leo patrone engagements.

Friday, August 31, 2012

















there's really not much i can say, because I am so happy with the work leo produced. i never doubted him. he's been my favorite photographer for years and im just so lucky to have been able to have him take all of our photos for the wedding, including our engagements. isn't the zoo such a cutie pie? hope friday treated you well! onto the weekend we go!

shaking in ma boots, im so excited!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012






So many exciting things are about to happen! Im getting married a week from Saturday, which in so many ways is blowing my mind! Where on earth does that time go? IT FLEW. But we are ready and prepared! We got our engagements back by photographer Leo Patrone, who we are so pleased with. The photos turned out great and I can't wait to share them. Family is coming BACK into town! Yahoo! My parents and my sister came last week due to some family functions and the birth of my sweet little baby niece, Evelyn Jo. Sadly, the one sis had to head back to Portland, while my parents jetted back to Georgia. But how can I complain when they are coming again next week??

School has begun, which was really bad timing on my part. With planning a wedding, now is NOT the time to begin the art projects. But with the support and understanding of my teachers, it's A-OKAY to miss a full entire week of school to party in the Caribbean in the islands of the Grand Cayman with the zoo! Yahoo! Even more exciting news, more so for myself... zeke took a closer look at our itinerary back to Utah and we fly out from the Caribbean to Miami, Florida saturday night and land at 6 pm. We don't get on our next plan till Sunday morning! Do you know what this means? A NIGHT IN MIAMI! I LOVE miami. No, i'd never live there, but to visit and walk about the streets and explore, i drool! So, I have two lists i always add to. 1.) Places I'd like to travel to in the world 2.) Resorts & Hotels I'd like to visit/stay in the world. I have a fetish for architecture and interior design. This fetish has helped with all of my Art History classes over the years. My mind has been more open and aware of the details of buildings and interiors.  With this said, on my list of resorts and hotels to visit in my life is Miami's famous south beach hotel, "The Raleigh Hotel." The hotel is known for being effortlessly chic and impossibly seductive. I die over the old hollywood regency style they have as the theme for the whole hotel. Thats why I love this area of Florida. Parts of Miami and definitely  Palm Beach, live for that era of style. it draws me in deep.  OOOWWEE. So guess what? During our nightly stay in miami, we will finally visit this wonder! Sadly, we won't stay there because Im not going to rob zeke out of his cash, but the hotel does a deal where they will allow "visitors" to swim the pools, use their beaches and eat at the restaurants and of course explore the hotel! Just one more thing to be excited about! So many fun things ahead! WEEEE!

georgia on my mind.

Monday, August 27, 2012


I swear, this is my last post of my one true love... until I go back for a quick weekend in October. But these are more photos of some of my favorite homes in my hometown. im sorry, such an overload, but aside from wedding planning, every visit i took to georgia was the highlight of my summer. it's the perfect getaway to arrive at my parents home i grew up in and sit on our back porch during an afternoon thunderstorm while eating homemade gumbo. really its just my place of peace. i finally got to fall asleep to a thunderstorm with my shutters open and thunder shaking the house. i slept like a baby. im bummed we never got a southern storm when zekey zoo was in town. he was really looking forward to one and i amped it up so much that of course it never hit. we did get a great heat lightening storm during the proposal. now that, i can't complain about.

i love spending time with my parents. i think they are a blast to be with and i genuinely enjoy their company. i feel like the three of us kind of have our traditions when i come home. hit up our soul food spots, walk around in the markets, stroll through galleries and my favorite is when my mom fixes up her homemade popcorn and we'd pop in a classic movie, whether it be alfred hitchcock or the classics like gone with the wind and casablanca. my favorite is when we get hooked to the twilight zones.

my mom and her best friends threw me a MAMA MIA bridal shower. it was a riot. i've been waiting for this day forever. they've been talking about this performance since i was in high school. my mom and her friends are highly known for putting on these bridal showers for friends in the area. instead of a shower, its turned more into a wild performance. the entertainment never stops. lets just say the night ended with all of these women jumping into a pool with their clothes on. i was floored. it was a night to remember thats for sure. i had the time of my life. im so grateful for my mom and her awesomeness. i really think she's the coolest woman i know. my dad too is the worlds greatest man. im just really grateful to have them in my life. i love them both so much and im so excited to see them again in two weeks for the wedding and again in october. they really are my favorite people who luckily live in my favorite place in the US of A.

island of palmettos.

Friday, August 24, 2012



its the end of august, and im just now posting photos from my family vacation to hilton head island, south carolina. these aren't even camera photos, just the iphone. this is the trip that has turned into a holiday in my mind, one that is far greater than christmas. i look forward to it every year and dread the moment the week comes to an end. I was so excited to share this childhood island of mine with zekey zoo. until next year...

The Sweetheart of the South

Sunday, August 19, 2012













Called "The Sweetheart of the South," Savannah has so much depth and three-dimensional appeal that "she" has been given a persona and described by "her" locals as a demure Southern belle with a vampish, dirty secret. - - turner south. 

