atlanta, ga | schniepp and sweet water

this week a crew of us drove down to atlanta for the open house at focused community strategies ministries hosted by bob lupton and his staff. we came away with our heads spinning and chock-full of invaluable information as they humbly shared what they have learned over the course of years working in urban neighborhoods.

it also just so happened to be schniepp's birthday week so we pulled out a little dirt & worm's on the bus,  put together a collaborative birthday video, toured/tasted at sweet water brewery and ate some delicious burgers at yeah! burger to celebrate! 

here's to the guy that has had us laughing almost every minute since we got to memphis! if you think he's shy or quiet, you've got it all wrong:)

p.s. fave sweet water brews were georgia brown and festive ale- we definitely recommend doing their tasting if you're ever in the area!

st. louis in da fall.

what an immense gift it was to spend a little bit of time in st. louis with these two! as i drove to michael and chloe's saturday morning, i literally felt like i was coming home and my entire body began to relax. these last few months in memphis have been phenomenal and i've never questioned once if this is where i am supposed to be… but even as i settle in and begin building relationships here, i'm reminded of the incredible family i have spread all over the u.s and my heart hurts just a bit. as i'm learning to embrace each season of life fully, there's always an underlying measure of feeling like a traveler/nomad/sojourner. i've lived so many places in just 21 years and connected with so many different groups of people that there isn't just one city or place i can call home and feel rooted in. i think i originally thought that moving back to memphis would bring life full circle and give me a solid city to call home but i'm quickly learning that charles dickens was right when he said, "when i speak of home, i speak of the place where - in default of a better - those i love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy's tent, or a barn, i should call it by the same good name notwithstanding."  it serves to remind me that no where on this earth will ever truly be my home (they are just temporary dwelling places until i reach heaven some day) but i am blessed to share bear hugs, beautiful conversation & rich memories with those i love in gypsy tents, barns and castles all over the place. 

we spent our weekend together catching up, reading and enjoying a gorgeous afternoon at the park. the leaves in memphis have yet to change (and i heard that they really won't) so i was soaking in all of the color! monday morning i drove home with a full trunk of groceries (we don't have trader joe's in mtown:/) feeling enriched, refreshed & encouraged by m + c. thankful for any opportunity to live life with them! i also got to see my sweet friend jessica lauren and was so blessed by time with her!

// dinner on the mississippi //

y'all, i'm so thankful for the many, many times spur of the moment picnics have happened this year. each one has been a life giving, restful time to enjoy a meal outside (and more often than not, a gorgeous sunset too) in whatever location we choose. this time was no exception.

 while home for lunch break one day last week, devin and i had the urge for a picnic. so as soon as we got off work that evening, we tossed some dishes & food in a bag and grabbed a bottle of wine… and then had to double back to the house because, as always, we forgot the bottle opener. rather useful & important, that one:) dev took me to mud island (literally did not know this place existed until a few months ago!) and it felt like we drove straight out of memphis and right into a totally different city.

 the blanket is another thing we forget more often than not so we laid out our spread on a certain cement slab (*cough*thesewage*cough*) over looking the mississippi. memphis can definitely hold it's own when it comes to sunsets and we witnessed a beautiful one before heading home. 

these drawn out summer days are exactly what i had hoped for when moving back south and i love them! also, i'm incredibly grateful to be sharing life with this woman and learning from her!

// cooper young //

a few snaps from the cooper young fest in midtown a few weeks ago when we celebrated tara's birthday… it was also during the short week that it was actually sweater weather:)