At This Time

TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY OF CLASSES FOR THE SEMESTER! (Except I have 2 days of finals. . .) 
But anyways, I'm so excited for the weekend (minus work) that I can hardly stand it! 
My little sis goes to her first prom on Friday. I think I will cry, there for I do. 
I feel like my prom was just yesterday. Yikes.

Prom 2008!

Prom 2009

I just can't believe her turn is here! 
Anyways, I've been given the privilege to chaperone her weekend classmates get together. I don't want to call it a house party, because it's not that at all. There's only a handful of them going to be there. And it's at a beach house. Swoon. Except I'll be working during the day...so no beach for this girl! 
But I do get to take some fabulous photos of her whole limo group! Eek....keep your eyes pealed please! 


So here's this:
Found at Eat. Drink. Be A Tourist.

Current guilty pleasure: The JaneDear Girls. I bought their CD on Friday & I can't stop listening to it! 

Current color: Teal!

Current playlist: Ah...other than the previously stated CD, I'd say my new country music featuring : The Band Perry, Eric Church, Ashton Sheppard, Luke Bryan, and Little Big Town.

Current read: Cosmopolitan.

Current (lifetime...) drink: Diet Coke. 

Current food: BLT's. 

Current favorite show: Anything "Royal Wedding" related.

Current wish list: To finish editing all of these photos!

Current needs: A day in the river.

Current triumphs: FINALS

Current bane of my existence: Photography!

Current celebrity crush: Luke Bryan...drool. 

Current indulgence: Quiet late nights. 

Current blessing: All of these incredible photography jobs I've been given here lately. My business has over-exceeded my expectations. I was reminded today to thank God for my inspiration and the drive to be creative.

Current outfit: "Ladies love country boys" t-shirt & black workout pants that don't get to actually work out, shame...

Current excitement: The semester is coming to an end! Eeek!

Current mood: Drained & tired, but so ready for sunshine filled days and so much great things to come!

Current link: Eat. Drink. Be a tourist.

Where I borrowed this fun little survey from! 

Later loves ;)

Two-fer Day: Friendship

You know like: "two-for-one"?!

Except around here, when we say it, it sounds like "two-fer-one" ;)

In other notes,

I'm trying to get out of my "sad-slump"

so I decided to write after reading something.

Unfortunately, I'm working on this beautiful Easter Sunday and I'm stuck inside listening to birdies chirp and so I've been catching up on my online reading when I should be writing my paper... but I'm halfway done with it so I decided to take a break :)

Anyways, my reading lead me to stumble upon this article|writeup|whatever you want to call it! It reminded me of some friends that I've become very close to here within the past few months and some that have been around for a very long time. Those that I may not have known them for the longest time, I feel as if I do now. They're all incredibly great girls and I know that they're there for me at any time.

I'm so lucky to have them all!

KB

Romance

S

Florida

Car

Aunda

&

Andy

Now, these girls don't really know each other either. My friendships have always been pretty peculiar. I've always had friends in different circles lol. KB & Romance are from Beaufort. KB is my partner in photography crime, Romance is probably one of my fastest acquaintances-turned-besties. S is my personal makeup artist ;) (for those of you reading and don't personally know me, I'm being sarcastic!) But she's got a heart of gold! Florida is my country girl that was born in the wrong state and she's been initiated into the Carolina girl living a few summers back. Unfortunately, she's now in the Navy and being shipped out to Guam here soon. I can't wait for our long late night Skype dates so we can plan her wedding. I love her to pieces and she'll always understand everything I ever say. Car is another one that moved too far away. Granted, it's only Columbia, but 2 hours is 2 hours too far. I'm so ready for the summer so I can go visit her. Aunda is part of the previous trio. She is always up for anything and I know that I can call her up anytime and she's a sure bet for a lunch date.

Oh & Andy, well she's my 4 years younger twin that looks nothing like me. We act totally annoying together, love jamming out to Glee music in the car & she loves it when I drive and don't pay attention! Yikes!

So all of you reading ladies, (and gents?) take a gander at this article. It totally made me realize that my bests are so incredibly valuable to me. I love them all individually.

What I Hold Near and Dear to My Heart….
July 22, 2010
Miss Ella D -via The Island News

