Happy Friday Dorks!

O would never let me wear these glasses, he says he has to put his foot down somewhere...and it would probably be on those glasses...could I look someone in the face with those things on without cracking up? NOPE

THE MOST IMPORTANT POST

Since I have a big new thing in the works, I decided that my office needed a big new look. So, I know it is an Ikea showroom in here, and that virtually every other blogger-designer has the same stuff in their offices...but I still love it. And it was cheep too. I look forward to being in here every day...and night.



I am sitting at this desk right.now. Crazy huh :)




Coco is sitting in this chair right now...spooky.


I had such a hard time pushing all this stuff through Ikea, and no one would help me, it was crazy, so I pulled my back and was not able to pull the room together like I wanted to for a couple of weeks. I am one of those people who wants it done right away! Like NOW. It took me about 3 hours to put one of the shelves together...it took O about 30 minutes to do the other one. Being married is great.

Jeana Sohn + Third Drawer Down

Oh Third Drawer Down...I ordered a few things from there a few years ago and they never came, I was super sad. If I ever got anything again, I would insist on insurance, let that be a lesson for you. That is beside the point! I want to tell you that Jeana Sohn has some lovely pillow cases there. I really dig Jeana's work, that, and I think she is a super nice lady...and her blog makes me hungry...and wish I lived in L.A...and hungry again....and.

Greetings from 4am

Do you have a hard time sleeping? Maybe not in general, but sometimes, when you are so stressed out you dream that your dog has an evil twin, and you can't tell them apart...and a cute, sweet elephant decides to eat you...classic stress nightmares. Well, hello from 4am-sitting in my bathrobe drying off from a 3:30am shower. (somehow, even more refreshing that the usual variety) A shower always makes me feel better, if I feel a good cry comming on...into the shower I go. In times of turmoil in my life, I would estimate a good 3 showers a day ought to do it....please don't send me environmental hate mail. 

So I got on my computer and started answering comments...and I meandered on to Design Lovely's breathtaking post about a hike near her home in Hawaii. And just looking at that vast, beautiful ocean makes me feel better, smaller, and less significant and that is lovely, lovely right now. Now all I need is a burger! Right! A frigg'n cheesburger....perhaps an elephant cheese burger...just kidding. Please don't send me animal rights hate mail.

What makes you feel better when you are spent to an inch of your life? 

Stunning Vintage

Oh my, how beautiful are these images from a photo shoot from miamizeiss' flickr page? I love the pastels, the stunning styling and the light...oh why wasn't I born rich 100 years ago? Answer me that.

My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady was my favorite movie when I was a kid. I remember snugly afternoons, watching it and then dancing around the house and singing. I can sing every word to every song....I still love it so much. Now, I appreciate it for it's 1964 beauty and I had so much fun checking out these images on the web. I heard "I could have danced all night..." wafting in from the living room where NPR was playing and I just couldn't get it out of my head. There you have it.




I love her hats! "I'm a good girl I am!"



Audry Hepburn looks lovely just sitting around, waiting to shoot.


Oh how I used to dance around with my invisible price pretending my hair was that high, and my neck that be-jeweled. In fact once I tried to recreate that look and rubbed zest soap all in my waist long hair....it took hours to get out, but it was sooo worth it. (I believe there were some socks in the shirt too, don't tell anyone)

I like my men dark, and my decor darker

I don't know if it is the cold weather or what, but I am positively obsessed with dark, smart rooms lately. I can't get enough, and I am constantly thinking about transforming my bedroom into a deep blue oasis...with the only white being the crisp sheets. Right now we have a gypsy bed, as I like to call it, patterns galore. We have a rental, and like lots of renters, we don't want to make a huge commitment in this home, and my decorating style has been sort of light and happy and...boring! I want dark dark dark!!! I want the feeling of an eclectic cave, full of oil paintings and rugs...

Would you go for a dark room? or a dark house? Do you think you would get sick of it? more sick of it than you would of a light color? blark!


here, and here, and here.



here, and here.


here, and here.

here and here.

p.s. my favorite is that pink room with the red couch and all the paintings...oh my!

One more Friday...

It is cold here today, so while I was sipping my rapidly cooling coffee I was brousing flickr for some pretty photos that made me feel warm....warmer. I love these polaroids. O gave me a polaroid camera when we first met, 6 years ago b/c I kept talking about how much I loved polaroids. We had a whole wall of them at one point. These are just stunning. 

photos by + Macos+'s 

Thank the lawrd its Friday!

