Late for Humpdates AGAIN! I know, I am so bad.. I am either a reeeeally bad blogger, or my life is just so incredibly exciting that I am too overwhelmed to blog! I prefer to think it’s the latter
Luckily, I have quite a bit to talk about this week! This past weekend was one of my first weekends in town, at home, with virtually nothing to do, in well over a month. I have been running around like crazy lately, and starting in June & July things will get even crazier, so I am enjoying this time off while I have it.

Friday, Jason and I went to Taste of Addison to see Gavin DeGraw in concert.  Huge clouds of cigarette smoke (and other kinds of smoke…) and hoardes of high schoolers kept us from seeing a lot of the concert, but we did manage to meet up with some friends and relax a little bit.

On Saturday Jason and I headed to a party with some of his work friends. It was a crawfish boil, and I know that as a Texan (living in such close proximity to Louisiana and having so many Louisianian friends) I am supposed to love crawfish, but I don’t. I hate it!! I hate the idea of boiling something alive, even a tiny little crawfish. I can’t bear the thought of murdering a poor innocent creature just so I can eat it. I know what you’re thinking.. No, I am not a vegetarian, but seeing them boil those crawfish sure made me consider it
I also shot Rebecca’s bridal session on Saturday. I am really excited about Rebecca’s wedding because it is going to be so unique and personal.. The reception is going to be held at her parents’ house in McKinney, which is actually a state landmark (with a plaque and everything). I think I might even get to cross one thing off my wishlist - but we’ll have to wait and see!

Sunday, of course, was Mother’s Day, and since I have the coolest, awesomest, best mom in the world, I was super excited to spend the day with her. She came over early Sunday morning, and despite it being HER day, she brought ME a gift….

Mmmmm, cupcakes.. Red velvet cupcakes! YUMMMMM! While Jason was making his infamous spaghetti (best. spaghetti. EVER. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to come over ANYTIME so we can prove it to you!), Mom and I decorated the cupcakes with coconut, pecans, and chocolate shavings. Of course we had to keep taste testing them, just to make sure they were up to par After the delicious lunch we went to see Horton Hears a Who, which is a GREAT movie for anyone of any age. I highly recommend it!

Monday was FUN DAY! My dear friend Jessica Paup is graduating from SMU’s MBA program next weekend, so to celebrate her amazing achievement, we decided to take a day off and head to Turner Falls, OK for a day of hiking, swimming, and relaxing. J Paup and I rarely get to spend time together, so I took along my trusty G9 to document this momentous occasion.

Once we arrived at the park, we headed straight for the waterfall, but on the way we saw this amazing caste built into the side of the hill.  Apparently some doctor decided to build himself a castle way back in the 30’s, and just lived out here in the middle of nowhere in his castle overlooking the waterfall.  How awesome is that!??  The castle is very cool, but also extremely creepy, but I think it would be a really neat location for a wedding.. Any brides out there up for the task??

Shortly after that we arrived at the heart of the park, Turner Falls, a 77 foot natural waterfall.

If you look to the right of the falls, you will see a small hole carved in the side of the cliffs.  That’s Wagon Wheel Cave.  Paup and I decided that it might be fun to do a little rock climbing a check the cave out.  Little did we know we would risk our LIVES in the process.. Yikes!!  Here’s a closer view, plus our view from the top looking down onto the water.

Me, halfway up the cliff, hanging on for dear life, watching my short life flash before my eyes.

And finally at the top, Paup and I are showing off our rock-climbing prowess

A little self-portrait to commemorate the occasion.. I think I might have hit the zoom button.. Whoops!!

Jess, showing off her sexy side.  Will someone PUH-LEEZE marry this woman so I can take some photos of her in a wedding gown?  She is a total catch, sexy and fun and way smart to boot!

