Author: Lindsey P. Brackett

When I'm not wrangling four kids and a middle school classroom, I sit on my back porch in the mountains and write southern fiction that's short and long. I believe in Jesus, library fines, supper at the table, the Edislow life, and strong coffee. Pretty much in that order.
31 Days of Living Local · giveaways

Because She Sees Me: An MB Shaw Photography Givewaway! {31 Days: Day 28}

Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

So this past weekend, I went to Allume.

It was incredible.  So much so, that I can’t put it all into words right now. But while I was there one phrase I heard from Sarah Markley kept resonating in my mind.

And I knew I had to tell you why.  She was talking about a writer’s voice and how we are all distinct and unique.  She used photography as a metaphor to demonstrate this, and she talked about a photographer friend of hers who took her headshots and she said she loved those pictures because she felt like this woman really saw her.

That’s how I feel about my friend Merideth.  She sees me.

She’s been at my house when there’s piles of laundry and shoes and dishes.  We’ve shrugged our shoulders at one another in the parking lot when we unload our three year old daughters and acknowledge that both of them got the better of us in the wardrobe department that morning.  I’ve sat and cried on her more this fall than anyone else and she’s built me up and torn me down in the most humbling and beautiful way because she’s told me the hard things I need to hear and acknowledge.

You’re doing too much.

It’s okay to admit that you can’t do something for someone else because you have to take care of your children.

You’re a mama, that has to come first.

It’s lonely at the top and leadership is hard, but God is standing with you and so am I. 



It’s a privilege to have her photograph my family. (Even when we’re in a hurry to get to fall festival and no one is cooperating and all I want is one shot for the Christmas cards that likely will be January cards because I think that’s how we’re rolling this year.) 

I tried to pay it forward this past weekend by participating in an Impact Opportunity at Allume. Help Portrait is a group that does professional portraits for those who may never have had the opportunity to have a really good picture of themselves taken.  So on Saturday afternoon, I colored and folded origami with fifteen girls from an at-risk center in Greenville.  When we weren’t getting crafty, Paul Mitchell salon artists were fixing their hair and brushing on just a bit of makeup so these girls would feel glamorous when their portraits were taken. 

They were gorgeous and so excited because someone had taken the time to see them.

This is the beauty of using a local lifestyle photographer to capture your family’s milestones: it can be someone who sees you because they have the time to get to know you.  A lot of people shy away from really good photography because it is more expensive than the static Olan Mills Studio, but it’s more than worth the cost to have pictures that tell your story.

So this week Merideth and I are partnering up to help capture someone’s milestone. She’s giving away a spring portrait session, and I’m raising that with an offer to help the winner tell their story through words.

Because another thing I learned this weekend is that everyone has a story for this moment, this place, this time.

And everyone’s story is worth capturing.

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You can enter everyday, so come back tomorrow!

For all my posts in this 31 Days series on Living Local click here.

31 Days of Living Local

Weekend Activities with Macaroni Kids {31 Days: Day 26}

Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment


Meet my friend, Jennifer.

She has triplets.  All boys.  And a little girl.  And a teenage son.

Yeah, I know.  She’s super mom.

She’s also a mom who loves to get out and be active with her family and enjoy all the local activities that are just minutes from our homes.  So…

“When we first moved to North Georgia, I cried a lot. There was no Target to stop by on the way home, no conveniences.  When we were in Atlanta with nothing to do, we went shopping.  I still remember leaving the old Ingles and crying in the parking lot. I loved fresh produce and their store was not like any I shopped at in Atlanta. The schools were different too, and I cried.

     
Fast forward twelve Years. I now shop online, in the evening, when the kids are sleeping.  When I really need some me time I still go shopping, not at Target, but consignment stores, Belks and all those cute local shops. I love talking to our neighbors.  I shop farmers markets for our fresh produce now and I love where our kids go to school.  We are fortunate to live in area where we have so many State Parks and we use them all of the time. When there is nothing else to do we hike, or bike or play in the water. We love it.  Life is different now, and we are happy.


