Abi Ruth Blog

are you happy?

2012-02-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

The other day, I listened to this podcast by Christine Caine. In it, she talks about overcoming a really difficult past. The interviewer, Bianca, asks her if she ever gets sad, and Christine answers that of course she does. But then she talks about choosing to be happy, just deciding that you will be.

{from here via here}

I know that sometimes terrible things happen. Things that break your heart and make you sad. I'm not saying you should never be sad or express grief. I'm just pleading the case for happiness.

{from here}

Maybe it means smiling when you don't feel like it. Maybe it means doing something for someone else. Maybe it means a day of thanking God instead of asking Him for anything.

How do you choose happiness??

~abi~

what calling will you choose??

2012-02-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is my friend Wendi. She loves God and is using her talents for Him. Last night, she delivered a spoken word at a worship night at my church. Just wanted to share it with you all.

prayers, please

2012-02-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Today, I'd just like to ask you to stop for a moment and say a prayer for my friend Cassie's family.

Cassie's uncle, Scooter, was flying to Norman, OK, from Texas last night when his plane crashed. He and his assistant, Amy, were found in the wreckage today. Neither of them survived. He had two teenagers and she had three young boys. My heart is hurting so much for their friends and families. I didn't know Amy, but I'd met Scooter several times. Cassie is one of my closest and best friends, so I know her family well. Please just ask God to surround them with comfort during this difficult time.

a random week of my life, in photos

2012-02-20T12:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't do a single blog post last week, so I thought I'd do a little photo round up of my week from Friday, February 10th through Friday, February 17th. Except I didn't actually take any photos on the 17th, oops. But you get the idea...

Friday evening, February 10th, started off with some cool girls at Tucker's Onion Burgers, one of my fave places to eat in OKC. :)

Then we headed over to The Plaza District for a little browsing at Live On The Plaza, where I saw a couple of things that piqued my interest...

{at Collected Thread}

{at DNA Galleries}

Then I met up with my sweet friend Kim and others to celebrate her birthday with some bowling! So fun!

Saturday night equaled more birthday celebrating, this time with and for my fab friend Meg!

Sunday morning, I had the privilege of photographing some special baptisms at church...

Then it was time for yet another birthday celebration, this time for my awesome nephew Daxon! :)

Monday evening, I enjoyed watching my girl Summer play ball...

Tuesday was Valentine's Day, and it consisted of lunch with these fun girls...

...And chocolate covered strawberries, plus watching the Thunder game at my house with some cool girls.

Wednesday night was Big Switch at church, which is always a crazy fun time.

And in keeping with the theme of the week, we celebrated another birthday, for my lovely Shakari!

Thursday, I went to the eye doctor and left wearing contacts for the first time ever in all my thirty-one years. Which means I can wear sunglasses again and still be able to see! {But I'm not planning on retiring my actual glasses anytime soon. I'm just a glasses-wearing girl.}

Thursday also consisted of an entire workday spent updating the software on my MacBook Pro. A long process, for sure, but well worth it! Here's to being current. For now. :)

I would also just like to mention the fact that I wore these cool boots {some of my faves}, not once, but twice, last week. So I thought they deserved to be featured here, too...

And that's about it. Overall, a really good week. You might not guess it from these photos, but I learned a few big lessons from God throughout last week. I am forever thankful to Him for this life He has blessed me with!

What about you guys?? Good week last week? Bad? Boring? Exciting? Tell me stuff! :)

~abi~

just for fun ~ me, as a high school senior

2012-02-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Let's look at one of my senior portraits...

Now, let's discuss. {Because I'm so vain, I probably think this blog is about me...}

~hair
Okay, the first and most obvious thing we must talk about is The Hair. Back then, I was known for my lonnnng hair, as opposed to the crazy colors I am known for now. :) That was my 100% natural color, although I think it looks a little more red in this picture-of-a-picture than it ever actually was.

~lipstick
I was a fan of it then, still a fan of it today. :)

~teeth
I hadn't discovered teeth whitening yet. I don't think anyone had. Have you ever noticed how much more yellow people's teeth are in old movies than in current ones. Random.

~accessories
Earrings, check. Necklace, check. Rings, check. Watch worn on the inside of my wrist because I was cool like that, check. What can I say? I've always been an accessories girl.

~outfit
Denim on denim. Hmm. I know that's been a trend for the past couple of years, but I have never really worn denim with denim. Unless maybe it was different shades. Unlike here. I don't even know why I did that for this pic. Also, I have to note that in this pic, my tank top was dangerously low cut for my strict Baptist rules. It would never have been allowed at the school I graduated from here in Oklahoma. But I had my senior pictures done in Iowa the summer before my senior year. Smart girl. :) Also, the bottom half of this outfit was an ankle length denim skirt, not jeans. Jeans were definitely not allowed.

~body
I just have to say this: as a teen, I never truly appreciated my body. Then, all I could see was how my hips protruded too much and my thighs were too fat. {Not that my thighs even mattered, since I wasn't allowed to wear pants, ever. Skirts only!} Now, all I can do is sigh in envy. Please, teenage girls, appreciate your body instead of being unhappy about it!

Well, that was fun. Now, on a completely unrelated note, I would like to let you all know that today I paid off an old credit card debt that I've had for years. I'm excited! Well, not excited that I had old debt to pay off {more like embarrassed}, but excited to have paid it! In many ways, I feel like I haven't become much wiser than I was as a seventeen year old, when this picture was taken. But maybe, just maybe, the work God has done and is doing in me is finally starting to turn me into an adult. :)

Happy Friday, my lovely friends! Tell me about your weekend plans. Or your seventeen year old self. Or some debt you've conquered. :)

~abi~

fashion chatter ~ tree & leaf tee shirts

2012-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

I don't really think of myself as a tee shirt girl, but I realized that in the last week, I have worn three tee shirts by the cool guys over at Tree & Leaf.

These are all just random Instagram pix, so you can't really see the shirts very well. Here are the links, if you want to check them out:
~Vote Presti 2012 {Presti is the Thunder GM, in case you were wondering. :)}
~It Must Be The Beard {for my Beardfriend, James Harden}
~Well, there's not a link for the last one. It has "OKC" on the front, with a crown over it. And the back says "Next Is Now". It's also a Thunder shirt, obviously. :)

I seem to only wear tee shirts that are Thunder gear or musician/band shirts. What about you? Are you a big fan of tee shirts? What kind do you mostly wear? Do you own any Tree & Leaf shirts? If not, you should check out their website, for sure. Or better yet, stop by the store!

~abi~

monday morning praise

2012-02-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

Psalm 66:
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

So often, my sentiments reflect the Psalmist's words. I love the book of Psalms. And oh, how I love my God. He is so, so good to me.

Happy Monday!

~abi~

rainy day 'do

2012-02-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

I hardly ever wear my hair up. It is, without a doubt, my security blanket. But sometimes I don't feel like washing it, and some days it just doesn't look good down. Today, it was struggling. So, I twisted it up on top of my head and added a thick headband thingy. :)

Easy. Fun. Bright. Happy. Done. :)

And here's a cute hair styling video from Promise Tangeman and The Girls With Glasses:

Happy rainy Friday, friends! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

~abi~

photo shoot ~ stella's 2 year old birthday party

2012-02-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of taking some photos at the adorable Miss Stella's too cute two year old birthday party! :)

Stella's super-creative mama, M'Lea, set up an awesome photo booth area.

She also made lots of fun little props for people to pose with...

Or people could make their own props...

Here's the birthday girl with her family. Aren't they cute??

M'Lea also made all the delicious and pretty food for the party, including the sweet cake...

Stella thoroughly enjoyed it! :)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I had my friend Kim snap a couple pix of me in the photo booth area, too! :)

I always enjoy photographing birthday parties. How can you not enjoy a day where cake and presents and cute kiddos reign supreme?? Let me know if you want to book me for your child's party!

~abi~

on my desk

2012-01-31T14:25:00.000-08:00

At any given time, you will find my desk littered with fun, colorful, random items.

My soul thrives on lots of color and at least a little bit of clutter. :)

What about you? Are you the type who can only get work done when the surface of your work space is neat and tidy? Or do you function better when surrounded by a little bit of a mess?

~abi~

true life stories ~ renewing my license

2012-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know what you did on your lunch break today, but I went home and made a healthy lunch and then renewed my license. But of course, it's me, so there's more to the story. See, first of all, I've been delaying getting my license renewed. One, because I am a procrastinator and that's just what I do. And two, because I accidentally washed my nose ring down a hotel drain in Texas last weekend. Oops. And of course I wanted to be wearing my nose ring in my new license pic, considering that four years ago, my nose wasn't even pierced.

my old license pic, from 2008

So, I ordered a couple new nose rings from my favorite nose-ring-maker on Etsy and waited for them to arrive. I crossed my fingers that they'd get here before my license expired {which would have been tomorrow}. When I went home on my lunch break, I was happy to see the mailman at my mailbox. Sure enough, my nose rings had arrived, yay!

I ran into my house, put in my new nose ring, fixed a delicious, healthy lunch and touched up my hair and makeup. Back out to the car and down the road toward the tag agency. Realized I forgot the delicious lunch I'd just made. Back to the house, retrieved my lunch. Back down the road to the tag agency. {This is just how my life works: always forgetting something, losing something, messing something up; turning around, starting over, correcting mistakes, and so it goes for me.}

More makeup and hair fixing in my car before glancing at my phone and seeing that it's 12:32pm and my lunch break is more than half over. I hurry inside, thankful to find that there was no line. I make an awkward, half joking comment to the woman behind the counter about being nervous about my new license photo. What I don't tell her is that I am extremely vain {I could use more pc words like self conscious or insecure, but let's just call it what it is}; and that as a photographer, the photo that represents me for the next four year is a way. bigger. deal. than it should be!! I also don't tell her that I still remember quite clearly how the nice lady at the tag agency four years ago actually let me look at my pic and even {gasp!} retook it for me when I didn't like the first one. Maybe I should've told the lady today about that, but she didn't seem nearly as sympathetic. In fact, I'm pretty sure that she used all of her self control to not sneer and roll her eyes at my apparent vanity.

Took a few moments to look in the mirror and mess with my hair. Sat down like the lady told me to; she answered a call; I stood back up and did more hair fixing. Phone call {finally} over. Sit back down. Lady informs me that I have to take off my glasses. Dang it. Stand up. Put glasses on counter. Fix hair again.

As I'm sitting in the chair facing the dreaded little camera, I lose all my courage and force up a fake smile while holding my breath. Crap. I can see that the lens of the tag agency camera is all smeared and I sincerely contemplate getting up to wipe it off, but then I actually think about the fact that the smears might make my skin look better. Yep, I really thought that.

The lady tells me, "We'll snap on three." And snap on three she did. By then, my fake smile was three times more strained that it was at first. Great. I let out my breath and wait.


my new license pic, taken today

Okay, it's not terrible. I'd rather have less earrings and less bottom teeth showing and less squinty eyes. But it's whatev. I'm happy with my eyebrows and my hair. Hahahaha. {Now you see my vanity. Shameful.}

Just to prove to myself that I am a better photographer than that tag agency woman, I snapped this pic once I was back in my car and my heartbeat had returned to normal...

This is how I'd prefer my license pic to look: glasses and a more sincere smile. Oh, and a nose ring that isn't obliterated by smears on the camera lens.

Happy Monday, friends! :)

~abi~

p.s. As if this post hasn't already proven my weirdness, I just have to say that although I have no idea what the four digits on the side of the license pics represent, I am happy that the first two digits in my old pic are 55 and that the last two in my new one are 23. I have a numbers "thing". Five is my favorite and I also have this thing about thirty-two, and more recently, twenty-three. :)

i'm not complaining, i'm just stating facts

2012-01-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Today has just been "one of those days". You know, the kind of day where your boss makes you photocopy an old tractor manual of about one hundred and fifty pages {true story}; after which the office copier/fax machine gets jammed and then a strange man who came to your office has to help you un-jam it so that it can print out the invoice he sent over; never mind that your boss isn't there to approve the check and sign it; oh, and then you have to void and reprint several checks once your boss is there; and then your Photoshop crashes, losing something you've been working on for a day and a half and didn't have saved, even though you know better than to not save as you go. You know, just little things like that. Nothing too major, but annoying enough to grate on your nerves and maybe make your eyes teary even though you know that none of the above is really reason enough to cry. And then you want to have a pity party, complete with black tutus and gray streamers. No cheery, bright colors, please. But hugs are welcome.

Sorry for this poor-me post, it's just my way of venting. And now I want to turn it around. So, immediately after I leave work in about fifteen minutes, I plan on doing something nice for someone else. Then, I'm going to go home and work on my room transformation. {Doesn't "room transformation" sound like a much nicer way to spend my Friday evening than "cleaning my room"??} After that, it will be time to watch my Thunder play some basketball, which we all know will lift my spirits.

I'd love to hear all about your day or your week or your weekend plans. Leave a comment and distract me from my pity party! :) Or put on a dark party hat and join in.. ;)

~abi~

dreamer

2012-01-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

I am going through photos I shot last year, choosing favorites to feature in galleries on my coming-soon-new-site. As I was going through the wedding photos from the lovely Kevin & Melissa's wedding, I fell in love again with this simple image...

This sweet tattoo is on the arm of the always fabulous Stephanie Jane. She is such a cool girl. {You can follow her on Twitter here.}

And as much as I love dreams and dreamers, let's not forget the words of my man Jack Johnson:
A dream's a dream
And all this living's so much harder than it seems
But girl don't let your dreams be dreams
You know this living's not so hard as it seems
Don't let your dreams dreams

Cheesy {but necessary} thought of the day: Don't just dream it, achieve it!

~abi~

that's what she wore ~ lace & skinny cargos

2012-01-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

I have literally owned this denim jacket since I was seventeen years old. I'm thirty-one. I got it from Target. A long, long time ago. :)

I guess it's held up pretty well, huh? It does have this one pretty decent sized hole by the collar. But I don't mind that a bit.

I think I got those earrings at Burlington Coat Factory awhile back. Burlington has some really great accessories. And it's cheap!

My mom got me this lace shirt for Christmas. I'm pretty sure she found it at a thrift store. :) Like mother, like daughter.

I found these pants at Goodwill. They were brand new with the tags from Target still on them. Gotta love that. The leather ankle boots were from Ross, and I think the belt was, too.

This nail polish was a gift from my sis and nephews. It's e.l.f. in Metallic Blue. I love it. :)

The following pic is not really a picture of my butt. :) I just wanted to show you the cool satin detail on the back of my shirt. Do you know how difficult it was for me to get a shot of my back?? Man, I need someone to photograph me for these posts. Then I could have them use my "real" camera, too. My little point and shoot cam is just easier for me to hold out on my own and use for now. :)

~abi~

mute monday ~ just trust

2012-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00


image by Abi Ruth

my favorite fashion sites

2012-01-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

As I might have previously mentioned here about eighty-two times, I am a reader of blogs. Just for fun today, I thought I'd share my three favorite style bloggers. Just in case you need some inspiration for what to wear this weekend. :)

First up is Blair Eadie at Atlantic-Pacific. I absolutely love the way that Blair fearlessly mixes patterns, adds layers, and uses color. She can rock a downtown cool girl look or a sophisticated lady outfit. Blair also wears stacks of bracelets at all times, which of course makes me love her style that much more!

image from this post

Next is Keiko Lynn. Keiko is adorable and seems so sweet and fun that I want to be friends with her in real life. :) All of her posts are great, but I especially love her makeup and hair tutorials! She is not afraid to play around with some bright, bold makeup shades, yet she manages to still look fab instead of overdone.

image from this post

And, last but not least, is the well known and totally legit street style blogger Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist. If you aren't at least vaguely familiar with his name, you must live under a very unfashionable rock! ;) Scott set the standard for street style bloggers, in my opinion. His eye for style is spot on, and his photos are always perfectly executed! I could gush a little more, but really, you should just spend some time browsing his site...on a weekly basis. :) {Oh, and p.s. Guys, he features lots of well dressed gentlemen, so this site is for you, too!}

image from this post

So there you go: my three go-to sites for some fashion inspiration! Here's to a well-dressed weekend, friends! Happy Friday!

