GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // MARCH 6, 2018

Gratitudes

Thursday evening I did something I haven’t done in what has felt like years, a girls shopping trip. I met Alicia Bruce of The Alicia Bruce at the outlets to find a few headshot outfits for our session on Friday in Alexandria at Common Room Studio. Alicia and I went from store to store trying on a variety of outfits and pieces for the shoot, but most were terrible. There is nothing more hilarious than trying on a piece of clothing that is ill fitted and showing your friend in the dressing room. Nothing. Also I think I should note that finding the perfect headshot outfit is difficult. I have to take into consideration my branding, affiliated colors (mine are green, neutrals and pink), cut of the clothing and the poses I want to be in. After have much success at a store I probably haven’t shopped at since 2005 – Old Navy – we popped over to Leesburg Public House for a bowl of bacon popcorn, a cocktail and two pimento cheeseburgers. It was just what I needed!

After all of the shopping, our headshot session was pushed back because of the wind storm that hit on Friday and continued through Saturday. At 6:00am Alicia texted me saying she asked about road conditions in a local Facebook group. A woman replied with her husband was driving to work and a kiddie pool hit is car. We thankfully decided not to make the long drive to Alexandria.

That wind storm was no joke. In the two years I’ve lived in my little rental house, I’ve never lost power. And of course, after telling Grandma Jean that on the phone confidently… I lost power for about 36 hours. I packed the dogs up, grabbed a few supplies like clothes, my computer and book and headed for a weekend at my parents house. I also ended up ordering chinese from my favorite place to treat myself for “roughing it.”

Saturday morning I headed back to my house to start the packing process. Packing for anything is a tad overwhelming, packing up an entire house just plan sucks. I didn’t realize how much stuff I had accumulated over the last two years, all of these things I collected just piling up. I am looking at this as an opportunity to really lighten my load and only keep things that are truly meaningful and that I would want to keep long term. So that means getting rid of some clutter I purchased from Target’s dollar spot. I have three piles right now: keep, donate and trash. It’s been going pretty well. I do feel lighter and less weighed down by pairing down all of my belongings. I’m hoping to have most of the house packed up by the end of the week with the first load to be transferred back to my parents. I am a little nervous about going through my closet, I’m hoping I’ll be able to pair down there as well.

Sunday I hopped down to Norfolk to spend time with my dear friend and fellow photographer Brandilynn Aines. We’ve worked together for many years and continue to grow our friendship even with our distance. I got to photograph her and her partner Spencer at New Earth Farm, a working, sustainable and all natural CSA offering the best products mother Earth and caring hands can provide. They had a beautiful farm store and a greenhouse full of seedlings! We got to meet the owners as well as their Boston Terrier named Hector and the farm ornament, a chicken named Girlfriend! We also worked with a talented florist, The Hanging Gardens down there who put together a beautiful bouquet for the session!

For my nail polish this week I went with OPI’s classic Lucky Lucky Lavender. This pop of a lucious light purple always puts a kick in my step, and maybe adds a little bit of luck. I choose it for my headshots initially to go with the outfits I selected.

Breakthroughs

Honestly, right now I feel like I have so many that are on the verge of popping up. Big transitions like this lead to big breakthroughs. I’ll check back with in you guys next week!

 

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.