Joy Prom 2019


I say this every year, but this year's Joy Prom was absolutely the BEST yet! It was yet again another amazing night getting to see all of the hard work this day takes come to fruition with our participants having the time of their lives!

We put together a fun little video so all of you can get a closer glimpse into what Joy Prom is and just how incredibly awesome it is!


This year was the 6th annual prom and we put together an Alice in Wonderland theme that turned out really incredible!






Special shoutout to the ladies with Vintage Rental Co. for donating the decor for the photo backdrop!


Our awesome volunteers spent the morning getting prepared before participants arrived-- setting up the registration tables, decorating, and of course Maw made sure the King + Queen sashes were fully functioning!










After participants arrive, they can choose to head to hair/makeup or they can play games like bowling, basketball, and whiffle ball in the gym!






Then, it's time for walkout! One of the most special and sweet times for our participants!





Aren't they all so beautiful?! And they sure do love to dance! We all had so much fun on the dance floor! One of my favorite parts each year is getting to dance with the participants and see them having a blast!



Would it even be a prom without a King & Queen? This year's winners were Trenton Spray + Becca Giger!




Every year this day gives me more joy than I can even describe. It is one of the highlights of the year and I am so glad that I get to be a part of putting together something so special for the most amazing people. I already can't wait for Joy Prom 2020!

A special thank you to our awesome sponsors!
Walkout + Photo Backdrop: The Vintage Rental Co. 404-219-6967Food + Food Supplies: SouthwirePettifors: Cheryl's Bake ShopCakes: Peggy Smith, Amanda Willingham, Vanessa Ivey, Doris Sewell, and Susan FordhamCarnations: A Southern Wedding FlowerMeal Cards for Participants: Chick-fil-A CarrolltonKing + Queen Sashes: Lawanna MusickBuns: Scott RobinsonProduce: Mark + Diane ThermanThank you to Hightower Family Funeral HomesRainwater Funeral Home, and Liberty Baptist Church for their money donations as well!And of course, thank you to Bowdon Middle School for allowing us to use their beautiful facilities each year!

Revamping an Antique Table + Painting Tips!


Today, I want to show you a small revamping and refinishing project! I used to do this for a living, seriously. I would look at a piece and know how much I could make from it if I refinished it. So today was super therapeutic and enjoyable for me. 

Check out this super fun video we created, taking you along with us!


I headed over to Checkered Berry, a local antique store that I've frequented my entire life; it's been open as long as I've been alive! It is owned by a sweet lady named Jane!

Today the booths had a lot of good stuff, but ultimately I chose this cutie because of its lines and the details of the legs and the carved details around the top! I also liked the fact that it is a dark wood piece and it has a dark base to start with so when I distress it, its going to come through really easy. It's an antique piece and I paid $39 for it!

When I got started, I lightly brushed over one spot that had some tape and then lightly sanded over it with some 223 sand paper just to get the stickiness off of it to make sure that wouldn't be an issue. Then, I took my brush and dusted over it-- that was the only cleaning I did beforehand!

Of course, I chose my favorite paint to use-- Rustoleom Chalked Paint! I love this paint because I get it from a local hardware store here in town, Messers, the cutest little hardware store with the most helpful men and supplies for every project you can imagine.
I also love it because it requires little to no prep work, and I am not someone who is very patient and likes to do a ton of prep work before I can start painting.

It comes in a variety of colors, and if your hardware store is as bomb as mine you can have them tint it for you! If not, there are a ton of beautiful pre-mixed colors to choose from.

This is a chalked paint so its going to adhere to most surfaces. It's an extra flat paint and ultra matte with a chalky finish, so it will adhere to wood, metal, plastic-- you name it I've painted it with this. It goes on really smooth and provides a ton of coverage. This piece should only take two coats, even with how dark it started!

