Weekend Ramblings...

The weekend is here! The sis is out of town - for once getting to go on a vacation on her own to Florida! So, in an effort to A) make sure my nephew is properly taken care of in his fathers care, hahah and B) give the nephew and BIL a break from each other, tomorrow I'm picking up Short Stuff to go do some stuff. Not surprisingly, he picked a movie to go see. Surprisingly, he picked a movie from the $2.00 theater and lunch beforehand. What's that, a trip to the movies where Aunt Nicole isn't paying $70+ for everything he wants? Score!

The rest of my weekend will be spent editing, making a few things for myself, and.....planning some trips. Because lets face it, traveling is my life.

So this is what I'm considering now. There's this AMAZING new Con in April in Paris. (And sweet Jesus, it's at a Disneyland Hotel. Is there EVER a con that's screamed my name more??!) And I saw it and toyed with the idea, thinking "Let me see what cast members they get first". But then some of my friends decided they are going, and I should go and we can all have a blast in Paris together.

And what can I say, I'm slowly giving into peer pressure ;-) This week I started looking into it more...and then the official "Paris" pinterest board was created. I guess I'm considering this more seriously than I thought! 

But for now, Paris planning has to wait, because a 12 year old boy is waiting on me to take him to see the Muppets! 

Happy weekend!

5 on Friday time...

Not sure how Friday crept up so quickly - although two days ago I was whining about how long it was taking to get here. I've got my vacation itch, and I just need time to fly by!

It's that time again...

one.

I am still compleeeeeetely bitter about my Once Upon a Time finale, as most of my friends know. Whyyyy must they make it so hard for my faves? And why must they make me want to punch Emma in the face on a regular basis?  Oh how the ending looked oh so happy for a brief shining moment...

I'll let my bitterness subside since two weeks from now, we meet those two (and of course by those two, I mean Lana and Sean)! Hooray for being a nerd, it means I love the shows that do all the good conventions! ;) 

two.

speaking of my shows, I was also totally gutted by Grey's Anatomy this week, but in a much better way. I couldn't have come up with a better send off to Cristina than that, and I ugly cried the entire last 20 minutes. Shonda Rhimes is such a genius. Cristina's "Don't let what he wants eclipse what you need. He's very dreamy but he's not the sun. You are." speech to Meredith was one of my favorite things she's ever said on the show. (And I burst into tears when they had to dance it out once last time!) I was a little sad she didn't have more of a goodbye with Owen, but....it was super fabulous to have an actual Farewell show without her dying! 

three.

the shopaholic in me isn't sure this is a great thing, but Middle TN is now about to have TWO H&M's! which will mean there's one 5 minutes from my house and one 5 minutes from my house. Is my paycheck prepared for this!? 

four.

a week from today we leave for the beach, so the book nerd in me started picking up a couple books I wanted to read while lounging on the beach...this year I really wanted something funny, so one of the books I picked up was "Dear Girls Above Me",  written from a guy's perspective when two ditzy girls moved into the apartment above him. 

five.

tomorrow is laundry day & crashing at my sisters for the night to hang out, which means tonight's my last weekend night at home trying to get stuff together. therefore...

Happy weekend! 

Deep breath...

I don't know how time has flown by & May has crept up on me like this.

In two weeks, it's the annual girls weekend at the beach with the bestie...where the long weekend will be spent staring at this:

(with bottles of wine in hand, of course. Here's to us being the obnoxious ones doing our Tammy and Loretta sing alongs!) This year we changed it from Pensacola Beach to Orange Beach, AL. PB has quite the...interesting...festival going on every Memorial Day Weekend, which also meant it was a hot mess getting anywhere in the town last year! 

We haul back to GA after the beach so Rita can go do a half day at work Tuesday....and then we're off to Knoxville so we can go see this concert:

I haven't seen Dolly in a few years, so I'm super excited -- and Rita hasn't ever seen a full Dolly show! So, our road trip playlist will be heavily on the Dolly side this year. Maybe our beach sing along will change this year? 

