(note: Jason yelled at me for not posting any photos, so I am editing this to add some visual goodness)

Wow, I have SO MUCH news to share with you all today, so I am going to get right to it.

First and foremost, a huge thank-you to Brittani and Corey Oliver, two of my best friends in the world, for letting me crash with them this weekend. It was so amazing to spend time with them, and I feel totally inspired after seeing how they live their lives. Corey is a budgeting genius, and I love chatting with him about money and saving and planning and budgeting.. Every time I talk to him I have a renewed drive to get myself back on track with my finances, and I have definitely noticed that I am doing a lot less needless spending lately. Brittani is one of the craftiest, most design-savvy people I know, and seeing their incredibly cute house has completely inspired me to get organized at home and stop putting off all my design plans. They are also both really health conscious and environmentally friendly, which is so admirable. In short, not only do I love them dearly, I pretty much want to BE them. So C&B (and Blitz!), thanks so much for pedicures, Cheesecake Factory, TIVOed Oprah, carnivals, pancakes for dinner, holding flashes, holding my camera as I jumped into the Gulf of Mexico, and for just plain being great friends. ps :: I left a gift for you in the guest bathroom - I hope you got it!

Here is a photo from Britt & Corey’s engagement sessions YEEEEEEAAAARRRSSS ago. This was one of the first engagement photos I EVER took. Notice the cheesy glow effect and way overdone retouching. This was also after almost seven hours of shooting, so they are pretty much exhausted and ready to be done with photos. Also notice Corey’s kickin’ haircut.

I took this one of Corey a couple years back for a photo contest.. The theme was “Words.” It won first place!

This is from Britt’s bridal session (also my first bridal session ever!), and to this day it is one of my most popular photos.

This past weekend was super busy and super fun… I had two engagement sessions, a bridal session, and a Fearless Bridal/Day After session, so I have a LOT of great images to share with you guys over the next week. Stay tuned!

This upcoming weekend, I am traveling to Vail. I am still looking for brides in the Vail area to do a Fearless Bridal with me, so if you are available any time this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and have a wedding dress, let me know! I will be spending most of the time reuniting with one of my favorite girls in the world, Juls Sharpley.

Back when I was just starting my business, Juls posed for a bunch of portraits for me.. I still love them! Isn’t she a hottie? I will be taking some promo pics for her this weekend for her new broadcasting career!

My work is starting to get noticed in the media, which is a really exciting thing for me. Both Houston Bride (a division of Modern Bride) and Weddings in Houston are featuring my work in their upcoming issues, so if you are a Houston bride be sure to pick up the new issues when they come out in a few months. And - this is HUGE - I am going to be featured on a morning news show while I am in Vail! HOLY COW! I will be discussing wedding photography on Good Morning Vail on channel 8 at around 7:40 AM next Monday, so if you’re in that area, tune in and let me know how I do!
The Stacy Reeves Photography blog as you know it is about to be a goner - I am having the blog completely redesigned - and it is MOVING! I am not sure when exactly this will happen.. It could be a few days or a few weeks.. But it is coming!! Be prepared to update your links and subscription feeds. If you want to be the first to know about the change, go to my main website at www.stacyreeves.com (click “enter site”) and sign up on the email listserv (the little envelope at the bottom of the page).

We have had a sudden burst of inquiries for late 08 over the past couple of weeks and we are filling up very quickly. If you are still looking for a wedding photographer for your late 08 wedding, let us know ASAP, we would love to talk to you about how we can serve you!

Alright, that’s about it for this week’s Humpdates.. I’ll leave you with this. While I was in Houston, I watched an Oprah episode about wasteful families, and it was shocking to me how similar I was to those people. You don’t think about how small things can add up, like drinking from water bottles, leaving electronic devices on all the time, buying too much food at the grocery store (and subsequently throwing most of it away when it goes bad), wasting paper on little notes, etc.. I am always amazed at how I can fill up my huge trash bin pretty much the day after the city comes and empties it, and I am ashamed to be contributing to the global pollution problem in that way. I am making a huge effort from now on to stop being wasteful, to reuse things as much as I can, and to only use electricity, water, paper, etc when I really need it! One great suggestion that I got from Oprah (and Britt) is to shop for groceries once a week, and plan out your meals in advance so that you only buy what you absolutely need. Not only will this save money on groceries and fast food, but it encourages me to eat at home, which is always good, plus I will get to spend more time with Jason that way. It’s a win-win all around! Another great suggestion is to minimize TV and computer usage.. Jason and I are TERRIBLE about sitting on our laptops alllllllll night and just goofing off and watching TV. Not only do we use a lot of energy that way, but we also aren’t spending quality time together. So now we’re going to make an attempt to do other things like take walks, play with Sallie, work on the house, read books, and other things that will enrich our lives in a more substantial way. Do you guys have any other suggestions on how to stop being wasteful and starting leading fuller, more enriching lives? I am all ears!