Thursday, July 28, 2011

suede purse and winning

The other day I got an email from Veronika letting me know that I won a giveaway on her blog. I've won a few blog giveaways over the past couple of years, and it's always so exciting! I won this great suede purse that Veronika made out of a skirt. It was a fun DIY project that she did for herself, and when the purse got such great response from her readers, she made another to give away. 




I love it! The color fits perfectly in my wardrobe, and it adds a fabric that I'm lacking– suede. I also really love the gold chain. It's a little smaller than the purses I normally carry, but I'm pretty good at cutting back on things I carry. I took it with me to work today to test it out, and it was great. I could carry all of my essentials, and I didn't have to dig for my phone! 


Aren't the tassels fun? I love fringe, so I was swinging them around all day. Thanks so much, Veronika, for hosting such a great giveaway! I'm so ecstatic that I won. Everyone be sure to pop over to her blog. She's always posting great outfits and inspiration.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Oldie but Goodie

top, sweater, jeans - Express
necklaces - estate sale/antique store
shoes - Aerosole

I kind of love this picture because Sarah is creepin in the bushes off to my side. That plus the fact that my ponytail holders are the first thing you see makes this an A+ photograph. Thanks, Scott!


The point of this post is to show you one of my favorite shirts. I bought this when I worked at Express, which was about 3 years ago. The sweater is also from several years back. I don't work there anymore, but I still highly recommend their clothes. They are decently priced and a lot of the pieces I bought over the 4 (5?) years I worked there are still holding up nicely.  I can definitely see myself passing some of those "trendy" pieces down to my daughter if I ever have one. Just be aware that some of their more basic things like t-shirts, basic sweaters, and tank tops don't last long at all...it's the statement pieces and most of the dressy things that are the best!


These are our superfuncreativesilly office occupants. Sarah, me and Scott. We share one big office, so we tend to have a lot of fun. Occasionally we argue, but mostly we just have fun dance parties and listen to 90s pop music.

I'll be posting some more portraits on here soon because I've been getting lots of bookings. It's coming at a great time, too, since I just bought my car. Maybe I really can get it paid off in 3 years! I hope you all have a great rest of the week, dear friends. I appreciate each and every one of you for reading and commenting! It makes me smile to see that people are interested in reading my ramblings.

Monday, July 25, 2011

bainey waineys


One of my friends at church, Amanda, asked me to come over and take some pictures of her cutie pie little family the other day. I went over after work one day, and we had a great time running around their house and yard getting pictures. I've known each of these kiddos from birth and have really loved seeing them grow up. If you're wondering about the title of this post, it come from their last name: Bain. Our church is all about some nicknames!



Popsicles and water games were a must on this hot day. I love doing shoots like this...more fun, less traditional. The kids had so much fun on the Slip N Slide, and I found myself really wanting to join them. I have a feeling that particular activity would hurt a lot more now than it did when I was a much smaller person.



I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Adornments by Estelle


I get to photograph some really great Etsy products through my photography service, and this jewelry is one of the most recent sets I have had the pleasure of shooting. Estelle is in the same Etsy team as another seller that I've worked with, and she sent me some of her first pieces to get her shop started.


I just checked her shop earlier, and saw that she doesn't have any sales yet. Boo! I always feel like my pictures should make Etsy shops an instant hit :) Hopefully these great pieces just haven't been discovered by the right people yet. So GO...discover! My favorite pieces of hers were the rings. They are various sizes so you can pick based on which finger you would like to wear them on. Who doesn't love a little hand candy?!



I love the texture in that blue one, and the black one is perfect for a classy outfit.


special thanks to Lauren for being my model


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Christmas in July

Even though July is half over, I've decided to run a Christmas in July sale for my Etsy shop. This is something that Etsy has done for the past few years. It's sort of a kick-off for Christmas shopping this year, and it helps get everyone out of their summer sales slump. Here's the coupon for free shipping in my shop:


All you have to do is type "CHRISTMASINJULY" in the coupon code box at checkout and the discount will be applied. Feel free to pass this along to friends and family, and remember that it's only valid through this month!

Another reason that I'm offering this, besides joining in the fun on Etsy, is that I bought a new car yesterday (my own little Christmas in July I guess). I never would have guessed that at 23 I would own a new car, but things just lined up for 'ole Kristi and I did it! I'm not struggling financially or anything, but a little extra sales revenue from my Etsy shop will really help me get this thing paid off in a timely manner. We all know how important that is!

