Oh Baby

I don’t know if there is something in the water but everyone I know is expecting! Not only are my cousins going to add three new cousins, in true Franklin fashion they keeping up with our yearly quota, but all the girls I work with as well! I have three colleagues that are expecting, and two girlfriends. For my girlfriend Jen, I am going to help throw her shower and for my girlfriend Keri, I will probably get to help decorate the baby’s room. Not to mention that we have four weddings coming up! I was looking around online for some baby inspiration and to get in the mind set and there is so much stuff that I had no idea about. I can honestly say I think planning for baby is harder than planning a wedding. Watching my friends go through book after book researching brands from strollers to cribs and everything in between to color schemes and name choosing. It is however magical to watch them change over time. I definitely can’t wait to become a mother myself; there is something very empowering about motherhood when you get to assist and work alongside the “creator” himself in creating a little life. On a very superficial side, I absolutely LOVE looking at the clothing! It doesn’t help that the boutique I work out of half the time is right next store to this high-end baby couture store. Here are some things that I just absolutely love!

I work with this photographer and she is so good about capturing the

little expression of kids.

Her company name is Jessica Davis Photography!

This is one of my favorite baby rooms

"A Wedding Specialist"

I have been looking for a job all summer long and one day it hit me. I am going to take the fall off and do what I love...a little bit of everything. The fall season is my favorite time of year. I love when the leaves turn colors, the air gets a little cooler and the Holidays are among us. It took me a really long time to get to this point but none the less I made it. For so long I have been on the go with work, school and planning a wedding that I never had time to do what I love. I want to spend more time with the family, craft and maybe even cook great meals dressed with fantastic tables capes even if it just for the two of us. I want to play with home decor, I already have a lady that I worked with when I worked at the invitation shop ask if I would help her stage the store for Christmas...of course! The only down side to this bright idea is when people want to know what I have been up to. I think I am going to make up my own title, "A Wedding Specialist." I do sales for magazines so vendors can attract the brides. I do web and search engine optimization for companies to get better Google rankings. I do layout for magazines and help guide the vendors into stronger branding and corporate identity. I do custom invitations in helping the brides theme and or ideas come to life. I do dress consulting, helping the bride decide between a modern Vera Wang or Cristos princess gown. I am a decorator who helps people stage for the holidays and also do there holidays cards, to coordinate together of course. Whatever my title is, I try to wake up every morning with my number one job, to be a fabulous wife, good daughter, great sister and a helpful friend!

Here is a room that I model my office after, very Shabby Chic! My new thing is thrift

shopping and giving life to antiques!

Here is an invitation line I often find inspiration from.

I love doing custom invites with fabric!

At the shop, we get weekly flowers delivered!

The bridal dress place I help out from time to time.

Here is the magazine I work for, can't wait till the news issue launches in September!

The yellow rose of Texas

So right after Ian and I got home from Kaui, we flew back to Bako to visit my very ill grandmother. Although she needed help from time to time getting around, she was still pretty independent and feeling ok. While we were on her trip she started to feel so great. Ian and I went home to visit her and had some much needed time alone with her. A couple of days later, she had passed and my world was turned upside down. The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that it was really sudden and not something my family had expected. I still have her in my cell phone and often catch myself trying to call her as I did every other day. The funeral was beautiful, I really am lucky to have my husband’s family who all came to support me at such a rough time. The church was packed with people and yellow roses, her favorite. Each family member wanted to speak but came to the conclusion that electing a single family member would be the best since there was so many of us. My sister delivered an awesome speech that encompassed my childhood to a tee. She then asked at the end of her speech for each grandchild to stand, I never heard so many gasp as the audience glanced at how diverse and how many of us there were. We counted 21 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren with two to be born in late October. Even though I know my Grandma "Mawtha" is with me, I do miss her often. I try to do one thing that she would have done everyday!

Happy Birthday Molly!

I can't believe my little sister is 21 years old...time really flies by! I remember dressing her up in little doll clothing because she was so little, the never ending Cheetos that she went through and the horse that she is still waiting for Santa to bring her. She has accomplished so much in her 21 years, going to UCLA, spending a semester in Spain and working at the law office that represent Pamela Anderson with her divorce from Tommy Lee the first time. I am so proud of my little sister! Love you Molly McButter!

Our First Anniversary!

So it has been a while since I have updated our blog but after you see everything I post today...you will know why. Let me take you back! On July 26, Ian and I celebrated our first anniversary. I really can't believe it has been a year already. I do still feel like we just started dating! To celebrate, we took a trip to our favorite island, Kaui, with the family. We had so much fun, all we did was lay out, snorkel and eat. Who could ask for more! We went to our favorite restaurant that overlooks the beach. The sun was just about to set and the waiter had cleared the table and there, left behind, was a little box on the table. Ian had given me the other wedding band that came with my engagement ring set...he is so awesome!!!

