Oh, January. I can’t believe you’re over today. Back in November I was thinking how much free time I would have to work on all these projects I had been brewing in my mind this month, and now it’s basically over. I mean, I did accomplish quite a bit on the business end of things (don’t even get me started on taxes and how much I owe the government this year), and on the home front (my dining room is nearly done! hooray!), but there’s never as much time as you think there will be. Next thing I know it’ll be full on wedding season! Eek! But for now, I’ll share some stuff I’ve been loving this month. If you’re so inclined, let me know in the comments what YOU can’t get enough of so that I know what I need to be checking out! :)

1. When I flew out to Utah for Sundance a couple of weeks ago, I decided to pick up a couple of novels to entertain myself on my long travel days. (When it was all said and done, I ended buying AND reading four novels during my two days of plane-hopping. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when access to a TV and internet is taken away for long stretches of time!) One of them was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I had seen previews for the Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock movie adaptation, but I wanted to get my hands on the book first. SO glad I did. For subject matter that seems so heavy and depressing (a young boy loses his father in the 9/11 attacks and embarks on a journey around New York City to find closure), the novel is surprisingly full of hope and even a good bit of humor. It is by far one of the most beautifully written, poignant, and earnest books I’ve read, and I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know ever since. Another of the books, An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, was completely different but just as enjoyable. Because it revolves around the art world in New York in the 90′s, one of my favorite elements of the book was actually the cover, which felt like a canvas. I thought that was just such an interesting nod to the subject matter, and I was extra careful not to smudge or bend it. But the book itself is also quite good. I didn’t realize that on top of being an excellent actor and a fantastic musician, Steve Martin is also a talented writer. I guess some people just get all the breaks. ;)

2. Last fall, Jamie’s parents gave us a Keurig coffee maker, and man…. I am addicted. I was a little skeptical about the quality of the coffee, but then I discovered Green Mountain’s Pumpkin Spice K-cups, and it was love at first taste. I don’t even drink it with cream or sugar. It has the perfect amount of spiciness and flavor while still being a pretty full-bodied coffee. Unfortunately, I found out that it’s a seasonal offering, so I used an Amazon gift card I got for Christmas to buy a huge bulk pack of it. Hopefully it’ll get me through the next couple of months. :)

3. While at the airport, I also picked up a copy of the new HGTV Magazine. I’ve being seeing commercials for it while I’ve had House Hunters on in the background while I work, and I was so surprised that anyone would be putting out a new print magazine when so many are actually shutting down their publications due to the economy and changing technologies. But I think that’s part of the power of their brand, and I have no doubt that the magazine will succeed… especially after I opened it up and started looking through some of the features. They went on set for the show Up All Night (one of my favorites of the year by far!) and showed where everything in their living room came from, which I loved because I always drool over that gorgeous house. They also interviewed the family who owns the Father of the Bride house in Pasadena, which was really cool because really– who doesn’t love that house and wish they lived in it? Plus, the whole issue was filled with lots of neat little tips and ideas and resources. I might just have to buy myself a subscription.

4. Florence. Oh, Florence. How I love you. Earlier this month I declared “Shake it Out” my 2012 anthem, but I’ve been listening to the entire album on repeat for weeks. Her voice is incredible. Her style is magical. I just adore her. Go listen.

5. This week I am especially thankful for my little space heater. Let’s just say, in an attempt to change out our dining room light fixture on my own and not knowing how to work with the really old wires in our really old house, that I managed to blow out the electricity in half our house. Our friend Will, the lifesaver, came over and spent half his weekend fixing all the electrical problems in the house (we owe him BIG time!), but we’re still waiting on a part we had to order for our heater, so my little space heater is my BFF right now. Even when our heat IS working, I like to sit right in front of it while I work, just because I’m so cold-natured. Literally, there have been times when I’ve put it on full blast and cradled it in my lap on the couch, which I’m pretty sure is a safety hazard. I’ll carry it from room to room with me depending on where I’m working or what I’m doing. Even though it feels like spring outside right now, I just can’t give it up. What can I say? I love feeling cozy!

 Is there anything YOU just can’t get enough of? Let me know below!

