Ok. How's everybody doing? Y'all hanging in there? I have been surprised at how much I'm loving about this quarantine life. I have also been surprised that my mood around it changes...well, hourly. I can be on a walk, breathing in fresh air, enjoying the sunshine on my face one minute, and the next find myself lost in scary thoughts, yanking at my dog's leash, annoyed that he's stopping to fake-pee again! While I am absolutely someone who feels her feelings, I'm not typically this dang moody. I feel like I'm playing emotional hop-scotch. Anyone else?

Alright, we are all officially fighting the good fight and staying home to try and curb this COVID-19 thing. I’m sure we’ll all do our fair share of binge watching shows, reading, playing games, etc. But we all know how stir crazy we can get when confined to our homes. That said, I think I have something that could help-if only for a night or two. When Matt and I went to Italy (only a month ago-SO CRAZY!) I put together a list of fun questions to ask one another.

Every day we get up and gear up. We put on our hats. The mom hat. Boss hat. Wife hat...It's so ingrained in us that it's how we introduce ourselves to others. Think about it..."Hi, I'm Meagan. I'm a photographer. Married. Mom to three furbabies." There's nothing wrong with listing facts about yourself to someone new so that you can begin to connect with them. But sometimes I'm not so sure that's what we're doing-or at least that's not always what I'm doing. For me, something as benign as an introduction can suddenly morph into making a case for my worth. It's like stepping up to a scale and trying to pile in all the aspects of me where I find identity in order to convince the other person that I’m worthy.

Have you ever been dancing a choreorgraphed dance with a group of people and messed it up? You turned left and everyone else turned right? Or you threw your hands up for the “YMCA” and were too early? Maybe you were at a wedding and it was the cupid shuffle or electric slide. And suddenly you realize you are not in sync with everyone else. There’s that momentary freezing followed by the frenzy to get back to “the steps” before too many people notice.

I never really shared about my trip to Assisi, Italy back in July. I didn't post about it or share pictures because it was 100% not what I expected-mostly because it included my biggest tragedy of the year. But as I reflected over the past year, I realized that it was one of the most pivotal moments I experienced in 2019.

When winter weather hits, I dream of snowy backdrops, cozy fires and fluffy blankets. I have *always* wanted a gorgeous chateau-esque spot to shoot some dreamy, winter boudoir images. The problem is my studio location is HOT-lanta where temps can be 60-70 degrees on Christmas day. Out here, you leave the house in a cute fall/winter outfit complete with scarf, jacket and hat and you end up stripping all that off before you even get into your car.

Ahhhhh, marriage. Is there a more complex relationship than when two people decide to choose life with one another for the rest of their lives? The height of the highs and the depth of the lows are impressive to say the least. I'll never forget a boudoir client I shot a few years ago. She came in to do a session as an anniversary gift for her husband. One of her props was some seriously gorgeous crystal Waterford champagne flutes she wanted to incorporate in a shot or two.

If you've been around this blog or me for more than .5 seconds, you know I love Christmas! I always say I'm part elf. I have a "Christmas music only" rule that goes into effect on Thanksgiving and I have around 1,431 different Christmas traditions. We get our real tree (because fake is NOT allowed) and it must be wrapped with 800+ lights. We unwrap our Christmas ornaments carefully while reminiscing about our travels (that's my thing, I get ornaments whenever I travel) and drink something Christmas-y. There are traditions all through the month of December, straight through to the day after Christmas. I know. Just imagine being married to me-I guess I'm more of a Christmas drill sergeant than an elf!

Tiny confession: I love love LOVE trying new products. New hair smoothers, eye shadows, curling irons, masks, bath bombs. Give me all the lotions and potions! (And bonus, I get to write it off as research!) I am the girl who goes into Ulta/Sephora and always grabs a bag because even if I'm just going in for one thing...that sucker’s gonna fill up! Well, I sat down with my main makeup artist, the lovely Jamecia Bowers (shout out to Jammy J! She's INCREDIBLE!!!!) to chat about the products we love and use most! Plus, y'all she owns a spa and get access to allllllll those extra goods!

What if your best life is on the other side of your worst experience?

Y'all. This beautiful client of mine from just over a year ago walked in after experiencing one of those horrible life bombs. Like the kind you don't get out of bed after for a long, long time. But not Rachel. She told my makeup artist and I the entire crazy story. My favorite part was that in the midst of the worst conversation she's ever had, she said it was like she floated above herself. As if a second version of herself materialized and was looking back at the first calmly asking, "What do you need? Do you want to hit him? Ask more questions? Because ultimately, this is going to change your life. There's no way around that. The life you thought you'd be living is gone. BUT you can let this be the worst thing that's ever happened to you, or choose to make it the best thing that's ever happened to you."

Hey youz guyyyysssss!!!! Or at least anyone who’s wanted to do a boudoir session for a wedding/anniversary/your birthday/his birthday/a Tuesday…(For any skeptics out there, I'm not terrible at spelling & grammar-that's just a reference to The Goonies. And if you don't know The Goonies, it's a movie that was part of my childhood you should 100% check out!)

When you officially book a boudoir appointment, you expect certain things. Or maybe not. Maybe your expectations aren't that high. Maybe you cross your fingers, toes and elbows *hoping* that one or two images will be passable enough that you won't want to claw your eyes out when you view them. I get it. 100%. Your doubt, your fear, your hesitation. But here's the thing, a boudoir session has a few completely surprising benefits.

No one likes to be scared. That feeling of cold sweat on your palms, your heart doing that weird pitter-patter-stutter thing. I remember bungie jumping at an amusement park for the first time when I was in high school and, though I'm not terrified of heights, something about looking over a ledge and having to actually choose to make that jump was horrifying.

It is wedding season!!!! I LOVE weddings!!! (drinks all around *Jack Sparrow voice*!) My sister just got engaged so I've gotten to re-enter the wedding world in a more personal way lately. I also loooovvveeee shooting bridal boudoir. Bring me all the veils/garters/wedding shoes/etc!

Let’s talk about the concept of “Before/Afters”. I, personally, have never been a huge fan. I remember when I first opened my boudoir studio and I noticed some women who would comment/like my posts constantly, but never reached out for a session. I ran into one of them at church and asked what was keeping her from having her own session done and she responded, “Oh! I thought you only shoot models!”

Only shoot models?! What?!?!?

It's funny. Growing up, I never liked science or math all that much. I was ok enough at it, but I just didn't enjoy it the way I enjoyed history and literature. I loved words more than facts or numbers. But the older I get, the more I find myself enjoying a numerical view of the world. Breaking life down into formulas to reach my goals. It's no surprise that I do that with my business as well-I’ve always been a self-professed nerd after all!

It’s FINALLY HERE!!!I At long last, we have our options for the trip AdventureWomen and Meagan O Photography are planning together. I need you to VOTE! Now, if this totally isn't something you're interested in or would want to do, don't vote. I want to hear from those of you who both would want to see that location AND think you'd be able to swing the approximate price range, date range (all of which are sometime in 2020-so over a year away) and could physically participate in the activities listed.

Before our crew headed to Tokyo, we went to Nachi Falls to see the gorgeous waterfall. The only problem…it was like 1.239 gazillion stairs to get there! Ok…maybe not that many, Wikipedia says it was only 297, but I realllllyyyy think it was more than that. The view was definitely worth it though!

One of the coolest parts of a trip with AdventureWomen is that their itineraries include a portion of epic, heart-rate-inducing, get-into-nature adventuring. For Japan, that was our 4 day trek along the Kumano Kodo. The Kumano Kodo is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes on the Kii Peninsula.