Celebrating Blakely's First Year

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing a sweet first birthday party for a fellow photographer. Amber mentioned in our Facebook group that she needed someone to come photograph the celebration so that she could just enjoy herself, and I'm so excited that she asked me to do it! I was totally not expecting such an amazingly decorated party, so I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the decor was left from a wedding in the barn a few weeks back, and they incorporated all of that really well. Of course with Amber being a photographer, there were plenty of pictures of Blakely all around. That little stinker is CUTE! I just want to squeeze her little chubby cheeks and leg rolls. There is seriously nothing more adorable than a sweet little one year old baby. It almost (big almost here) makes me want one of my own.

I mean just look at those details! And that cake! Blakely was mesmerized by the huge balloons and the lights. I loved all the faces she was making as she came in to the party.

The party was super laid back and fun, and I just really enjoyed capturing lots of candid moments and expressions. Watching her dig into that cake was just precious! Blakely is so blessed to have such a caring and sweet family to raise her up. Thanks so much for letting me be a part of the celebration, Amber! 

Pastel Striped Birthday Cake

Confession: I turned 25 today. My last two birthdays have been pretty horrible...and that's only because I am a big baby and I hate getting older. This year has been slightly better. At my office we've been celebrating birthdays by getting together and doing an activity. For mine we "roasted" s'mores at the student commons. The grill didn't flame up like we thought it would, but the s'mores were still delicious! It was really just nice to get out in the sunshine for a bit and chat with my coworkers. I'm pretty lucky to work with a group of people that I actually like! I know a lot of people don't like their coworkers, but I consider all of mine my friends.

That's my "it's my birthday and I'm trying to be excited!" picture. I'm glad at least that we are having such nice weather today. It's been cold and rainy most of the week, but it's sunny and warm in the 70s today. Mother nature is making up for giving me a cold and rainy wedding day, I guess. Despite the warm temps, I wore a cardigan with my Toi et Moi tunic. And I had to wear my thick leggings because this tunic is definitely not long enough to be a dress. My bum doesn't show or anything, but I would be uncomfortable wearing this with regular tights or *gasp* nothing underneath.

details:

tunic - Toi et Moi via Stitch Fix

leggings - Express (old)

cardigan - Kohl's (old)

earrings - Etsy, Stranded Treasures

flats - UO

I've been searching for something to replace my worn out nude flats forEVER. I wanted to just get the same ones I had, but they were almost $40 and I knew I would just wear them out in no time. I came across these on Urban Outfitters for only $15 (with a coupon) and so far I'm loving them! I love when I stumble across good deals like that.

So aside from a general gloom I've been feeling because I'm getting older, I have had a good day. I'm thankful for my wonderful friends for all of their sweet well wishes and gifts. My former roommate brought me these really cool vintage shoe molds that I was eyeing at the flea market last weekend. I am so excited about them! And when Margaret came by to take outfit photos today, she bought me coffee. I'm excited about tonight as well. Rhett is taking me out for sushi. We just went to see Wreck it Ralph on Tuesday (highly recommended, by the way) so I'm counting that as a birthday outing.

I hope the rest of you have a splendid night and weekend! I've got a couple of photo shoots this weekend that I'm looking forward to. The trees are going to be so pretty for them!

Garner Pies

Well, folks, yesterday was my birthday. I haven't handled my last two birthdays very gracefully for some reason. I don't enjoy getting older. I think I'm just in this weird middle phase of my life where I'm out of college, but I haven't really moved on to the next thing yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly content where I am...I have great friends and family, and this town is...ok.

Anyway, I was worried that I might be a little bit lethargic when my birthday came around, so I planned ahead and ordered some pies from a local baking magician named Lisa. She makes a lot of baked goods for our campus coffee spot (Barefoots), and she sells pies that can be delivered. Come Wednesday morning Lisa delivered my pies to Barefoots and I trotted over to pick them up.

adorable cards (and a little bit of coffee that I spilled on the box)

 gingersnap pumpkin and cinnamon crumble apple

I was right, they really made me feel better about life :) Both were extremely delicious! As you can see, the pumpkin pie has a layer of....wait for it...cheesecake(!) at the bottom. My coworkers were grateful that I shared my birthday gift to myself with them. We're still eating on them today! Of course once they're gone, I'll be back to my diet.

Locals: If you need a dessert for a potluck or family gathering, Lisa Garner is your gal! Check out her site if you want to order.

Skating is Great!

