In 1492...

... Columbus sailed the ocean blue and this week in Memphis you can hop on board replicas of the Nina and Pinta!

A quick refresher course: Christopher Columbus sailed three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, when he journeyed to the West Indies in 1492.

This week, Memphis has a replica of the Nina and the Pinta docked at Beale Street Landing. Jeremy and I walked down to the river to check them out. I don't know about you, but when I think of Columbus sailing through the Atlantic to the New World, I imagine rather large ships. Well, these ships are really not that big! In fact, the Nina is only about 65 feet long. The ships only carried a little over 20 men and some animals, and I bet it was super tight quarters.

These two ships were built using similar techniques that ship builders would have used in the 1490s so they really give visitors an idea of what it would have been like for early explorers like Columbus.

I definitely suggest stopping by the ships before they leave! They'll be in Memphis until October 6th. The cost is $8 for adults, $7 for senior citizens, $6 for students age 5-16, and kids under 4 are free!

Dipped in Rococo

Hello, My name is Kasia and I started taking analog photographs just over a year ago. Even if so short, that year brought some new incredible experience into my life. I have travelled the world, my sister got married, I led a life of a student, taking each opportunity to explore. I photograph things and people I love. Whether it's a new cafe opening in my city, meeting someone inspiring or going for a trip with my friends.

5 things I love in film photography 1. Light depiction. You will be amazed at how your camera reacts to light. Film photography possesses this incredible depth that digital lacks. And from time to time, your photograph gets this amazing lightleak, that completely turns your concept around. 2. You never know what you're going to get. Analog is exciting. Sometimes it takes days between taking the shot and developing the film. There is a variety of films available with so many different effects. And how those effects (chemicals) react with the world around you, stays a mistery until you get the film developed. 3. Focusing is way more intuitive. I was never able to produce such depth in my photographs with digital cameras. Find a good lens - and you will get some fantastic bokeh in the background. My personal favourite M42 lens is Helios 44-2.

4. Satisfaction when you get it right. To produce a sharp analog photograph, lots of factors must click together. You're not just clicking the shutter. You're setting the ISO manually, you're focusing. You need to check the lightning conditions and take those into consideration. You are way more responsible for the photograph you are taking, and this is truly beautiful. 5. Preserving memories in the most remarkable way. My friends say that they are glad I found my hobby in photography, because of it we're going to have our days documented and one day we will be able to look back at everything that happened to us, when we were young and restless and lived to the fullest. Analog has many sides, and is able to bring joy into my life during the darkest of days.

If you're curious where my analog camera & I went during this previous year, please visit dippedinrococo.blogspot.com, which is my special place on the internet, where I share my stories. I also have a bloglovin account & you can find me on Instagram at "cadds" :)

Thank you for having me here today, Alyssa! And hopefully see you all soon at Dipped in Rococo.

#AVeryLongWedding: Elvis is In the Building

Jeremy and I love Memphis. (Duh.) Besides getting married in this wonderful city, we wanted to incorporate Memphis in other ways. Jeremy wore blue suede shoes, our first dance was to an Elvis song, and the best part.... Elvis actually came to our wedding.

Yes, an Elvis Tribute Artist (don't even THINK about calling them impersonators) performed at our reception.

It was amazing. Everyone, northerners and southerners alike, thought Elvis was just a hoot. He really was. He was only supposed to perform for an hour and he ended up hanging out with wedding guests after the reception ended!

A fun little tid bit... Ben (my little cousin & ring bearer) didn't really know who Elvis was before his trip to Memphis. Before the wedding, he went to Graceland and to the Rock n Soul museum and learned all about Elvis. Well, that day, an Elvis fan was born. When Elvis started singing at the wedding, Ben couldn't take his eyes off him! It was the funniest, cutest, sweetest thing ever. Elvis even gave him an autograph which Ben was so happy to show me. Apparently, since he's been home, he still can't shake the Elvis obsession. It's pretty awesome.

Photographer: Jon Sharman Photography
Videography: 314 Productions

Band: Soul Shockers


#AVeryLongWedding Recap:
Engagement
Bridal Shower
The Rehearsal
Getting Ready
First Looks
Bridal Party

Ceremony

First Dances 

Guest Book & Seating Chart

The Shooting Range

On Monday night I did something I've never done before. I shot a gun. Not going to lie, I was prettttty scared at first, but once I got the hang of it, man was it fun!

