A couple of weeks ago, my family left on an 8 day adventure to CHINA!! My family adopted my little sister from China 20 years ago, & it’s always been a dream for us to get to go back & see the country she calls home! You can imagine how many pictures I took during our trip, so of course I had the hardest time narrowing down my favorite moments. God was so faithful to allow us to get to take this trip as a family, & I am so excited to share some of our favorite memories!!

I am SO excited to announce a brand new event hosted by myself & my dear friend, Hallie Brand of Dot! For the past few months (and if we’re being completely honest, the past couple of years), Hallie & I have been brainstorming & talking about hosting some sort of workshop/event for small business owners & creative entrepreneurs in the Jackson, Mississippi area. We are so incredibly excited to say that our dream is finally becoming reality as we host the first ever Summer Refresh on July 11 at Lifehouse in Jackson, Mississippi!

I have known Miriam for years, (we were in the same youth group for awhile!), so it’s been so fun getting to reconnect with her over the past year! Y’all, she is an INCREDIBLY talented artist!! She does live painting at weddings as well as the most beautiful fine art commissions. I seriously think that every bride & groom should have Miriam at their wedding!! I’ve loved getting to do weddings with her & was SO excited when she asked me to do a photoshoot for her in her home studio! We had the most fun afternoon last Tuesday getting to catch up & capture some images for her to use on social media & her website. You can find out more about her & her business HERE, & be sure to follow her on Instagram (@miriam_shufelt _art) & on Facebook to see more of her amazing work!!

I am SO excited to finally introduce my spring intern, Sara Beth! Sara Beth will be helping me in the studio & at several wedding days over the next few months. We kicked off her first day last week with a morning of training & a celebratory lunch! I can’t wait to have her work alongside me this spring! Sara Beth is SO sweet & is definitely a promising photographer. I had Sara Beth write a few words to introduce herself to all of you!

It was such a blessing getting to go on a cruise during Dyl’s spring break last week!! I usually have weddings on the weekends bookending his spring break, so when we realized we had a window without weddings during his break this year, we jumped on the chance to take a much needed vacation!! After looking into several options, we decided on a 5 day Carnival cruise to Costa Maya & Cozumel. We literally counted the days until it was finally time to drive to Mobile & board the ship!

We had such a great Tuesdays Together meeting this month! Thanks so much to the incredible Kristin Panetta, owner of Elle James Bridal, for not only hosting our meeting but for also speaking to us about building client relationships! It was so inspiring to hear how well she serves her clients & how she creates such an amazing experience for each bride that walks through her door. We had several new faces at this month’s meet up, & it was great getting to make new friends & catch up with our members.

This blogpost has been a LONG time in the making!! When we moved into #theHambickhouse in the summer of 2016, we knew that the kitchen would be our biggest project! It took over 2 years, but we are ALMOST completely done!! All that’s left is adding new baseboards & a new laundry room door/trim, but I figured I’d go ahead & share the before & after photos because who knows when we will have time to do those last couple projects haha! There’s something beautiful about sharing a project that’s in a “it’s almost but not quite finished” place!!

Friends, I had the most AMAZING time at the Callie Lindsey Workshop in Franklin, Tennessee last week! Some of you may remember that I attended The Charleston Workshop led by Callie Lindsey back in the fall of 2017, & it was truly a game changer for my business!! Callie has been SUCH a huge encouragement to me from the moment I met her, & I was beyond honored when she asked me to come back as a workshop alum & help with her first workshop in Franklin!