And then I get to haul ass home -- so I can re-pack and catch my flight to Orlando! 3 weeks away is Spooky Empire....where we'll finally get to meet these two:

There's other folks from Once Upon a Time there we might check out - probably at our VIP party - but our priority lies with these two. And of course, since the voice of Ursula is going to be there, I'd be super bummed if I didn't get to see her! 

I have two weeks to get ready. I have zero idea what I'm wearing to anything - which is soooo unusual for me. I do, however, have important priorities together - I have my nail polish picked out! 

Weekend Shenanigans...

I’m not sure how Monday rolled around again so quickly, but I am not a fan.  However, my Scandal finale is this week, so alas…I will suck it up and hope the week flies by.  (Priorities people, priorities.)

I’d say it was a really busy weekend, but it also was a great weekend with some down time. Highly unusual for me to get a mix of both! The niece decided she wanted to spend the night on Friday, (which really translated into “I want to show Aunt Nicole I can drive to her house by myself now! Also, I want to drive her everywhere!”) so we went out to dinner and did a little shopping and then retreated back to the house for a night of nail painting, movies & gossiping. It was a great night with her, and it was fabulous to have her show up in the driveway and not have to go get her!  The licensed teenager might make me a nervous wreck, but this is going to come in handy, that’s for sure. (And now she has a job interview Tuesday, so not only a licensed driver, but maybe soon an employed one! My girl is growing up!)

Much of the rest of the weekend was filled with sessions – but I managed to fit some time in at the Stables! Oh how I love the Stables at Cedars of Lebanon – I just wish they were closer! I suppose this is a sign  I should look into Stables that are actually in Nashville to let me go riding a little more often.  It was sure a gorgeous day to go riding though. I did NOT want to leave. This time I rode Zeuss, who is just breathtaking!

Could I ask for a more beautiful view? On such a beautiful day. THIS view is why I didn't want to leave. Love!

The best part about riding at the park is the random areas you can actually ride...which lead to you inevitably coming across these signs:

Can't think of a better way to have spent Sunday! 

"None of your business" category...

It's been a "lets dodge tornados!" kind of night in Nashville. Which basically translates into Nicole spent an hour in her closet tonight painting her nails to the glow of an iPad because the power was out while sipping on vodka watching "Scandal" while the sirens went off. Just another night in the south....

So, in todays ramblings....

On Facebook recently,  I saw a status from a friend that said she was going to post a gross pregnancy fact for the rest of the duration of her pregnancy just to piss off her “self-absorbed child-hating hipster friends”. (and every bit of that is verbatim) In more comments, she connected “child-less” people with “self-absorbed child-hating” people, and was extremely agitated that anyone that “could bear children would choose not to”, asking me 20 questions about if I could have kids, why wouldn't I want to have them, and every thing under the sun you can imagine. She concluded it with “Let the un-friending begin!” Um, no problem, I'm gonna help you out with that. 

Look: I love babies and kids. I wasn’t a Nanny & a Preschool Teacher previously for no reason – I LOVED every moment with those babies. I’m great with kids. And to this day, I still see some of those kids I had in my class, I love seeing them grow up.  But real talk here: I’ve been SUPER adamant for YEARS about not wanting children. I love my friends kids. I love my niece & nephew more than life itself. But I do not need, nor do I want, my own kids. Contrary to what folks think- women are not obligated to have children.

Also, when the hell did it become okay to ask women about their reproductive system? I mean, am I supposed to be flattered that you spend so much time caring what I do with my body? I don’t know when manners flew completely out the window, but this stuff is not cool. The fact is: I don’t want kids because I don’t want them & the fact that anyone thinks I owe them an explanation is mind-boggling. And then there’s the “OHH you’re going to change your mind. Just you wait, you’ll change your mind!”. Actually, no I won’t, but thanks for putting your nose into business that doesn’t concern you! 

 

Less Skank, please...

My big success this week was I fit in my Derby dress! You know, the Michelle Pfeiffer dress I've been pretty obsessed with for awhile & finally found....and purposely bought a few sizes smaller. The problem?

It's ridiculously short.  I mean seriously, it's freaking short.

I know some girls enjoy dressing like skanks, but I'm not one of them.  Pretty sure I'm not alone in this.

