handmade holiday scavenger hunt!!!

I'm so excited to participate in this holiday scavenger hunt organized by the lovely Jacquelyn over at Exceptional Charm. Go to her site for details here and enter to win one of 7 great prizes from some amazing vendors on Etsy. I'll be giving away a $25 gift certificate towards anything in the shop. Good luck and have fun!

give thanks.

{mtsofan}
The picture says it all. This year has been good to me and I'm excited and a little bit anxious to see what the future holds. I'm at a place I never dreamed I would get to (totally serious here) which is super scary and exhilarating all at the same time. Oh, so thankful for my supportive family and friends. Couldn't have gotten here without you. I know I can be a stress case and I appreciate your patience and understanding. You know who you are! And to the brides and wonderful ladies I've gotten to collaborate with this year- you are amazing! Thank you so much for the opportunity to create something special for you and for sharing this time in your life with me. I am humbled by you all.

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, hope you have a happy and safe holiday weekend with loved ones. I know I will. We're celebrating our first turkey day as a family. :) xo {mattmiller}

I won something!!!

So this morning I have been trying to whittle down my google reader that was just about to hit 1000 (yikes!) and got to my Twig & Thistle feed. Lo and behold, I saw that they had announced the winner of the Minted giveaway that I had entered a couple of weeks ago and it said this: Unless there is another 'McKay P' out there I believe I am entitled to a fist pump or two. :) So excited to send out holiday cards now. And if you want to get a daily dose of inspiration for your home or the next party you're throwing start following her blog now! You won't regret the decision, I promise.

tuesday shoesday. bring on the bling!

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum from my wedding day Rainbows :), today I wanted to feature the most gorgeous, to-die-for shoes worn by my friend Brooke at her wedding this past July. Let the pictures speak for themselves. {here}
{here}
Is that not one of the most amazing ring/shoe shots ever?? Their photographer was awesome. Love love love.

guest post- fall inspiration: accessories.

hi guys!!! i hope you'll come over and check out my first ever guest post at She Said Yes today. jacin organized a great collaboration with some wonderful wedding bloggers to show off different inspiring items and ideas for those of you planning a fall wedding. i have the honor of highlighting ideas for bridal accessories. so. much. fun!

you can see my post here. (on twitter? link up at #fallinspiration for up to date info on all the posts coming your way!)

here's a little sneak peak of a few accessories i'm highlighting...

{all accessories found on etsy}

Holiday Gifts From the South

I was so pleased when Erin of Deep South Magazine approached me to see if I might like to include the Sweet Caroline Seersucker Clutch in their holiday gift guide. She's put together a great grouping of gift ideas for those of you looking for items made by southern hands. In addition to the Handmade Gift section, they will also be featuring three other categories highlighting the following:

- Eats & Snacks collection,
- Books, Cookbooks, Music & Film, and
- Southern Attire.

So grab a glass of sweet tea, some crackers and pimento cheese and settle in to peruse the offerings they have here.

bags lately, part II.

I know, I know, you guys are all wondering what I've been up to lately. I don't call, I don't write...Well, rather than bore you to tears with a wordy post, I'll take you on a little picture journey of the past few weeks. Enjoy!
(click any image to enlarge) Maybe you remember this one from the gorgeous shoot that was put together by Lauren over at Every Last Detail and photographed by Tina Bass Photography. Thanks again for including me ladies!! A little peak into the Oatmeal Lace packaging. And, you can't escape without at least oohing and aaahing over one photo of my big babies. Hope you have a lovely weekend! I'm planning to unveil some new items on the blog and in the shop next week, so stay tuned!!

breaking out the clutch.

This past weekend I was back visiting the family in Tallahassee and finally got to break out my FSU clutch for the homecoming game. Although the outcome of the game stunk, the day was amazing and I'm so glad we all were able to head up before the season ended. Just for fun I thought I'd include a few photos that we took while hanging at the tailgate before the game. Enjoy!

Me and the hubs. Gotta love the garnet and gold shirt I scored for him at Marshalls. Those of you who know me know just how much I love a good deal.

London Ladies minus Shari- we missed you lady!!!!

Gratuitous bag shots.

And I have to end all Tallahassee posts with a few photos from home. The dogs can't get enough of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Very grateful that I grew up in a wonderful place that I can share with them.

Clutch Magazine Fall Release Party

I was tickled pink when Chandra Robrock, PR Director for student run fashion publication CLUTCH at Florida State, contacted me to see if I might be interested in donating an FSU Collegiate Clutch as a raffle prize for their Fall 2010 release party. Support my alma mater, student run organizations and my hometown community with one of my creations? Sign me up!

If you're in Tallahassee, the release party is happening tonight at the Filling Station on Thomasville Road starting at 9:00 pm. The first 50 guests will receive a VIP goodie bag filled with items, treats, coupons, & giftcards from Clutch's advertisers & other vendors and then they will be hosting the raffle with all proceeds benefitting the Refuge House. If you aren't familiar with the Refuge House, they have been providing the Tallahassee and neighboring communities for over 20 years with support and services for battered women, children, and sexual assault survivors. So get out there and support a great local cause while checking out the latest trends in music and fashion.

While you're at it, check out the Spring 2010 issue of Clutch Magazine here.

it's business time.

Seriously I cannot believe it is already November!!! This year has just completely flown right by. It's been one of the best years yet- married my best friend and found out that the right side of my brain was a lot more active than I gave it credit for- I feel very blessed and content.

Of course, there is always room for improvement and in my case, that means specifically honing better time management skills and getting my workload and work space organized and under control. If you remember way back to here, I had high, HIGH hopes of having my studio up and running back in the summer. It's a little behind schedule- the foosball table is still in it's spot and the sewing cabinet is still in it's natural, un-painted state, stuffed between the foosball table and fabric storage shelf...good times. Here it is in all it's glory (the picture was taken in it's old home...):

So before this year is over I plan to tackle those issues as well as a few others to get my 'business housekeeping' under control. I'm posting them publicly so that it's even more incentive to stick to it. I could wait til the new year to really buckle down on these goals but I'm hopeful by then that there will be some new and exciting creations I want to work on which will prompt a NEW goal set. Hooray!!!

So there they are in no particular order (along with a few personal goals I have as well):

- Finish writing business plan (I know I am way overdue on this one!!!)

- Donate the foosball table & have it removed 

- Run with Moose 3 times a week

- Finish up all pending orders that were started in October

- Organize all receipts/bank accounts for accountant

- IKEA trip and shelf assembly for studio (foosball has to be gone first)

- Prepare our first Thanksgiving as a married couple

- Start new section of etsy site offering custom diaper bags

- All fabric and inventory organized (need shelf built first)

- Paint sewing cabinet (finally)

- Homemade dinners at least 3 times a week (including days with leftovers...)

- Finish watching all the past seasons of Bones

Holy moly. There are a lot of big goals on here, but really, all need to be completed by end of month so that holiday gift season and end of year will be as painless as possible. Can I do it? YES I CAN! :)