~abi~

genius

2012-01-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago or so, one of my friends tweeted this quote, and it has stuck in my head ever since:

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."
- Arthur Schopenhauer.

I love that quote and think it's so good, because sometimes I think our society values "talent" more than "genius". Or maybe it's just that we think "genius" is weird because we can't see that target! Even as individuals, dealing and processing our own ideas, I feel like it's easy to just dismiss what could be a genius thought or idea, simply because "no one else does it that way".

Anyway, it's a thought-provoking quote, at least to me. Then today, I saw this:

"Genius gets you nowhere. Execution is everything."

That thought sort of goes along with my word for the year: achieve. After all, what good is a genius thought or idea if you never act on it?? Now my mind is really spinning! :)

~abi~

p.s. Hey, any of you grammar snobs, please help me out...Should I have put the period inside the quotation marks in the sentences above, or did I do it properly? It's been too long since I learned that punctuation rule! :)

my tattoos and other news

2012-01-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

So, as you can see, things are changing here on my blog. This is really just a bit of a sneak peek of sorts, because there's about to be a whole overhaul! I'm super excited about it, and I have my incredibly talented friend Kelly Beane to thank! Not only is she an amazing photographer {she does all of my photos}, she also designed my new logo, above! And she is the one redoing my soon-to-be new site for me! Yay!!! Thank you, Kelly Beane!

If it weren't for Kelly, things would probably never change around here. Change is difficult for me {except when it comes to my hair!}. And it's not even that I don't desire change sometimes. It's more that I procrastinate and want to be 1,000% sure, and want everything to be absolutely perfectly set up and ready before I change it -- which, let's face it, hardly ever happens.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some things you can't really change. Like tattoos. :) I saw this post earlier on a fun blog that I like to read called thxthxthx.

It made me smile. I have two tattoos, and to be honest, neither of them is absolutely perfect, but I do love them both. And I do plan on getting more! :)

My first tattoo I ever got is this tiny green star. It's about the size of a dime, and it's on my left hip. I got it on Hollywood Blvd. I smile every time I see it and think of that trip. My friend and former roommate got a tiny blue star on her right hip at the same time as well. Fun times, fun memories.

My other tattoo is a memorial tattoo for my younger brother Jack. He was a Green Beret and was killed in 2009 while on a mission in the Philippines. It reads, "De Oppresso Liber" meaning "To Free The Oppressed", which is the Special Forces motto. Underneath that is Jack's signature from a letter he wrote.

So those are my permanent body decorations. :) Do you have any tattoos? If not, would you ever get one? If you have one or more, are you planning on adding any?

~abi~

photo shoot ~ k

2012-01-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

My friend K is vacationing in San Diego. I'm trying not to be envious as I read her tweets and see her Instagram pix. :) Here are some photos I took of K right here in OKC, at her very cool apartment. I also got to play stylist as well as makeup artist for this shoot, so that's always fun.

K~
You are too cool. I hope you are having a lovely vacation. You deserve some beach time! :) Love you!

~abi~

a spoken word ~ thoughts on religion

2012-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

This video is making the rounds on Facebook today. It's really good, and definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it yet. Or, if you have seen it, I encourage you to watch it again. And this time, when you watch it, try not to just think "Oh yeah, I agree." Try to view yourself and your religion, aka spirituality, through the lens of this spoken word. That's what I did. It's convicting and challenging.

It was interesting that I came across this video today, after reading and pondering the following verse this morning:
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

That's it. It's all right there, in that verse. And expounded on in that video. Good stuff.

~abi~

thrift thriving ~ my new laptop bag

2012-01-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

So, the other day I stopped by Goodwill, as I often do on my lunch break. The very cute laptop bag I had been carrying {a gift from my mama last Christmas} was falling apart, so I was excited to see this cute orange bag for less than ten dollars. It also looked like it had never been used. Score!

Check out all the useful pockets inside, too. For all my useful stuff. Or junk. It's whatev.

And filled with all my goodies...

Here's a shot of me wearing it, taken in my office. {Check out some of the cool stuff on my bulletin board! :)}

I was curious about the original cost of a bag like this. So I did a quick Google search, and ended up on the Target website -- where I found you can purchase this bag for eighty bucks. Nice! :)

I also found a really cute bag the other day that I will be using as a camera bag. I'll post pix of it soon.

And here are a few thrifting tips, just for fun:
~Stop by often
Find one or two thrift stores close to where you work or live, and get in the habit of dropping in to browse. I do this on my lunch break all the time. Thrift stores are constantly putting new stuff out, so the more you're there, the better your chances of finding some great stuff.
~Try on everything
The other day, I bought three shirts in three different sizes. Due to the wide variety of clothing age {can clothing have an age?} and name brands, sizes obviously will vary greatly at thrift stores, and you should always try stuff on before buying. I mean, it's not like you can return it, you know.
~Go after the holidays
At the beginning of the year, people are getting rid of old stuff to make room for new items and clothing. Or sometimes people even donate new items that they maybe didn't have on their Christmas list. Silly people. Lucky me. :)

~abi~

fascinating, to me

2012-01-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

This morning, on my twitter timeline, someone retweeted this..

{from here}

I just thought it was pretty cool, so I had to share it.

I am such a visual person. And aside from that, money and numbers can be confusing for me, so seeing this image kinda blew my mind. :) Isn't it crazy??

~abi~

mute monday ~ self portraits at dusk

2012-01-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

{taken by me, in my backyard, this evening}

~abi~

achieve

2012-01-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I am a lover of blogs. There are several I follow faithfully, and many, many more that I check often. Today, I clicked over to my friend Abbi's blog from a link she posted on Facebook. Her post today was about choosing a word for the year. It's a good post, and I clicked through to the post she recommended at the end. Before I had even gotten all the way through that post, I had my word for 2012:

Achieve

There it was, in my head. And it wasn't going away. Normally, I can be pretty indecisive. Especially when it comes to choosing something like a word for the year. I mean, that seems like a big deal. Shouldn't I put more thought into it, dwell on it, maybe sleep on it?

Nope. Because that's exactly why that word is perfect for me, for this year. It's time to stop dreaming and start doing.

Since my birthday is New Year's Eve, I always start a new year of my life at the same time as I am starting the New Year {but I get a one-day head start. ;)} So it's always an especially good time to reflect on the previous year and look forward to what I will achieve in the coming year. {See how I did that?} Except lately -and by lately I mean the past several years- I feel like there hasn't been much achieving going on in my life.

Sure, there have been some noteworthy things I have taken on, but I have way more ideas in my heart and mind that have never come to pass. I think this will be a good year to achieve more than just think about, to do more than just dream.

verb (used with object)

1. to bring to a successful end; carry through; accomplish

2. to get or attain by effort; gain; obtain: to achieve victory.

verb (used without object)

3. to bring about an intended result; accomplish some purpose or effect.

Synonyms
1. consummate, complete; effect, execute; realize, reach. See "do".

2. realize, win.

So, here's to achieving, completing, reaching, realizing, winning. :)

~abi~

various thoughts and photos from the past several days

2012-01-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

~Kristin Chenoweth is tiny and beautiful and has an amazing voice. And I like her even more after she got into the spirit of things by sporting the Thunder colors when she sang the national anthem for last Thursday's game!

~Meeting Twitter friends in real life is pretty cool. Even cooler? Meeting them randomly at a Thunder game! You rock, Stacey!

~He's my fave!:)

~A good fortune to get right before the start of a new year, yes? :) {And my nails look terrible here. Yikes.}

~When I was in Iowa for Christmas, my grandma {who I am pretty much a carbon copy of} and I did a little shopping together. She bought me this amazing necklace for my birthday. She even had them gift wrap it for me, with me standing there. Love her, love this necklace! :)

~I have really pretty friends who are beautiful on the inside, too! Here are some fab ladies who joined me on my birthday to watch the New Year's Eve movie. I wore gold for my golden birthday: 31 on the 31st plus NYE, woohoo! :)

~I love dressing up! {Still my birthday, so more gold.}

~This is the fanciest I've ever dressed for a Thunder game! :)

~I got a streamer from a proposal that took place a few rows behind me during the game. I feel like this could possibly be a good omen for my love life in 2012. Also, I'm knocking on wood now so as not to jinx myself! ;)

~Awww! {I debated the rightness of posting a pic of some unknown child, but I figured since he's in disguise that it's okay. ;)}

~My nephews do a really good job of making me feel loved!

~I refrained from using photoshop to suck in my chin in the following pic.. :)

~I think I was born on the right holiday..

~My awesome-birthday-weekend-high sort of came crashing to a halt on Sunday night, when my sister and nephews returned from church and a trip to the store to find that their house had been broken into.. :(

~Thieves suck. They took two tv's and two laptops, a PlayStation 3, my old camera and a lens of mine that my sis was borrowing, some dvd's, my sister's cell phone, and other items. Oh, and my nephew's jar of change! :( Jerks!

~But God is good, all the time. At least my sis and nephews weren't at home at the time of the robbery. And they're safe, that's what really matters.

~Happy New Year, friends!

~abi~

photo shoot ~ haley, senior portraits

2011-12-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

This is Haley. She is adorable, fun, godly, and all around awesome! Seriously, I could go on and on about this girl!

I absolutely loved doing her senior session!! It was a cold, rainy day, but Haley was completely at ease and willing to do whatever to get some cool photos! She didn't complain once about the weather.

This little parking garage had such cool light!

And here's one of my favorite photos I took all year!!

Haley~
Thank you times a thousand for having me do your pix!! You're amazing and that's all there is to it! I am blessed to know you. Love ya, girl!

~abi~

find and gift

2011-12-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas, I had to drive through a Walmart parking lot, and I was reminded of one of the ~~reasons~~ perks of not doing any of my shopping at the usual places like Walmart or the mall..

I actually made it through the entire Christmas season without stepping foot into a Walmart, woohoo! :) Not that I totally hate Walmart, but I definitely hate the lines and general craziness of the big stores and malls! On the flip side, it is easier to walk in and find something for anyone at places like that. Giving only thrifted or handmade items definitely presents a challenge. Especially when shopping for my two bosses. Both of them are very kind gentlemen who seemingly have everything they could ever want or need. Seriously, what could I find at a thrift store for them?? {I thought about baking them some treats, but our office was already overflowing with Christmas cookies and such.} So, I made my way over to my personal version of a "mall" aka The Rink Gallery, an awesome vintage/antique/thrift/handmade shopping haven that is seriously like walking into Pinterest In Real Life!

The thought in my head was that maybe I could find a couple of cool coffee mugs for my bosses. Instead, my eyes fell on these awesome little handmade coat hooks. There were only two in the booth, and get this: they were just five dollars each! Score!

See, one of my bosses always hangs his coat on his door handle, and my other boss usually just tosses his on a table. So, perfect. Maybe they will use them, maybe they won't. Either way, at least I had found something they could use. And I had stuck to my personal gifting guidelines! Yay!

Since everyone knows that guys could usually care less about pretty wrapping or cute gift bags, I simply cut down some card stock paper, wrote a little note on the back and each of their initials on the front, then added a bow, and voila!

And that's the story of what I gave to the two people who are the most difficult to buy for on my list each year! ;)

~abi~

present, presence, presents

2011-12-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

This post is for me. A put-myself-in-check reminder post. Lately, I have noticed and it has been pointed out to me that I haven't really been listening to others. And not just that, but recently it's as if I'm often not really present with those around me: my friends, my family, those important to me. Instead, my mind is wandering and skipping and jumping: to the next thing I need to do, the next person I need to talk to, the next email reply I need to send.

Yes, this time of year is crazy and hectic and busy. For me and for everyone else, too. But I need to stop. I need to focus. I need to be present.

And I am sorry I haven't been. I apologize to those who I have only half-listened to, who I've slighted and not given my full attention to in the moment I am with you.

This is my reminder to myself. Focus. Be present.

~abi~

{not so} lofty goals

2011-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years, my goal for Christmas shopping has been to buy mostly locally made or thrifted items for those on my list. Not that I have a list. Oh no, that would require more organizational skills than I possess. I do, however, have a mental list. Which is sketchy, I'll be the first to admit. So here's hoping I'm not forgetting anyone this year!

Anyway, back to my goals for gift giving. This year, I am determined to stick one hundred percent to my personal goal of making or buying secondhand or handmade items. This means no shopping at the mall or Target. This also means I am still wracking my brain for what to get/make my bosses! {Please toss any ideas my way.}

Here is what I gave to my Switch girls. {Switch is the youth program that I volunteer with at my church.} See these cuff bracelets?

I made these out of toilet paper rolls plus scrapbook paper/tissue paper/ribbon/random stuff and Mod Podge. My sis Amber made a few of the ones in the photo above. Thanks, sis! My friend B also joined us in the bracelet-making process, but all of hers looked way better than mine, so I didn't take a pic of them. ;)

Actually, I took photos of the whole cuff-making process, but I can't seem to locate those files anywhere at the moment. Oh well. Here are my girls {proudly?} displaying their bracelets.

Man, I love them! {The girls, not the bracelets. :) I mean, I liked the bracelets, but I super-love my girls!!!}

Hope you are all having a good week and haven't lost sight of the joy and real meaning of the holiday season, in the midst of the shopping craziness. :)

~abi~

photo shoot ~ morgan, senior portraits

2011-12-13T21:41:00.000-08:00

Along with the many family sessions I have been able to photograph lately, I have also really enjoyed getting to do several awesome senior sessions.

This gorgeous girl is Morgan. It was obvious to me during our session that Morgan doesn't grasp how truly beautiful she actually is. In addition to her stunning looks, Morgan is quietly cool in a delightfully awkward way.

The light was perfect the day of our shoot. Also, the sunshine in these images is deceptive. It was a pretty chilly afternoon, but Morgan worked it like a champ in front of the camera despite the brisk, windy cold.

Here are a few of my favorites from her session.

Morgan~
Thank you for trusting me to do your senior portraits! I thoroughly enjoyed working with you. You are lovely in front of the camera and in person. :)

~abi~

photo session ~ newborn cal

2011-12-08T13:14:00.001-08:00

Here is another very sweet family who I had the privilege of photographing recently. Regina wanted me to come do some portraits of their precious newborn Cal, and we did some of his gorgeous big sis Annabelle, too, along with a few family photos. I am so happy with these images! :)

Regina~
As always, I loved spending a little time with your family. You guys are picture perfect and you make my job easy! Thanks so much for letting me photograph your beautiful family!

~abi~

photo session ~ webb family

2011-12-07T15:06:00.001-08:00

Lately, I have been busy working on family photo sessions for the holiday season. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, one of my good childhood friends, Jennifer, found me and saw that I am now a photographer and asked me to photograph her sweet family. After rescheduling once due to yucky weather, I was bummed when it ended up raining again on the day we had chosen. There wasn't really another good day for either of us, so we decided to go ahead and try the session anyway, and I am so happy that we did! I love how the images turned out! Here are some of my faves, chosen from Jennifer's print order.