It doesn't help that I'm tall, definitely. The dress I bought honestly didn't look super short, so maybe on someone a little shorter than I am can pull it off beautifully. But I know it's not just tall girl problems..... a LOT of dresses today are made insanely short. Not that I'm looking for a casual summer dress, I need a little dressy dress for the derby, but I get that when it's 100 degrees outside, a dress is a super simple & cooler solution than jeans or something.  But believe it or not, you actually DO have to put something on that has a little bit more material to it if you intend on wearing it, you know...anywhere. And girls of all ages wear it - and I loathe the message it sends to young girls.

I spotted this at H&M when I was shopping there the other day. I usually love some of the designers at their store, but...this was a major fail.

Are you kidding me right now? WHEN DID DRESSES BECOME SO SLUTTY LOOKING?! Newsflash ladies: your ass should not be hanging out of your dress.

Please tell me that's a beach cover up, even though it's being marketed as a dress at another store. Because I have towels bigger than that. 

And don't give me the whole clubbing or party dresses "needing to be short", because guess what?

Carrie, Samantha, Miranda & Charlotte proved you wrong. Call me old fashioned, but I think I'll stick with my classy dresses - that my ass DOESN'T hang out of. 

Ouch!

Sigh. Today wasn't the day I wanted it to be.  How did I spend my afternoon?

Getting another injection, thats how. My knee and I are officially no longer friends. Also, could these shots be any bigger? (Don't answer that) Injections in the knee are no freaking joke, my friends. 

The good news is I got the shot to help with pain & inflammation. The bad news is my knee is flaring up because of the training I've been doing for my marathon. (I guess I should have started out more with brisk walking or jogging and not quite so fiercely running!)  I can't actually complain - the whole reason my knee is injured to begin with is because of my clumsiness. It turns out you actually SHOULD NOT stand on a tall chair with wheels to hang up a photo canvas on the wall. When you come crashing down and land knee first into a hardwood floor, it's not going to end well.

If I continue to have flare-ups, we will be looking at surgery later in the year. And let's not lie- the thought of knee surgery totally freaks me out & I will do whatever it takes to stay away from it! Which might mean NOT running in the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. We'll see. I will be so incredibly disappointed. Sigh.

However, when I came home, this gem was waiting on the front porch for me!

Kelly Moore made this a seriously quick exchange - I shipped back the other bag at the end of last week & I had my new Mimi before even a week went by. Review coming soon for my photographer nerds, but I'm going to say - this bag really DOES function well as an every day bag with or without the camera gear!  I carried my B-Hobo for a year - hope Mimi lasts that long too!

Now it's wine time - after the day I've had, I think I've earned it!

It's that time of year again....

Being the movie/TV nerd I am, I loooove Golden Globes time! So yes, we DID have a mini-party at my place last night to watch the show. (We may have just used the Golden Globes as an excuse to get together and drink wine, though.) I was striking out left and right  – NONE of my people were winning! My only prediction that won was Best Drama – 12 Years a Slave. I cannot even begin to stress how great this movie was. There were some scenes in the movie that were difficult to watch, but so overwhelmingly powerful --- it deserved its win.

A few ramblings from the show:

1. Because of what a powerful, moving film 12 Years a Slave was - I was SHOCKED to see Chiwetel Ejiofor & Lupita Nyong’o  weren’t the winners in their categories. American Hustle was a good movie, but it definitely wasn’t on the level as 12 Years.  I know I cry easy at movies, but….when grown men start sobbing in the theater, you KNOW it’s a good movie.

2. Seriously? Kerry Washington ignored again? Have you voters WATCHED SCANDAL!?

3. I would marry Johnny Depp at 4:00 tomorrow…..if he washes that blonde out of his hair.  What the fresh hell is this? I know it’s for a film, but….no Johnny Depp. No.

 

 4. Cate Blanchett’s Armani dress was to die for. I wasn’t overly crazy about the back of it, but the head to toe lace was absolutely gorgeous.

 

5. Chris Pine. Sigh. He gets hotter every day.

6. The greatest part of the night is summed up in two words: Emma Thompson. There are few people who can get away with A) Walking out barefoot with Louboutins in one hand & a Martini in the other. B)Tossing said Louboutins behind her back C) Shutting you up when you applaud her entrance. Emma Thompson is one of those people.

