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

Is It Ever Too Early To Start Decorating For Fall?

I mean truly, is it ever?

It’s a question I ask myself every year around this time as we inch closer and closer to September. When is too early to start decorating for our favorite season? Or, do you even decorate at all? It could be something as subtle as an orange vase or some branches in a room, or a wreath on the front door, or maybe an extra throw blanket on the couch. Or even my personal favorite: a new fall candle.

I brought an orange vase into the living room from Holiday House the other day with some branches PJ found years ago on the side of the road and it was just the small touch of fall I think I needed to get me excited for it this year. Even though autumn is reportedly going to feel different this year, we still get excited about it all the same and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. After all, we did get married in October (6 years ago!).

A few photos from last year’s fall:

So we haven’t gone full-out in decorating for fall yet; we don’t usually do that until September. It’s 93 degrees today with no signs of getting cooler any time soon, so the A/C will be turned down to 70 for the next couple of months until it feels good enough to open the doors and windows and let the cool, fresh air in.

Happy Friday Eve, friends!

The Living Room Renovation at Holiday House is Officially Underway

Here we go!

After almost a year of owning the little cottage on our farm, that we lovingly call Holiday House, we have officially, finally, begun renovating the most used room in the house: the living room. It’s the first space you walk into when you come in the front door, so being the first thing you see upon entering, I know I speak for both of us when I say I’m so excited to see it fixed up.

It’s actually a really good sized room for such a small-ish house. It’s almost the same size (if not slightly longer?) than our living room at our house in town. The room gets the most amazing light pretty much all day until the afternoon, and it’s going to be getting even more once PJ installs the new, bigger windows on the wall facing the mountain. Sooooo beyond ready for those babies to go in!! It’s going to make the room feel even bigger and you’ll get a better view of the hill and the mountain and the trees behind the house.

We’re on a bit of a time crunch on this renovation since it’s for an upcoming collaboration we’re doing with a brand we absolutely adore. PJ is there right now actually taking out the doors and the small window in order to get ready to frame in the new windows. The good thing is, we already have all of the windows we’ll be using since PJ has been addicted to Facebook Marketplace this year and found a ton of windows at super good prices. That man, y’all. What would we do without him?

We’re going to be carrying the vertical wooden boards that PJ installed on half the room earlier this year throughout the rest of the room to give it a cozy, cottagey feel. We want Holiday House to feel welcoming and warm as soon as you step through the door, so we’re planning to paint the walls an earthy tone. TBD on which color we end up going with, though I still keep trying to talk PJ into painting it white!! It’s not going to happen, but a man can dream.

So real quick, here is everything we plan to do to the living room at Holiday House:

• new flooring

• add headboard to the ceiling

• new windows

• add wood paneling to the walls

• paint

• install new lights and get rid of the two fans (possibly add just one fan in the middle for air circulation?)

PJ just got home for the day since it’s 92 degrees here and way too hot to be working outside. I was only there for a few hours with him and sis as we checked on the pond progress (so much has already been done since yesterday!) and I bagged up a bunch of insulation. Not my idea of a fun afternoon, but it’s going to be all hands on deck this week if we want to get it finished in time.

Stay cool out there, friends!

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

Who Knew School Drop-Offs Would Be This Emotional?

While dropping little sis off at school yesterday, we may or may not have both cried in the car.

Lately, now that she is in school, our 3 year old has been telling everyone in the house how she misses them during the day. To her brother: “I miss you Fa-Fa at tool (school).” Fa-Fa = the name she calls our middle child, even though his name doesn’t start with an F and only sort of sounds like what she’s trying to say. 😂. But it’s cute and we love it, so we don’t correct her.

She’s used to spending all day every day with all of us, so I totally get why she takes the time to tell everyone how much she misses them when she’s gone, because to be honest, we miss her, too.

On the way to school yesterday, she was saying it to me from the backseat: “I miss you, daddy.” I thought it was so sweet, and so I told her that I will miss her, too. She said it again before we pulled up, so again, I let her know how much I will miss her. And finally, when we pulled up to her school and I turned off the car and unbuckled my seatbelt, she said it a third time: “I miss you at tool, daddy.” Only this time, her eyes were filled with tears as she was smiling trying to keep them from falling down her cheek. This time, she was telling me, in so many words, that she wasn’t ready to say goodbye for the day.

And just like that, my eyes suddenly started to tear up, too, and I felt a pain in my chest. We hadn’t experienced this with any of the kids yet, and I thought we had avoided it altogether this year. All of them had been so eager and excited to start school that I thought we blew past the not-wanting-to-go phase. Up until that point, she had been more than willing to walk into her classroom every day.

I told her it’s okay to cry if she’s sad because I do it, too, and that we’re supposed to miss people when they’re gone; it’s how we know how much we love them, but even that won’t stop us from having the best day ever! She ended up being fine, gave me a big hug goodbye and walked into her classroom ready to start the day.

