I Gotta Say You Look Real Pretty All The Way From New York City

Brooklyn Bridge re-edit from this trip

My heart's been aching for New York City quite a lot lately. 
Maybe because I just read this book.
Maybe because I haven't been in over a year.
Maybe because this song keeps coming on my iPod.
Maybe because of Meagan's stunning photos from her most recent trip there.
Maybe all of the above.
But I need to go back soon.
I'm thinking in the fall I'll make a trip there.
My favorite season in one of my favorite cities?
Yes please.
Besides, I still have to take care of this to-do list.

A Summertime Playlist

Shot with 35mm film/ Minolta x-700

 Because music is sometimes what makes moments more tangible
////

1. The Only Place - Best Coast
2. VCR - The xx 
3. Blood - The Middle East
4. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
5. Temptation - New Order
6. Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements
7. Sea of Love - Cat Power
8. The Times They Are A-Changing - Bob Dylan
9.Howl - The Gaslight Anthem
10.They Can't Take That Away From Me - Billie Holiday
11. Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darrin
12. That's What's Up - Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros
13. Jammin - Bob Marley
14. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
15. Crazy - Hunter Hayes
16. Close Your Eyes And Count To Ten - Grouplove
17. Midnight City - M83
18. Pilot Me- Josh Garrels



Olivia

Meet Olivia.
This cutie hired me to take some fun portraits of her a few weeks ago, and we had such a lovely time wandering around the city and finding photogenic back allies and colored walls.
She's pretty much one of the cutest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. On top of her super adorable vintage style, she brought along her ukulele to the shoot.
Right away I knew we were destined to be friends.
And I mean hello, she's wearing overalls...
Obviously we're kindred spirits.

......................

Check out more here.
Interested in getting some portraits of your own done?
Email me for more info: by.leney@gmail.com

Home Away From Home

A photo from Liverpool, England

By the beginning of next month I will have travelled to Georgia once, Hampton once, Tappahannock once, Charlottesville once and North Carolina not once but four times. 
All in the span of a few weeks.
Needless to say I've been getting pretty good at living out of a suitcase.

It's funny the little ways you make places here and there temporary home away from homes.
Whether it's by making yourself a cup of tea before bed, a familiar routine.
Or putting your journal on the bed side table, a familiar sight.
Or listening to a certain song as you get ready for the day, a familiar sound.
Or wearing that one sweatshirt that's your favorite, a familiar feel.
Or talking to a friend who somehow seems to embody all of these qualities into one big feeling of home.

I do love traveling.
But I also love my home.
Dorothy was right when she said there's no place like it.

I Had A Dream

Follow me on Instagram at @agirlnamedleney

Long walks in the dark 
Through woods grown behind the park, 
I asked God who I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me, 
God answered in silent reverie. 
I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream.

//Dream by Priscilla Ahn

I've been challenged to dream bigger lately. 
(Matthew 19:26 after all)
I'm not sure what that looks like quite yet. But that's okay. I'm excited to find out.

If you could do anything, no limitations, what would it be? 
What are your dreams?

A Happy List

Follow me on Instagram at @agirlnamedleney

A HAPPY LIST//

overalls. painting overalls. red lipstick. batman t-shirts. nighttime walks. nighttime walks barefoot. conversations you have while sitting in the middle of the street. empty pages being filled with blue ink. tomatoes. italian seasoning. fire escapes. impending vacations. scarves. reading in the grass. mail. new sheets. those just-at-the-right-time-hugs. outdoors smelling like fall even though it's july. bunny whiskers. scruff. guys with scruff. freckles. the beach. coming across a favorite quote in a book you're reading. video messages from friends far away. writing to friends far away. day dreaming. an organized desktop. paperclips. fridays. callused fingers. ticklish knees. dinner at midnight.   


Miriam & Steven Wedding

Miriam and Steven wanted a very family and friends focused wedding and they wanted that to also reflect through their photos. They weren't big on details or decorations and so as a result their wedding was one that was most definitetly filled with lots of love and happiness centered around all their wonderful loved ones!
I met so many lovely people and I absolutely loved getting to be a part of their big day.

Here's a few of my favorite shots from their wedding, enjoy!

......................

Check out more here (make sure you tag yourselves!)
Interested in getting some portraits of your own done?
Email me for more info: by.leney@gmail.com
Also have to give a little shout out to my second shooter Kourtney! She's amazing. Don't know what I'd do without her. Thanks for being my right hand woman Kourt, you're the bees knees.
Make sure you go like her page here!

A Video


So on my summer to do list I had an item which simply stated: 

"Do something incredibly brave that I've never done before"

I wasn't really sure what that was going to be, but I knew I wanted to challenge myself this summer and step outside of my comfort zone a little bit more. 
Well, yesterday I visited my oh so lovely friend Janelle, who you've seen here on the blog one or two times, and we ended up making a little video.
Not just any video though, a video in which I play ukulele. 
And sing. 
Sing. Me. Singing. So everyone can hear me. Out loud.
Okay granted I've sung in front of people before, a couple times actually, on a little mini stage even, in the cutest little country church you could ever lay your eyes on.
But that was as a back up vocalist. You couldn't really hear me. And I definitely wasn't the center of attention.

I'll give you a little bit of a background story...
Janelle came to visit me a few weeks ago and I was walking around my room cleaning and absentmindedly singing to myself, when all of a sudden she stops me and goes:
"Leney, can you sing??" 
I was startled, not really aware she'd been listening, and so I said:
 "Umm.. I mean no not really.."
Long story short she sat me down, made me play her a song, and she proceeded to freak out and insist that I had (what she calls) "A voice".
So that's basically how this all came about.
I'm still pretty shy about it and I'm a little unsure about all of this as a whole to be honest. 
I do really enjoy singing and playing though and have ever since I taught myself guitar in high school actually (Taylor Swift songs were my particular area of expertise). 
I just haven't ever had much confidence in my musical abilities and I've pretty much just kept it to myself because I never really thought I was very good.  
So maybe it'll just be another one of those "somethings" that I do just for me.

But anyway, I'm being brave in sharing this video with you guys today so I hope you enjoy it!

You should definitely check out Janelle's music though. 
Like, right now. Go listen to it. And then buy it.
Because it's only $5 and she's amazing.
Talk about a voice.
(Honey and Come to the Creek are my personal favorites.)  


 P.s. The audio on the video is a bit delayed for some reason. Oops.

Travel Bug

I'm kinda sorta never not thinking about traveling.
But I've been thinking about it a little bit extra as of late.

One thing I absolutely love about getting older is that the friendships you make don't just stick close to home. They branch out. They grow. 
Whether it's because you've gone and visited new places and made new friends along the way or because your close to home friends move away themselves. The latter is always bittersweet, but I mostly love it. Because going to visit those friends just gives me an excuse to visit another new place. 

But anyway. I have the travel bug.
I'm ready to go somewhere new and see some new things.
And maybe make some new friends while I'm at it.
Because, more often than not, those kind of friends end up being the best kind.