Jessica | JJ Horton Photography

February 28, 2017

Baby | Callen

Last year, I met Sheri and Jeff at a styled shoot she had set up through her planning company, Love Always, Carolina. I was delighted to visit them after the birth of their son, Callen! His adorable fox themed nursery made for a wonderful backdrop! Callen was just over a month old here, so he’s a little more alert than your typical newborn session 🙂 To see the entire gallery, click here.

February 21, 2017

Wedding | The Must Haves vs. The Nice To Haves

First, thank you so much for all your kind words last week… it’s surreal to have it out and public… part of me is so fearful that now something awful will happen… but I am trying to focus on the good…. and that I have no signs on anything wrong! On to today’s topic… everyone’s favorite word, budget. This is not a post telling you what you should or can expect to spend… let’s get that straight. This is advice on allocating the budget you have to get the most from it… in my opinion. When we got married, I kept a running spreadsheet of what I had spent… and at the end, I couldn’t believe how all the small items added up so fast… things that were so insignificant. Below is a list of certain items I think are necessities: Bride Groom Venue Officiant Photographer Witnesses Invitations Let that sink in…. everything else is just nice to have. Seriously. When I say “bride & groom”, I literally mean YOU and your significant other just showing up… and when I say “venue” that doesn’t necessarily mean a traditional wedding venue… this could be your back yard, park, etc. Legally, you need a someone to marry you, a couple of witnesses… and you need to inform them of the occasion. Your goal is to get married, don’t lose sight of that. Remember when Chandler kept calling his and Monica’s wedding “a party” and she was pissed? He wasn’t wrong. We can call a reception a reception all day long, but it’s a party. The following is the “nice to have” list. Food Coordinator Flowers Music Videographer Pretty decor Bridal party stuff Now… I wanted to make a list of insignificant expenses… things that no one will notice if they aren’t there. This will help free up some of your budget to afford the items on the nice to have list… or splurge on the necessities list: Expensive hangers… you know the ones… for THEE dress shot. Seriously guys, I can find a non-hideous hanger, and a lot of times I keep one in my car! Don’t waste precious dollars here if funds are limited. Expensive ($23.53 with shipping) vs. Grab one out of your coat closet ($0) or if you must spend on a prettier one…. Container Store ($7.99) Monogrammed cocktail napkins. Are they pretty? Yep. ($75) Are they any more useful than the 1040 pack from Costco? Nope. This can also apply to other linens… skip table runners (~$20ea), and chair covers ($1ea) Crazy bridal party gifts. The copious amount of robes, slippers, pajamas, etc. can blow a budget…. those Pretty Plum Sugar robes are adorable… but good God, if you have just 5 gals… you’ll drop $340… and you know that won’t be all you gift them. A common gift is a piece of jewelry to don on the big day… give a pair of pretty earrings with a heartfelt note, and call it a done. Cake toppers. Yes, they can be cute or pretty… you justify the price by calling it a “keepsake”… but it’s just going to collect dust and be that thing you move 18 times and can’t bring yourself to part with, so avoid the hassle and don’t buy one to begin with. Have your florist provide some loose blooms to stick up there and be done with it. YOU’RE CUTTING IT TO PIECES AFTER-ALL. (~$50) Party favors. What is this, a six year olds birthday party? No one needs your goodie bag filled with…. candy (I’m guilty of this one), seeds, plants, cupcakes, popcorn, shot glass, etc. to take home to “remember your wedding” (~$3ea) Kid stuff. Again, I’m guilty of this. Reality is… it’s not your job to entertain the kids that come to your wedding. As someone who’s going to be a parent soon, I cannot imagine taking a child to a wedding. That seems like a horrible time for me, so I don’t expect you to provide my kids toys, stations, special food, etc. to keep them happy. (~$10ea) Extra paper stuff. Besides an invitation (which I do still think should be on paper and sent snail mail) everything else is fluff. Table numbers, escort cards, guest books, save-the-date cards, fancy calligraphy envelopes, etc. are just not necessary. ($400) Transportation. We all manage to get ourselves from point A to point B every day… why is this day any different? Renting fancy limos, vintage cars, car service, trolleys, or buses can be convenient… and I do think in some cases are a safety feature if booze will flow heavily…. but isn’t that what uber is for? ($600) Some of the dollar amounts above are spot on (I Googled) and others are estimates… so let’s base it on a 150 person wedding with 10 kids in attendance and 10 tables…. I just bought you over $2300 to use somewhere else! I mean… that’s the wedding album/string quartet/Manolos you thought you couldn’t afford. You’re welcome. Now…. as a photographer, I’m the FIRST to tell you how much I love photographing these things…. I mean, a vintage car and pretty paper goods top my list of details that make my heart sing… but if you not having those things means you can now allocate money to something that matters more to you, do it! So here’s my list of must haves… again, in my opinion… A dress you feel pretty in A beautiful bridal bouquet (it will be in ALL your photos… so don’t get a dinky one… skimp on bridesmaid bouquets or centerpieces instead) An outfit he looks great in A nice invitation (I did not say expensive) Floor length linens (seeing table legs is like seeing spanx!)… only exception is if you are doing some pretty wood tables or something. A venue with or adjacent to pretty outdoor space (even if you’re not utilizing it for your ceremony or reception, you will take photos out there. It doesn’t have to be huge, a pretty courtyard will do fine) Yummy food… which could be fried chicken for all I care… it’s still yummy. A beverage. We served local, keg beer and cheap, tasty wine! Good music. A bad DJ can ruin a party… spend wisely, as your friends will remember “the party”… pllllleeeeeaaasssse don’t put someone in charge of an iPod. A coordinator. Someone to wrangle vendors, light candles, refill your glass, and deal with the drama you don’t know is happening…. is invaluable! I challenge you to examine things you purchase when planning your wedding, and ask yourself “Is this going to make my wedding memorable and/or is this important to me, and why?” **This post stemmed from a fellow disgruntled wedding vendor who was overly annoyed with brides haggling or walking away from their services for a relatively small amount. She was frustrated because she (and all of us) keep seeing brides spending money on meaningless items and then passing up higher end things that should matter. We lose clients and thus paychecks because of this stuff guys…. Don’t look back at your wedding and think… “man, I wish I hadn’t bought X and spent that money on a a better DJ/Food/Photographer/etc.”

