The above photo is just one of the shots I captured during the engagement session that I shot yesterday evening.

About a week ago, I got my hands on a Canon 5D Mark II camera.  It was a HUGE financial commitment.  I saved and planned and made sacrifices (mostly in the wedding department.  I didn’t REALLY need the beautiful, flowy arch on the beach that costs $600 just to RENT).    I’ll admit, I was intimidated.  Becka shoots with this camera, Jasmine shoots with this camera. These are two women that I look up to SO much, they are two women who I want to be just like.  (Is that creepy?  If either of you read this, please don’t be creeped out.  You girls are just rockstars.)  All I kept thinking was that if my pictures suck on this camera, I’ll know its because i’m not good enough, because I don’t have the know how.  A good camera can only take you so far, you know?

I sort of felt like yesterdays shoot was going to be my turning point.  From this, I was going to know if being a photographer was something that I wanted to really throw myself into full force or if I was just mediocre and should cut my losses and stop throwing my time and money into something that isn’t going to go anywhere.  I’m sort of convinced now that i’m meant to do this whole photography thing. I may not be as good (yet) as the women that I admire so very much, but I think I can get there… I can make this happen.  I have never in my life been so happy doing something.  Last night while I was posting the pictures to Facebook for my clients, the girl in the photo above messaged me.  ”Thank you Rachel.  I feel so beautiful.”  That’s how I know I did my job well.  I went to sleep with the biggest smile ever on my face last night.  I feel so honored that people let me into their lives, let me see them as they are with no walls up.  The magic is in the people I photograph, not the camera that i’m holding.

On a different note, I’m participating in a Project 365 with three other wonderful and inspiring women.  What’s a Project 365 you ask?  Simple.  We’re taking one photo each day for a year.  Sometimes the pictures will be taken with a DSLR, sometimes maybe my iPhone… who knows.   Each day, we all post our photos to our blog for you to check out.  It’s an amazing project, make sure you check it out!

I purchased the white one, and I have no idea where i’m going to wear it, but it was too cute not to have.  I already have “getting ready” tank tops that you’ll see in another post, so maybe the morning before the wedding getting ready for the rehearsal?  Hmmm.  It’s from Victorias Secret.

I also purchased the requisite terry cloth pants and hoodie, for getting ready, in white.  This is also from Victorias Secret (you know, in case you weren’t able to tell from the model.

Guys, I have been coveting this necklace since long before I was ever even engaged.  It’s perfection in every way.  I love that it’s an adorable little spin on the classic pearl necklace without being too over the top.  I finally bit the bullet the other day and ordered one because I’m convinced that nothing else will ever measure up.  Sigh.  It’s so pretty.  It’s from VirginiaGeigerJewels.

Perfection, right?  This headband is from my heaven on earth, Anthropologie and I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it.  I see a lot of repeat wear on this baby.  I plan on wearing my hair down for the ceremony, but I felt like I’d need just a little sparkle since my dress is so plain.  It’s perfect, not too over the top and will be just what I need to keep my beach wavy hair out of my face when I walk down the aisle to the love of my life.

For the reception I want to pull my hair into a side ponytail and I’m going to put this clip just above it.  Let me just tell you, if you have a serious love for hair flowers like I do, LilyLadyBlue is the place to go get them!   I swear, you can’t tell this flower is fake!  It looks and feels so real, I was completely blown away by this pretty little thing when it arrived in the mail last week.  It’s spectacular.  I even cheated and wore it out on date night last night.  I put my hair in a low side bun and pinned it in, you would not believe the compliments that I got!

This about rounds out my frivolous wedding purchases, ha!  What is something you plan on purchasing for your wedding that you could maybe do without?  What’s something that you don’t really NEED but you might die if you don’t have?  Am I the only one that gives in and buys all of this crap?

I’ve had quite a few shoots this week and I put off editing a few days to clear my head, so I was a little behind where I wanted to be.  I was sitting on the couch editing my face off and I get a text.  It was super late, so it was kind of odd.  I pick up my phone and it says this…

“Have I told you today how beautiful you are?  I love you so much”

It was from Matt.  He was sitting right next to me.  I might have swooned a bit.  I immediately closed my computer for the night.

It’s the little things.

Also, I was contacted by a representative from Bacardi for a summer program they are doing with the USO to help our troops!

“ Bacardi USA’s “60 Second Cocktail Program,” an initiative launched by Bacardi, USA in association with the USO. This summer, Bacardi, USA encourages Americans to toast to the troops with its “60 Second Cocktails Program”. Bacardi has committed to donate $75,000 to the USO at the onset of summer, with consumers (21+) able to increase the total donation; each time a fan joins Bacardi’s “60 Second Cocktails” Facebook page at 60 Second Cocktails Program and clicks DONATE, the company will send $1 to the USO. With just one click, anyone can give!”