Next is my handy dandy brush-- the best brush in the entire world! At any point in time it may be sold out at Messers because I buy them up any time I can! It has a short wooden handle and it fits perfectly in my hand. I hold it like a pencil so the short handle is perfect for that! It also has a chiseled edge so when I hold it like a pencil, I can put it in the crevices and get those! The bristles are so smooth it makes it easy to work the brush strokes in and lay them all flat.

Another pro tip with this paint is if for some reason it is too thick for you, you can add water to dilute it for an easier application or for a spraying application! I used to spray quite a few of my pieces!

Yet another pro tip: When laying brush strokes, lay the lines down in varying directions, alternating back and forth between vertical and horizontal brush strokes until all of your brush strokes are laying flat. If you see that your brush strokes are picking up more than they are laying down, it means that section needs to dry a bit more before you continue.

It might look like I'm beating the piece back and forth, but the best way to apply paint on spindle legs is to literally slap the brush back and forth. It may not be the most professional method, but it makes the smoothest finish when you do that. So make sure you're wearing something that can get paint splatter on it.

You also want to feather the tip of your brush, so start with hard pressure when you first apply and then work with less pressure as you go back and forth.

Another thing to note is that chalked paint dries extremely fast, so this is a project that a beginner can knock out in half a day, which is another thing I love about this paint-- you don't have to wait around to see the results of your efforts!

After the paint dries, you want to distress it! I used my Ryobi corner sander, but because I fake it until I make it, I used the paper that goes with my orbital sander-- but it totally works! Sand around any corners and gently over the rest of the piece!

After that, I finished it off with Polycrylic spray to seal the piece!

Target Easter Outfit Ideas


Easter is quickly approaching and today I wanted to bring you some affordable outfit ideas for Easter Sunday! You can wear these to church and to your festivities afterwards because bonus-- they are all super comfy!

Like most of you, I am Target OBSESSED! I love their Universal Thread brand because it is an affordable Madewell dupe, and you all know how much I love Madewell! I also am not one to wear super bright colors and bold patterns, and so Target was the perfect place for me to find some affordable outfits that fit my personal style, but were still festive for Easter!


My first outfit choice was this super sweet orange/gold dress! I love the muted tangerine color and the buttons down the front! This option is great for those of you who still want to wear a dress on Easter Sunday, but are looking for something super comfortable! Speaking of comfort, I paired every outfit with my favorite Old Navy heels! These are the most comfortable pair of heels I have ever had and are sure to be perfect for your busy day!

Dress: Click HERE
Jacket: Click HERE
Heels: Click HERE


Jumpsuits are super popular this year! Do not be afraid to wear one on Easter because I promise you that there are sure to be many church ladies wearing one as well this year! This jumpsuit is a fun orange color as well, and I love how comfortable it is! You could for sure keep this on for any egg hunts with the kiddos! Add a hat for a chic look!

Jumpsuit: Click HERE
Shoes: Click HERE
Hat: Pin it Co. (this hat is from our in store collection)


Not only should you not be afraid to wear a jumpsuit on Easter, you also shouldn't fear wearing more neutral color options! I love this denim jumpsuit paired with a sweet striped top. You could add more color simply by wearing a brighter color shirt underneath!

Jumpsuit: Click HERE
Shirt: Click HERE
Shoes: Click HERE
Purse: Click HERE

If you take any inspiration from these ideas, make sure to send me photos of your Easter Sunday outfit on my Instagram @allyturpen!

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. - Matthew 28:5-6



Meet my Team!


Today I want to introduce you to my team! They are such a huge part of what I do every day and I'm super proud of the crew I've put together! I want to you to meet them, hear about what they do at Pin it Co., and learn a few other things about them!

My husband, Shane:


Shane is our inventory manager at the warehouse, co-owner, and also my husband!! 
He is an Army Vet and I'm super proud of him! He loves hunting all year round, and you can follow his very professional hunting Instagram @redbeard.outdoors!

