Weekend Recap

I don't have a problem with Monday's because they have a distinct quality about them...they're consistent. Monday's show up, and they pretty much all carry the same air about them... you always know what to expect...and I think that helps alleviate some of the 'ugh Monday'-ness. And seriously, if you are able to read this right now, can't we just acknowledge the 10+ things we have to be thankful for that make that possible?

weekends, however, are unpredictable to most of us... and I feel like that's why we get all lethargic when it comes to Fri-Sunday and then proceed to yearn for the unpredictable adventures (or laziness, I'm not above that!) for the rest of the week.

...excuse me while I dismount from my soap box...

For me, this weekend was one of those that leaves ya yearnin' for the next...

1. Visited an old friend for a night of cards, beer, and Wendy's...and woke up to a Jamie Durie-esque porch complete with cinnabons, coffee, and back-issues of Better Homes & Gardens. We also suddenly realized that this birthday definitely marked a new stage of life for us (note our excitement about the porch and magazines...)

Here's a picture of one of Rome's down-town churches.

2. Sunday morning was the ING half and full marathon here in Atlanta and I have some pretty insane -I mean determined- friends that decided to run them. So we were up at 7 cheering them on. 

Here is my beautiful friend Ruthie right after she finished.

These guys made my day..the crossed the line with two tall-boys of Miller High Life. Class.

3. Saturday night we went into Lowe's to buy a rug and came out with this:

Hahah jk. But seriously. We left with an out-door fireplace, 3 chairs, and some wood. I'll put up real images later.

How was your weekend?!!

Lets be thankful!

"Gratitude preserves old friendships, and procures new."

-Anonymous

Yesterday I had the pleasure of welcoming a couple into my home to talk about their wedding. They booked me way back in September, and I have greatly enjoyed getting to know them. We shared some laughs, caught up on life, and set out a plan of attack for their August wedding. 

We could have met elsewhere, or I could have emailed them...a phone call would have worked, too. But I chose to host them because as I'm settling into our home, I'm beginning to realize that an invitation into someone else's life is a sincere form of gratitude. And so I invited them in... to see my ruffled pillows and awkward TV nook... to drink my wine and eat my crackers. I did this because they're clients, and they're friends; and I'm grateful. 

here are some snapshots of the setup. 







Who can you show gratitude towards today?

So...tired....can't...blog

Well last night was a night for the books. We saw John Mayer at Philips Arena...a concert we have been waiting months for, and that we knew would be great because of the record time in which it sold out.

8 girls. Wearing green. Fun Holiday. Great music. No loyalties.

Say what you want about Mr. Mayer (or should I say... 'say what you need to say...') but he puts on a great show. His covers of Bob Dylan and Bob Seger were great.

Since our tickets specifically said 'no professional camera equipment allowed' I couldn't really play dumb and try to bring in my monster of a camera. I did however bring in my blackberry, and took a picture for tha' camera fone!

alright... i'm out. I have a mountain of sleep and nutrition to catch up on.

French Roast, French Kiss

The most recent French Roasts go to:
1. Time changes
I mean, really? it takes at least a day or four to get back into the swing of things after we freakishly lose an hour. I can't help but be late to everything for the next week after a time change. Especially one as demanding as spring forward. Sheesh.


2. Our dishwasher.
We're on our second one in 5 months. And this one seems to have the same complex as the first one.... dishes it cannot wash, but leak on the floor it can. This is when I need Kelly Ripa to head over here and work some magic on my appliances. 


3. Taxes.
Really no explanation is needed and I think you would all just groan with me at the mention of this word. I just finished mine ::insert groan:: and will be investing in a personal accountant next year. thank-you-very-much.

I wanna french kiss these things all over!

1. Time changes (the forward kind)
I know I know I know I just dissed them... but really they redeem themselves with the blessed gift of an hour of more sunlight per-day! My complexion is improving and I'm pretty sure I float when I walk now. 


