Top

Abby E. Smith

/ explore

Holden Beach N.C + Myrtle Beach S.C

Something rooted deep down in me just needs a good beach trip at LEAST once a year. It really is the “vitamin sea” people talk about, like an essential nutrient to completely refresh, rejuvenate, and give me new perspective. Every time I head to the coast with sandy shores and salt ridden air, I tend to remember and reflect on the little things in life more. It’s baffling how millions of grains of sand between my toes, the rumble of crashing waves to my ears, and the textured salty breeze against my browning skin brings a wave of complete happiness over me. Life seems slower at the beach, pure beauty without bells or whistles, simplicity but magnificence at the same time. I love seeing Creation in one of it’s finest forms first hand, and can’t help but smile at the Creator’s creativity and eye for beauty when I see the dozens of varying seashells, the faithful pull of the tides, and the punch of color in the sunsets.

This year, we ventured to a new + different beach with my sweet family-in-love. The past two years we had put up shop on SC beaches, so I was very curious and excited to try out a NC beach for the first time.
Holden Beach lived up to all my expectations, it was a wonderful week of soaking every thing in and bottling up loads of memories. I wish my camera could’ve captured all the scents, senses, textures and things that a lens just never could. But, these pictures do the job of jogging all those things in my memory.





We took one whole day and drove two hours to Myrtle Beach, SC. I had never touched base here either, it was so fun to see the difference of it compared to other beaches I had been too. I loved the California-ish flare it seemed to have (California-ish in my imagination that is, I’ve never been to the West Coast… yet.)

Back at Holden on our last day. This incredible pier had me going nuts… I kinda like want one of these in my backyard now.


A keeper beach + an unforgettable vaca.

Additional Photo Credits: Cassaundra Smith

/ artsy

Bookbinding

My love of being creative and making things started when I was little and would make mud pies in the back yard. It’s taken a lot of dabbling in different creative projects to discover what my favorite art forms really are and what my favorite thing to create is. My most loved creative pursuits today are the ones I really just stumbled upon and thought “Huh, that’s cool. I want to try that.” Funny, they ended up all having a common thread throughout: paper, ink, and letters/words. Not that surprising seeing that I’m a writer and I’m just drawn to these things.

Bookbinding was one of those very art forms I bumped into, got curious about, bought a book on, and just started taking a whack at. When I randomly decided to add them to my Etsy shop, I never expected to get custom requests from customers wanting the journals personalized. It was a very sweet surprise and a good reminder for me to share my creative gifts with others, and not to be so concerned that I wasn’t a professional or “good enough”  to be on the market.

So, I thought I would share a little bit of this process with you, and give you a little bit of an inside look into the very basics of this craft through a recent custom project I completed.

I started with a vintage book I found at an antique mall in NC a couple summers ago. I was immediately drawn to it’s juicy green covers and the amazing distress marks it had on the corners, and it was an adorable size to boot. The content of the book was kinda boring, so I had no problem freeing it from it’s covers so I could put them to a better use. I had these covers in my stash for a while, just waiting on the perfect project to come along, and it did. This step of the process is quickest and easiest, so I like to enjoy it before I get to the more technical and complicated part of the project.

 Next, I cut all my pages to size, fold them with a bone folder to get a firm crease and form them into groups of 5 making “signatures”. Then I get out my awl (basically and old-fashioned hole punch) and I punch through the crease of each set of 5 along a customized guide, so that all the holes match up and are uniform.
At this point they are all ready to be stitched together and become an actual book.

Before I get into the fun of the stitching step though, it’s essential to prepare the thread for binding.

By running the thread over a bar of beeswax it gives the fibers a smooth passage into the holes of the pages, and prevents the thread from getting tangled and ending up in knots. Can I just insert here as well that the smell you get from this stage is just the best, it’s one of my favorite parts for sure.

The thread is now prepped and threaded into the needle, and it’s time to get into the step that binds this all together…literally.

