Believe it or not, today marks exactly 5 years since I hit publish on my very first blog post. Somehow five years has blown right by and yet I still look as young and well rested as I did then (jokes, total jokes)!
First ever post is here, if you want to read! 
On April 30 2013, I honestly, in one million years, would have never dreamed what would take place in our personal lives or here on Olive and Tate in the 1,825 days to come. Needless to say, it has been nothing short of an adventure. Somehow, I’ve managed to document it all from our wedding, through four or five different moves, our journey from newlyweds to parents of two babies and my discovery and resulting love of home renovation and design.
the title of this pic should be “Trying Not To Fall Down the Stairs” | dress wearing a 10 | shoes | earrings | 
But what you probably don’t know is that this space actually taught me how to thrive in motherhood. 
When I had Gray, I struggled more than I thought I would. The actual care-taking of a baby came naturally to me but I was wildly unprepared for the sacrifices of self that motherhood would bring. I struggled with a huge loss of identity, of autonomy, with the lack of time to myself, the lack of energy to pursue what made me happy as a person and the struggle to find happiness in the mundane moments that come with having a new baby. At the time, it felt to me that in order to raise a happy baby, I needed to sacrifice myself and my dreams to nurture his. 
But there was always this space. 
I could always come to this space and be something other than just Gray’s (and eventually, Georgia’s) mom. I could set goals and pursue dreams that seemed big and scary but that I somehow managed to accomplish. I could be myself, the person I was before I became a mother, even while actively mothering my babies. Over the last five years I’ve managed to build a business. A business that was sometimes run during late night feeds, often a packing box being used as a desk and sometimes while a baby was crying (Georgia, I’m looking at you). But I built it nonetheless and the pride I feel when I open my URL is one that is rarely matched.  
So this is my little thank you letter to this blog – a thank you for the last five years, for giving me a new set of dreams and for giving me myself back. Thank you for teaching me to search for inspiration in motherhood, in my mom jeans and in the chaos that is our extraordinary life. 
And to each of you who read my words, thank you (and maybe I should say bless you, as we do in the South). So many of you have been here since the start, have gone on this adventure with me, transitioning from newlyweds to the next steps in life and I am so grateful for your support. On top of that, so many of you have become my dearest friends. I’ve traveled with girls I had never met in real life, have cross country relationships that are more than I could ask for and have a dream team of creatives around me that I am flat out lucky to know and work with. 
I can say with all honesty that I have no idea what will happen next but whatever it is, I’m sure it will be a wild ride…
Cheers to Olive and Tate and all that is to come! 
Photos by Ashley Louise Photography