Brittany:


Brittany has been a friend of mine for so long! She handles ALL of our live sales, mini sales, product wall postings, etc.! That means she is always busy prepping these super far in advance and finalizing what is going on every day!
She is a mom of a 2 year old, sweet Myra! She is the only mom (of humans) here at Pin it Co. and we love when Myra comes to visit us! She's lived in various states and countries when her and her husband traveled with the Army. She also loves the outdoors-- camping, skiing, traveling, and the like! She also is a fur mama, and has two rough collies that she loves!

Katie:


Katie is our shipping-extraordinare! Seriously, anything you receive in the mail from Pin it Co.-- she has had her hands on!
She is a crazy chicken lady-- the mom of NINE of them! She also has had her rabies vaccine, believe it or not! You'll have to ask her for that story! And, she is a proud Clemson grad! One of the best days of her life happened this year when Clemson won the National Championship!

Maddey:


Maddey is my store manager! She has been in retail of some form all her life and makes an excellent fit for our store!
She loves shopping-- naturally! She also just recently got married in October, and lives in a cute farmhouse with her husband and two dogs, Eve the lab and Zoey the wiener dog! She loves to host parties and so of course, her love language is gift giving!

Jessi:


If you have visited our storefront, you have seen Jessi! She is there almost every second it is open helping all of you create a home that you love!
She is also engaged and will be getting married this summer! She loves golfing (seriously, she even goes with my husband sometimes) and spending time with her friends and loved ones.

Emily-Jane:


EJ is our primary content creator! She photographs events, new items in store, and the majority of photos and videos you see on my blog are her doing!
She is not only our photographer though, she owns her own photography business- ENewbern Photography! Go check her out! She is married, has an adorable bulldog, and a cat that often finds herself stuck in trees. Another fun fact-- she has a Youth Ministry degree!

Anna K.:


Anna K. is one of our storefront girls who is also probably a familiar face if you've been by-- she's there every day!
She has a degree in Social Work and would really love if Stevie Nicks (if you're ever reading this) could sing at her upcoming wedding!

Haley:


Haley is our expert order picker and local pick-up fulfillment extraordinaire! She moves at the speed of light, I'm really not kidding.
She is a big time animal lover, as you can see above, and is always smiling! 

Danai:


Danai is one of my girls who works in a ton of different aspects of Pin it Co.! She alternates from tagging products, picking orders, and working in the storefront.
She has three guinea pigs, a rabbit, a dog and a fish-- practically a zoo right! (As if I have any room to talk). She also used to live in an Amish town in Pennsylvania!

Anna T.


Anna T. is our social media gal! She schedules out posts for Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest (follow us at Pin it Co.) and creates some of the content for those posts like photos and graphics! You've also probably seen her at craft night with a paint brush in hand.
She is a cat mama, a student at UWG, and a lover of ice cream. She's also planning to move overseas after college to do mission work teaching English!

Lindsey:


Lindsey is our creative genius! 
She has been keeping it crafty since 1992 with numerous up-cycling projects, but took her trade to NY in 2010 where she attended school for fashion design. After school she taught sewing and art in studios in Manhattan while crafting for event companies in New York. Now she freelances creating online content for commercial companies, as well as crafting imaginative displays for our storefront!

Callie:


Callie is another one of my girls who alternates between various tasks! She frequently tags products, and is more recently being trained to work in our storefront!
She is also Lindsey's sister-- which makes work super fun! She plays tennis and is the youngest on our Pin it Co. team! Also, if you challenge her to a whistle off, she will so win! Seriously, she's got mad skills.

Rex:


Aside from my husband, Rex is the only other man on our team! He brings a fun energy in our storefront.
He is a student at UWG majoring in Early Childhood Education and also works with the Bowdon Elementary School Afterschool program. He substitute teaches and even styles hair for weddings, proms, pageants and other special events! Truly a Jack of All Trades!

I hope that you enjoyed getting to meet my team through today's blog and I hope that next time you shop in store or online you'll say hi! They're a really incredible group of people and I am immeasurably proud of all of them! 