By using a series of stitches, section by section I move along the spine connecting them together. Starting by attaching the back cover to the last signature, then linking all the signatures together (doing a wide stitch around the book tapes, which give the journal extra stability) and working my way all the way up to the first signature and front cover. I do a final stitch, and then push the thread back to the inside and tie it off.

At this point, I trim the book tapes to size on the inside, and voila!

The uniqueness of this journal was the personalization my customer requested. For her husband’s 50th birthday, as a gift, she wanted this journal filled with 50, 6-word responses from his family, friends, and colleagues. Between each page she was going to attach small poloroid photos with photo corners.

So, I got out my vintage Remington typewriter, and typed out these special responses to turn this book into a keepsake. For privacy sake, I won’t share all of them, but here is one entry from her.

I love how the typewriter contributed to making this project authentically vintage, and the personal touch each response gave.

Overall, I’m just so tickled with the outcome of this project. It was a learning curve in so many ways, but very rewarding and such a great addition to my tool belt and portfolio.

Thanks for reading!
a b b y

P . S . A huge shout out to my husband, Luke, for his help, input, and encouragement on this project. I don’t know what I would do without his super math brain to help me figure out the technical side of this project. <3

/ heart writing

Unfolding Story

“Don’t miss out on something that could be great 
just because it could also be difficult.”

Isn’t it funny how sometimes pursuing our passions is hard?
Because the world is shouting so many things at us… success, popularity, approval of people. Sometimes our passions don’t match up with these demands and so we are tempted to snuff them out, even though they are the very things we love.
That’s been my story for the past few years.

If you’re reading these words, maybe you’ve noticed that there’s a change over here on this little corner of my life, once again. Bless all you peeps who have stuck with me through all these switches.
I almost cringed when I started thinking about renaming my blog AGAIN . After 5 years, I’ve had 4 name changes on this blog. All with different web addresses, makeshift logos, and numerous excuses of “I needed a fresh start”.

But I knew I needed more of an established change this time, so I did it and with a goofy kinda smile on my face. Because looking back on all those variations of my space here, I see it was all a process of finding my voice; finding out who I was as a writer, and what my purpose here with words really was.

I started this blog in 2013 as a simple place to “write my thoughts” but, in reality, I secretly wanted it to take off. I wanted the followers, the comments, the pomp and circumstance. Deep down I wasn’t content for it to be a quiet little corner to share my reflections.

I wanted a cute and catchy blog name, and I was a little insecure about using my own name as the face of this blog. It was too boring and run-of-the-mill.

I felt insecure about my writing so often, too often that I let this place become like an abandoned old house, people always left wondering if anyone lived there.

To be honest this blog, with all it’s maturing, adjustments and unsettledness over the years, it never really felt like home to me. Until now.
I definitely haven’t arrived at some revelation of myself that inspires me to do better here. The truth is that the Lord has grown me, opened my eyes a little to see the beauty and simplicity of following His directions faithfully, even when I have no idea where they’re leading. He’s secured me more in what my purpose is, He’s quietly encouraged me to pursue this gift of words, even if it’s never noticed or gets recognition.

In a sense, with all these changes, I’m going back to the basics of why I’m here on this blog. It’s been so refreshing to head back to the drawing board and evaluate what I love, fully bear hugging it.
As a writer, my love for stories is rekindled every day. As a photographer, I see the world through a unique eye. As a calligrapher, my pen is aching to flow creatively. This is why I’m here.

Days zip by into years, and I love looking back at how my passions have changed. Or maybe they haven’t changed, maybe they’ve just unfolded more for me to see.  So, here I am, relying every day on HIS grace and the knowledge that my Lord not only sees but has also authored all the chapters of my imperfect, ever changing, unfolding story.

Thanks for joining me on this twist-and-turn-filled journey.
Do you like these new blog changes, what would you love to see more of?

A B B Y

 

// The encouragement for these changes and for writing this post came from listening to Emily P. Freeman’s podcast and the Hope Writer’s podcast  . Amazing people with timely words. Thank you for giving me renewed vigor to pursue my gifts.

 

 

/ lifestyle

Christmas on the Second Floor

“It’s in the singing of a street corner choir

It’s going home and getting warm by the fire

It’s true wherever you find love,

it feels like C h r i s t m a s.”