Oh, what's that? You want to see the car? Well, alright...if you insist.


Isn't she pretty?! Not too fancy, not boring...just right for me. I named her Nora. I've never been one to name my possessions, but I have to join the crowd every once in a while, right? It was hard to leave her all lonely in the garage last night. I considered sleeping on one of the two old couches we have in our garage (yes, I know...redneck), but I haven't reached that level of crazy quite yet.

Enjoy the coupon and I hope you're all having a great week! Today is the day that my step-mom and papaw (her dad) are doing the kidney transplant surgery, so keep them in your prayers. It is going to be fantastic to see papaw feeling better with a young, functioning kidney!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Dwight + Pamela

 mom and bride

Earlier this summer I tagged along with Heather to a wedding in Memphis. Dwight and Pamela, bride and groom, are both Union grads, so I knew several people at the wedding. In fact, my roommate is good friends with Pamela so we rode to the wedding together! The bride and groom were just absolutely adorable and a joy to photograph.



 I actually have a terrifying/embarrassing story from this wedding. I was carrying Pamela's train while we were taking pictures outside, and when we turned a corner we stepped at different times and I stepped on her dress. Yep. Stepped...on...her...dress. My heart has never beat so fast in my life. It ripped one of the bottom layers a little at the hem, so we got some needle and thread to patch it up. It didn't show at all, but I still felt TERRIBLE! Pamela was such a sweetheart though, she never broke her sweet smile. I was so embarrassed I didn't even want to tell anyone (except the people there obviously), so you're all the first to hear about it. I think I'm mostly over it at this point :) Things happen!

 I love the milk glass. I'm planning on having lots of it at my wedding!


The milk went with the groom's cake. What a great idea!

Friday, July 15, 2011

4th of July in South Carolina

Well, folks, this is my last South Caroline post. Are you bummed? Ok, I didn't think so. Our last day there was the 4th of July and also the day we happened to go to the beach. We ended up going to Foley beach, and I really loved it there! It wasn't terribly crowded because we drove pretty far down before we parked. The sand was nice and packed from the tide, so I didn't get a lot sand in my things, and it was just all around a great beach.




We spent about 3 hours on the beach and then decided to go get something to eat. We found a place on the corner called Crab Shack. Besides the extremely loud family at the next table, it was a great place!  I got some delicious grilled shrimp with veggies and potatoes. YUM! The shrimp also came with this interesting sauce. I don't really even know how to describe it, but trust me it was good.




Later we went to a huge fireworks show. It.was.amazing. I can't even...I don't...I don't even know how to describe it other than amazing. I'm from a pretty small area of Tennessee, so fireworks shows here are just people shooting roman candles and the occasional artillery shell. This show was like a million times more exciting and elaborate! I think my mouth was wide open during the entire thing.

Here are some pictures from the night, and make sure to watch the video at the bottom (if you enjoy fireworks). Be aware that I "woo hoo" quite loudly during the finale, so you might want to turn the volume down. ha!


I love this bridge. The fireworks were just across the bridge.

 we were red white and blue without even planning it!


 Ana and Mallory

getting dark...almost time!

what...a night





Check out more posts from my vacation here

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Magnolia Plantation

On Sunday of our Charleston vacation, we journeyed out to Magnolia Plantation. It is an old rice plantation with gorgeous gardens and plenty to see. Here are some pictures from the day...

 Peacocks just walking around the plantation.. they make some terrifying sounds, like a dying cat baby.



 This is the plantation house that we toured

 me on the pretty white bridge

Sylvester. He was sitting outside the house, and I couldn't resist petting him.

 real life

 Me, Uncle James, Mallory

I realize we are hurting the bamboo...I'm sorry. There were literally thousands of names already carved here, so I figured we might as well.



 Mallory is a master photo-bomber


 a free refreshment from the nice folks at the plantation



"Come at me bro!"

It was a very nice day to be out and about. It was hot, but not sweltering like it has been lately. I love being outside, so this was a perfect thing to do for vacation. I feel like I should mention the ridiculous spiders that were around every corner. Banana spiders are these scary looking black and yellow things that apparently eat mosquitoes. I'm grateful, but seriously those things are flipping terrifying. I kept thinking they were on me whenever I saw one. Anyway, despite the big scary spiders everywhere, it was a gorgeous place to walk around.