I’m writing this from Utah, where I’ve been for the past week to help photograph some Sundance Film Festival events with my friend Sam. I’ve been having SO much fun, and I couldn’t help but go ahead and share some of my favorite images of Park City these past few days.

I actually got to experience Sundance for the first time two years ago, when Mike (Sam’s husband) initially got contracted to shoot a weekend of events for Columbia College in Chicago and asked me if I would be interested in helping him shoot. I was expecting the whole thing to be a little glamorous, but I was stunned when we ended up in a tiny room full of famous people. Mike and Sam have been hired every year since, but this year Mike was deployed unexpectedly, so they asked me if I’d want to fly back out to Utah to help Sam. Trust me… they didn’t need to ask twice. :)

Between all the girl time, Cafe Rio burritos, and cracking up at the things Mike and Sam’s kids say on a daily basis, it’s been great getting to remember and experience some of the things I loved most about living in Salt Lake City. So it’s icing on the cake that we’ve gotten to drive up to Park City every day.  The first day we were there, there was hardly any snow on the ground, which is very unusual for this time of year, so I was kind of bummed. But on Saturday, there was a crazy snow storm the whole day, and while it was absolutely beautiful, it also meant a two-and-a-half-hour white-knuckles drive back down the mountain that night because the roads were so bad.

This year, there weren’t any celebs at the Columbia events we shot, so when we had some extra time on Sunday, we decided to cruise up and down Main Street and people watch. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and the streets were filled with people waiting in line for films, eating at restaurants, shopping, and showing off their best Sundance fashion. For the film industry types, Sundance is apparently a perfect excuse to buy the most outrageous pair of furry boots you can find and bedazzle the crap out of your resort wear. It is highly entertaining. We were almost too distracted to notice the celebrities among them…. ALMOST. While we were driving through, we spotted Jason Ritter and William H. Macy just hanging out. Naturally I whipped out the 135 mm lens and played paparazzi from the passenger seat of the car, and even managed to catch Mr. Macy doubling back to tip a street band he passed. As I was taking the photos, all I could think in my mind was “Stars! They’re just like US!” Ha. We also saw Ben from The Bachelor in the lobby of the hotel we were shooting at, but I didn’t get a good photo of him. I actually wouldn’t have recognized him if Paige and Emily, the girls who came to help us out, hadn’t pointed him out.

All celebrity fascination aside, it’s been a really good week. But I’m definitely ready to get back to Jamie and Gretchen and Alabama, which once again got hit by some pretty bad tornadoes last night. I’m hoping everyone managed to stay safe and sound. As nice as it is to get away, there truly is no place like home!

On the way home, Sam saw this awesome spot and suggested we take some photos. How cool does the snow look under those lights?

A few months back I got an email from my friend Gail Werner asking if I’d be interested in coming up to Indiana to second shoot a wedding with her. I’ll admit, I squealed a little when I read it, because a) Gail has the most impeccable taste of anyone I know (especially when it comes to books, music, and culture in general– seriously, go read her blog if you don’t believe me) b) up to this point, we had only chatted back and forth via email after we discovered how much we had in common and c) I was kind of in shock, considering how talented she is and how many states separate us, that she wanted ME to come shoot with her. Talk about a huge honor!

I admit I was a little nervous on the plane ride up, because I always worry that people are going to meet me in person and I’m going to be a huge letdown from what they know of me online. (It’s funny how the Internet can do that– make people seem larger than life or just… different.) But when I walked out and saw Gail wearing the exact same yellow Target skinny belt as me, I breathed a sigh of relief and just knew that we would be as good of friends in person as we were online.

That weekend in November was so much fun. I got to stay at Gail and her husband Nick’s mid-century rancher which could not have possibly been more my style. (If there’s one thing we both love– to the point of obsession– it’s mid-century design.) It was only fitting that Nick is a dead ringer for Don Draper (that is, if Don Draper were the outdoorsy type), which makes gorgeous blonde Gail look like Betty by default. Their Halloween costumes from a couple of years ago are proof:

Are you dying right now? ‘Cause I am. But anyway, needless to say, I loved the Werners. They also have a Midwestern spirit about them that I think is so awesome. Gail says “gal” like I say “y’all” and it’s adorable. So between lots of girl talk, bonding over photography stuff, watching Emma Stone on SNL while downloading cards from the wedding, and eating their famous Belgian waffles on Sunday morning before heading to the airport, it was a pretty fantastic time.