It came so fast this year. I hardly had time to blink before Thanksgiving Day was in the rearview mirror and Christmas was pretty much at our door step. Being newlyweds, I knew I had to jump on the game of making our apartment festive this year because we had no past year’s decorations to pull from. I was working from scratch and I was so eager to make some of our own decorations and also start some of our own traditions as a couple.

 

I had seen a blog post back in the spring from Reading My Tea Leaves which totally inspired my desire to make minimalist + cheap + clutter free Christmas decor for our first year. Like any other small apartment dweller, you have to be creative with space, and storing a ton of Christmas decor wasn’t going to make the cut for our one tiny outdoor “garage” closet. But, with the help of Pinterest and a little creative juice, I couldn’t have been happier with the result!

S t o c k i n g s. I had high hope of purchasing adorable little knit stockings from West Elm for us both … but I waited until after Cyber Monday, no further explanation needed. So, I improvised and cut these out from an awkward fitting sweater. They didn’t quite turn out like I had hoped (they are rather lumpy looking socks) but they work, and will hold memories if nothing else in future years.

G r e e n e r y. As someone who has grown up with a real live fraiser fir in her living room for every Christmas she could remember, I knew without a doubt that we needed a real tree too. It was a win win, because visiting the tree lot, I was quick to scoop up some extra tree boughs that I knew I could use to decorate elsewhere. The smell was heavenly… and the fresh greenery indoors brought beautiful vibrance to our tiny living room. I did find an additional lit garland at Dirt Cheap for literally $2, so that made the cut to store away for next year.

 

 

 

 

S i g n a g e. I did decide to purchase some “year after year” decorations as well though, something we could keep and remember our first newlywed Christmas by. I was obsessed and reeled in by Magnolia’s Hearth & Hand Christmas collection, so I skipped across town to Target to make a few favorite selections which included our tree skirt and this adorable “Merry & Bright” framed art.

O r n a m e n t s. I didn’t have the huge nostalgia collection from home to pull from, though we did have three special ornaments from moments since our marriage in August. Those plus a few mini ornaments from HomeGoods (the black ones which I decorated with a white Sharpie to mimic the ones I had seen at Target) and some fresh oranges, it was perfect.
Simple really is the most beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

G a r l a n d s.  I intended buying a wooden bead garland like my parents have, but that didn’t happen either. I didn’t just want to go out and buy something for the heck of it… I wanted something that held meaning. So that may just have to happen another year. Or I may just stick to making the garlands that I did this year.. because they were just so much fun and perfectly minimalist!
Dehydrated oranges strung together on cotton twine and little cardstock stars sewn together … they were so super simple to make! And even though, sadly, the oranges will have to be tossed out after New Year’s, I can always remake them again next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, our star. Two newlywed generations (my grandparents and my parents) have made their own Christmas star using a little geometry, posterboard, glue, glitter and fishing line. I always loved our Christmas star as a little girl, and knew someday I wanted to make my own with my husband. So this year, my granddaddy drew up a template and instructions of how to make our very own 3D tree topper, and it only took Luke and me 3 evenings to complete the project. Adopting my grandparents star shape and my parents star color, it really is a special memory I hope to have atop our Christmas trees for years to come.

 

 

Small + minimalist + cozy… this is our first married Christmas.

merry christmas!

a b b y

/ explore

Honeymoon // Prince Edward Island, Canada

“You never know what peace is until you walk on the shores or in the fields or along the winding red roads of Prince Edward Island in a summer twilight when the dew is falling and the old stars are peeping out and the sea keeps its mighty tryst with the little land it loves. You find your soul then. You realize that youth is not a vanished thing but something that dwells forever in the heart.
|  l. m. montgomery  |

 

If there’s one thing every girl dreams of at some point in her life, I’m pretty sure it’s being Anne of Green Gables. I never read the books as a girl, but saturated myself in the movies. So often I took the name of “Anne” as I put on my makeshift edwardian clothes and traipsed through my backyard as I pretended to be the heroine. She had an extra hold on me I guess because I was a writer, or wanted to be, so the personality seemed to fit. But there was one thing that I could never quite get past in this pretend world. I could make due with my clothes not being “just like Anne’s” but the backyard I played in, my backyard of creek gravel driveways, pine trees and the smell of rural Tennessee, just wasn’t Anne’s Avonlea with sand dunes and Island smelling countryside. I longed to see Prince Edward Island for myself someday. There was a little girls dream, that went on hold for the unforeseeable future.

