no. 7 | sometimes life gives you lemons...choose carefully what you do with them.

 you can make lemonade. 

or you can spice things up and make a lemon pie. 

or...what about lemon bars? those are good.

lemon muffins? is that even such a thing? 

i'm not big on lemon cake...bad childhood memories attached to it...so...maybe we should just stick with lemonade.

yeah, lemonade is always a good choice.

whatever the case...

life has thrown you a curveball otherwise known as a "lemon."

from here, it's YOUR choice what you do with that "lemon."

from personal experience, i know how sour these lemons are. 

they're extremely sour. 

they're bitter, too. 

and let's face it...they're just sometimes TOO much to take. 

a lemon is a lemon. 

& unless you choose to do something about its sour-y, bittery-ness...then it will remain just that. 

sour & bitter. 

that's when we can make the choice. 

see this "lemon" in a new light. 

make something out of what you've been thrown. 

any "lemon" can be taken & made into something new. 

add some water & sugar...voila, you have lemonade. 

add some graham crackers & condesned milk & a few other things...voila a delicious lemon pie. 

it's all in how you view it. 

it's all in what you choose to do with it. 

life WILL give you lemons.

but life can also give you refreshing lemonade.

 xoxo,

no. 6 | "my life is too short not to love the story that God has for me"

 
my husband & i started a new videography workshop series last night created by the quirky, adorable team at haugen creative. 

we laughed. we discussed. we agreed. we learned.
i even took notes! i felt like i was back in college sitting in on a lecture. 

side note: it's impossible for me to note take without doodles. 

so, after tyler went to bed. 

i browsed pinterest for a bit & thought..."i need to blog." 

so there i sat, late at night, trying to collect my thoughts as i jotted them down in my "notes" app on my phone. 

five years ago i was a college student pursuing a passion in teaching. 

one year ago i was a senior in college anticipating graduation, finally getting to hold my long-awaited degree in my hands, & leaping at the thought of having a classroom of my very own in the near future!

i worked my butt off for each of those four years that i pursued a degree in elementary education.
i know that there's a quote floating around out that there says "those who can't do...teach," but, my goodness, is that far from the truth.
i can't explain how many hours were put into lesson planning, grading papers, working on IEP's.
or, not to mention, how much money you drop on hands on materials, "teachers pay teachers", or snacks for little ones who come to school with empty bellies.
or how about the work you take home with you, the assessing, & the worrying sick about each of those individual students you grow to love as your own. 

are they hungry? do they have a warm bed to sleep in? does their parent/guardian hug them before bedtime? have they ever heard the words "i love you?" 

it was the most rewarding kind of exhausting. & i was just a student teacher. 

i couldn't imagine what a full-time, employed educator experiences.

for those four years, i fell in love with teaching & started planning out my life as a teacher. 

but, it was around this time last year, that my heart & gut were hit with this crazy, new feeling that maybe i was meant to do something a little different than i had always had planned for myself. 

there i was...smack dab in the middle of my last few weeks of student teaching, in tears, talking to my advisor about possibly feeling like i was meant to do something else. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? WHY IS MY HEART NOT LEAPING OUT OF MY CHEST AT THE THOUGHT OF BEING THIS CLOSE TO MY "DREAM"?

you see, my husband & i were also new to the wedding videography world at the time. 

we were just getting started.
a few weddings here & there.

& it had completely stolen my heart. 

