william :: senior session {louisville high school senior photographer}

Meet William. You may remember him from this awesome family. He's a senior this year. About to graduate high school. In just a few short months, he will have the world at his fingertips. He was one of the most well-mannered 17 year old guy I have ever met. Swear. Taking his senior portraits was a breeze. We shot over at the Mellwood Art Center, which might be one of my new favorite spots... and within an hour, we were set. See for yourself...

Which one is your favorite? (You know how it works... for every 10 comments WIlliam will receive a complimentary print.)

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julia & lance :: 2011 tour dates

atlanta, ga

{j :: work, work, work}

may 1 - may 6

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habersham, ga

{j&l :: visit friends & family}

may 6 - may 8

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joplin, mo

{j :: black tag photography wedding}

may 19 - may 21

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chatanooga, tn

{l :: community develpoment training}

may 20 - may 22

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gainesville, ga

{j :: black tag photography wedding}

may 27 - may 29

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atlanta, ga

{j :: work, work, work}

may 30 - june 2

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houston, tx

{j :: bachelorette party for j's sister}

june 2 - june 5

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chinendega, nicaragua

{l :: visiting friends & mission trip}

june 6 - june 10

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vancouver, canada

{j&l :: sightseeing with the fam}

july 7 - july 9

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alaskan cruise

{j&l :: cruisin' the glaciers with the fam}

july 9 - july 16

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houston, tx

{j&l :: j's sister is getting hitched}

august 4 - august 7

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buffalo, ny

{j :: black tag photogrpahy wedding}

september 2 - september 4

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new albany, in

{j :: black tag photography wedding}

september 10

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auchen, germany

{j&l :: sightseeing & wedding with the fam}

september 12 - september 18

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mobile, al

{j :: black tag photography wedding}

october 20 - october 23

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I mean... we have a few trips planned this year. Nothing big or anything. You know... just a little Alaskan cruise, a couple of weddings, and a few international excersions... no biggie...

thankful thursday {link up}

{join in on the bottom of this post or on Jamie's blog}

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1) Being able to get to my house. The Ohio River is still majorly flooded... which means River Road (and the main access to our house) is still very much closed. But thankfully our super nice neighbor opened up the gate to their private driveway so we could cut through their gorgeously manicured property to exit in and out of our street. If it weren't for this, we would have had to pack our bags and stay in a hotel all week... and I would have been majorly stressed out. So thankful for nice neighbors.

2) Oreos by post. I mean, I love me a good Oreo cookie... but I love them even more if they are mailed to me by some of my favorite people. What a happy surprise on my Tuesday! For one... I have no idea how the UPS guy managed to deliver this box to my house... and for two... I am convinced that Oreos taste better if they traveled across state lines in a UPS truck.

3) Twenty-nine. Because I only have one week left as a twenty-nine year old. ONE WEEK PEOPLE. And I am okay with this. No, really... I am. I have loved every second of my twenties and to be honest... I'm pretty flippin' excited to see what my thirties have in store for me... It's bound to be good.

little (ahem) cat...

I just put him on a diet... but I'm afraid it might be too late...

my birthday wishlist...

You're still allowed to have birthday wishlists when you turn 30... right?? I hope so... because here is mine...

This Project Life kit.

This Le Pliage Travel Tote.

A subscription to Country Living magazine.

Pretty much anything from Ann Taylor LOFT.

A hot air balloon ride.

This Kate Spade bracelet.

The Water for Elephants book.

These pink TOMS.

april showers...

...bring ridiculous flooding and road closings.

At least that seems to be the case if you live off of River Road like we do... For the most part, Lance and I have loved living right off of River Road here in Louisville. We are barely half a mile from the massive Ohio River, which boasts some beautiful views around sunset. However, I've found that the Ohio River loses much of it's beauty after days and days of torrential downpour.

And according to the weather, it doesn't appear that the rain is going to let up any time soon...

Our house is plenty high enough, so we're not worried about any flooding in the house or anything like that... but... pretty much every road that surrounds us is closed... and probably will be for the next few days. Lance and I are pretty much captives of our own home. Fun times.