After going for a quick dip in the ffffrrrreeeeeeeeeezzziiinnnggg cold water and laying out in the sun, we decided to hike a little further into the woods.  We came upon this path, that made me think of the Robert Frost poem…

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads divulged in a yellow wood
And I, I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.

(at least I hope that’s how it goes, I wrote it from memory!)

It really made me stop and thinking about how that poem describes my life.  When I graduated college, I had two choices.  Find a nice, stable, everyday job that would give me a safe, regular income, or take a huge risk and start my own business doing something I loved.  Although it terrified me, I took the plunge and took the road less traveled, and it has changed my life in countless, wonderful ways.  I hope that all of you have a chance in your life to take the road less traveled, and I hope that it turns out as a blessing to you as it has been for me!

Anyway, Paup and I came across this small hidden area with a real babbling brook, so we decided to sit and relax and read for a bit.

As I listened to the sounds of the stream, I started on a book that I should have read by now, but haven’t ever quite finished, Catcher in the Rye.  I read Perks of Being a Wallflower last week and loved it - hopefully Holden is as interesting as Charlie was!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjG9aiaqZ44]

Finally our time at Turner Falls was over, so we headed back to civilization.  But before we returned to the Lone Star State, we had to fulfill a promise to Jessica’s dad and stop at a Chocktaw casino on our way back!  Look how excited we are to be in a casino for the very first time!

Sadly, it wasn’t quite as fun as we expected.  Lots of cigarette smoke (indoors - who does that??), lots of old people, and LOTS LOTS LOTS of slot machines.  We decided to try some slot machines, just to see what all the fuss was about.  Jess couldn’t wait to collect her winnings, while I was a little worried about developing a gambling problem…

I didn’t do too badly though.. I managed to hit a jackpot!  Check out my winnings!!  WOOHOO!!

With heavy hearts, we headed back home.. Although I missed the Welcome to Oklahoma sign, luckily my catlike reflexes were able to snap a photo of the Welcome to Texas sign.  This is why they pay me the big bucks, folks….

It was such a great day, not only to see some places and experience some things I have never done before, but also to spend quality time with one of my favorite people in the world.  Paup, let’s not wait another six months to hang out, okay??

Something else cool that happened this weekend - I finally saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy!!  I was always a fantasy geek growing up (I worked in a comic book store for years as a teenager), but for some reason I never actually read LOTR, and I was anxious to see why everyone freaked out over it so much.  Now I understand - WOW - what a great story!!  The movie was epic, and there was so much detail and subtext in everything.  It definitely makes me anxious to read the books now!

Okay, that’s it for this week.. WHEW - for an off week, I sure was busy!!  Luckily this week truly is an off week, I have nothing planned other than a couple of portrait sessions.

Leave me a message and give me a suggestion for something fun to do this weekend!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am going to tell you all that my dear friend Juls is, in fact, NOT getting married. When I found out I would be visiting Vail, I searched high and low for a real bride to pose for me in the snowy mountain weather, but alas, there was no one to be found. I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t want to put on a skimpy dress they spent several thousand dollars on and go traipsing through the muddy snow in sub-freezing temperatures.. go figure! Luckily I have the best friends ever, and Juls agreed to pose as a bride so I could add some mountain-esque shots to my portfolio.

I have one more secret to tell you about this shoot, but before I drop that bomb, I want to show off the photos!

After awhile the snow began to get to us so we headed inside the lodge for some steaming hot photos!

And a few more before we ran home to bundle up by the fire..

So about that other secret? Well, once I had found my “bride,” there was just the problem of finding the dress… After hours and hours of searching through Vail’s pretty sad supply of clothing stores and racking our brains trying to figure out how to turn clearance-sale floral patterned sundresses into bridal gowns, we finally decided to just take a risk and MAKE our own wedding dress. With some fabric, a needle, and lots of white thread, we managed to throw together Juls’ very sexy, very svelte little white dress. Granted, it’s no Vera Wang, but we both think it served its purpose well! Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Hopefully I didn’t curse Juls into not getting married ever.. If you think this is the hottest, sexiest woman you have ever met, and you live in or around the Vail, Colorado area, and you are a hot sexy young man yourself.. Let me know, I will totally play matchmaker

Today I am off to the spectacular Turner Falls in Oklahoma for some much needed R&R with one of my bestest friends in the world, J Paup.  I will be back in the office tomorrow morning!

