Happy Birthday to Me!

Today was an amazing birthday!

We woke up to beautiful weather, which meant we could actually have our photo shoot! We decided to meet at 1:00 to get the best light, which meant Gerald and I could have a nice, slow morning. It also meant that I could be home to get all my birthday calls from Canada. I've been horribly homesick since last night, but at least we'll be home next week, so that's not too bad.

We loaded up the car with my pile of outfits, and met Brian and Allison Speer at their house. Brian is a great photographer, and they're both such cool people - I knew we were in for a great day. We raided Allison's closet for a few more items, and took off downtown.

I was excited because we were all on the same page with regards to styling the photos: fun, elegant clothing with cool architectural backdrops. Our first location was the back alley of the Ryman. We love this spot and all it's history, so it was wonderful to spend time back there. For the uninitiated, when the Ryman was first built, it didn't have enough dressing rooms, so the performers would spend time in the back alley, just hanging out, or running back and forth from Tootsies, a now legendary bar. When you walk back there, you can feel the spirits of Patsy and Johnny and Elvis and all the rest. It's just awesome!

For those shots, I wore the Edwardian opera coat I got for Christmas years ago (thanks, Mom and Dad!), with jeans and boots. The contrast of the antique velvet coat with the rough brick of the alley was really cool. Brian is a relaxed photographer, which made me feel very open. And Allison stayed close at hand as stylist, which made me feel very relaxed. (Didn't have to worry about rumpled clothes or my hair doing weird things.) It was also very cool to see Brian and Allison work as a team. They think the same thoughts and anticipate the other's next move. So inspiring to see!

Our second location was a painted mural near Monell's. It's on the side of a galvanized metal wall, and it's a city scape done in bright blocks of colour. I actually commented on it the last time we visited Monell's, as I loved the colours and the energy. We tried a bunch of different outfits against this backdrop, complimenting and contrasting the bright colours of the wall. Some of my favourite set-ups were with a long white vintage coat, and a bright pink sweater.

The whole day was just so much fun. I felt gorgeous and open and creative - all great things to feel on a photo shoot. We all joked and laughed and had a great time together. After getting over 500 shots, we headed back to the house to take a look at things. The photos are gorgeous! And I'm not saying that just cause it's me. I know I can take a bad photo. But these are seriously gorgeous! The hard part will be choosing only a few for the album.

Gerald and I headed home around suppertime for a little rest with the puppies. After a little while, we headed out for my birthday dinner - sushi! We had the 2-foot-long "Love Boat for 2". It had over 60 pieces of sushi. Outrageously good!

What a fantastic birthday! Getting older rocks!