& my heart knew that.

i still remember the conversation i had with my advisor that day & will forever hold it close to my heart. 

with tear-filled eyes & a lump in my throat - 

"i'm just afraid that i've wasted so many people's time & money. i don't want to disappoint anyone."

there it was.
my fear of disappointing people.
i'm a people-pleaser & the fear of disappointing someone is something that crutches me a lot in life. 

but my advisor looked at me, handing me a tissue from a box sitting beside him, & said: 

"nothing has been lost. God has plans for you & it's OKAY if this isn't it. you have a bright, strong, smart head on your shoulders, you know? He is going to see you through."

i can't explain how thankful i am, still...to this day, for that conversation with my advisor. 

the fact that God so carefully placed him in my life during a time of confusion & feeling like i would be letting down so many of my family & friends. 

but, here i am. 

almost an entire year later...

a FULL-TIME wedding cinematographer who is anticipating 30 weddings THIS SUMMER. 

who gets to work from home & alongside her HUSBAND!!! {praise hands galore!}

& gets to use her creativity to bring joy & sweet memories to marriages. 

i battled with God throughout the entire time i was student teaching. 

"no, God. i'm supposed to do THIS not THAT."

really allison, what were you thinking?

"for I know the plans I have for YOU, declares the LORD."
jeremiah 29:11

it's when i finally took up my pride. finally set aside MY wants & accepted HIS. 

when i said "it's okay if nobody understands."

& took the leap into wedding cinematography...

that i found joy & peace in this decision. 

{a decision that was never truly mine to make to begin with! the LORD knows our needs!}
no, my life would not look the way that i had planned for it to. 

yes, people would question & sometimes mock it. 

but me? i would know that, as crazy as it seems,  this is what i was made to do.

i can say that there are days still filled with struggle. 

it's tough. 

i did not grow up with a heart invested in all thing videography.
i did not study media production in college.
i still don't know proper terminology for my camera...even a year later.
oopsss. the husband is helping me out with this one. 
i still struggle that people will not take my heart for this job seriously.
or just take my job seriously, period.

i'm still learning how to edit in final cut pro.

& sometimes my footage is still shaky. 

but i'm learning it's OKAY. 

God has filled my life with a peace that this is where I'm meant to be & He will guide me every step of the way. 

so, for any of you who might be struggling...take heart. 

no matter where you are in life. or what you end up doing. 

you are significant. 

maybe you set out to be a brain surgeon...but you felt called to ministry in africa. 

maybe you studied dental hygiene...but you found your passion as a police officer. 

maybe you went to school to be an accountant...but you knew your passion was in the arts.
maybe you were a successful cosmetologist...but decided you would rather stay at home & love on your babies.

or MAYBE you thought your plan was to be an elementary school teacher...and you now find yourself filming weddings on the weekends. 

it's not about WHAT you do, it's about HOW you do it. 

whatever you DO, do it with so much JOY & LOVE in your heart. 

  "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
-1 Corinthians 10:31

xoxo,

lovely photos taken by: dani ford photography

no. 5 | our nyc trip | where to go, what to do, what to eat!

 so...

months & months & months back...i received a text from my girl, stephanie, {who is pretty much the cutest kindergarten teacher in all of kentucky} about planning a trip during her spring break!

and, guess what!

she had her heart set on new york city. 

guys.
my heart has been left in new york city on two {now three} separate occasions. 

once during a mission trip. 

& again on our honeymoon.

i was sold.
& what made it even better? stephanie had NEVER been there!
i knew that had to change...so, we got on it!

we got right to planning all of the details. 

we searched & searched for places to stay. 

we searched & searched for the cheapest flights. 

and finally...each of our "to-do's" were checked off of the list, one by one!

 & march 28th finally came! 

stephanie came over the night before we would head out for our trip...because, unfortunately, we would have to wake up at 4 a.m. in order to catch our plane in louisville, kentucky.

i have a super sweet husband who maybepossiblymighthave woken up way too early on a saturday morning JUST to drive his wife & her friend to the airport. 

i really love that guy. 

we arrived to the airport, i said bye to tyler (side note: this was the longest we have been apart since we were married in 2013!!), and we went STRAIGHT to starbucks.

it was super early in the morning...but we were already on cloud 9! 

WE WERE GOING TO NEW YORK. 

