Let there be light . . .

I. love. Jesus.

Check out this amazing video from my church!


Christmas 2011 - Let There Be Light from North Point Media on Vimeo.


In case you like the music, you need to check out Gungor.

Favorite Holiday Flicks

Everyone has a favorite holiday movie.  Here are several of mine, spanning a solid...well, several years at this point....

{Small One}

This is such a sweet story.  Fictional, of course, but it's about a small donkey who provided the ride for a very pregnant Mary, mother of Jesus.  I will show this to my kids someday.

{Charlie Brown Christmas Special}

I love that Linus gets it.  Yay for baby Jesus!

{The Snowman}

I always looked forward to this one.  If you only watch one video on this page, watch this clip!  The fun thing about this video is that it's all music.  There's no dialogue, which I actually find refreshing.  The music is wonderful, and the illustrations {I believe} are all done with colored pencils, so it's stunning to watch.

{The Grinch Who Stole Christmas}

Need I say more?

{Mickey's Christmas Carol}

I really love this story, and there are several great versions of it in film, but this remains my favorite.

{Love Actually}

Who doesn't love this movie??

{The Holiday}

Such a fun movie.  This definitely premiered at a key time in my single life.  It's so funny looking back.  Oh, Rose.  You SO got me.

{The Family Stone}

I cannot tell you how many times I've watched this movie.  LOVE this movie.  Also, I'll go ahead and offer that I am definitely Amy in this movie.

{Little Women}

Since I started the trend, I'm Jo in this one.  Shocking, since every girl believes she's Jo, but I believe that's allowed.

So, what are some of YOUR favorite movies to watch at Christmas???

Tunes for Tuesday

I can't get enough of Christmas music these days.  This is definitely one of my favorites though.  The music is beautiful, and the lyrics are simple and true.

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

If Not For You...

Two years ago today I married my love.

May you be as lucky as I.

Tis the Season!

I love the holidays, don't you?

We're moving this Saturday.  I'm super excited about it.  Due to the timing, however, I wasn't able to decorate for Christmas this year.  I just didn't see the use in getting a tree and pulling out all the decor only to take it down two weeks later.  As a result, I have been obsessed with everything holiday-related.  I've been listening to the Christmas station on Pandora relentlessly.  I've stalked friends on Facebook sharing their holiday decorations and ideas.  It's out of control.  Ahhh....next year....

Well, to feed my obsession, here are some of my favorite pins from Pinterest for the holidays.  If I could decorate and have people over, these things would happen....

I can already smell it!

I am definitely making one of these next for next year.

So simple, yet so pretty.

I love the natural greenery.

My grandmother loved chocolate-covered cherries.  We always gave her some as part of her Christmas treat, so this made me think of her.  Plus, it looks insanely delicious, don't you think??

I wish I lived in a house with a dozen mantles.

Apothecary jars are all the rage, and I confess I'd love to own a ridiculous amount of them {to go along with dozen mantles, of course}.

Tunes for Tuesday

My whole family is musical.  It's ridiculous.  I can play (or fake my way through) playing about half a dozen instruments, and I'm the least talented one in the bunch.  They're seriously ridiculous.

All of that to say this:  music is and always has been a huge part of life for me.  In starting this new blog, I knew that one of the beautiful things I wanted to share is music, so here is the beginning of a regular installment of "Tunes for Tuesday".

Today's tune:  "In the Bleak Midwinter"



Not only do I love the music, but the lyrics are actually a poem by Christina Rosetti, one of my very favorite poets.  Here is the poem...

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

I hope you enjoy the music as well as the season!

Falling for Fall

Every spring I convince myself that spring time is my most favorite time of year.

Then fall shows up and totally sweeps me away.

I met up recently with Katie to take some fun fall-inspired shots.  She's amazing.  If you're in Atlanta and need pictures done, she's your girl.

Check out these gorgeous shots she took at the peak of fall this past November...

First Sale

Last night I got the message that I made my first Etsy sale.  It was exciting!

The Meg Flower Satin Belt was the first item to go.

Here are a few shots of my store in the making, along with a shot of the Meg belt being packaged for shipping.

Etsy Shop is Open!

Raise your hand if you lovvvve Pinterest!!  Yeah.  Me, too.

Ok, so I have my own DIY board and not too long ago I added different ideas for fabric flowers.  I loved them.  They're too pretty.  Then it hit me.  I have a closet FULL of bridesmaid dresses (27 Dresses, anyone??) that I know I'll never wear again....  hmm....

I love creating things just for the heck of it, but I knew that if I invested the time, I'd have to come up with a way to get rid of the millions of fabric flowers I would eventually make from these dresses.

So, this is how my Etsy shop was born.  Check it out, and feel free to shop!

Love, Laura Sue

I love starting over.  I love new beginnings.  I enjoy the delicate fear involved when there are so many unknowns.  I've tried to learn from what little time I feel I've had on this earth so far, and I hope that I continue my life-long pursuit of learning for many years to come.  What have I learned?... I've learned that there's always an opportunity to change.  I've learned that my yesterdays do not have to be my tomorrows.  I've learned to celebrate the little things like they're big, and the big things like they're even bigger.

Some friends and I were recently discussing the idea of "image management" and how everybody - yes, we included ourselves in the equation - practices some form of image management from time to time.  And it's necessary in many circumstances.  I'm here, however, to be very transparent with you, my readers, whoever you may be.  Yes, I will feature and talk about lots of good and pretty things in life that I love and that I believe should be celebrated.  That's not to say that my life is by any means perfect or pain-free.  But I don't want to complain.  I don't want to focus on negative things.

I. Choose. Joy.

That's my theme for this blog.  So, as you read...as you look through pictures...as you get to know me... understand that I'm not trying to put up a front or act like my life is totally amazing.  I actually believe that my life - and yours - is, in fact, pretty amazing, and I'm choosing to celebrate that.

I'm girly and love girly things (which was not always the case, but I've warmed up to it over the years).  I love beautiful photos.  I love to dream.  I love to create.  I love writing and reading great writing.  This blog is for me to be able to share the things I love with you.

So, grab your favorite cup of hot tea, and let's celebrate all the beautiful things - big and small - that we love about life together.

Thanks for being you,