back in the day bakery

 we usually stay local for spring break,

but this year i asked dan if we could head over & do a quickie visit to Savannah.

Savannah Georgia

the gorgeous coastal town

filled with history and charm,

& the inspiration for me to name my first born.

my sweet friend melanie had warned me,

a visit to the paris market

& back in the day bakery

were must see destinations.

well, she knows me.

i could have spent hours in both

& 

maybe i did!

Cheryl Day's bakery is featured in the current Where Women Cook magazine.

while the feature itself is wonderful

actually walking into this bakery is truly a treat for the senses!

for this former owner of a pink pastel kitchen, 

it was love at first site!

the girls working the bakery that day were so adorable.

& were very accommodating while i photographed until my heart was content.

i think my family was worried we were only there for the ambiance!

we tried their cupcakes, lemon bars and italian sodas.

i don't have a huge sweet tooth,

but my number one weakness is a fresh sugar cookie with homemade frosting.

this is a miss hanna~ a delicious lavender shortbread cookie.....

bliss!

caroline sampled the pesto fontina

& then followed up with a resounding "delish"!

 they offered new born cupcakes to a tour that was coming through.

did she say new born cupcakes?

oh yes she did! how cute is that?

cheryl was in the back baking, duh, while were visiting.

it was all i could to hold myself back from doing the weirdo fan thing &

saying hello and mumbling things such as

wow

precious

this is the cutest place on earth

can i have another lavender shortbread piece of heaven

i loved your article

or simply

i'll be back!!

wish list from a graduating senior

the other morning i received an email from savannah,

who must have stumbled upon some free time of her own during school hours,

filled with her "wish list".

her email was titled a "small dose of me to brighten your day"

oh my...

so here it is

complete with her color commentary

of course

1.michael's double strap leather watch.

you can never have too many (says the watch)fluuzy...
not the self imposed title she used.thankyouverymuch)

2.my graduation party/ seaside photoshoot/ sorority rush dress

lilly pulitzer dress.
everybody wins.
am i right?

3.tory sandals so the seaside girls think i have more money than i actually do.

4.yet another addition to my gold collection,
to match michael, of kors ("of course"). har har

5.and yes, a little prom action for the oh so aforadable price of $3,000.

ie three semesters of sorority life.

now mind you....i have not ordered any of these

but she sure is funny.

or maybe she's serious...

unplugged

 i'm unplugging for a few days

 spending some time with my family

be back soon

xo

my forever friend

 

a little over a year ago i received an email

inviting me to an all expenses paid weekend~

 a day at the spa, a photography workshop, fabulous dining,

two evenings of fellowship & then worship together that final morning.

i emailed the hostess & asked if i had accidentally been sent an invite meant for someone else.

while i had visited her blog a few times, we had never met.

nor had i met anyone else that had been invited.

we weren't facebook friends, i didn't have her cell number, nothing. 

talk about an extended blind date!

(well, you know what i mean)

she reassured me that i was the correct "paige"....

( she had hyperlinked my blog & another paige's blog on her own

....hence the thought that there might be some confusion).

i tell all about that amazing weekend right here.

little did i know this time last year,

was that the lord was opening the door to what would become a fantastic friendship.

ashley & i became fast friends.

i love that girl.

she is a wise entrepreneur, a super wife, a fabulous mama, & so much more.

she has been blessed with much

& generous with even more.

she is funky and humble and real and fun 

and she loves the lord.

i've been back to birmingham for a few more visits,

she shot savannah's senior pictures,

we headed to rosemary beach together,

& this past weekend she came to our home!

now my entire family loves her too!!

just affirmation that God can knit two hearts together

& form a forever friendship 

that began by reading each others blogs!

ya'll are awesome!!!!

 seriously!!!

you are absolutely awesome.

for several months my comments had stopped coming in via my email.

i hadn't changed anything in my blogger settings, but my comment notification was

now only found when i logged in, went to my dashboard, blah blah blah.

low & behold, the email verification began working again for this last post

so

email after email was filled with your words of thanksgiving.

what a beautiful thing!!!

from stories of relationships reconciled
to beautiful weather,

to healing marriages,

to favorite pets

to the unemployed now finding a job

the words of thanksgiving from a thankful people echoed on & on.

beautiful

powerful

humble words!!

in the book, ann begins to list things she is thankful for

& obviously writes up to 1,000.

melodic expressions of gratitude even in the midst of crisis.

many days are like that. aren't they?

a sacrifice of praise, 

hands held out in thanksgiving

despite pain or disappointment.

yet at that time, i believe our Heavenly Father,

who's love for us is beyond our understanding,

is blessed.

& i want to thank you.

many of you sent words of encouragement to me

and for that i am deeply grateful.

thank you

when i trained for the half marathon,

when i asked about nutrition advice

& when i shared about emily's mission trip

you emailed, and facebooked, and tweeted and sent packages

& words of love and encouragement.

i am so thankful for YOU!!

i used the random number generator despite my inability to figure out how to post the widget...
so i apologize for my lack of formality
but the winner of the book is Tessie!

please email me your information & i will gladly send you a copy of
One Thousand Gifts!