My Best Friend's Wedding


Last weekend was the sweetest celebration for my best friend and her now husband! Lauren has been my girl since middle school and it was so incredible to watch her find love in Cameron and celebrate that with her wedding day! It was so fun getting to be one of her bridesmaids and today I wanted to share a few photos with you!

We started the day getting ready of course!




Amanda Adam-Inman did all of our makeup and it looked beautiful! It also held up and did not budge the entire day! I loved the lipstick she used on me so much that I went and bought my own!


My Pin it Co. girls seem to come with me everywhere! EJ was Lauren's wedding photographer and Lindsey made sure Lauren's dress was always straight and that no disasters arose! I love having these girls with me!


This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the day. 



Of course after we got ready we had to have some fun around the venue! How sweet is this photo of Lauren's sister and dad!




Speaking of the venue, Dunaway and Lillian Gardens were both beautiful! It had such a romantic and dreamy feel. Honestly, like it was straight out of a movie!



Lauren got all of us girls the sweetest and most meaningful bridesmaid gifts! These embroidered family frames fit everyone so perfectly! I can't believe how much this actually looks like myself, Shane and all of our animals!




Have you ever seen such a beautiful cake? Me either! And I haven't tasted a better one either! Seriously, incredible!



I definitely had to get my moves on at the reception! And look-- Shane even danced with me! Can you believe it?!


It was such a beautiful day and I loved getting to celebrate my girl and the love she has found in Cameron. Lauren, of all people, was so deserving of this perfect day and a forever kind of love!

"Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you'll find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding, but theres also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along."-- Bride Wars





My Mermaid Hair Experience


Wednesday, I did something totally different and out of the ordinary for me! I got extensions! I went to J Gold, or Jessica Goldstein Salon, in Atlanta and had such a great experience that I just had to share it with all of my blog friends! 

I made an appointment to have my hair brightened with highlights, and to get extensions of course! This is something I've wanted to do for a long time to add volume to my hair, and of course length, and I finally just called and made an appointment! 

I'd had my hair highlighted about a year ago (seriously y'all, this is something I never do) at J Gold with Morgan and I loved my experience so much that it wasn't a hesitation for me to decide where I wanted to go! They are known for their expertise on extensions, as well as color, and they definitely do not disappoint!


We started with the color before the extensions, so we could match them to my hair color! I also went with my girl Lindsey and she got a bomb blow out! It looked fabulous! 


If you're a fan of the local, but HUGE Youtuber Casey Holmes, J Gold Salon is where she gets her hair done so it is clearly a highly loved and recommended salon! The owner of Spanx actually uses them as well!


Then it was time for my extensions! They looked a little funny when they first started putting them in, and Lindsey got a little freaked out! But after they put in all of them and cut and shaped them-- they looked amazing!


You can see in the above photo how they started to come along as Morgan cut them with the rest of my hairstyle!


I would highly recommend J Gold Salon, as well as my girl, Morgan who styled my hair to perfection! Definitely ask for her and tell her I sent you if you make a visit!

Thanks a million to all of the precious ladies there who make having your hair done there a luxury experience!

In the meantime, you can check out their website here!


Answering Your Questions!


Today's blog was actually a request from our Pin it Co. customers! So many of you wanted me to do a Q + A video!

So, as requested, I'm answering all of the questions you submitted on my Instagram (follow me @allyturpen if you haven't already)!


Q: Will you be selling bedding online?
A: Yes! Right now we sell throws and pillows online, but we do have plans to sell some of our bigger bedding sets online so keep your eyes out for that.

Q: Do you do all the buying?
A: Yes, I do take girls with me occasionally to go and buy at Market because I don't like to go alone, but I do get more done when I go alone! I love to be the one to pick it out since I'm the one selling it to you (on our live videos)!

