Big News!

Since I have had this pretty big life altering event happen in my life, I decided it was time for a new blog! So the Frilly Farm Girl blog is now being changed to the Frilly Farm Wife (click here!) If you are checking out this blog for the first time, make sure you jump over to the Frilly Farm Wife blog too to see what we have been up to recently. The purpose of the blog is the same except it is found at a new domain.

You can also check us out on IG at @frillyfarmwife and #frillyfarmwife! Or check out Facebook.com/frillyfarmwife!

Wedding Hashtag. Use it. Love it.

After all the wedding planning the last month, the by far easiest thing I have done is pick the dress and pick the hashtag. Yes, that is right-- I put it on my to-do list and have already marked that bad boy off. 

So, introducing the official Drew+Brenna Wedding hashtag-- #aLongcomeslove. 

Use it. Love it. 

There will be a little photo backdrop at the wedding for people to enjoy and play with, but I won't spill any details about that just yet. But, my brother and dad are in charge of building it and I am in charge of the decor... so, we will see how it turns out. 

My Real Life Fairytale

Once upon a time, I met this boy that was much, much taller than I. (Obviously as you can see below.) We dated for a while and then the boy planned the sweetest thing a girl could image. 

As a photographer in my spare time, I of course have a couple of photographers that I like-- one of those being Sheradee Hurst. I say "like" like it isn't really a big deal, but in reality I am slightly obsessed with her and her work. I want to be her when I grow up! 

But, I digress... 

A few months ago, I told boy how much I would love to have a session with Sheradee. Thinking that the whole time I was chattering on and on about Sheradee and photography, that he wasn't really listening to me. However, he sure was. 

On Valentine's day, we traded presents a night early. I got him handmade belt buckle, which I thought was pretty fancy. But, he trumped me with a couples session with none other than the wonderful Sheradee! Eeekkkkk. I was beyond excited. Like I couldn't even believe it. 

But, wait it gets better. 

Not only did he arrange everything with Sheradee, he also booked the prettiest venue (Rosemary Ridge Events in Stillwater) for our couples session. Everything was a surprise. I didn't even know the actual location for the photos until we got there. I had a pretty good idea, but wasn't for sure. 

Anyways, we arrived and started shooting away from the barn. We found some cool hay bales for me to stand on and fought the sun and clouds a little bit-- or a lot of bit. 

After a quick wardrobe change, we went down by the water and shot a few more and then made our way back up to the barn. Once we got up by the barn, we walked up some steps to these really cool, huge rocks. 

Once we got to the rocks, I saw out of the corner of my eye a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I giggled nervously and acted like I didnt see them laying there. I didn't want to ruin anything, but mostly just got nervous and anxious. 

Sheradee posed me with my back towards the flowers and of course I was still nervously laughing (because that is what I do-- always.) After a few photos, Drew told me to have a seat. So, I sat down and before I knew it he got down on one knee, said some of the sweetest things ever and then asked me to be his wife. Eeeek. 

 Obviously, I said YES! Duh. And, those flowers-- yeah those were made by one of my favorite florist/event planners (Talia Morgan).  He literally thought of everything. 

 So, my parents came out to congratulate us before we finished the rest of our photos because he even arranged for them to come up and be waiting in the barn for us to finish! They had known about this since mid-February and never peeped a word. I can't believe it. How they all did this without telling me is beyond me. 

We even got to chat with his parents on the phone! 

We went and finished the rest of our photos with this really beautiful, sparkly thing on my left hand. 

But, wait... there is more! 

When we left Rosemary Ridge, Drew told me that I needed to call a couple of people. When I asked him why, he said that they couldn't make it to the house for our after engagement party. What? A party? (So that is why he was picking up the living room before we left, haha!)

We get back to the house and all of our closest friends were there to celebrate with us. My brother smoked the meat and everyone brought stuff to go with it. We chatted, sat around the fire pit and I loved every. single. minute. of it! 

It took 27 years, but girls let me tell you-- the wait was worth it. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my sweet fiancé.  

Diva

If you haven't noticed, I am quite the fan of cattle. And, photographing cattle is even better. I am a pig lover by nature, but cattle are growing on me. (But, pigs will always be my #1!)

