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Miss America

January 12, 2013 by Jensey 1 Comment

When I was little, the #1 person I looked up to was Annie Plummer. Our dads worked together, so every now and then growing up our families would get together and we’d go swim at their house or something. I don’t know how much older Annie was than me, but I thought she was so pretty and so nice and I wanted to be just like her. I remember sitting on her bedroom floor and her showing me her ballet point shoes, and not being able to wrap my mind around the thought of a human balancing on their toes. One of my favorite childhood memories was my Mom taking me to see her perform as Clara in the Nutcracker Ballet, which only sealed her cool factor!

I went years without seeing her when my Dad came home and told us that she’d be competing in the Miss America pageant in 2001. This came as no surprise at all; if anyone was the embodiment of beauty and brains, it was Annie! Tony Danza hosted that year, and though Annie didn’t win the crown, she was 4th runner up. I had so much fun rooting her on with my family. :)

You can see Annie here in the final 5 – She’s the one in the navy dress.

Tonight, twelve years later, my eyes will be glued to the Miss America Pageant again! This time I’ll be rooting for Laura McKeeman, my little sister’s high school best friend, who happens to be the current Miss Florida!!

(These are some photos from a shoot we did with her and Amelia years ago!)

Laura McKeeman is an incredible ballerina, that perfect mix of sweet and silly, and let’s admit it- The girl is downright stunning! Laura has worked her tail off these past few years, graduating from college and nailing a reporting job for Fox Sports. Laura is so charismatic that she even makes me want to watch sports! (And she totally has that perfect “reporter voice.”)

She deserves every bit of success that’s come her way and I was not at all surprised when she was crowned Miss Florida- What a lucky state to have her represent! :)

Laura, my family is rooting for you and whether you’re the next Miss America or… Well… I can’t honestly see this thing going any other way! I’m over-the-moon proud of you and I can’t imagine a better role model for the next generation. Break legs and kick some ass!!! :)

And blog readers, be sure to tune into the Miss America Pageant tonight on ABC at 9:00EST and send all your positive thoughts to Miss Florida- The world could use some more Laura McKeemans. :)

Walt Disney World Christmas Trip Preview

January 10, 2013 by Jensey 7 Comments

Oh, December. <3

For the past five years, Nate and I have tried to make a December Walt Disney World trip happen. Each year, either our schedule or budget got in the way, but we ended up celebrating our five year anniversary there. Aside from Nate catching a cold the day before we checked in, everything was absolutely perfect!

Favorite times a million.

A Magic Kingdom trip isn’t complete until we visit my old attractions!

We tried the grey stuff, it’s… Ok. :)

Be still my heart! <3 Jodi Benson for the win!

The best thing about our trip was the view from our room. :) :) Can’t wait to share the rest!

Veronica + Jamison : Downtown Disney Engagement Session

January 8, 2013 by Jensey 4 Comments

I first met and worked with smiley Veronica on my Walt Disney World College Program. Though we often had reverse schedules and never got to become best friends, I did have a lot of friends in common with her and she was a favorite of mine to work with. :) We’ve been able to keep in touch via Facebook and Veronica has been such a supporter of Root Photography since we began! I very rarely squeal aloud when we get an inquiry but Veronica’s definitely warranted one. :)

I knew it was gonna be an easy shoot when the first photo I took of Veronica and Jamie was this one! <3

Veronica’s a total fashionista, and I loooooooved how she styled them for the session.

Pretty sure this was, “How much do you love me?” “Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!”

GAH I love y’all. :)

Veronica, I can’t wait to see you in a wedding dress!!

Favorite. :) In Veronica’s first message to us, she said how badly she wanted a ring shot with Gummy Bears- Her favorite! Veronica and Jamie, I cannot wait to hug you both in one month and a day! <3

More Downtown Disney Posts :

The Blog Calendar

January 7, 2013 by Jensey 12 Comments

My love of Sarah Pinto planners sprouted from a desperate search for a planner on Amazon. After clicking through what felt like thousands of pages of not-what-I-needed, I spotted a simple green spiral planner with a white elephant on front, and I was in love.

I’ve since been a loyal Sarah Pinto girl and look forward to her release of next year’s designs like a preteen anticipating her first Justin Bieber concert! This year Sarah Pinto didn’t disappoint, and after days of agonizing over which cover I wanted to stare at for the next 365 days, the winner was the 2013 Horseshoe Weekly Planner :

I know a lot of bloggers do this sort of thing with an online calendar, but I’m the same tactile, school-supply loving girl I was when I was 16. I plan out my Monday-Friday blog posts months in advance and highlight the date once my post is scheduled. Of course, there’s tons of erasing and re-writing when I get busy and skip some days, but that’s half the fun.

My favorite thing about Sarah Pinto Weekly Planners is that they’re a blank slate- I love filling up the pages with color using Japanese washi tape I get off Etsy.

While I keep the monthly pages in tact, I cover the weekly pages with paper and washi tape to use throughout the year- Queues for album designs, editing, blogging, and submissions. Just wanted to share how I keep my crazy in order! I’d love to hear what any other bloggers out there find useful. :)