you deserve roses
you deserve cream
you deserve warmth
down to your seams
you deserve romance
you deserve hope
you deserve to have every puddle
covered by a coat
you deserve laughter
you deserve friends
you deserve acceptance
to the very end
you deserve family
and well massaged feet
you deserve a love
that will never cease
but most of all…
you deserve peace
This is just a quick note of realization and encouragement for anyone who needs it!
It is so amazing to me that I can look at ten people who do the same exact art, with the same exact materials, with the same exact themes/items and all of them come out completely unique.
Whatever it is you have to give to the world, give it! There’s always room, and awe, for one more! Your only competition truly is yourself and your own self doubt!
Keep creating!
you’re upset because you can’t contain her
you can’t understand her ups and downs
she wants to be held close
but she wants to be left alone
so you try your best to stay standing still
then realize she has yet to return
now’s not the time to start the flame
so instead watch the world burn
This past Sunday (27 February 2022) 3 Oaks Farm hosted an open house! The main event took place inside a beautifully rustic barn front and center on the property! The event organizers and owners invited all sorts of wonderful vendors to show off their stuff and meet the event attendees!
From caterers to event planners to a wonderful violinist, the variety of services was endless! The perfect team to make your wedding dreams come true, whatever they may be!
This was my second open house that I have attended and I’ve got to say, there’s no better way to spend a work day! Want to read about the first open house? Find the article here: Open House at Lilly Creek Farm
For those who do not know what I do, I am a writer. For wedding event purposes I offer vow writing services as well as custom poetry! Check out my services page to see the full range of services I offer and feel free to Send A Letter… to get in contact with me! Now, the article!
First and foremost I want to thank 3 Oaks Farm for hosting this event as well as tell you a little bit about the venue itself!
Their site is beautiful! It’s just 10 minutes from downtown Cumming, Ga but you wouldn’t know that as soon as you drive under their gate onto their property! A gravel road takes you directly to the barn where, inside, you’ll find reclaimed wood, a gorgeous drapery that covers the entire ceiling, and two large doors that open to a patio outside! Even in the rain that visited this past Sunday, it was absolutely stunning!
Not only that but the site is family owned and run by a staff who are open-hearted and even more excited for your event than you are!
Follow them on Instagram and Facebook as well as visit their website at 3oaksfarm.org!
The event itself was expertly run! Before the event, they sent an email out explaining exactly what to do upon arrival. They allowed the vendors to park along the gravel road leading up to the barn after unloading their equipment.
They had an event in the morning and had it cleared away before set up for the open house like the absolute professionals they are!
Set up began at noon and when I walked in I was immediately pointed to where I could set up and was asked by several people if I needed help. A wonderful relief for an anxiety filled vendor! Everyone there, staff and vendors included, were beyond friendly and inviting! I was so happy to walk around saying hello to everyone when I got a chance!
The event itself ran from 2-5 pm and lovely brides and grooms to be and their families came in waves. I was so excited to see the interest in the event site and vendors and everything was tied together by a DJ who played catchy songs the whole time! Of course I was dancing…even got a few other vendors in on the dancing too!
Not only that but one of the vendors was a violinist. The DJ shut off the music and allowed her to play her music for all to hear and enjoy throughout the event. The music was magical.
The event wrapped up at 5 pm and everyone headed out. Short, sweet, and to the point. I am so grateful to have been invited to attend!
(I know you’ve seen me use the title above before but it’s such a classic how could I not? I am not sorry :P)
The vendors there were absolute professionals. Everyone made it a point to walk around and say hello and share what they do with one another. They were all so friendly and I was honored to be counted among them!
Here’s a list of the vendors whose business cards I was able to snag as well as link to their social media! They’ll be in groups: Arts, Music, Photography, Catering, Event Planning/Decorating.
Wit and Bubbles is a business that handmakes beautiful soaps! Perfect for gift giving, party favors, and personal use! Not only that, but each scent has a rockin’ or punny name to add humor to the luscious experience of using their soap! Collect them all and revel in the Wit and Bubbles of these handcrafted bars!
The owner is a bubbly, intelligent, and wonderful woman who lights up the room with her smile! She was the vendor directly to my left and she added so much fun to the open house!
Find her craft on Instagram and Facebook as well as visit the official website at witandbubbles.com
Val Johnston is the owner and artist of Vallure Decor. She created beautifully unique acrylic signs that are sure to last your family for years to come! The signs are hand vinyled and painted with results of beautiful contrast and lovely designs.
