Do you do anything special to celebrate the change of seasons?

This afternoon: sorting 2012 wedding pictures to submit to publications, designing a wedding album, and watching reruns of The West Wing. And drinking more coffee.

Tonight: a triple date with boyfriend and two married couples, all really good friends.

This is what a weekend in my “off season” looks like. Grateful for these weekends. I never, ever want to take these moments for granted.

Anyway… I’m camped out at my desk today amidst piles and piles of receipts and bank statements and bits of paperwork, trying to get tax info prepped for my accountant. I’m still fighting some sort of sinus/cold thing (going on three weeks. ugh.), so I have a large glass of orange juice sitting next to my coffee, sitting next to my box of Advil. I can’t decide if I’m excited for Spring’s warmer weather, or dreading the advent of allergy season, so today I decided to just enjoy today— overcast skies, slushy ground, tax prep, all of it. Every day is a gift given from the hand of a kind, wise God, so I shouldn’t complain about it, even if it’s not what I would’ve scripted for myself.

And really… even slushy ground looks amazing with this building in the background, doesn’t it??

Oh, hey! Guess what?? We have a winner from last week’s contest! Congrats to Rachel Greene! A happy box is on your way.

To everyone else who entered, thank you so much!!!!! And keep your eyes & ears open for more contests over the next couple of months. I have some exciting, fun things up my sleeve.

Truly, there are no words to express my immense gratitude. THANK YOU!!!!!!! is all I can muster. So in an attempt to show you how grateful I am for so many years of love and support from so many of you..

( drum roll )

A give-away!!!

And what better to give to some of my favorite people than some of my favorite things?? I’ve assembled a few things together in a lovely package for one of you. Follow the instructions below to enter. But first, a peek at what’s in the box:First, my favorite perfume. I found this at Anthropologie about a year ago, and absolutely love it. It comes in the standard-size bottle, but also in these darling little miniature sizes. I keep the mini one around, since it’s small enough to keep in a purse or to take in carry-on luggage. And the bottle is just so pretty!!!

A box of French macarons from The Sweet Lobby. Seriously, folks, these are heaven in your mouth!!!!  Best macarons I’ve ever tasted. EVER. 
Burt’s Bees chapstick (because it’s the time of year when lips tend to dry out), and an egg timer (because The Pomodoro Technique has become the key to a healthy work-life balance for me! thank you Bobbi Sheridan for introducing it to me!). My favorite Starbucks beans, and little notebooks from Riffle Paper Co. 
Enter to win here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I keep seeing posts from my fellow photographers, something about “post-wedding dinner to celebrate last wedding of the year!” or “aaaaand that’s a wrap! it’s been a good year, folks!” I have some friends who ended their wedding season in October. Me? I still have a few left to go before I can say, “2012 was a good year.” Am I saving the best for last? Gosh, you can’t ask me to pick my best or favorite weddings. It’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. I love them alllllll! I will say, though, that there are a few wedding-related things in December that I’m really looking forward to. One would be shooting a wedding for some very, very dear friends. The other is attending a wedding for some other very, very dear friends. (Y’all, I’m already practicing my Gangnam Style. True story).

Today, though, I feel like a lost puppy. I have no wedding to shoot, no portrait session to shoot, no roommate at home, and no set plans!!!! It’s like someone just handed me an entire day, wrapped up in

glittery paper and tied with a bow, and said, “Here you are. Free time. Enjoy it.” WHAT ON EARTH WILL I DO WITH MYSELF??!?

Oh, don’t worry— I have a list.

Here’s to sweet weekends, and brief stretches of time to catch ones’ breath in the midst of a crazy life. I hope your weekend is as pleasant as mine is sure to be.

Today I’m grateful for:

• Time with friends & family
• Days off, all together in the kitchen, making really good food to eat together
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade!
• Great-grandma’s china, and our yearly tradition of using it for Thanksgiving
• Family traditions in general
• Sweet Potato Casserole (not the kind with marshmallows on top. gross.)
• My sweet nephew, who should be here by Christmas!!!
• That I have been given grace upon grace, and blessings far beyond what I deserve
• Pumpkin cheesecake & black coffee
• Hugs from my siblings
• My job— that I get to photograph weddings for a living!!
• Seat warmers in my car (because I get so cold all the time!)
• My church, and the multitude of sweet friendships that I have there
• Instagram (I mean, really— who doesn’t like to see life documented in pretty pictures??!?)
• Thursday nights
• The UPS man (he delivered three boxes to me on Monday. I wanted to make him brownies, I was so happy to get them.)
• CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!