This girl. What to say about her? I couldn't even take two steps without here trying to get in the picture. No matter which way I turned, she found the camera pretty easy. I don't mind though-- she is quite the pretty thing. 

Friday Introductions

 

I have been a little late to jump on the whole “Friday Introduction” wagon, but today I thought I would participate after a little inspiration from some of my favorite photographers/bloggers!

I am somewhat of a boring individual, so I am limiting myself to 10 things about me. Bear with me.

10. I don’t have cable. I don’t have time to watch a lot of T.V. so I don’t see the point in spending money on it. I also don’t have internet. My house is probably the least technology advanced house in Minco. 

9. I am somewhat of an insomniac! Once I get to sleep I can stay asleep for the most part, but most nights I go to sleep at 1 a.m. and wake up at 4:30-5ish to go to the gym or edit or organize my closet. You know. Just whatever my little heart desires. 

8. Tuna, hummus, pita chips and craisins are some of my favorite foods. I could eat these all week long with no complaints. It is weird. I realize this, but I love it!

7. I only buy things if they are on sale or I have a coupon (excluding food)! My mom hates shopping with me because I am so tight with my money that I won’t ever buy anything. I can literally browse for hours and never spend a penny. I don’t really care about name brands or where I shop at. Give me $25 and a little time and I can find you some real steals. I also get buyer’s remorse really easily—even when it comes to buy necessities like shampoo. I always think “I could probably find a coupon for this!” 

6. Donuts are my weakness. Enough said. I wish I had one right now!

5. I really like crafts. I blame my mom and my grandma. I was always doing some sort of craft when I was little and now I just can’t stop. I especially love making jewelry to give as gifts or because I am too cheap to spend the money on anything that I can buy myself!  

4. I have a weird love for VW vans and vintage trailers. One day I will have one (I hope)! My dream would be to use a trailer as a mobile photography trailer to carry my props and to be used as one giant prop. I also want to travel lots and either of these things would be so cool to travel with.

3. Lucy is my pride and joy. My first love. She is the sweetest little puppy in the world. I know she is spoiled, but I can’t help it. I mean she is precious—if she likes you that is!

2. Boyfriend Drew—I don’t even know really where to start on this one. He is the best thing a girl could ask for. He makes me laugh, calms my nerves, cooks for me, buys me cookbooks (not sure what that is about, haha) reaches things from the top shelves for me and makes me understand why God made me wait to find him for so long. 27 years was worth it.  

1. Photography is my passion and I hope that one day it is my only full-time job. I can’t wait to be able to devote full days to it instead of a few hours each day. I started this journey as a college student and picked it up more when I was in graduate school. I am hoping that 2016 will be the year that I can start calling it my career!

 

New Babies. New Babies Everywhere.

The Most Perfect Valentine's Day Weekend

As Let's play a game. How about "Never Ever Have I..."

1. Never ever have I had a boyfriend for Valentine's Day! (Yes, I realize how old I am! ha) 

2. Never ever have I got flowers delivered at work. 

3. Never ever have I ate dinner at "Whiskey Cake."

4. Never ever have I been so surprised at one singe gift that I could barely contain myself. 

My sweet boyfriend totally surprised me this year and in a good way. He out did himself and now he will never be able to top any gift ever. Haha 

A few months ago I attended a workshop hosted by one of my most favorite photographers-- Sheradee Hurst-- and I went on about how she is my dream photographer for my wedding, etc. Well, apparently he was listening because he got me a couples photoshoot with the one and only, Sheradee!! Eeeek! 

All the details are a surprise and I know nothing about what's happening other than its in March and outside. So, I've been shopping my heart out trying to find us something to wear, making an hair appointment and shoe shopping (which is always a good idea!) 

I'm so excited to share the photos, but I will let you know when I know more details! Ha  

Simple Stuff.

Woke up at 6:30 a.m., left the house around 7:15, snow flurries everywhere, wind blowing-- got to the pasture, mud up to my knees, got the cows in, preg checked, let them out, fed hay, about got stuck in said pasture, left-- got to sale barn, still freezing cold, waited forever for the ladies room, almost fell trying to get up the bleachers to sit down, ate lunch, still freezing-- it sounds like a rough day, but I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else. His hand on my leg as the sale starts is the best end to my morning, no matter how bad it started off! 

