101 in 1001: An Update!

WARNING: What you are about to read is the longest blog post I’ve EVER written. Even so, it was a lot of fun to document how far I’ve come with my 101 in 1001 in the first 306 days. Just 695 days and 78 goals to go.. :) Here’s what’s been accomplished so far!

1) Pay off my school loans. While this won’t technically be accomplished within 1001 days, it is certainly in progress! That’s right, the bliss that we all know as the six month grace period is over. For the longest time, the most intimidating part of school loans was all the paperwork and bills I once imagined myself piled under every. single. month. But thankfully, I’m blessed to live in an age all about automated electronic funds transfer. Stress be gone!!

4) Keep fresh flowers in my home. You could also count this in the “ever-progressing” category. Especially since I kill plants like it’s my job. Case in point, I’ve killed TWO cacti since moving to Houston just six months ago. You know, plants that thrive in the DESERT. I’ve also killed my perennial orchid. Which is meant to last all year. With that said, I’m working hard to keep my amaryllis going strong. So far, so good. :)

6) Blog at least three days a week. I’m so proud to be able to include this in the DONE IT category. What once seemed nearly unattainable in the midst of school and getting married and moving, has become one of my greatest passions. To share fun new images, thoughts, ideas, and tidbits, and the community we have here at this blog.. Brings me such joy and fulfillment. Thank you all, as always, for being a part of it!! :)

8) Revamp website(s). Done and DONE. To read about the monstrosity of our website and blog overhaul, check out THIS blog post, published on our launch date – this past October 31st! And as always, HUGE thank you’s to both Showit and ProPhotoBlogs for making it all possible and so very worth it!

11) Get a bulldog and name him Sullivan. AHH!! I can’t believe it’s finally happening! I still remember evenings after class spent researching breeds with Dylan from the couch. And now to think that in three short days, our Sully will be with us? Well, it’s pretty mind blowing. I’m sure by this point you’re thinking “This Alyse girl needs to chill out! It’s a dog..” And to that I say, working from home can be quite lonely. And I need me a big, fat, wrinkly bulldog friend!

14) Shoot a wedding in a state I’ve never been to before. Before writing my 101 in 1001, I’d only shot weddings in NY and Pennsylvania. But on October 1st, I had the honor of shooting my first Houstonian and TEXAN wedding. To see more of Kara and Rob’s Houston Heights wedding, click *HERE*!!

20) Furnish our home with Anthropologie-like thriftyness. Well, it’s not as thrifty as I’d like, but I think we’ve done pretty well maintaining a mid-century modernesque feel throughout our home. And who said designing and decorating your place is ever complete, anyway? Who’s with me?

29) Photograph somebody that I admire. I actually crossed this off my list just two weeks ago. My own wedding photographer extraordinaire, Mabyn Ludke, asked me to shoot some new promos of her for her upcoming website revamp! To see more of Mabyn, click *HERE*.

31) Try a new hairstyle. Apparently it’s an unwritten rule that after you get married, you are to chop off all of your hair. And I am no exception to the rule! On our one month anniversary, Dylan came home to see yours truly with about ten inches of hair completely gone. Granted it was all worth it in the name of adventurism. But I’ve spent the last five months pleading with my follicles to grow faster already!

46) Book 25-30 weddings per year. With complete credit to God’s faithfulness, I have booked 31 weddings since writing my 101 in 1001 list back in March. And this is actually the first time I’m realizing I’ve booked OVER my goal. Holy moly! In the past ten months I have been unbelievably blessed to know and work with some of the most incredible clients on this earth. Let’s just say that 2011 is going to be CRAZY busy/awesome.

55) Purchase sample wedding/engagement albums. D-d-d-done! I absolutely adore my sample albums from White House Custom Colour. Gorgeous quality, not to mention WHCC‘s wonderful customer service. My only regret was not getting them sooner! If you haven’t seen our albums yet, check *THIS*.

64) Mentor a new photographer. I love, love, love meeting new photographers! For a long while the only mentoring I did was via random Facebook messages and email. But I’ve recently begun offering 2-hour mentor sessions, and it’s been so amazing developing friendships and learning new photographers’ fresh perspectives! If you are interested in scheduling a mentor session via in person or Skype, email alyse@alysefrenchphotography.com for details!

65) Discover a new musical artist for myself every month. I am happy to say that working from home has forced my iTunes library to expand exponentially. Some of my favorite examples that you MUST check out for yourself: James Yuill, Local Natives, Jesus Culture, Phoenix, MGMT, Miike Snow, Paul & the Patients, Family of the Year, The Temper Trap, Gungor, Mumford & Sons, Barcelona, Wakey!Wakey!, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Passion Pit.

66) Take a multi-vitamin every day! BAM! Does it feel GOOD to say that! Of course there are still days when I skip, but something about taking a multi-vitamin makes me feel like a legit adult. You know what else makes me feel like a real adult? The fact that I just bought one of those plastic weekly vitamin/pill containers. You know, the one that your grandpa has? Overflowing with smelly fish oil capsules? Yeah..

67) Try one new restaurant a month. Yes indeedy! Houston boasts of approximately 8,000 restaurants, and we have tried many! Probably too many. But let’s just say it’s all for the sake of my 101 in 1001. :) Some new favorites include but are not limited to: Piola, Houston’s, Fins, Osaka, and Thai Cottage.

68) Get married! Again, I’m not sure why this wasn’t no. 1 instead of no. 68, but either way, it’s been crossed off! We’ve now been married for six months, three weeks, and four days. And it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. :) To commemorate, here’s are two of my favorite wedding day images. Credit to Mabyn!

72) Take a class with Dylan in something fun. Very shortly after creating my list, Dylan and I began dance lessons (for our wedding) alongside his parents from an Italian man named Gino. You remember, don’t you? He was that mix of Robin Williams, my uncle Russ, and Captain Hook I was telling you about..

74) Have lunch with someone business related I don’t know very well once a month. While I can’t say I’ve followed through with this goal every month, I am positively stoked to have developed friendships with some super talented ladies in the business here in Houston. Some shout-outs to the beautiful women of Mustard Seed Photography, Kat and Rachael; the sweet Christina Shippey; and past client and photographer herself, Patricia!

75) Make daily lists to keep my schedule more organized and productive. All I can say is thank you LORD for the Stickies App! Thanks to my virtual sticky notes, my days are consistently more productive. The only thing that’s stayed on the list for the last six months has been “Buy paint/curtains for bedroom.” Perhaps I should just add that to my 101 in 1001!

78) Get some new headshots. One of the best parts of having a husband who’s also your business partner is the convenience and low price (of ZERO) of getting new promo/headshots done! The new site wouldn’t be the same without his handiwork, as evidenced below. :)

80) Update website after every 3 weddings shot. Yay for updating my website after every ONE wedding shot. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Showit makes customizing your site instantly SO ridiculously easy. So thank you for allowing me to cross one more goal off my list. :)

91) Get to bed by 11pm on weekdays. Make that 10PM. That and my vitamin container make me a regular, I don’t know, 60-year-old?

101) Buy more shoes. Again, I like to think of no. 101 as ever-progressing. A girl can truly never have too many shoes. After going through my closet, I can promise you I’ve bought about 15 pairs of shoes since the institution of my 101 in 1001. But that’s another blog post entirely. :)