Seriously, how sweet are her kids?? :)

Jennifer~
I love, loved doing your session! Your house is so very cool and your kids are adorable! Thank you so much for having me do your session. It was so good to see you again after all these years.

~abi~

lovely december

2011-12-02T09:32:00.001-08:00

It's December, which means holiday cheer and my birthday! Today is one of those days when my heart and mind are longing for the gorgeous {winter} streets of New York City. The following photos are all from my 30th birthday trip to The Big Apple last year...

More {old} posts from that trip: here, here, here and here.

Have a happy weekend!

~abi~

paper-clipped hair

2011-12-01T11:49:00.001-08:00

So, this morning at work I pinned back my hair with some paper-clips, since I didn't have any bobby pins on me.

If you've done anything cooler than that today, please let me know.. ;)

{Side note: What's up w/ this face?? Let's not pay attention to my weird mouth here, or the fact that my eyebrows are out of control.. ha!}

~abi~

p.s. Things I learned while writing this post:
~ "paper-clip" is hyphenated
~ "bobby pin" is two words
Thanks, dictionary.com! :)

Glitter Jesus

2011-11-30T13:13:00.001-08:00

There are some things you should know in order to fully comprehend this post:
~I love Jesus. A lot.
~In my opinion, glitter makes the world a better place.
~Sometimes, I trade photo shoots for various things/services instead of requiring monetary payment. For example, I've traded my hair girl Jamie for hair services, and my friend Abbi for beautiful handmade books, and the talented Heather for knit goods. And now, I've traded my artist friend Matt for a Glitter Jesus.

Here's how it went down:
I am supposed to do a photo shoot for Matt, of him and of his family. Matt makes really cool paintings of Jesus. And other things, but Jesus is my fave. :) So, we had discussed a trade - a photo shoot by me in exchange for a painting by Matt. A couple of weeks ago, during a random conversation at The Girlie Show, I somehow mentioned that perhaps my Jesus painting needed to be glittery. It probably went something like this, "Glitter makes everything better!" Matt and his lovely wife Deidra and my friend B might have laughed at me a little. But it got the creative wheels turning in Matt's mind, and he decided to try it.

Last Sunday at church, he hesitantly presented the painting to me. His exact words were, "I'm not too sure about it. If you don't like it, you don't have to take it. I can do a different one for you. I'm not sure about the glitter.."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?

I adore it!!!

Seriously, I love everything about it, from the subject {duh!} to the colors to the glitter. Especially the glitter!

And how convenient that the upper corner, covered in purple glitter, just happens to perfectly match my purple velvet couch?? Yep... Purple. Velvet. Couch. Be jealous.

On a different but related note, being the oh-so-proud-and-thrilled owner of Glitter Jesus does raise a few deep questions in my heart and mind:
~One, how do we think Jesus feels about being portrayed as Glitter Jesus?
~Two, is the world actually a lovelier place because of Glitter Jesus?
~Three, does glitter, in fact, make everything better??

Perhaps the best news involving Glitter Jesus is this: He is already doing a great job at starting real and significant conversations about Real Jesus.

You see, the other night when my friend B stopped by my house, she of course wanted a photo of herself with Glitter Jesus. So I snapped one for her on her iPhone. When she showed it to her boss later, he said he couldn't see Jesus. B's reply? "It's because you don't know Him."

So there you go.

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

~abi~

mute monday ~ rainy oklahoma sunset

2011-11-28T14:49:00.001-08:00

{I took these two weeks ago today, in north Edmond.}

my token pinterest post

2011-11-22T14:02:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I hate to be typical and blog about Pinterest and inspiration from Pinterest and blah blah blah ... Half of you probably just rolled your eyes and tuned out, huh? :) But seriously.

My friend Amy posted this pic on Facebook yesterday and it made me laugh..

The caption read: "Well, Pinterest, we tried."

Awesome, huh?? How about Pinterest raise the bar for all of us and make us think that we should be capable of creating delightful culinary treats while wearing adorable clothing with perfectly messy fishtailed hair in our amazingly precious abodes. Ha!

Now, Amy is a great mom {and she is also the Executive Director of The Tapestry Project - check it out!}, so it's no surprise that she would use Pinterest for some fun holiday treat project. I tend to use Pinterest for more shallow things. Like socks.

Awhile back, I pinned these pretty socks and decided that I desperately needed to own some like them, even though I had never seen any similar ones for sale anywhere. Let's keep in mind that I shop almost exclusively at thrift stores these days.

Well, enter a random trip to the mall with my girl Kylie, who was hunting for a cross-body bag to carry at school. We stumbled into Claire's or The Icing, can't remember which. And lo and behold, if I didn't ~~go straight to the back corner to look for cheap clearance stuff~~ stumble across these beauties, marked down to just two dollars!

I scooped them up, with visions of my inspiration socks dancing in my head.

I mean, I know they're not exactly the same or anything, but I'm not a picky girl. And besides, I prefer loose inspiration, or the suggestion of an idea, rather than exact and literal copies, anyway.

Thank you, Pinterest, for making me need things I never even knew I wanted. ;)

~abi~

it would be a fun job for you, i swear..

2011-11-16T09:08:00.001-08:00

I think I would like a personal assistant for Christmas, please and thank you.

If I had a personal assistant, these are the first tasks I would assign to him/her:

1~ Please go through all my old Facebook photos and delete all the unflattering shots of me. {Yes, this is very narcissistic. But maybe people who have personal assistants are narcissists. Oh, and yes, I know that I am the one who posted all those pix in the first place. Maybe I thought I looked cute in them when I posted them, but people change over time, right? And their tastes change, too. Hi, ex-boyfriends. Haha, kidding.}

2~ Please go through all my blog posts and add appropriate labels. {I always forget to do this. I'm not very good at organizing.}

3~ Please iron my clothes for me when needed. {Most of my clothing doesn't ever need ironed, at least in my opinion. But even when it does, I just don't. Check out my skirt in yesterday's post for a perfect example. I should be embarrassed. I'm not, really.}

4~ Please answer my phone for me whenever I don't want to answer it. Also, please respond to all my photography emails and Facebook messages in a timely manner. {Unlike my manner, which is untimely.}

5~ Please clean my room. {That should keep you busy until this time next year. At that point, we will review your progress and assign new duties. Thanks.}

~abi~

that's what she wore ~ polka dots, tights and knee socks

2011-11-15T12:55:00.001-08:00

My "Hair Girl" Jamie Roark also happens to be one of my close friends. Last night, after she finished my hair, I was telling her that whenever I have new or freshly done hair, it makes me wanna step up my style game, too. So maybe that factored into my thoughts as I was choosing an outfit for today.

But before we get to the clothes, check out the hair!

Jamie did an ombre effect, from dark brown on top to fiery red on the ends.. I love it! :)

Having such a fun 'do made me want to wear fun clothes today.

Multicolored polka-dots are always fun!

Sometimes blurry pix are fun, too.. :)

Crazy tights plus over-the-knee socks make me smile! :)

This sweet Tommy Hilfiger skirt was a thrift store find. I love the leather buckles.

I think my sister Mandi gave me these cool socks. She most likely found them at a garage sale or thrift store.

I picked up these Tsubo shoes at Goodwill last week for $4.99. They were brand new, never worn, with the original price tag on the bottom for $95. They aren't necessarily my typical style {heels, heels, more heels, or sparkly flats}, but I figured I could make them work for me. I'm glad I got them.

And there you have it: my new hair and my outfit today.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday! :)

~abi~

to bring a smile to your face, i hope

2011-11-14T12:20:00.001-08:00

I had a wonderful weekend, filled to the brim with two special weddings {one, my brother's, and the other a dear friend of mine}, a sweet newborn session, and quality time spent with family and friends. When I got out of bed this morning, my calf muscles hated me a little bit after two plus days of shooting, but my heart was happy.

When the skies got gray and cloudy and started spitting some rain, my high spirits fell just a bit. I have a shoot this afternoon that I've already had to reschedule once, and I didn't want to have to change it again. On top of that, I heard the news on Twitter that we will most likely not have an NBA season at all. Boo on the lockout, man! Sad heart.

So to cheer myself up, I decided to look through the images from my newborn session yesterday. Sure enough, it brought a smile to my face and calmed my heart a little. And since baby toes make everything seem better {to me}, I just had to share this image...

It seemed perfect for what could be a slightly depressing fall Monday.

I mean, look at those toes. So sweet! Just precious.

So, everyone take a deep breath. The skies might be dark for a bit. The rain might fall. There might not be an NBA season. But whatever is bothering you, worrying you, whatever has you shaken today, I promise it will be okay.

God is good, all the time. Even when we fail, He is good. Weeping only lasts for the night; joy comes in the morning.

~abi~

p.s. The following song is in my itunes playlist which is simply titled "the best". It played while I was editing the above image, and I just had to include it in this post. This was the best video I could find of it, and it's not the greatest, so do yourself a favor and go ahead and buy "Lullaby" by Dan Wilson. Such a sweet song.

four random things, and one terrible thing

2011-11-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

1~ I have lots of interesting and/or good theories on "true love"...just ask me sometime.

2~ I suck at remembering most things. Unless it comes to winning an argument with a boy I like, and then I remember every single necessary detail. Especially every word he said/didn't say.

3~ I never, ever "got" the phrase "for the birds" until the night before last, when I saw someone comment on my friend Meg's status on Facebook. She had used that term in her status update, and someone commented saying, "Isn't that just a nice way of saying it's bullsh!t?" And a light bulb went off in my mind. I had never even thought about what that phrase might mean, never even questioned it. I just assumed it meant that something was silly. Because, you know, birds are silly..

4~ Last night, a homeless man on a bike might have run into my car at a stoplight. Or I might have sort of ran into him, I don't know. I had just started to roll forward when the light turned green, and suddenly, there was this guy and this bike bouncing off the side of my car! Go ahead, judge me. I mean, it's terrible!!! Who does that?!? But to be honest, he did hit the side of my car, so I think he ran into me. I was so stunned and horrified, that I wasn't sure what had just happened. But he was still standing, his bike was up and he walked it in a circle to be sure it still functioned properly, and then he rode away. Seriously. I asked him if he was okay and if his bike was okay, and tried to make sure everything was fine. I sat at the stoplight for at least three full minutes after that, in complete shock. And I almost threw up. But I guess he was okay. Will you all say a little prayer for that guy and his bike right now, please? And for me. My heart rate still hasn't returned to normal.

5~ Yesterday, I made some oatmeal for lunch. And I added an apple that I chopped up myself. Sounds sweet and domestic, huh? Until I tell you that it was instant oatmeal. And I used the office Keurig for the hot water. Oh, and I chopped up the apple using an old, dull butter knife, because that's the only knife to be found in my office. Which is probably a good thing on some days -- like days when I'm contemplating my theories on true love. Or days when I am thinking about how I sort of ran into a homeless guy on a bike!!!!!

I'm an awful, terrible person.

~abi~

photo session ~ abe & candie engagement

2011-11-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

My older brother Abe is getting married this Friday, on 11/11/11! He is marrying a lovely lady named Candie. Awhile back, I shot their engagement session in Bricktown. Here are some of my favorites from their session, and as always, there are more on Facebook.

Going to the movies is Abe & Candie's very favorite thing to do together, so we started off in front of their preferred theater...

Dear Abe & Candie~
I wish, hope and pray all the happiness in the world for you! Love you so much! Thank you for choosing to have me do your photos!

~abi~

portrait studio bliss ~ a guest post by my friend b

2011-11-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Last month, I gave you all a guest post written by my friend Brandie, aka B, and the response was so positive, that I decided to let her take over my blog. Just kidding. But I did decide that I will randomly share stories written by B. Maybe like once a month, you guys will get a fun little treat and get to read a post by her instead of me.

Today's post is another very true story. It's about B's very sweet, very cute mother, and... Well, I'll let B tell it...

{But first, I do need to note one thing, for those of you who might decide to stop reading here and just look at the pictures: I DID NOT TAKE THESE PHOTOS. Well, other than the last one, of B. But that was a tribute pose, for her mom. Just wanted to clarify. ;)}

Eight Bucks For The Three Poses
{by B}

It’s happened more often than I would like to admit. Each time it happens a little piece of my spirit is broken and I’m overtaken with “The Fear”. The fear that the “one day you’ll be like your mother” part of me won’t be her creativity, her dedication to those she loves or her free spirited approach to life but instead it will be this…her love of posed portraits taken at dimly lit portrait studios.

My mom. I love my mom but sometimes she does things that I just don’t understand. She chooses the path that makes the least amount of sense just to say that she did. She’s a rebel and a crazy person all trapped in one petite, lovely lady. She prefers studio portraits over outdoor photography no matter how beautiful the photography is. It just isn’t the same to her. JC Penney’s, Sears, Wal-Mart it’s all good to her. And it’s not just her…her mom does it too, and the cousin that my grandma raised. They all do it! On more than one occasion I have been given, as a Christmas gift, a 5x7 framed portrait of just my cousin or just my mom. Obviously, it’s in my blood and it scares me.

I met my mom for her birthday dinner at one of my favorite sushi places in OKC, Nhinja. She looked cute, cuter than she normally does, and I should have known right then that something was awry. During dinner I noticed that instead of eating she was rifling through her purse in search of something. She removed a few things as the search intensified and then…sweet victory, she found it. She pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse and clutched it tightly in her hand as she began sharing the events of her day.

At this point I was only half paying attention because the mystery of the paper in her hand stole my focus. What could it be? Where was this story going that it ended with this folded and worn piece of paper…I was nervous.

She took the day off to treat herself. I think she got a pedicure or someone gave her a gift certificate for a pedicure…something to do with a pedicure. At some point she went to the Mazda dealership to have the oil changed or something done to her car and had a stranger take a fun pic of her standing in front of a cherry red convertible. Her plan was to post the pic to Facebook with a caption that read “this is what I want for my birthday” or something like that.

Then she proudly hands me the paper and says “then I went to Wal-mart to kill some time and decided to have birthday pictures made”.

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! What? Why? So many thoughts were racing through my head. I have two best friends who are PROFESSIONAL photographers, why would she do this? I’m sure the look on my face said it all.

“I still want Abi to take some pictures of me but this was just for fun, it was only like $8 bucks for the three poses. These are ones I chose.”

She hands me the “proof paper” and I am amazed at what I see, maybe a little horrified that a photographer would position an adult woman, not a high school senior, into those poses. There’s no reason for her to cup her face between her hands with her elbows supporting her torso. I didn’t really have anything to say so I think I just politely nodded my head up and down and forced a smile for her. I couldn’t understand, I needed to tell someone and dinner was far from over. If I texted Abi from the table my mom would want to know who I was texting and what I was saying. I just ate.

A seemingly innocent trip to Wal-mart to pick up a few things can, on any given Sunday, turn into an impromptu photo session at the portrait studio.

The days passed and it got worse. Thanks to technology and photo editing programs, mom stylized the portraits and posted them on Facebook. Every few days one of those little beauties would pop up on my timeline and I was met face to face with what could become my fate. My mom, as a pencil sketch. My mom, in a vignette.

On a recent trip to Iowa I gave in to my fate, a little. I posed for a picture on the staircase of a grain silo as a salute to my mom. Although, it doesn’t really count…it’s not in a portrait studio.

Awesome. Thanks for contributing, B. This was a perfect cheery post for a gloomy Monday. :)

~abi~

kiss 'n' makeup ~ little pots of gold, er, eyeliner

2011-11-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

This summer, in addition to earning lots of cash back rewards with my CVS Extra Care card, I also made some fun/invaluable discoveries. For one, I found my intoxicating summer scent {mentioned in this post} at CVS. And two, I discovered these little magical pots of eyeliner by Physicians Formula.

