Jared and Amanda's Wedding

I had a wonderful time photographing Jared and Amanda's wedding. It was honestly one of the most rewarding things I have ever done! It was a gorgeous September day, and luckily the sun was shining. Their ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. I definitely teared up as they read the vow they had written. I would LOVE to photograph more weddings! Here are a few photos of the day:

Refurbished Dresser

I love the idea of refurbished furniture. I once painted a high chair for my boyfriend's grandma and really enjoyed it. I painted the high chair yellow, green, blue, and red, with lots of fun shapes and designs that a kid as well as an adult would appreciate.  I stumbled upon this refurbished dresser.  Although I don't necessarily like each pattern on the dresser, I like the idea. I believe the designer used wall paper for the designs. Such an eco-friendly way to dress up an old piece of furniture and make it unique and personal:

Oh how I long to travel

I found this lovely states bulletin board online and thought it was a wonderful idea. Tyler and I made a list of places we'd like to travel to one day, including nearly every state. It would be fun to have a board like this to mark off places. So far these are the states I've traveled to:

• Nebraska (obviously)
• Iowa
• Missouri
• South Dakota
• Colorado
• Illinois
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Washington

This coming January we are flying to Florida for a few days, so then I'll have been to 1/5 of the states!

Enjoy life to the fullest

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's that I'm graduating this year, or maybe it's just that I'm a sentimental type of person, but lately I've been thinking a lot about life and what I've learned so far. Just today I was telling my Dad that one of the life lessons I've learned is we often spend more time worrying about something than the actual thing takes. When I was little for example, I used to dread going to the dentist. I'd worry a whole week or two before that the dentist would find a cavity. Then the actual appointment would come and be over in a quick hour. Sometimes it's not worth worrying about things. Although I still have to remind myself of this quite often, I must have improved somewhat. I don't worry about going to the dentist anymore. What's the point?

Here is a nice little graphic I stumbled upon, with some of the most simple, basic, and wise advice I've found:

If you can dream it, you can do it

I stumbled across some craft ideas and one of the neat ones I found was this simple little "dream jar." It got me thinking about some of the things I would put in my own jar.

• Have a design or photography job lined up before I graduate
• Move to Colorado or Missouri
• Travel to Ireland
• Be able to quit a daytime job and simply do photography for a living
• Marry Tyler :)
• Learn how to bake bread
• Buy a beautiful Victorian house with a wraparound porch in the country
• Never give up on any of these dreams!

Sunflowers

I've decided in an attempt to blog more often that I'll post something quick every day. Lately I've discovered how awesome etsy.com is. Looking through some photography on etsy I found this lovely photo of a sunflower, probably taken with a macro lens. (I want a macro really badly!) I love the bright colors of this photo and the gorgeous detail. The sunflower also makes me think about Pocahontus, my favorite disney movie, and the song "Colors of the Wind."

Photograph by Guy Pushee- You can find his work at his etsy store here.

Nebraska Balloon and Wine Festival

I am currently procrastinating homework by blogging, but I needed to catch up anyways. I thought I'd blog and share some photos I took at the Nebraska Balloon and Wine Festival back in August. It was a lovely sunny summer day. Tyler (my boyfriend of 2 years this past week!) and I brought our cameras and captured some beautiful shots of the hot air balloons.

One of our favorite balloons, "Patches" getting ready for take-off

A sweet hug is nothing but bliss

This coming weekend my boyfriend and I are shooting our friend's wedding photography! To be prepared I've been looking at all sorts of examples. I've found that I would love to shoot some engagement sessions. I love to see other couples in love! Here are some really cute photos I have stumbled across:

I absolutely love old barns in photography. They have a certain rustic charm :)

This is such a sweet use of props

The decoupaged letter is a great idea for a save the date card

I would never have thought having people sit in a tire would be so adorable.

Definitely one of the cutest engagement photos I have ever seen!

I did not take any of these photos. They were all found on various sites and blogs, and I really admire these photographers work!