2. Canon
I love my canon equipment, and I love my canon customer service. They fix it all super fast and with a super-nice attitude. I feel like the woman in the Progresso commerical every time I talk to them because they enamor me so much. 


3. Ruffled pillows.
We just bought some from Pier 1 and our living room's chic-ness just jumped up about 180 notches. They are adorable and there is something so tasty about little ruffles . They add lots of depth an character...you may not even need a couch to put them on. kidding.'

I'm looking for a car

I am in the process of designing a shoot to take place in mid-April, and this weekend my mind exploded with creativity for it. I started looking through some of my favorites archived shots from past weddings, shoots, magazines (yes you, September 2005 Vogue...) and made a list of everything I need to make this into a reality. Surely you have been here? it's as if everywhere you look you suddenly are overcome with a major case of the 'new-uses-for-old-things' fever!!

Well I've got most of what I need... but the big thing on my list is a car. I dream small, don't I? :)

Not just any car...preferably one with....character (read: cooky and old)

Are there resources out there that can aid me in my search? Do you know of an Atlanta resident lookin' to show off their ride? I would love to hear from you!

I've been fortunate enough to have been a part of shooting some weddings with awesome cars, and here are a few of my favorite shots from them!

 

photos taken by Sarah Esther for Joy Wilson

Weekend Recap

Well hello Monday. SO nice to see you again. Really! I'm excited that you are here because this week will be awesome. If not because of anything I do, then because I just declared it so.

I hope you all had a great weekend!!! I had a fun one, full of cancelled plans and new plans...cooking and shopping. Oh yeah... and then there was that time change.

I took a few photos (naturally) to share with you all. And so... drumroll please.... here is my Weekend Recap!

1) That cooking class I went to last week, yep I went again. This week we tackled cookies. 

Stay tuned for pictures of my kitchen pre and post-cookie inspiration.
Our instructor, Jason, making shortbread  & the shortbread rolled in pecans that we thought looked like pork tenderloin 



A little basket weave detail being added to the sugar cookies & THE BEST choco cookies ever.



Me and my friend Ginnie & a batch of Royal Icing with stiff peaks :)





2) The rains came down and the floods came up and so my Saturday style-shoot was cancelled. However, we quickly busied ourselves with Scott's antique market (naturally I forgot my camera battery. Mobile uploads will have to suffice) and rearranging our living room that needs help (still).


Cute rusted copper hanging hearts & some gorgeous chairs



We thought about getting this for our dining room, too. It's perfect, right??? :)

3) Speaking of Saturday..we hit up our favorite dive bar for some authentic blues, jazz, and cheap beer. Here's what we jammed to. It was totally worth having to shower in the morning.

3) I received all of my subscriptions in the mail on Friday. So I snuggled up with this yesterday afternoon.

How was your weekend? Life changing? Life sustaining? Either way, welcome to Monday!

I need some help...

With the weekend coming upon us, I'm once again getting that ants-in-my-pants (yes i'm in 3rd grade) feeling that makes me want to dive into a Lowe's and go crazy with improving and decorating our house. We have done quite a bit of work since we moved in, and because our house is so old and cute... I'm not sure there will ever be a time when we say 'there's nothing left to do'. Most of our improvements thus far have just been painting (painting over the 345 coats of paint that were already on the walls...and were disgusting)...and I think we are ready to dive into some more major adjustments. However I'm not really sure what to do!

