tuesday toes...glittery purple

This past Saturday was a day of relaxation for me, and it was just what I needed. It was a day of sleeping in, chatting on the phone with friends while still in bed, dinner out, and a pedicure with my sister and my niece. Lately, my life has been such a happy version of "the good life" that all I can do is praise God and thank Him for every single moment.



Happy Tuesday, friends.

~abi~

l-o-v-e

Having just returned from a spectacular trip to visit my friend and sister in law, Ashley, in Washington, I am still trying to absorb the loveliness that I am blessed to call my life.

Here is a photo that I took this past weekend. It shows a wall display of photos that I shot, which hangs in Ashley's home in Tacoma. The photos that spell out the word "love" were taken years ago on a visit to see Jack and Ashley in Fayeteville, NC. I later had them matted and framed as a present for Ashley. This remains one of my favorite projects I've ever done.



I hope your day is filled with love.

~abi~

the luckiest

Last weekend was probably one of the best weekends of my life. I say that without exaggeration. As I mentioned, on Saturday, I shot the wedding of my lovely friends Kevin & Melissa.

Their wedding was so tremendous that I couldn't wait to share some of their photos immediately, so I was inspired to finally set up a Facebook page for my photography. By Monday, I had posted a mere fifty-five of my favorite images from their epic day. Coming from me, the ultimate procrastinator, that is pretty impressive. Please, be impressed. Perhaps I am turning over a new leaf.

Here is another favorite image of the sweet couple. Yes, their wedding had inflatable slides, live bands, fireworks, and more - but truly, what made it so very special was the love of Kevin & Melissa.



To see more from their wedding, check out my Facebook page, and click "Like" while you are there. Also, look for a more extensive blog post soon.

Tomorrow morning, I will be flying out to visit my sister in law Ashley in the state of Washington. I am so excited about this trip! This week, I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming this wonderful life I am living.

~abi~

peace, love, and harmony

Man, I am excited about the wedding I am shooting in Tulsa tomorrow!!! It's the wedding of my dear friends, Kevin & Melissa, and it promises to be an amazing day! Here are some of my favorites from their engagement session, which is one of the best engagement sessions I've ever shot. I can't believe I never blogged these before.

Their wedding date, spelled out using eight tracks from their extensive collection...















Kevin & Melissa~
You are truly perfect for each other. I am so very happy for both of you, and I cannot wait to spend the day with you tomorrow!!!

Love,
~abi~

two cool fashion diy links

Here are a couple of great do-it-yourself fashion accessories that look super easy and cute:

First, one of my fave bloggers ever, Ashley Ann at Under The Sycamore, shows how to make a cool braided cuff out of a couple of dollar bracelets and some fabric: diy {dressed up Target sailor bracelet}

And then, Just B shows how to paint a color block pouch: B Bright: DIY color block pouch

Good stuff. Hope it inspires you to create something fun and fashionable.

~abi~

fan...atic

I am not a sports blogger or even a true sports fan. However, even I knew last night, as I watched my beloved Thunder battle it out over three grueling over times against the Memphis Grizzlies, that I was watching an epic game. Like I said, I am not a true sports fan. There is so much I don't know or understand about the game of basketball. But I am a true Thunder fan. And this season, I have read and learned more about basketball, my team, and the Thunder players, than I ever thought I would even want to know.

Last night, I didn't understand everything that went on during the game. I couldn't get as upset as my basketball-coach/lifelong-sports-fan-sister, Amber. But I could appreciate the heart that went into playing a game that really and truly started on one day, May 9, and ended on May 10. It was that long and that crazy of a game. Three overtimes, folks. I wish I could give you a proper recap of the game, but many other actual sports writers have done that, so here are a couple of good links from The Daily Thunder blog and NewsOK.

And many of you who follow my blog probably could care less about a crazy playoff game. But last night was so amazing for me as a Thunder fan, that I wanted to post about it, just to preserve it in writing for myself. :)

After the game finally ended, and I had finally laid down in my bed to go to sleep, I got this tweet from my friend and fellow Thunder fan, Kristie: "@Abi_Ruth they get home in an hour... Ihop, airport, five hour energies to get us through tomorrow?"
And just like that, I was up out of bed, getting dressed, and off to the airport.

There were around forty or so awesome people who were at the airport to show our support to our team as they arrived back in OKC. It was about 3:30am as they all trudged off the plane. Kevin Durant, our team leader and all-around fantastic guy, led the way across the parking lot to the chain link fence where we were all gathered. One by one, the players all walked down the fence, slapping hands and giving and receiving love. Love from their fans and their city.


{Kevin Durant, making his way over to us, his fans. - photo by me}

I love this team and our players for what they stand for, for their high morals and good attitudes. Yes, even Perk, who usually wears a perma-scowl, seems to be a big softie at heart if you read much about him. {But please, don't tell that to Z-Bo or anyone of our upcoming opponents.} And as the last player to approach the fence last night, Perkins smiled {yes, he actually smiled} and promised in his thick Beaumont, TX, accent, that "We gon' bring a title to y'all."

Yay for our team, for our city, and for this great group of young guys who are doing what they love and doing it in a classy way. And yay for me, for finally understanding what it means to be a true fan of a sports team.

This post is for me. :)

Some crappy but awesome phone video footage of last night:
http://www.twitvid.com/JIT4B
http://www.twitvid.com/NQ5FB
and one posted by Thunder player Nate Robinson:
http://www.twitvid.com/69HTT
and a news story where you can see a glimpse of me sporting my Harden shirt:
http://www.koco.com/video/27837610/detail.html

A good night and good times. Awesome. I love this team.

sweet sisters

The Saturday before this past one here in Oklahoma was a beautiful day. I made the short drive out to Edmond, OK, that evening to do a fun shoot of these two lovelies. During their session, and while editing through their photos, I was reminded of just how good life can be. :)















To their awesome mama, Kendra~
Thank you for having me do photos of your sweet girls. It was a fun time. Your family is pretty cool! :)

~abi~