200th Post: Tacky Christmas Sweater Day

This post is my 200th post! 

I feel it's only appropriate to make it a really great one. I don't know if you guys are ready for this...

Someone on campus decided that today would be "Tacky Christmas Sweater Day," and of course I hopped right on that little bandwagon! Since the Tacky Christmas Sweater is such a big part of our lives as Americans, I thought I should honor this occasion with an Olan Mills style photo. I would mail it out as a Christmas card, but I think that would cross the line into creepy territory.

I hope that the rest of you will dig through your closets and pull out your favorite Tacky Christmas Sweater. It will put you in an instant good mood. I promise! 

Thank you all so much for hanging around for 200 posts

Cyber Monday Sale

Today only!

I'm having a Cyber Monday sale (since I was lazy on Black Friday and didn't do anything). Enter the code cybermonday at checkout and get 20% off anything in the shop!

Did you hear that?! 20% off!

John + Christina

This is a wedding that I did at this great state park a few hours away. It was a little chilly, but it turned out to be a nice day! The kids in this wedding were so much fun, but that's pretty much the case with all weddings.

I loved the jar centerpieces! Their decorations were really adorable, and the inside of the lodge was so incredibly gorgeous. They had these gorgeous high ceilings with huge light fixtures and there were two fireplaces to keep the place warm.

Really, have you ever seen a cuter ring-bearer?!  He was such a little charmer, too. 

 

I hope you have all had an enjoyable weekend!

Thanksgiving = Busy

I happen to enjoy all the dinners and family and driving all around town...it's just that it doesn't leave much time for anything else! But now, here I sit. Drinking coffee and finally blogging in the quiet comfort of my own home...it's wonderful.

My readers may not care much about hearing the little details of my holiday activities, so I'm going to list them briefly (more so that I will remember them when my memory completely goes away).

1. I participated in a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. I decided to do it the day before, so of course I was totally unprepared. I walked a lot of it, jogged the rest, and it was a wonderful start to my day. There were over 500 people there, and proceeds went to RIFA...I'm thinking RIFA had a VERY happy Thanksgiving! 
2. Lunch with my step-mom's family. Highlights include: from-scratch macaroni and cheese, diet dr pepper, and the company of my wonderful family. 
3. Dinner at Rhett's paternal grandparent's house. Highlights include: the gravy, the pistachio pudding, the desserts...(oh the choices!), the fact that they all tell me I'm a saint for putting up with Rhett :), and the one year old cousin. 
4. Black Friday, I woke up at 3am and went to J.C. Penney's. I stood in line for about 40 minutes. When they opened, I walked in, picked up the couple of things I came for, checked out, and left. I was back in bed at 4:30. The whole purpose of the trip was to get the free snow globe...
5. Dinner at mom's got postponed until today (apparently there's a stomach virus going around...yuck). I ended up watching Home Alone with Rhett and putting up all my Christmas decorations! I don't have much, just a few snowmen and a Christmas tree with all the Shepherd's Haven ornaments on it. I guess that's the benefit of running their shop...I get to use the ornaments until they sell!
6. After Rhett left I photographed some custom miniatures and some Shepherd's Haven ornaments for 4 hours. I am glad to finally have all that out of the way! 

Well...that's been my last few days. I'm sure you're all exhausted from reading about all this excitement. Unfortunately, I did not take a single picture of my Thanksgiving festivities. Occasionally, I'll decide that I want to give myself a break and just enjoy things without taking pictures...and I think it's good for me to do that. I also don't have a point-and-shoot, so carrying my dslr everywhere isn't really practical. I will, however, leave you with a photo of one of the new Shepherd's Haven travel mugs that will be listed very soon...

If you're still reading, thanks :) 

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

oh and while we're on the subject, do you pronounce it THANKSgiving or thanksGIVING? Our family had quite a heated argument about it.

MableMae newness

You all know how much I love working with MableMae, right? Well I do! This last batch of things was so amazing! I just love the bunting coasters and magnets, I might even have to get some for myself. Here is some of the great new things that I got to photograph:

bookmarks! How neat is that? I love the idea of having something other than a scrap piece of paper (my usual choice) as a bookmark. She has some great colors to pick from too.  These are not listed yet, but hopefully soon!

I think these were my favorite. I haven't done any bunting in the house, so I figured these would be a good substitute.

If I still had a cork board, I would totally use these! I love making lists soooo much (yeah, I'm one of THOSE people). This is just a really cute way of managing all those tasks :)  

I hope you like all of these things as much as I do! I especially love the adorable Christmas themed pieces she has in her shop. It makes me SOOOO ready for the season!

Stop by MableMae on Etsy!

If you're interested in a similar photography service, feel free to contact me. I actually just got my own set of lights, so I'm anticipating my turnaround time to decrease significantly. I really enjoy working with other Etsy sellers on getting their product photos, so check this listing out if you're interested!

Justin + Whitney (second shooter)

 

These are from a wedding that I got to shoot with another Cedarway photographer, Kristen. We both work for Heather at Cedarway Photography. I originally had another wedding that day, but it got called off (whoops!). It turned out ok though, because I got to be the second shooter with Kristen at Justin and Whitney's wedding. Kristen took most of the posed photos, so most of mine are candid...I had a lot of fun!

 I got to photograph the groomsmen while Kristen took the bridesmaids. I was super happy about that because I tend to feel more comfortable with the guys. Plus they are super easy to pose.