Any ideas for what we could do with this room? This is our living room... the first pictures (with the green) are the before shots, and then the after shots. Our walls are kind of bare, and we have an awkward corner for the TV that we don't quite know what to do with. What do you guys think? Every idea will be considered...and next week I may just have a new house :)

Our awkward TV nook is the picture on the right, to the left of the fireplace

Front Door Wall facing Front door, entrance to dining room

Right of fireplace &picture window w/nook Little nook

Help :)

Pretty Yellow Flowers

I go on photo walks a lot, which may sound pretty hi-tech, but really it is just me walking around with my camera. I do these to scout locations mostly... I've found that I can find nooks-and crannies better when I'm walking than when I'm driving (and it's better for the environment! so take that!). You may remember this post in which I mentioned heading out to Piedmont Park for a little sunshine soul-shine; well I ventured out on the next day, too! My reasons for my 2nd day at the park were to location scout for a couple of shoots that I have coming up. I've done a lot of shoots at the park, and it's a pretty popular spot for photogs in the ATL... so I really want to find some not-so-explored spaces to take my future couples!

To let you know, I found a couple of places...but then I also realized that a lot of it is about perspective. I see so many amazing photographs and while they are amazing... I don't want mine to look the same (I want to be a different kind of amazing :)), which happens when they're taken from the same perspective. I'm realizing that to be different, find difference! Preaching to myself, here.... and for all you photo junkies, try an unconventional perspective next time you find yourself (for lack of a more refined term) bored.

here are a couple of pretty yellow flowers that I wouldn't have seen had I been shooting 'head-on'. They were beside and below me :)

To purchase any one of these (or both!) pretty photos as a gift or for yourself please visit here and sign the guest-book!

Wednesday Wish List

Well I've encountered a lot of things lately that I'm reallllly attracted to, so today I am going to share them. Nothing fancy, just a couple of wishes.

1. The Farmer's Market Cookbook from Williams-Sonoma. 

I shop the Dekalb Market once a month for goodies, and I'd love to take this with me. 

2. This Book..

  I love France, I love food. What better than a book about love in France with recipes?

3. A real gold watch... that won't turn silver in 2 weeks.

I love gold watches, don't hate. They are an easy way to dress up jeans and a tee. I also feel sexy in them, which is worth it all over again.

What are you wishing for right now? 

Next time...use sunscreen.

well... yesterday was a pot of gold here in Atlanta. The weather was 70 degrees and S-U-N-N-Y and I am willing to bet that a fare amount of people called in ::cough cough:: sick. I took the opportunity to seize the sunshine and finished working early in the day so I could head out to Piedmont Park for the afternoon. I set up camp with a blanket and my Glamour and chilled. Let it further be known that just because it's technically still winter... the Sun trumps winter and sunburn knows no season. I got up from my lulling in the sun to discover that the backs of my legs were definitely scorched.... and only the backs of my legs, because I neglected to flip over (yeah I wasn't really going for an even tan or anything in the beginning of MARCH). Next time I will take Glamour's age-old advice and wear sunscreen. But honestly, I'm secretly excited about my first sunburn of the year... because that means more sunny days are to come!!!!

Speaking of Piedmont Park... I'm counting down the days until I get to photograph a wedding at Park Tavern overlooking the park! I can't wait!

I can't wait until full-fledged wedding season! I love this picture from the Weiser wedding last season!

Weekend Recap

Alright Monday!!!!! Maybe for some of us Monday is so hard to get into because we need a longer transition out of the weekend. I propose a new day... an 'in-between' day, just for transitioning. It will be a day of half-work and half-play... and we'll call it 'Smonday'. If you need help figuring out where the name came from, then you probably need two days to transition, and so we will give you an extra day and call it 'Muesday'.

Enough about my additions to the calendar... I had a great weekend. It was finally 60degrees for more than a day, I went to a wedding, had drinks with friends, church was great, and I took a cooking class. Hooray for weekends!

My favorite part of the weekend, besides an awesome service at Buckhead Church, was definitely the Souffle technique class that I took Sunday morning at Williams-Sonoma. Our amazing chef was so great at teaching, and I had the best Guyere and leek souffle. Omygawd it was so good. They offer classes every Sunday and sometimes during the week. I encourage everyone to give them a try. Next week is cookies and cakes!!!

Here's a photo I snapped with my phone.

