Lifestyle: Barrett

So much of life flashes before us before we can reach out and grab even one moment to savor. So often I'm guilty of flying through my day, eager to make it on time, cram it all in, get it all done. In the heat of these mad dashes, I sometimes forget to stop, take a deep breath, look around, and say a quick thanks to the big guy upstairs for life's many blessings. As crazy as the daily grind gets, there are certain elements of my world that force me to hit the pause button. Thankfully. These are the moments that feel safe and secure and reminiscent, in an ever-changing world. My mom's cooking. Taking a quiet bike ride with my husband, racing each other down the path like ten-year-olds. My parents' house on Christmas Eve. Pulling off Exit 310 in Indian River, with the anticipation of summer of the horizon. Sitting around the campfire on a crisp, cool night. And lifelong friends. Friends you've known longer than your youngest sibling. Friends who know where the bodies are buried. And which closets the skeletons are hidden in.


I could go on for days about the shenanigans Bear and I (along with a handful of of other beautiful ladies, you know who you are!) have pulled. We've seen each other through baby teeth and braces, bad haircuts and bad boyfriends, first kisses and first detentions. Zack Morris, Tiger Beat and JTT. We stood next to one another on our wedding days; one of us had a ripped dress, the other ripped the person in charge of a hideous cake topper a new one. But I'll take some secrets to the grave. It's only fair. Like who rang the doorbell the night we all got caught toilet papering at 4am? Or who ran through the sprinklers, scantily clad, on campus, the night we turned Lisa's mom's van into the Brave Mobile? And why don't any of the flowers planted in a specific pot outside the Hilton downtown ever grow? I'll never tell. It's what exceptional friendships are made of: secrets and trouble. And laughing, lots and lots of laughing.


We shot the following photos in a nature preserve, across the street from her beautiful new home. A perfect morning, with fabulous light, paired with a perfect park, nestled quietly off the beaten path, is home to not one, but two, wedding-white gazebos, a waterfall, smooth, slate rocks and a rusted bridge. This proved to be a better outdoor studio than I ever could have imagined! And wait until you scroll down; this girl is smokin! Beautiful from the inside out, I'm truly blessed to have such an incredible best friend in my corner for life.


A true friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world - Lois Wyse