Women require more than men- a larger monthly clothing allowance, one last glance in the mirror before going out, every color pair of shoes in her closet, and most importantly, friends. (favorite.line.ever!)
I am not just talking about the people you say ‘hi’ to while walking down Bay Street, but the inner circle…the ones you call for no reason or call because you have news… the ones you want to go shopping or drink coffee with, the ones you who know you (the REAL you), and love you anyway.
I like to refer to it as a sisterhood.  These friendships we hold near and dear to our hearts- they require care and feeding and exercise.  We work at being thoughtful of one another and avoid the demands that strain these bonds.
Some ladies have a small circle of besties while others are large- it matters not the number.
What is important is the mutual like, respect, and thought.  Your friends rescue you- from a lonely Christmas day, a bad date, or from your kids!!  She knows you will do the same for her one day.  And you don’t keep score- it is NEVER tit for tat.  It all evens out in the wash eventually- you see, that is what friends are for.
My inner circle is not so large, and I love it that way.  My oldest friend (she is not old mind you)- I could just eat her up: I love her like a sister.  She has been with me through thick and thin.  She knows me, my family, my past, and what I hope my future to be.  She understands who I am and why, she l listens to me with real empathy, she can laugh with me or at me.  In turn, I chuckle at her jokes, listen to her tell stories about her kids, remember her special days, and hold her secrets and dreams close to my heart.  Our bond is understood and mutual.  It has taken years to develop and nurture our special relationship.
Girlfriends like her and the rest of my inner circle are what I consider to make me the person I am.  It is these intimate connections with fellow women that make my mundane days just more fun!  I honestly don’t know what I would do without my girlfriends to chat with on the phone while I do my ironing or hang out with on those long summer days at the pool.  So, here’s to all the ladies and the bonds of friendships…cheers to the sisterhood!  Now, go give your bestie a call and tell her so!

I encourage you all to reach out a little further to your bests.

Who's by your side, thick through thin?

Oh what a heavy heart...

Last night, right as I was crawling into bed, I got on Facebook to try to tire myself out a little bit.

Unfortunately, it only made matters worse.

All I could see posted over my friends status' was "Rest in Peace, Devin."

It instantly broke my heart.

I wasn't very close with Devin, but I've known him for most of my life.

My mom has worked with his dad ever since my mom worked at SCANA (15+ years).

Devin, my friend Callie, and myself would all play hide-and-seek at their work Christmas parties.

He was always such a nice guy and always spoke to me whenever we were around each other.

One time, I remember driving to class and he called me out of the blue and asked me to lunch.

I even saw him two weeks ago at the wedding where I did the photo booth.

He was so happy and he was having such a great time.

I don't know enough details to explain what happened other than he was killed instanly upon impact and two of the people in the car were in critical condition last time I heard. One was flown out to Savannah. One of the guys that was hurt pretty badly is one of my most favorite people that I graduated with.

Please send your prayers for these guys and their families on this Easter holiday.

Its unfair that someone's life had to be cut so short.

He has the sweetest family and I know that today, I'll be thinking of them all.

My heart is so heavy and I don't want to do anything today at work.

I guess it's true...

Only the good die young.

This is where I've been hiding . . .

Somewhere down a long, dark hole of photos to be sorted & edited, shoots, weddings, finals, work, work, projects, oh & work.

Over the weekend, I photographed what turned out to be one of my new most favorite things ever!
Yes, a wedding!
Gasp!
So many beautiful details & oh-so-much fun!
I got to shoot it with one of my bests, KB.
The bride is a friend from highschool, but I didn't think for a second to treat the wedding as anything other than another very important job.
I'm dying to break into the images and sort & edit & play, but FINALS is stopping me :(
Okay, I lie.
You really think I'd write a post about this wedding and not share any images?!
Come on!

Here are a few.
They're a little awkward in size because I was getting ready to put them in my portfolio for my meeting tomorrow! Whoot whoot! And that would also explain the lack of the beautiful details and all of the fun shots of the groomsmen thanks to KB!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Okay folks, that's all ;)

♥, peace, & chicken grease!

XoXo

The Good, Bad, & the Ugly: Stay Beautiful

Per my usual celebrity stalking on MSN's WonderWall every Sunday morning at work, I came across a photo...

Emma Roberts & Mary-Kate

These girls are fabulous, but in my opinion, Emma has seen better days. Well, MK too, but we all know her story!
So this lead me to think more in terms of child stars gone, well not exactly bad but more like misbehaved. So the search began.

Please understand that I'm a sister to a sixteen year old and I had a chat with her last night just about people in her classes and in classes under her about their lives. I can't believe how crazy it is to see kids her age have to choose who's going to be DD for the night. I'm not even 21 yet and I think I have that problem a lot less than some of those kids do. It worries me. So much.
Andrea is a great kid; I can honestly say she has her head on straight. I'd only be a hypocrite if I were to say that I didn't have the DD problem maybe a little later say 18-19 but s i x t e e n? Come on! I'm just so worried about the future of teenagers in general.
So...here are a few examples of what NOT to do, Andrea....

THE GOOD. (Miley Cyrus)

THE . . . VERY BAD.

Miley is a great example of what not to do. Please don't ever be a Miley. Searching for her photos was flat out gross with some of the things you'll find of her. And they're not photoshoped either. She's way too big of a fan of taking photos of herself. 

THE GOOD. (Demi Lavato)

THE BAD-ISH.

Demi Lavato case in point is not exactly her photos per say, it's more like her situation. Don't ever feel like things are so bad that you have to go to extremes to relieve stress. Tomorrow is another day and things will get better, I promise. Take it from me, yesterday, at a job, I lost my keys, my camera battery died, as well as my phone battery, didn't make it to bed until after 1, had to wake up bright and early at 7, think I had a hangover from drinking too much diet coke (are those possible?), dropped foundation on my shirt, while trying not to get it on my too-small-white-pants-from-last-summer, I spilt water on my white pants right before I pulled up to the front gate at work. Bad, yes? But I'm not going to check into rehab from stress-related-illnesses. Okay, so maybe not the best example, but I just want you (anyone) to know that think positively and know that things are not always as bad as they seem. 

