Hi! I’m Stephanie. This is me:
And this is how I feel most all the time:
I am unabashedly candid and WAY sillier than I should probably be for my age… as a result of which, my kids will probably end up looking something like this:
I have an insatiable appetite for interior design and all things time-worn, beautiful, comfortable and inviting. These, for instance, are perfection on a stick:
Things like this make me really, really happy:
{ photo I snapped in San Gimignano, Italy }
{ my darling friend, vani, at her wedding }
{ big, happy dogs – who, let’s be honest – are like people }
I grew up in a small, blue-collar town in Indiana, played kickball with the neighborhood kids every night till after dark, caught lightning bugs, and ate dinner at my grandparents’ house on a regular basis.
Our hometown looks about like this:
I spent almost every summer as a kid in the mountains of North Carolina with my family… picking blackberries, frolicking in the woods all day, eating my Nanny’s biscuits & gravy and helping her hang clothes on the clothesline.
Later on, I spent a short lifetime leading a cushy existence in Charleston – an idyllic southern town that smells like sweet tea and salt water, and sounds like water lapping on the side of a boat. Thanks to my 10 years there, “y’all” is forever woven into my vocabulary, and I think EVERYTHING tastes better deep fried.
In my late 20’s, I traded up for the Big (but still down-to-earth) City life in Chicago. In my bones, it just felt like the right thing. And it was – I loved it there. It also put me much closer to my roots for awhile… This is my Mom and Dad. Not sure how I lucked out and ended up as their kid, but they’re both pretty awesome.
In early 2014, my life got flip turned upside down, so I packed up my house, threw caution to the wind and threw my golden retriever in the U-Haul, and made the cross-country trek to my current home: San Diego. It’s a little slice of heaven.
I firmly believe in things like always being kind and smiling at strangers, and calling the check-out ladies at the grocery store by name. For instance, I bet this lady’s name is Fran. Or Gladys. Wassup gurl.
Drinking out of Ball jars…
Napping when it’s storming…
…and dunking my heavily buttered, crusty baguette into my coffee.
I wake up every day truly devastated that the 80’s are really over.
I love my golden retriever, Gus, so much it hurts.
I think the frosted sugar cookies from Sweet Mandy B’s in Chicago are like a big hug from Jesus.
And if it wouldn’t mean weighing 957 pounds, I would eat this for every meal….
I am never, ever, on time. I’m eternally searching for the perfect pair of jeans and the perfect white t-shirt. And that, in a nutshell, is me.
I think I am the luckiest person I know and think my life is perfect, even when it’s not.
*photo credits: click photo for original source. otherwise: (small town photo – Ball Jars via flikr. Country Road via flikr. Ice cream stand via Kristen Gray Photography) | (charleston photo – Hominy Grill via flikr. Charleston marsh via flikr. Sunset via Robert Donovan.)