A Lovely Thursday

I had a lovely evening to myself a couple of weeks ago.  It consisted of making dinner, drinking white wine, making greeting cards, and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time!  I know, I know, how could I have never seen it before? I've come to the conclusion that A) I spent too much time at band practice during my younger years and B) spent too much time in my room reading books while the rest of my family watched movies.

Anyways I ended up loving Breakfast at Tiffany's.  For some reason I had thought it was a lot older of a movie than it is.  I had always put it in the same category of Casablanca.  I was however, pleasantly surprised that the movie is simply a chick flick.  Girl is living slightly unsatisfying life.  Girl meets new boy.  Boy falls in love with girl.  Girl has issues from past and almost gives up boy.  Girl realizes she wants boy and the two live happily ever after.  That's pretty much how the movie went.  Very enjoyable. 

My delicious pasta dinner

Birthday card I made

I made some berry muffins...yum

Another card I made...I am currently obsessed with hot air balloons

The movie I finally watched and loved

Borders you have been loved

For as long as I can remember, I loved going to Borders.  When I was a child my mother took my brother and I to the bookstore and always let us pick out a couple of books.  We were never spoiled with fancy toys, but our parents never said no to books.  During high school I have fond memories of buying the next Harry Potter book at Borders.  I remember waiting in line for the seventh book until nearly 2:30 am.  It was completely worth it of course.  Now that I'm in college, I love to spend time browsing through the bookstore and sipping a hot cup of Seattle's Best in the cafe area.  However, soon I will need to find another bookstore to enjoy.  Sadly, my beloved Borders is going out of business.

It feels like the end of my childhood.  Somehow in my brain I relate the end of Borders to the end of Harry Potter.  Maybe it's because my fondest memories of Harry Potter include the Great Snape Debate and waiting in line until 2:30 am with friends.  I remember a kid dressed as Harry Potter running through the store chasing a kid dressed as Voldemort.  Like Harry Potter was a part of my childhood, so was Borders.

I understand the appeal of a Kindle or a Nook, honestly I do, but it is sad that Borders must die.  I will miss the smell of the newly bound books and happily browsing through the bargain section. 

High Noon

Lately I've been seeing a lot of movies.  This summer I am taking a class called Film and the Fine Arts.  I've finally seen Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Chicago, and quite a few others.  Recently we watched a famous western called "High Noon."  Although westerns aren't usually my cup of tea, I enjoyed this one.  The reason I really liked the movie was that the hero was the woman in the story.  Without the woman, played by Grace Kelly, Mr. Kane would have died.  Although the movie takes place in the 1800's and was made in 1952, the woman ended up being a strong character. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kane (Copyright 1952 Universal Pictures)

Artistic Evening

Last night I had a much needed evening to myself.  I painted, took photos, and enjoyed a nice cup of hot tea.  I have been working on my painting for quite some time.  It is about how after death we return to life through nature.  We decompose in the ground and provide nourishment to plants.  In this way, we never truly die or leave the earth.  I find such comfort in this because I am able to look out at the beauty in nature and know that so many people are alive in it. 

I also started another project.  I want to make a short stop motion video.  The video is going to be about a boy and girl who meet, fall in love, and fly away together in a hot air balloon.  The balloon is symbolic because love lifts a person up.

Here are a few pictures from last night:

Hello!

This is my first blog that I've started completely for fun! I have two Wordpress blogs already...one is a photography blog and the other was for a journalism class am just finishing up.  Although I like Wordpress, all of the blogs I've wanted to follow are on blogspot.  So I though I'd give it a shot and see how I like it! I chose the title "Lovely Whims" because I love all of the small things in life.  Clouds drifting by on a summer day, a purring cat, tulips coming through the ground in spring time, a blank canvas and a palette full of paint, curling up with a good book and a steaming cup of hot coco...the list could go on and on. 

I know I want to do something artistic with my life, but I'm not sure what yet.  I experiment with photography and design a lot.  I have taken quite a few senior portraits and I love it!  I love being creative and I love being inspired by other creative people. Hope you all enjoy my blog!

<3 Scarlett