In honor of International Women's Day coming up, Kendra Scott is giving back on a local level to The Women's Foundation of Mississippi. On March 8th, make sure you stop by Kendra Scott at their Highland Village location to enjoy sweet treats, sips and jewels! 20% of sales that day will go directly to The Women's Foundation of Mississippi. Swing by 4500 Interstate 55 in Jackson anytime between 12:00pm and 5:00pm. You can RSVP here, too.
     In addition, Kendra Scott's new everlyne friendship bracelet (pictured above from their website) will also be giving back. 20% of every purchase of it will benefit Kendra Scott's work to help women and children live their brightest, healthiest and most empowered lives.

Mississippi has such a rich history and some interesting facts!  We rounded up our favorites for you!  Bet you didn't know these about our great state! 

     Extra Table is an incredible non-profit organization in Mississippi that feeds the hungry in our neighborhoods and works to drive down obesity by providing food pantries and soup kitchens with new and healthy food in bulk. Putting it mildly, they're superheroes.
      Extra Table started in Hattiesburg, Mississippi by a hometown hero, Robert St. John. It all started in 2009 with a call from Edwards Street Fellowship Center. Edwards Street Fellowship Center helps about 800 families a month with basic pantry necessities. They had empty shelves and turned to Robert St. John for help.
Robert St. John has been in the restaurant world for over 40 years. He is the owner of Purple Parrot, Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Branch, Tabella, Ed's Burger Joint, The Midtowner, and Midtown Donut in Hattiesburg. He made a phone call to Sysco Foods, but realized a problem.  The food from Sysco is packaged in massive quantities- perfect for a restaurant, but difficult for a family to use. After a lot of searching he was able to place an order that would be useful to the pantry.
     St. John first had to wrap his head around the idea that hunger is an issue in Mississippi today. Moved by this phone call and revalation, he got to work. "As I travelled to other agencies similar to Edwards Street, I began to see the face of hunger in my state. I learned that there are seniors living on Social Security checks and fixed incomes who are- at this very moment- trying to decide between paying the electricity bill or going to the grocery store to purchase food. I met single, working mothers who were holding down two jobs trying to keep their children fed. Worst of all, I met children who were eating a school breakfast, a school lunch, and not eating again until the next day" says St. John on Extra Table's website.
     Robert St. John went to Sysco and asked a simple but profound question that started a movement. "What if every business and home had an extra table where they could feed those in need? What would that look like?" This is when Extra Table was started.
     Did you know, according to Feeding America's Hunger Study, that 573,610 people in Mississippi are struggling with hunger, and of them, 163,530 are children.  That's 1 in 4 children! Extra Table is helping to fill in these gaps while also being conscious of driving down obesity rates by providing healthy, nutrient dense foods. The foods that they provide to soup kitchens and food pantries across the state contain low-sugar fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, and no high fructose corn syrup. 
     There are multiple ways and opportunities that we can become involved in helping Extra Table's mission to end hunger. For news, updates, fundraisers, events, and how to become a volunteer, head to extratable.org.

​     Having met their senior year in college at Mississippi State University, Catherine and Stephen both knew that they wanted to share their day with family and friends in a place that had given them both so much. Their story begins as two students working on the same small design team and class project. “A few weeks before we graduated, Stephen and I had our first date, and as our teammates and friends had already begun to suspect- we realized we were falling in love!” says Catherine. After finding out that the Chapel of Memories was available for their December wedding date, “those good vibes were amplified in a fun way when the Golden Egg made a surprise appearance at our reception. It was fun seeing that our guests enjoyed having it as a fun prop for many pictures!” recalls Catherine.

Inspiring Details: The bride always knew that she wanted to incorporate her mother’s wedding gown into her wedding in some way. A wonderful artist turned her mother’s wedding dress into a more modern cocktail dress for her to wear to the rehearsal dinner and she saved a piece of lace and pearls to wrap around her bridal bouquet. Additionally, the bride wore her grandmother’s fur stole while outside.

CEREMONY: Chapel of Memories | EVENT VENUE: Old Waverly | PHOTOGRAPHY: Chase at Followell Fotography | EVENT PLANNER: Kendall Poole Event Planning | CATERING & BAR: Old Waverly | FLORALS: Fresh Cut Catering & Floral | LIGHTING Davaine Lighting | BRIDE'S CAKE: Turquoise Chandelier | VIDEOGRAPHER: Film Poets | DRESS: Willow Bride | TUXES: Reed's Department Store Tupelo | BRIDESMAID'S DRESSES: Bella Bridesmaids Ridgeland | HAIR: Syd Curry & Anna Catherine Hester| MAKEUP: Natalie Graham Moore | INVITATIONS: Reed's Department Store Tupelo | PROGRAMS: Emily Ferguson with KPEP