February 14, 2017

Personal | Expect the unexpected

The only appropriate response to this post is some form of the word “congratulations” or happy emojis. The “I told you so” or “Yep, knew it” or anything notating that you knew this would happen…. please don’t bother with any of that… just be happy, kthanksbye. Valentines day, 2015 we traveled to Dallas, Texas for a long weekend with Karen and Paul. They met us at the Stonleigh Hotel we would be staying in and found us at the bar, sipping fancy valentines cocktails. Right there, I had to tell my best friend, I’d gotten pregnant and was losing it/had lost it. I spent part of that weekend in the ER at Baylor Medical Center because the bleeding was so bad. It was a Valentines Day I won’t ever forget. Wait. Over the course of the last 6ish months, I continually heard the Lord tell me to wait. We planned to refinance our house to fund the adoption last fall, but it just kept getting put off for one reason or another. I kept pulling up the adoption consultant website, and would begin to fill out the application, only to never complete it. We decided we would take both these leaps after the New Year…. there was a reason God said wait. This Valentine’s Day, Jeremy and I are overjoyed to share the news, I am 13.5 weeks pregnant. Yes, we were in shock to find out (no, we weren’t trying… and haven’t been for 1.5 years). I feel like I’m in perpetual denial that I’m actually pregnant, with the exception that my pants are too tight (can it be spring already, so I can nix pants altogether and just wear dresses?!) I don’t really feel much different. I know this will change soon enough! The questions I keep getting: What’s your due date? August 19 Are you finding out what you’re having? Duh. Cannot wait for that appointment in about 5 weeks! Have you been sick? Nope… not at all (don’t hate me… I’ve earned a pass on it!) I have had some nasty indigestion though, and I can’t eat anything with or made of tomatoes because they bother me so bad… which means, no pizza! Are you craving anything? Fruit!! I’ve eaten more grapes and oranges since Christmas than I have in my lifetime. Thankfully, I haven’t really had an aversion to anything. I didn’t want coffee the first 10ish weeks (but it didn’t bother me). What’s happening with adoption? We have left our information out there with our attorney (she knows we are pregnant) and over the weekend got an email from her about a situation here in Charlotte. So yeah… all those times someone said “well, now you’ll get pregnant” and I responded with “that’s fine… we’ll take two!” be careful what you wish for Jessica! (this particular mom is due in 5 weeks…. ) All that to say, if the right situation came along, we would consider it. How did you tell Jeremy? I wanted desperately to run straight to his office and yell it…. but I refrained. I went straight home and dug out a card I had bought him almost 4 years ago, when we were first trying. It was a Fathers Day card, so I crossed that out and wrote “Merry Christmas”…. there were lots of happy tears… a selfie, and celebratory dinner at Viva Chicken. No, we do not have any names picked… a few we like, but nothing picked. I never thought I’d be the girl who had to have a doctor tell her she was pregnant. I thought I would find out like everyone else, in their bathroom, alone. I actually went to the doctor because my period was late, but the test I took was negative… so I went to the doctor thinking something was wrong. They let me ramble for several minutes before finally telling me I was in fact, pregnant. It was a surreal moment, and I busted out in tears. The poor doctor was like “uh, is this a good thing, or a bad thing?!” and I explained our situation, she hugged me and went and got the tests to show me they had actually tested me twice to make sure. So, here’s to spending my summer in a maternity swimsuit, sweating it out. Cheers!