THE GOOD. (Sweet Emma Roberts)

THE MISBEHAVING.



Once good & beautiful. (Lindsay Lohan)

Now, pick a mugshot, any mugshot!
PRETTY BAD, BAD, GROSS, & DOWNRIGHT UGLY!

Did anyone else love The O.C.? (Mischa Barton)

Mischa who?

THE GOOD. (Mary-Kate Olsen)

THE UGLY (Along side the uglier than sin, Spencer Pratt)

Final argument:
It is possible to be beautiful & sexy & fabulous & grown up without drinking too much and doing drugs. It is possible to have fun and still be under control and be just as amazing, if not better, than these girls that get a little too crazy.
Be yourself and people will love you for who you are. . . like these amazing girls that have stayed true to themselves.

THE GREAT, TAYLOR SWIFT

THE VERY GOOD, AMANDA BYNES.

THE FABULOUS, HAYDEN PANETTIERE.

You may not be a famous celebrity, but I see a lot of your classmates in some of those bad-girls. And quite frankly, it scares the buh-geezus out of me.
Stay yourself, and stay beautiful just like you are. You're better than all of that badness.

Xoxo

The ABC's of Me

Hi friends!

What a beautiful day it is out there! Too bad for me, I'm stuck inside the office. But at least I get to stare at all of the beautifulness from the inside out! And I get to make all of these fun equestrian & boating reservations for the owners of Brays Island! Whew, the joys. NOT FAIR! lol!

Anyways, to kill my boredom and to save my homework for later (yay, procrastination!) I came across this fun little activity at Scenic Glory ♥

So here it goes....

The ABC's of ME   : D

Age: twenty

Bed Size: queen

Chore you hate: vacuuming

Dogs: Daisy & Duke, my lovely lab and pound pup.

Essential start of your day: a good morning text from J ♥

Favorite Color: yellow

Gold or silver: I love sterling silver jewls

Height: 5'5", I think...

Instruments I play (or have played): guitar & piano

Job Title: Creative Assistant @ Ashley Rhodes Events, Part Time Weekend Receptionist @ Brays Island & last but not least, Owner & Photographer @ Amy Daring Photography!

Kids: ZEROOOO!

Live: Ridgeland, South Carolina

Mom's Name: Cherryl

Nickname: Amos, Amz, Sweet Tart...

Overnight hospital stays: none that I can remember, but I'm sure plenty when I was a youngin'

Pet Peeve: when people have to move something that I just placed somewhere, just to move it.
poor spelling & grammar

Quote from a movie: "They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style." -Sex & the City

Right or left handed: left

Siblings: none - 1 and only the best! My little sis, Andrea!

Time you wake up: usually, 6:45 - 7:00 am. I'm a fan of the snooze button!

Underwear: lots! ;) I just bought a fabulous pair with little cameras all over them from VS!

Vegetables you dislike: onions!

What makes you run late: over sleeping, or looking for something I can't find! or forgetting that I needed to get gas :|

X-rays you've had done: my back

Yummy food you make: mac'n'cheese!

Zoo animal: giraffes

Well that was fun!

I guess back to work I go!

Oh and tonight I get to be a photo booth photographer for a wedding! Cheers to fun jobs!

Xoxo!

Confession:

Well for starters, I'm home! And being super super accomplished! It's amazing the things you can do once you come home from a vacation that was much much needed!

So back to this confession right?
Please don't call me & my boyfriend a redneck, k?


For Christmas, I bought Justin... tickets...to....

WRESTLEMANIA!

Ah, okay. I said it. 

Well, its something both he & his cousin love and his cousin's wife and myself decided that if we bought them tickets, then we'd get a vacation out of it too! 

SUCCESS!

We had a wonderful and very entertaining trip to Atlanta.

It was so nice to spend so much time with Justin. We really needed it! 

And his cousin, Travis, and his wife & one of my good friends, Suryia too! 

There were lots of laughs and wrestling in the hotel room! I'm bruised everywhere!

So please enjoy these incredibly tacky, unedited, shot on a crappy camera photos! 

Yay for not working, right?!

Warning: WE ARE SILLY!

Dancing to his favorite song, "Telephone". Boy loves Gaga.

He's a winner! 

That's right, bring the gun show! 

Shots, shots, shots! 

My love :)

J & T

Coca Cola Factory

Also known as the Happiness Factory! Too cute! 

You know me, I love a tablescape. 

If this were diet coke, I'd be in HEAVEN!

Silly.

Silly again...

Not too bad! 

Love it! 

Welcome wrestlemania fans! Wow. 

Love this at the Hard Rock. 

Bus driving by! 

Uhm, yes, I can see you! 

Where S & I watched, dare I say it? Wrestlemania!
Loved the rooftop bar! 

So long vacation. You were too much fun while you lasted. 

But this girl is back to work, that's for sure! 

Love y'all! 

Xoxo