THE SHIFT

Well, it's been about 147 years since our Friday art + story. I can't believe how it slips me by and just how easily I skirt around it each week. But here we are, once again. :) This one's based from the quick drawing I did a few weeks ago, and I think of this song when I look at it.

The Shift:

She awoke in the morning’s early hours to the sounds of the wind stirring through the trees and the dog violently scratching its ears at the foot of the bed.

Sleepily, she slid her legs from under the comforter onto the cold tile floor, fumbled in the darkness for the handles on the dresser, and opened the heavy drawer, searching for a soft and warm sweater to help stifle the cold. After a few moments, she felt the fuzzy fabric on her fingertips, and she pulled it over her head of big, messy hair. She felt her way a few feet over toward the tiny creature still scratching itself in the opaque shadows. Kneeling down, she gently rubbed the dog’s ears until its legs slowly descended from their clawing motion. She reached for the dog’s blanket, pulled it onto the comforter on top of the bed, lifted the animal onto the bed, and then slid back under the sheets.

Her husband stirred beside her and the now completely comfortable dog, scooting closer toward her and eventually wrapping an arm around her frame. He always managed to put all the weight of his arm on her stomach, making it a little difficult to breathe, but she still loved the feeling of his closeness.

She guessed she would again have trouble finding her dreams again and would likely stare at the dark ceiling fan whirring above them for the next hours. Her mind was bound to wrap itself around every detail of their life that was uncertain and eminent. Even so, she would revel at the beauty of the sky slowly lightening through the window, from its dark smoky black hues, to its cloudy navy, and eventually to its gray-blue gradated with deep pink. They would start the day together, just as they did on any usual morning. Despite the shift that was waiting to greet them, she promised herself not to let go of here and now.

***

Hope you guys enjoy the weekend! We're super excited with a cold front that swept through last night, and I get to meet up with Clay downtown later tonight to hear the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at the symphony. Being a violinist himself, he is absolutely beside himself with anticipation, and since I grew up with a family that had two-hour dinners every night while listening to classical music, I'm not any less excited.

OVER THE WEEKEND

Clay was moaning this weekend about the heat, and while I'd like Texas to catch up with everyone else and realize that Fall should be here by now, I still find myself in awe of the sunsets that come with the heat. 

Our sweet little Xena is recovering splendidly from her near collision with what I believed might be sudden death, and she went from hobbling to slowly pacing, to trotting, and now zooming around everywhere her tiny body can muster. 

I, of course, tried to chase her down as usual, every once in a while snapping a photo here and there. 

Minus the small part of me running my side view mirror of my car into the brick surrounding the garage door this morning, Monday is treating me just fine. No use to fret about the little stuff when everything is so beautiful and everyone is healthy anyway.

Hope you enjoyed the weekend!

BRANDING FOR CHIC SHOT STUDIO

Whew! What a week, guys. Our little love pup was not-so-lovingly bitten by something in the backyard (probably a snake), and it's been vets, tests, emergency visits, lack of sleep, and tears that have gotten me this far. Thankfully, Xena's okay now, and she's quietly sleeping at the foot of my desk as I type this. She also has found the strength to finally eat, and she's also hobbling around and trying to play with her ball, of all things. You gotta get your strength back somehow, baby!

In other news, I've been going all over the place finishing up the Chic Shot Studio logo, and here we are, finally! I'm just over the moon with the results.

Mere has been one of my dearest friends since college, even when I was jealous of her mad rendering skills in the studio. I remember walking into the studio the morning our first project ever was due (a mounted draft of a small apartment), and I noticed a pretty project on the table that was so detailed, there were even candles shown on top of the tables in the floor plan. Yes, that was Mere's drawing, and it was the first time I met her as a freshman in college.

We both realized that we loved drawing, studying, and utterly pushing for excellence. You can imagine how quickly we became glued together. We've been through bad breakups together, witnessed each other falling in love with our now husbands, and have stepped out of our comfort zones to form careers that we truly love.

I couldn't be prouder to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Mere and her husband Jeremiah to strengthen their photography brand. I gotta say though, their work speaks for itself. So much so that Clay and I were absolutely ecstatic to have them photograph our own wedding.

Chic Shot needed a new logo, updated social media icons, redesigned gallery notes for client reviews, business cards, and watermarks to protect their work. I had a ball designing each and every one.

You guys HAVE to check out their work…especially a recent wedding they just shot. It's hard for me not to drool a little bit…okay, everywhere, to be honest. If you're wanting beautiful photos, these two sweet people are the right ones to go with, no doubt. 

Thanks so much for letting me take the reins on something so near to your hearts, Mere and Jeremiah! It's bittersweet to say that I'm finished with such an inspiring project. 

A FEW FROM ROME

Thought I'd share some shots from our time in Rome. It's so funny how when I look back at the photos (which I already forgot about), the memories of the intense heat and bodily aches just seem to melt away. 

I took the majority of my best photos in Rome while we were riding on the top of a bus (completely worth it playing the dumbfounded tourist). We couldn't stop laughing on the insanely fast bus ride, as the driver quickly shoved his foot on the brake all for about half a second for each landmark, then continued zooming around the crowded city streets, lurching this way and that.

My husband's lovely head accidentally got in the way of this shot, but I sort of like the effect.

Rome is a tough city to be in, especially smack in the middle of the hot summers, but I'm glad we experienced her. 

OVER THE WEEKEND

It must be Pinterest that's doing this to me, but I've been itching to book a family photo shoot with a photographer for quite some time now. 

I thought for the time being, I might be able to drag Clay in front of the camera to try and get a couple of shots together. The guy lasted about 15-20 minutes, give or take, but at least it was enough to capture a couple of photos that I love (even if they are a bit blurry). Oh well! That comes with the territory when you're trying to make it all happen with a tripod and the self-timer setting. 

Go figure that the clearest ones are test shots, which are completely missing Clay.

Maybe I can wrangle Clay in front of the camera again for a bit longer than this particular time. I can't imagine trying to take photos with kids, especially when I'm trying to grab my husband and dog to try and pull them back in the frame every few minutes. Distractions! 

The pup wasn't having it and stayed in her bed. She's a pretty cute little stinker, nonetheless.

Hope you guys enjoyed your weekend!