I'm so excited about day 2 of this weeks series!

I have told you about my friend Angela before -- she is one incredibly talented gal. And, her heart is just as full as her talents. I am sure you have heard of the sale site Joss And Main. They offer exclusive members-only access to the world’s most recognized designers and brands for the home at up to 70% off retail. I have gotten many a deal from their everchanging inventory. Well, Angela has put together a curated sale for them that goes live tonight at 9pm {est}!! She has fantastic taste and an eclectic flair that creates the most fun, creative spaces {her studio loft is featured in this month's Atlanta Magazine!} 

   All her proceeds from the sale, every penny, are going to her next space in the spring Room Service project. Room Service Atlanta connects designers with shelters to provide FREE interior upgrades for their transitioning homeless residents in Atlanta. This is her third time working with the project.

If you want to see all the rooms she has created for the projects, click here. And FYI, that's her artwork on the walls!! Can you imagine being homeless and then getting to move into one of these spaces as you transition to get back on your feet?! So inspiring.

And now for my Part 2 of Angela's inspiring heart...

This is Angela's adorable family. 5 years ago, her young husband was diagnosed with cancer–stage IV non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Take a minute to digest having a 2 year old, a 4 year old and a 5 month old and being told your husband has stage 4 cancer...

They attacked the cancer. hard. If you would like to read the details of her story, visit here.  Angela says 'Just as God promised me, the sickness “would soon end in joy,” the PET scan showed he was all clear, from head to toe. Oh, there was JOY. And, while we would have liked to have arrived at this February, his 5-year mark, cancerfree; he didn’t. But the recurrence was small and treatable. And we thank God for small and treatable. We thank God for everyday. We thank God for access to good doctors, good medicine, good nutrition, and good exercise.'

Just after he finished his radiation last year, a photographer with Magic Hour Foundation took these photos of their family. Magic Hour recipients are in the magic hours of their lives - some are transitioning out of life on this earth and they aim to capture their beauty and preserve it for their families through photography. Some have overcome and are transitioning into a life with more clarity and purpose, disease-free. They want all cancer warriors to have the opportunity to remember how beautiful they are and how poignant this time is in their life and the lives of their families - free of charge and free of complication.

I love, love, love this idea!!  Magic Hour is a network of photographers across the country who donate their time and skill to capture cancer patients and their families during their treatment journey. Angela is encouraging us to donate to this organization or if you are a photographer and would like to volunteer, please visit here for more details. {They are a new organization and need photographers all over the country}. You can also nominate a cancer warrior to receive this priceless gift by visiting here.   

February has snuck in and I thought we would celebrate the month of hugs and kisses this week with all things

With wedding season just around the corner, this is a pretty spectacular gift for the lucky couple. Artist Lauryn Nashli of the etsy shop almost noelle, is an artist who uses a photo you email her of your wedding or engagement and turns it into an illustration. She hand draws the image on a wacom bamboo tablet {want one!} and she can add names, a date, or a poem, if desired. Sizes vary from 5x7 to a 16x20, and they are incredibly affordable.  

Jump over to her etsy site and get your name on her waiting list!!!

 {**I'm sure you know this--but 'almost noelle' won't be written across your illustration, this is just Lauryn protecting her pretties}

via

And so do No school Fridays !! Have a great weekend!!

I can't tell you how long I have been waiting for January 31 to arrive! months and months and months!! Although, last April when *it* happened, I really had no idea that it would be January before things would get back to normal.

If you are my friend, my acquaintance, my client, then you know what I am talking about. You have met {and laughed at} my constant companion. if you haven't met me, then allow me to introduce you to my little buddy.

What? It looks odd to you?????

It's now totally familiar to me. It happened last April. Let me say that again. 'LAST APRIL'. A simple, accidental drop to the floor left her shattered and ugly, but still working. And when I happened to be at a track meet, in a city with an Apple store last May, I took her in to show her to the Apple geniuses to discuss my options. They looked at her and said 'Whooa, you have like 3 months max before she's a gonner. You can't drop it THAT hard for it to shatter like THAT and not do serious internal damage.' 

So, there it was. A challenge. Don't devil's advocate me and think I won't fall for it. Cause I will. 

I honestly really believed the Apple man and thought I would just wait it out. I thought it would be a few weeks and that I would give her a nice slow respectful death and then I would have to get a new one. The screen was sharp {shattered glass is sharp ya'll} so I stuck a film protector on her to avoid the blood from my fingers falling into her privates. And I continued to wait.

But she just wouldn't die.

Way to go Apple. Way to make a phone that is so freaking good that I can completely shatter it, remove it from it's protective case, hold it together with a clear sticker, and drop it again {and again} and it just keeps on keeping on.... for 9 more months. 

Last year, it made no sense to get a replacement *old model* phone months before the new one came out. So, I just sucked it up. I learned to look at pictures through a web {that's a 'spider web' reference not the 'world wide web'}, continued to read only every 3rd word of my text messages and kept my fingers crossed as I sent texts and emails since I can't see what I am writing!! Until today---the end of my ridiculous contract.  

Part of me wants to keep the old. See if I can set some set some kind of Apple record. But the smarter {smaller} part says 'Are you insane???'

So design is trumped today. Sorry. I am going to ask the Verizon peeps to be kind to her. She has served me well. Bittersweet...