“You’ve Got Mail” in Reverse and My Return to Blogging

Hello friends! I know, I know, go ahead and say it: I’ve become the worst blogger ever. I apologize for the lack of posts recently, but I promise it’s not because I haven’t been busy and don’t have amazing shoots and weddings to share… in fact, quite the opposite! Pretty soon I’ll be sharing Brittany and Matthew‘s wedding that took me to Knoxville last weekend, as well as several fantastic weddings I’ve had the pleasure of second shooting during the down time I’ve had. (That’s the one bummer about moving a wedding photography business cross-country… I wasn’t able to book out a 2011 wedding season in Birmingham due to it taking a reasonable amount of time to get your name out there. BUT that also means I’ve made some pretty wonderful photographer friends here and have gotten to shoot with them most every weekend, which almost makes me just as happy! :) ) AND I teamed up with Stephanie of Proper Measures here in Birmingham to shoot an amazing Kate Spade-meets-Kesha rooftop bachelorette party, which I’m dying to share but we’re currently submitting to wedding blogs and have to wait a bit til we get word from them. But go ahead and get excited. ;)

And speaking of being back in Knoxville this past weekend, I got to check some items off my bucket list, which was pretty cool. Jamie and I saw the last Harry Potter movie with my brother and his girlfriend, and it was everything I hoped it would be: suspenseful, jaw-dropping, and of course, very bittersweet. I also got to see one of my biggest heroes, Dolly Parton, live for the very first time with my mom, and that was an incredible experience. She is performer like none other, and to be doing what she does at her age (and in those outfits!) blows my mind. Our favorites were “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5″ (duh), and the bluegrass set she did which included East Tennessee’s beloved “Rocky Top,” and it was fantastic. During the show, she played a grand total of nine instruments (!!!), covered some great songs (including “Help!” and “Stairway to Heaven”), and told really touching stories and adorably hilarious jokes. Oh, and she at one point wore tight red cargo capris covered in sparkly fringe. Yeah.

But back to today’s post, which I’m writing in honor of my friend Carrie Rollwagen, who you might remember as the author of the Shop Small blog and the Zooey Deschanel lookalike I photographed several months ago. She recently co-opened Church Street Coffee and Books in the space formerly occupied by Starbucks in Crestline Village. She and Cal actually both worked at that Starbucks, and when corporate decided to close it down, they saw an opportunity to do something even better. I’ve been photographing various local businesses for the Shop Small blog over the months, and when Carrie asked if I’d be interested in photographing the store’s big opening, I of course agreed. I mean, Birmingham favorite Primavera Coffee? Lots of books? Homemade baked goods? I had to check it out. So on this day, as many of us mourn the closing of the Borders bookstore chain (oh how many fond memories I have of the one in Turkey Creek in Knoxville), I want to celebrate the beginning of a locally-owned, charming, perfect-for-hanging-out shop. It’s almost like You’ve Got Mail in reverse. :)

It should come as no surprise that I’ve been tempted more than once to buy this entire collection of Penguin Hardcover Classics.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour! Again, I promise I’ve got a TON more visual goodies coming soon, but hopefully this will tide us all over for now. :)