 We do love to get out so we are constantly looking for things to do in the area. We try to find things or events we will all enjoy.  I was always being asked how did you find out about that?  So I thought why not have a website where I can share what I find in our community.  Because I am not truly computer savvy and had no idea how to even set up a website, I found Macaroni Kid.  Macaroni Kid is a National company. They have helped me get everything started.  With Macaroni Kid I can share all of our local family friendly events with other families.  It also is allowing me to share some of our local businesses that parents may be interested in and never have known about. I am having so much fun with this and learning so much more about our area at the same time.”

Check it out here and be sure to let her know of any great activities coming up that could be added.  If I was home this weekend, I’d definitely be checking out the pottery show in downtown Cornelia or heading over to Pumpkin Days in the Park at Unicoi State Park in Helen. 

And if you’re not local to my area, you can still use Macaroni Kid to find out about activities in your local area too!

For all my posts in this 31 Days series on Living Local click here.

31 Days of Living Local · Friday Five · Friends

Together: Five Minute Friday {31 Days: Day 25}

Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

Five Minute Friday

Because even though it’s October and I’m writing about Living Local for 31 days straight, it’s also Friday, and I’m learning to find my place in a local online community of gifted writers who let it all fly free for Five Minute Friday.  We’re linking up over at Lisa Jo’s where motherhood comes with a superhero cape and lots of chocolate.  Tonight some of us are blessed to be gathered together in person (wow!) for the #flashmob writing at the Allume Conference. Join us as we explore…

Together

When you live in a small town you spend a lot of time together.

There’s a lot of Friday night football and church potluck and Saturdays at the baseball fields and farmers markets and middle school dances. 
And everyone knows your name, especially when you taught that community for five years about the literary significance of hunger games and gerunds.
But if you leave, if you go somewhere else even for a short time (like say three days at a conference) you might discover that all those people who know your name back home only know a piece of you and not the real show. 

They only know the mama, the teacher, the MOPS coordinator who’s stepping out on a big Leap of faith to leave a comfort zone where folks pretty much know she doesn’t have it all together and they’re okay, and have even embraced that. 
But to be together with those who might know what it means to call yourself writer when it sticks in your throat and makes your stomach flutter is worth it.

31 Days of Living Local

Sarah’s Lavender Cottage {31 Days: Day 24}

Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment
Meet Sarah Samsel
A Pressed-Flower and Cornhusk Doll Artist


A multi-media artist since the time she could glue construction paper together and an avid gardener, Sarah Samsel combines her excitement for creating and creation through pressed flower art. In addition to flower petals, Sarah uses foliage, seeds, bark, fruit and vegetable peels and a variety of other natural materials to create her pictures. In 2005, Sarah got her start in pressed-flower art when she was 10 years old by making greeting cards.

Ocellated Turkey  
banana peel, money plant, orange peel, smoke tree, corn husk, delphinium, spider mum, aucuba, zinnia, cockscomb, Georgia blue, cotton, mulberry, luffa, oak, parsley, chrysanthemum,
various other plants and mica
Sunny Day
gray poplar, black hollyhock, tiger lily, fern, birch, 
aucuba, banana peel, pampas grass, seaweed, tulip, cornsilk, hornet’s nest and mica

Manipulating cornhusks is also one of Sarah’s favorite activities. She’s been bending cornhusks since she was 12 years old. Sarah has made cornhusk sheep, camels, flowers, guys and dolls.

The Messenger

Field Gatherer

Joyful Noise
From Sarah..

Bringing hundreds of tiny pieces of plant material together to make a picture is one of my favorite things to do. My hometown, Clarkesville, is a great place to find a wide variety of botanical supplies. Most of what you see in my pressed-flower pictures once grew in a Georgia garden, field or forest. I also enjoy the challenge of seeing how far I can push the limits of my cornhusk dolls. Lately I’ve been making a flock of cornhusk birds. North Georgia is good about supporting its artists through its many galleries and art shows. I’m very thankful for where I live!


For more information on Sarah’s talent and to visit her shop visit Sarah’s Lavender Cottage online.

For all my posts in this 31 Days series on Living Local click here.