Thai Cafe

This little town doesn't have a ton of good places, but the few we do have are really good! This one local place called Thai Cafe is definitely one of my favorites. I love the bright colors inside, and everyone has always been extremely nice there. They are slow sometimes and they have really limited hours, but the friendly atmosphere and great food make up for it. Rhett and I have been there together a few times, and love their noodles.

I hate that the local places are always the most deserted. I enjoy places like this because it's unique to the area instead of being just like everything else. I think Jackson just isn't a good place for people to start a business...most of them don't survive. I think a lot of it has to do with locations (people can't afford the prime locations that corporations can get) and lack of advertising. I don't get why people don't see the value in advertising. It's ESSENTIAL for getting customers. Speaking of local business...my favorite local coffee roaster/cafe is closing on Friday. It's mostly because the owner moved and couldn't find anyone to buy it. I know it's dumb, but I'm actually really upset about it. I guess life goes on, but Gusta Java is going to leave a huge hole in the Jackson coffee situation.

At least I still have Thai Cafe though, right?! *please don't close please don't close please don't close*

Hunter

These are some senior pictures that I did of Rhett's cousin this summer. They live out in the country, so I had lots of good scenery to work with. It was extremely sunny and hot, but I think the pictures turned out pretty well. My favorite is the one of him climbing out of the barn. I hope you guys enjoy them! It's making me wish summer was going to last just a little bit longer...I can tell Fall is just around the corner.

Everyone have a great week!

Mmmmm Sandwich

I love food. Eating is probably one of my favorite pastimes, and one of my favorite things to make/eat is sandwiches. I figured I would share some of my favorite sandwiches with you and make you hungry with me. I actually had a great sandwich today from Honeybaked Ham, but I didn't take a picture.

This is one I made at home using all things I bought at the Farmer's Market. It was toward the beginning of the summer when I was going to the FM every weekend. I got the bread, sourdough, from my favorite bread lady. I also got eggs, tomatoes, peppers, and chives that day. I threw it all together and made myself a little ole egg sandwich! It was absolutely delicious.

This is a veggie sandwich from my favorite cafe in town, Gusta Java. It was pretty cheap and very tasty...a perfect lunch meal.

 

 Another Gusta Java sandwich...I think it's called the Piggy Bank. SO SO SO good! The ham was so tasty and I love the bread they use. 

Ok, sorry about making you all hungry. I'm going to go make a sandwich now...

Tennessee Evening

One thing I love about Tennessee is our sky. I've never lived anywhere else, but I think Tennessee has some really gorgeous evening skies, and there's really nothing better than just sitting outside while the sun goes down. I think it's best in the summer, but we have pretty good sunsets all year round.

Despite the heat I occasionally venture outside around this time of day to read or mess around in the flowerbeds and potted plants. I don't have a lot going on in my yard, but I like to pretend I do. I feel like I'm making myself sound like a 90 year old woman (funny coincidence: my insurance company had my birthday wrong until recently and thought I actually was a 90 year old woman). 

How are the sunsets where all of you live? I may just love Tennessee's just because that's all I know :)

Last Friday Night

I don't think it's a secret that I am a Katy Perry fan. She's silly and fun, so of course I like her! I went to see her a couple of years ago at the Cannery Ballroom, but this time around she's hit it big time and played at the Bridgestone Arena. The other show was standing room only, and I had to plant my feet hard in place in order to not get knocked further from the stage. For this show I had my very own seat! Not only that, it was an aisle seat, so I had plenty of room to jump up and down and dance like no one was watching (because really, no one was).

So...this is what I did last friday night. 

Rachael, Alanna, and me before the show

 Who Am I Living For

 Pearl. This one was jaw-dropping. SO BEAUTIFUL

 Thinking of You

 California Gurls finale! Lots of glitter and some kind of spray

 

 ...and beach balls

This was quite the production. The whole place smelled like cotton candy, and she had a clever little video story to guide you through the show. It really almost felt like I was watching a really fun play. I feel like we definitely got what we paid for, and more! I was also surprised by how much better she sounds than the last time we saw her. She probably has a little help from back-up tracks, but still...she's improved her live singing a lot. Honestly this was probably the most spectacular show I've ever been to....entertainment-wise.  

ALSO...a public service announcement: if you go to a concert, don't get there super late and don't walk in and out 5 times during the show. You WILL get a little elbow action from your fellow concert goers when you have to climb over them. Thanks!  

this public service announcement has been brought to you by kristimcmurry

Behind the Scenes: Blooming Variety

This post has been 3 months in the making, but it's finally here. Back in May I tagged along with the wonderful Abby Ott, who was doing a project involving a fashion shoot. We sort of have a partnership in this type of thing. We have done a few shoots together in the past few years; she helps me and I help her. (Previous shoot)

Abby asked if I would be willing to sharpen my video skills on her project, and I happily agreed. I have only experimented with video a few times, but I love it! I am planning on practicing a lot more in the near future, especially since I'm shooting footage for a wedding video in January. But without further...rambling...here's the behind the scenes video I shot for Blooming Variety:

This video was quite a learning process for me. I couldn't do what I wanted to do with my safety net, imovie, so I had to transition to Final Cut Express. It was so great learning how to use the program! I will definitely be using it more in future projects because you can do so much more with it. I would also like to showcase Abby's talent. Here are just a few of the images she took for her project. She shot all film, and I'm super impressed with the results.

more on her blog

I took an interest in Abby's photography when she was just starting out in one of our classes at Union. I think it may have been her freshman or sophomore year? I can't remember...I'm so old. Anyway, I still remember the project we were working on when I thought "hey, this girl's pretty good." It was supposed to mimic a shoot that would appear in a magazine, and she took pictures in this store in Nashville. I loved all the details she got and the way she used the light. It's been amazing to see this budding young photographer grow and advance in her skills. I can't wait to see what she does with her photography after she graduates next year!

I'd love hear your feedback on the video, if you have some critique for me. I haven't had a good old fashioned critique since graphic design 4!  I hope you all enjoyed it. It was a really fun project and I feel like I learned a lot through the process. Thanks, Abby, for working with me. Let's start planning our next collaboration :)

Special Needs Athletics - baseball

Earlier in the summer, I photographed some Special Needs Athletics baseball games. SNA is an athletic program here in town for people with special needs. It's a wonderful organization, and I really enjoyed spending time with all the players and volunteers! I did a photo essay on the season, which you can see on JPG magazine's website here. I wrote a few paragraphs to go with the photos that explains them a little better. Here are most of the photos that I included; they are some of my favorites from the 10 week season.

Squash Pizza

Last night Kelsey and I made some squash pizza. She had some pita, I had some squash...it just made sense! Kelsey put some olive oil and lots of herbs on the pita, then we added the squash and some mushrooms. I had a little bit of mozzarella and Kelsey had some cheddar, so we put some cheese on two of them. I didn't try the cheddar, but the mozzarella was AMAZING. I also added some fresh basil, oregano and rosemary on top of the cheese.

We cooked it on 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Try it! Kelsey thinks we should have cooked the squash on the stove a little first, but I like it firm, so it was good with me. It all depends on your preference.

Eli

I'm so sorry that I've been neglecting the blog lately. I honestly just keep forgetting to post! I guess I'm getting old...

Here are some pictures from a shoot a did a couple of weeks ago. Eli is the son of my friend Lauren from high school. I haven't really been in touch with my high school friends, but we're starting to to talk more lately and it's been great! Eli is such a cutie and so much fun to photograph.

Thanks, Lauren, for asking me to take Eli's pictures! I had a blast :)