...and you better believe Taylor Swift's song was referenced approximately 3423423462384 times on this trip. 

our plane landed in philly at around 10:30...so we had about two hours to kill before our plane would begin boarding for new york.
we waited for what felt like FOREVER & then FINALLY...our zone was called!

new york city, here we come!

so, as we were on the plane we prepared for our first destination. 

our first air b & b experience. 

we planned on staying with a lady from astoria, new york in her apartment with her. 

she had a separate room & sitting room that she rents out to her guests. 

all in all, to make a super long story as short as possible. 

we did not have luck with our first air b & b experience...and stephanie's dad saved our entire trip. THANK YOU, JOHN! 

he found us a room in midtown new york, right smack dab in the middle of "hell's kitchen" & pretty much made our trip 1,000 times better than it could have been. 

a huge blessing in disguise!

moral of the story: when in doubt, go with your gut.

our first night was definitely one for the books. 

by the time we got situated into our new hotel it was time for us to begin getting ready for A MOVIE PREMIERE.
i know what you're thinking. 

what?!?!? 

you see... stephanie had entered a nicholas sparks movie premiere giveaway months ago & one night before our trip she called me & left me a voicemail saying she needed to tell me something about our trip to new york.

she had WON two tickets to a movie premiere for "the longest ride," as well as a question & answer session after the movie with nicholas sparks & the cast of the movie!

i know!! we were practically screaming on the phone!

& it all just so happened to be on our first night in the city! thrilled!

so...we got ready & were on our way to the lincoln square theater. 

we arrived, were given our tickets, and complimentary cupcakes from "baked by melissa." 

our hearts. were stolen. right away.
we both agreed that they were the best cupcakes we have ever had. 

...or we were just starving from possibly one of the longest days ever. 

we choose best cupcakes ever.
when in the city you will have to stop by her bakery!
so, to answer your question: yes! the movie was AMAZING! there were lots of tears.

we both agreed it was one of the best nicholas sparks book-to-movie productions thus far.
maybe even comparable to the notebook.
*did i say that out loud?*

we dedicated the next few days to exploring, trying NOT to take a taxi because we were two girls who couldn't quite master the subway,  trying lots of delicious sweets, and so much more! 

on day 2 we went on a gossip girl tour & pretty much decided we were blair & serena for the rest of the trip. this is a must-do if you're a big fan of the show...like we obviously are.

the tour starts out at the one and only "palace hotel"- home of the vanderwoodsen family.

 we then got to visit "constance billiard"- which is the school where all of our favorite gossip girl characters spend a lot of the first few seasons of the show scheming & being their typical 15-year-old-millionare-selves.

it was hard for both of us to recognize this from the show, at first, until we saw these red brick archways! if you have watched any of seasons 1-5...you've seen this pathway countless times! it's just crazy now to see how the show was all put together in these itty bitty spaces. the film making crew was able to make it look like a school when it was actually just an entrance to a museum!

the next stop on our tour was the steps at the MET. 

of course. 

THE lunch spot of queen B & her minions.

we, of course, found the exact spot where blair & her posse regularly sat... the only thing that was missing was our yogurts.

from here...we saw lots of different places that were used in filming the show: b's apartment, the archibald residence, laduree, the duck pond in central park, the fountain: where b & s have their mini photoshoot, chuck's home: the empire hotel, dylan's candy bar: where dan & vanessa pick out candy for nate, henri bendel: where blair & serena love to shop, harry wintston: where chuck buys the ring for blair, grand central station {where the whole show 'technically' began when s was first spotted returning home from boarding school}, and so much more!

after the tour finished up...we grabbed burgers & shakes from shake shack. 

this is also a must-do. 

i repeat: you cannot leave new york city without having AT LEAST one meal at shake shack. 

that is all. 

some other must do/ must see/ must go's are: 

laduree. 

this is my favorite place in the entire world because MACARONS. 

they're flown in overnight from Paris...so...that pretty much speaks for itself.

try the pistachio!

sprinkles cupcake atm! 