Since I've been posting about birthdays a lot this past week, I figured I would continue the tradition with a post about my sister's birthday party. Her party with her friends was at Magic Wheels, a skating rink that has been in this town since I was turning 8...and who knows how long before. Seriously, this place is ancient. (also, the title "Skating is Great!" is what is on the outside of the building...this place preaches truth, y'all)

I didn't really know what to expect, but I walked in and it was like a blast from the past...NOTHING HAS CHANGED. I half expected to run into the guy that worked there when I was kid. I remember him well...he looked like the love child of Danny Zuko and The Fonz (if that were even possible). He even had the Danny Zuko walk down...it was impressive. I may have had a small crush.

Sister and her friends skated for a while...but there really wasn't much of a crowd. It was kind of depressing how few people were there, but I guess it was good for the party. At least Sister and her friends had a safe, empty floor to skate on.

They also did a little party in one of the side rooms (which also happen to look the same). It was pizza, ice cream and cake. I still remember how hard it was to move around in those rooms with your skates on. You'd try to get up and just plop right back down because you couldn't get going....ahh good times.

 They did rearrange some stuff in this area, so I guess they did change SOMETHING

I'll be honest, I was dying to get out there and skate with them, but I didn't bring socks. It would be fun to get a group together and have a flashback skating party here...I'll work on this. In the meantime, maybe I'll throw on my skates and skate around the neighborhood.

I hope you all have a great Wednesday! This is my Friday this week because we get off for Fall Break. That's one of the huge perks of working at a University...you get to take some of the breaks with the students!

I Made Scones!

First of all happy birthday to my friend and coworker Sarah! I don't actually have a picture of her to put on here, but here is the screen saver and desk full of balloons that she came in to this morning.

She came in earlier than Scott and I, but she said it made her smile when she saw it :) I also made her some scones because she LOVES scones. I have never made scones (or biscuits, because Rhett refuses to acknowledge that there is a difference), but I was excited to try. I just used the basic recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and it was SUPER easy! I was one egg short, but I added some extra cream so I wouldn't lose the moisture. I feel like that threw off the dough because it was crazy sticky, but the end product still tasted good. They weren't as good as the scones we get at the campus coffee house, but they were pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I think I'll be making scones again now that I know it's so simple!

Say it with me now... "mmmmmmmmmm!" I wish I could bluetooth you all your own scone, but technology hasn't advanced that far yet. Those are chocolate chips, by the way. The recipe calls for currants but I was like forget that, it's her 30th birthday! Who wants currants when you can have chocolate chips?! If anyone wants the recipe and doesn't have the BH&G cookbook, let me know and I'll scan a copy for you! No charge :)

Me = 23

That's right...I'm 23, and I'm not happy about it. I have this really irrational fear of growing up! I am a responsible adult, but I lament the fact that I don't have near as much freedom as I used to. I can't just pick up and go somewhere whenever I want to... I can't sleep it on weekdays... I can't wear pigtails. You see? It's incredibly sad. But, I need to move on and just enjoy my 23rd year! Thanks to everyone that wished me a happy birthday. You all made my birthday a very special day!

I'm trying not to eat out as much, so we ate in at the office! Sarah made some absolutely delicious taco soup and we had guac, hummus, and veggies to go with it. We're all trying to get our 5 veggie servings a day, so we chowed down on them! 

Just another day at the office. I was born in the 80s so I thought an 80s top would be appropriate.

top: Barefoot & vintage - I got this in her closing sale and I love it!

pants: Express. BEST EVER. I may have worn them 3 days in a row...

shoes: Kohl's

earrings: Express

The best part of my day was getting this little cupcake flower arrangement from Rhett! He's not a flower guy by any means... but I guess all my hint-dropping finally got through. I'm not big into flowers either, but I think every girl enjoys them once in a while! And he did so good finding something unique and special so I know he put a lot of thought into it. There was some confusion in the delivery process, but I got them and I was so excited :) Later that night Mom and Guy took Rhett and me out to dinner.

Thanks again to everyone that made my birthday special!

Justin + Coleen

Well, today was my birthday! I'll try to do a birthday post tomorrow, but I left my camera in the car and I'm too lazy to go get it right now. It's ok to be lazy on my birthday, right? Anyway, I got flowers from my boy, a Sonic drink from my roomie, lunch with coworkers, and dinner with parents... overall a great day!

Until I get birthday pictures, here are some that I took of a really sweet couple! Coleen and I went to the same high school, and I was good friends with her brother.  I was so honored when she asked me to be her wedding photographer. These are the engagements portraits that I did of them recently:

Aren't they both outrageously adorable?! I was really happy with the pictures, and I'm really looking forward to shooting their wedding. I hope you all enjoy these!