Here is a photo from one of my portrait shoots in Vail just to whet your appetite a bit….

See you tomorrow!

Sorry for the delay.. This past day has been a bit of a mess for me. I will explain why soon, but first…. HUMPLATES! (get it???) I made it super extra long to make up for the delayed post.

Vail was SOOO much fun, I had a blast and I wish I could go back. Actually, I WILL be going back - perhaps later this year. Who’s with me??

Although Juls had told me that the weather was warm and Texas-like, I actually arrived to find THIS:

Yipes! Not quite as warm as I had expected. But at least Julsy brought along my old roommate Piper to see me. Piper could barely contain his excitement at being reunited with his long lost Aunt Stacy!

After a delicious brunch in Denver we headed into snowy Vail so I could get a glimpse of what my best friend has been up to for these past few years. Try to imagine that just a few days ago, Juls said she had been walking around this area in flip-flops and a sundress!  I’m pretty sure it snowed just for me

That night, Juls and I headed to the restaurant that she works at, Bagali’s. Bagali’s is really amazing because it’s a total hybrid of a nice Italian food place, a fun cajun stop, and a bar. I’m not sure that I have ever walked through a busy bar full of beer-chugging locals to sit at a table decorated with Mardi Gras masks and beads and ordered from a pasta-filled Italian menu, and I probably never will again! If you go to Vail, you MUST MUST MUST go to Bagali’s and order the chicken alfredo.. That is my favorite meal of all time, and I get it at pretty much every restaurant that offers it, and I have to say, Bagali’s has the best chicken alfredo I have EVER had. That is huge, coming from me. You must try it, if you can!!

Being the old women that we were, we were so stuffed from our huge, delicious dinner and our day full of sightseeing (and shopping for wedding dresses - more on that later) that we actually crashed and went to sleep at about 9 PM. Pathetic, I know!

The next morning I woke up to see this beautiful sight outside the window…

After that I KNEW it was going to be an amazing day. We started off driving around Beaver Creek Mountain in an area called Bachelor Gulch scoping out some photoshoot locations. This is the area where the Vail Ritz-Carlton is, and also where some of the nicest houses in Vail are.

This is just one example of a typical house in Bachelor Gulch. Here’s the crazy part - they are all EMPTY!! We only saw cars and/or people outside of maybe two of the 60+ houses we drove past, and this was a Saturday morning, when people should have been home enjoying themselves. Juls told me that most of these houses are vacation homes or rentals, so during the summer, there are very few people there. How sad!! Can you imagine buying a multi-million dollar house with THIS view from your front door….

And only spending a couple of weeks a year there? Absolutely tragic!!

Later we headed to a Cinco de Mayo festival. Since Juls had to shoot some footage for her job at a broadcasting company, I decided to bring along my own camera and capture some of the fun. There were tons of activities there, including fake bull riding, face painting, horse rides, a pooch parade and costume contest, inflatable games, music, cultural dancers, and of course, rock climbing (it is Vail, after all).

The food was TO DIE FOR! It felt like I was back home in Texas! Burritos, quesadillas, tamales, salsa, lemonade.. There was even a really cool Greek food booth, as well as lots and lots of sweets!

