Halloween puppet makeup

For Halloween this year Nathaniel and I dressed up as a puppet and puppet master. I had an absolute blast doing my makeup. This will be a semi-tutorial to help anyone else who is interested in doing the same thing...also, for myself, for future reference. I took a million photos in a million angles, so hopefully you get the idea of what I did.

The finished look before we left for the party.

A Note from Grandad

I recently had a long heart-to-heart over the phone with my Grandad over something I am struggling with. I then received a letter in the mail a few days later. By letter I mean the most beautifully written sticky note attached to some news clippings he wanted me to read. I have never been so moved by a sticky note! I sure love that man!

Always,

Texas Tech football game

My parents and brother, Tyler, came into town for the Texas Tech versus University of Oklahoma football game. It was a really great guy — though our beloved Red Raiders lost! We still had a great time visiting and being together. Thankful for family and football!

Me, mama and Tyler.

Always,

Oklahoma Arts Conference in Ardmore

I went to the Oklahoma Arts Conference in Ardmore this week and had the most incredible time learning about Oklahoma's arts community and networking with other artists, arts administrators and advocates. Oklahoma has a wonderful community of people striving to improve their communities and the state at large through the arts. I am grateful to be a part of a city and state that truly values the arts and recognizes the many ways arts benefit us as a community! The conference is coming to Norman in 2014, too...can't wait to see Norman's fabulous arts community be shown off to the rest of the state!

Always,

Halloween

We were invited a friend's Halloween party this year. We literally agonized over what to dress up as, seeing as how the host wanted all couples attending to be coordinating. We first joked about going as Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke, considering my hair is short and blonde now. But we ditched it. I then landed on a puppet and puppetmaster, quite simply because the costume was going to be cheap and so easy to execute. And comfortable. We knew we were going to be doing a scavenger hunt so we needed costumes we could easily run around in. Our costumes were definitely a hit — something we'll have to revisit in the future.

You can't really tell, but Nathaniel is even wearing black eyeliner!

Santa! I know him!

I went to Santa's house recently. Seriously. I met him. He lives in Norman. And is the most warm and fuzzy guy I've ever met. Mrs. Claus was amazing, too. Did you know Santa likes to bar-b-que? And that he works a day job as a camera man at a local news station? True story.

Photo credit: Lisa Monahan Photography

Read my piece on Santa Opa Claus here.

Always,

Visit from Dana

My dear friend Dana came to visit recently, just for fun. While she was here we shopped, ate a ton of food, enjoyed Norman's art scene and cleaned — yes, cleaned. Dana's crazy and loved cleaning out my closet. Always good to have a visit from an old friend!

Me, Caitlin and Dana at the 2nd Friday Circuit of Art in Norman. Photo credit to my freelancer, Doug Hill!

Always,

October N-town

A lot of blood, sweat, tears and creativity went into the October N-town. We bumped up our page content, included a fashion shoot and of course everything was Halloween-themed. I am SO thrilled with the results! Check it out here.

Always,

P.S. Isn't the covergirl beautiful? That's my sweet friend, Kathleen! Check her out at Don't Stand On That You'll Break It.

Halloween photo shoot

When we were brainstorming ideas for the October N-town Halloween edition we realized we didn't have anything that touched on costumes. I didn't want to write another text-heavy story, and I got the crazy idea that maybe we could pull of a full on fashion shoot. I got busy contacting a local costume shop, to see if they'd be willing to furnish some costumes. From looking at their costumes, we thought about where we could find free locations to shoot that would match the costumes. We then contacted one of my favorite photographers, Benita with BRC Photography, as well as a hair and makeup team. I recruited some of my friends to act as the models, and a shoot was born!

It was wild coordinating all the different pieces to make the shoot happen but the day of was quite simply a blast. All the talent we had on board were creative, dynamic and excited to work together. We all brought our best to the board. The finished product was just outstanding!

My dear friend Caitlin dressed up as Marie Antoinette. We spoke with a local bakery, Crimson and Whipped Cream, about shooting in their space. They even let us purchase a few cupcakes to shoot with. Andrew Freeman Creative Studio provided the amazing hair and makeup. 

How this final spread turned out:

Person in the Arts

The Norman Arts Council recently awarded me with a "Business Person in the Arts" award for my work supporting and covering community arts at The Norman Transcript. I was so tickled! It felt great to be recognized by a group of professionals that I truly respect. I even got a free lunch out of the gig! Here's a link to the story another reporter wrote about the awards luncheon.

Accepting my plaque at the luncheon

Woohoo!

Always,