Follow her on Instagram and Facebook!
La Bella Blu Art is a wonderful artist who paints pet portraits! Each portrait is as unique as the pets reflected in them and the artist is an absolute joy to be around! She is so understanding and easy to talk to, she will be able to make your day as well as the perfect portrait of your furry friend to remind you of the space you keep for them in your heart! Don’t believe me? Follow the links below and check out her portraits for yourself!
Find La Bella Blu on Instagram and Facebook!
A Divine Beauty is owned by Noelle Smith, a licensed esthetician and makeup artist! She loves helping brides with the perfect makeup look on their big day as well as the science of skincare! Any and all of your skincare and makeup needs can be fulfilled by this fun-loving and classy woman!
Check out A Divine Beauty on Instagram and Facebook and visit the official website at adivinebeauty.com
Christie Bates is an extremely talented violinist who is sure to make you feel as if you were hosting your wedding or event in a fantasy world all your own! Her smooth performance throughout the open house was awe inspiring and it was almost impossible to stay still as she wove her tunes through the air!
If you’re looking for a classy, magical, and downright beautiful musical experience, this open and poise lady is the one to call!
Find her on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube and visit her official website at christiebatesviolin.com!
Want to go more modern with your music choices? Want a DJ and Photo Booth in one? Then Sounds Right Entertainment is the vendor for your event!
Find them on Instagram and Facebook as well as visit their official website at SoundsRightEntertainment.com!
This lovely and endearing couple are straight out of a Hallmark movie! Or at least that’s what I think! They have fulfilled every travel loving bohemian’s dream by creating a mobile photobooth! Take beautiful and memorable photos at your event in their vintage volkeswagon bus and remember your event for a lifetime!
You can find them on Instagram and Facebook as well as visit their official website at RollWithJuniper.com!
LaRuche Photo is a professional photographer! They had the coolest trifold set-up showing off their skills at the open house!
View their work on Instagram and Facebook and visit their official website at LaRuchePhoto.com!
Stella is a fantastically creative individual making dreams come true with her photography and videography! This bubbly and lovely lady has experience in weddings, parties, family photos, boudier, and more!
Check out her work on Instagram and Facebook as well as visit her official website at MyStellaVision.com!
A wonderful photographer with an attention to detail, Joshua Hill specializes in wedding photography and capturing the perfect photos to show the true love and dedication between a couple! His laid back and intuitive nature will have you relaxed and stress free when it comes to photos on your wedding day!
Check out his work on Instagram and Facebook and visit his official website at TheHillsMedia.com!
For a more modern photobooth complete with props, green screen, and a staff to make sure your photobooth experience is user error free, check out Jammin’ Photo Booth!
Find them on Facebook and visit their official website at JamminPhotoBooth.com!
If Willy Wonka and the Gingerbread Man had a cousin, this would be them! Kelly Stovall’s baked goods are absolute heaven! I tried a Raspberry macaron and it had fresh jam in it and was JUST firm enough to hold but melt in your mouth. When you need some stellar baked goods, check out Kelly’s baked goods!
Find her on Instagram and Facebook and visit the official website at TreatYourselfBakedGoods.com!
If beautiful towering cakes and perfectly packaged proportions are what you desire for your event, check out Sweet Peach Confections! This husband and wife team make life sweet and your events even sweeter with their baked goods!
Find them on Instagram and Facebook and visit their official website at SweetPeachConfections.com!
“Baking the world a sweeter place” is the official motto of Cassie Cakes! Cassie Cakes specializes in cakes, royal icing cookies, cake pops and cake-sicles, dessert shooters and cake jars, hot cocoa bombs, cupcakes, DIY themed cookie decorating kits, weddings, and more!
Check out Cassie Cakes on Instagram and Facebook and visit their official website at ThisIsCassieCakes.blogspot.com!
An actual conversation I had: “What do you do?” I asked Jenny. “I’m an event coordinator!” She replied. I shook my head, “Oh wow, that’s not stressful at all!” Her reply? “Not for me! I love what I do!” Love to see it!
If you’re looking for an event coordinator to help melt your stress away and take care of all the small details you know you’ll forget about, check out Jenny Smith! A talented, laid-back, and professional woman who will make your event what dreams are made of!