However, the REAL place to be was the Chili Cook-off.. As we all know, Texas is the originator of the chili cook-off, so I was curious how Vail would compare. Surprisingly enough, it was all pretty good! Of course, it did help that most of the chili chefs were from Texas or Mexico

Some of these require some explanation, co clockwise from top left: a member of the ‘chain gang’ handing out some Jail House Roadkill Chili (with every animal you can imagine in it), a chef handing out some chili, a woman who I thought was Chiquita Banana until she very promptly informed me that she was not (she was supposed to be someone important in Mexican heritage, but I can’t for the life of me remember who), a Vailite sampling the wares, the chocolate chili (yum!), Julsy interviewing not-Chiquita-Banana, an 80-year-old woman showing us the fine art of tortilla rolling, the tortillas on the grill, and the maker of the infamous chocolate chili.

After all that, we were exhausted, so we headed back to Juls’ to relax for awhile, finish our Bagali leftovers (just as good the next day!), watch Across the Universe (so good!), and put the finishing touches on Juls’ wedding gown (you’ll have to wait to see!). Yet again, we hit the hay at like 10 PM. If you know Juls, you know how crazy that is.. Julsy is my “party friend,” she always knows where the party is and is always out making new friends and enjoying life to the fullest. I think some of my boringness rubbed off on her.

The next day was photoshoot day!! You will have to wait for a couple of days to see the results of the two shoots we did, but I promise, they are great!!

Sunday night, Juls and I (and her roommate, Robbie Jane) headed to one of the nicest restaurants in Vail, Kelly Liken. I have to say that normally I am not a fan of gourmet restaurants.. I am a very picky eater, and typically places with a menu full of things I can’t even pronounce, let alone define, are not my cup of tea. However, Kelly is a master at knowing how to create delicious gourmet dishes that are accessible to even non-foodies like me.

We started off with Pomegranate Sparklers, a glass of champagne and pomegranate liqueur with bits of pomegranate floating inside. So tasty! After perusing the extensive wine list and the incredible menu (I was terrified I wouldn’t see anything I wanted, but I actually had to ask for help to pick between 3-4 delicious-sounding entrees!), our waitress brought us out a unordered surprise - beet puree! Hmm.. Beet puree? I don’t do vegatables, especially not BEETS.. But man, I am so glad I did.. DE-LI-CIOUS. Unreal! So good! It literally made me want to run to the store and buy some beets. Next came our first course. For Juls and Robbie Jane, it was Gulf Prawns (which they loved), and for me, a duo of Kurobuta Pork (which I loved). Then came the entrees! For me, an amazing organic grilled chicken breast in a sweet bar-b-q sauce on a bed of arugula served with bacon-studded cornbread. For Juls, super-tender Colorado beef short rib surrounded by creamy parmesan grits, and I can’t for the life of me remember what Robbie Jane got, but I’m sure it was good. I’m sure everyone in the restaurant knew it was good, because all we could say was “Oh my god!” and “This is unbelievable!” over and over. It was pretty funny! We had already decided that we HAD to get dessert, so we each ordered something different.. For Robbie Jane, fruit bruschetta (fresh fruit and edible flowers on poundcake), for me, banana toffee cream cake with whipped peanut butter gelato, and for Juls, a warm gooey chocolate donut with a tiny mocha frap shooter. Yet again, more rounds of “Oh my god!” and “This is unbelievable!” We all sampled and shared, and none of us could decide whose was the best. Finally, as our check came, we received a second unordered surprise - more dessert! Petit fors and apricot lollipops. Yummmm…

Our delight was increased even more when we got the check…

Only $50 each for a six course meal, cocktails, and wine at a very posh and highly-acclaimed restaurant. What a steal! Keep in mind this is Vail’s down season, so Kelly Liken, like most restaurants, was only charging half-price. Normally, you would expect to pay about $60-100 each, more if you ordered from the chef’s tasting menu ($100 a head, and you receive a sampling of Kelly’s finest dishes, prepared specifically for you by the chef herself!). Even at full price, the food would be worth it and then some. Hands down the best dining experience I have EVER had. And get this - as we were leaving, the maitre’d handed us some going away presents - tiny lemon butter muffins tied up in cute little bags! Make that SEVEN courses!

