Photo of the Day- Petal Feet

Today's photo of the day- I got this idea from a magazine. Just love it.

Photos at the Gaylord

Today was great! I had the chance to shoot at The Gaylord Texan Resort with my friend Nikki and her adorable kids. Here's a sampling of some of the shots. As always, you can view the full collection on my Flickr account. Thanks Nik and troop!

Southern Cross

Today's Photo of the Day is a shot I took this afternoon of my cross wall. I've always loved the look of decorative crosses. It's a rainy, yucky day here. Somehow this seemed appropriate.

Wise, Party of 20...

Saturday night I had the fun opportunity to join a family and a group of their friends as they celebrated a birthday. What a fun night! Clearly, not ALL the photos could be seen on here (ahem! You guys know what I am referring to), but I did see fit to post some of my favorites. So.. thanks for the party, Wise Family!

Off Topic- Two Posts in One Day

My baby sister is back home from her summer training in Chicago. While I'm not there to see her, back in North Carolina, I am so glad and relieved she's home! I am so proud of her, and can't wait for her wedding in May. She got some awesome shots while she was there. So, of course, I had to share! These are random shots from Chicago. The goofy guy is her fiance', Greg. Love ya Greggers!

Day 5: Steaks on the Grill

After an incredibly long Sunday, it's nice to come home to the smell of steaks on the grill. My honey loves me. So today's photo is our yummy dinner.

Project 365: Day 4- Joe T's Fountain

Tonight I had the pleasure of shooting a birthday party at the famous Joe T. Garcia's in beautiful downtown Fort Worth. The scenery there is gorgeous- even in the scorching Texas summer. I am just in love with the fountain there. So, that's today's picture. As you can see, I zoomed in on part of the fountain. I just love the way the water flows off of it. Makes for an interesting find.

The family I shot tonight was just delightful- and so photogenic (all of them!) I can't wait to post pics.

More soon,
Amanda

My Roseland

Tonight I got the great opportunity to take some pictures of my friend Roseland. She's so gorgeous and photogenic! I had to share.


Thanks for being my guinea pig, Rosie!!

Coveted Red Canisters

Today my picture of the day is this silly canister set. They sit on my kitchen counter of the home we built about 5 years ago. This set actually came from the model home by which our home was based. I coveted it for years. I waited and waited for the day they put the model home furniture on sale. As soon as they opened the doors that morning for the sale, I rushed in, looking for the set- and just knowing someone had beaten me to them. Nope. There they were, right there on the counter where I had originally seen them. Five whole dollars later I had them washed, filled and sitting in the exact same spot on my kitchen counter. I love their old fashioned look, and even how the paint is chipped around the latches. We keep our tea in the coffee canister, and vice versa. They are probably my favorite piece of home decor- as silly as that probably sounds.

So, today's picture is just that- my coveted red canisters.

Puppy Love

Project 365- Day Two. Today has been an eventful day, to say the least. This morning we rescued a new little puppy, Allie. She's about 3 weeks old, and looks like a Border Collie. We have a 16 year old Border Collie named Shadow. We were pretty tuckered out, but when I walked in and saw this, my heart just melted. It's definitely today's photo of the day.

A Shot a Day

Recently I read an article in Popular Photography magazine about a man who made himself a commitment. That commitment was to go to the same park (it happened to be in his neighborhood) every day for a year and take a picture of something. This man visited the park on a regular basis. He sometimes found the park to be dull and uninviting. However, upon making the promise to himself, he ventured into the park every day, at different times, and took a picture. Every day for a year- rain or shine- a good day or bad, he made his way to the park. He learned something about himself. He discovered the art behind the little things in life. There is beauty all around. Everywhere we look- be it in the spider making a home in the side of a tree; a family walking a dog at twilight; an abandoned swing or slide. Everything has beauty. He also discovered something he didn't expect to. There were days which he felt bad, or had personal strifes. On those days it was particularly painful to make that trip to the park. It was on those days where he sometimes got the most enjoyment from the beauty of the park. Something in the nature, or perhaps in an idle person he saw there, made his melancholy mood lighter.

While I am not inclined to shoot at the same place for a year, I do love the idea behind "Project 365". You may have heard of it. The gist of it is to take a photo every day of the year and share it. Discover some beauty that is hidden in something that is important to you- even if it's just for a moment. Share it. Inspiration is a beautiful thing.

Today I had the pleasure of taking an instructional session from a photographer I respect immensely, Andie Smith. During our session we touched on this subject. It definitely gave me the kick I needed to take on this project, which is something I had been wanting to do for a while. Today's picture (or actually- pictures) come from my session with Andie. This is the City Hall building of Southlake, Texas. The angle on it does make it look as if I've had a little too much to drink, but I do like it for some reason! Notice the cow out front. I had to get closer to the cow as well.

If there is anything I've learned over the last few months, it's that there is beauty in the dawn. Darkness can hit any time- in the form of loss or failure, or just sadness. Taking a step back to enjoy the beauty of simple things can remind you of just why it is you get out of bed every morning.