 

 

Fast forward 10 or so years later, my wonderful fiancé spills the beans on where he wants to take me on our honeymoon. . .you can imagine the huge smile that lit up my face when he told me. We planned things sparingly the next few months, contacting friends who had been to the island about their “must see’s” but leaving most of the exploring til we got there. It added so much fun, and more than a few adventures by taking this route.

 

 

 

 If staying in a little yellow cottage like Rachel Lynde’s house for a whole week didn’t give me the shivers enough, staying at a place called “Shining Waters Country Inn” definitely sealed the deal. It was the most charming hotel I’ve ever stayed in; with painted white trim, and blooming flowers hanging from the porch. It looked like it had stepped out of one of L. M. Montgomery’s novels.
Each day on this storybook-like island etched memories in my mind that I will keep forever.

Here is the day-by-day in photos of our adventures. I’ll spare the words and let you just “drink it in”.

Day One: First view of the island + Cape Tryon Lighthouse. 

Day Two: Green Gables exploring + Cavendish Beach

Day Three: Rainy day on the island + Cavendish Boardwalk + Cow’s Ice Cream

Day Four: Heading off the Island, Confederation Bridge + New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Day Five: Charlottetown exploring + Wharf

Day Six (Last day): White Sands Hotel + Stanhope Cape Beach + Covehead Lighthouse

And so ended our week of travels to the destination of my childhood, it seems a dream even now.
Every boardwalk street we walked, every coastal farmhouse we sighted, all the red cinnamon colored sand between my toes… I wish I could pack it all into a suitcase to unzip everytime a needed a little “vitamin PEI”.  Truly, pictures do not even do this incredible place justice.
It needs to be experienced, soaked up, explored.

I’m leaving a list of the highlights of our trip below, the “must see’s and do’s”.

Resturants/Food
1. Cow’s Ice Cream – Anywhere on PEI
2. The Lost Anchor – Cavendish, PEI
3. Cavendish Fish & Chips – Cavendish, PEI
4. Raspberry Cordial – Pretty much anywhere on the Island
5. Pizza Delight – County 911 Jail, Charlottetown

Beaches
1. Stanhope Cove Beach
2. Dalvay Beach
2. Cavendish Beach

Our Hotel
>Shining Waters Country Inn<
Great service, included breakfast, minutes walk from Green Gables and very central. We loved staying in Cavendish. 

Lighthouses
1. Cape Tryon Lighthouse
2. Covehead Lighthouse

 Places to Visit
1. Cavendish Boardwalk – we spent our rainy day here, great souvenir shops and just a fun place!
2. Green Gables (of course, it’s SO worth it!)
3. Confederation Bridge – Super fun, a bit expensive, but worth seeing what’s on the other side.
4. Victoria Row/Charlottetown – worth taking a whole day or a few days to explore, the wharf was amazing.
5. Anne & Gilbert Musical, Charlottetown – we made it a night on the town, definitely a must see!
6. Victoria Park, Charlottetown – breathtaking and a beautiful view of the town
7. “White Sands Hotel” or Dalvay by the Sea – bike rentals were here, and all the nostalgia. Beware, the inside is dated and not like shown in the films. 😉  But the outside it just beautiful.


8. NOTE* we tried finding the “Stanhope by the Sea” which was where the inside of the White Sands Hotel was filmed. But according to some sweet local ladies who informed us it burned down a couple months ago.  SADness.

 

Thanks for tagging along with these adventures! If you’re planning a trip to PEI, or want to one day, feel free to contact me for anymore info. I’d be happy to share a “tourists” favs.

A B B Y