Since I knew pretty much nothing about guns, Jeremy took me to Range USA to take their Introduction to Handgun class. Overall, we were at the range for about four hours. The first portion of our time there was in a classroom. The instructor went over very basic information about handguns and the different kinds of guns and gun safety. He also went over different stances and how to correctly hold a gun to absorb the kickback.

After us newbies learned what we needed to know, it was time to go out to the range. We got to shoot three different types of guns and even got to take our targets home. I will say, I did much better than I thought I would do! It was seriously a fun time.

Jeremy even said he was glad he took the class. Even though he's shot guns before, he felt like he learned some new things! For those in Memphis, I definitely recommend Range USA and their Introduction to Handgun class.

Next time, we'll have to try date night. The range gives you two meals (they have a restaurant!), a lane, and ammo all in an affordable packaged deal.

Checking In

This week officially marks the beginning of Autumn. I've been getting our house all decked out in fall decorations and my calendar hasn't stopped filling up with stuff to do! Luckily, it's jam packed with fun things. For instance: 

- This past week and weekend, husband and I both were involved with the YCMA Corporate Games Events. Basically, it takes up every waking moment you're not at work and you play games with your coworkers like dodgeball and volleyball. It's suuuuper tiring, but I guess it's fun.

- My cousin is getting married in less than two weeks!! Can't wait to go to New Jersey and celebrate!!

- Jeremy and I were invited to spend a weekend in Helena, Arkansas for the King Biscuit Blues Festival. Neither of us have ever been and we're really excited to check it out. There will most definitely be some blog posts about this.

- Football. As a Northerner, I don't necessarily understand the obsession with college football, but I'm learning. I'm learning that Saturdays in the fall mean we're either at a college football game or watching several on TV.

- Villanova Homecoming. It looks like we might be taking the trip up North to go to Villanova Homecoming!! Suuuuper excited about this :) Fingers crossed it all works out!!


Yeah, it's going to be a busy couple of months, but man oh man, it's going to be fun!! What fun things are you doing this Fall?


PS. That picture is one I posted in Instagram. We have a chalkboard coffee table and I used an adorable print I found on Pinterest as inspiration!

 

Every Good and Perfect Gift

I recently stitched this hoop up for a precious newborn little. I love love love the way it turned out!!

I've also been stitching up some different types of hoops lately. Can't wait to share :)

 

#AVeryLongWedding: Guest Book & Seating Chart

I haven't really gone into too much detail in regards to the wedding recap. So, today, I'm going to keep it short and sweet and share two details that turned out even better than I could have imagined!

You might recall that when Jeremy and I got engaged we started an "L" collection. Instead of going with a typical Guest Book, I found a giant wooden "L" on Etsy and decided to use that! I even had it painted a pretty mint color. We had all our guests sign our love letter (hah.. get it?) and now we have it hanging on a wall in our home. I love seeing everyone's little message every single day.

Another special detail was our Seating Chart. During the wedding planning process, my Mom and I would sometimes sit on the phone while we were both scanning Pinterest for ideas. We even had a secret pinboard and everything. One day, while we were doing this, we stumbled across a seating chart that used picture frames. We took the idea one step further. We surrounded the seating chart frame with pictures of family members on their wedding days.

Photographer: Jon Sharman Photography
Videography: 314 Productions
Coordinator: Amy Miller

Wooden Letter: Grace Graffiti
Seating Chart: DIY


#AVeryLongWedding Recap:
Engagement
Bridal Shower
The Rehearsal
Getting Ready
First Looks
Bridal Party

Ceremony

First Dances

Me, You, and Hayley Larue

  

Hey everyone! My name is Hayley Larue, and I'm an LA Fashion and Beauty Blogger over at Me, You, & Hayley Larue. My blog actually started of as a lifestyle blog, until one day I built up the guts to put up my first outfit post. I was so nervous, because I felt it was a little vain, but it was something I had wanted to do for a few years. So I just went for it, and I'm so glad I did. I love blogging, and I also found a love for designing blogs.

Now aside from my blogging life, dancing is a huge part of who I am as well. I've been a dancer for 19 years, and I began doing it professionally two years ago. I'm also a college grad! Although, I did not major in dance. I majored in communications with a concentration in entertainment. So while in college, I was going back and forth from Orange County to Hollywood for dance auditions while I was trying to become a professional dancer. It was tough and time consuming, but I did it! Now along with my outfits posts, you will also see a few life posts that update you on what I'm doing, dance wise, along with hair posts, makeup posts, with some occasional blogging tips and tutorials. :)
 

I hope you decide to follow along! 