Whew. Those are some strong feelings at 8 in the morning, aren’t they? It’s so different with the boys and dropping them off, I think because she’s still younger than they were when they both started school, so it’s a little harder to say goodbye to her for a few hours every day. Today, however, things didn’t end so well. She ended up bawling as I signed her in and wouldn’t let go of my neck. I knelt down and put her on my knee and held her for a few minutes to calm her down but to no avail. She wasn’t ready.

It ended up being for the best, though, because last night she started having a runny nose, so we took this as a sign that we should take her to the doctor with her brother this morning ( poor guy got a strep throat confirmation). Looks like neither of them will be going to school tomorrow, so we’re hoping by Monday she will be back in the game and ready for a new week with her teachers, her classmates, and without her dads for a few hours a day.

Who knew school drop-offs would be this emotional?

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Loaf

The other night, at 10p, and after watching Zoe Bakes on Magnolia, I got the sudden urge to make something delicious and sweet. So that’s what I did. Again, at 10p at night.

But what to make? I’m honestly not sure why I bought so many cans of biscuits, but I opened our fridge and saw 4 or 5 staring me in the face, so I decided to start there. And after seeing Zoe make something with cinnamon and sugar on her show, I thought cinnamon pull apart bites sounded absolutely perfect.

A quick Google search, and a few seconds later, I found this recipe from Pillsbury. Super quick, easy, and just what I think we all wanted on a late, rainy Saturday night. Here’s what you’re going to need…

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 2 cans (6 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Flaky Layers Buttermilk Biscuits (5 Count)

• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Generously grease 8x4-inch loaf pan (do not use dark-coated pan). In small shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; mix well.

2. Separate dough into 10 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Dip each quarter into melted butter; roll in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Arrange in greased loaf pan.

3. Bake 19 to 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and center is baked through. Cool 2 minutes. Loosen edges; remove from pan. Place on serving plate. Serve warm.

Since it was so late when we made them, we only had a few bites and then heated it up the next morning for breakfast. Sugary, sweet, sticky, and so good. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Ways To Help With The Crisis in Afghanistan

As we speak, the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan after U.S. troops began withdrawing from the country, per the Biden Administration’s orders, after two decades of being stationed there. Now, the country is in crisis as the Taliban, who previously held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, overtook the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.

The biggest uncertainty at this time, it seems, is what the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan means for women and girls. Says Josie Fischels for NPR, “For women in Afghanistan, the Taliban takeover of the country puts their rights at stake, as well as their lives. When the Taliban last held power between 1996 and 2001, women were denied education and employment opportunities. Girls couldn't attend school and women could only be seen in public with a male escort and their bodies fully covered. Punishment for disobeying these strict rules was severe, ranging from beating to execution.”

Fischels goes on to explain how women’s rights have increased in Afghanistan since 2001: they’ve been able to attend school and the mortality rates of children have decreased. Now, though, all of the progress made over the last 20 years is in jeopardy.

“80% of the nearly 250,000 people in Afghanistan who have been forced to flee their homes since the end of May have been women and children, according to Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency,” explains Fischels. “A report released last month from the U.N. also showed that the number of women and children killed and injured increased in May and June, around the same time U.S. and other international troops moved foreword with withdrawing their remaining troops from Afghanistan.”

Another urgent matter is the current refugee situation in Afghanistan, which is sadly only going to get worse now. According to USA for UNHCR, there are around 2.5 million registered refugees from Afghanistan. “They make up the largest protracted refugee population in Asia, and the second largest refugee population in the world.”

As I was writing this post, I received an email from our contact at USA for UNHCR who provided even more startling and important information about what’s going on. She shared the following:

The situation in Afghanistan has been worsening at a rapid pace over the last few days.

Violence and insecurity have forced more 550,000 Afghan people to flee their homes this year, and a recent increase in conflict is resulting in growing displacement. As the fighting spreads, thousands more families are fleeing for their lives each day.

Many highly vulnerable families flee with only the clothes on their back and are now without shelter, without drinkable water, without food, without medical care or protection. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch has described the situation as one of “Utter devastation which is unfolding in front of our eyes.”

UNHCR has been on the ground from the first moment the crisis began. With nearly 200 team members in Afghanistan, and through a global network of suppliers, specialist agencies and partners, UNHCR is working to provide urgently needed services to displaced Afghan families, including:

• Emergency shelter

• Hygiene and sanitation kits

• Core relief items like blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets, buckets and jerry cans

• Personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19

• Emergency cash support

What can we do? How can we help? Below, a list of ways we can all pitch in and do what we can for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan who are in need:

• Help USA for UNHCR raise money for displaced Afghan families by clicking here.

• Share information about the crisis with your friends and family by clicking here.

• Women for Women International is collecting donations to help women find safe places to meet and ways to stay connected. Click here to help.

• Afghanaid is a London-based group providing emergency aid to Afghanistan. Click here to see how you can help.

