I just wanted to do a little hello…. I am out of town until Saturday, July 16 for my day job. I get to hang out with oodles of kiddos this week (including my 2 nieces!) at our annual summer camp. So, if you email me this week…. please know I’ll get back with you asap. We only have wifi in a small area here and cell service is shaky at best. Regular blogging & editing will resume next week. ….. so many things to blog…. including Saturday’s wedding…. which was completely unforgettable! toodles.

I picked up my keys to my new office on Friday afternoon. We moved all the furniture bought so far in on Saturday afternoon (minus the wingback chair that needs to be reupholstered). I painted the first coat of gray on Friday night, it needs a 2nd coat and to be trimmed out- but I didn’t have anything to stand on to paint on Friday night. Hope to have it all painted by this Friday. Today I’ll be ordering a canvas to hang over the mantle…. oh what to print what to print what to print!! So many choices!! The furniture is arranged like this for the moment, but will likely shuffle once I purchase my sofa. (excuse the crappy iPhone photos) I’ll keep updating as changes happen!

My office is coming together little by little…. I’m finding things and making purchases 🙂 On Sunday I went “craigslisting” and checked out a wingback chair and sideboard. I wanted a big comfy chair for my desk, and thought a wingback might be perfect. It’s orange, and while I love orange, I think it’s too much “warm tones” together with my desk. But…. for a whopping $20 I brought home a mint condition wingback!!! I’m thinking I will have it reupholstered in a white denim with funky color piping 🙂 Then on to see the sideboard…. hello, perfect!!!! Just rustic enough, the right shape, right size & they delivered it!!! $150 well spent! It will hold all kinds of office supplies, and props, as well, the TV will sit on top of it. Yay!! Then….. on Tuesday I was coming through Mebane on my way home from a day job trip & wanted to stop in a local antique store to purchase a cool vintage camera I’d seen to display on my mantle. Unfortulately, the camera was sold…. so I walked a few doors down to another store, The Curious Peddler. A pretty shop, with lots of pretty things. They have 2 floors, so I ventued upstairs where most of their furniture is…. there they were…. at the top of the steps, 2 perfect sitting chairs for the office!!! The price was $395 for the pair, more than I really wanted to spend. I left them there, but couldn’t stop thinking about them. I called the owner yesterday to see if the price was negotiable…. she said she could do 10% off!!! I just called her & paid for them 🙂 Those are MINE, and will be perfect to flank my fireplace mantle!!! Excuse the photos, they are all from the web…. I pick up my keys tomorrow & will be painting & moving in this weekend!

So… I’ve been struggling whether or not to let the cat out of the bag now, or wait for everything to be complete…. I’m just too excited, so I’ll share the good news! ….. nope, not pregnant….. nope, not quitting the day job….. I’m renting an office!!!!! If you’re a fan on Facebook or a twitter peep… you already know this, but I wanted to make it official on our website! A while back I got the idea to contact owners who had vacant store fronts in downtown Davidson and see if they’d let me display canvases in the windows until they had the space leased. This didn’t pan out as planned. Then I got the wild idea to inquire about renting an office. This turned out to be a lot less expensive than I imagined! I signed a lease a week and a half ago, and the lease will start on June 1st!! Why am I doing this?1. I’m tired of my business crap (gear, client files, office supplies, ect.) taking over my house. My office is currently in the small bedroom of our house, which is also shared by our cat, Lucy. It’s also the room that will be a nursery whenever we decide to have a little one.2. I need to separate work & home life better. Right now it’s just too easy to go up to the office and work, when I really should be focused on spending time with the hubs, cleaning, ect.3. I’m sick of lugging my sample albums & canvas to every coffee shop in town, looking like a fool trying to get in the door, and then praying their is a clean table free to sit at. So…. starting in June all potential client/client meetings will be at my office in downtown Davidson! (unless you aren’t local, then we’ll Skype) You’ll be able to see lots of sample albums, browse photos on the flat screen, see all the pretty canvases hung on the walls, see all album options, ect. I’ve got to spend the last few/coming few weeks picking out all the decor for the space. It’s nice to not have to consider dog hair when looking at nice things! Here’s a snippet of how it will look….. Bella Porte, Charcoal fabric for drapes, Mirrored coffee table from Amazon, Henry Sofa from West Elm  You’ve probably also noticed the new logo…. don’t ya love it??!?! Being a southern girl, and working in a monogram shop for a couple of years… they’re right up my ally!