Kolby + Meredith wedding Website

Check out Kolby + Meredith's wedding website I made for them! Home-3

Christmas in.... well, whenever!

I love my clients. ya. like l-o-v-e cheesy song love. And because I love them... I give them things. Besides offering to them my remarkable and oh-so-fabulous photo skills (please note the sarcasm, I'm not half as great as the people I admire)... I give them the very things I enjoy. What can I say... I enjoy sharing the things that make me happy, because I hope that they'll make them happy, too.

When on the quest to come up with a gift for my clients, I tried at first to think of things that were beyond amazing... for instance, a Tempur-Pedic bed. However, sadly I'm unable to buy one for myself, much less give one away. So I looked smaller, and I looked around. I finally landed on the things that I use and love each and every day...because I'm all about the 'every-day pleasures'. They are what get us through.

Here are some pictures of the gift that each one of my amazing clients gets. Depending on the personality and likes of the clients there may be a few other things in there too (Wine, coffee, tickets, potato chips, a card deck). 

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French Roast, French Kiss

Todays French Roast is going to:

Atlanta Weather.

Snow today, Chacos tomorrow. Atlanta weather is crampin' my style. Seriously, how am I supposed to enjoy Target's new line of bathing suits and dresses when I can't tell what season it's going to be for the next week? I love you Atlanta, but lately you've been pretty sucky.

Atlanta, à la fin!!!

Today's French Kiss goes to:

Millionaire Matchmaker

I love love love this show. And while we're at it... I might as well kiss Comcast, too, for providing this entertainment via OnDemand. I kind of wish I had a Patty around while I'm socializing to tell me 'yes, no, please don't wear that'. True at times she can be slightly abrasive, and probably definitely wrong, but her show makes for some solid entertainment... and feels much classier than some of the other shows I watch (and will never admit).

Je n'ai pas honte.

Today I'm Thankful for...

Hey remember when I said I am trying to establish a firmer spirit of thankfulness? Well here's me keepin' on keepin' on!

Today I am thankful for.... the auto-brew on my lover, Mr. Coffee. In all seriousness...it's such a delight to be wrapped in my layers of down feathers in the morning and be woken up by the gurgle of the pot and the smell of the beans. Love, true love. It's as if the coffee was welcoming me into the day... saying "Good morning, gorgeous. lets do this!"Because in my mind, my coffee has a personality. And thinks I'm gorgeous (I just came to the realization that my coffee may be the only one who ever thinks I'm gorgeous that early in the morning. Hmm).

It's the little things that get me, every time. So thank you Mr or Mrs. genius inventor who decided that coffee pots need alarms, too. I owe my morning happiness and the day's sanity to you.

This is what I had this morning. Hellloooo wide-awake!

Growing Older

Relationships change as we grow older. You can't stop it. They just do. At some point we stop choosing our friends based on who the 'coolest' and 'most attractive' people are, and choose them instead based on how interesting they are and how good you feel when you are around them (and if they happen to be cool, good looking, interesting, and make you feel good...well then that's a jackpot friend and you should keep them around no matter what).

Our relationships with our parents change, too. We go from viewing them as an evil-force-out-to-thwart-all-of-our-best-plans to viewing them as a meal-ticket to viewing them (hopefully) as friendly-books-of-wisdom (that provide meal tickets when you visit, of course). 

I'm excited to be in a new place with my parents...I'm in the 'friendly-book-of-wisdome' stage. I enjoy hanging out with them, and actually apply what they tell me. 

This week I want to celebrate my relationship with my mom, which has grown tremendously over the past 3 years. On thursday I am taking her to a fancy-shmancy salon to get her hair did, and we will talk and giggle... and she will tell me I shouldn't leave candles burning, and make sure that I know how much my car insurance is every 6 months. But most of all we will enjoy our relationship, and how it's changed. Because we're older.

This is my mom at Christmas, holding our pomeranian, Elvis...who is pissed off at the Santa outfit she put on him.