My freshman year of college, I was bombarded by creditors eager to hand me my first piece of plastic.  I wanted one of those “COLLEGE” shirts that everyone was wearing (Shut up.  It was 2002.) so I applied for whatever credit card was handing those out.  I got my first card in the mail with a limit of $1,000.  I did okay with it for a few months and then the temptation of new clothes and dinners out with friends and concerts just got to be too much.  I always told myself it would be “Just this once”, but we all know that isn’t how it works.  Well, I racked up that $1,000 pretty quickly.   Then?  I was two days late on a payment and the APR skyrocketed from the promo rate to the regular rate of like 28%.  When I couldn’t make the minimum payment?  I didn’t pay anything at all.  I avoided the creditors calling every five minutes.  I disregarded the harm that was happening to my credit.  I didn’t care.  I don’t know why I didn’t care, I guess it was easier.

It was easier to skip eating and swipe my debit card to buy the designer shirt that I wanted (at the time?  it was totally Ed Hardy.  What?  Ed Hardy was never in?  Pshhh.  Before John Gosselin, it was cute.), to not pay my credit card bill because I’d rather be out at some fancy restaurant with my girlfriends eating sushi and drinking martini’s with top shelf vodka.  I had no concept of what was happening with my credit score, heck… I never even thought to check.  I was in college and I was having the time of my life, consequences never even OCCURRED to me.

And then on that fateful day, I decided to check out my credit score.  I swear, it was in the 400’s.  Um.  What?  You can’t get a car with a credit score of a 400.  You can’t get a freaking prepaid credit card with that kind of a credit score (You totally can, but a 400?  Really?  COME ON).  I didn’t know what to do.  I knew it was bad, but I had no idea.  So I googled.  I trolled the forums on MyFico.com and tried to learn new ways to boost my score.  I wrote letters to the credit bureaus disputing information on my report that was false, I wrote letters to the creditors begging them to help me.  I got a lot of information removed from my credit reports which boosted my score a little, but the only thing that really helps is time.

God, looking back now, i’m so frustrated with myself.  Seriously.  What was I thinking?  I mean, to just not pay a bill?  The thought of that now makes me break out in hives.  When your parents tell you “life happens”, they weren’t freaking kidding.  It does and you need to be prepared.  I don’t care if you can only put $5 into savings each paycheck, it’s better than nothing.  If you can only afford to pay $10 over the minimum payment on your credit card, DO IT.  It’s all going to pay off in the long run.  One of the most important investments I’ve made in the past few years as I’ve stumbled through my finances was to pay myself first.  It should be like a bill you pay into your savings account, it’s non negotiable.  Never be scared to pick up the phone and call your credit card company.  If you’re payment is going to be late or you can’t afford the minimum?  They will work with you, i’ll bet anything.

But the most important thing that I learned is that I wasn’t alone.  Debt among 20 somethings is so common, and so many of us are in the process of digging ourselves out.  For whatever reason, money is a taboo subject, but I feel like if I had someone to talk to when I was going through what I went through, I would have been able to pick myself up faster.   It would have saved me so much work to get my credit score up 300 points, to get a few dollars in the bank, to feel like i’m not drowning in my debt.

What’s one thing you’ve learned about money, debt or your own personal spending habits?  Do you think that personal finance and money is better kept to yourself?

Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here.

These were seriously taken at different times.  Different weeks even.  My outside couch is her favorite spot in the world.  I have to beg her to get down and come in the house.  We have had pretty fantastic weather here lately, and she just sits by the door begging to be let out all of the time.  Precious.

Ang asked to see the inside of my refrigerator.  How very Cribs.  I debated on even taking this picture today because truthfully, i’m ashamed.  I can’t even tell you the last time I went grocery shopping.  It’s sad.  I make the weekly pit stop for fresh veggies and milk, but that’s about it.  Sigh.  My fridge is a disaster.

You can see it all.  Haha.  Frozen chicken, pierogies, thin buns, my brita pitcher that I live and die by, country time lemonade for easy mixing with sweet tea vodka (that’s on the bottom shelf of the door), yogurt, apple sauce for matts lunches, left over pasta sauce, sunflower seeds for salad, hot dogs that my father insists on buying even though I think they are the most vile thing ever created, honey shrimp I thought Matt would love and most importantly, TOTS.

Jessa asked to see my dishes.