To me, these might as well be little pots of gold: I value them that much! See, I've always, always loved makeup. I enjoy playing around with it and trying new colors and looks. And I've always said that mascara is the single most essential makeup product to me. Without it, I feel positively naked. But this summer, I became an absolute eyeliner addict. And not just any eyeliner, but thick, bold, somewhat obvious eyeliner. And it's all thanks to these little pots of eyeliner.

They come in sets of three colors for just eleven bucks. I got the one that has one purple, one black, and one brown. They also come with a little applicator brush. {And they last forever! I've worn one of these colors daily since purchasing this set at the beginning of this summer, and the little pots are still at least half full. Also, this eyeliner stays put once applied! It made it through our brutal summer days of 100+ degree heat, without streaking, smudging, or smearing. Can you tell I l-o-v-e it??}

Let me tell you, I thought eyeliner was fun before; but now, I think it is necessary! Along with bright blush and painted nails, strong eyeliner has become part of my beauty routine. Eek. Look what getting older is doing to me! I'm telling you, I am so gonna be one of those little old ladies with purple hair, blue eyeshadow, coral cheeks, and hot pink lips. And I will be fab-u-lous! :)

~abi~

sometimes i am in front of the camera

2011-11-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Even before I turned thirty, I knew I wanted to have a shoot done of myself, documenting me as a thirty year old. It took me about ten months to get it done, but I finally had my amazing friend and photographer of choice, Kelly Beane, take some photos of me.

Here are a few faves, and there are more on my Facebook page.

Kelly~
Thank you for showcasing my sexier side. ;) I love, love, love how all the photos turned out....THANK YOU! You're the best!

~abi~

that's what she wore ~ plaid and sparkles

2011-11-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

My outfit today...

{vest ~ thrifted; brown long sleeved shirt ~ i've owned forever and don't remember where I got it :)}

{These sweet earrings were hand carved by Michael Hintze. His jewelry and other woodwork is awesome! Contact him at 405.487.7109.}

{I scored this sparkly skirt at Marshall's for ten bucks!}

{watch ~ Ross; nail color ~ Envy by Ulta, a gift from my friend B}

{tights ~ Betsey Johnson, scored for cheeeeap at Ross}

{ankle boots ~ also from Ross, my favorite store other than thrift stores! :)}

Happy freaking Wednesday. ;)

~abi~

state fair photo shoot ~ kylie

2011-11-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I posted some other photos from this same session on my Facebook photography page. And I was thinking that maybe some of you wonder why I do blog posts and add photos on Facebook from the same session. Here's my reasoning: first, my blog is sort of like an online journal for me, so I like posting photo sessions on here. Plus, I sometimes like to chat a little about the session and/or the subjects, which is more suited to my blog than a Facebook album. Also, I often have trouble narrowing down my favorites from a session, so posting them in two places lets me post more photos without boring you, I hope.

So that's that.

But anyway, let's move on to this super-fun session. This is my girl Kylie. I hang out with her every Tuesday evening, and it is always a highlight of my week! Kylie and I are kindred spirits and we have amazing adventures together!

Several weeks ago, when the Oklahoma State Fair was going on, I wanted to do a shoot with all the cool lights and such, and Kylie was my willing, beautiful model. Often, when I do these personal shoots, the editing and posting gets pushed to the bottom of the pile below my clients' shoots. Kylie was very patient with me in waiting for these photos. When I finally got around to editing them, I was thrilled with how they turned out! Here are some of my faves...

I wanted to get some with a lot of people around Kylie. The first shot, on the left here, is cool, but I really love the randomness that the people in the background add in the two following images.

I don't know who those two crazy boys are! Just kidding, they're our cool friends Forrest and Sam. I didn't tell them to jump in the background here, but I was glad they did. So fun! :)

She's so gorgeous, inside and out!

Kylie~
What can I say that I haven't said a million times before?? You know that I treasure our times together. You make my life better. I love you so very much!

~abi~

engagement session ~ kody & amber

2011-10-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

Some couples are just too sweet and adorable for words, and only photos will sufficiently describe their cuteness. Kody and Amber are that couple. They are the definition of young love.

I loved doing their engagement session out by Kody's parents' house. We found lots of great little spots. Thanks, Dirk and Robin, for letting us shoot there! And thank you for having such a cool family and great places for the session! :)

Amber & Kody~
Thank you so much for having me do your photos! I loved your session. And I am so happy for the two of you. I'm thrilled whenever I get to shoot for the Meadows fam! :)

<3

~abi~

photo shoot ~ QUiD

2011-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, I am a big fan of social media/networking. I was recently reminded why Facebook can be a great tool for small businesses. This is how it went down: My friend B tagged me in a comment, and I read the thread, which was a post by B's friend Heather. Heather is the creator and designer behind QUiD, a line of fabulous accessories such as hats, scarves, and jewelry. Heather had posted that her photographer had moved away and she needed someone to shoot her new products. B recommended me, I checked out Heather's stuff, fell in love with it, and messaged her immediately.

A few weeks later, we met up for a shoot. Heather brought her amazing creations and a couple awesome models, and I scouted out a rad place to shoot. The weather and light were just perfect that evening. And I am super happy with the results! Here are a few of my faves...

Feel free to head on over to QUiD's esty shop here to pick up some of Heather's designs. I have handled this stuff, and let me tell, you, it's the softest, most snuggly stuff ever! Also, "like" the Facebook page here.

And you wanna know the best part about this whole thing? I mean, the best part for me, not so much for you.. I am a big believer in trading services/products and not always dealing in money. So, when Heather suggested a trade, I couldn't have been happier. Basically, I get to go on a little shopping spree now!!! I'm so excited, I can't wait to own some QUiD fabulousness!

~abi~

it's wednesday..

2011-10-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

..Hug a cowboy today. Or a bull rider. Or just a guy in boots. With a big belt buckle. Or hey, just find a cute boy to hug. That will do. :)

{This is Tyris. I'll post more pix of him soon. You're welcome.}

Have a good day!

~abi~

unbelievable night! {kd's all star charity game in okc}

2011-10-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just need a night that is a little bit removed from your reality. A few hours away from normal life. A break from the usual. Last night was just that for me.

My friend B took me to the all star charity basketball game hosted by Kevin Durant here in OKC. Obviously, my Thunder-loving heart was thrilled at the prospect of watching a few of my fave Thunder players {including my ultimate all-time fave, James Harden} play some ball again. Especially with this lockout going on with no end in sight for the time being. When we arrived at the game, I found out that our seats were court side...And the freaking out began!

The evening started off well, as I happened to be walking back in to our seats right as James Harden was arriving and heading into the locker room. I managed to catch his eye and throw a big smile his way. Just that little interaction was enough to make me all shaky and excited. But that was just the beginning..

I did take some photos during the game, but I was in full on fan mode, not at all trying to be a sports photog. I posted an album of the game on Facebook, but here are all the really important pix from the evening..

Wait.

Look closely at the following photo.

This is what pure, thrilling happiness looks like! :)

{James Harden and me!!!!!!}

{And us with B.}

:)

{Me, B, Daequan Cook, Eric Maynor}

{Us with Jeff Green}

{Desmond Mason and me!}

{Me, KD's mama, B}

{Us with Russell Westbrook!!!!!}

My sis Amber basically told me that the following pic was "wasted" on me, since I am not a lifelong, true sports fan like she is! :) Which is true. A true Thunder fan, I am. Don't question it. A true sports fan, I am not.

But still, I don't think this was a wasted pic at all... :)

{B, LeBron James, me!!!!!}

And the man, the one and only.....

{Us with Kevin Durant!!!!!!!}

I still can't quite believe that last night was real. Sitting close enough to see and hear the exchanges between some of the greatest players of our day, then getting to meet several of them.....I honestly have no words! I think I used them all up last night. B might have said I was acting like a hummingbird on meth. But at least I held it together when I actually met the players. Pretty much. I mean, I did ask to touch Harden's beard. And he let me. Not a big deal.

Someone pinch me. Is this real life? Thanks to all who were kind enough to make this my Best Night Ever! :)

God is good to me.

~abi~

the ones beneath me recognize the red bottoms i wear

2011-10-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

I recently did a photo shoot of my beautiful friend B sporting some fabulous Louboutin boots.

I think that I am going to have a giant print made of the above image. It would look cool hanging in my house. I'll share more soon.

Happy Wednesday!

~abi~

a time

2011-10-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lately it has felt as though my heart and emotions have been on a wild roller coaster ride. I do love roller coasters, but the recent up and down and around has gone on for too long. My heart is demanding rest, quiet, peace.

And today, my God has blessed me with just that.

Last night, I spent sweet time with my lovely LifeGroup members, who are really simply my friends. I had coffee with my dear friend Whitney prior to LifeGroup; I chatted on the phone with one of my Switch girls, ShaKari, and then with my friend Brandie, on the drive home from LifeGroup. When I got home, I sat and talked and laughed with my sister and my niece, who both display a constant and an unconditional love for me that warms my soul.

Today, I am off work early and I will head to Iowa for our annual family hayride and bonfire. My friend B is going along with me, and the rest of my immediate family will drive up later as well. I haven't been to Iowa in months, and my heart longs for my family there and the stillness and beauty and other-worldliness of my grandparents farm.

Today, I am happy with the peace and quiet that I feel. But, true to my fickle nature, I am sure that my heart will soon long for a wild ride on a roller coaster once again. But that's the pace of life, right?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

~abi~

photo shoot ... garland

2011-10-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Garland is a cool guy. He is so nice and professional and, obviously, he is gorgeous. This was our second shoot together, and I am super happy with the end result.

I am about to post more from this session on my Facebook photography page, so click on over there, too.

~abi~

messy ponytail

2011-10-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Today is a "messy ponytail" kinda day.

My goal for October is to wear more hairdo's. :)

{As always, gotta give a shoutout to my amazing hair girl/friend, Jamie Roark at DK Salon, for making my hair pretty! :)}

~abi~

ridiculous

2011-10-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today, the NBA lockout is on my mind, since talks are going on between the owners and players that might determine the outcome. As a ridiculous fan of the OKC Thunder, my heart is hoping and longing for the lockout to end! As I was thinking about all this and about what to blog today, I remembered this random pic that Kevin Durant had tweeted after the end of the season earlier this year.

I believe they were on a flight back from Vegas, maybe. And my friend K sent it to me in an email saying something about them living the dream, or wishing we had a private plane at our disposal or something of the sort. I promptly grabbed my twitter avatar pic and her twitter avatar pic and did some really fast, really crappy, really ridiculous photo-shopping...

The end result made me die laughing, and I begged K to let me tweet it to KD, but she refused for pride's sake. I, however, have no pride, apparently. And these images have been chilling on my computer desktop for way too long without being shared with the world. Or at least my thirteen blog readers. So, here you go, one more time for your enjoyment....

See, those are the kind of things that can come from a deep and true love for a sports team, a boring afternoon at work, and a little bit of wishful thinking with a friend. Fun times.

~abi~

a story of two cats, a ghost and a gun, by my friend b

2011-10-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

You all have no idea how excited I am to share today's guest post, by my friend Brandie, aka B. I know I've mentioned her several, several times on this blog before, and I am happy that you guys will get a deeper glimpse into the wonderful enigma that is my friend B. Get ready, because this is a great story.

me and B

{First, let me preface this story by saying that B has been having A LOT of strange, strange dreams lately, as well as some other questionable things going on like she mentions below. So, whenever she has been telling me these things, I merely have suggested that there might just be a demon in her apartment. She says "ghost", I say "demon" becasue it's scarier, and I'm a good friend like that. So, a couple of days ago, after the following happenings went down, I begged her to blog about it, and she agreed, as long as I would post photos of her cats so that they would be famous to the thirteen people who read my blog. Personally, I think the cats are the problem. Everyone knows that cats are evil. ;)}

B's cats

B's gun

Two Cats, A Ghost & A Gun
{by my friend B}

It has been suggested that I may have a ghost living in my bedroom closet and I haven’t wanted to talk about it until now. It came on the scene in July around the same time I bought a gun and brought it into my apartment. Let me explain.

I have two cats. They are very old and like sleeping through the night which I very much appreciate. However, back in July they started a nightly routine of scratching on the closet door, all…night…long. When this first started I thought they were just getting too old to jump up on the bed and needed a way to get my attention to put them up there. That is not the case, I have recently seen them do it. So, more often than not I get up several times during the night to pull them off the closet door and put them on the edge of my bed hoping they’ll fall asleep only to hear them scratching on the closet door minutes later.

Since the only obvious connection to the cat’s strange behavior and the ghost would be the addition of a firearm in my home I thought I should call the gun range where it was purchased to see if this is a common occurrence…and because I was bored. This is how the conversation went down:

Me: I have a question for you and I am mostly being serious

Guy on the phone (GOTP): Okay, let’s hear it

Me: I bought a gun from your store a few months back and now I think have a ghost in my closet

GOTP: Why would you have a ghost in your closet?

Me: Well, I didn’t have a ghost until after I brought the gun into the house so I think the ghost came with the gun

GOTP: Have you seen the ghost?

Me: No, but my cats stay up all night scratching on the closet door and friends have suggested the gun may have come with a ghost

GOTP: Has the ghost said anything to you?

Me: No, thank goodness. It doesn’t really bother me, just bugs the cats all night long while I am trying to sleep

GOTP: Did you buy the gun new?

Me: Yes, it still had the goop inside

GOTP: still had the goop inside huh…you should take the goop out

Me: I did, a while back. Do you sell used guns in your store?

GOTP: yes we do

Me: Do you think the ghost from an old gun got into my gun?

GOTP: No, it doesn’t really work that way. What kind of gun do you have?

Me: 9 mm, are those prone to have ghosts?

GOTP: Not that I know of, so the gun jams up when you are trying to fire it?

Me: No, the ghost hasn’t messed with me while I am shooting the gun, but I haven’t tried to shoot it in my house. I don’t think it would be a good idea to try and shoot the ghost.

GOTP: No, don’t do that. If you are in an apartment you’ll end up shooting your neighbor

Me: and the police won’t understand when I try to explain that I was only trying to shoot a ghost

GOTP: No, they probably won’t. Maybe you could put the gun in a box

Me: It’s in a box.

GOTP: Maybe you should try putting the gun in another room so the ghost won’t bother the cats at night

Me: You think that’s all I need to do

GOTP: It’s worth a try. You could take the gun to a priest and have him exorcise it

Me: I thought about getting some holy water from a Catholic church to sprinkle on it but I am not Catholic, can I just walk in and get that stuff?

GOTP: I have a friend who is a priest and he visits people’s homes to bless them and get rid of any ghosts, he may be able to help you?

Me: I’m good friends with my pastor, do you think it works the same if he’s not a priest?

GOTP: I’m not sure but it’s worth a try. If those things don’t work call me back.

Don’t worry, he had fun with it, he was laughing the entire time.

And there you have it: and afternoon in the life of B. Hope you all enjoyed. Happy Wednesday!

