nc {blog}

so here i am in my office/the spare bedroom in our new apartment in fayetteville, north carolina. my desk is set up, my cabinet is set up...and there is a ton of junk just laying all over the floor because i have yet to decide where to put it. kyle is in the living room either watching the olympics or playing battlefield and laughing at me because i don't have a chair for my computer yet. so i've propped up a few pillows and am laying in the floor with my wireless keyboard in my lap and my wireless mouse on a book to my right. quite lazy, but not as uncomfortable as you'd think. we make due.

i took a ton of pictures along the way from texas to here. a lot of them on my phone, but some places were just too pretty for iphone photography. like cotter, arkansas...and the hummingbirds! and the north carolina rest-stop. it was beautiful! there were actual flowers. and we got to see some of the appalachain mountains, kyle said they were.

this is my grandma's dog beau. he's soooooo preciuos. love him.

and here's my husband at the cotter bridge in arkansas. so beautiful.

hummingbirds!

nc rest stop was so pretty. flowers everywhere.

kyle fancies himself a photographer. he wouldn't give my camera back.

i can't wait to get started with photography here! there are so many pretty places downtown and around town too. i'm going to have to do some exploring for sure. and networking. i know a grand total of 4 people here, not counting kyle. it'll get better though, we've been here less than a week.. i'm really excited to go to some of the homecomings for soldiers coming back from deployments and photographing their families coming together. pretty sure i'll be crying the whole time.

in the meantime, i'll be looking for a more stable job. partly because kyle said i have to, and partly because i'll go absolutely insane sitting at home by myself all day every day. noooo thank you. so that begins tomorrow. wish me luck!

-mel

jared + michelle {wedding}

this was my first ever wedding, and it was quite the experience. i got to shoot this wedding with k-westbrook photography, so be on the lookout for her blog & facebook updates on the event as well! from the moment we arrived, there was excitement in the air. michelle was getting her hair done and the rest of the girls were running around like crazy. the ceremony was beautiful! i'd never been to a catholic wedding before. the reception was outrageously beautiful. lights everywhere, glow-in-the-dark centerpieces & trees, beautiful peacock feathers all over the place...and the band played mariachi and kumbia music all night long. now, those of you who know me will know how much i enjoyed that part :) michelle looked radiant in her dress, and jared had a glow about him. the two looked at each other so lovingly! while michelle was dancing with her father, i was bawling my eyes out, but thankfully i was able to capture some sweet photos. daddy daughter stuff ALWAYS gets me! best of luck to the beautiful newlyweds, and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your special day!



kayla + tae {family}

sooo, from the beginning i guess. i've known kayla since our freshman year of college. we met on the track team and instantly got along. we had SO much fun together, whether we were contemplating skipping track practice (which we were always too scared to do) or eating a gallon of ice cream and tormenting everyone else in the dorm by obnoxiously running up and down the halls. kayla and tae are so precious together - she's a great mom, and he's an amazing kid. he was so much fun once he opened up, and kayla...well, she's always outgoing. this is by far the best shoot i've been on, and one i'm very proud of. kayla, love you :)

-mel

kyle james :)

my sweet husband sat still long enough for me to practice photography on him the other day :) we went to lubbock to visit my brother glen(na) and had a really good time. kyle didn't really want to take pictures for me, seeing as how we'd just eaten two pounds of bar-b-que at rudy's, but he did it anyways...the man would do anything for me. love him :)

-mel