Although Candace didn't go to my high school, she always felt like part of my class. I've known Candace for many years and was so excited when she asked me to photograph her engagement session, bridal portraits, and wedding day! A few months after she booked, I found out that my husband and I were expecting our first child in April 2018. Then, I immediately realized that I was due 3 weeks after her wedding date! Candace and her Fiancé, Carter, were so excited for us and really put my mind at ease when they agreed to let my awesome assistant, Morgan, photograph their wedding for me!

In January, I was able to do Candace's Bridal Portrait Session at one of my favorite venues in the Wiregrass, The Grand on Foster! Today is Candace's wedding day and I just couldn't wait to share her session with you! Be sure to drop a comment below and congratulate the happy couple!

Isn't her dress stunning with those blush undertones?!

I just love how dreamy this spot is with her lace dress and all that ivy!

This red antique couch is one of my favorite pieces at The Grand on Foster!

Of course, we had to end the session with some dancing in this beautiful light!

Today I am 35 weeks and 3 days, so the nesting game is really strong right now. We've spent the past couple of months going through and organizing our entire house. Every closet, every drawer, every cabinet. We live in such a consumer society that it's so easy to pack every single inch of our homes with "stuff" that we don't need and often completely forget about. Being such a visual inspired person all that "stuff" equalled stressed for me. If my kitchen is messy, I don't want to cook. However, if it's clean, I love to go all Betty Crocker and make meals all day long. If my bedroom has clothes and randomness everywhere, I have found that I wake up in a bad mood.

I recently listened to a podcast that talked about how we should wake up for life and not wake up to life. This really motivated me to clear my house of all the unnecessary things lying around. I cleared the clutter and I'm only keeping things that are useful and visually appealing to me. I have found that my house is now so much easier to clean and take care of. Before I would be moving things around to dust and vacuum each room, and now I can dust and clean my whole house in less than 45 minutes. My mind is at ease and I feel so much less stressed bringing a baby into our home in a few weeks.

I wanted to carry this same process over into our son's life. Being pregnant I have become very aware of how much people think babies need (and much of it isn't necessary). You don't need 8 bottle brushes, 5 health care kits, 40 toys, etc. BUT, there are things you do need. Clothes, diapers, somewhere for your baby to sleep, a few toys, and of course books. I know I'm not an expert. (Hello, first time mom here!) I fully expect to learn and grow as I go. However, I have so many mom friends that have told me that the more baby stuff you have, the more you have to clean up (which is more work on top of taking care of babe, who wants that?!). AND out of all those millions of toys, your baby will end up liking the rocks outside the most. Haha! Aren't they funny?

Anyways, I have spent so much time putting together our son's nursery and preparing things around our house for his arrival. I am so excited to share this nursery with you because every single part of his nursery has been touched with love from all our friends and family. For new moms, cherish this moment and I hope maybe some of these ideas will help you as you prepare for your babe too!

Our nursery is a fun mixture of things from around the world and animals! A lot of this is inspired by our travels to our favorite place in the world, Mexico! Be prepared for lots of color! This door hanger was made one afternoon by my sweet friend Holli and I.

This wall mural is so special to me! Shortly after I found out I was expecting, I knew I wanted to paint a mountain mural on the wall. One of my favorite things about Mexico is all of the colorful wall murals everywhere. You see them on the sides of homes, businesses, government building, even churches! I wanted to bring some of that into our son's nursery too. I knew that being pregnant, this wasn't something I could do alone (my hubby is so not creative in this way, ha!). I have an incredibly talented friend, Loren, and I just couldn't do it without her. I ended up getting paint samples and discounted paint to do this whole mural for less than $40. Loren and I sketched it out and some other friends came over and helped make this dream a reality! I love everything about it!

I'm loving this blanket that was handmade and dyed by my friend Charley! This was one of my favorite gifts from my baby showers!

This bookshelf is so special to me! It was from my dad's office. If you don't know, my father passed away two years ago in April from lung cancer. Zach will be taking my father's name, Steven, as his middle name.

This ring of well wishes from my Mobile baby shower was such a sweet gift for Zach! The fox on the right my friend, Holli, brought back from Mongolia.

My friend, Holli, and I made this cloud out of felt!

P.S. This was my favorite childhood book!

My sister gave me this beautiful picture from New Zealand that represents Taonga, meaning treasure; something of great value. It says, "The Koru is said to represent harmony and balance. Between the chaos of change and the calm of everyday, there is a point of equilibrium."

I'm loving this ottoman I got on clearance at Target (I'm using it to store my breast pump and pumping accessories)!

So loving all these handmade baby blankets! Going clockwise from the top, they are made by: my mom, Juliana Jones, Charley Machicote, my sister, and Destiny Brinkman.

My friends at my Mobile baby shower all decorated these fun blocks!

Our newborn cloth diapering set up until he is big enough to fit into his one size cloth diapers. I'm already loving how much money we have saved by doing cloth! Plus, aren't they adorable?!

We decided to use this dresser that we picked up lightly used as our changing table! I'm so glad we did because all those adorable cloth diapers take up a lot of space!