Lights, Camera, Action!

When our lives become pageants, we become actors. When we become actors, we sacrifice authenticity. Without authenticity, we can’t cultivate love and connection. Without love and connection, we have nothing.

"We need to get away. We need to regroup and renew. We need to sink into some perspective. We need to fill our reservoirs with: Trust, Gratitude, Inspiration, Art, Friends, Laughter, Play + Song.  Because sometimes when we’re strung out and exhausted, the reflection that we see when we look into those deep ponds of renewal is the truest image of ourselves."

Holiday Snaps.

This was so much fun!  This family is so full of love + life!  Here's a sneak peek at our photo session...enjoy!

Something "Wicked" This Way Comes!

SO MUCH HAPPENED BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED IN. I can't wait!  This is going to be so much amazing fun!  

Blessed.

Queen Of Capture.

A blog just for my photos....join me!  Click here to take a sneak peak!  I'm really excited!

So Happy.

Exhale-Out.

It's totally possible that you are already making this more complicated than it needs to be in your head. Take a deep breath and do one little thing at a time. 

Hocus Pocus.

Well, Halloween week is upon us. Whether you celebrate this spooky time of year or not, you will probably be bombarded with lots of orange and black this week.

Sweet Goodness.

t's going to be a great weekend. I'n in the process of taking lots of news pics of the fam + designing my pic blog...stay tuned!

Up With The Story.

Regardless of how you tell your story -

in words, pictures, song, or art - the power is in the telling.

Be Calm. Be Still.

FootPrints In The Sand.

Seventeen years ago today my life changed.

Seventeen years ago today I was filled with sadness.

Seventeen years ago today I was so all alone.

Seventeen years ago today I let my guard down + was carried.

Seventeen years ago today I was given strength.

Seventeen years ago today I met my best friend.

Seventeen, what a grand number!

In Her Shoes.

I believe there is sincere value in telling our stories. It’s how we learn from one another. How we unearth treasures + wisdom inside ourselves. It’s how we connect to the joys + hurts of the human spirit. I try very hard to represent all the pieces of my experience in my writing - the broken pieces + the joyful pieces. It all matters + it all connects us.
My greatest creative inspiration is finding connections inside everyday conversations. It’s exploring the small moments in life that hold all the deep meaning. It’s finding, then releasing, my very own possibility into the world with the hope that it will do good work out there + maybe come back to me in some other moment or shift. It’s the stories of the people in my life - all the courage + tenderness + strength.

Over The Moon Excited.

Ok, Whew...this weekend has been super eventful. I got out with a super GREAT friend! And in doing so permanently vamped my self esteem! We had a blast on the VIP list, oh yeahs! We got it like that! Thanks TJ for keeping me in great hands, even after I told the NBC news anchor that he worked at FOX, oopy dasiy!

Vintage Glam.

Fall Favorites.

No Worries.

Half Full.

See It.

Compassion = Understanding+ Listening +Acknowledging + Caring

Alannah Jade.

What A Spectacle.

Be Happy.

Her.

TGIF.

Today I'm trusting that I will once again find my voice.

Today I'm grateful for the supportive friends + family in my life today + always.

Today I'm inspired by possibility + dreams.

Hard Times...No More.

This is my favorite remake of a timeless classic. Shhhh.... just listen.

Beautiful +Rare

Enchanting + Inspiring

24 Months.

Happy Birthday Baby Gal!

Polaroid Me.

There's No Place Like Here.

Grow.

Who said huge flower headbands are for little gals only...NOT ME!

Say Cheese.

House Of Me.

Today I am trusting my heart to show me in which directions I need to journey.

Today I am grateful for an obligation-free weekend to rest + rejuvenate.

Today I am inspired by bright colors + candid shots that are totally random.

I Got You Kid.

Love his love for her.

Love her love for him.

A father's love is irreplaceable.

A daughter's love is forever.

Dreams In Color.

{photo by moi}

Because it's Monday + I am wishing for time gone by...I suppose life is too short to live for the weekend, no?

I think so, what's a girl to do?

Down The Road.

I made up reasons to go
Down the road

Somewhere inside of me
There was something she took a liking to
Well I asked her to marry me
She said she really wanted to

Down the road
To see what life’s gonna hold
Down the road

Her momma wants to know
Am I washed in the blood or just in the water
Her daddy wants to know
If I make enough to take his daughter

Down the road
Before he can let her go
Down the road

TGIF.

Happy TGIF!

Trusting. In God I trust. I believe there is a reason for everything in my life; where I’ve been, where I am, + where I ought to go….

Inspiring. I am inspired by the ability to have a spiritual life. I felt free + my life changed the moment I started listening with the heart + hearing God’s whispers.

Grateful. I am grateful for my family, for teaching me the meaning of marriage, family values, love, for guiding me to a good life, for showing me how not to be materialistic + mostly for instilling + giving me the gift to always believe in myself.

A Constant Balance.

What I wouldn’t give to not be sitting here today. Staring at the calendar wondering. Wondering how the days fell one by one.

My life has been measured in blurred + hazy days. Many of them lapping over in the next without so much as a second thought from me. There have been many moments where I have felt like an outsider looking in…watching someone else’s life play out before me. Surely this can’t be mine. The life I know is contained within a perfectly shaped bubble.

But this new life? It is unfamiliar. It is a constant balance of living + missing. This is the bare bones truth and it is quite simple.

TGIF (Barely).

TODAY:

I'm trusting that when I feel and believe and sense so strongly and easily that my family

I'm grateful for the love of friends + celebrating big +small accomplishments and strength hidden in every moment.

I'm inspired by the resiliency of parents + friends + even myself to persevere with hope .

This Is Bananas.

Stay Your Course.

I definitely feel that I have an abundance of fullness right now.

I am a lucky girl.

What I am missing is focus.

Everyday feels like a little-bit-of-this + a little-bit-of-that in small fragments.

Good fragments.

But, fragments still.

I am disjointed and watching the clock.

I am rushing things.

I am spending too much time worrying about how to make time + too little time using my time wisely.

I'm getting out to please people instead of staying in to practice my passions.

It's that never ending search for harmony again.

This is bananas.

Encyclopedia Of An Ordinary Life.

Summer Time Inspirations.

I believe there is sincere value in telling our stories.

It’s how we learn from one another.

How we unearth treasures + wisdom inside ourselves.

It’s how we connect to the joys + hurts of the human spirit.

I try very hard to represent all the pieces of my experience in my writing - the broken pieces + the joyful pieces.

It all matters + it all connects us.
My greatest creative inspiration is finding connections inside everyday conversations.

It’s exploring the small moments in life that hold all the deep meaning.

It’s finding, then releasing, my very own possibility into the world with the hope that it will do good work out there + maybe come back to me in some other moment or shift. It’s the stories of the people in my life - all the courage + tenderness + strength.

So Very Happy.

It's all about believing in oneself.

Plus reaching for the moon despite the fears.

Plus taking flight toward possibility.

So there you have it.

She is so very happy.

Just Plain Beautiful.

I Am Enough.

I'm doing everything I can to be kind to myself these days.

Seeking comfort, acceptance + love from myself, to myself is a good start.

Reminding myself a number of times each day that I am enough.

I can't imagine that something that seems like it should be a given can be so hard to believe + embrace.

Hayden Dawn McAlpine.

Dog Gone Cute.

TuTu+Lious.

Alannah Jade.

Alannah Jade, 28 days shy of 2!

Relax.

Alannah chillin' and finally all smiles!

No Boots About It.

Hayden + Boots relaxing in the grass.