Bookstores & Sunflowers

"In a world full of roses, be a sunflower."

It's July. And it doesn't feel like Summer. I mean it's Texas so of course it "feels" like Summer with the heat and humidity. But it doesn't feel like a relaxing, fun, hangout type of summer. Covid cases are rising, when they should be declining. People are rushing to the grocery stores to stock up again. It's like we weathered a hurricane and took the boards off our windows, only for an even bigger storm to come right at us.

I recently started a new job in a new school district. This changed our typical summer routine, as I now work during the week. Typically during the summer I would plan local adventures for Audrey and I. Our Spring Break plans were halted and changed so I really didn't plan a lot for the summer months. I figured we would just have our "Fun Fridays". But honestly by the time Fridays roll around, Audrey wants to sleep in, and I feel like I have to play catch up on laundry etc. But this past Friday we had planned to adventure out and take some birthday photos of Audrey. Each year I try to find something unique for her birthday photos. We've used the beautiful murals in Deep Ellum, The Flour Shop in New York City, The Area 276 Space Ship in Royse City, and well this year we wanted more of a nature vibe. A friend posted a beautiful field of Sunflowers and as soon as I showed them to Audrey, she was smitten.

Yellow.

Yellow is Audrey's favorite color and its fitting for her personality. She has been my sunflower for 10 years. We woke up early on our "Funday Friday" and headed down to Ennis to find this hidden patch of sunflowers. As Audrey slept on and off during our one hour drive we listened to Judah and The Lion. Once you get out of the city the drive through farm country is stunning. I will never take for granted that Texas has all sorts of different terrain and you can go to a different environment with every adventure if you'd like. As we got closer to our destination I really thought we were lost. But down a country road staring right up at the sun was this beautiful field of sunflowers. It really is breathtaking.

The sun was not on our side, so our photo session was short and sweet. But we incorporated Papas old cowboy hat and got a little funky with it. As the years go by, clients often ask how I got a child who loves having their picture taken, I quickly burst their bubble because we have a 10 minute window for photos before Audrey is typically over it. Thankfully she has learned how important the photos are to me and she tolerates my obsession.

Bookish.

After we left the beauty of the sunflowers we took a different long route home so we could stop in Malakoff TX. Malakoff is a small little town near Cedar Creek Lake and the downtown area is a photographers dream! Our whole reason for going was to visit a beautiful independent bookstore named Bookish. We explored the downtown area, shopped for books, and grabbed some Bluebell on our way out of town. Stay tuned for an entire blog post dedicated to Bookish!!