I’ve been a bit quiet this past month, as it seemed tone-deaf to talk flippantly about travel when so many people are hurting across the country due to gun violence. The news is abhorrent and heartbreaking, and the US needs some serious gun reform, like, decades ago. I have plenty of backlogged travel tales to share with you from Iceland, Holland and around the South, but I’m trying to be mindful about when is the right time to tell them.

May was a bit of a mixed bag for us, personally. While one of our biggest contracts came to an end due to the nature of the tech world and startup funding, we did onboard several new projects and tourism clients tied to ARPA funding, so I guess ultimately it all evens out in the wash eventually, right? I’m excited that a new fiscal years brings so many new creative projects to look forward to.

May looked like: a dozen family and newborn shoots (i.e. another 10,000 photos on my hard drive!), so many miles logged on Tennessee day trips for work, a whole lot of marketing grant projects wrapped, and seven nights away from home on family vacation. We also booked some fall travel like a visit to the Catskills, then a train to D.C. to see friends, which gives us a lot to look forward to the rest of the year!

The Highs

We went to Florida. It may have rained the majority of our time there, but that didn’t keep our family vacation from being a blast. Back in January during my dad’s funeral weekend, my best girls Mom, Kari, cousin Rebecca and I started talking about how we needed something to look forward to and by the beginning of the week, we’d book a three-story house in 30A. My best friend Katy also came with us, and the 13 of us had so much fun doing puzzles, playing games and, well, day drinking a whole lot. We also wore Hawaiian shirts in remembrance of Dad.

My story on Alpha-gal syndrome came out in Parade. SVV is one of thousands of people who have developed a mammal allergy due to a lone star tick bite, and I interviewed the CDC and the Cleveland Clinic to share how you can avoid being the next. Story here.

We got new closets! Funny how what may seem the smallest things make the biggest impact on your daily comfort, and for me, that means the option to be ultra-organized. After Tennessee cabinet maker (and my former guitar teacher) Andy Rigney did such a baller job on our kitchen cabinets, we hired him to do our pantry and two walk-in closets, and it was life-altering. Once we build back up our bank account, we’ll definitely get him to do our others as they have been complete game-changers.

We (SVV) painted a massive warehouse in Columbia. When a mural project fell through, a building owner still wanted to gussy up his building as the last paint job was in 2003, so SVV completed a miraculous transformation on the 60,000-square-foot space (and I tagged along as his assistant for two of the six days).

Mac turned two! How this little curly-headed monster has been in our lives for two years is beyond me. He’s a complete (high-energy) joy to be around. We celebrated with a day at the zoo, then a Dino-Mac-themed dinner with just a small group of family and close friends.

Charlotte had her first dance recital. It meant Mom and me leaving Memphis at a ridiculously early hour for us, but getting back in time to watch this girl take the stage for the first time was worth it. I posted a video on my Facebook if four year olds in leotards are your thing!

I’m loving heritage photography. My sister had been pushing me for years to do some B&W heritage shots of Charlotte, and when I finally did, I developed a new obsession. I’ve always loved shooting in black and white, but this new style has given me a creative avenue to really showcase kids’ personalities.

The Lows

*gestures to the world around us*

How was May for you, all things considered?

You can read all past month highlights posts here.