A BLOG BY LINDSY READ

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Northwest Wedding in Nashville






Although I hail from the Pacific Northwest, I did not know Anita and Chris from Seattle. These super fun Seahawk fans brought 20 of their family and friends to Nashville for a simple, intimate ceremony on the Shelby Street Bridge. The ceremony was followed by dinner and dancing at world famous BB King's. They were just darling. Chris, who can only be described as "class clown" (in the best way possible) cried during his vows and Anita was picture perfect in her lacy gown. It was an honor to be a part of their special day.

Rentals: Music City Tents and Events
Planner: Music City Events
Flowers: LMA Designs

To view more of our wedding photography, please visit our webpage

Beautiful flowers by Lauren Marie Atkinson, LMA Designs.




Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Unknown



T-shirt: H&M, Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Converse, Earrings: Target.











I'm a somewhat shy and reserved extrovert, married to an outgoing and entertaining introvert. We love a good party but Dan exhausts himself within the first 45 minutes, chatting and small talking and often entertaining everyone with stories and jokes. I observe for the first while and just when I'm starting to warm up, he wants to leave. And so it goes.

Nashville is an interesting town, socially. There are so many creatives, just trying to make it. People come from all over the world to try and make it here and there's an underlying theme of rampant, unabashed self-exploitation. And I'm no stranger to that. I took business cards to a beautiful harvest moon party. To make friends, yes. But also to let people know that I'm a photographer. (For the record, there are at least 5 photographers at every party or gathering I have been to in this city. The art of photography is alive and well in Nashville!)

Since our trip back to Washington last month, I've made a point to get out as much as possible. "Never turn down an invite to a Nashville party", they say. I've been networking with photographers and planning coffee dates. Going out with people I barely know. I love it. I have felt more energized and positive and excited for my future in this city. I am alive because I am taking time for me, which means making time to socialize.

However, there's only so much I can take. It's a bit uncomfortable, feeling so unknown. Constantly meeting people who know nothing about me. So much of who I am belongs to other people. I am not myself without Liam or Dan. You'll see my true self when I'm with my sisters or my best friend, Sara - who I've known since the day I was born. In the midst of dressing up for parties and talking about myself, I just want to be known. I want to throw on a T-shirt and jeans and chat with an old friend. Someone who knows that Liam is a wild animal and that my parents are divorced and that I lived in France for a year and went to college in Canada and I love 90s pop culture and I watched VHS tapes until long after it was appropriate.

We'll get there, Nashville. 

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Body Image



I am so grateful for a mother who didn't let her insecurities show. She didn't wear a lot of makeup, didn't talk about dieting or dress sizes. I was always told that I had pretty skin and that my natural blonde highlights were something that older women coveted and paid a lot of money for in salons. I didn't think about my looks - in a positive or negative way - until I was in the second grade when someone made a comment about my friend being chubby. I hadn't noticed. I didn't have any concept of being insecure until the fifth grade when my friend had started developing. All of a sudden my friend had hips and boobs and she was at least 5 inches taller than me. Then, I grew (in height only) and I remember feeling big. I had big feet. I was in a size 10 before middle school. I was always one of the youngest girls in my class and always one of the tallest. Perhaps it was all the dainty Disney princesses I'd grown to love but I knew I didnt want to feel big. 

In junior high and high school I would look at fashion magazines and I'd start feeling bad about myself. After looking at Seventeen, or whatever, I'd resolve to go buy a new beauty product or start a new workout regime. I  was probably 17 years old, a senior in high school, before I realized what I was doing. I dont buy magazines anymore. I think women naturally compare themselves to others and it's not healthy so I just cut that out of my life. But you cant escape these false images of airbrushed beauties. They're in every store, mall and bus stop advertisement. These little lies (airbrushed phtotos) trickle in whether you like it or not. 

I remember dating some guys in high school that were the same height as me and, again, I felt big. I was 5'8" and 135 pounds in high school. A size 4. I'm not much bigger now but I still feel big sometimes! To be honest, it wasn't until I married Dan that I started to like being taller. And now I love it. Heels every day. 

Now that I'm older I'm thinking about wrinkles and cellulite. They are inevitable. Your skin gets wrinkly and everyone has cellulite. I've seen cellulite on women of every shape, age and size. 

I love my body when I can make it through a 90 minute hot yoga class or a long run. I love that I can chase after Liam without getting tired. I love that our family goes on a weekly hikes and I'm able to keep up. 

Check out Delightfully Tacky to share your stories about body imageHave you felt like false, unrealistic advertising has adversely affected your body image, either now, or growing up?    42% of girls in grades 1-3 want to be thinner, 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of getting fat, 78% of 17-year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies.  

Let's share our stories, show off our beautiful bodies and encourage young girls to embrace themselves - just as God made them. 


Tuesday, September 02, 2014

First Day of "School" and Settling In

Praise the Lord, Liam got into a Mother's Day Out program. He was a last minute addition but we got in and I am so, so, so grateful. It's been just he and I for 7 months straight with my only breaks being to go to work. Now I have some time to get a few things done without worrying about childcare or dragging Liam along and it's truly a huge blessing in my life right now. How cute is his pose? That was totally his idea. 

I remember predicting, 7 months ago, that we wouldn't have our life here figured out until now. And, I was right! (I'm always right.) My job is more stable, we have two regular nannies, Dan is home a lot more, Liam started "school. It just feels good to be here. Our lease is up in 4 months and we don't know what our future holds as far as what our address will be... But, we know it will be in Nashville. We know that Liam has "school" on Tuesdays and Thursdays until next May. We know that Dan is home a lot more. 

I feel like we're finally settling in. 

Liam's 3rd Birthday









Liam's 1st birthday party was in our backyard. It was a hot day. The theme was Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. He had only been in our home for 7 months but he felt like ours. He wasn't walking or talking yet. He was scared of his cake until I smashed his hand in it. He still had that amazing smile that just gets bigger and better with each year. 

His 2nd birthdays were fun, too. He had a backyard party at my sister's house, complete with an amazing cake that I never got to show off because it had his name on it. The internet only knew him as "BB" back then. He also had a balloon themed pizza party at our favorite place in Tacoma with all his best friends. 

This year, we invited over two friends. We ate Shipley Donuts. The mommas, Blair and Liz, sipped iced coffee. It was low-key and just what we all needed. Then, we had a little Labor Day shindig with our only blood relative in town: Aunt Karli! Karli and her boyfriend got Liam a Hot Wheels race track. It was awesome.

The grand finale was dinner at the Aquarium restaurant, just us. We pass this place almost everytime we go to the mall and Liam always begs to go in. It was a wonderful surprise for him to finally get to eat there.

At the end of the night, we were all tired and happy. It was such a good night. We are so blessed by this boy every day.

Happy birthday, Liam! A lifetime of balloons and dancing awaits you!













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