That Model T was Justin's grandfather's a long time ago. They rented it from the man that had it restored and showed up at the reception in it. Justin's grandmother was so surprised to see it again!

I really loved their decor, and it was all done by their family. The woodsy look was so perfect for the time of year!

This girl had a burst of energy at this point. I don't know what happened but she just started dancing around and swinging her head...it was adorable. I wish I could remember the song that was playing. It must have been a catchy one!

This was one of my favorite weddings so far! I always love the ones that I get to shoot with another Cedarway photographer. We always have so much fun together, and having a partner takes some of the stress off.

Visit to Shepherd's Haven

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending some time at Shepherd's Haven Day Center. I work with them on their Etsy shop, but I rarely get the chance to go visit! It was so wonderful to give everyone hugs and chat about what they've been up to. There are some wonderful new things popping into their shop, and in a few days I'll be photographing and listing a BUNCH of amazing ornaments. I can't wait!

Some of their lovely leaf plates on display in the office. 

They've been hard at work making ornaments for the season! These are the style that I'll be listing soon. 

Brian and Moriah (Not sure if I spelled that right...) He's quite the bundle of excitement, as you can see. And she is such a sweet spirited young lady. I enjoyed talking to her :) 

Rodney wanted me to take his picture while he was eating a sandwich. Not sure why?! But I love it!

Dawn is like...the cutest little thing in the world! I just want to pinch her little cheeks!  She's very quiet, but whenever I ask her to give me a smile, she always obliges.

The ever animated Katherine hanging out with Karita (left) during lunch. 

Liz didn't want to go swimming (which was their afternoon activity), so she made her little bead things! I think most of the times I see Liz, she is playing with these beads...or maybe drawing with markers. One of the two!  I love her to pieces!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the "behind the scenes" at Shepherd's Haven! I really love that place, and I love all the beautiful things they make. It is such a wonderful ministry, that I've been so excited to see grow over the past couple of years. I think their move to Bellevue Baptist Church facilities was such a great blessing!

Etsy Wishlist: Apparel

Here's more of the things that I love on Etsy! ...this time in the apparel category. If I had an endless supply of money, I could definitely fill my closet with vintage (and some handmade) clothes found on Etsy. LOVE IT!

army jacket by santokivintage

 the elegant cat shirt by rosiemusic

 heather grey dress by oldage

swing coat by adVintagous

convertible coat by DearGoldenVintage

sweater by NikitaJade

I had a lot more than this in my favorites, but a lot of it is sold. I can only hope that someone bought the things as Christmas presents for me! A girl can dream, right?

Coyote Blues

 A few months ago, a new restaurant opened in town: Coyote Blues, a sort of Southwestern/Mexican grill. I'm not even joking when I say that Jackson has a new Mexican restaurant at least once a month...it's getting a little ridiculous. I don't usually pay them any attention, but Coyote Blues looked dang spiffy. Plus it took over the location of what used to be the most ritzy eatery in Jackson, so it must be good....right? From the beginning I heard good things about the food. It was different, it was fresh, and people liked it! Of course everyone complained about the price, but around here a $25 meal is like "alright, honey, we gotta get a second mortgage on the house." Honestly, I don't mind paying a little more for better food.

So I tried Coyote Blues with some colleagues and I love it! These pictures are actually from the second time I went, which was for Sarah's birthday.  It's actually a really nice atmosphere, and kind of perfect for lunch. If you're passing through Jackson, I would definitely recommend it! You can see it from the interstate, but you'd probably need directions to actually get to it...Jackson is funny that way.

They bring out this delicious creamy sauce with the salsa. I can't figure out what it is, but it's soooo good!
 

Sarah gets a veggie enchilada, I think. She says it's really good, but I haven't tried it yet. It looks good! I love the cheese they put on top of a lot of their dishes. Oh, you should probably go to the gym after you eat here...I mean unless you just get a salad, which would be silly.

They even have good burgers! I got the Southwestern burger, which was incredible. I got fries with mine, but they also have these amazing cheese grits as a side choice. Am I making your mouth water?

We ate so much we had to take the elevator back at work. Ok, so we probably should have taken the stairs to combat all those calories, but it was hard to move!

Weekend Florida Trip

A couple of weeks ago, Rhett and I ventured down to Florida for his step-brother's wedding. It was a super short trip, mostly consisting of driving (or in my case, riding). Despite the limited time, we had a enjoyed just getting out of town for a while! I got to take a nice little walk on Saturday morning, and that was enough beach to hold me over for a while. The picture above is from our balcony. I actually liked having a bit of a walk to get to the beach, especially since the weather was perfect!

It was a nice simple wedding, with just a few people. I actually had a really nice time, and Rhett even danced to one song with me! Granted, it was the "train song" that his little cousin requested...but still.

I can't believe he actually let me take his picture. This is a VERY rare occurrence. Unfortunately I didn't hand the camera over so I don't have pictures of me. I actually really wish I did, because I loved the dress that I wore. I had to make a special trip to Target because I packed a dress that had to be worn with tights (duh...you can't wear tights at the beach). Anyway, it was cute...maybe I'll post about another time.

I think, for me, a beach wedding would be much too stressful. Traveling wears me out more than anything! But I know that was probably Melissa's dream wedding, and it turned out really gorgeous. And she totally deserved it :) Congratulations Hayden and Melissa!