The next morning I woke up sad, knowing it was my departure day, but Juls and I were determined to make the most of it.. I started with a media appearance discussing wedding photography on Good Morning Vail:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=VwREpPp7Gh4]

And then lunch at the place of choice for ski bums with hangovers (haha, thankfully that was NOT us!), Westside, which has the funnest breakfast menu I have ever seen. I sadly passed up the Cap’n Crunch French Toast for some chocolate chip pancakes, but Juls dove into a banana/caramel/peanut butter breakfast burrito that was all kinds of delicious. After the weekend of meals we had, we had to end it on a bang!

With a few hours left before my flight, Juls and I decided to take Piper on a walk. What was supposed to be a short trip around the neighborhood turned into a two hour hike into the mountains! We saw a little path that led up a pretty hill and thought it might be fun to get a better view. Minutes later, we found ourselves halfway up a mountain, surrounded by steep snowy hills! It was a bit scary at times, but we managed to make our way through the trail, and I am so glad we did. The beautiful views and fresh air were exactly what I needed!

As we made the drive back into Denver, I took a few final photos of the snow to get me through the blazing hot Texas summer.

And check out the view from my airport terminal. Denver’s airport is in the middle of NOWHERE, which is kind of annoying, but makes for some really pretty surroundings.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend. I got some relaxation times with one of my best friends, some amazing photos, a great business opportunity, fresh air, INCREDIBLE food, and memories I will keep with me forever. Julsy, thank you so much for opening your home to me. I miss you and Vail already, and I can’t wait to come back later to ski with you - and next time I will bring J Paup and Jason!

I will definitely post Humpdates later today, but first I want to share this with you guys…

Check it out!! My favorite album company in the whole world, Dallas-based Forbeyon, has chosen me to be their Featured Photographer of the Month! And not only that - I am the FIRST!!! Wow, what an incredible honor. Any photographer who spends a lot of time around me knows that I am just in love with Forbeyon’s albums, they are the cornerstone of our business. For me, wedding photography is all about the album, so I put a LOT of time and effort into finding just the right company to work with, and for me, it was no contest. Forbeyon’s albums are classy, elegant, extremely high-quality, and worthy of being displayed and passed down for generations to come. If you’re a photographer and would like to know more about them, check out their website at www.forbeyon.com. They only work with professional photographers, so if you’re a client or just a blog reader and want to know more about them, feel free to e-mail me and I will share what I can.

Thanks so much to Forbeyon for being so darn awesome and for giving me this much-appreciated honor! I love you guys

I just got back in town from Vail and I have some great stuff to show off for tomorrow’s Humpdates, but until then you can sit back and enjoy these photos from Julie & Jeff’s engagement session in downtown Frisco!

I just love downtown Frisco.. It is still new so there aren’t a ton of people around, but everything is so new and colorful and quaint

Look at this dreary weather! Blech.. But it sure makes for some awesome moody photos!

Getting a little steamy in here…

We saw this old pitchfork on the ground and we just HAD to recreate American Gothic!

I take this shot a lot but I still get tons of comments on it every time, so here it is again! Although these guys are Aggies (like me!) and are showing off their Aggie Rings, this same shot could be done with other college rings, or any other rings that has special significance (service academy rings, promise rings, religious rings, etc).

The Kissing Game.. works like a charm, every time

Jeff showing off his sweet moves…

Julie and Jeff, thanks so much for hanging out with me and having some fun.  I can’t wait for the wedding - it’s coming up so soon!

I am off to the beautiful city of Vail for the weekend.. My lovely friend and resident ski bunny Juls tells me it is snowing like crazy - I have only seen snow maybe three times in my life, so I can’t wait!!

I will be back Tuesday morning. If you need something, send me an email and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can!

Until then, leave me a comment and tell me something fun

ps :: Vail residents, don’t forget to tune into Good Morning Vail on Channel 8 at 7:30 AM on Monday!