That's all I have for now. Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Nikki! I hope you're having a great day, Nik!

~Amanda

Two Tickets to Paradise

"We Should be Sleepin'" was something we probably normally would have been doing last night at 10:30p when Eddie Money hit the stage of Billy Bobs in Texas. We thought it would be a fun night out, so Paul, our friends Nikki and Brad, and I set off to enjoy the show. I've lived in Texas for nearly 10 years now- mostly just 10 minutes from the Fort Worth Stockyards. I've never been to the famed Billy Bobs of Texas. We walked in to a mass of video games, bars, dance floors and craziness. It was a sight to behold. There was a room for rodeo riding, a casino room (which we never found) and so much more. The music pumped out everything from "Cotton-Eyed Joe" to "Summer of '69". Was crazy.

A little after 10p we meandered over to our assigned seats (not together) in the belly of what I'm told used to be a huge dance floor. Now it's a little concert area. The tables for us to sit at were that of damaged pressed board. They wrangled 16 people around each table, and moved each table as close to the next as they could. I was glad we waited a little late to find our seats, as we were able to sit at the end of the table. Looking around, waiting for the show to begin, we saw everything from 50-something year olds, dragging their less than thrilled teens with them for a good clean night of concert fun, to familes with little tots- 5 or 6 year olds all pouring around these ominous tables. Most of the crowd was just like Paul and I, in their 30 and 40-somethings, just waiting for the fallen rocker to take the stage.

Now, I must preface this by saying that our expectations of Mr. Money were pretty low. We were just happy to get a night out of the house together and see some live music. Both of us nearly errupted in laughter when Eddie took the stage.
This is the Eddie Money we all love and remember. The ex-cop from New York city who belted out such laments as "Walk on Water", "Take Me Home Tonight" and "I Wanna Go Back". Well, let's just say, that's definately a far cry from the guy who took the stage. Age does funny things to all of us, but this was a sight to behold. Now, if this was your Uncle Eddie- the guy you see a couple times of year at holidays and special occasions, you'd probably think the old boy was holding it together pretty darn well. He really and truly looked pretty good! However, for the rockin' guy we all love and remember- not so much.

All that being said, though, the guy really did sound great. If you closed your eyes and just listened, it very well could have been the Eddie from 1987. Best of all, he clearly knew what we must have been thinking. After the second song he said hello to the crowd and piped up "I sold 37 million records! Guess I should have saved some of the money. Who knew!" All in all, it was great. Here's a few shots my friend Nikki and I caught of the guy.

A good time was had by all. He played for a good 90 minutes with no break. I will admit, toward the end we were getting a little worried that he may fall over from exhaustion. He never did. And, I think he played every hit he ever had. Thanks Eddie- and well done!

Here's a shot of Nik and I on the way home.

More soon~ Amanda

New Scrapbook Store in Fort Worth- yay!!! And Happy July 4th!!!

Happy Independence Day everyone! Today is a fantastic day to get out and celebrate our Nation, and be grateful for all that we have. What better way to do that than by having hot dogs, burgers and fireworks, right? Throw in a couple snow cones, and it's all good clean fun. We are going to do just that tonight. I hope the weather cools down to something below our current temperature of 101 degrees, though. That's a little much.



Last night I had the chance to scrapbook at "Scrappers Boutique", a new little shop here in Fort Worth. As always, it was a blast. I love this new store. Cheri, the owner, has amazing taste and has brought it into the product she carries and the decor of the store itself. While more than half of the store is set up as crop space (which is perfect, by the way), the front half is adorned with adorable paper collections and embellishments. She carries a large collection of Bazzil papers, and a selective collection of some of the most current and beautiful paper lines available in the industry. Upon entering the store, you're greeted by a vintage retro stove (yes, a STOVE!) in the middle of the room. The stove is chocked full of products, looking as if it's cooking up some yummy goodies to go in your scrapbooks. Throughout the store she continues the cooking theme with adorable displays in such things as colanders, serving trays, muffin pans and jars. All of the items she uses are vintage retro, and really gorgeous. It's welcoming, homey and just makes you want to come in and camp out.

Up front the the register she has two large bookshelves, which house consignment items. A beautiful collection of handmade jewelry tops one, while the other keeps such items as decorated water bottles and teachers gifts, made by the hands of Kaylee Phillips, a local rising 5th grader (okay, who am I kidding- she's also the daughter of my best friend, Paula! And that makes her pretty special in my book).

Cheri has really outdone herself with this store. I, for one, can be found there at least one night every weekend. It's located near the corner of Chapman on Smithfield Road in Mid-Cities. It also happens to be settled right next to a delightful Snow Cone stand (just an added bonus- not only for the flavors, but the laughs once you consume one and it turns your lips, teeth and tongue delightful shades of orange, red, blue, green and purple- please don't ask to see the pictures). I love love love this place. I wish Cheri the BEST of success and hope she stays there for a long time to come. Here's a few shots I took of her digs last night.

The lovely Cherie- store owner.


I did also manage to finish about 7 pages last night too, which I think was a record! I'm already ready to go back.

More soon.... Amanda