Texas Antique Weekend, 2010

For years I have wanted to attend the "Texas antique weekend" in Round Top, Warrenton, Fayetteville, Carmine, Shelby and Burton. More than 300 acres of antiques, pieces of buildings, imports...everything!

My friend Mandi & I had planned to go last weekend, however I scheduled photo sessions and quickly forgot all about antique weekend. As my birthday weekend approached, I noticed that my calendar was blank (I have spent the past three birthdays photographing weddings) so I asked Josh if he would be willing to take me to Round Top to shop.

This was my first trip to antique weekend. Oh my goodness! I think we shopped about 5% of the venues. So much to see!

Next April or October we must plan a girls weekend!

First Purchase. I have been searching for an antique baby bath tub. (at least four years I have been looking) I plan to have the tub refinished and put in our new home as a sink.







Second Purchase, Linen Canopy (too large to show in pictures).  Will be perfect in the spring for an outdoor photo session!

Third Purchase, Purple Velvet Chair.  {Vendor from KY}  I started to pass up this beauty due to the price tag.  The dealer told me to make offer.  I have been searching for a velvet purple chair!






My $10 purchase.  I plan to paint and refinish.  Chair is in great shape.




Last purchase: A burlap french pillow.

I purchased my first three items within the first two hours of shopping. I found that the vendors scattered along the street were much cheaper than the large tent vendors. My first impression of realistic pricing was quickly dismissed when I walked the large tents at Marburger.

Overall, a great time. Lots of walking, beautiful weather and great finds. The five hour (round trip) drive was worth it.

40th First Day of School

Today is my 40th FIRST day of school. {yep, I counted} No students--meetings all week, but for me, tomorrow is "my first day of school."

I would love to skip all the meetings and go straight to the fun stuff--teaching!

{a special thank you to my friend, Mandi, who came and helped me in my classroom. Thank you bunches!}

Does Nice Really Matter?

Today was one of those days! I had a little meltdown, luckily I was alone.

Pressure has been building. We put in a bid on a house two months ago. It has been, without a doubt, a very stressful, roller coaster of experiences, bad deal. I never like to accept that I have failed at something. I never like to "not" get my way. However, it was time to say it just is not meant to be.

Josh always sees the glass half full. He is my Positive Polly.

When I had my meltdown I started thinking of how I should look at the house experience, through a positive rose colored glass. I learned a lot. I learned that even when the house appraises for the amount it needs to, even when you are approved for the loan, it can still fail. I learned that my friends and family give me support even when they probably do not think it is the best idea. I met a wonderful mortgage broker, and learned a lot from her. {Thank you to my real estate agent, Mandi Simeon.}

Was the house deal the only spark that caused the meltdown? Absolutely not.

I am a list maker, a cross off the list, must feel accomplished kind of person. This week as I quickly realized that this is the "last week" before school, I saw a full to-do list left. That makes me feel anxious, nervous, and a weird feeling that I cant describe.

Josh heard me talking to my friend Regina, who is also a teacher, we were talking about how sad we were that summer was over and how we wished that summer still had time left. My Positive Polly, Josh, chimed in "man sure must be tough to work 187 days a year, must be tough to go back after 2 1/2 months off." So again, I was quickly reminded to see the glass half full.

There are so many things that can cause panic, stress, heart ache and even tears, but in the end there is a much bigger picture.
I am blessed to work with one of my ex-teachers, Kathy Smith. She always says "Nice Matters." Sometimes (like after two months and $2,000 spent on trying to get a house, you question if nice really matters). It does!

I have been reading a blog called "operation nice" for the past year. The blog encourages individuals to be proactively nice. My goal is to attempt to do "34 random acts of kindness this year for my 34th birthday." So on August 31st I will begin. {got the idea from this blog.} Operation Nice!

Pink Office Supplies

Is it 2010? Can you believe that in 2010 I could not find the "perfect pink" office supplies?

I searched for HOURS online and in stores for the "perfect pink" paper clips, binder clips and rubber bands. The search would yield pink paper clips but binder clips in another color. Craziness.

