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Someone To Come Home To

04.12.11 5 comments

 

“Dogs wait for us faithfully.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Our hound dog Gretchen has a very specific routine. Her days revolve around when she will get her next meal or treat. If we’re not up by 7:45 to feed her breakfast, she’ll howl at the bedroom door until we DO get up. Then she runs downstairs and prances anxiously around the living room until we follow her, nudging our legs toward the back door in the kitchen, where her food is. She used to eat twice a day, like most dogs, until she started the very irritating habit of begging for dinner at 2:00 pm. Powerless against those big sad hound eyes of hers, we gave in and began giving her mid-day snacks. Yep, she pretty much has us whipped.

But no matter how many times she makes us want to scream, no matter how many times she chews something up or knocks something over or gets something dirty, it’s all worth it when we come home and see her watching and waiting at the window for us. Every day, like clockwork, she has her dinner and then sits at the window, resting her chin on the ledge, anxiously looking for Jamie to get home from work. As soon as his car pulls in, she starts wagging her tail like crazy, and then runs over to the door. When he opens it, she pretty much wrestles him to the ground, giving him kisses and hugs, acting like she hasn’t seen him in years. No matter how bad your day has been, it’s impossible to stay upset when you get that kind of greeting.

Gretchie, we love you.

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Anna Hedges - Oh.my.heavens. what a saweet little babydoll!!!!! :) I love animals. Our cats always run to the door when they hear Joel pull up to the house with his ridiculously loud music. It’s quite precious.

Melissa M - Awww, dogs are the best! Gretchen looks like real sweetie pie! Sometime this summer when I’m home for break we have to get together and let Lucy and Lola meet her!

Debbie - I love my sweet granddoggy! See you in a few weeks Gretch! Love, Granny!!!!

Amy Mezzell - She’s so beautiful! We have twins. If Gretchen needs a playdate, let me know! Choxie watches for Brian to get home and does the same routine except, lately, she’s been getting so excited that she runs out the back door when he’s about to come in the front door! It’s pretty counterproductive, but it sure is cute. She just has to run it out!

Jojo - I JUST LOVE HER! And know exactly what your talking about =)

Allison and Jonathan Get Married

04.07.11 4 comments

A few weeks ago, I hopped in the car with my friend Kelly and headed down to Mobile with her to second shoot a fabulously, quintessentially Southern wedding. I’m not exaggerating. From the chicken salad croissants and Moon Pies that Allison and her family and bridesmaids shared with us for lunch in the hotel room to the gorgeous sprawling plantation with weeping willows to the classic color palette of navy and cream to the buffet dinner of shrimp and grits to the Roll Tide Roll version of “Sweet Home Alabama” to the Krispy Kreme donuts delivered at the end of the night… Yeah, it was pretty perfect! Allison and Jonathan were incredibly sweet, and it was definitely an honor to be there at Kelly’s side to photograph their big day. Be sure to go to Kelly’s blog to read her post, and to get all the details about vendors and such, but for now, here’s what I saw through my lens. Enjoy!

I had never been to Mobile before, and I have to admit that it was nothing like I expected. It very much felt like a mix of Charleston’s naval, beachy feel and New Orleans’s French historic character. In fact, Mardi Gras actually originated in Mobile. Who’d’ve guessed?

You better believe my heart skipped a beat when Allison pulled out a Kate Spade shoebox…

One of my favorite moments of the day: Jonathan dancing with all his grandmothers. It was so cute and hilarious, and I might have gotten a little choked up watching the moment unfold. :)

Nothing like a little restroom self-portrait to end the evening.

 

Big thanks to Kelly for inviting me along, and to Allison and Jonathan and all of their guests for making us feel so welcome. I had a blast!

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carly - You make me miss the South. I thought that was impossible…

Heather Durham - The photo of the bride and the baby in the window is priceless! Great capture!

melissa m - your photos always make me feel like i was there! i love all of the images!!! what a beautifully classic southern wedding!

Brian Anderson - I have to get a copy of the photo of me with the cigar! How is this attainable??

Stuff I Love: Kate Spade and Cheap Specs

04.05.11 2 comments

It’s no secret that I am in love with the genius of Kate Spade. Whenever a bride breaks out a pair of show-stopping Kate Spade heels on her wedding day, I literally squeal with delight. (Remember those sparkly gold beauties that Sarah wore?) I just adore everything about her brand. Color, fun, whimsy, class… it’s the total package. And speaking of packages, her signature brightly-colored boxes with ribbons make all of her products extra special. One day, when I’m making oodles of money, I would love to have a closet filled with all things Kate Spade.

So when I read the announcement on Sunday that they had launched a wedding line, I was puh-retttty dang excited. Don’t get me wrong- I love J. Crew’s line and Anthropologie’s line BHLDN, but THIS? This takes the (wedding) cake! I seriously want to get married again just to wear every single one of these dresses. Granted, I am 100% a short dress girl (my own wedding dress was short, and back in 2008 nobody made them so my mom ended up sewing mine, which of course is way more meaningful to me, so it worked out just fine!). But I realize that not every girl is, so what if you bought one of these as a reception dress or a getaway dress? I also think it would be perfect for an afternoon courthouse ceremony or a morning wedding in a garden, or for a bridal shower or cocktail hour with your bridesmaids. And with those colored tights? YES PLEASE! Anyway, you’ll just have to go check it out for yourself!

 

And now we go from high-end to low-priced with one of my favorite resources. Jamie and I get asked all the time about where we got our glasses. And then they nearly fall over in shock when we tell them we got them for less than $10 online (prescription included!). The secret? Zenni Optical. The beauty of this site is they have a TON of really stylish frames, and most of them are in the $7-$15 range. CRAZY, HUH? This suits us perfectly, because Jamie has a pretty rough track record of breaking and/or losing glasses and sunglasses, and I tend to change my mind about things pretty easily. I know you’re thinking that it would be impossible to choose glasses without trying them on, but there are a few pretty cool features on the site that help you find the perfect fit. They now have a photo uploader where you can see what the glasses look like on your face, and they also have you take pretty specific measurements of your eyes in order to size the glasses just right. Besides, even if you buy three pairs and only one works, you’re STILL spending less money than you would on one pair at the eye doctor’s office. As far as quality goes, we’ve both had ours for almost a year now, and no complaints!

Hope you enjoyed this edition of Stuff I Love, and maybe even found a new thing or two to love yourself! Have a happy Tuesday!

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Kelly Cummings - I need to get some glasses. You’ll have to come help me pick some out. V. important business.

Kimber - First of all, I LOVE KATE SPADE. I’m so happy she’s done this. I had my eye on one of her other dresses for our e-session with you…but now I’m thinking about rehearsal dinner dress/going on the honeymoon dress from the bridal collection! That “mrs” necklace is amazing!

Secondly, I need more glasses…some if I sit on them or they fall off the boat…it’s okay and I don’t lose a car payment!

Thanks!