~abi~

that's what she wore...transition

2011-10-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm back! I don't have my computer back just yet, but that's no reason to neglect my blog-writing any longer. :) Today, I love my outfit, so I wanted to do another That's What She Wore post. I definitely need to upgrade soon, to having someone else snap pix of me in outfits when I want to post them. For now, you get the not-so-great shots I manage to take of myself while at work. :)

But first, a word on personal style. Last night, as I was getting my hair done {darker, woohoo!} by the fabulous Jamie, we were talking about defining our personal style. I told her that I have narrowed mine down to Artsy Romantic Rockstar. I'm not saying that's how I dress, or that I'm so cool; I'm just saying that I will try to only buy or keep clothes that fit that category. Today, my friends B and K suggested maybe it should be Artsy Vintage Rockstar, which I'm cool with...I think either description would work. :)

Darker hair plus my bracelets -- makes my heart happy!

Still had to keep some bright red in it for now...

{Both shirts are thrifted. The striped one had an elastic waist w/ a ruffle that fit weirdly, so I chopped it all off and just made it shorter. I like it much better now.}

{I bought this hinged ring at the Oklahoma State Fair last weekend for ten dollars. I love it.}

I've been conciously working on building up my bracelet collection. I have decided that I mostly love the look of leather mixed with metal. These bracelets all make me very happy. Yes, I am that shallow and easy to please! ;)

{Can we just talk about my bracelets for a minute?? :) Left to right, here's the price and where I got 'em: black and silver beads, purchased for five dollars at the Sheep Drive in Reed, Montana; fuschia braided leather, purchased for six dollars at the OK State Fair; metallic braided leather with metal IMAGINE charm, purchased for like twenty dollars, I believe, in Big Timber, Montana; gold double-wrap leather, purchased for eight dollars -but covered by a gift card- from Cottonwood Salon and Spa in Edmond, OK; my metal memorial bracelet for my brother Jack, given to me by my badass soldier friend Nathan after my brother was killed - it started my bracelet collection, and I wear it always; green leather with silver stars, also from Cottonwood; pink and silver beads with silver engraved heart, given to me by my friends Shane and Bre when I shot their wedding. I'm sure that is super boring info to all of you, but I love-love my bracelets and just wanted to share all the details! :)}

{Skirt is New York & Company, but I got it at Ross on clearance for five dollars!}

{These shoes are some of my faves, and I got them from GoJane.com, which is my go-to site for cheap, cute shoes.}

Have you ever tried to identify your style, or narrow it down to a certain category? I mainly have tried to define mine for one reason: I tend to like everrrything when it comes to clothes, so this helps me buy less that isn't really "me".

I hope you all are having a fantastic Tuesday! Sorry if this post is too boring for you, or if it makes me seem like I am completely full of myself. I promise, it's about the clothes and accessories, not about me! :)

~abi~

dependency

2011-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

My beloved macbook pro has decided to not function for me. This is a tragedy, not just a minor annoyance. You see, all day long, I edit photos on my laptop. I need my laptop to work. I have an appointment at the Apple store this afternoon, and I am for real praying that it is something that can be repaired easily and cheaply. Because, if that's not the case, not only will I have to replace my laptop, but I will also have to replace my photo editing software. Not cheap. Booo.

My laptop being out of commission has made me fully realize my dependency on it. I have tons of bookmarked sites and stored passwords and more. It really is like an extension of my brain; except better, because it doesn't forget things like my brain does.

Also, my laptop being out of commission made me think about another dependency I have. Since I can't edit photos on my work computer {no photo editing software}, all day I sat and mindlessly clicked back and forth between Twitter and Facebook, Facebook and Twitter. Okay, so I also checked and replied to some emails and stopped by a couple of blogs. But really, my dependency on social networking is a bit pathetic at times. Don't get me wrong, I mostly love it. And I see lots of positives in regards to social networking. In fact, just within the past week, I have booked two photo shoots for people I connected with solely via Twitter or Facebook.

But this afternoon, I came to a decision. Since my laptop isn't working anyway, and I have a good friend in town for the weekend, I am going to take this weekend off from Twitter and Facebook. Sort of a social media fast, or cleanse or whatever you want to call it. Two days. I'll be back on Monday morning. And I will miss it desperately, I am sure. But you know that saying, "Too much of a good thing..." Nevermind, I don't really believe you can get too much of a good thing. So I'll just admit that my social network addiction isn't always a good thing. Let's see if I can go for two-and-an-almost-half days without it.

Peace.
~abi~

borrowed sentiments

2011-09-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite bloggers is Ashley Ann over at Under the Sycamore. She is a fantastic mom and crafter and photographer. I love her heart of generosity and her laid back outlook on life.

A couple of days ago, she wrote a post that I just loved. It's about her love for photography, and it echoes my sentiments. You can read the whole thing over here, but I am copying and pasting my favorite part below:

The joy of photography for me is in the “click”. A moment frozen, remembered, cherished. I don’t just “click” on the picture perfect moments. In fact, many of my favorite images are from an attempt to see the beauty in something that appears very mundane. Photography has been a gift. Photography is a gift.

I print pictures. I make books. I blog photos. But, even in all the sharing and saving…the joy is in the taking the picture. I have hard drives and disks full of little moments, little details…beauty in the mundane. Maybe I’ll use them one day. Maybe the kids will enjoy them. But, then again maybe I will lose them all. Maybe in one swift moment hundreds of thousands of moments captured will be gone. If that day comes, I’ll cry. I’ll grieve the loss, but in the end….I’ll pick up my camera again and risk losing it all again….because it is more about the slowing down of life that happens when I pick up my camera. It is more about seeing beauty in what can feel very routine and mundane. Photography is a gift.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I would read the above paragraphs and think about how photography is a gift in relation to capturing moments with people I know and love. Or even capturing cool moments with strangers. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I mostly just love photographing people. I am not a landscape/scenic photographer. But today, when I read those words again and was thinking about what photos to blog with this post, I thought about some scenic photos I shot in Montana when I was there a few weeks ago. Maybe it's because I was very overwhelmed thinking about trying to decide what "people pictures" I would use, out of the literally thousands that I have on my hard drive. But mostly, I think I chose the scenic pics because it IS so unusual for me to shoot images like that. I love, love Montana, and I forced myself to stop the car several times and get out and take a few pictures and it was exactly like Ashley said, it was more about the slowing down of life and absorbing the beauty of the moment.

I hope you are all having a lovely week. We're halfway through it now. Come on, weekend! :)

~abi~

tuesday toes...dark green with glitter tips

2011-09-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

{Thanks, B, for the pretty polish.}

p.s. Guess what? I'm going to the fair again tonight! :) Who will be there! Find me and say hi.

reasons i love this photo

2011-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the photo above for a moment.

There are several reasons that I love it...

One, I love the girl in it with me. Her name is Kylie. At least once a week, Kylie and I hang out. I say that I am her mentor; but really, she teaches me a lot, too. Kylie was in my small group at Switch {LifeChurch's teen program} awhile back before moving to the Yukon campus. We really bonded from our initial meeting, and I didn't want to lose the relationship I had formed with her. So, I talked with her about getting together on a weekly basis. We talk about God and boys and life and everything. We are open and honest with each other. We laugh {a lot!} and cry and read and pray and eat and chat. My life is better because my Kylie girl is a part of it.

For Kylie's birthday this year, I wanted to get her some cool thrift store clothes, because she appreciates my thrifting skills and she likes to be unique like I do. So that brings me to another thing I love about this photo: our outfits. I found Kylie's dress, along with a couple others for her, at a Goodwill for less than five bucks. My dress, tank top and belt were all also found at various thrift stores for dirt cheap. Oh! And my fabulous earrings -- they're one of my favorite thrift store purchases ever.

Also, our shoes make me smile. I got those Frye boots for a great price at Marshall's last year. I think I paid sixty- or eighty-something for them, I can't remember for sure right now. But either way, if you know anything about Frye boots, you know that's a great deal! Kylie's shoes were purchased on a fun night of adventures on one of our Tuesday hangout nights. I love how they perfectly match her skin tone.

And please don't think I am a total narcissist for this, but I really love how my hair looks in this pic! My friend Jamie Roark gets all the credit for my hair ever looking good, because I mostly just neglect my hair, with minimal washing, brushing, or styling. Jamie has done my hair for awhile now, and I have never been so happy with it! For over a year now, I have had red hair with pink in it, and along the way we also added in the oh-so-popular feathers and even some hair tinsel. I love, loved my fun hair when it was pink and red and feathery and tinsel-y; but this last time we decided to go in a slightly more glamorous direction. We ditched the pink and the feathers and tinsel and we added a little dark red-brown. I love it! Thank you, Jamie! {She's at DK Salon, if you need a hair girl!} We discussed making it even darker next time. I'm super excited. Plus, I love that it is getting so. very. long. Woohoo! I have this idea in my head that women who are past their thirties don't look that great with super long hair {of course, there are always exceptions to the rule}, so I want to rock the long locks while I can. :)

The last reason I love this photo so much is because yesterday was just a really good day for me. I went to church, stopped and saw my friend B {who snapped this photo for us}, and spent most of the rest of the day at the fair with Kylie, where we ran into/hung out with my family and some friends. It was just a lovely day, and I will always smile and remember when I look at this picture.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Anyone do anything fun? You know, there's still a whole week left of the fair. Get out there! Maybe I'll run into you.

~abi~

i heart okc!

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed living in Oklahoma {for over half my life now}. I am such a MidWestern girl. My roots are in Iowa, and that's where all my extended family is, as well. So Iowa has a special place in my heart, too. But lately, I am falling more and more in love with Oklahoma, and especially Oklahoma City.

Admittedly, a big part of that has been my passionate love affair with the Oklahoma City Thunder. There is probably nothing I enjoy doing in this great state more than heading downtown on a game day and watching my boys play. I love the energy and the feeling of unity in and around the newly renamed Chesapeake Engery Arena, aka the ThunderDome. In fact, there's really only ONE thing I want for my birthday this year {okay, that's an exaggeration, but this is what I want more than almost anything else}, and that is for this stupid NBA lockout to end and someone to take me to the New Year's Eve game {my birthday!}. Floor seats, meeting James Harden, and a kiss from a cute boy at midnight would pretty much complete my fantasy for that night. I'm just sayin'.

Aside from Thunder games, probably my favorite thing to do in OKC is go to Live On The Plaza the second Friday of every month. The plaza district is an awesome little area of Oklahoma City over on the 1700 block of NW 16th. It is full of great local shops, and lots of super cool and artsy people show up for Live On the Plaza. It's some of the best people watching in the state, I promise.

Of course, this time of year, I can't talk about things I like to do in Oklahoma without mentioning the State Fair! Oh my word, how I love going to the fair!!!!!!!! Talk about people watching.....duh. Obviously, the fair is the BEST place for that, but in a whole different and not so cool and artsy way as at Live On The Plaza, ha! And can we talk about the food, the animals {Iowa girl at heart, y'all -- I love looking at horses and cows and especially the baby pigs!}, the music, the rides {although I never really ride very many rides because I'm too poor for all that ;)}, and more! Every year, I would say that I am at the fair at least four to seven of the ten days that it is here. Did I mention I love it?!?

Talking about the fair makes me think about the Festival of the Arts that occurs every April in the heart of downtown OKC. I have attended it pretty much every year for the past nine years or so, I believe. It is always a great time of good food, cool art, and still more interesting people to see.

I already mentioned The Plaza District, but some of my other favorite areas in Oklahoma City include the new and slick Classen Curve {rePUBlic is the coolest place, so good!}, the awesome Western Avenue area {Cafe Nova on the weekends for good music, drinks, and dancing -- yes please}, and of course good old Bricktown. The other day, I was in Bricktown doing a photo shoot, and as I watched all the people and heard live music playing and smelled delicious food from the restaurants, I literally felt my heart stir with love for this city! Sounds ridiculous, I know. But really. Being in the midst of our not-too-big-not-too-small city makes me so happy!

Obviously, I can't talk about Oklahoma City without mentioning the places I love to shop here! You all should know by now that I am a thrift store shopper, for real. Of course, this means that I frequent Goodwill {and even have their discount card, that's how cool I am}, but since we're talking local, let me tell you three places to try. The first two are thrift stores, and I'm sorry but I don't even really know their exact names, so I'll just tell you where they are located. One is on the corner of NW 23rd and Council, and the other is on the corner of NW 23rd and MacArthur. In fact, last night, I ran into the one on NW 23rd and MacArthur and spent about ten minutes and twenty-five dollars and got two sweaters with the original price tags still on them {one was $49.00 and the other was $108.00 - one hundred and eight dollars!!!} among other things!!! :) Anyway, the third place I want to mention isn't so much a thrift store, but more of an antique/vintage place. It's called the Rink Gallery, and it's off of NW 36th on Rockwell. I mostly find cool stuff for my house there. Oh, and I've scored some sweet jewelry there as well!

The one store I want to mention that isn't a thrift store is Tree and Leaf Clothing. There are several really cool, local clothing shops in OKC, but Tree and Leaf is my fave! Maybe because they make rad Thunder apparel, or maybe because they're so nice and chill. Whatever it is, I am a fan.

Oklahoma City has LOTS of really, really great restaurants, and I could make a long list of recommendations {maybe I'll have my friend B or Kathleen do a guest foodie post soon!}, but instead I'll tell you my top two faves. First, I gotta shout out Saii, the yummiest sushi place in OKC, in my opinion. Mmmmmm. But my number one fave restaurant in Oklahoma City is an awesome little hole in the wall place called Bella Vista. It is over on the south side off SW 59th on Western. Seriously SO GOOD. Go there. But please don't expect anything fancy. Just expect the most delicious food ever! And thank me later.

So there you have it, a pretty comprehensive post all about why I <3 OKC. I would love to know some of your favorite things about this awesome town, or your hometown or favorite city. I hope you didn't get too bored with all my wordiness here. Obviously, I can go on and on about my love for Oklahoma!

~abi~

true life stories...peroxide and teeth babies and such

2011-09-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of comments on my teeth. Yes, my teeth. About how white they are, mostly, although I also get comments on how straight they are. {Really only the top ones are straight, the bottom ones struggle a little.} So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank God and my parents for the straightness of my teeth. {No braces here, woohoo!} And I would like to thank good old peroxide for the whiteness of my teeth. Yep, you know hydrogen peroxide, that comes in the brown bottle for like a dollar? That's the stuff.

{Side note: I don't even like this pic of me, really, because my hair was super faded and in dire need of a cut and color. AND because of the weird lighting I look like I had either been overly spray-tanned or rolled around in a bag of Cheetos -- neither of which happened! But the pic shows off my teeth pretty good, so there ya go.}

A long time ago, I used to use Crest WhiteStrips, which worked, too, for sure. But they cost way more than a dollar. And if you know me at all, you know I am a cheap girl. {Not like that. Stop it.} Then I read an email forward {you know, like your mom sends, with all the stuff that might or might not be true at all} about all the awesome stuff peroxide can do, and one of the things mentioned was teeth whitening. And around the same time, I think my bff Jen told me she had started to use peroxide to whiten her teeth. So I tried it. And it works! No worries, it even says on the bottle that it can be used as a mouthwash.

{It's my blog, so here's another, better pic of me, still showing off my teeth. ;)}

On top of using peroxide as a mouthwash, I am and always have been an obsessive tooth-brusher. I like clean teeth. In fact, I like clean teeth so much that I would probably never date a boy who had jacked up teeth. Not like a little crooked or something, I mean dirty and gunky. Ewww. Yuck. Can't do it, can't go there. Shudder.

I notice when people have nice, clean teeth. And I appreciate it. I once liked a boy who had lovely teeth: nice and straight and white and clean, if they were just a little bit big. I told my friend B that if I married said boy, my small teeth would balance out with his larger teeth, and we would have nice teeth babies. Alas, I am quite certain that I will never be having teeth babies with that particular boy; but I might just refuse to settle for someone who is not a good tooth match for me. Just sayin'.