New Years.

New Years are always about resolutions. Loose weight, read more, save money, random acts of kindness, eat more tacos... All valid resolutions-- some I have even attempted myself. But this year for me, my resolutions are different. I won't be trying to do better. I will be doing better. See I could say I want to loose weight, but the real reason is I am going to Mexico in six months. Eeek. I am shooting my first Mexico wedding for two of my favorite clients. And, let's be honest. Sitting ocean side will be a lot more enjoyable if I don't feel the need to wear layers of clothing. So resolution? Meh. Not really. Life style change? Ehh. Kinda. Doing it for me? Absolutely. Because if you can't make yourself happy, then who can!! #letsgogirls 

I also want to be tan, have long brown hair and grow a few inches-- but I'll stick with loosing a few pounds first! 

Day1-- Success. Had a shake. Had some carrots. Had a few apple slices. A little protein. A little goodness. No caffeine. I got this. Maybe. 

Boyfriend+Cows

I took these pictures a few months ago... he thought I was just taking them for funnies, but I was really taking them for part of his Christmas gift. 

See he bought a house and moved in May. The whole house is decorated to the T. I love it. However, his bedroom was the one room he wanted to decorate but never had. So, I had an idea back in October that he could use actual photos of his cows to decorate his bedroom vs. some random cows. So, I brought my camera+new zoom lens to grab a few pictures one afternoon of my sweet boy and his babes. 

I am not great at secrets and it took everything I had to plan this for almost 3 months without telling him what I was planning. I almost let it slip more times than I can count. haha 

This will be the main center piece of the gallery wall in a 16x20 frame. 

Snow Days: Adult Version

It is cold. Like really cold outside. Like ice on the ground, power poles leaning, water freezing cold.

The bank was without power today, so I luckily had a grown-up snow day. Yay.

My power had went out the day before, so I was already spending the night at my parents house. They also were without power, but have a generator so for the most part we were nice and toasty. I hadn't really planned to venture out unless I had to go to work, but my brother was going to feed/check cows and I couldn't resist going to take a few photos of his baby calves with cute little snow noses. We made quite a day of it. Leaving the house about 11 a.m. and finally returning about 4:30 p.m. So, here are a few of my snow day photo series of my day spent with my familia on ice.

"She will not fail..."

Day-to-day life can be stressful. And, it is really really easy to get bogged down in the same routine over and over again. I struggle everyday to keep up. I am constantly behind on editing, my blog needs a face lift, my website isn't anywhere near finished and my roots are showing a good four inches. That is my short list. I won't even mention the shape of my bedroom because it literally looks like an Old Navy exploded in there. My dining room floor looks like a Santa's workshop with wrapping paper and gifts spread out and stacked anywhere there is a spare inch of floor (disclaimer-- my dining room is tiny tiny!) 

However, with all of that going on there is always a few constants in my life. One of those is my God. He is with me always. When I am weak, he is strong. When I have doubts, he is there. When I wonder if I can ever get caught up or can I make it, he assures me that I can and I will. He is my constant source of encouragement. I want my business to reflect people back to him. That is my main goal every new year. I think back to 2015 and wonder if I did that. Did I show God through my work? Was I a Christ-like example in my sessions so that they will see and know the love of God? I don't know. I try and try and hope that if at least one person saw it then my goal for 2015 was complete. 

I have my moments where I know I am not in control. And, I fail. I over promise results that I can't deliver. But with grace, I get by. I am not perfect and will never claim to be, but lucky for me I have a God that loves. 

2016 will come with all sorts of new trials, new goals, new accomplishments and new things. I still can't believe 2015 is almost over and more than that I can't believe it is time to start working on the 2016 goals list. But here we are and here we go. Ready or not! 

Day 300 | Surprise

Surprises. They are my favorites. And, my boyfriend does a really good job at surprising me. 

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the new Pioneer Woman cookbook at the store and mentioned that I wanted/needed to purchase it to go with the other PW cookbook collection.  So, last weekend when we got back to the house after checking cows there was a sweet little package waiting on the porch annnnnd guess what was inside. That is right. My very own PW cookbooks. I can't decide if he just likes me a lot or think my cooking needs some work. Either way, I love it. So many great recipes inside and I can't wait to give them all a try. 

