After 13 years home with our 4 beautiful kiddos, I’ve entered a new chapter in my life….for the first time I now have all kids in full time school. That little peanut in the photo is now in kindergarten!! I remember when she was born I had a lot of people say I “set myself back” 5 years. Charlotte started kindergarten just a few months after she was born, but instead of having a 3 in school I now had a newborn at home. Well, it was the best and fastest 5 years and I never felt like it was a set back. I think there’s something special about not only having a 4th, but having a little gap in ages…I wasn’t a first time mom (by any means, lol) and I had the confidence in motherhood to enjoy her with less worry. And the gap gave me alone time with her like she was my only baby! I enjoyed every minute.

But now here I am, with 4 kiddos gone each day at school. A quiet house. So now what? Get a job?? In Southern California photography was my passion. I spent many evenings photographing beautiful families on the beach. Now I spend my evenings shuttling kids between practices, cooking dinner for my family and reading bedtime stories. And as much as I still love photography, I just can’t give up that valuable time with my not-so-little ones. The years are flying by and the evenings and weekends are my core time with them. Eating dinner together, chats in the car, helping with homework, reading together. These things are GOLD and I will not miss these few hours with my babes.

The one thing I’ve come back to over and over again through the years is this silly little blog. I’ve always enjoyed writing. Even more, I enjoy beautiful imagery. Capturing it, admiring it and displaying it. My blog and Instagram account have always given me an outlet for these two loves. Instagram has drastically changed since those early days (that’s a whole other post), but I’ve realized even if the platforms around me have changed, I can still use them how I want to use them. Influencer? Micro-influencer? The terms make me cringe honestly. I don’t have a big platform, but I have built a small little online community that I dearly love. I love to chat about our home decor, recipes we’ve made and loved, and just generally what’s happening in our lives! It’s a creative outlet that truly brings me joy.

Soooo….what’s next? As I gain more hours to myself I’ll be putting more effort and time into our home. We started early in the year with a pretty big renovation of a builder-basic house. I’m sloooowly adding the layers that will make it look and feel warm, cozy and truly like our home. If that interests you, I’d love for you to keep following along!

Sidenote…these images of Emery’s nursery still get so much attention on Pinterest! If you’re looking for all of the nursery details head over to the blog post with details!

photographs by the talented Vanessa Lentine