preview- christie collins

Yesterday I did a photo shoot with my dear friend, miss Christie Collins. I have used Christie as a model numerous times and enjoy working with her. We are collaborating to fulfill her desire to do some more modeling and styling shoots. My lovely friend, Matt Bell, also came along to assist and do some behind the scenes work. Our second location was interrupted by the mid-afternoon rain that came along. We were hoping it would stay at bay til 6 or 7 as our research showed, but you can never really rely on a accurate prediction of rain and time. So during our break we sat on my porch listening to records and playing the card game Phase 10, which I was new to and losing pretty horribly in. After the rain subsided and the sun snuck back out, we went back to shooting. In the middle of the last shot, I was walking around a sculpture to make a hair adjustment and give some instructions. Unfortunately, I didn't clear walking around the sculpture and gashed my thigh open. Course, at first I thought I just scratched it, but once the blood started gushing out I knew it wasn't just a scratch. I told Matt to fetch me some paper towels. I simply put one over my thigh and gaff taped it to my leg and continued shooting. My accident prone self is always getting hurt somehow. Luckily, I'm fine and it's mainly just sore now. So all in all it was a very lovely day. More photos will be coming soon. Enjoy!

illustration- megan

Today was especially sunny and beautiful that it put me in a wonderful mood. I was running errands with the windows down and the sunroof open! In the middle of January! I felt a sudden urge to work on a painting or photo illustration. I rummaged through old files and found a random one I took of my friend, Megan, before a photo shoot I did in my backyard back in 2009. Just decided to have a little fun. Enjoy!

katie robinson

Here are a couple more photos from the shoot I did with Katie Robinson for Design Archives. Enjoy!

25 before 26

I was inspired by an idea some time ago from several different sources to make this special goal list. The list is numbered by how old you are and to accomplish these things before your next birthday. Since I am a fan of list making and setting goals, I immediately knew I wanted to try this. I wrote it up the week after my birthday and put it up on my wall above my desk. I have already accomplished #1 on my list, which is a wait and see... and nerve racking I might add since it's the most important to me to achieve. The rest are to be achieved in the coming year. Enjoy!

goodbye october...

October has always been my favorite month of the year, no question about it. How can you not love it? Turning of the leaves, trips to the mountains, boots and hats and scarves, spices, baking, adventures... October just fills me with more joy than one could express. There's also this kind of idealistic romance to it all. Which I am always all about. And this year has been the best October I've had by far. I've made a new best friend, miss KT Blackmon, and had a ton of new experiences... and some not so new, just reliving our childhood as best as possible. We created a bucket list for October at the end of September. And I'm happy to say we achieved mostly everything on the list! It included....

-building a fort... we actually had to rebuild it after it was torn down the first time. and it stayed up in the living room for a good 2 weeks!
-scary movie nights
-breakfast for dinner cooking nights
-hunting for pumpkins
-carving pumpkins
-baking pumpkin pie (my first time!)
-watching Rocky Horror Picture Show outside in a backyard with a projector and sheet!
-bonfires!
-visiting with my best friend, Crystal Arnette, when she came down from New York City
-spending a day in the mountains
-driving the blue ridge parkway while drinking pumpkin spiced cappuccinos
-hiking
-going to the top of mount mitchell (it had snowed up there!)
-picking apples in an apple orchard
-making homemade apple cider
-making homemade applesauce
-baking apple pie (another first for me... also made it super decorative and cute!)
-and many many more things!!

We did miss a couple things....
-twister with paint
-going to the zoo (I've never been!)
-hiking Pilot Mountain
-biking through country park
-going to the natural science center
-fall themed picnic
but I'm sure we will be crossing those off the list very soon!

October has been a wonderful month and I'm sad to see it go. I will also be turning 25-years-old this Thursday on November 3rd. Not so nervous to be turning 25, but time has certainly been flying by as each year passes. I know I am an old soul at heart, so aging feels natural to me perhaps? I'm basically an old lady stuck in a young body... from what I've always been told by my friends.

We must remember to cherish each day and live life to the fullest. We must not take things for granted and remember what and who is important to us. And we must always remember we will never be younger than we are at this very moment....