Channelling my inner Ree Drummond. She is my favorite-- #9 that is. Well, Ree is my favorite too! #cowselfie 

Sundays. They my favorite. 

                   

Tall Grass, Bugs and Tulle Skirts | Senior Session Part II

Day 111- Cutest Little Guy

This little guy. So so cute. I wanted to take him home, but the owner said "no!" 

Sad day! 

101 + 102

101

As hard as it is to believe, today is the 101st Day of 2015 ... And, if that isn't crazy then I don't know what it. It is hard to believe that we are already four months into the "new" year. 

Every new year I say I am going to stick to my "resolutions" or "goals" for the year and it is always around this time of the year that my plans start going south. You know-- I forget about them, bad habits return, etc. Like last year when I said I was going to start tweeting more. Yeah well by mid march I hadn't tweeted in 8 weeks. Whoops. I know that tweeting isn't really something that is going to improve myself by much, but one of the easier challenges I had on my list ... and yet the one that failed before any of the others! 

So, now it is day 100 and I am trying to remember all those things I "wanted" to accomplish over the year. Surprisingly enough I have stayed on track with most things. 

Thanks to my awesome work friends the "get healthier Brenna" is in full force. I had a couple weeks that were less than satisfactory, but we have all seemed to get back to it. Gym everyday after work, healthy lunches and fitness contest have kept us all pretty motivated. Thankful to have them all... even the ones that sign me up for things that seem a little on the crazy side! If I don't pass out from the fitness contest, I might write a blog post about that! haha 

Business wise things are going great. My "Monthly Goals Sheets" are working well. Marking them off one by one. It's a slow process, but it is going well! Like a business bank account. Check. I mean it helps I work at a bank, but still! ;) As anyone with a fan page, I want to have lots of "likes!" However, I have come to the realization that numbers don't matter. Quality over quantity, right? I have such wonderful clients that I am so blessed to get to work with. And, I am constantly reminded of why I started this journey in the first place. I love capturing the little moments like constant laughter of little girls cracking up at their daddy, listening to the senior kids talk about the future and the smile of faces when they see moms see images of their babies for the first time.  My business model is simple. Build relationships that matter-- that is the goal and the dream I have for not just my business, but my personal life too! 

PSA-- Frilly Farm Girl also got an Instagram! So you can officially follow along with blog randomness at @frillyfarmgirl! I am also hoping to get back to do some crafty things like I did before. (You know like vinyl projects and earring making, but so far I haven't found a good way to balance that, photography and work!)

Project 365 is going well. It is getting a little harder than I had imaged. I knew my life wasn't that interesting to start with, but most weeks it is like "dang" and I don't think 365 pictures of the bank would be that interesting. haha The creative side of project 365 has been fun. My photos have primarily been revolved around agriculture (which shouldn't be much of a surprise) but I have been trying to throw in a couple of different things as well, just to spice it up! Hopefully the summer will be a little more exciting with weekend trips, etc... like a weekend day trip to Texas for the Blue Bonnet Festival! (I posted a few of my favorites images below!) 

Budgeting is getting increasingly harder. It is quite ridiculous really. I was doing so good at the first of the year and then stupid things like new tires and plumbing problems and other random things happened that all the good I had been doing was for nothing! haha So, now I have tried to come up a better system. Envelopes worked well for the things I had allocated money for, so now I have decided that EVERYTHING needs an envelope. One for Lucy, one for cars, one for house, one for clothes, makeup/hair supplies, hair cuts/nails... literally everything. Some call me crazy, but I call it smart... a little hard to find things in my wallet due to the million envelopes, but smart nevertheless! 

Hopefully your "New Year To-Do List" has been going well too! If not, it is only April so there is always time for something new. In May I am planning new monthly challenges! I have done something similar to this before, but never had a blog to write about it so this should be fun! I think in May I am going to be a vegetarian for the month! I did it once back in 2010, but it was due primarily to the fact that I was pretty poor and only could afford bread and peanut butter, so "vegetarian for a month" was a better excuse! ha 

Keep in touch, friends! 

Peace, Love and Frilly Farm, 

Bdavis