When my book baby turns ONE, we throw a birthday party for The New Southern Style!!! Why? Because, it was a labor of love with a timeless message. Writing your first book is no small feat. There were moments I thought I wasn't going to cross the finish line. There were times I wanted to give up and then there were circumstances completely out of my control. However, believing in a message that is so much greater than myself continues to be the creative fuel helping me accomplish my goals. I also wrote this book for my younger self because I know it serves as an expansive blueprint for anyone venturing on a path less traveled. The foundation of The New Southern is to humanize our differences through the lens of creativity along with the three following pillars:

The pages in this book are going to hold your hand through life pivots.
My words will inspire your own creative courage.
This is a project that will encourage you to be your own agent of change for your family and community.

The book's birthday is September 22. This year, it fell on the same day we were celebrating National Business Women's Day. This was kismet in my opinion because our success is sweetest when we stand shoulder to shoulder with other women taking risks, using fear as a tool, and fusing our gifts with our communities. White’s Mercantile hosted a beautiful night and to honor the women in our community, I selected eight female founders to join the birthday bash for a lot party celebration.

I envisioned a special “sit and sign” area for us to gather and for me to sign the book. I wanted this space to be approachable and inviting for new and old friends. This was an area for me to express my gratitude to the incredible women who have helped give this book wings to fly. One of my favorite companies, Mayker Events helped bring this vision to life. Their fearless leader, Megan Proby is a fellow design enthusiast and working with her team to celebrate the book was such a gift and I look forward to many more events together!

Side note, we had all the weather angels on our side this late afternoon. Nashville had gone through a six day rain out and I almost cancelled this event the day before. This would have officially put me in a padded room. I listened to my intuition (I am also stubborn) and I think we collectively willed the sun to finally shed light on our community celebration.

A tremendous thank you to White’s Mercantile for hosting such a beautiful evening and a special shout out to all the vendors who showed up to celebrate a night of The New Southern Community.

Amelia's Flower Truck was converted to “Filler is the new floral” from PG 227 of the book.
Apple & Oak - Allison is a dear friend and developed the first rug truck in the country. Her store is complete eye candy!
Give A Damn Wine - Clare Lundy and Janie Busbee are Helping babies access basic needs in the COMMUNITY and They have a heart of gold!
Happenstance Whiskey - Paige is fearless with her Female founded and blended whiskey company Xx
mayker - Beautiful tools for beautiful spaces with an incredible team!
The Saguaro Shack Tamale Truck - Marisa is a Doll and has given new life to her family’s tamale recipes
Southern Squares Petit Fours - susan is a magician when it comes to custom petit fours perfect for all occasions
Spark Collection - a true welded experience. I love my bracelet and sign up to get on their pop up schedule.