So, I made my own. Call me crazy (and you will after you hear what I did). I spray painted over 200 paper clips, binder clips and rubber bands. Ballet slipper pink. Yep, I now have the "perfect pink" office supplies. However, I do not think the items are use able. The paint chips very easily and I do not think I am willing to spray paint more to replace the current inventory. For now, they are very pretty to look at.

Mercy Hospital

When I first started taking pictures, one of my favorite places was the old Mercy Hospital in downtown Liberty. Old red brick, stairs, and unique doors. A couple of times I would inch my way into the abandoned building. However, I was always too scared to tour the entire facility.

Once the City of Liberty and Liberty County found out that people were trespassing in the unsafe structure, they boarded up the windows and doors with ugly plywood. Since this (and several other photographers discovered my place) I stopped taking pictures at this wonderful location.

A little fact: Mercy Hospital is where my dad was born.

A little "second" fact: I wanted to transform the building into loft apartments. However, the building had asbestos and would have cost a small fortune to save.

Information from KSHN:
Mercy Falling: It was around 3 p.m. yesterday when the first portions of the old Mercy Hospital came tumbling down. With many local’s in the Methodist Church parking lot keeping watch, a large piece of excavation equipment began pulling the original part of the hospital in on itself, with plans to have it and the larger red brick portion on the ground by the end of this week. An unknown water main was discovered when the excavation unit hit it, sending a geyser into the air as high as the elevator tower on the hospital. City of Liberty water department had already capped what they thought was the water line and pulled the meter, but over 60 some odd years, apparently another water line had been forgotten.

Add to my List...Waxing Poetic

Adding to my wish list.

Most of the time I do my own "gift from Josh" Christmas shopping. Maybe it is because I know myself better than anyone, or was it the electric razor that one Christmas or could it be that he gave me the same ring twice?

Anyways, last year at Christmas time I called my friend Amy that lives in Kingwood and asked her where I could find a unique & different gift. She said Ace Hardware. What!?! Sure enough their Ace Hardware rocks!

I fell in love with Waxing Poetic. I purchased five charms and a braclet, wrapped and put under the tree! Merry Christmas to me.

My Wish List

Urban Outfitters is one of my favorite stores! Unique, cute, funky items!

I thought I would start my birthday, Christmas and Just Because list early.

I will take this in purple (or)

RED! or

Blue (or)

My favorite--GREEN!

(not a must have--but cute)

I have been eyeing this sweet little camera for a couple of months.

The question is...would I really use it?

Super Cute! (I do not know why I am so in love with green these days!)

Super cute little table.

I like this in white!

Only $300...and would look great--somewhere!

Happy Anniversary

Josh, I love you. Happy eight years! (Where is my bronze anniversary gift? Skip bronze, I want diamonds!)

*Thank you for holding my hand through all of life's challenging trials and tribulations.
*Thank you for being my cheerleader when life gets me down.
*Thank you for understanding my crazy ways {like when I bring home ANOTHER stray animal}
*Thank you for sharing my passions.

I look forward to spending many more wonderful years by your side. I love you now and always.

Finding Myself

Home alone and quiet fills the room. Every once in a while a visit from Henry, a phone call or a visit interrupts the process. When days are filled with rush and hurriedness you forget who you are, where you are going and where you want to go. You quickly forget the accomplishments you want to achieve.

These precious quiet days are filled with thought. Thoughts of what got lost along the way, feelings that have yet to be felt, and memories waiting to be captured.

I am my own worst critic. I am hard on myself, often criticizing and second guessing every move I make. Time to make choices that will make a difference. Like it or not, choices are made that leave others unhappy and others happier.

Working as a full-time teacher and pushing myself to become the photographer that I want to be, leaves little time for self-invoking thought. However, summer offers the opportunity to be "re-born."

Tears and fears of being scared, hurt, or sadness on the surface make me want to quit. To surrender to the "easy life." The life of one job, security and ordinary. However, that thought only lingers a short while. The tears and fears then push me to work harder, to achieve more, to be the photographer/the teacher that others only dream about.