Blog

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

#MissionSurpriseAlyssa: Documenting Memories with Seahorse

Last Sunday, my best friend and my husband teamed up and gave me the most incredible surprise. Sunday morning started just like any other. Jeremy and I woke up and got ready for church. I had no idea a surprise was in store. While we were getting ready, Jeremy left for a minute to take Harrison out. A few minutes later he came running into our apartment telling me to "Come quick! Harrison is doing something so funny!"

Well, when I opened the door, Harrison was sitting there... with my best friend, Mary!!

I had no idea she was coming to town. Jeremy and Mary had planned this incredible surprise for me and it was amazing. They are the best!

Mary is currently living in Branson, Missouri which is about 5 hours from Memphis. She had woken up super early in the morning to come to Memphis to spend a few days with us.

While she was here we ate, went on walks around downtown, ate some more, hung out around the house, and ate. Memphis is definitely a food town. We wanted to show her all the highlights!

Between the three of us, we have lots of pictures from the few days she was in town. I had recently been asked to try out a new app called Seahorse. This was the perfect opportunity to try it out!

Basically, you set up scenes and invite your friends. I set up a scene for #missionsurprisealyssa and posted all the pictures I had taken from the few days Mary was in town. I invited both her and Jeremy to join the scene and upload their pictures. Now, we have one place where all the fun memories from the trip are stored.

It was surprisingly simple to use Seahorse and I can see how this app will come in handy in the future. It would be perfect for weddings, or vacations, even keeping up with out of town family. Jeremy and I also used it to compile all our honeymoon pictures in one place.

We've all said it before, "hey, send me the pictures you took from this weekend". Well, now all you have to do is set up a scene and everyone has allll the pictures!

Try it out!! Seahorse is available on both iPhone and Android. Also, use code CLEVERHORSE to get an extra 5GB of storage until October 31, 2014.


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Concerts, Festivals, Museums, and Cemeteries

This weekend is fulllll of fun things to do around Memphis. There are so many things happening!! Here are four things that stood out to me. I suggest going to at least one, if not all, of these events!

- The Levitt Shell has a concert Friday, Saturday, andddd Sunday this weekend. They're free and always fun. If you go, I recommend bringing coolers, blankets, and chairs!

- The Cooper Young Festival is on Saturday. This is one of my favorite festivals in Memphis. I just love all the art. Don't forget to find Midtown Glassworks! The first person to find them and mention Ten Feet Off Beale gets a gift card. Everybody else who mentions Ten Feet Off Beale gets 10% off!

- Saturday is also Downtown Museum Day. I just looove this day!! The museums downtown (there are many and they're all amazing) have either free admission orrrr highly discounted prices. Visit their Facebook page for the complete list!

- Elmwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery here in Memphis where people can learn about those who established this city. There are often tours and events held at the cemetery. This Saturday, there will be a Yellow Fever walking tour. It sounds super interesting and is sure to be a good time.


So, what are you planning on doing this weekend?
 

#AVeryLongWedding: First Dances

Jeremy and I decided very early on that we would dance to Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley for our first dance as husband and wife. The lyrics are perfect, it's Elvis (whom we love), and it has always been one of my favorite Elvis songs. It was perfect for us. These moments, dancing with my brand new husband, living in this moment, are some of my favorite memories from the wedding day. Even though we were in a room surrounded by our family in friends, I felt like it was just the two of us. So wonderful. We will never hear that song the same way again.

My dance with my Father is another incredibly special moment. As you may already know, my Father passed away rather suddenly only a few weeks after my wedding. I had no idea at the time, but these moments dancing with my Father are some of the last moments I spent with him. I'm so happy I have these images of us together, just the two of us. At my Father's request, we danced to My Wish by Rascal Flatts. When he first mentioned that he had chosen a song to dance to at my wedding months before, he could barely get the words out! This song is pretty emotional and the lyrics are so perfect. This is why you'll notice me crying in some of these pictures! He was singing to me. I miss my Dad every single day and having these pictures is such a gift.

 

Photographer: Jon Sharman Photography
Videography: 314 Productions
Hair & Makeup: Capelli
Venue: Peabody Hotel - Reception in the Venetian Room
Coordinator: Amy Miller

Band: Soul Shockers



#AVeryLongWedding Recap:
Engagement
Bridal Shower
The Rehearsal
Getting Ready
First Looks
Bridal Party

Ceremony