“You were dead in the trespasses and sins… following the course of this world… carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” — Eph. 2:1-7

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Tell me— what are you grateful for today?

I want to practice taking pictures more. Like, for myself. I was never one of those “always has her camera in her hands” kind of girls growing up, so it’s hard for me to discipline myself to actually take pictures of normal life. But… I need to. I really do need to.

A few years ago I started a couple of different regular “blog series” on my old blog that challenged me to take pictures on a regular basis. Pictures of my real life, of normal, every day, little things. Photographing life that way helped me cultivate an attitude of gratitude and contentment, because as I noticed the little things in life, I saw evidence of God’s grace toward me in those little things. It was a really sweet discipline for me, and I want to start doing that again.

And to share them with you all.

I’ve struggled with consistent blogging all this year. I currently have 32 shoots or sessions, all ready to post… it’s just a matter of actually posting them. It can be time-consuming, and I have so much editing to get done that sometimes it’s hard to remember to blog. But my blog is what got me started, and it was the cornerstone of my business for so long that I hate to leave off on it now.

SO… I’m trying to get started again. Trying to shoot for myself more, to slow down and savor life a bit more, and to share more of it here, with you.

Thanks for your patience!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits… who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good.” – Ps. 103

Grateful for the many expressions of steadfast love and mercy in my life. I am blessed.

It is a well-known fact that little girls love stories, and Eppie was no exception. Every night in that magic hour between dinnertime and bedtime, Eppie made her way to her father’s side, squared her chin with determination, grabbed ahold of his knees with her little-girl hands, and scrambled up into his lap to listen to his stories.

It was the same every evening, for as long as they both could remember. She loved sitting in his lap; he loved her head nestled in the crook of his arm. She loved the sound of his voice; he, her fascinated mind. She loved stories; he loved her love of stories.

“Daddy, tell me a story,” she would say. No other words could be spoken. It was as if she held the key to an entire kingdom full of treasure, and “tell me a story” was the spell needed to enter through the gate.

It was the same every evening.

Tonight was no different than any other night. Eppie made her sacred march across the well-worn living room carpet to her father’s side, climbed into his lap, and snuggled down with a quiet sigh. But before she made her usual request, she sat in silence for several minutes looking at her hands, and obviously deep in thought. Her father watched in fascination, wondering what was going through that beautifully inquisitive mind. Her brow furrowed, then relaxed as she finally raised her large blue eyes to match his equally large and wise blue eyes. She smiled as she stared up at him, ad he wondered at the question in her expression, but she spoke only those magic words:

“Daddy, tell me a story.” 

What kind of story do you want to hear tonight? 

“A good story.”

A good story? I thought all of my stories were good. 

“No, no Daddy. I mean like at good story. You know.” She spread her hands emphatically to emphasis the importance of her words. “Like a love story.”

A good story like a love story. Hmmmm… well, well, well. This is a first. Just any old love story, eh?

Eppie’s eyes grew wide with exasperation at her father’s teasing. “Daddy!”

Okay, okay. What love story do you want to hear? A princess story, like Cinderella or Beauty & the Beast? Or a real-life story, like when Daddy & Mommy got married? 

The furrow returned to Eppie’s brow as she again looked down at her hands and again raised her eyes to match her fathers’.

“No, Daddy. I want my love story.”

Her father looked at her tenderly for several minutes before he spoke again, his rich voice deepening and mellowing with emotion.

My darling, I cannot tell you a story that has yet to be written.

____________________________________________

“Abba, tell me a story.”

It is a well-known fact that big girls, like little girls, also love stories. The big-girl Eppie is no exception. Almost every day a desire wells up inside of her to know, in a similar way that the child-Eppie wanted to know the story. Words are important, as are all the elements of a good story– joy and sorrow, love and pain, victory and defeat, loss and gain; the stark contrast between the hard times and good times make the best stories. And every night in that magic hour between saying goodnight and going to sleep, she makes her way to her Father’s side, focuses her mind with determination, and looks up into her His face.