I am ready to push the boundaries. I am ready to accomplish the life I dream about. This journey I will begin will have boundaries and policies. Boundaries and policies that I too will have to follow. I am a artist, a business owner, a teacher, but I am also a wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, and friend to others. I have to find the balance to achieve but also to love.

Life is short. If you are lucky enough to live to 80, you get 29,200 mornings to awake to. Are you living the life you dream about or do you succumb to the pressures of what others want and expect out of you?


*Do you trade your knowledge, experience, and expertise for what others expect and want from you?

Life Changing Moments

A couple of years ago I attended my very first photography workshop. Why this workshop? This woman was amazing, strong, and her words would bring you to tears. Full of emotion and love. Giving. And so I attended a workshop under the direction of Me Ra Koh.

I have continued to follow her journey through her blog. She has an amazing story, an amazing journey.

Today as I sat being poked with 44 shots in both arms, I was thinking of the millions of choices we make in life. The good, the bad and "the will we ever know choices". As I fretted about house building vs. house buying decisions, I found myself stressed.

I was sitting in the doctors office and was reading my daily blog roll, Me Ra Koh's was the first I read. Tears started to fill my eyes. I was quickly reminded that house buying, needles, job choices, outfits, furniture, etc. was really not important at all. Life is what is important and how we live it. What we give to others, love that we share and memories that forever fill our hearts.

I ask that you take time to read this blog post. Me Ra Koh and her family need our prayers.
Click Here

Who are you?

I am often told via a private email or when I see someone out and about, "I really love your blog, the pictures, love reading it everyday." I appreciate the kind words. They mean so much---believe me.

Please do not be shy. Comment on the blog. Tell me your likes/dislikes.

Thanks for coming along on this photography adventure.

Henry's First Studio Portrait Session

Henry snuck into my studio to nose around the "unknown." It helps with his "new house boredom rut he is in."

He hopped onto a box in front of my blue backdrop---and looked so pretty, professional and asking for a new portrait.

Grabbed my camera and captured his first professional studio portrait.

He is beautiful!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

To greet you in the fine Irish way--
Good luck, good cheer, and happiness always!

Have a Grand St. Paddy's Day!




Read about the History of St. Patrick's Day.

The Great Salt Lake

Most Utahans do not suggest "The Great Salt Lake" as a must see tourist attraction. Weird. I found this very odd especially since Salt Lake City is named after the "Great Salt Lake?"

from encyclopedia.com...
{Salt Lake City, Utah/USA Great Salt Lake City Founded in 1847 by Mormons as a place of safety from religious persecution. Located near the south‐eastern corner of the Great Salt Lake, it was named after the lake. ‘Great’ was dropped in 1868.}

Dear History, I am keeping the "Great" in The Salt Lake. Everyone knows that adding the word "great" makes everything better!

Anyways, Josh and I had to see "The GREAT Salt Lake" for ourselves. Even though we only visited a small portion of the lake, I found it to be visually appealing. Utahans, you need to jazz up this area of Utah. Make it a must see!

Olympic Park

The Utah Olympic Park is located north of Park City, Utah and east of Salt Lake City. During the 2002 Winter Olympics it served as the venue for Nordic Jumping events and sliding events including Bobsled, Skeleton, and Luge. It still serves an active training center year round for Olympic and development level athletes. Other facilities in addition to the Nordic Jumps and Bobsled Track located on site include a 2002 Winter Olympics Museum, Ski Museum, summer aerial training splash pool, ziplines, and mountain coaster.

Park City, Utah

Several Utahans suggested Park City as a must see. I totally agree!

http://parkcity.org
Long before Park City became a world class mountain resort and venue for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, it was famous as a silver mining town, and boasts a lively and colorful past. Founded by prospectors in the late 1860's, Park City continued to mine silver until the early 1970's. The mining company, Park City Consolidated Mines, started the ski business in 1963, when they built the first lifts on what was then called Treasure Mountain. The Park City area now has three world class resorts: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and the Canyons Resort.

also..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_City,_Utah