Not to mention the wedding itself!  The bride and groom, Laurie and Joe, were stunningly beautiful on the inside and out, and their classic wedding was a blast to be apart of. As much as I adore Southern weddings, I also love getting to see how people do them differently north of the Mason-Dixon line. For one, I’ve found that northerners know how to par-tay. They have gorgeous, traditional ceremonies in big old churches and then have insanely fun receptions that last looong into the night, with people of all ages packing the dance floor the whole time. You can’t help but be happy!

But enough of my rambles… on to the pretty!

A big huge thanks to Gail (and Nick!) for being such amazing hosts and great new friends, and to Laurie and Joe for treating me like an old friend despite the fact that I was just a girl from Alabama they met right before they got married. It was an incredible experience!

I’ve been super excited to share the results of almost an entire month of working on our third-bedroom-turned-office. As you know, we bought this house back in November and I’ve been teaching myself how to be handy ever since then. The whole house needed work in some way or another, but I decided to start with my office so that I could start hosting client meetings again as soon as possible. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s really satisfying to see all the blood, sweat, and tears (literally, there were all three) pay off.

But first, let’s start with a before photo. This is how it was set up when the previous owners lived here:

Not bad, but definitely not my style. Also, the walls and trim needed a TON of work– sanding, patching, caulking, painting– and let’s not even talk about the ceiling fan that used to be in there. It was so bad I couldn’t even bring myself to take a photo of it.

When I thought about my vision for the room, all I knew was that I wanted it to be bright and airy. I chose this room in the house because even though it’s the smallest, it has the most window light. So to keep that lightness going, I replaced the yellowed mini blinds with white faux wood ones and chose a silvery gray color for the walls (Lowe’s Valspar called “Footbridge” for anyone who’s interested). At first I planned to hang bright floral curtains on the windows, but decided it would weigh everything down too much, so I opted for extra-long IKEA panels in an off-white color. SO glad I did! (It’s very difficult for me to restrain myself when it comes to color and pattern, so this was definitely a small victory. :) )

I also decided to frame prints instead of ordering more canvases, because I kind of love the polished look of them and the fact that they’re a LOT less expensive to change out as time goes on. I already had the green Urban Outfitters couch from our last place, but I added in the knockoff Eames chairs I found online for $60 a piece (versus $500 for the real thing) to create a sitting area. I found the coffee table at a thrift store and gave it a few coats of high-gloss turquoise paint for a little drama. I found the ceiling pendant light at World Market for super cheap, and it’s definitely quite a step up from the fan. The desk, chair, shelves, and all the frames came from IKEA, and the two lamps are from Target. I found the side console at an antique mall on sale, and it was exactly what I was looking for to hide all the cords and cable and internet boxes that had to be plugged in on that wall. I just gave it a coat of fresh white paint and added a metallic finish to the wicker panels. Some of my favorite accessories in the room (the vintage glasses, colorful metallic tray, and pillows on the chairs) were given to me by my mom. Clearly she has awesome taste. :)

All in all, I love the finished result, and even though I’m sure it’ll never really be “done,” it’s nice to have a clean, happy place to take my morning coffee, turn on some Florence and the Machine, light a candle, and work every day.

But wait a second…. surely you noticed that my office isn’t the only thing that got a makeover! Welcome to the new home of Morgan Trinker, which is now morgantrinker.com and morgantrinkerblog.com all rolled into one! I’ve been itching to update my site for awhile, and when I sat down the other night to open up my Showit account and start redesigning my main site, Jamie, the WordPress guru, was all “Are you SURE you want to spend all that time making another Flash site? Flash is almost dead.” Ugh. So reluctantly I began thinking about alternatives, and after seeing all of the incredible features that ProPhoto has added in its 4th version, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade. The beauty of it is that now I can have galleries and all sorts of other good stuff right here with my blog. And I LOVE it! Better for SEO, better for compatibility with the most devices, and all around I think it looks cleaner and easier on the eyes. So take some time, look around, and let me know what you think!

