Rachel

meet Rachel.
She. is. adorable. I would not trade her for the world.

Randomly found and fun.

My good friend, Amanda Shires made not only the charts but this video that is adorable. She's a hard working, amazingly talented (not to mention beautiful), fiddle-playin', song writin', toe stompin', snake charmin', merch makin', charmer that will leave you begging for more of those sweet melodies. Please check her and her excellent folk writin', heart soothing voice and partner in crime, Rod Picott out. The two were rated #7 in Euro Americana charts, and for good reason. Their voices joined with the acoustic sounds of the guitar, fiddle and ukulele go together like peas and carrots. (alright, I'm sorry I said that last one.) But seriously, just phenomenal. I can assure you, these two won't stop there. They've got too much going for them.

Mt Inadale 7" Release is finally here!

A year in the making! Mt Inadale Records will release it's first split 7" vinyl featuring Thrift Store Cowboys and One wolf!
Derek Pierce, a lifetime music enthusiast, is the master mind behind this release and Mt Inadale Records itself! Pierce worked for Texas Tech's college radio station, KTXT as not only a DJ with his very own specialty show, but the Promotion Director where he booked local shows and single handed turned the music scene in Lubbock, Texas right around and made it something to talk about. Don't get me wrong, the history was there...but I watched this young gentleman contact and develop relationships with several different artist from across the board, putting Lubbock's name on the map for future bands touring through Texas. Here's another testimony from Al James of Dolorean to further prove my point. Keyword, wunderkid under the Lubbock/Dan's backroom paragraph. Very cool.

All that to say, if you are in Austin, Denton or Lubbock, Texas over the next three days...and you enjoy toe tappin', heart-pounding, hell-of-a-good-time music, come on out and make history with us by celebrating Mt Inadale's very first record release!!!

6/4/09-Austin, TX Thrift Store Cowboys with Cory Branan, Lambert's 10pm
6/5/09-Denton, TX Thrift Store Cowboys with Rodney Parker, The Boiler Room, 9pm
6/6/09-Lubbock, TX Thrift Store Cowboys, Jake's Backroom, 9pm

PS. I designed and screen printed the album art!!
PPS. Feel free to contact me for more information on how to purchase one or several records. They're very affordable considering they're collector's items!

Cheers to Love.

As we all know, I'm a sucker for love. Hence my career. Which is why I adore this video by Rocky Votolato featuring his lovely wife who I have girl-crush on. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.

Second on a related note,
I'm twiddling my thumbs, anxiously awaiting this Saturday. Two of my beautiful and good friend's are uniting in holy matrimony. I know this is something that happens, on a regular basis...but I'm especially excited because I may have had a hand in introducing them. In fact, I bare witness to the first time Blake sent over his first of many quarky love notes to Leilani, which read from a napkin, "You and me are mint to be." (Fully equipt with a mint on top, adorable.)
Hope you enjoy the music and congrats to Leilani and Blake!

shocking.

how knitted-ly neat. also, knit knit has a cable knit postcard. I love the idea of a mail man delivering alternative materials. Which reminds me of a time when a good friend sent me a sweet little clear pitcher with a lovely hand painted drawing and address upon it, no packaging. It arrived just the way it sits in my fridge. Also, mail art is fun. If you're interested in a swap let me know.
ps. i hope you enjoyed my title pun.

Cheers.

To my good good friend Cyndi!

On her 25th birthday. March 3, 2009 Happy Birthday!


image from graphic exchange by Jordan Michael Gray. please check him out as well, he's fantastic!

Yessss!

Annie Ray is a fun photographer who sets up a photo booth for any kind of event. Luckily for us, we were at the right place and right time...and each provided with a mustache.
Check her out!

ps. I love love love these girls who are both in my life thanks to (D's and) my good friend Richard!

A little laugh to share.

Derek and I had a little in house date last night. It included assembling a chair, looking at old images from the Library of Congress and 6 games of Wahoo! (The homemade board game his pappy and great uncle made and gave to us.) A very pleasant evening indeed. I wanted to share some of the photos and funny captions we came across...enjoy!

                  "Before Marriage."

                  "After Marriage"

"An Unexpected Meeting of the Board"

"Jessie, has the furnace man been here yet? Yes Ma'am I think about five minutes ago."

PS. Derek was amazed that people had senses of humor back then. HA!

Images from the Library of Congress.

WAHOOOOOO!

Last night, Paige and Robert came over for dinner and (the game) wahoo! I was very satisfied with the way dinner turned out, especially the appetizer, so I'm including the recipes. We started off with hummus and olive oil crackers all homemade. For the main course, I made a vegetable tortellini soup with salad. Very light, but filling. If you get a chance, try the olive oil crackers, they're really easy and so delicious, it's also really nice to know that you can make these at home vs. spending $5 on the alternative at the store for half the quantity.

In case anyone was wondering, Derek won the game of Wahoo! He had a slow start, but finished strong. Throughout the game he plays the innocent role but secretly thinks of himself as a sniper. Talk about your game face. It was fun!

I'm also including a few of Paige and Robert's engagement portraits taken last week, because that's what I do!

Friends are Beautiful/Beautiful Friends

Yesterday, I took pictures of a few of my favorite friends, Becky and Jib.
Highlight=Becky trying to keep a straight face but failing every time. Her giggles were contagious and I promise I can't keep from smiling every time I look through their pictures.

And a couple that I love...(pun intended)

All images © 2008 Julie Cope Photography

Amanda Shires & Rod Picott's Album Design

Here is the latest album design I completed for two incredibly talented musicians, Amanda Shires (aka "Pearl Reams") and Rod Picott. Their album is titled, "Sew your heart with wires" and I really enjoyed working on this, thanks to Rod and Amanda's patience and non-stop jokes. 

I can't say enough good things about these two. Their music is literally delivered to your ears from the soft and gentle breeze of a passerby that turned out to be an angel . Both have solo albums that are equally delightful on the ears. These two are a pair of fun loving, honky tonk, musical geniuses. Additionally, if you're from the great flatland that is West Texas, you might know Amanda as the fiddle player from the Thrift Store Cowboys, another wildly talented group worth checking into. 

I love you a whole lot Rod and Amanda!

Images © 2008 Julie Cope Photography