Find her on Instagram and Facebook and visit her official website at DesignsByJenny.net!
Everyone knows that food and drink taste only as good as the glass or plate they are put in/on! Atlanta Vintage Glassware makes sure that your event looks, feels, and tastes the way it should! In addition to classy and original themes for events, some of their favorite recent themes included a Sailor Moon themed event and Slytherin House themed event! Whatever world you want to have your event in, whether it’s a world all your own or borrowed from movies or literature, Atlanta Vintage Glassware seeks to make that dream a reality!
Find them on Instagram and Facebook and visit the official website at AtlantaVintageGlassware.com!
Despite the rain the open house at 3 Oaks Farm was absolutely divine! I am so honored to have been invited and a part of, and I am so happy I got to meet and connect with, the other vendors included in this article as well as meet future clients!
If you would like any writing services please do not hesitate to contact me via Send a letter… and if you would like to hire any of these wonderful vendors, please follow the links and message them through their socials!
Have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! Until next time!
This Valentine’s Day will be truly special! E. Lexi Abbott was asked to create 100 cards for Tropical Roses in Lawrenceville! Not only that, but creating poems for couples to enjoy on Valentine’s Day has been something I have LOVED doing for the last few months!
If you’d like to order a custom poem, it’s not too late! Order your custom poem TODAY and get it by Valentine’s Day!
Want a special Valentine’s card? Head on down to Tropical Roses or order a custom one! It will come in the mail as soon as I can get it to you!
What are your plans this Valentine’s Day? Comment below!
We carved Our future out of rocks and stone
and took the marrow from animal bone
bent wooden statues to ride the seas
and brought the rivers to their knees
harvested the forces of crystals and plants
created electronics and power plants
erected skyscrapers teeming with glittering glass
carved a canal through countries so we could easily pass
and what is the result of this wonderful creation?
Being able to terraform a whole nation
Curing disease and educating the Youth
exploring planets far from Our view
creating art that makes Us dance and sing
going back to primal roots after everything
charting history and relearning names
slowly building a society that allows individual gain
We have come a long way
and We have long yet to go
but life is magical
being Human even more so
take a moment to celebrate what Our Ancestors have achieved
if you take a little starlight
and grind it down with stone
sprinkle in some laughter
and a little bit of “Home”
drink it down with some water
and let it take hold
you’ll understand what it’s like
to feel with all your soul
Hello and good morning everyone! We all know which holiday is coming up featuring red hearts and cupid’s arrow. That’s right! Valentine’s Day! I wanted to write an article for you guys talking about the origins of Valentine’s Day because we could all use a little history in our lives, don’t you think?
But first thing’s first! Ad time from your local dangerously undercaffeinated writer!
Struggling to find a deeper meaning than “Roses are red, violets are blue?” Never fear! I can help you make Valentines a day to remember with the purchase of a custom poem!
How it works: You contact me requesting a poem for a loved one (friend, relative, or significant other) and I then set up a phone call (or email) with you wherein I ask you a list of personalized questions that will evolve as the brief interview proceeds. I then take the information given to me to create a one-of-a-kind poem that has left people crying with joy!
You can contact me here. Now, on with the article!
All roads lead to Rome, or at least that seemed to be the truth at one point in history with the rise of the civilization we now know as the Roman empire surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Today it can still be true if we are talking mental roads or the roads that lead us from the past to the present…but I digress. Valentine’s Day has Roman roots!
The day has multiple sources of major events leading to what we celebrate today with paper hearts and poems beginning with “roses are red, violets are blue,” but the very first beginnings were not so childishly innocent.
Valentine’s day is known as a day of love but a widely believed source of the day stemmed from a festival known as Lupercalia. As Arnie Siepel, a writer and editor at NPR.org, stated, “From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia,” while History.com stated that the festival was held on February 15th (NPR.org) (History.com). Lupercalia was a bloody, violent, and sexually charged festival wherein animal sacrifices would be made then their hides used to whip women to bless them with fertility; meanwhile, much like a key party, random names would be drawn and those people would “couple” throughout the event. All of this was done to “ward off evil spirits and infertility” and the festival has been dated as far back as 6th century B.C. (History.com).