{The term "teeth babies" is pretty creepy sounding to me, so here's a creepy pic of me dressed up sort of like Victoria from Twilight, about to bite B's neck. Speaking of teeth.....}

So, now you know something about me that you {maybe} didn't know previously. Tell me something about you in the comments, please. Make it interesting. And don't try to steal my awesome phrase "teeth babies". It's a good one, I know.

~abi~

one of the coolest, most talented kids i know, for sure!

2011-09-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, my friend Forrest Wright asked me to do a photo shoot of him. I was thrilled, because I am pretty sure that the shoot was originally my idea. You see, I am the self-proclaimed Number One Fan of Forrest Wright. For real. This kid is legit. I honestly don't know if I have ever believed in anyone's talent and ability to succeed as much as I do his. Maybe it sounds like I am gushing, but hey, I am his Number One Fan.

When I arrived at his house, Forrest had neat piles of clothing and accessories laid out for me to choose from for the shoot. I was super excited, because I love it when I get to play stylist on my own shoots. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this kid is a thrift store shopper like me, and had some great pieces to choose from.

We chose the wardrobe, grabbed his guitar and long board, and headed out to some random locations I had previously scouted out.

The light in parking garages is almost always fantastic...

Next we headed over to shoot in front of this old laundromat that I had been wanting to shoot by for forever...

Seriously less than one week after we shot there, this laundromat was completely bulldozed. So glad we got these shots there first. And I'm sad it's gone.

Forrest~
You are the real deal, and I am so glad that we are friends and that you let me take pictures of you. :) Please don't forget me when you are a celebrity. I believe in you!

~abi~

ps Check out Forrest covering Amos Lee's song Sweet Pea...

And more of videos of his music can be found on his Facebook page here.

Oh! And here is the cutest video ever!!!!!!!

mute monday...God Bless America

2011-09-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

{in front of Soldiers Chapel in Big Sky, Montana}

do you believe in magic?

2011-09-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

My sister Amber makes fun of me for being very superstitious. The funny thing about that is, in general I don't even wish people good luck. I am much more likely to say, "God bless." Or, "I'll be praying for you." Or something along those lines.

I truly believe that God is in control of the universe. But I also {mostly} truly believe in jinxes. And in not saying things out loud if you don't want them to happen. Except in the case of reverse psychology. But anyway, you get my drift.

All of that to say that I don't reeeeally believe in magic. But when I uploaded these images of my friend Kristen's daughter Madison onto my computer and looked at them, the only word that came to mind was "magic". However, I must say how amazing God is for creating the magical light that bounced off my camera just so...

God bless! ;)

~abi~

true life stories...this one's for you and me, living out our dreams

2011-09-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, I settled into a seat on a flight home to Oklahoma from Montana. I pulled my thin, striped sweater up around me, and I breathed in the faint scent of an outdoor fire mixed with coconut citrus. I covered my eyes with my sleep mask and I covered my arms with my sweater, but I couldn't cover my thoughts with sleep.

The scent of the fire took me back just a few nights, to sitting in front of a huge outdoor fireplace in Big Sky, Montana, with my dear friend Jill and some other random people. It was a good time. Then my thoughts drifted back over the past several days I had spent in Montana. It was a wonderful trip, one which will always bring a smile to my face whenever I think of it. But then, my mind wandered even further back.

You see, the smell of citrus coconut has been my summer scent this year. The possibility of me ever choosing to wear it again hinges on the outcome of some things from this summer. You see, this summer hasn't exactly been the most peachy of seasons for me.

Let's sum it up this way: I stumbled a bit on this path called life, I didn't get the boy, and my dog died. Okay, not really on that last one. But it seemed to go with the "poor me" theme. {Fact: I've never even had a dog that was solely my own. Terrible, I know! Please cry real tears for me; and tell whatever cute boy I end up with that all I want is a puppy that will grow into a huge dog and be mine-all-mine!}

Okay, so back to the thoughts of my summer. As I reflected on Summer 2011, I thought again about something that has previously pricked me on a deeper level. I feel like I've maybe even mentioned it on this blog before, but I am too lazy at the moment to search through my past ramblings.

Basically, my disturbance is this: Why do girls need to end up with some boy in order to feel complete? Why are females expected to have a love story, ala Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels tale? Why did Ariel have to get the Prince in order to be happy? Why weren't LEGS enough to complete her? ;)

Now don't get me wrong, I love love stories {especially Pioneer Woman's and Ariel's}! And yes, I certainly do want my own love story, for real. But in the meantime, I've got a lot of other stories that I think are worthy of telling. Even if it's just to remind myself how blessed I am and what a wonderful life God has given me.

And believe me, I'm not pointing fingers at all of you, saying "You guys don't think my stories are worth hearing unless they start with me-and-a-boy and end with and-they-lived-happily-ever-after!" No, I am looking in the mirror and saying that. In the quiet moments, such as when I'm on an airplane and the scent of my sweater pushes me into overly deep thinking, I tell myself that it's okay.

It's okay to be a female who is thirty and single. {WowDidIJustWriteThatOnMyBlog?!?} It sounds so lame when I put it like that. So how about this: It's okay to be a girl who is single and gets to travel and hang out with her friends and spend time with her family and mentor teen girls and lead a small group for her church and volunteer with the youth and the kids program at church. It's okay to be a girl who is single and can therefore work two basically full time jobs. It's okay to be a girl who is single and can flirt with cute boys whenever she wants. ;)

It's okay, right?

~abi~

ps This post is for Megan, who gently admonished me about not blogging enough lately -- and wrote a blog post tonight that pushed me into putting this post-in-my-head onto my blog. Also, this post is for all the single ladies in my life who deserve men who will put a ring on it! ;)

i tweet, i travel, i need to blog more

2011-08-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the deal: I am editing my life away! Okay, so that's not entirely true. I am tweeting and emailing and facbooking and editing my life away. And I don't mean I am editing my life away as in cutting out stuff; I mean I am editing my life away, as in spending all my time editing photos. :) And I really don't mind too much. It just doesn't leave me much time for blogging. That's where the tweeting and facebooking comes in... that's my mini-blogging, I guess. It really is a narrative of my daily life, in 140 characters or less. :)

Anyway, this afternoon I will be on a flight out to Montana, where I will shoot a wedding and get to visit with my amazing friend Jill. Montana is one of my favorite places in the world, so I am super excited about this trip! When I get back, I am vowing to cut back {a bit} on the tweeting and pick up on the blogging again, for real. I have a million and one photo shoots that I am dying to share with y'all! And as always, I have lots of stories to tell.

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Anyone have any fun plans? Anyone else going on a cool trip?

~abi~

mute monday...skimming the surface

2011-08-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

{Alki Beach, West Seattle}

the birth day of ethan light

2011-08-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, on Wednesday, August 3rd, very early in the morning, I got a text I had been eagerly awaiting. I took a quick shower and rushed to my dear friend Anna Light's house. She was in labor with her first child! Anna had decided to have her baby in the comfort of her own home, assisted by the amazing Gail and Nikki of Community Midwifery Service, LLC. Anna was also assisted and supported by her wonderful husband and incredible family.

I absolutely LOVED being there. I photographed Cody and Anna's engagement session and wedding, Anna's bridal portraits and her maternity photos, so this was just another chapter in documenting their story. {Also, I am now 100% convinced that I want to have my future hypothetical babies at home, surrounded by those I love and who love me.}

I realize I am about to inundate you with images in this post. I probably should've made a slideshow, but I'm not really a slideshow maker, and I wanted to be able to talk about a few of the photos. However, I will keep the narrative brief, as I believe these images speak for themselves.

Anna made this calendar for Cody last year... Funny...

I loved watching Anna's parents throughout the day, as they watched and prayed for and encouraged their girl.

Please notice Anna's sister Erin, on the floor here. She was passing time by cutting out cloth diapers for her own baby, due in a few months! So cool.

Anna's sister Katie is a nurse and she had come straight from a long shift. She rested up a little and was a rock for Anna that day!

Ready...

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Anna was getting really frustrated after being in labor all day, so she said we needed a game to do to distract her during contractions. She started calling out little exercises for us to do for the duration of each contraction! So funny! And it did distract her for a bit.

Cody's drink of choice that day...

This is one of my favorites from the whole day. Sisterly love, for real!

Anna and Cody didn't find out beforehand if the baby was a boy or girl, so everyone was super excited when he came out a boy, just as Anna and Cody had predicted!

Baby Ethan, so sweet!

He's perfect!

Anna and Cody~
Once again, I must tell you how much it meant to me to be there and be a part of this amazing, beautiful day! Your love touched my heart and renews my soul! Thank you for allowing me to document and share your story! Love you guys so much!

~abi~

wednesday word of the day...strength

2011-08-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

strength
[strengkth, strength, strenth]
noun
1.
the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.
2.
mental power, force, or vigor.
3.
moral power, firmness, or courage.
4.
power by reason of influence, authority, resources, numbers, etc.
5.
number, as of personnel or ships in a force or body: a regiment with a strength of 3000.

Well, that is the dictionary meaning of the word strength, but what does the word strength mean to you?

I have been pondering the word strength today. Because I am oh-so-weak. Not weak, as in I can't lift heavy objects or beat you up. ;) No, I am referring more to the meanings 2 and 3 in the above definition. I think of the song lyrics "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." Well, I am waiting, and I need my strength to rise. Because I am weak.

So, what about you? Are you strong? Are you strong physically but weak mentally or morally? Are you strong mentally or morally but weak physically? What do you think of when you hear the word strength?

Isaiah 40:31
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

{ps That's my awesome friend Abbi in the above photo. Check out her site http://bodschool.com/ featuring photos by me.

true life stories...my weekend trip to austin

2011-08-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

In general, I am a ridiculous procrastinator. Usually, my procrastination works against me, but in rare cases it works in my favor. This past weekend, it did both.

For months, I had been planning to take a trip to visit my good friend Michael down in Killeen, TX. Of course, Killeen is about an hour from Austin, TX, and I've never been to Austin. So the plan was always to go see Mike and end up in Austin.

Also, my lifelong best friend Jen's thirtieth birthday was yesterday. {Happy birthday, Jen! I love you!!!} Jen lives in Mansfield, TX {Dallas/Ft Worth area}, and of course I was planning on visiting her to celebrate her birthday.

I use the word "planning" loosely. What I mean is, I had thought about visiting Mike and visiting Jen, and I had even chatted with each of them about it. No actual plans were made...for months and months. Then I realized the summer was getting away from me, and that Jen's birthday was coming up quickly, so I logically decided to combine my two non-planned trips to Texas into one planned trip. I talked with Jen to see if she would want to celebrate her birthday by going to Austin. She did. I talked to Mike to see if he was cool with me bringing extra people to stay with him during my visit. He was.

Awesome. I had plans. Sort of. See, in case you all forgot, I am still car-less. I mean, I am currently and temporarily driving my parents' car {yay for being a grown up}. But I don't have a car to take on a road trip. Plus, I kind of wanted to ride the train down, since I've done that once before and loved it. Okay, so I decided I would probably just ride the train. {It seems that plans in my head aren't actual plans. Lame.}

Then, last Monday or Tuesday, I was on the phone with my friend Kelly, and while discussing our upcoming weekend, we discovered that we were both planning on going to Killeen, TX, on Friday! The difference here is that Kelly had actual plans, to drive down with her husband and children. But guess what? Kelly is one of my very best friends {which makes it somewhat humorous that we hadn't discussed up to that point we were both going to Killeen}, so I pretty much invited myself to ride along with her family. And just like that, her plans became my plans! {Thanks, Kelly Beane!}

And since I hadn't purchased a train ticket, my procrastination worked in my favor in this case. I rode to Killeen with Kelly and her husband and their cool kiddos. I was able to chat and sleep and listen to good music. It was a wonderful ride!

Once I got to Killeen, Mike and I pretty much headed straight to Austin. I was determined to make it there in time to do some vintage shopping for a present for Jen. Jen and I have been friends since the second grade. So I needed to find a cool present for her thirtieth birthday!

Mike took me to this cool store...

I had exactly one hour to look. If you shop at thrift stores or vintage, at all, then you know that an hour is just enough time. Because you have to be thorough. Thankfully, there are thrift store gods who smile upon me and reward me for all the time and money I have spent in my lifetime on used clothing. I found an amazing pair of truly vintage, high-waisted, bell bottom jeans. They were tiny and looked like they might fit around one of my thighs - so I knew they would fit Jen perfectly! ;) I had also spotted an adorable little paisley print dress. I decided both would be perfect for Jen, and I purchased them while holding my breath and praying they would fit her. Can I just say that in order to shop used clothing for someone else, it helps to know them almost as well as you know yourself - for style and fit purposes! :) {Sidenote: When I picked up the little dress, the girl working in the shop informed that the dress used to belong to the same person as the jeans I had already decided on. Sweet!}

The next afternoon, Saturday, Jen and our great friend Jake arrived and we all got ready and headed back into Austin. We walked down 6th Street for a bit. And then, we had the most insanely delicious dinner at Z'Tejas. Seriously, so! good!

Then we headed out for a bit for Jen's birthday celebration.

I love, loved my outfit that night. Cool clothes make me so happy! Almost as happy as these shoes make me...

{beautiful Jen and myself :)}

The next morning, Jen and Jake and I headed back into Austin again for some more super delicious {and healthy!} food at Austin Java Restaurant & Coffee House for brunch. I seriously wanted to try everything on their menu. And the iced cinnamon dulce latte I ordered there almost put Starbucks to shame. ;)

I am including this pic just to show you the cute vintage dress I found for Jen... And to show you how cute Jen's hair looks in a ponytail. Jealous.

After brunch, we made the drive back to Fort Worth, where Jake had to catch a flight and I was supposed to get on the train back to OKC. However.....I had not made a reservation...Who needs a reservation? There's always plenty of seats available on the train. Except there weren't any seats available. Not one. Crap. And here was a perfect example of my stupid procrastination working against me.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there happens to be a bus station right there in the train terminal. So, I figured since I needed to get home, I might as well ride the bus for the first time in my life. Up to that point, the only buses I had ever been on were church buses. I never even rode a school bus, thanks to my homeschool/Christan school upbringing.

But I swallowed my apprehension and purchased a ticket. For twice as much as a train ticket! What?!? And I learned that I would be getting home two hours later than if I had ridden the train. Awesome. The experience was off to a great start.

But from there, it really did get better. After transferring buses in Dallas {really, DFW bus system?}, I chose a seat in the second row of the bus to OKC, thereby managing to avoid the somewhat rowdy group of guys further back in the bus. I ended up learning that the nice woman I was sitting next to had suffered a hard life and was on her way to rehab. Really. She told me her whole story and we talked a lot about God and His love and mercy. It was actually pretty cool.

The bus driver was a total trip. As in, hi-la-rious. But not on-purpose-hilarious. Just truly entertaining. Every single time we stopped and started, which was several times, he tapped the horn a few times. Every stop and start. My seatmate and new friend and I couldn't help but laugh about it every time. He also stated, over and over, that if anyone "do be disturbing anyone" to just let him know and he would handle it. And I was quite confident that he would. Thankfully, there were no disturbances.

I arrived safely home in Oklahoma City late Sunday night, having added a new experience to my life. Fun times. Over all, it was a wonderful few days, comprised of awesome times with lifelong friends, great food, captivating people watching, and interesting travel. I loved it.

