a match made in heaven). i was infinitely sad to find not a one variety of granola without refined sugar on their shelves.  not a ONE!  i thought surely!  but what was extra sad, is that the trader joe’s brand granola would proclaim “LOW SUGAR!” on the front – only to turn the bag around to see the ingredient list, and sugar or cane syrup was the 2nd ingredient.  in what way does that mean low…like it wasn’t #1?  this is part of a bigger discussion about DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE ON PACKAGES, such as “all natural!” proclamations (not monitored; anyone could say that about any product) and similar.  the only thing you can trust is the list of ingredients.

whole foods: surprisingly, they only have 1 or 2 options of granola that is sweetened with a non-sugar ingredient, such as honey or maple syrup.  and they will cost you a pretty penny.  that is what i usually buy, but sort of flinch when rush asks for seconds of granola at breakfast time.

dekalb farmer’s market: they make their own granola, which is sweetened with honey – most of the time – and it is awesome.  i say most of the time because a few months ago, i bought a package of their granola and looked at the ingredient list when i got home, only to find “cane syrup” where i typically find the “honey” listed.  um…did they run out?  i mean they have like 2000 bottles of honey on a shelf just down the way.  the next time i went (i try to go once a month to do a big stock up), it was back to honey.  so who knows – but like i said, always always check the ingredient list!

SO.  there are options on the sugar free granola front, but they are all $$$ or sort of inconvenient to grab on a regular basis (at least for me).  which brings me to – making your own granola.  much, much less expensive and pretty convenient to obtain what you need.  now i know how this sounds – very granola-y!!!  but i promise it is so easy, and i am so glad my friend betsey told me just how easy it is because i was much more apt to try my own hand at it after hearing her stamp of ease approval.  she found the recipe on the 100 days of real food website (awesome resource if you’re thinking about trying to eat less processed foods) and i made it this past weekend.  super, super simple and rave reviews all around!!!  i’ll post the recipe from their website below with my notes added:

3 1/2 cups of rolled oats (i buy organic publix brand)

1 cup raw sliced almonds

1 cup nuts (cashews, walnuts or pecans – i used 1/2 c. pecans, 1/2 c. walnuts)

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (you can find this at whole foods or similar – in a green bag)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (i only used 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg (btw, who the hell grounds their own nutmeg??)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup raw honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. preheat oven to 250 degrees.  cover a large rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. mix the dry oats, almonds, nuts, coconut, seeds and spices together in a large bowl.

3. heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. once the butter is melted, mix in the vanilla and salt.

4. pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.

5. spread mixture on prepared pan into one even layer.  bake for 75 minutes.

6. the granola will become crisp as it cools, at which point you can break into pieces with your hands.  (i waited until it was completely cool and it broke apart very easily.)  store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

ET VOILA!  here is how much it makes.

so good with fresh berries and almond milk…

i love finding things that my family likes, and that i feel good about feeding them too.  enjoy!

xoxo

vintage key motif = obsessed.

andrea chose green envelopes, but it would look fab with navy or white too!

in the etsy shop here.

andrea, good luck settling into the new pad!!  although i sure would miss that balcony…

xoxo

the bride’s monogram atop the invitation was a must.  it’s the last time she’ll ever use it, after all!

i love a good flourish.

in the etsy shop here. 

as if the general setting of savannah could get any more lovely, they held the luncheon at the olde pink house – a gorgeous savannah mansion built in the 1700s that is rumored to be haunted!

the luncheon looked nothing short of beautiful.

cheers to the new bride – complete with a pink champagne toast shown above!

xoxo

now i know evvvvveryone has heard about squeaky clean reese witherspoon’s arrest in my fair city.  i am so sick of seeing that mug shot, so here she is….sober.

i am DYING to know where they were eating beforehand and got so boozed.  they were coming from my ‘hood so my guess is: watershed, restaurant eugene or georgia grille.  does anyone know??  surely there had to be other patrons who saw them – right?  COME FORTH!  i have to say, the first thing i thought of when i saw her mugshot was: felony melanie.

on to more celebrity news (let’s be honest – sometimes there are slow weeks at the burnette household), if you enjoy laughing and love gwynnie like i do, go and read elements of style’s post from today.  and then go and read the comments.  DUDE!  people are going cray over GP.

this is my favorite comment so far from a girl named rachel:

Haters are gonna hate. I’m one of GOOP’s number one fans and find her absolutely fabulous and real. Oh, and definitely one of the most beautiful people in the world. Her hair probably smells like dreams and secrets. And money. And who doesn’t want that?!?

hilarious.  i really don’t get the hate thing either, she’s a badass who looks fierce and likes to feed her kids healthy stuff.  what’s the big deal?  actually, i have really loved her since she was on oprah (gah – i miss that 4 o’clock hour!) promoting some movie right after she got married to chris martin back in the mid-2000s.  oprah, in all of her oprah-ness, goes:  ”sssssOOOOoooooOOOOO.  you are a NEWLYWED.  TELL ME about your big day.  we want to hear EVERYTHING.”   gwynnie says, “wellllllll, oprah.  it was a shotgun wedding for starters.”   i love a gal who can have a laugh at her expense.

have y’all seen this?  cracks me up.

i was so excited to get some vintage calliespondence in my mailbox yesterday!  my friend laine bought these when she was preggers with her first cute daughter, and now she’s having cute daughter #2 soon! these orange letterpressed baby thank you notecards were some of the first things i did.  i remember i ordered 350 of them and thought i would NEVER EVER sell all of them, what was i thinking, i’ll probably just have to gift them to all of my knocked up friends, i hope they like them.  through etsy and a bunch of client orders, i did end up selling all of them – upon which re-ordered 1000 more, 500 in lime green and 500 in chocolate brown (you would think maybe i would have learned something in quantity increments…?).  right now i’m sold out of the green and have maybe 100-150 left in the chocolate brown, which is crazy that so many of those floated through mailboxes over the years.  should i do another round in new colors?  hmm…

decisions, decisions.  but i’ll see you tomorrow with a gorgeous bridal luncheon to feature!!!

xoxo