Happy Monday morning, friends! After a crazy week + weekend (more on that below), I’m on my way to Charleston for a girls’ week with some of my most dear photog friends. I’ve been looking forward to this for so long! I missed last year’s getaway and so I was bound and determined to make it this time, so as soon as Ali sent out the date, it was on my calendar. In permanent marker, no less.

On Saturday, I attempted to take one normal photo of our dogs both looking at the camera with their quirky ears popped up. They are SUCH BUTTHEADS.

So why was last week crazy? Because I was in Las Vegas, of course! WPPI is an insanely busy, packed few days, and when you’re around friends you don’t get to see more than once or twice a year, you end up staying up til 3:00 in the morning… three nights in a row. Whoops!

And then I got home and was like “Matt! We need to have more adventures! Let’s go do something exciting!” so he suggested an indoor trampoline park. I’d been wanting to go to one for a while now, so of course I was on board. And then, 10 minutes into our exciting adventure, I bounced just a liiitle bit too high, came down on my ankle weirdly, and ended up with some bruising, swelling, and a pair of crutches.

That’s the last time I complain about a quiet Saturday.

(It’s not broken, I’m not even sure it’s properly sprained- I didn’t bring the crutches with me to Charleston in the hopes that I won’t need them. Fingers crossed that decision won’t backfire…)

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week:

• I’ve been using uber for a few months at this point and, up til last week, have only ever had normal, unexciting experiences with the service. But then I got into an uber with Jen Olmstead last week, and after a few minutes, we discovered that we were ACTUALLY in for the best cab ride of our lives.
• Why? You ask. Because not only was our cab driver a Trump supporter (never met one in person til last week), he also described his occupation (aside from uber driving) as a model and dancer. And when asked by Jen if he performs in any of the shows on the Vegas Strip, he said he actually does a more exotic type of dancing.
• Which led to one of the most unintentionally hilarious conversations in my life, where I learned that there’s such a thing called “Butlers In The Buff.” I laughed so hard in Target the day after I got back while reminiscing with Jen over texts that I drew many an unwanted stare.
• Worth it.
• Also while in Vegas, at one of the WPPI-sponsored late-night parties, I met a Macklemore lookalike, or as I call him, Macklemore 2.0 Not that that’s his profession, he just LEGITIMATELY looks like Macklemore. So then I asked the deejay to play “Downtown,” and Macklemore 2.0, Meg Courtney, & Jackie all rallied together and sang every word and danced like no one was watching. #someonepleasemakethatintoacoffeemug
• My friend Emilia texted me Monday evening while my friend Doza & I were out shooting on the strip (see below), and asked if I was interested in the best Thai food of my entire life. She was NOT kidding- Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas was easily one of the top 3 meals of my life. The other two being a truffle + asparagus tagliatelli I had in Italy, and another meal I had in Aix-en-Provence last spring.
• Emilia ALSO showed me how to use Snapchat! I think I adore this app- I can’t believe it took me so long to come around to! I love that it’s quick, requires little to no planning ahead, and because there’s no permanent “feed,” you don’t have to worry about a cohesive color scheme or hashtags or any of the stuff that goes on with Instagram. Totally obsessed.
• Shopping with girlfriends is something I need more of in my life. I didn’t have a dress appropriate for a night out with friends at one of the WPPI parties, so Jen & Emilia went out shopping with me. It was SO much fun, and Jen picked out a blue dress that I never would have chosen for myself, but ended up falling in LOVE with. And then I wore a smoky eye, for the first time in my life.

When someone as talented as David Mendoza asks to photograph you, you say yes. And if he asks you to wear a trendy, wide-brimmed hat, you say yes again. Because even if it’s not your normal look, you’ll still feel like a total rockstar! Thanks, Doza!