est.
2014
GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS 07.09.19
Gratitudes
Emily + Tom were married at Stone Tower Winery on Saturday. The week leading up to their celebration, the weather was looking pretty dreadful – heavy rains for most of the day. Mother Nature had another plan, their day was beautiful with bright sun and a storm that slowly rolled in during their ceremony! It created the coolest and most dramatic background I’ve ever seen at a wedding! We were able to get through a lot of the photos before the wind picked up and we hopped in the golf carts for cover. We made it just in time before the storm opened up right over top of us with intense thunder and heavy rain. Emily + Tom are well traveled and tied that into their wedding with table names of the places they’ve visited on postcards. On the back of the postcard had a little story about why that location was special to them! Their name card table had an adorable sign with “Pick Your Destination” and a globe with each name printed on a postcard! I can’t wait to get this wedding on the blog so you can see just how beautiful it was!
I got a lot of messages about my time in the Hamptons, but technically it was the North Fork which in my opinion was just as peaceful and scenic. I went up there to celebrate my friend Ayla’s bachelorette party! The house isn’t available for rent, it’s a private estate that we had access too. The home was INSANE with an outdoor space that was perfect for entertaining. The first night we hired a private chef to come and cook tacos while we had homemade margaritas and watched the sunset. Friday we sat poolside and I enjoyed rosé and my favorite summer beer 21st Amendments Hell or High Watermelon. We cleaned up and grabbed dinner at The Frisky Oyster. We were surprised with a table full of champagne from Ayla’s fiance and dessert from our friend Renu who couldn’t make it. After that we hit up an outdoor bar with views on the water and live music. Saturday was a rinse and repeat: pool, wine, sunshine and dinner on Shelter Island with a sunset view! It was a great mix of relaxation and celebration!
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, July 4th is my favorite holiday. I switch between that and New Years Eve. I love celebrating the history of our nation, but what I enjoy the most is this low key holiday. There is no hype around gift giving or decorations or even multiple holiday parties. It’s a giant cookout with all of the best foods, quality time with friends, family and fireworks. This year I decided to keep it super chill and stay with my family and hang out at their pool. We did the typical: sunshine + cookout. The following day though our whole family got hit with a stomach bug that lovingly came from my neice via daycare germs. I’m talking about all sisters and their husbands down, my parents down and me too. I was able to get through that double wedding weekend with gatorade and bullion cubes that I brought to doctor up that coffee + tea bar.
You’re probably like, “Krysta why wasn’t this published yesterday?” Well the truth is, life happened. My Grandpa Ron went back into the hospital from exploratory surgery to check in on his heart. If you remember, last year while I was in Italy he had stints put in to help open up his arteries. He’s continued to have problems all year and yesterday we were finally getting some answers. I had a yoga session in Fredericksburg that I am obsessing over and will share soon – but had to run to the hospital to get the results and then up to Haymarket for my eyelash appointment and then back in the evening to check on Grandma Jean and to see if there was any additional news. Basically, the stints put in last year aren’t working due to scar tissue so we are waiting to see what his options are for a new treatment plan which likely will be another surgery. So for the next week, I’ll probably be on the road and sending emails and galleries from the hospital.
In between hospital visits, I ran up to get my eyelashes filled by Rheanna. I’ve been getting my lashes done now for close to 2 years and it’s my favorite maintenance thing that I keep up with outside of my nails. It’s so relaxing, if you ever went to the tanning bed in the 2000s, it sort of has that same feel without the possibility of skin cancer. I feel like it gives me that extra boost of confidence, because when I wake up I don’t feel like a troll and really do look pretty. Rheanna is seriously amazing and I recommend her to all of my friends and brides! If you’re interested or have questions shoot me a message and you can find her on IG @lashesbyrheanna!
I’m still rocking the red from the Fourth. I was trying to decide between two classics Big Apple Red and Coca-Cola Red. Big Apple tends to lean more on the blue side and I wanted that pop so I went with Coca-Cola. And also for some reason it feels more patriotic – silly I know!
Breakthroughs
Vulnerability + Asking for Help. Two things that I constantly struggle with. My longtime friend Chrissi started up a YouTube channel this week called Baking With A Lisp. If you know Chrissi then you know this was going to be hilarious, raw and relatable. She decided she needed an outlet for herself, a SAHM to a feisty baby girl who is navigating depression and anxiety.
She recorded herself baking a cherry pie and talked openly and honestly on the camera about her experience and sprinkled in her quick wit. I have always enjoyed her sense of humor so I knew I would love it, but what really stuck out to me was her bravery and motivation. Unafraid, she bought the ingredients, propped up her phone, hit record and started. She shared a look inside her home, her heart and her baking. She hit publish and was able to touch so many people authentically.
I’ve shared before that I’m a classic Enneagram 3. I essentially value success. For me, I would have made a list of the type of pies I wanted to make, assess if I had the right bowls and photo worthy tools, check the lighting, find an outfit, grab the ingredients, staged the ingredients, do a test run on the video, test bake the pie and then figure out what I wanted to talk about. I would make sure that everything was organized with purpose, so things would run smoothly. Chrissi just got it done, and that I find courageous and powerful.
There are times where I have ideas and things I want to put in motion, but my brain operates on perfection over progress when it needs to be reverse – progress over perfection. Something I’ve been working on, for-a-while-now. Because what ends up happening is I sit spinning my wheels trying to create the perfect thing before releasing it.
The other thing that I admire is her confidence to ask for help. What I mean is she reached out to her community on Facebook and asked them to follow her YouTube channel. She asked for support and her friends and family were more than willing to give it.
I’ve always been the one to work hard, lurke in the back and hope people notice. When I went to Kristen Kalp’s The Voice Workshop back in May we worked on an Unreasonable List. Where we would write down big, huge, lofty goals that seem, well unreasonable. The first step in hitting those is giving them life by writing them in your own handwriting. The second is to break down the steps in reaching them. For example if I want to be published in Martha Stewart Weddings, how would I do that. Initially, I would need to research their submission process and requirements. Then I would need to note if any of my weddings meet those requirements and if they do I would start the submission. And lastly, the final part is to ask if someone can help. In the example above, I would then reach out to my community and ask if anyone knows an Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings. Or if someone knows the process or insider tips. But the key is asking. The steps are much more manageable when you have help or a connection.
That’s what Chrissi did this week and it’s incredibly inspiring and a reminder that I still have changes to make within myself.
So, if you’re looking for a funny lady who bakes in her kitchen and talks about real life -sometimes tough – topics with a sense of humor… follow her!
As always, thanks for reading! xo.
© Krysta Norman Photography 2020
Designed by Brandilynn Michelle
let's connect
PH: (571) 317 - 0811
info@krystanorman.com
NAVIGATE
Serving Middleburg & Richmond, Virginia