We did recently discover that we can exit our street using one of our neighbors private drives... so that is very good news. Lance and I were going to have to start playing charades while living off of crackers and pickles...

blogspirations... easter edition

Some things I am loving out there in Blogland this Easter weekend...

These fun Spring & Easter word art printables from Ali Edwards. And the best part? You can download your own free copy here.

These awesome family tree posters over at Kiki Creates. I just bought something similar to help me with #30 on my 30 by 30 list.

This yummy Strawberry Cheesecake Pie recipe that I am dying to try. Doesn't it look amazing? Will definitely be trying this soon, thanks to Running With Glitter.

This adorable floral dress from Target. I think this would be the perfect Easter dress if you paired it with a cute pink cardigan and a little clutch... just sayin'.

This super cute flowered felt headband from Crafting in the Rain. I love how simple this project looks, and how fabulous the finished product is... I mean, seriously... how cute?

Thankful thursday {link up}

{join in on the bottom of this post or on Jamie's blog}

This Thursday I am thankful for:

1) A day off tomorrow! I was super excited to check my company's holiday schedule and see that we have Good Friday off this year! I thought I was going to be spending my Good Friday holiday in Chicago... but sadly, it appears that won't be happening. I will, however, be sleeping in tomorrow... I can guarantee you that.

2) Yesterday's photo shoot. I had a great photo shoot yesterday with a fabulous mother/daughter duo. The daughter was around my age and the mother won my photography services at an auction last Fall. When talking to the two of them, I discovered that this was their plan for the perfect Father's Day gift... who didn't even know they were having their pictures made! I love that idea!

3) Ann's by the River. Any restaurant that has "Cafeteria Style" written into their tag line earns extra points with me. I have been searching for the perfect southern food spot since we've moved to Louisville... and so far nothing has really been up to par. But I stumbled on this little gem across the river one day in Indiana (literally 3 miles from our house)... and Ann's... well she has major potential. It's a good old fashioned "meat-n-three" as Lance would say. Their website boasts that it's "just the way grandma used to make it." Ummm... yes please. I'll have to do a full review soon.

riding out the storm

Last night at about midnight, Lance and I lit a few candles, found our flashlights and headed downstairs to the basement... preparing for this:

After some howling winds, lots of tornado sirens, and a power outage, the worst seemed to be over at about 1:00am. We decided it was probably safe to go back upstairs and finally crawl into bed. Here's what my trusty phone was telling me then...

But I wanted to make sure Little Cat was okay because he is absolutely terrified of storms... usually hides under our bed. Not this time... He found a much safer place to ride out the storm last night... probably the safest place I know...

...with the shoes. When in doubt... always hide with the shoes.

top 2 tuesday

This week's Top 2 Tuesday is things you collect...

1) Cards. Okay... so this one might boarder on hoarding rather than collecting... but I can't help it. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I have the hardest time throwing cards away... birthday cards, thank you cards, christmas cards, just because cards, even wedding invitations... I know... I might have a problem. Just last night I was talking to a girlfriend about this... we are thinking of starting a Card-Savers-Annonamous group. Anyone else have this problem? I think I might have a solution for my card hoarding, ahem, I mean collecting, more on that later though.

2) Stamps. Not like postage stamps... (although when I was little I did go through a postage stamp phase) but like rubber stamps. This is one of those things that I am really good at buying... but not really using. I just adore the way they look in my antique letter press drawer (compliments to my mother-in-law for the hand-me-down). And just in case that's not enough stamps for you, I have a wire basket overflowing with more. I know... it's boarder-line obsession.

Head on over to Taylor's blog at The Undomestic Momma to link up your own top 2 collections.

weekend in review

This past weekend was nice... Low-key... Movie night... Good friends... Fireworks... And rice krispie treats. I mean, it really doesn't get much better than that friends...

Friday night Lance and I went to see the movie Hanna. It was okay. The first half was pretty good... I'm always a fan of some chick kickin' ass and takin' names... but the second half was rather a let down. Less kick ass and more bazaar characters equals a disappointing ending. Either way, I'm always a fan of date night and popcorn.

