Alyse French Photography | Houston-Based Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer »

Yesterday was a bad day. I went to Ikea to pick up some wall mounted shelving. Upon reaching Ikea, I learned that although pictures of the shelves exist on the website, they do not exist in real life. Bad day.. I then found some shelves I liked more for less money. Good day. I put up the shelves when I returned home. They fell down immediately. Bad day. I then decided I deserved a pint of toasted almond gelato and the right to lock myself in our room and belt out the entire soundtrack to Wicked. Brought it back like it was 2005. Yes, yesterday was a good day after all. :)

Dearest Heather Potts: Thank you for living here before we moved in. It means I get to enjoy J.Crew, Pottery Barn, and Nordstrom catelogues on a daily basis. Ya know? I feel like we could have been really good friends. P.S. We have mail waiting for you from Germany. Looks important. Was going to read it, but Dylan said that’s illegal..

Four thumbs up for Despicable Me, people! I swear I’m older than I blog, with Toy Story last week and now this.. ;)

HUGE announcement: Dylan and I are now the proud parents of a Netflix account. What’s your favorite show/movie we’ve just GOTTA see?! I wonder if they have Arthur on Netflix. Ya’ll know I’d be down.

I just can’t get over it. People are SO nice here. You see, I come from NY. Where John the hitch-hiker flips you off if you don’t pick him up. Where the car to your right just won’t let you over and won’t let you over and WON’T let you over. But here? People ask you how you are in the elevator and it’s almost like they really want to know! Oh Texas, you inspire me!

Song of the week: On the Mend by the Foo Fighters. So not their typical sound, but it’s totally my new jam. Check it!

Dylan is amazing and handsome and smart and funny and great. :) That’s all I have to say about that! Well, that and the fact that he would make a superb travel agent. That guy has basically scheduled my whole life out for the next year! Next month holds three destination weddings in store. Three weekends. In. A. Row. Come on old luggage, we can do this!!

Rochester, NY peeps! Alyse is comin’ to town! I have a couple of open shoot slots Sunday, August 8th. If interested, send an email to alyse@alysefrenchphotography.com for details and a little something special!

I AM IN LURVE. I just ordered this gaw-geous rug for my office space from Dash and Albert. But this purchase was no easy task. You see, I debated on about 17 rugs for an entire week. But this one quite obviously stole my heart from the beginning. You like?

I leave you with a really sneaky sneak peek of our home. You know, just to hold you over until I get to painting that wall that’s been half finished for about a month now. :)

Happy Tuesday! Remember to come back on Thursday for sweet Rachel and Travis’s engagement!!

In the wee hours of the morning, Dad took his place at the head of our dining room table. And as mom rushed around making sure we kids had brushed our teeth and didn’t have oatmeal in our ears, Dad would read. Bible stories. You know, the kind with pictures. Of Jonah. Of Noah. Of water and wine. Of anything we could visualize and understand through a highly disproportional cartoon Jesus riding on an equally disproportional smiling donkey. And then, we’d pray. For my spelling test, for Lorae’s history project, for Cam’s big head to shrink a little. ;) And for the reality of God’s word and promises to stay with us throughout our day at school.

I don’t recall a single morning my family didn’t gather to pray. Sure, as we got older and could check for vestibular oatmeal ourselves, our prayer time was hurried by homework left until the last minute or crazy bus driver Dan arriving at our house five minutes too early. But still, we prayed.

As I find myself in the middle of grownup-ism (I know I could have said adulthood, but that word’s nowhere near as fun), I’ve started thinking about what traditions I want to start. Not just for when Dylan and I have a family, but for the here and now. So while I’m working on convincing Dylan to bring home ice cream every Thursday night, I want to know..

What are some of your favorite family traditions? Silly, serious, ice cream related, or not – I’d love to hear ‘em! And maybe, just maybe steal them. :)

And because blogs without pictures are dumb, here’s one of my new orchid, Sally. Dylan gave her to me for our one month wedding anniversary. Now that seems like a nice tradition. :) But, maybe not the whole naming-my-plants part.. That’s weird, I’m told.

Happy Thursday!!

Dylan and I saw Toy Story 3 on Sunday night. I was told I would cry. But instead, I burst into laughter at a time most inappropriate because I couldn’t believe I was about to cry at an animated movie about toys that talk. :) Also Tuesday-worthy, were two little kids who upon seeing me and Dylan were all, “THEY’RE seeing Toy Story!! They’re so old! HAHAHA!!” Uhh, really? Toy Story is for kids raised in the 90′s. Not noobs like you. Same goes for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Where the Wild Things Are, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Disses to Apple. I’m almost positive they manufacture their chargers to die just when their customers need power the most. I purchased two chargers this past week in hopes that they’ll last me twice as long as my previous one, whose lifespan was a mere 8 months. Boo, Apple. Boo!!

Hollaaa! My half-birthday is in TEN days. Just sayin’! :) Maybe Dylan will get me a baby turtle named Atticus to hold me over until Sullivan comes along. (Hint, hint!!)

No. 31 of my 101 in 1001 list reads: “Try a new hairstyle.” And while there are plenty of tasks on that list I’ve still yet to muster the courage to complete (i.e., No. 37: Drink 8 full glasses of water a day), I can now cross off No. 31. Last Tuesday, I chopped off approximately 10 inches of hair. And.. I didn’t tell Dylan beforehand! I thought about canceling my appointment about seven times before that fateful morning, but I did it! And now, I am a bona fide newly married woman, short hair cut and all.

When life slows down, I want to read more. I am the queen of books half-read. And there are still so many books already on my shelves (yes, we have shelves!) that I want to get through. But I’d love some fresh suggestions! Hit up the comment section with your fave reads!!

So, what’s up with our favorite sitcoms switching up actresses who play the same character? Take Vivian on Fresh Prince and Harriet on Family Matters. Excuse me, Hollywood, but I need some stability when it comes to my TBS mother-figures.

Song of the week: World Spins Madly On by The Weepies. It’s the perfect song for pretending you’re the star in a music video. Tell me I’m not the only one. :)

I leave you with a taste of next week. Meet our new clients and friends, Rachel and Travis, who are engaged to be married in April. :)