Ok, so since it is Friday, and I have the sense of humor of...say a 14 year old boy. That is more justification that I need by the way, but anyway. Let us glory in this last day of the work week with a sublte tribute to the fart, or rather...to the human mind triumphing over that most date-ruining, giggle inducing, and lets face it, bonding-experience-making smelly friend. A brilliant company called Subte Butt has developed a most intriguing product that can be placed inside of the underwear (not the ones were were just chatting about from Victoria's Secret, but us ladies don't have that problem, so moving on...). It absorbes the smell when you "loose a doosey" so you can go unoticed, if you are quiet. You just have to replace them when you replace your undies. I learned about this from Thrillist...but I dreamped about this product for the dear men in my life long ago. 

Flowers

O gives me flowers on special occasions, like birthday or Valentine's day or anniversary, because he knows I just delight in a house full of flowers. Well, this year for Valentine's day, when I came downstairs after getting ready for our date, I saw that he had put huge bouquets of stargazer lilies all over the house! It was stunning, it surprises me every time I walk into the living room, and the scent, I know it can be heady, but I just love it, feels like spring to me.

Shannon Fricke

So I follow Shannon's blog and read all about her love of decorating, and her home remodel, and I just can't get enough right. So I totally loved her home in Inside Out magazine, one of Austrailia's most beautiful home decor magazines, and I told her so on her blog. And....I won an issue of the magazine that features her beautiful home. Wow, so excited. I don't even think I realized I was entering a contest, I was just in awe of her talents....so there you go. Isn't the blue just perfect. I was actually thinking of a very similar blue velvet for our couch...

Sarah Seven

Oh how beautiful are these dresses? from etsy seller Sarahseven? She is a seamstress out of Portland Oregon, naturally, it seems everything is coming from there lately...I personally just love them, and I always feel extra great when I buy something from a talented artist or really anyone who isn't a conglomerate of mass production. I think it is more than just supporting a fellow artist, I think it is more about owning a quality piece of clothing that really was made with love. What do you think? Aren't these photos beautiful! I don't remember where I found this, it has been on my desktop for a while...I have a messy desktop...OH, and if you can't decide, buy a gift certificate! How cute.

Crazy Blind Date

Just in case any of you is crazy enough to want to sign up to a service that provides you with random blind dates on a moment's notice...Crazy Blind Date is for you. It is also kind of genius, why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, because I HATE torture?

So you write in that you want a date, and what city you live in, and they send you a description of another person who also wants a blind date in your city, so now you got two crazies on board. Then, they send you a pixilated photo of your intended...and off you go. You have to stay at least 20 minuets, (less is considered rude) and if you lied about your "athletic figure," or "naturally curly hair", then your "date" can leave feedback on you, and your other potential murderers can see that too. The good part, for me, is that you can blind date in pairs, with friends, this brings down the murder possibility, sort of. So DUDE, who has tried this? Who would try this and WHY? To be fair, there are a few "successes" on their website, and since their photos are pixilated you cant stare into their faces and try to figure out how they could possibly be compatible, you just have to go on blind faith.

Aregrayline Weddings

I have not shared that many photos of my wedding with you guys, at least not the really great ones taken by my photographer Erin of Aregrayline Weddings. That is coming soon :)

I looked for a long time for a photographer who would be a partner with me in creating the most beautiful images we could, and express the creative ideas I had for my own wedding. As soon as I spoke with Erin on the phone, I loved her matter of fact manner and very professional work ethic, along with a laid back "I am not mad that you forgot about our meeting and I have been sitting in this cafe for about 30 minutes waiting for you...come over now and lets chat..." attitude. Sorry Erin :) Not to mention that I just could not be happier with the stunning way she captured my wedding, I feel like I am re-living the day every time I look at the, which is often! She and her photographer husband and adorable son have recently moved from Chicago, and is taking Atlanta by storm. I had a little chat with her so you guys can get to know her a little better too, since she is our new sponsor.



1. How long have you been shooting weddings? What attracted you to the wedding industry and what do you like about it?

I have been shooting weddings since 2005 and it really was a very organic process. When you are a photographer, friends and family always sweetly ask if you can photograph their wedding, and after a while you end up with this beautiful array of images to put up on a website and from their it just kept growing and growing... I think in the beginning what attracted me to the wedding industry was being able to use photography in the way that I was most comfortable, which was in a more documentary capacity--capturing moments as they unfolded. I also loved the tradition of it and loved the little repetitive moments like when women fuss over each other, which is something that always happens. The more I shot though, I really began to love the art of portraiture and the challenges of capturing peoples personalities in a more structured yet relaxed way. Now I really try and blend the two.


