priorities.

A few months back I splurged on a small $18 bottle of my favorite conditioner at the grocery store. I wanted to treat myself. Since that day I've been thinking a lot about priorities. I spend the majority of my money on hair products, my dog, camera/computer gear, organic food, rent (you pay a price to live alone) and socializing (food/drinks.) Almost all of my clothes are thrifted or hand-me-downs. My car is the same car my mom bought me when I got my learners permit at age 15. All of my furniture is from Craigslist, thrift stores, or found free on the side of the road. The irony in all of it is that I actually have really expensive taste. I just have priorities.

A friend of mine has to do the New York times crossword puzzle every day. He HAS to. Another friend of mine eats very cheap food so that he can afford going to the coffee shop once or twice a day for quality coffee, two shots of espresso, and a dose of sanity away from his heavy workload. My girlfriend in Oklahoma told me this past weekend that she wants to get her life belongings down to a minimum so that if there were a house fire, she'd have no regrets, no tangible possessions to cry over. That's admirable. She's also the only person I know (besides myself) who still drives the same car from sophomore year of high school. However, I bet she'd drop a pretty penny at Whole Foods, and on books, music, or entertainment.

I realized this morning though that more often than I'd like to admit I am not on that list of priorities. Yes, me, myself...Hailey. One of my biggest non monetary priorities is to make others happy, to be a good friend, and to satisfy my own social needs by having connections with people, big or small. I do this so much though that I often don't put myself first. Lately more than ever I do things on the time schedule of other people, whether it be how I fit into their life at that moment, or that month. So, this is me making a written reminder to myself to put my name on the top of the list and to say no a little more often.

What are your priorities?

self portrait.

April 2012 - Missoula, MT.

true.

I spent the whole morning today at the airport trying to get on a plane only to find myself back home 3 hours later frustrated and in tears that I will be missing my dinner plans this evening in OKC. In the midst of my anger at negligent airport employees all I found myself thinking about were my friends in Durango and how wonderfully blessed I am to have each and every one of them.

You see, I've been wanting to blog lately about everything going on, but I'm so behind that I wasn't sure where to begin. I've been wanting to finally show you images from my Montana trip in April, or the engagement photos I took in June. Then there's the pictures I still have from a restaurant shoot in Florida, the trip to NYC, the party I photographed for a friend who was on T.V., or pictures from the best wedding I've ever shot, but never shared. I could show you instagrams and pictures of radishes freshly picked on a farm I've spent the last two months volunteering on. I could share my thoughts on summer or show you pictures from an art show I shot this spring for a local non profit. But instead of playing catch up all I want to do is talk about my friends. I just want to bubble over about their genuineness, their ability to be there for me when I'm stuck at the airport on a Thursday morning, or the way they let me be myself. All. Of. The. Time.

True (and I mean true) friendship is actually difficult to find. So thanks to all of you for being true. Thanks for distracting me from my blog and photography (probably a little too much.) Thanks for watching my pooch when I'm out of town, begging me to live with you (even after I decline), bringing me cinnamon lattes in the park, building me a desk, cheering me on, covering my shifts at work, telling me you love me, buying me drinks, picking weeds with me in silence, listening to my problems, buying me pistachio gelato, building forts, sharing your double river tube, making me laugh so hard I cry (coffee creamer, Shane?) (old man short shorts, Clint?) (farting noises, Tay?)…and for picking me up and taking me to the airport three times in one day. You are all rockstars. I don't know how I'd survive without you.

Some of you are not pictured. How did you escape my camera? Whatever, you know who you are. :)

(Pictures of me by Lindsey Martinez)

Carol + Alan ::: Missoula, MT

My favorite part of photographing Carol and Alan's wedding wasn't the wedding itself, or the reception, but rather the night before and the day after. The togetherness in their home was priceless. Family from Utah, California, and New York had all gathered in the same home, sleeping on pull out beds and air mattresses in the basement, drinking a lot of red wine, and making an old family recipe for spaghetti and clam sauce. As I said before, Carol is like a mom to me, so it was only natural that I also stay in her basement, drink wine, and eat a plateful of spaghetti, all while taking pictures as the official wedding photographer. It was the first wedding I'd ever shot by myself, and the first to ever be not only the photographer, but also the guest. But I'm pretty sure to all of these people I wasn't even a guest, I was family.

I'd like to say thank you to Carol and Alan for asking me to be a part of this huge day. I love you both, so, so much with all of my heart. Congratulations on finding each other. And congratulations on being married.

Carol and Alan were married (and celebrated) at the Missoula Children's Theatre in Missoula, MT.