Eppie loves her Father’s arms. She loves coming to Him with boldness, knowing that Christ intercedes for her. She loves resting her weary head in the crook of His arm and resting, as the cares of the day ease away. She loves the sound of His voice, and she delights in following after His beckoning call. She loves His stories– the ones that He weaves in her life every single day.

“Abba… dearest Father…” No other name can be spoken. To Eppie these sweet, simple, childlike words mean that she doesn’t feel the need to verbalize the wonder of His many attributes to gain His approval or sound like her relationship with Him is deeper than it already is. It is the key that unlocks the gate to the kingdom garden full of the riches of His grace in her life.

It’s the same every evening.

Tonight is no different than any other night:

“Abba, tell me a story.”

What kind of story, My child?

“A good story. A true story. A love story. You know the one…”

The same one you ask to hear every night?

“Yes! That one! Oh, it’s so good. Will You please tell it tonight?!??”

Darling, you know as well as I do that it’s too early for the part of the story that you want to hear.

“But why? You don’t have to finish writing it, do You?”

Oh, no. It was finished before the foundations of the world, since before time began.

“Then why can’t You tell it to me?”

Because I want to show you your love story, and let you live. You don’t want Me to spoil the ending for you, would you?

“No. But it’s such a good story!”

But waiting until the end is part of the story.

[sigh] “It’s just so hard to wait for it.”

Yes. Waiting is always hard. But if you know Me, and you do know Me, then you know the end well enough.

_______________________________________

“And therefore the Lord earnestly waits, expecting, looking, and longing to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who earnestly wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him- for HIs victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship.” — Isaiah 30:18, Amplified Bible

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it?” — Anne of Green Gables

Happy October, friends. It’s the most-looked-forward-to month of my year, and although some Octobers find me a bit overwhelmed with work and life (nearing the end of wedding season always looks a bit like this), and nearly every October passes too quickly by, I’m fairly certain this October won’t disappoint in terms of sweetness, joy, and perfectly simple joys. It’s a month full of weddings captured & delivered, newly-enforced schedules, happy travels (both in-country and abroad!), and other joys that are a bit too personal to share quite yet.

I took part of yesterday afternoon and celebrated October by bringing Fall to our little home. Just a little glimpse.

How about you? Do you take time to record and remember sweet things in your life? How do you do that (journal, calendar, iPhone note, etc)?

This past weekend was also a “blue moon” event for me, personally. I attended a friends’ wedding— as a guest. I had a name card and table assignment. I wore a pretty silk dress and left my camera at home. I danced every single song (and I’m still nursing blisters on my feet. true story). I did photo booth pictures, twice. I got teary when the bride walked down the aisle, I laughed with friends, I stepped in front of the camera a few times… it felt strange and good at the same time. Who knows when it will happen again— just once in a “blue moon.”

Today, however, I’m enjoying sweet time with some friends, and a quiet afternoon of summer rain. Fall wedding season is about to kick into hi-gear, but I’m doing my best to bring the noise level of my life down to a quieter place. Enjoying the last bits of summer, and looking forward to a good season ahead.

Well, friends, it’s that time of year again. Americans of every age, life stage, income category, and cultural background— men and women, alike— gather around TVs, laptops, work computers, and mobile devices to watch other people compete in sports that, for the rest of the year, most of us forget even exist. “Shot put what?” Yes, shot put. And “Badminton is a sport??” Yes, and apparently a rather challenging one, at that. We take it as an evening of entertainment and relaxation (chips and bean dip? nachos? popcorn, anyone?), while these athletes and their families have dedicated their entire lives to get to this moment. Their dedication is amazing, in and of itself. Set next to the general posture I find myself in on the other side of the ocean (and other side of the television screen), it almost seems ludicrous. And all I can think is, “I really need to run more often.”

John Piper has some very helpful thoughts on how we should view the Olympic games. Enjoy. And go Team USA!

… because Tuesdays are good days for a bit of random. (inspired by Promise Tangeman).