• Save the Children helps families who have been displaced, and estimates over 800,000 children have been displaced in the last two months. Click here to learn more.

• The International Rescue Committee “works with thousands of Afghan villages across nine provinces, raising money to deliver aid and resources to Afghan families.” Click here to learn more.

If you are able to help out in any way, even just a little, it could go such a long way. Thanks for reading, friends, and for doing what you can to help those in need.

(photo by Edris Lutfi via USA for UNHCR)

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

Do You Have A Signature Scent?

We’ve been wearing the same two colognes all summer.

When it comes to scents and colognes and sprays, PJ and I tend to gravitate towards a certain smell, and it usually includes cedarwood as one of the key notes. It’s no surprise then that the two colognes we’ve been wearing for the past few months both have cedar wood in them. There’s something about that scent that is sensual, masculine, and timeless, don’t you think?

Here are the two we can’t get enough of right now:

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My favorite: Y LE PARFUM by Yves Saint Laurent

A yummy, woody scent that smells sophisticated and sexy. I have been looking for a signature scent for a while and I can confidently say I’ve finally found it in this. The cedarwood, lavender, and geranium give this fragrance an intoxicating aroma that lasts all day.

Key notes:

• Geranium

• Cedarwood

• Lavender

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PJ’s favorite: Ralph's Club Eau de Parfum by Ralph Lauren

The definition of a classic, timeless scent from Ralph Lauren. It smells like a department store at Christmas time (in a good way). The woody scent is sensual and elegant, and immediately conjures up images of being worn in a dimly lit, cozy room with a big fire and worn leather chairs. Can you picture it? I would be lying if I said I haven’t been stealing a few sprays from PJ every now and then.

Key notes:

• Top - Lavandin, Clary Sage

• Middle - Virginia Cedarwood

• Base - Vetiver

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What about you? Do you have a signature scent? What do you wear? Our all time favorites are Santal 33 and, back in the day, Fierce by Abercrombie!

My Brother's Beautiful Wedding (and My Best Man Speech)

Good morning, friends!

This past weekend, we celebrated my brother Taylor’s wedding to his beautiful wife Mariah. I was the Best Man and PJ was a groomsmen, while sis was the flower girl and the boys were her escorts (!). It was the cutest thing ever. I can’t wait to see all the photos the photographer took.

Meanwhile, you can check out how the entire wedding-weekend went down (including my Best Man Speech) in our newest vlog, if you’d like to see.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

A Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe from Half Baked Harvest

I made this cheesy potato casserole with buttery Ritz crackers from Half Baked Harvest the other night at we ate it for two days straight. It was so good, bursting with flavor and crunch that (thankfully) made the whole family feel satisfied.

The secret to the yummy flavors, in my opinion? The Worcestershire sauce mixed with the garlic and butter!! Worcestershire sauce is something I never think to cook with, but every time I do, I remember how it always enhances and amplifies the recipe and then swear I’m going to use it again. And then I don’t. It’s a vicious cycle.

This casserole is so delicious and so rich, with the cheese and creamy potatoes all mixed together and then topped off with buttery, garlicy Ritz crackers. I’m excited to make this in the fall and winter, as it definitely feels like a meal better suited for colder weather instead of the 95 degree weather I made it in. #oops

Thank you, Tieghan, as always, for creating and sharing the most beautiful, yummy recipes. Check out this cheesy potato casserole here, and see the rest of her recipes on HalfBakedHarvest.com.

Do You Enjoy Making Small Talk?

A very common thing where we live in the south is to make small talk with complete strangers. Or co-workers in the elevator. Or anywhere, with anyone, really.

It usually starts off with something along the lines of: “It’s cold out there today.” or “How was your weekend?” or simply, “How’s it going?” and then, like clockwork, they completely tune out because they never really cared in the first place, they just asked because, well, that’s just what you do.

I hate small talk. Loathe it. Despise it. Dread it. In fact, it’s one of the things I miss the least about working in an office setting. These days, the only small talk I make is with our animals and I quite enjoy that. They respond to me with loving glances and big puppy dog eyes, so I could small talk with them all day.

But if I’m in line at the store and someone tries to talk to me about the weather, count me out. I immediately don’t know what to say other than to awkwardly laugh and shake my head yes. I would rather do pretty much anything else or be anywhere else than participate in it. Do you know what I mean?

But why do I get so uncomfortable with small talk? Am I actually an introvert at heart?

Psychologist Laurie Helgoe says that “Introverts hate small talk because it creates a barrier between people.” She also explains that small talk can feel “superficial” and that “polite discussion prevents openness, so people don't learn about each other.”

I suppose that’s why I don’t enjoy it so much? I love deeper, more interesting conversations with meaning, or even if they’re of no substance, at least pointless conversations with people I know and care about. But pointless conversations, no matter how polite they may be, with complete strangers? No thank you very much.

What about you? Do you like small talk? Or do you loathe it like I do, too?