Up top is some crystal that my Mommom used when the girls would come over to play cards.  She gave it to me right after Matt left and I was scared to take it.  I didn’t want anything to happen to it, she was obviously trusting me with something that held a lot of memories for her.  But, she insisted and there it sits.  I’d like to pull it out on a girls night of my own, but I never remember.  That’s probably a good thing though.

The dishes though?  I am not a huge fan of em.  Matt’s aunt got them on clearance for super cheap right before we moved into the house.  They work perfectly fine and I don’t really care what the dishes look like, my food always impresses. :)

The green bowls are a score from the Anthropologie sale racks and the green cup to the right is what I drink my tea in.

Jen asked to see my outdoor living space!  I love this.  LOVE.  I am seriously smitten over my outdoor furniture.

Right?  Ah, love.  I got the furniture from WalMart of all places.  It’s part of their Canopy line.  I just loved the blue cushions, so I knew it was meant to be. :)  We actually have TWO parts to our outdoor living area though…

Ah, the Man Cave.  Yes, that is a pool table.  Yes that is a kegerator.  Yes, there is a keg in the kegerator and it is fully operational. Every man’s dream and every wifes nightmare. We inherited the pool table from my parents that couldn’t wait to get rid of it and get some space back and we inherited the kegerator (much to my dismay) from Matt’s batchelor pad.  When they all moved out of their shared apartment, all of the other boys moved home with mom and dad.  The kegerator had nowhere to go and found it’s new home in my garage.  Sigh.

Lacey wanted to know where Matt and I spend our time.

We have not one, but TWO super charged waverunners.  My mom tells me all the time that it’s my fault we even own the damn things.  She reminds me that every time I broke Matt’s heart before we got back together, he went out and bought a new toy.  Sad, I know… and i’d like to argue it…. but it’s the honest to god truth.

One time after I told him I couldn’t be with him, he bought a motorcycle.  Thank god I convinced him to sell that. :)  These things do 75 on the water, which is pretty insane.  I’ve only gotten up to 50mph or so, which is pretty fun.  Matt jumps sky high in these things over waves, which is why I ride the red one by myself.

We only have one day off together per week, and I like to be doing something instead of sitting in the house.  We will usually sleep in a bit, grab breakfast at our favorite spot (where our entire family works!) and then head out for the afternoon on the wave runners.  It’s a lot of fun and if you’re ever in Jersey, I’ll take you for a ride!

Amy asked to see my fridge!  I took this to mean the outside of my fridge.

You can see… a group picture of me and my cousins from when we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese, a postcard from Orange County, Ca that I love, the Save the Date for Matt’s brother’s wedding, an old picture of Matt in his blues, Matts work schedule, softball schedule and pay schedule, a letter from Kerri, a card from Doniree, Jimaie’s Christmas card, the registration for my car that I should really put IN my car, and Penny’s heartworm pills.  Interesting, I know.

Katelin asked where my wedding corner was.  I actually didn’t think I had a wedding corner.  Ha!  Destination weddings are super easy to plan and don’t involve a ton of DIY because there really isn’t a lot that you can bring with you.  And then I remembered my invitations!  They are currently taking up my office space, i’m trying to get them out before the end of the month.  It’s stressful.  It’s actually a whole different post for a whole different day.  ANYWAY.  My wedding corner.

Divine twine, film for my Instax, envelopes, liners, wax seals… it’s taking over my LIFE.

Kelsey (a fellow AF wife! <3) asked what physical object comforted me the most while Matt was deployed.  I had to think about this one.  I thought about posting my computer because seriously, a lot of nights, that is what got me through.

But truthfully, I have a necklace that I got from Lucky Wife.  It has two charms on it.  One reads “Wife of a Hero” and the other reads “Lucky Me”.  It served as a daily reminder of who I was missing and how lucky that I was to even HAVE someone to miss.  Also, my engagement ring.  There were days when I was so down.  I’d just sit and twirl it around my finger and remember the night he asked me to marry him.  It never failed to bring a smile on my face, to remind me exactly what i’m waiting for.

Bria asked to see the inside of my cupboards.  Again, same as fridge.  Disaster.  I’m pretty much living off of Thin Buns and Cheddar SunChips right now.  Sad.

I seriously don’t know why those chicken noodles are still in there.  I didn’t even notice until I took this picture.  Ugh, I hate those things.   Yes.  You’re seeing Spagetti-o’s.  That’s for when I get really desperate.   The Easy Cheese is Matt’s weakness.  He puts it on pretzel crisps.  Me?  I go for the Nutella that’s next to the box.  YUM.

And there you have it!  Little bits and pieces of my every day.  If there’s something you want to see, you can still let me know!  This was a fun little project!  I will hopefully be able to take the rest of the suggestions photos tomorrow, i’m off from work all day, HOORAY! :)

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