7. And finally, even without presenting, Meryl Streep is STILL the Queen. 

The woes of a female photographer....

Why is purse shopping so ridiculously hard? This was no big deal before I became a photographer. I had a purse addiction, they filled my closet, and I was certain they were the reason of my happiness.

And then I went a little deeper into photography world and thought "Hey, I can't be without my camera EVER!", and carried my handy dandy DSLR everywhere I went.  I've been known to slam on the brakes & pull over to take a picture -- I've gotta have more than just my iPhone on me! And when I entered the whole "adult world" and had to start paying for all my own stuff, reality hit real quick that carrying in my purse wasn't the greatest idea.

Enter the world of camera purses. I did so much research on them and was so incredibly specific on what I wanted. There are SO many out there that are massive, and those come in handy for shooting weddings. But I needed something that fit and protected one camera body (with a lens attached), one small additional lens - and one flash. I don't always carry a flash, but I wanted the space for it -- and then my every day stuff -- wallet, sunglasses & case, compact, lip gloss, keys, etc. This way I could carry my camera every day, and I could even take it to a portrait session without having to swap bags. All this, and I needed it to be super cute.

My first was the Lola from Epiphanie Bags:

Gorgeous, and I loved it at first - but the angle of the top made it slightly difficult to get the camera out. I overlooked this, until the purse started showing a lot of wear and tear -- not even a year after purchase. (The same problem I had with what I bought after it, from Jo Totes. Cute bags, but my Jo Tote started coming apart less than 4 months after purchase.)

I sold it and eventually moved onto the world of Kelly Moore - who is AMAZING. I love love love her bags! My first KM was the B-Hobo. I LOVE my B-Hobo.  It's a great feel, fits how I need to stuff to -- and after TWO years of use, it's just now starting to show some wear! 

Anyway, I decided I wanted something different & ordered the Posey 2 from Kelly Moore this week. It arrived today, and....I wasn't as in love as I thought I'd be! I was able to fit in the basics using two dividers (as shown in this crappy photo below --- too much effort to dig out my 2nd body for one quick pic!):

That fit one body with a 50mm attached, an SB 600 & in the middle I was able to put in a medium size lens & my sunglasses. I was able to fit my coin purse, lip gloss, phone, hand sanitizer in an outer pocket. But pulling the body with the 50mm attached was difficult, and I didn't like the way it fell when I had the strap attached to the sides. I was contemplating keeping the bag and using it for super light days, when I don't need my flash -- but I REALLY want that space to take my flash if I need it....so I emailed Kelly Moore tonight to exchange for the Mimi.

I've secretly been in love with the Mimi for awhile, but was concerned she was too big for every day use -- she's a little wider than the B-Hobo and the Posey 2. But after 2.5 hours of review reading -- I think this one will work perfect. Fingers crossed she's my perfect bag!

Are there any other bag designers worth checking out, photogs? I don't know that I'll carry anything other than Kelly now -- but I'm all about looking for new bags!

life is made up of moments....

I feel like I say this every year: It is SO incredibly easy to have photographer burnout every  Christmas season. This year might be the absolute worst I've had it.  I've been so bombarded with client work. The past few weeks I took a nice little break, and now I'm absolutely swimming in client orders. And it seems like Christmas makes so many people go....crazy, some of the calls & emails I've gotten recently have made me literally want to tear my hair out.

This week in particular, I dealt with a few less than pleasant folks & literally wanted to walk outside and start screaming. It's moments like this that make me not enjoy what I do -- and THAT is the worst feeling in the world. And I don't think I've ever felt it as strongly as I did this week.  Every year I say I'm going to make changes the following year so it doesn't happen again, but I've never meant it as much as I did today! (and I really am going to start shooting more for "me" next year!)

Thankfully, one of my very favorite clients text me shortly thereafter to schedule her gender reveal session. It couldn't have come at a better time. I shot this sweet couple's engagement photos, their wedding, anniversary, and now the fun of having their first child. Every big moment in their lives --- she's turned to me to capture it. And THAT reminded me of why I love doing what I do.