With its cobblestone streets, historic squares, opulent mansions, and spreading Live Oaks dripping with Spanish moss, Savannah is one of the most distinctive cities in the United States. The town has a lazy, genteel feel, accentuated by the human southern climate and laid-back nature of its citizens. -- sherpa guides

During my trip home to Georgia in June, I HAD to take the zoo to "The Hostess City of the South." I JUST HAD TO. Savannah, Georgia & Charleston, South Carolina are hands down my favorite two cities in the United States. Sadly, we could only squeeze time in for one, so I took him to the spookiest one of all, Savannah. He love it. And I loved these quotes above about my favorite city!

the zoo gets a taste of ze south.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012



This past june Zekey Zoo flew down South to get a taste of where I grew up. Before I get into our little excursions, I have to applaud my mom with how well kept the grounds of our home is. She puts forth a lot of effort to have it stay beautifully green & lush. Our backyard is like a secret garden with a vegetable garden of her own. In her garden she has been growing cucumbers and tomatoes. In her fruit garden she has watermelon! Aside from the fruits & veggies shes got mint, cilantro and more. She's a southern wonder woman! I love to sit on our back porch and lounge while having a great view of her backyard. It's a beautiful place, and one of my favorites.

One side note : One thing that I absolutely adore about my favorite cities, Savannah & Charleston is that the ceilings of all the porches are painted a light haint blue. Due to the large amount of bugs, this haint blue resembles the sky and extends day light in the porch which kept bugs away. Also, this is my favorite fun fact of the haint blue ceilings : Southerners believed that the blue color was to keep away more than bugs or "Haints" but they also kept away ghosts! For this reason, if you visit Savannah or Charleston you'll also notice a lot of doors and shutters are painted this cornflower blue color as well! Makes sense when Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in the United States and Charleston is haunted as well! This tradition to keep Spirits away came from the Gullah or Geechee culture in Georgia & South Carolina. The Gullah & Geechee came from African tribes who were brought to the South during slavery & with them came the tradition of superstition of the color blue and how it drove away evil spirits. Interesting little facts eh? With all of this said, my parents thought it would be fun to keep the southern tradition and paint our porch ceiling a haint cornflower blue! I must admit, the bugs now swarm more in the uncovered area of the porch & we havent had any ghostly encounters! Not kidding, we've had some strange and eerie / unexplainable events take place in our home before the ceiling was painted! boo!



Zeke wanted to go somewhere well known in Atlanta so I took him to the Georgia Aquarium! The largest Aquarium in the WORLD! He had a blast, probably just as big of a blast as my nieces Goldie & Annie. He was like a child perched up along the glass windows looking into the "sea." 



And of course I had to fill the Zoo's belly with everything fried. That's just how it's done down here! He's a very healthy eater and came to Georgia in pretty good shape, and I felt a little naughty ruining everything he worked out for. rut-row. BUT you can't come to the South and NOT eat like a Southerner. So we fed him fried green tomato sandwiches with tomanto jam, fried cajun pickles, fried chicken, fried oreos, hushpuppies, Minnie's Chocolate Pie (from 'The Help') red beans & rice, gumbo, jambalaya, jalapeno cheesy grits & shrimp, beignets (one of my favorite southern treats) collard greens, homemade mac n' cheese, ribs & brisket you name it, we pounded it. poor guy wanted to explode when he went back to the wild west. He didn't know he could eat that much! Sadly, Im proud that I was able to expand his waistline. Its just proof that he really enjoyed himself and our grub! My family is a eatin' kind of family. We just really enjoy food. Zeke got a kick out of the fact that half of our plans were based around when and where to eat. I just HAD to have him try all of my favorite little joints : The Fickle Pickle, Roux ( A cajun creole joint) & Swallow at the Hallow ( a bbq joint located in an old barn.) The only let down was that Roux's FRIED ALLIGATOR BITES were not in season... BOO. But they will be come October for our little mini wedding reception!

side note : I was able to take zeke to the trinity of plantation homes. He was in awe, and I was proud to show them off! Also, I took him to this horrible, but very interesting store in Kennesaw, Georgia which is located right by Kennesaw Mountain. Kennesaw Mountain was the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864 during the American Civil War. That's just a little rundown history of the area to understand how eeehhh uncomfortable this one store is that I took Zeke too. It's called Wildman's Civil War Surplus. Let's just say its on the tad bit'o racist end of things. Selling civil war weapons and uniforms and well KKK cloaks too.... yeah. The man who owns the shop looks like your typical Willie Nelson with a beard braided down to his chest and a bandana wraped around his forehead. He's got every kind of gun wrapped on his belt loops & an assortment of every silver ring you could imagine on ever finger to the very top knuckle. He is the wildman. People say this place is meant for history. They say, "Its what the South Loves to Hate." I for one am a little uncomfortable over some of the items sold in the shop, but the South is a different world, and I wanted Zeke to see bits and pieces of it. It's pretty crazy.





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