You are the BEST thing!

Today marks the 13th anniversary of my grandfather’s death and even though most probably find it weird to remember this day that once and still does bring much emotion and pain, it also highlights some of the best memories of my life. I can’t believe how fast time truly passes; it only seems to speed up with each year you grow old. Papa Bill loved being around all of the family, which sometimes I questions because we’re mostly crazy. Some of the things that always come to mind when I think of him is chocolate, airplanes breakfast, his white bronco which he especially loved to drive when O.J. was being chased and yes with black gloves on, a good pair of pajamas and his cabin up in Shaver Lake. Every time when the family gets together we always reminisce about all of the stories that each family member cherishes. I know there are a lot of us yet each person has there own special moment from our childhoods and even though I have heard it fifty millions time in my life, I can hear it fifty million times more. I was so young when he passed that it really was hard to come to terms with everything for quite some time. I didn’t realize all the things he was so good at and just how much everyone truly did love him until he was gone but I think the best thing he was good at was being a terrific father and grandfather. I can only wish to be so lucky to accomplish half of what he did and can’t think him enough for everything he taught me. I LOVE you Papa Bill!!!

Rupaul said it best, "You got to Work"

I had one of the best days at work last week, which really has happened in a while. I have been so stressed about finding that one job to really take it to the next level that I have been really frustrated as to what to really spend time on and what do I let go by. I have had many request to collaborate with people in the bridal industry that I don’t know if it is time to get out of the business or not, timing is everything! Apart from doing sales and invitation I have been in the industry for five years….talk about time flying. Anyways, the magazine that I work for is wrapping up all the sales part of advertising and asked me to cross over and help at the photo shoots, leaving the sales behind for a week or so. This was music to my ears because sales can be exhausting from time to time but actually getting to do something creative, besides doing the invitations, totally spoke to me on so many different levels. I met my boss at a local bridal dress shop to pick out dresses and accessories for some of the looks we were looking to capture. The look I was trying to accomplish on the photos posted is more of a vintage feel. I had my inner Rachel Zoe take over and away I went. We met in downtown San Diego to shoot at this lounge location that if you accidentally blinked while driving you would miss it. It was the coolest place to have a party. Of course the model was thirty minutes late but we got everyone, hair and makeup, flowers and photographers in place while staging some of the locations. We completed six different looks and six different locations in seven hours. This I think in the industry is pretty good because my boss was very happy. I also got invited to two other shoots. The magazine actually goes to print in September and the annual launch of the new issue is in October. Those parties Ian and I definitely do not miss under any circumstances. It is so hard to put a finger on what exactly I want to do but I guess for now my title is a little bit of everything and for once in my life I think I am ok with that. I figure you just have to keep working through all of these little things to see what fits. Hear are the photos, enjoy!

and the craziness continues...

Less than a week after the graduation bonanza, Ian and I moved into a bigger apartment. We left our cozy little 625 square feet apartment that so many memories will be remembered. I must say I was a little sad because this was our first placed as a married couple and where Ian proposed! As much as this place will forever be in our heart the minute we got into our new townhouse, sad feeling was gone. Ian and I are so happy to have room to spread out. The pictures posted are before and after. I am still working on the office and I get to totally girl it up…pictures soon to follow.

Another Chapter Closed

It has been a long time since my last post so here is one of the reasons. Towards the end May we had Ian’s parents and mine come down along with grandmas, brothers and sisters. I graduated on a Saturday at eight o’clock in the morning and Ian on a Sunday, in the middle of the day, definitely more practical. We all shopped at Nordy’s half yearly and lounged by the pool; it was the perfect weekend. Later that evening Ian and I hosted a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Old Venice. They have the best Italian food right on the harbor. Two days later after we sent everyone home I drove back to Bakersfield to see my little brother graduate. I can’t believe how fast time flies!

Knock Knock...who’s there…literally!

Today I started the ever so long process of finding a little part-time position. OH GOOD GRIEF, I felt like I was in a running of the bulls tournament and had no chance to even get my foot in the door. To some people, this is there full time job because every different posting requires a slightly different resume. It went so bad that I thinking I was knocking at the door to an empty house. The more frustrated I got the more I kept thinking that it was only a part-time position and that some people were applying for jobs that have absolutely nothing. I can’t even begin to imagine the pressure that those people might feel; then add kids to the mix. As my day has come to a close I have thought about all the things that make me so lucky: a loving husband, family, friends and a great glass of wine