Q: What is your favorite item you have ever sold at Pin it?
A: That's a hard one! In my original store we handmade everything, so honestly I would say some of my favorite things were from the very beginning-- just getting to watch something that took so long come to completion. Those sales really meant a lot to me.

Q: Can we have a live tour of your home?
A: Thank you for asking that! We are actually planning on the second week of April to start letting you guys into my house through the blog! It's going to be how-to tutorials and those kinds of things! I'm planning to do a project a week in my home for you guys. So make sure you're checking the blog!

Q: How did you get the courage to open Pin it Co.? Did you take out a loan? Were you afraid that you would not succeed?
A: So we were really just driving through town and there was an open building and we just jumped. I think I'm missing that sensor in my brain that says "Hey, you should be scared right now"! I don't get afraid of challenges most of the time, I just embrace them. I never believed I wasn't going to succeed-- it's not been an option for me. If I try something new, and fail I feel like it's not a loss, I've learned. 
I did not take out a loan. We didn't really have a lot of capital going in; we had palettes and hand-made everything. There is definitely peace of mind knowing I own everything here and don't owe anything for it.

Q: What got you interested in Pin it and how did you get started?
A: So I got interested because Shane deployed and while he was deployed, I moved home. And during that time I really needed a hobby and my mom and dad were really accommodating. So I redid every room in their house. I laid all their flooring, painted cabinets, tile work, you name it. Then when Shane came back, we were driving through town and there was an empty building. So that really segued perfectly.
My little cousin actually named it Pin it-- I was totally against it at first! I did not want it to be called Pin it. I was going to call it Sisters. My grandpa had always called every girl in our family "Sister" and so I really wanted to name the store that.

Q: How many animals do you have? Do they sleep in your bed with you?
A: So I have Coco, and she is our shop dog so she stays there all the time. At the house, we have Hattie, a little tiny Yorkie mix. She sleeps nestled everywhere. And then I have Rosie, a Great Pyrenees, who sleeps upside down in her own bed. And then we have Brock, my original baby that I found on the side of the road my senior year of high school and he quickly became my child. Then we have Charlotte, and she is a German Short-Haired Pointer-- and she is WILD. Both of them sleep in their own beds. And we also have two goats, the baby Kenny and Kevin, his older brother. So lots of animals for sure!

Q: What is a cute way to stage a round dinner table?
A: So I'm really into a minimal look right now-- so one option I would give you is some vintage found or bought glass jugs with clippings you find. You could also go for Easter and fill a dough bowl or a glass with Easter eggs. Candlesticks are also a go-to!
Another thing you can do, is post it on our Facebook community, Pin it Decor Deals, where our customers help each other with styling!

Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of since starting Pin it Co.?
A: There's a few. I would definitely start with Joy Prom. It is so close to my heart and sometimes I get teary-eyed thinking about it.
Then I would say of doing it myself. That is something that I kind of have to remind myself everyday that "You're doing it-- and it's on your terms and you're a strong woman".
And I'm also proud of the team I've put together. They're really awesome.

Q: Are y'all hiring?
A: We are always taking applications! And when our Cafe opens near the end of April we will definitely need some help in that area!

Q: How did you and Shane meet?
A: So we were 16 years old. My mom is a post-master in Buchanan and a co-worker wanted to set me up with her nephew and so my mom told her to bring a photo of him the next day. Well, Shane's mom overheard and brought a photo of him to my mom the next day as well! So my mom came home and was like "Here you go Ally, here's two guys that are interested in meeting you". And I was thinking "What the heck are you doing at work??" When I saw Shane's picture I looked at my mom and was like "Who is this grown man? He has to be like 35 or something" And my mom said "No he's your age". Which he is literally only 11 days older than me, but looked like a grown man! But as soon as I got that out of my mouth he texted me, so apparently my mom was giving out my number at work too, and the rest is sort of history.

Q: How long has Pin it Co. been open?
A: So we're in our 6th year currently, it will actually be 6 years in November!

I hope you all learned something, and it was really fun answering all of your questions!