Perhaps my favorite part of the whole thing is the addition of the “pin it” button that my husband so lovingly added to the bottom of my posts to make it even easier for you to pin anything you want! (The true story is that I asked him to do it at 11:30 last night and he was so tired when he did it that he doesn’t even remember doing it now. So we’ll just assume he loved every minute of it!)

WHEW! Okay, I promise to wrap it up now. Thank you guys for stopping by!

You guys…. I’m not sure it’s humanly possible to convey how over the moon I am to be sharing this with you today. Mary Beth and David’s handmade lakeside wedding from November is in a whopping 8-page spread (!!!) in this month’s issue of Birmingham magazine. Every January, they publish a special bridal section of the magazine, and this year, Mary Beth and David’s wedding was chosen as the feature and lead story. When I heard the news, I nearly had heart palpitations. Seriously.

What made this even more exciting was finding out that this particular issue also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the magazine and a complete design makeover. Let’s be honest… most of us are pretty skeptical of local publications, because sometimes they’re a little lacking in modern sensibility and style. But this? Wow. An absolutely stunning transformation! I love how they’ve increased their amount of white space (so much less clutter!) and changed up their fonts for more modern, easy-to-read, visually appealing ones. It truly makes me even more proud of my city and the talent that exists here. So to be apart of their brand new issue is a doubly-exciting honor. And man…. there’s just something about seeing your work in print that is so satisfying. What is it about text overlaid on big, bright photos that is just so cool? I mean, I didn’t know that shot of the bouquet could be so fancy until they put a lovely headline on it. :)

It also has to be said that I can’t imagine a more feature-worthy wedding than Mary Beth and David’s. They made an enormous effort to celebrate their pride in their roots and their city, and I’m so glad it’s being shared with so many people. And Mary Beth’s account of the day is a must-read. Dare you not to tear up a little bit. :)

Also, gotta give major props to my girl Kelly of Spindle Photography, who second shot this wedding with me. Several of her beautiful images got included!

I just can’t think of a better way to kick off 2012. Thank you guys for all your love and support, because without you, moments like these wouldn’t be possible!

Oh, Jason Segel. How I love your tall, gawky, silly ways. Jamie and I fell in love with him as a writer AND as an actor the first time we saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which, incidentally, we watched twice in four days not long ago because FX was playing it all week). We generally love anything that comes from the Judd Apatow crew (why do inappropriate guy humor movies never get old?!), but there’s something about Jason’s endearing, kinda-goofy-yet-intelligent ways that sets him apart from the Seth Rogens of the world.

I recently read an interview with him in which he described the rocky start to his career. Judd Apatow (who cast originally cast him in Freaks and Geeks) actually pushed for him to have leading roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and some of his other projects, but producers continually shot him down. Eventually Apatow told him, “You’re kind of a weird dude. The only way you’re going to make it is if you start writing your own material.” So he did. He wrote the script for Forgetting Sarah Marshall based on a bad breakup he went through and his love for puppets, which also manifested itself in the most recent Muppets movie, a project he co-wrote and starred in. I mean, the guy loves puppets. When you hear him talk about his adoration for Kermit, you almost want to cry. And then he makes an inappropriate joke and you laugh instead. I guess that’s just part of his appeal!

Our most recent obsession is watching past seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. Ummm…. why didn’t we discover this gem until JUST NOW?!

If you follow the blog, you know that Jamie and I just recently bought our first house. I fall more in love with it every day. Seriously. I’ve already made countless trips to Home Depot, which is oh-so-conveniently located three minutes from our house. (Prior to living here, I pledged my home improvement allegiance to Lowe’s, but when you’re talking about a twenty-minute-driving-time distance between the two, you learn to love the close one.) And slowly but surely, with the help of the internet, I’m teaching myself to be handy. I began my work in the office, since I want to be able to use it for meetings as soon as possible, and the dark sage green color and dirty, damaged trim just weren’t cutting it. So far, I have:

• purchased a power sander and used it to sand down all the trim
• figured out how to overcome my fear of electrocution in order to change out the light switch and replace the atrocious ceiling fan with a modern pendant light
• repaired the damaged parts of the wood and walls and caulked the cracks
• applied numerous coats of paint to the walls and trim
• installed curtain rods and fake sewed curtains with fusable tape
• discovered by A LOT of trial and error how to install wall anchors in order to hang floating shelves
• put together my new desk (only took about five hours)
• replaced the old aluminum blinds with pretty new white faux wood ones
• … and now I’m actually able to start putting in the furniture and hanging the picture frames

All in all, I’ve put in about ten days of manual labor and probably did irreparable damage to my lungs thanks to all the dust from the ancient walls (and we’re not even going to talk about my banged up thumbs and bruise-covered legs), but I have to say, it’s REALLY rewarding to put all this sweat equity into something we own and are planning to live in a long time. Jamie has repeatedly asked me why I’m bothering to take the time to focus on the details, but I really want to do this the right way instead of applying quick fixes. I want to take pride in our home and the work that’s going into making it beautiful. And seeing the finished product? Priceless. (Don’t worry… there will be photos to come!)

Oh, and you might want to start saying a prayer or two, because we also borrowed a power saw from our friends and at some point I plan to actually use it. It could get scary.

And finally, because of all the chaos with moving and whatnot, getting into the Christmas spirit has come a little late this year. Because of this and the fact that we’ll be in Texas with Jamie’s family for the holiday, we opted not to decorate this season, so our neighbors probably think a couple of regular Scrooges just set up camp next to them. (Next year, though…. next year!) And I feel like it just gets harder and harder to get in the spirit when the Christmas music starts playing on the radio and Christmas commercials come on TV on Halloween. It’s like I have to mentally block myself from really processing it all because I don’t want to get burnt out before December even begins, but then I find myself still blocking it out when it’s mid-December and everyone else has already sent out their cards, bought their gifts, and hosted their parties. Then I feel like a real Grinch. Fortunately, few things put me in a happy Christmas mood quite like some classic movies, and last night, when my brother Seth and his girlfriend Joy were in town to visit, after a most delicious meal at Flip Burger (we’re talking gourmet turkey burgers, sweet potato tots with chocolate salt and marshmallow foam, and Krispy Kreme milkshakes, people) we decided to rent Christmas Vacation. Thank you, Clark Griswold, for reminding me of everything I love about the season.

Now…. let the celebrating begin!

Yup…. our very first, very own house! (And yes, I did use the real estate listing photo, because A) it was taken several months ago when the yard was still green and looked nice and the sun was shining and B) because I haven’t had the time or motivation to take any “real” photos. :) ) Jamie and I have been talking about buying for awhile, because we wanted to start writing a check every month to ourselves instead of someone else, and we’ve just been itching to take on all the pros and cons of home ownership. Now we’ve got twice the square footage of any apartment we’ve lived in thus far, a huge fenced-in yard for Gretchen (which she still doesn’t quite know what to think about), a kitchen that’s bigger than a closet and has- gasp!- windows, and all sorts of other good stuff. Of course, my list of projects is already a mile long, but I keep reminding myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I’m really glad we decided to rent for a year or so here in Birmingham before buying, because one thing that has really struck me in this whole process is how important location is. For a long time, I was so focused on the houses that I refused to acknowledge the flaws that would make resale a nightmare (namely: LOCATION). But as our search went on, we absolutely fell head over heels in love with one area in particular: Crestwood North. It’s the kind of neighborhood where the houses are old and unique and adorable (think cottages, bungalows, mid-century ranchers, and tudors) and the streets are lined with mature trees. My biggest requirement for our house was that it have LOADS of charm. This one was built in 1935 and has all the original hardwood floors, moldings, crystal doorknobs, etc., but the nice thing is that the kitchen and bathroom were completely renovated by the previous owners in keeping with all that original detail, so there’s a lot less for us to deal with as far as the major projects go. We all know that the fate of mine and Jamie’s marriage hangs in the balance every time we attempt to be handy together, so charming and move-in ready? We’ll take it!