I hate to go full nerd on everyone and quote my show, but on Once Upon a Time this week, Charming & Snow both used the line about "Life is made up of moments, good ones, bad ones, but they're all worth living." and I absolutely loved it, because it's so true - and I live for capturing those moments. And with that....favorite shots from this year that I took for ME, that renewed my love for being behind the lens - for every moment, big or small. Images I can look at and immediately be back in the exact incredible moment I was in when I took it.

It's no secret P was a huge inspiration in everything I wanted to do. I discovered my love of design from starting the website, and I learned my love for photography from all the shooting I did at shows. I am convinced my absolute best work happens when I'm taking pictures of her- maybe it has something to do with having spent so much of my life at her concerts.  I love this picture, especially since I'm so obsessed with black & white. 

This one time, for my 30th birthday, the bestie & I went to see Merle Haggard & Loretta Lynn in the same weekend. Most amazing weekend ever. And the moment I look at this picture, I'm taken back to moments like us singing along to "Mama Tried"....you know, with Merle-freaking-Haggard standing in front of us. (PS: I really really really love Merle Haggard) 

I love my babies more than life itself. And how grossed out Kadin is that I asked his sisters to kiss his cheek (yet he can't stop laughing about it!) makes me smile every time I look at this. 

I love baby toes. There's nothing happier than baby toes. Especially when they belong to one of my new baby cousins that is one of the happiest, sweetest babies I've ever seen in my life. 

My 4th of July was full of Bourbon, in my beloved Lexington, with my bestie. What better way to celebrate Independence Day than doing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail? This helps sum up my entire year--- usually on the road with my bestie & Chris.

My nephew, ever the inquisitive one since Granny passed away, asked me out of the blue in the car one day what I thought angels might sound like, and without a single thought, "Emmylou Harris" is what came out of my mouth. I'm pretty sure I'm right.

The bestie & I saw Don Williams(!!!) this year - an artist that was on my "Concert Bucket List"! I completely fan-girled when I heard "Lord I Hope This Day is Good" live. Hello, one of the greatest songs ever written.

This is just one of my favorites.  As I mentioned, Liz Lamoreux's blog of Capturing Where I Stand inspired me to start shooting where I stood. Standing toe to toe with Johnny Cash's boots might be one of the highlights of my year. And capturing where I stand will be prominent in my 2014.

Mango Margaritas on the beach. Because is there a better way to spend Memorial Day weekend than in Pensacola with your best friend, drinking while having an epic Loretta Lynn sing-a-long on the beach? 

And a client shot that was one of my faves from the year --- from the aforementioned client who helped put some things in perspective!

I'm glad 2013 is almost over...my camera is going to stay busy! So many trips & concerts in the works...(unless P decides to do a few shows. Then it's "cancel all things!!!" and go see P!) I think I might be away even more next year than I was this year! (How is that possible!?) Here's to 2014! 

Closet Revamp....

As some of you know, Michelle Pfeiffer is my style icon. I'm a little obsessed with everything she wears. I mean I've only talked about her blue dress about a million times -- before I finally found a replica and bought it (and will wear it to the Derby next year!!). I could only find it two sizes smaller than what I was wearing at the time and bought it, telling myself I would MAKE myself fit it in it. And voila! It fits me now ;)  There's pretty much nothing she wears that I don't fall in love with and instantly pout over not having it. (Should I actually admit this includes some of the stuff she wore in Grease 2?)

So I spotted this dress....and it reminded me SO much of this other dress of hers! So, this was my splurge outfit for the week. Love Love Love this dress!

I'm totally on the prowl for a few more of her dresses I'm convinced I can't live without. Like THIS Alexander McQueen:

Is that not completely gorgeous? And of course it's no longer in stock or being carried by Neiman Marcus, so I have to do some serious digging to find this one. At least it's one that I'd totally wear more than one place. 

I just got home from a long weekend in Georgia & Kentucky -- yes, I know, I'm never home!  The bestie and I had a blast, and trekked up to Kentucky to see Don Williams. What a freaking show -- more on that later. This girl is tired!