this is a must do. 

we had so much fun with this...and the cupcakes are DELICIOUS!

i had a red-velvet & it was amazing.

find the LOVE sign!

it's located off of avenue of the champions...and...it's just a fun piece of art!

the world could always use some extra love.

go see a broadway play!

you can't visit new york without seeing AT LEAST one play on broadway. 

there are so many selections. 

we chose "gigi" & we chose correctly. 

vanessa hudgens was the leading lady & she was absolutely exquisite in her role. 

we felt like heading to paris right after our trip to nyc was over ;)

stop by freedom tower & the 9/11 memorial. 

this is a must see...at least once in your life.
bring tissues...it is extremely emotional. it's not a place you can bare for much longer than a short visit just because it's hard to take in. but it's still very neat to see freedom tower reigning over where the two towers once stood. so many people lost loved ones on this piece of ground...so many brave men & women people fought to save lives. we will never forget that day in history & now there is a gorgeous memorial to help us to always remember.    

lady liberty.

if this is one of the main things you wish to see when exploring new york...there are lots of opportunities to take a ferry over to ellis island. but, don't worry! you don't have to take a ride on a ferry JUST to be able to see her. you can head over to battery park and see her standing tall in the distance. *iphones tend to make her look farther away than she is in person*. such a nice sight to see...and it didn't cost us a thing!

...except stephanie ending up purchasing one of those typical tourist lady liberty hats. ha! 

visit the today show!

wake up at 4 a.m., bring along a sign, stand in a small line, have some complimentary hot chocolate, stake out your spot in the front row, enjoy the random snow-fall...well, we have to admit...our conditions were quite. COLD. we couldn't believe that we stood in 40 degree, windy, snowy weather for five hours just to get on tv for ten seconds...but it was TOTALLY worth it! we even got a selfie with savannah. this is a must do if you're ever visiting new york! it was so fun to text our families to watch for us & for them to respond back "I JUST SAW YOU ON TV!" 

 

spend money on at least one nice dinner!

let's face it...new york is pretty expensive. we found ourselves skipping on meals JUST to save money! crazy, i know. but we allowed ourselves one "fancier" meal during the trip...& it just so happened to be at the one & only restaurant in nyc that serves complimentary cotton candy. 

i would share the name with you...but i think it might be fun if you try to find it for yourself. ;)

just ask your waiter if they serve cotton candy. 

one of them is bound to say: "ha! have you been reading up on yelp?"

the best view of the city!

there's no denying that the "top of the rock" has the best view of the entire city. lots of people visit & think that they need to go to the top of the empire state building...but...then you can't see the empire state building in the sky line!? 

my choice will always be top of the rock. at sunset. or night for the city lights. 

we picked a time where we got to see both!

eat at serendipity 3!

stephanie & i just so happen to both be fans of the movie "serendipity"- so there was no option when it came to eating here. i love this whimsical little eatery where the menus are about five times the size of a regular menu!

it's famous for being an intregal part of that film. 

and for its frozen hot chocolates. 

you have to go! it's just not an option!

& of course, visit central park!

i'm convinced that it would take days & days & days to see all of central park. after three visits there is still much of it that i have yet to see! 

grab a hotdog {or, like me, a pretzel!}, pack a picnic, & take a stroll through the park! we found the ice-skating rink, the mall, and "strawberry fields" - a memorial for john lennon. 

central park is one of my absolute favorite parts of new york city...if not my favorite. 

so this is my number one must do/see if you're planning a trip!

 we had the time of our lives during our short stay! we packed our days...we lived out the whole "city that never sleeps" line...and we had an absolute blast! 

these are just a few of the adventures that we took away from our trip...i'd probably bore you if i went on any more! 

i hope this is helpful to anyone who might be planning a trip to the big apple in the upcoming months or years. there are so many sights to see & there are opportunities on every block. these are just a few of my favorites!

thanks for reading!

xoxo,