I love seeing the 2016 goals some of my friends have already posted! I’m always inspired by the goals of others — not so much the content of their actual goals, but the ways in which they arrive at them and the structure they use to maximize their chances for progress. A few I’m loving so far: Val, Victoria, and Nancy. I’ll be working on finalizing mine this weekend, and can’t wait to share them on Monday! In the meantime, I wanted to share my inspiration board for 2016! This is the first time I’ve made one of these; to be honest, I’ve always been a little leery of them. To me, the danger with creating a board like this is that you can look at it (at the end of the year, or the middle), and say, well, my life sure doesn’t look like that. It’s not that clean, or beautiful, or color-coordinated. I didn’t want to even be tempted to have this board make me feel that way, so I tried hard to pull images that felt “real” – and in many cases, I did that by pulling images that ARE real (from the places I love or things we’ve done in the past). But, for this year in particular, I felt it was important to have a visual touchstone. So as I pulled photos for this board, I challenged myself again and again to choose ones that didn’t just look pretty and went well together, but that meant something to me, and were relevant to MY year ahead. It’s not bad to dream, to be aspirational, or to look toward the future, but I think even those things need to be planted in reality. I’m not moving to Hawaii this year, and I’m not building a farmhouse

To know Nancy Ray is to love her. She is one of the most faithful, encouraging, insightful, and delightful people I have ever known, and her friendship has meant so much to me over the last few years (as I know it has to so many others!). When the opportunity arose to co-host a baby shower for her this spring, I jumped at the chance! I considered it a small opportunity to repay her the love she’s showed me over the years… and, let’s be honest, to throw a party where I could actually put my larger-than-normal collection of cake stands to use!* Nancy had requested a “spring and woodland and baby animals” theme, which was perfect for our March party and her May due date. Since there were many hands helping, I put together an inspiration board to keep everyone on the same page. Our palette was mint, shades of green, creamy white, and tan. Clockwise from top left: nursery photo by Brooke Palmer from SMP Living, fairy lights terrarium photo by Dulcet Creative via 100 Layer Cake, cheese platter from Martha Stewart, Minted fabric, fern backdrop by Dulcet Creative via 100LC, terrarium decor from Martha Stewart, leafy greens photo by Liz Banfield via Southern Weddings, spring tablescape from Creatively Yours Check back in tomorrow to see photos from Nancy’s shower! *Most of the other showers and parties I’ve hosted have been a plane ride away, making prop transportation problematic :)

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! John and I are spending the week at home in NC. We’re planning to wrap ourselves in blankets and watch the Macy’s parade this morning, then meet up with dear friends and their family for a hike and turkey dinner this evening. We’re bringing pimento cheese and John’s family’s cranberry sauce recipe! Clockwise from top left: calligraphy invitation photo by Morgan Lamkin via 100 Layer Cake, fall flowers photo by Kate Osborne via Snippet & Ink, bar cart photo by Rustic White via Style Me Pretty, maple pecan pie from Martha Stewart, candle photo by Rustic White via Style Me Pretty, place setting photo by Aubrie Pick from Apartment 34, grape and apple pie from Bon Appetit, turkey from Food & Wine Today I’m feeling grateful for my husband, for technology that connects us with our far-flung families, for friends close enough to share Thanksgiving with, for a busy shop, and for our new and super-comfy king size bed (even though we’ve yet to buy a quilt and are still sleeping on it in our sleeping bags!). P.S. Gift guides are coming your way next week! :)

John and I made ham biscuits at our state fair last weekend (yay for October goals!), and though we didn’t have much chance to walk around, even our brief visit made me so excited for corn on a stick, ferris wheels, and cute farm animals. That, and the image of tickets in the top left corner, inspired this inspiration for a colorful wedding! Tickets from ThriftyPyg, clematis centerpiece photo by Joann Arruda, short dress gal photo by Joey & Jessica via Southern Weddings, pink bouquet photo by Caroline Joy via Style Me Pretty, tented reception space photo by A Bryan Photo via Southern Weddings, paper pinwheels via The Sweetest Occasion, donuts via Pizzazzerie, invitation by Southern Fried Paper via Southern Weddings, ferris wheel photo by Marianne Wilson via Ruffled I love how the tented reception space is vaguely reminiscent of a big top. And of course I love the donuts :)