But back to Crestwood. Another huge draw for us was how community-oriented this area is. It seems so very, well, suburban of me to say this, but they have a very active Facebook page and Yahoo group, and the neighbors actually know each other. We’ve only lived here a week and have already met half the people on our street. When I mentioned on Facebook that we were moving to Crestwood, two of my photographer friends, Heather and Emma, both excitedly told me that we would be living super close to each other. In fact, Heather dropped by yesterday and showed me that I could see their backyard from our backyard. Crazy!! This is definitely a popular neighborhood for young couples and families and creative, kind of offbeat types, so needless to say, it’s pretty perfect for us. Even better? We’re a five-minute walk from a huge fenced in park where Gretchen can run every day and play with other dogs in the neighborhood and from the church we’ve been visiting, Redeemer, and we’re a ten-minute walk from Crestwood Coffee Company and Urban Suburban Antiques. Dangerous!

This whole process has been a little scary and stressful at times, but I would say that all things considered, we had a fairly smooth experience. If you’re looking to buy soon, I would highly recommend our amazing realtor, Gusty Gulas, and our “mortgage guy,” Josh Cornutt at SouthFirst. They made everything about as enjoyable as buying a house can be. ;)

So basically, between buying the house, subleasing our apartment, packing, moving, unpacking, and traveling to Tennessee for Thanksgiving, not to mention the 8 weddings (one of which I second shot with the incredible Gail Werner in Indiana- LOVE her!) and and tons of portrait sessions I shot in October and November, this fall has been insanely busy, but has also given me a lot to be thankful for. I’m excited about having a couple of months of downtime and holiday festivities before the 2012 wedding season kicks off in February, but let’s be honest– I’m sure I’ll find countless ways to stay crazy busy, between working on the house and working on the business end of things. Maybe I’ll squeeze in a nap or two. ;)

And since the winter is pretty slow as far as blogging sessions goes, I want to get back to blogging some good FAQ posts and things of that sort in between blogging some of the weddings I’ve gotten to second shoot this year. If you have anything in particular you want me to discuss, please let me know, and I’ll do my best to address it in a future post!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season! Nothing puts me in the mood quite like A Very She & Him Christmas and Candy Cane Oreos. I mean, I’m totally NOT eating Oreos at 1:00 pm or anything….

Thaaaat’s right! It’s time for another giveaway! This time around I’m giving away something that I know all you photographers out there have lusted after at least once in the past year… a Kelly Moore Bag! I mean, what’s not to love? It’s a camera bag that’s chic, stylish, versatile, and incredibly useful. And there’s a color and style for everyone… even all you guys out there!

But the beauty of this bag is that it’s not just a camera bag. Thanks to its rearrangeable inserts inside, and lots of handy pockets and nooks, it also makes a great purse or diaper bag.

I’ll be giving away this Classic Kelly bag in perfect-for-fall grey, and you can see all the specs, all well as a lot more detailed photos and a video, on the main site HERE. It’s a $199.00 value, so you don’t want to miss out on this one!

So here’s how you can enter. Five simple ways, which means you can be entered up to five times! And remember– it’s not just for photographers, so if you just love the bag and want one too, feel free to jump in!

1. Go here to “like” Morgan Trinker Photography on Facebook.

2. On your Facebook page, update your status with the following: “I want to win a Kelly Moore Bag from @Morgan Trinker Photography! You can go here to enter to win one too: http://www.morgantrinkerblog.com/2011/09/12/kelly-moore-bag-a-giveaway/”  *** Note: You must tag my Morgan Trinker Photography Facebook page with the “@” symbol so that I will be able to see it and count your entry. If you have questions on how to do this, please let me know!

3. You can also post the above update on your Facebook business page for an extra entry.

4. Post the following to Twitter: “I want to win a Kelly Moore Bag from @morgantrinker! You can enter too: http://bit.ly/nD66vH”

5. Leave a comment below telling me why you would LOVE to have a Kelly Moore Bag!

The deadline for entries is Wednesday, September 21st at midnight. I will do the drawing and announce the winner here on the blog the next day!

Best of luck to you all, and thanks for entering! I’m excited to share my love of the Kelly Moore Bag with you!