February 7, 2017

New House | 18 months in

It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on our home… (the last one was here)…. and truthfully, I held out on writing this because I wanted to share photos of our FINISHED kitchen… but, it’s still not 100%. I had hoped to make a roman shade over Christmas and life got in the way, and we still need to do some touch-ups to the island. The Living Room: (current photo, it hasn’t changed since we moved in, except I painted the front door) The problem with becoming an adult is that you want, and care about adult things. Case in point: I made Jeremy return the Apple Watch he bought me for Christmas to put those funds towards this leather sofa. (I decided I couldn’t justify the cost of it vs. how little I would probably wear it – I’m not really a watch wearer anyway). We bought the sofa and loveseat set we currently have on Craigslist almost 9 years ago. I was practically brand new, and it was a nice, neutral tan… but we quickly learned how poor of quality it was (from Rooms to Go) and I outgrew the huge roll-arm style… the only redeeming quality is that it’s super comfortable. I’ve wanted new living room furniture for years, but when we decided to sell our house 2 years ago, we didn’t want to invest in something we weren’t sure would work in a new space, so we waited. We’ve gone sofa shopping multiple times, hemmed and hawed over options, and finally settled on a leather, English arm sofa from Cococo Home. Leather is a must with our dogs and a tight back (no back cushions) are a no brainier. Both dogs like to crawl on top of our current back cushions and they look horrid. Our leather sofa at the beach has held up really well to them, so we feel very confident in this purchase. The spool chairs are a style I’ve loved a long time… their lack of upholstery also appeals to the pet owner in me. The double ottoman instead of a coffee table was kinda Jeremy’s idea… because our living room is long, and we both desire to put our feet up, having two ottomans we can separate makes sense. We can also use them as extra seating if need be. They’re also pink because… I’m deeming this MY space. Jeremy has a whole man-cave out back that will be all plaid, sports, beer, etc. I realize most people would move the chairs to the left side… but that’s the main walkway for us (through our dining room). No one ever uses our front door… there’s no path to it, and you park right by our back door when you visit us. I realize there are also no end tables…. The sofa is pretty set, but I’d love to find all the other elements second hand, although I’m not sacrificing quality… I’ve done that too many times! The wish list: Chairs: Ballard Designs Sofa: Cococo Home (local Cornelius store) in pure molassas Pillow: Etsy Rug: Caitlin Wilson Ottomans (instead of a coffee table): Target Basket: Serena & Lily Garden stool: Ballard Designs Painting: Minted The Hall Bath: If you follow along on Instagram, you’ve seen me ramble about our hall bath. This was a project for down the road, and not really on the horizon…. until we used that bathroom exclusively for almost a year. Apparently the former owners “freshened up” the space with new paint…. but they painted over an old tile backer board product…. that doesn’t take paint well. So over the months of hot showers, the paint began to peel. There’s no redeeming the walls… they’ve got to come out. We got a quote from our contractor to re-tile the floor and tub surround (not all the walls, as it is), replace all the drywall, move the fan to the shower, and reglaze the tub…. and it was INSANE. We are going to reuse the vanity and toilet, they were both new when we moved in. Note that the “before” photo is taken from before we actually moved in… so you don’t see peeling paint! Current vanity: Lowes Floor tile options: Basket-weave or Hexagons

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