• I was homeschooled. all the way through. and no, we didn’t do school in our PJs.
• I never did college. and most days, I don’t regret that. (kind of amazing to have no college loans to pay off right now!!!)
• if the radio’s playing, I’m probably singing. can’t help it. (and if I don’t know the words, I’ll sing harmony and pretend that I do.)
• I have six brothers and two sisters, all younger. (see pictures here for proof).
• my first real job was a receptionist at a Volkswagon dealership. still in love with good German engineering!
• my parents are my best friends. #truestory
• I can’t eat wheat or dairy. actually, I shouldn’t eat any grains at all. the Paleo diet is my best friend.
• Psych is my favorite TV show. or maybe it’s Foyle’s War… can’t decide. (soooooo different, I know. I have diverse taste).
• I drink coffee— every. single. day. I’m a sucker for a good americano (good = I can drink it black).
• I’m an obsessive list-maker. I have weekly overview lists, daily to-do lists, yearly goal lists, client contact lists, grocery lists, email lists, “just dreaming” lists… you name it, I’ve probably made it into a list at some point in my life.
• I can’t think if my desk isn’t clean.
• I’m scared of a blank white piece of paper. or a blank canvas. or a “new document” in Word, Photoshop, or InDesign. I’m much better at editing or modifying than creating from nothing.
• Myers-Briggs personality type: INFJ
• total city-girl at heart. (seriously— my heart flutters every time I drive into DC)
• die-hard bookworm, and always have been. currently in the middle of five different books, on all different topics, in all different categories.
• I’m obsessed with eBay.
• ever since getting braces at the age of 13, I haven’t been able to whistle. I’m still bitter about it.
• I don’t think of myself as a photographer, first and foremost. I love photography, but it’s not my entire life. and I think that’s a good thing.

How about you? Tell me a few random facts about yourself.

I stumbled on this picture online today (can’t find the source), and I think it properly describes how I feel— grinning my face off (because really, life is beautiful), and grimacing at the same time (because life is also a bit heavy).

Wow. I’m still absolutely wiped from this weekend’s wedding. I had three weekends off between my last wedding and this one… which is like training for a half marathon and then taking three weeks off of running before the race. Brutal. Still in recovery mode today, and taking it pretty easy. Which means my morning looks like this:

Also, I randomly stumbled upon this on a friends’ blog. It deeply appeals to my inner nerd in so many ways. This takes pop culture to a whole new level of cool, ironic, and just plain weird.

And speaking of smooth and sweet (actually this doesn’t have anything to do with smoothness or sweetness. no idea why I used that transition.)… I found this on Pinterest, and it’s had me thinking deep-ish thoughts since then.

I realized today just how often I see other photographers’ work and feel intimidated, just how often I hear of other photographers that are near me and start panicking about my business, just how often I compare myself to others people instead of focusing on working well myself. I think this saying is true, that what worries a person masters them. I’m worried about “making it” in business, so it consumes my thoughts. What should I worry about? What should master me? It would be SO much better to “worry about” not being anxious, about trusting God to provide for my needs, and then working hard & faithfully each day, doing the best I possibly can, and resting in the fact that it’s good enough.

How about you? Do you think this saying is true? What do you worry about? What “masters” you?

Last weekend my roommate and I hosted a Garden Party / celebration of all things Summer in our little backyard and alleyway. Cobblers, berries pies, peach spritzers, lemonade, corn hole, and lots of lovely conversation. The perfect way to enjoy friends and time together, in spite of the heat. We actually had a break in the heat part way through the party when an enormous storm rolled through and forced us all inside rather quickly. Trees down across our sidewalk and a brief light flickers or two, and that was the worst we had. Not so for many of our friends in Maryland and Virginia, who experienced power outages for days on end. I’m very grateful for God’s kindness to us.

And now onto the party. We requested Southern-inspired attire, if at all possible. Here you see our landlord and his wife, showing off different interpretations of “Southern Attire.”

My friend Amy, and our matching seersucker.

This is my roommate Lindsey. I know it’s blurry, and we were both a mess of hot sweat and frizzy hair by the time this picture happened, but I love it anyway.

Two more interpretations of Souther-inspired attire. Jaime, on the left, a Boston boy, choosing to embrace Southern attire for just one night. Sam is putting his own interpretation on what it means to dress like a Southerner.

PS— these delightful little Watermelon Ice Pops were made by my friend Amy using this recipe. (found on Pinterest. of course.)

Watermelon Ice Pops
(Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)