Saturday was a big day in Louisville, Kentucky... Thunder Over Louisville. Cue the AC/DC song... ahaaahhhahaa... THUNDER. Thunder Over Louisville is basically the kick-off for the Kentucky Derby... only the biggest air show and firework display in all of North America. Unfortunately it was pretty cold on Saturday... mid-40s. But luckily for me, I can see (and hear) all of the planes right from the comfort of my own home.

But once it was time for the firework show, a group of us headed down the street and found a little patch of grass right off of River Road. We bundled up and settled in for the spectacular event.

After the firework show we headed back to our house to let the traffic die down and whip up some treats... rice krispie treats, that is. I forgot how much I love those things... especially when they are warm and gooey.

Sunday was gorgeously sunny... we had a great morning at church... lunch at Mark's Feed Store... a little Pride and Prejudice... an afternoon nap... and a photography lesson. Perfect.

clipboard how-to...

After my post from my craft party last week, I had several people ask about the super cute decoupaged clipboards we made. They are so incredibly easy to make... promise.

First thing's first... gather up your supplies. You will need a clipboard (I used a cheap wooden one from Staples), some pretty paper, a paper cutter, a corner rounder, some Mod Podge, a brush (I used a super cheap foam brush that I could just throw away when I was done), and some ribbon.

I used my clipboard as my measuring tool and drew a small pencil mark where I needed to trim my paper. Use your paper cutter to trim away. Or if you don't have a paper cutter, you can totally go old school and use actual scissors... I just have problems cutting a straight line.

Then use the clipboard as a guide to mark where the actual clip goes and cut a small notch out of the top of your paper. This is optional, but I wanted my pretty paper to cover as much of the clipboard as humanly possible. Oh, you may want to use some ribbon or twine to tie the top of your clipboard so it will remain open.

Then, take your corner rounder and round just the bottom 2 corners of your paper, so it will match the rounded corners of your clipboard. What? Your don't have a corner rounder??? (Gasp!) Well, you should. It is by far my favorite crafting tool that I own. Just beware, if you get one, you will start rounding the corners on everything.

Okay... now comes the fun part. Use your foam brush to slop on some Mod Podge all over the front of your clipboard... it's basically like glue. Be sure to spread it everywhere... all the way to the edges.

Then carefully adhere your pretty paper to the clipboard. Smooth out your paper to eliminate any major air bubbles. I used a putty spreader that you can find in the hardware section... but I really don't think this is necessary. Just use your hand to smooth out your paper... should work fine. Don't stress too much if you have a few air bubbles in there. I promise most of these will flatten out as your project dries completely.

Once your paper is adhered to the clipboard you want to Mod Podge the front as well. This will "seal" your paper and give your clipboard somewhat of a lacquered-textured look. For those of you that aren't familiar with decoupaging, don't worry... it will all dry clear.

Here is what mine looked like when I finished up with the Mod Podge. See... I have a few air bubbles in there. (Proof that using that putty spreader thingie didn't do me a bit of good). Once it dries you can add some fun ribbon at the top if you want.

Here is the finished product. I should have taken a photo without the sticky notes on it, so you could see that the air bubbles completely vanished. They did though... I promise. What's that? Oh... you love my paper?? I know, right? So functional with the days of the week, huh? I have been holding on to this piece of scrapbook paper for years now... just waiting for the perfect, clever little project...

And here is my clever little clipboard in action... giving me a snapshot of my weekly schedule. I love how this project turned out. Pretty and functional!

I think these would make adorable gifts, don't you? Here's one I made for my sister...

I used her wedding colors and decoupaged both the front and the back. I adhered a little envelope to the back and used some rub-on words I had on hand. Thought the "To have and to hold" saying was pretty clever for the envelope. But wouldn't this be a great clipboard for her wedding planner to carry around? Then I thought the envelope on the back could be used to hold final payments to food vendors and photographers... you know all those last minute details for the big day?

Anyhow... there you have it. A clipboard how-to. Happy crafting!!