2. Do you have any fun side projects you care to share with us?

My side projects are many and varied--I am also a painter and a collagist and I teach art classes to children, and lately I have been reaching outside of the realm of wedding photography to shoot editorial, fashion and product photography. I have literally begun approaching people who create beautiful, inspiring art objects and asking them to collaborate with me. The response has been very positive and I hope to make this a large part of my photography business in the future.


3. What inspires you, and how do you keep your images fresh?

I am in a constant search for inspiration and I am always looking at images, whether it be at other photographers work on the Internet, or my art books, or going to art openings. My husband is also very inspiring to me--he is also a photographer and an artist and he has a very pure way of seeing the world that is very free and unencumbered. We are always showing each other images or artists that we like. My main inspirations right now are light, color and nature--i seek them out and try and thread them into everything I do. Especially since I have moved back down south, and can be outside pretty much all the time, I find that being in nature and observing the different light that comes with each season as well as the natural color combinations that nature offers up to be my highest form of inspiration at the moment.


4. What role has the blogging community had in your style evolution or thought process as a photographer?

The blogging community has been a very new form of inspiration that I have sort of become obsessed with lately--with a capital O! I had started my blog last summer, but really didn't start delving into it until Michelle, yes, this Michelle, became a client of mine and I looked at her blog and just fell in love with it. I loved the idea of seeing the daily inspirations of highly creative people and as I searched around I just got more and more inspired by the quality of work that I saw. I would say its role in my photography has been to actually focus outside of the wedding realm more and start to focus some of my energies on product and craft objects that are beautifully styled.. Sites like Snippet and Ink, Cup of Jo, Green Wedding Shoes, etc... really bring a sophisticated color palette to the table and have made me want to have a more controlled choice of color in my photography as well.

As always, click on these photos to make them bigger.

Pretty Panties

I.wear.granny.panties. Whew, wow, that feels great to get off my chest. No, I don't even wear nice undies on special occasions! I wore the granniest panties (um, up past the belly-button, down past the bum, yes...yes) under my wedding dress...granted I was seeking comfort, and I had layers and layers of silk to contend with...and I had just had major surgery...



But, lately, several people around me have found themselves...shall we say...having some extra company, and needing a little something frilly under the bulky wool sweater, these lucky ladies asked me to come on a little special shopping trip with them this weekend, and I must say, it forced me to consider the fact that maybe my personal wardrobe could use a little update.



So off we went to the dreaded Victoria's Secret (I have not walked into a Victoria's Secret store since...7th grade? Why was I in there in 7th grade? I think my friends and I were trying on feather boas and silk frilly robes and laughing ourselves silly.) In fact, some things are, dare I say, pretty, and might even be something I might wear. Yes, even I can be convinced to turn my nose up at my extra large granny panties.



Now, I am fully aware that some diligent shopping may turn up some not mass-produced undies, but I don't feel like it, so there, and neither do my lady friends. They have other things on their minds, dirty ladies, plus, they have to shave.


These are cute right? Totally respectable right? So where do you buy your undies??? Oh, and for the sake of full disclosure, (since I know you are totally picturing me in those granny panties...I bought this :) Uhm....a total, TOTAL necessity.

Dear O,

What a great weekend we had over here. I totally re-organized my office, photos to come :) And when I came home from running errands, I discovered that you had built my Ikea shelf for me, and scattered lilies around the house. You also woke me up from a nap with Swiss chocolates and told me stories about how we met. You took me to my favorite place for a casual, delicious dinner, and you let me eat half of your chicken...even though I already ate my scallops...and you didn't complain when I fell asleep as soon as we got home. You also didn't complain when I woke up in a bad mood today. Nothing seemed to make me feel better, then I remembered how much I love you, and now I feel better. I don't need a holiday as an excuse to be mushy for you, but it helps.




1. You love food as much as I do, and you are one mean grilling machine. (and you are not afraid to look silly...in fact you seem to gain some kind of strength from it.)
2. You play with your nephew, and you snuggle with Coco, even though you didn't want a dog, you let me bring her home, and then you let her charm you.
3. You are so much fun to hang out with, our Friday nights of sitting around and chatting and eating take-out would be meaningless without your finger puppets and general cool-ness.

Vintage Dooney and Bourke

Even though I am not buying any of these, I can't help browsing on eBay, what is the deal?

I never liked Dooney and Bourke bags, I guess because in the 90's, while I was trying to find my fashionable voice, it was oh so chic to wear the long skinny bags dangling off of one skinny shoulder (also draped in a large t-shirt sleeve...ewww)...mingling with the long, stringy hair that was so popular to wear down and loose. I have this image of a girl in my middle school burned in my mind, and it isn't flattering, can you tell? But lately....the worn, caramel leather and refreshing lack of hardware is sort of making me rethink...one, two, three, four, five.