Last week Heath and I went to Tennessee with friends. It was kind of a last minute thing but we ended up getting a crazy good deal on the cabin so we couldn't pass it up. Our cabin was log-arrific but I didn't take many pictures of it (if you want you can see pics here). What the photos from the rental place won't show is the crazy spiral staircase that went between all four floors. We were certain that someone was going to take a dive down them at some point in the trip but thankfully no one did.

Someone drove a convertible down so we took turns riding it in. Usually I'm not a fan of convertibles because of the whole sun blaring down upon me thing (fading my hair and, ugh, all those harmful rays!) but since the weather was overcast and cool (and I was wearing sunscreen) it was wonderful. 

We did spend some time in Gatlinburg and honestly, I was not a fan. Although there were some cool things (Hello! Ben&Jerry's!) for the most part I was not impressed with all the cheap, tacky, touristy crap. But hey, now I can say I've been there and I don't have to go again! 

Nights at the cabin were spent drinking, playing games, watching movies, or enjoying steak at various restaurants. My favorite meal of the trip as at Bullfish Grill. OMG, they have the most amazing bread, like, EVER. I could have eaten the whole basket but I had to make sure that I had room for my giant 9oz. fillet mignon, rare. Mmmmmm.

The fridge was literally FULL of bottles (okay, there was one shelf for food) at the beginning of the trip and although there was a lot of talk about how we were going to drink the shit out of it, well, that just didn't happen. The first night most of us were up until 4am and then spent the next few days recovering. But hey, emptying 50% of the fridge is pretty good and I don't feel bad about "being old" and not drinking a ton because everyone else on the trip was younger than me. 

On our last full day we wandered around an artist community where I scored a super-sweet mug and we discovered a nest of baby finches just hanging out on a wreath near one of the shops. Ohmygoodness, they were adorable. 

If you're wondering where Ruby was the whole time, she was at her grandparents house. This was the first time that BOTH Heath and I have been away from her together for more than a night. Thankfully though, our goal of raising an independent child seems to be working. We didn't receive a single phone call because she was crying or missing us. She was quite content to be where she was. She was happy to see us when we picked her up, but only for a second-the ducks at Jacobson Park were much more exciting than us. 

Greetings from Tennessee! Heath and I (along with several of his co-workers and their wives) rolled into Pigeon Forge late on Thursday and have been chillin' in our super sweet cabin up in the mountains. The weather has been pretty nice, for the most part cool, with only a little bit of rain. We've golfed, drank, ate steak, shopped, played pool, ate more steak, and more. We're out of here on Monday so more pics after we get back!

Most of the time, like 90% of the time, I am not at all mushy about motherhood. You're more likely to see a post recapping Ruby's latest diaper-removing stunt or a picture of her throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the store than a post about how I think motherhood is the most amazing thing ever. But damn if it isn't tempting, when I come home from a photo shoot to this beautiful girl waiting for me by the window. I love her so friggin' much. 

Yesterday I came home from work and upon opening the door heard Ivan meowling like crazy. I'd assumed that he'd gotten locked in the bedroom but when I went to inspect there was no kitty to be found. I followed the sounds of distress to our kitchen where I discovered this: 

Ivan was stuck out on the ledge outside the window! Apparently he went through the screen of the window to the right. Usually the screen will get knocked out and I'll have to retrieve it off of the driveway but this time it didn't so he got stuck out there! Crazy nut. Although I am sure he was terrified I am glad that it was a two-story drop, otherwise he probably would have run away! 

During my pregnancy I was not keen on any, like any, photos being taken during any part of the birthing process. Thankfully though, my doula snapped a few in the moments right before and immediately following Ruby's birth. Somehow, a chunk of the photos were deleted from the SD card before I had the chance to copy them to the computer. I had the horribly unflattering photos of me pushing and screaming my head off but none of the photos afterwards. 

Fast forward almost 2.5 years later and I just now recovered the files from the card. Thankfully I was able to recover all of them and they are now backed up and then backed up again. So here are a few photos from about 15 minutes after Ruby was born. 

As is typical in life there have been some WINS and FAILS lately. We'll get those pesky fails out of the way first. 

FAIL
1. Emerging Artist award application REJECTED. Oops. Apparently I either missed an entire section of the requirements completely or I read them over and over so many times in order to not mess something up, therefore of course,  I messed something up. Oh well. I'll apply the next time in 2015. 
2. St. James Court art show NOT INVITED. Honestly, I wasn't all that upset about this. SJ's is a massive art fair and I think I would have been a bit over my head especially since this is my first year. Still, I was curious about what the judges thought so I emailed and asked for feedback:

Juror 1:  5/7 
Juror 2:  5/7
Juror 3: Does not meet show standards., 2/7 
Juror 4: Limited appeal. Repetitive., 1/7 
Juror 5: Craft Fair material, 3/7 

Well, at least jurors 1 and 2 liked me! The others, well, I'd like to know a little more details on their thoughts but sometimes you'll just never know. Moving on. 


WINS
1. That piece that I got into Less is More: Small Works in a Great Space in Annapolis, Maryland.
2. I was invited to participate in the Woodland Art Fair, a fair much closer and dearer to my heart. It's also closer to home. Win! I would have been much more upset if I hadn't gotten into Woodland. I was pleased about my invitation especially considering that this is what I submitted for my booth shot: 

Obviously it was enough to woo the judges so yay! Now though, I must create this EPIC booth :)

4. All right. I've been kind of keeping this on the DL but I guess I should come out with it so that I don't puss out. My very generous friend, Shaun Ring, (amazing photographer, real estate agent, and all around great guy), had offered to let me use his uber cool space this November for a show. Well, actually it will be myself and one other person, TBD. So yeah. I guess I'm kind of having a show with some of my work in it. Eeeek! I hope to have NEW stuff, not just the little cells, so that people won't be bored to tears and all like, "I've seen this before. Yawn!" I'll have more info to come, so stay tuned! 

I finally bit the bullet and got my hair cut today. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most nervous, I was about a three. The initial bzzzzzzzz of the clippers was a little, "holy shit!" but once it was done it was all good. Which is great since, ya know, you can't go back! 

I'm amazed at how much hair came out of just a tiny section of my head and how much lighter and airy it feels! It isn't the most dramatic cut, as in I could have shaved way more off, but it is by far the most edgy thing that I've ever done. I'm totally digging it!

Big thanks to Susan for taking pictures for me!

This past weekend I photographed my first wedding of the year. It. Was. Awesome. In fact, it was so awesome that it's been difficult to try and pick just a few images for a little sneak peek! Amanda and Derek, you were so amazing to work with. Thank you for being so awesome! I just realized that I've used the word 'awesome' three times in one short paragraph. lol.

This girl cracks me UP!

Through the years my hairstyle has remained relatively the same. All one length and red. My big forays into something different were bangs (for all of a year), parting my hair to the side instead of the middle (*gasp!*), and the occasional layered asymmetrical bob (and crimping for Halloween). Thing is, I am suuuuuuuuper lazy when it comes to my hair. I hate taking the time to do much with it besides the basics. Even straightening it is going above and beyond on most days.