Home Sweet Winter Garden

Literally nothing is more frustrating than working 60 hours a week and not being able to afford a plane ticket. The car breaks down, utilities are high that month, your house needs to be tented for termites, who knows what could come up! But there is also a great way to pass the time: photo shoots. Sounds dumb, I get it, but there is nothing more fun than putting on your favorite outfit and running around your neighborhood taking pictures and pretending to be a model.

We are from a tiny little town in Florida. Winter Garden has exploded in the past few years. Markets, shops, breweries and restaurants are popping up all around us, and this 100 year old town has a thousand cool walls to make the perfect backdrop for that Free People top that has been sitting in your closet, dying to be worn.

I know trespassing is frowned upon and I do not suggest it, but sometimes the best pictures hide in the most secluded places. We got permission to go behind the fence of a closed antique shop and take pictures of their graffiti wall. This store will soon become The Whole Enchilada-- which we can't wait for! Old tables and clocks with dirty windows make our Élan dress stand out and spotlight our cute little town for something more than a walk down a trail or Pokemon Go.

Meandering through our Plant Street market is sensory overload, take your pick of pics but who says you can't upload them all? We are all so caught up on this idea of "likes" and "followers" that we forget about memories. Take as many pictures as you can of those chicken and waffles from Five Thymes Five and the acai bowl from Press'd. Get a coffee from Axum and it's never too early for a beer. Buy a plant or some sushi and if you're too impatient to wait for it all to be ready just layer the pictures like we did.

I have had this JacVanak shirt in my closet for months. I wear it all the time but have been itching to take pictures in it. Well, I woke up on a Wednesday with free time until 3pm so we grabbed the camera and went.

Our town isn't perfect, it is over 100-years-old but that gives it more charm than we know what to do with. There is an old pay phone at the laundromat. Bella has driven by it a thousand times always saying "let's go take pictures there" so, we grabbed the camera, our favorite Made Well tops and walked over in our old Old Navy sneakers.

Get creative. They see a parking lot, we see an all black outfit and a No Parking sign. They see a construction zone, we see a chance to have some fun. They see an empty lot, we see mist and a long dress at the morning's light. They see a white wall, we see a tie-dye shirt, Raybans, rompers and best friends. Just because it looks plain and ordinary doesn't mean you can't make it extraordinary.

The world will always be there but you might not live right here forever.

My favorite thing about this town is that I can walk the same walk from my house to my work 100 yards away and see something new every time. You don't have to hop on a plane to get a cool picture. If you have your best friends, a great backdrop, and a camera you're already famous.