~abi~

lovely lookalikes...libby & keira knightley

2011-08-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am that person who is often reminded of someone else when I meet a person. You know what I mean? Like, "Oh, you look so familiar to me. Who do you look like?" Usually, the similarities remind me of some random celebrity, but sometimes it's just of another friend or person I know. Anyway, for a long time, I have wanted to start a little series on my blog of some of my Lovely Lookalike observances.

This is my beautiful friend Libby. I did a portrait session of her the other day because she wanted her husband to have some current photos of her {I love that! Take note, husbands and wives}. As soon as I snapped the following image, I stopped and said, "Oh my word, I just totally saw Keira Knightley in you!" Libby laughed, probably because I can get a little intense during shoots, and I might have been overly excited by the resemblance I had noticed. :)

So today, I browsed through some images of Keira {thanks, Google} and found this shot and was like, "Yes. That's it."

So I played with Libby's pic just a bit...

I mean, seriously. You all see it, too, right? :) {See, Libby, I'm not too crazy! And btw, I hope this post doesn't embarrass you. You look like Keira. Just accept it and own it. And capitalize on it! ;)}

~abi~

ps Tomorrow, I head to Austin for the weekend. It will be my first time ever to visit that amazing city. Feel free to give me suggestions for places to go, food musts, vintage shops, etc!

mute monday...technicolor vegas detail

2011-08-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

{Not gonna lie: I kinda wish I was in Vegas right now. But that's not unusual..}

to brighten your day

2011-08-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Y'all should really thank me, you know? I slave away doing difficult shoots like this one, just to have photos to post to make your Friday even better...

Man, it's a tough job!

~abi~

ps This cute boy is Tony. We had an awesome shoot last week. Look for more photos soon on my Facebook page.

little light

2011-08-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a truly amazing day for me. I was able to photograph the absolutely beautiful and oh-so-special home birth of this gorgeous boy Ethan...

His mama Anna, and his daddy Cody, are two of my very close friends. I am thrilled that I was able to be a part of this day with them! More photos and details coming soon!

~abi~

oh yeah: i survived

2011-08-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

I really should have done this post yesterday, for those of you who were worried that I might not have lived through the Dirty 30 Race. ha.

I finished.

AND I had a blast! I seriously loved it! For real.

Here are some photos...

Side note/story: Back in the day when myspace and {myspace creeping} was where it was at, one of my awesome friends liked this guy, and he might or might not have liked this other girl. {We were never quite sure. ;)} Anyway, her headline {remember those, myspacers??} on her myspace page said: "I can run in heels." I told my friend, "Whatever, that's lame." And changed my headline to read: "I take out the trash in heels." Which is not lame, and is actually true. So anyway, I guess those phrases are imbedded in my brain and might have inspired the saying that I put on my shirt for the race...

The front said: "I run better in heels..."

These girls plus my friend Whitney Ray cheered me on during the race! Thanks, loves!

{my friend B, my sis Amber and my niece Laila}

{Randa, Megan, Jamie, me, Chelsea ~ Megan is in my LifeGroup and Jamie does my hair. Randa and Chelsea were friends of theirs who I just met that day, but as I've heard, you make friends quickly at races. :)}

Hey, check it out: I can scale a wall. It's not a big deal.

I dominated the mud pits. I mean, I really did. So fun!

Oh, we just walked through a pond. Also not a big deal. And pretty fun! :) {Actually, it felt great in the 100+ degree heat!}

I'm a poser. It's what I do.

Yes, we choreographed our finish line flourish. :)

Showing off our sweet medals! I bit mine, because that's what they do in the Olympics when they win, right?

Dirty girl!

This is my memorial tattoo for my brother Jack. He definitely would have been so impressed with me and proud of me for doing this run!

A sort of shower and a few beers were the perfect ending to this super fun race!

Thanks to the lovely ladies who ran this with me! I had so much fun, and I can't wait for the next one! Uh oh.. I think I got tricked into becoming a runner! :)

~abi~

tomorrow i might die

2011-07-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I will participate in my first ever race, The Dirty 30. This isn't just any run, it is a 5K with mud and 15 obstacles. People who claim to love me, convinced me that it would be "easy" and "fun"... Nevermind that I ~~am not~~ wasn't a runner. Or an obstacle doer. Or a mud person. Nevermind that I prefer 4 inch heels to cushy running shoes. Nevermind that in order to "train" for this run, I "became a runner" and started running during the Scorching Hot Summer From Hell of 2011 When Every Single Day Has Been Over 100 Degrees. Nevermind all of that. Because tomorrow, my one and only goal will be to FINISH! Without dying. After that, I can die happy...or proud. Or something.

Wish me luck and say some prayers for me!

Happy weekend!

~abi~

have you ever eaten here?

2011-07-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

This place is awesome! It is down by the Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, OK. And it is so worth the drive if you haven't been there!

Seriously, it's very good. And has so much atmosphere. And you can see some bison nearby, so that's fun, too.

{And now, you get a peek into how my mind works. Not that any of you want that insight. But nevertheless... Today, I was struggling with what to blog about... And randomly, on my lunch break, a mortuary caught my eye for some reason. Instantly, my mind went back to the time surrounding the death of my brother. When I got back to the office, I was looking through some of the photos I took on the one year anniversary of his death. My family went to the Wildlife Refuge and spent the day hiking and sitting and talking about Jack. And we ate dinner at Meers. That's when I took the above photo. So that's how this blog post came to be.}

~abi~

my friend k is so beautiful

2011-07-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

For months, I have wanted to do a photo shoot of my friend Kristie {better known as K}. And not just any shoot, but I wanted to do a rockstar-ish shoot in her cool apartment over in the Plaza District {my fave area of OKC}. So, i begged her to pose for me. And to let me do her makeup and pick out her outfits. I love it when my friends oblige my ideas and requests.

I am working on editing her photos for her today {my poor friends have to wait patiently while I edit actual jobs first, haha}, and this one jumped out at me. I'm pretty sure it's my favorite from our whole shoot, but I haven't finished them all yet, so we'll see.

This look was definitely more movie star hot than rock star hot, but really "gorgeous" is always my ultimate goal when it comes to portraits, so I'm super happy with this. :)

You're so pretty, K!

~abi~

that's what she wore...staying cool

2011-07-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, I would like to occasionally start documenting my outfits on my blog. Well, I mean, I've already done that for awhile, but I want it to be more of a series. So, my working-title-in-progress is That's What She Wore.

It has been unbearably hot here in Oklahoma. I've lost track of how many days the temperature has soared over one hundred degrees. Basically, wearing any clothing at all is kind of a pain. But since bathing suits are not acceptable work attire, I am forced to get dressed each day. And try to look like a cool while actually attempting to remain, uh, cool.

I was pretty happy with today's summer outfit...

{I really need to get some contacts, so that I could see clearly while wearing sunglasses.}

{Physicians Formula purple-y eyeliner, to match my purple-y scarf. Yes, I am often that girl who matches her eye makeup to her clothes. Yikes.}

{The ring and earrings were a gift from my mama.}

When you wear a simple outfit like a plain tee with a basic little skirt, the details will make it special. Like the pocket and sleeve cuffs on the tee and the ruffles on the scarf.

{Bracelets were gifted to me by my lovely friend Kelly Beane.}

{American Eagle skirt, thrifted.}

Stripes seem so summery to me.

{Sweet Gap flats, thrifted by my sis Mandi and gifted to me. Score!}

Happy weekend, friends! Have fun. And stay cool. :)

~abi~

go read this, it's funny

2011-07-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today, you should all go read this post by my favorite sports blogger, Royce Young at DailyThunder.com: "Former Thunderer Desmond Mason is in a Chris Kattan movie"

It's all kinds of awesome.

If you don't know how cool Desmond Mason is, you should look up some stuff about him. Especially if you are from Oklahoma or if you love Oklahoma. Plus, check out how hot his wife is!

~abi~

p.s. On a sort of related note: One of my favorite Thunder play off moments last season was when KD made a sick play and then fived Desmond Mason, who was sitting courtside. Sa-weet.

tuesday toes...pink and yellow

2011-07-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have always loved all things shiny, shimmery or iridescent. But it seems that since I turned thirty, I just can't get enough glitter in my life. It's almost like I am actually a fifteen year old. Since I know too much glitter on a thirty year old can be, well, tacky {and we all know i like to keep it classy, ha!}, I try to keep most of the glitter on my fingers and toes. And sometimes my eyeliner. Or my earrings. Or maybe my belt. Or my scarf...

~abi~

happy friday, it's summertime!

2011-07-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

I really love this photo that I captured of one of the little guests at Beau's birthday party {which I posted about the other day}. I think it captures the essence of summertime really well. And it makes me want to spend my entire weekend in water! :)

Happy Friday, friends!

~abi~

needy? or created this way?

2011-07-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

As most people who know me are aware of, my favorite NBA player is James Harden. I like him a lot. It's kind of ridiculous.

He seems like a fun, goofy guy who has great style and a keen interest in music -- why wouldn't I like him? I follow him on Twitter, and just a bit ago he posted this tweet: "You take care of Me and I will take care of Us."

That's it. Just a dozen words. And they stopped me in my tracks for a moment.

Because my heart responded to those words. And it made me a little uncomfortable. I am a thirty year old single girl. I have never been married. I have never had a child. I am independent and I support myself.

So why do those words appeal to me? Why do I unconsciously long to hear a man say such words to me? It makes me feel as if something is wrong with me. Am I weak? Needy? Or, even worse, am I a gold digger? Do I just want a guy to take care of me? I thought I was fine with taking care of myself. ... Wow. Such a simple statement sure stirred up a lot of inner debate.

But apparently, I am not the only one who felt a response to that tweet.

Within fifteen minutes of James posting that, it had been retweeted by ninety people.

So, what's the deal here? Is it only natural for women to desire to be taken care of, and for men to desire to take care of them? I truly believe that is how God created us, but it goes against my self-reliant, independent nature to even admit that. I don't really want to feel like I have the desire to have a guy take care of me. I want to feel like I can do it all, and be just fine, alone.

But the truth is, I don't want to do it all alone.

Not too long ago, I was sort of talking to this boy. I was pointing out my flaws, like how terrible I am at managing my money and being a responsible adult {why do we tend to tear ourselves down like that?}, and he responded by simply saying, "I can fix you." Now, that probably just rolled off his tongue without much thought, but it stuck in my head. I felt the same way about that statement from him as I did about the tweet by James Harden. I mean, shouldn't it bother me if a guy tells me he can "fix" me? Why did that statement seem so very appealing?

Is this just a constant inner turmoil that the modern day woman must deal with: to be independent and successful and yet allow a man to take care of her?

In my heart of hearts, I don't believe it shows weakness or neediness or greediness for a woman to desire and allow a man to take care of her. I truly believe that we can be strong and successful by our own merits and still be feminine enough to be taken of by a guy. It's weird, and I believe it requires a delicate balance.

My dear readers, what's your opinion on this? Please don't yell at me for mine! :) But I would love to know your thoughts.

~abi~

she did it all herself

2011-07-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I photographed a pretty rad one year old birthday party for a sweet little boy named Beau. His mama is an awesome friend of mine named Abbi. She is super creative {I think it goes with the name ;)} and has a blog that documents her creations here.

Several months ago, Abbi contacted me about booking me to shoot her son's party. When we discussed the price, I suggested we do a trade: some of her amazing mint chocolate cupcakes in exchange for my photography services. When I got the cupcakes from her, I gave half of them to my niece for her birthday {she had tasted the cupcakes before and loved them!} and half to my mom for Mother's Day {she kindly shared them with the family, as moms tend to do}. I love the idea and the reality of trading services/goods as opposed to always dealing in money. I kind of hate money anyway -- and I kind of love it. And I can't live without it. Okay, so anyway, if you have goods or services you could trade for a photo shoot, don't hesitate to ask about doing that instead of paying cash. :)

Now, on to the party! Abbi did a remarkable job creating every single party detail by hand! She is amazing, really! If you are looking for someone to plan a party for you and take care of the details, she's your girl fo' sho!

Here's a glimpse of the awesomeness that was Beau's first birthday party...

The favors for the kids were these fun little items, wrapped up inside a small burlap bag...

Yes, she made all the cupcakes and treats, as well!

And here are some people pictures from the party, too... :)

{the birthday boy and his mama}

I think he was happy when he saw his little cake..! :)

First bite! So precious. Melt my heart.

You can find out more about all the amazing party details and how she did it all, over on Abbi's blog Z As In Zebra.

Abbi~ {and Andrew and Beau and the rest of your whole awesome family}
I thoroughly enjoyed photographing such a fun, detailed, well planned party! Can't wait to hang out with you guys again. Thank you for having me be there.

~abi~

pink stain

2011-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

You know how you reach a certain point in life where you are grown enough to actually realize it and take it in when you are learning a life lesson? Or is that just me? Maybe I am just hard headed or a slow life-lesson-learner, or a combination of both. But I think I was in my upper twenties before I was able to actually acknowledge a life lesson as I was learning it, instead of in retrospect.

A few years ago, I was interested in this one particular guy. His name was Danny. And he had a little scar above one side of his upper lip that made his lip/mouth seem a bit crooked. And I realized that physical trait was one of my favorite things about his looks. Which in turn made me realize that, at some point along the way, I had come to prefer slight imperfections over seeming total perfection. Even when it came to looks. And in that moment, I was aware that there was a life lesson happening.

This morning, I was reminded of that life lesson as I was driving to work. I was wearing my favorite hat, and I noticed that the inside of the brim was tinted pink. Obviously, this was a result of wearing my awesome hat in a pool as well as in this lovely one hundred plus degree OKC summer weather. You see, pink and red hair plus sweat or water equals pink tints on whatever is pressed against it.

Now, I remember as a teen I had a white hat that I loved {I've always been a hat girl}. I also loved to wear a lot more makeup then than I do now, and the inside of the brim of my white hat would get makeup on it, and it would drive me crazy. I would wash it and scrub it and bleach it in an attempt to restore it t the original sparkly clean white.

This morning, in my car, I thought about that hat and I smiled. I smiled because the pink stain on the inside of my current favorite-hat-ever doesn't bother me at all. In fact, it makes me happy.

It makes me happy because, one, it shows that this is my hat. I mean, who else has pink bangs? {Okay, so I know there are other people with pink bangs. I'm just saying.} And also, because it's proof of how much I love that hat, and how much I've worn it since just getting it in May, and of the good times I've had wearing that hat already.

And then I was reminded of the life lesson I knew that I was learning several years ago, when I realized that I prefer slight imperfections. And obviously I am talking about more than just a scar above a cute boy's lip, or a pink stain on the inside rim of a cool hat. But hey, remember I said I am hard headed and a slow learner; so maybe God just decided to break it down for me in terms that I could understand and truly grasp. Like boys and fashion. That's my language. :)

~abi~

such a fun couple

2011-07-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I had an absolute blast shooting Mark and Tiuanna's very cool wedding! I was lucky enough to be assisted by my lovely friend Whitney Ray, which only made the day that much more fun. Anyway, I just posted a preview of their photos on my Facebook photography page, so feel free to check them out here.

More to come, soon!

~abi~

narcissism rocks

2011-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Happy July, everyone! Oh, what's that? We're already six days into July? Oh well, you know me: always late.

Did you all have an awesome time celebrating Independence Day? I pretty much did. I got to sleep in and lay out - which was admittedly a little bit miserable, considering that I was not laying out by a pool, and it was literally over 100 degrees outside! But the sleeping in part was nice. And I was determined to lay out, since it's summer, y'all, and I had the day off work. So I felt like I should lay out. Anyway, we've covered that. Let's move on...