The word Lupercalia is believed to have come from the Roman fertility god Lupercus (Pantheon.org), OR from the sacred site Lupercal where the legendary Romulus and Remus were said to have been suckled by the she-wolf who saved them from drowning in the river (Mentalfloss.com), OR from Lupa (she-wolf) who suckled them and picus (woodpecker) who fed them(WorldHistory.org)…or even a combination of all three. There are many origins of the name “Lupercalia.”
As we move from the reason for the season, or in this case the day, we next wonder why the name is not along the same vein as Lupercalia. Where did we get the word “Valentine” from and why is it “Valentine’s Day?” Once again, we look towards Rome.
A very well known human pastime is torture and legally sanctioned murder. This bloody and dark history did not spare even the day meant for flowers and over-priced chocolate. In this case, Valentine was the name of not one man but two that were sentenced to execution by Emperor Claudius II during the 3rd century. Separated by different years, their unfortunate deaths were delivered on the same day of February 14th (NPR.org).
The reason Valentine’s Day is held on February 14th now makes sense with the knowledge you just learned about both Mr. Valentines being executed on that day in different years. But many people were executed, why were these two so important?
We’re forgetting a very integral part of the day. It’s now more commonly known as Valentine’s Day but I’m sure you’ve heard it called SAINT Valentine’s Day. Ringing any bells? Valentine #1 was a man in Rome who went against Emperor Claudius II in a rule against marriage, put in place by the emperor because men were putting their wives and children above their duty to go to war for the Roman empire, by continuing on to marry young couples in secret. When the emperor found out, he wasn’t all too pleased and had Valentine put to death for it.
It is thought that while he was in jail awaiting death by means of beating with a club and beheading, he wrote a note to his daughter and signed it, “From your Valentine,” he was named a Saint after his death in honor of his sacrifice (History.com).
Valentine #2 is a different story. There has actually thought to have been as many as THREE St. Valentine’s all put to death for different reasons. History remembered St. Valentine #1 the best with the day of love we all know and cherish today.
The last step of wonderment for the origins of this day is how the festival of Lupercalia and the death of St. Valentine merged to create St. Valentine’s Day? Well, as most of our modern holidays, St. Valentine’s Day was a recreated and Christianized version of a pagan holiday. That’s right. The Christians, or specifically Pope Gelasius, took Lupercalia and slapped St. Valentine’s name on it to drive away the pagan spirits, or as written by History.com, “In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St. Valentine’s Day” (History.com).
So we can all admit that the beginnings of the holiday are pretty sour. But how did we get to the sweet candy swapping, paper heart giving, flower displaying holiday that we all know and some of us love?
Well, as most of our words were invented by an ingenious man, so was the holiday helped to become sweeter by none other than Shakespeare himself (with the added help of Chaucer no less)!
The two famous writers slowly but steadily romanticized the holiday in their works until the New World was established and the industrial revolution began mass producing holiday cards. Very quickly the day with such a bitter beginning turned into the modern day of love that we know now! Like a very warped game of telephone, the Roman origins were quickly buried in the static.
Now, St. Valentine’s Day is a day to buy anatomically incorrect heart shaped balloons, stuffed bears, and chocolate and is denounced by most single people as a day not even worth sniffing at. I wonder what the ancient Romans and executed Valentines would have to say about that?
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she fell in love with an astronaut
but he wanted space
and every time he left
tears would flow down her face
he carried her picture
in his left boot
looking upon her face in secret
and wanting a route
to where her heart lay
out across the stars
he loved space and so must she
or so he thought so he embarked
coming back with pictures
crystals
and rocks
but the longer this went on the sadder she became
and the locks
were changed one time
when he came home
having found a new planet
but her heart had been sewn
shut from him
because he was never there
always chasing the wrong way to show his love
and all he could do was stare
into the window
as she sat with their pictures all around
throwing each one in the fire
with a deep sobbing sound
he could not understand
because he could not see
he loved space
but all she hurt for was he
the mushroom dance
lasts throughout time
sending out vibrations
that sound a lot like rhyme
this rhyme nestles in
the very cells of our corporeal being
and when they spark and come alive
life takes on a new meaning
no longer simply chasing the next generations’ survival
instead making way for
a type of magical revival
dancing and swaying
along the electricity sent through neural cones
we are all just mini thunderstorms
in a jelly bag supported by beams of bone
muscles tightening and contracting
making us a puppet without string
all driven by a tiny thunderstorm
driven to listen to life sing
explore absolutely everything
Image source: Pinterest
E. Lexi Abbott 