I also did some shopping {always good for the heart} for some running shoes {also good for the heart, but in a different way}. And I met up with my friend B for some delicious Pink Swirls. {Again, good for the soul, good for the body. Because I only ever put fruit on my fro-yo, for real! :)} Then, I picked up one of my awesome Switch girls, Shakari, and we met up with my friend Aymee and her daughter Micaliah {another of my Switch girls} at the Bethany Freedom Fest. We walked around and ate some carnival food {not so good for the body, but it's okay because it was a thousand degrees out, so I'm sure we sweated off all the calories}. Finally, we met up with my crazy, wonderful family and watched the loud, sparkly fireworks display.

It was a good day.

And because everyone knows that blog posts are better if they include a photo....and because I am apparently a little narcissistic and like to post photos of myself....here's a photo of me on July 3rd, sporting patriotic colors. :)

~abi~

my hat just improved my day

2011-06-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Due to extenuating circumstances, which will not be discussed on this blog, I have been feeling a bit blah today. I told myself that I needed to write a blog post in order to occupy my mind, as opposed to staring mindlessly at Twitter and Facebook. I thought about doing a post on the a-dor-a-ble one year old birthday party that I photographed this past Saturday. But that didn't seem to fit my mood this afternoon {perhaps tomorrow}.

Then, I was thinking how I would rather be in NYC or Las Vegas today. Because OKC just feels uninspiring to me at the moment. So I thought for a minute that I'd blog about that. I started going through my external hard drive to find photos from my trips to NYC and Vegas last year.

And then I saw some photos I took of myself exactly six months ago today, in New York City. It was December 30th, the eve of my thirtieth birthday. I had snapped a few photos of myself in the lobby of the hotel where I was staying. I wanted to document my last few moments in my twenties.

So, I decided to blog about being six months into my thirtieth year, sort of a half-year-review type of post. I dug my always-with-me point and shoot camera out of my purse in order to grab a pic of "Me, Today" to go with the pic of "Me, Six Months Ago"...

I snapped a few pics. They were blah. Much like my mood today. But then, I remembered that I had my cool gold fedora out in my car. So, I dashed through the spray of the sprinklers running outside of my office and grabbed my fave hat ever. Back inside, I plopped it on my messy hair, and tried again with the self portrait. Much better.

And all of that made me realize that I didn't really want to post a deep, reflective post today, reviewing the past six months of my life. Nope. Instead, I just wanted to write and say: when all else fails, when your mood is blah, when the city you live in feels uninspiring, when your life seems ridiculous, when the photos you are trying to take of yourself while sitting at your desk with your point and shoot camera don't look awesome at all - just put on a cool hat and see if it helps! Worked for me! :)

{left~ me six months ago in NYC; right~ me today in OKC}

~abi~

true stories of my life

2011-06-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a little afternoon story for you...

About eight years ago, give or take {I have a terrible memory and not-so-good time frame reference}, I bought a car from my awesome friend Octavia. For five hundred dollars. Amazing! It was a little '95 Nissan Sentra. It was the first stick shift I ever owned. And I have driven that car for the past eight years. No power locks or power windows, leaked oil and power steering fluid -- but it ran and it had a radio and it had cold air conditioning {a must in Oklahoma}.

See, here's the thing: I love cool cars. I really do. In fact, my dream car is a late 60's or early 70's Corvette Sting Ray. But, I refuse to have a car payment, ever. My family has always bought used cars for cash, instead of financing a new car from a car lot. That just goes against the grain for me. Sure, if I had the cash to drop on a nice vehicle, I would do it. But, as I miiiight have mentioned on this blog before, I have not always done the best job managing my money.

So anyway, back to my current car situation. I drove my little maroon-colored-leaking-oil-dented-up Nissan for about eight years. Until a few weeks ago. You see, a few weeks ago, at about 11:30 at night, I was driving on I240, and the engine just died. I mean, it didn't really just die. It rattled and gurgled and basically blew up, I think. There were awful noises and there was smoke. My poor dad, my eternal rescuer-when-my-car-breaks-down, came and confirmed the death of my car.

He told me, and I quote, "Well, you could buy a new engine for it. But I wouldn't waste your money." I looked my dad in the eye. And there I saw the reflection of countless car repairs he had done on my little Nissan over the past eight years.

And then I got a little angry. {"Why does my stupid car have to die?!? Doesn't God know that I don't have the money to buy a new car right now?!? What the heck am I going to do?!? This is so DUMB!!! I hate cars! I hate money! I hate not having money!"} I mean, never mind that this car was a miracle in the first place. Did you read the part about me only paying five hundred dollars for it?!? And then driving it for eight years?!? Yeah, okay. So then I calmed down.

And then I cried. Sitting in my dead car on the side of the highway late at night, I cried. It was, after all, a very sad night.

So, for the past few weeks, I have been driving my parents' car. God bless them. I feel a little spoiled, what with the power locks and power windows and cd player and all. I have also been working a lot. God has blessed me with plenty of photo shoots over the past few weeks, and I am trying really hard not to spend my money recklessly.

So here's where you guys come in, my lovely readers. In the next week or so, I should have a little cash to get a car. Will you keep your eyes and ears open for me, please? All I really care about is getting a vehicle with decent gas mileage and an air conditioner. Other than that, my preference would be that it is a stick shift. But I'm not picky, honest. I am poor, though. :) So, nothing I would have to take out a loan for - we're talking cheap, people!

Thank you in advance for your help. And for reading about my car situation. Because, really, I'm sure there are better things you could be doing with your time on a Wednesday afternoon.

I love y'all! :)

~abi~

heart melting

2011-06-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I have a dear friend named Whitney Ray. She is pretty amazing. I love her a lot and am so thankful that God placed her in my life!

This past Saturday, Whitney's sister had me do a photo shoot of her adorable son {Whitney's nephew} Ben. Ben is one of the most heart-melting-adorable boys I've ever met! He did really great during our session - for a two year old! :)

So, this is what I'm working on today. Just too cute. I love my job!

Happy Tuesday, friends.

~abi~

sitting, waiting, wishing, whatev

2011-06-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I pretty much decided that I don't even want to entertain the thought of marriage until I am thirty-five. I mean, I enjoy my life how it is now. I love spending time with my family and my friends. I like checking out cute boys. And after thirty whole years {okay, maybe like twenty years} of imagining "what if" when a cute boy's smile catches my eye, I sometimes think it might be difficult for me to not be able to do that. Hmm.

Then there are the fleeting moments when I get frustrated and just want a boy to like me. And I want to like him back. And sometimes, a specific boy might catch my interest, and then my sentiments might echo the lyrics of this song by my man Jack Johnson...

Even if you find this whole post to be annoying or obnoxious, you should watch the video, it's a clever one. And it is Jack Johnson. And if he weren't already married, I'd take back everything I said about not getting married until I'm thirty-five, and I'd marry him tomorrow. :)

{And seriously, this is one of his more popular songs, that pretty much everyone has probably heard; but you all should do yourself a favor and invest in his music. It's perfect for the summertime. And he has a ton of great songs. I should know, I'm pretty sure I have every single one.}

great expectations

2011-06-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

My great friends Anna & Cody are expecting their first child soon. I have known Anna and Cody since the very beginning of their relationship and I photographed their engagement, wedding, Anna's bridal portraits, and a one year anniversary session for them. So I was thrilled when Anna told me she wanted me to shoot some maternity portraits of her as a surprise Father's Day present for Cody.

Here are a few of my favorites from our session.

{Cody built this closet for Anna. I love the hipster vibe of this shot. :)}

Anna~
You are so beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to photograph all the special moments in your life. :) It means the world to me! I love you so much!

~abi~

love the shirts

2011-06-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

I just finished editing an engagement session for cool couple Anthony and Chasta.

Here's one of my faves...

Obviously, they are a couple after my own heart. :)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I am heading to Tulsa tonight for a birthday bash for my friend Kevin. Should be a great time.

~abi~

this is why i don't paint my nails

2011-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, that title is misleading, because obviously I did paint my nails. But this is why I dislike going to the trouble of painting my nails.....

First, I have zero patience. I am just not a patient person. So waiting for my each coat of nail polish to dry just about kills me.

Secondly, when I do actually manage to do good job painting my nails and not smudge them before they dry, they still chip right away.

I painted my nails last night, and this happened just after noon today, while browsing clothes at the thrift store during my lunch break. Not while opening a can of pop. Not while washing the dishes. Not while doing anything that might actually cause nail polish to chip.

And okay, so maybe I used a random nail strengthener I had on hand, as opposed to top coat or base coat. Apparently, I am easily seduced into buying lots and lots of little bottles of fun, bright, or sparkly nail polish. Not so seduced by the boring bottles of base coat or top coat. But if it is supposed to strengthen my nails, shouldn't it make my nail polish strong enough to last through a shopping trip? Maybe it's because I've probably had that nail strengthener since high school...

~abi~

they're a cool family

2011-06-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

The other session I did in Tacoma was for Chad and Shawnda and their gorgeous girls. They are such a cool family, and I really enjoyed hanging out with them. I also loved shooting around Tacoma. There are some fantastic locations to shoot in the downtown area, and that day there was some very pretty light.

Shawnda, Chad, and girls~
Thanks for having me do your photos, and for being willing to walk all over downtown Tacoma with me. You guys are all so photogenic, it made my job super easy. :)

~abi~

nick and julia plus one

2011-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

While in Washington, I also did a couple of family portrait sessions. The first one was for a couple I've known for a long while, Nick and Julia. I actually shot their awesome wedding out in Washington, back in 2007! Now they have a beautiful, smart baby girl, Scarlett.

Look at this girl -- so cute!

Nick & Julia~
Thank you for having me do your family portraits while I was out in Washington! It was great getting to spend some time with you, and I really enjoyed seeing you guys as parents. It's obvious already that you are doing a wonderful job raising sweet Scarlett! Now that you will be living in the MidWest, I hope we will get to do family pictures on a regular basis. :)

~abi~

food, fun, and fashion in seattle

2011-06-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last month, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting my sis in law and dear friend, Ashley, out in Tacoma, WA. We had a wonderful few days together enjoying some delish culinary delights, losing track of time in an amazing little clothing shop, and otherwise just having an absolute blast. But photos always tell the story better, so here you go.....

The flight into Sea-Tac is simply breathtaking, especially to this Mid-Western born and bred girl. :)

Immediately after my arrival in Washington, Ashley and I headed over to Alki Beach in West Seattle. It was a lovely, sunny day, especially for Seattle. I was enamored with the picturesque area!

I could easily imagine living in a charming abode like this one! :)

Ashley and I walked and talked and sat and talked some more, all while enjoying the views on every side. I mean, this view...seriously??

Ashley's latest tattoo.

After walking all the way down the beach and back, we stumbled-on-purpose into the fabulous store Pepper, having spotted it earlier from the car. I snapped this shot while we were driving by, when this cool girl caught my eye. When we went into the store later, we found out that this cool girl was actually the artist and shop owner Pepper herself. Ashley and I went mad for her creatively reworked fashions! Such fun clothes!

After an hour or so spent trying on and buying clothes from Pepper, we walked down the street a little to get some yummy pho for lunch.

That evening, Ashley and her roommate Lindsay and friend Rachel and I, all got dressed up and headed back into Seattle from Tacoma.

Rachel, you are so fetching in your fascinator! :)

First, we enjoyed a sublime meal at Etta's, where I savored the delicious albacore tuna with braised olives, fennel, and roasted grapes. Yummmm.....

After dinner, we headed over to Le Can Can to take in a divine show by the super-talented performers! I loved the mood, lighting, and all-around atmosphere of Le Can Can!

Rachel and I -- doing our best "sophisticated ladies" pose... :)

Ashley and Lindsay -- happy, smiley, pretty girls... :)

I have no words to describe the allure and talent of this woman! Wow.

That's my hand, looking fabulous all dressed up with sparkly nail strips and a giant ring.

The second day of my visit was all about Ashley's roller derby bout that evening!!! Yes, she is a badass roller derby chick! I LOVED getting to watch her skate!

I had to represent for my girl! I even rocked a {temporary} tattoo of an anchor on my chest, in support of the Dock Yard Derby Dames.

The next morning, we headed back into Seattle yet again, for a delectable biscuit brunch at a sweet little spot named Nook.

And later, in the afternoon, I ended up at the best little ice cream place ever! I told y'all this trip was all about some great food! But seriously, if you are ever in Seattle, do yourself a favor and try some savory ice cream from Molly Moon's! You won't regret it, and you will thank me. :)

After sampling several of their unique flavors, I ended up going with the to-die-for-delish salted caramel. Mmmmm!

Oh, and did I mention that I was wearing one of Pepper's pieces that day? This top totally made me feel like I was a cool girl while walking the streets of Seattle.

That evening, back in Tacoma, we enjoyed even more good food while celebrating Ashley and Lindsay's May birthdays.

The birthday babes... :)

Ashely~
Thank you so much for such a wonderful time. You are so very special to me! I loved meeting your friends, eating delicious food with you, watching your roller derby bout, and shopping at Pepper's with you -- but most of all, I loved just hanging out and talking and being with you!

Love,
~abi~

ps Who feels inspired to go home and cook something amazing, after all that food talk?? I do!

Abi Ruth Blog

are you happy?

what calling will you choose??

prayers, please

a random week of my life, in photos

just for fun ~ me, as a high school senior

fashion chatter ~ tree & leaf tee shirts

monday morning praise

rainy day 'do

photo shoot ~ stella's 2 year old birthday party

on my desk

true life stories ~ renewing my license

i'm not complaining, i'm just stating facts

dreamer

that's what she wore ~ lace & skinny cargos

mute monday ~ just trust

my favorite fashion sites

genius

my tattoos and other news

photo shoot ~ k

a spoken word ~ thoughts on religion

thrift thriving ~ my new laptop bag

fascinating, to me

mute monday ~ self portraits at dusk

achieve

a·chieve

various thoughts and photos from the past several days

photo shoot ~ haley, senior portraits

find and gift

present, presence, presents

{not so} lofty goals

photo shoot ~ morgan, senior portraits

photo session ~ newborn cal

photo session ~ webb family

lovely december

paper-clipped hair

Glitter Jesus

mute monday ~ rainy oklahoma sunset

my token pinterest post

it would be a fun job for you, i swear..

that's what she wore ~ polka dots, tights and knee socks

to bring a smile to your face, i hope

four random things, and one terrible thing

photo session ~ abe & candie engagement

portrait studio bliss ~ a guest post by my friend b

kiss 'n' makeup ~ little pots of gold, er, eyeliner

sometimes i am in front of the camera

that's what she wore ~ plaid and sparkles

state fair photo shoot ~ kylie

engagement session ~ kody & amber

photo shoot ~ QUiD

it's wednesday..

unbelievable night! {kd's all star charity game in okc}

the ones beneath me recognize the red bottoms i wear

a time

photo shoot ... garland

messy ponytail

ridiculous

a story of two cats, a ghost and a gun, by my friend b

that's what she wore...transition

dependency

borrowed sentiments

tuesday toes...dark green with glitter tips

reasons i love this photo

i heart okc!

true life stories...peroxide and teeth babies and such

one of the coolest, most talented kids i know, for sure!

mute monday...God Bless America

do you believe in magic?

true life stories...this one's for you and me, living out our dreams

i tweet, i travel, i need to blog more

mute monday...skimming the surface

the birth day of ethan light

wednesday word of the day...strength

true life stories...my weekend trip to austin

lovely lookalikes...libby & keira knightley

mute monday...technicolor vegas detail

to brighten your day

little light

oh yeah: i survived