This Photographer&#39;s Life

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What do you add to a registry? + New listing on Wood Valley

Blayne Beacham November 7, 2012

Hello! We had the most wonderful time at our engagement party last weekend! Thank you so much to our hosts and families and friends. The party got us so excited for the wedding! Thank you!

And finally I want to show you a few photos from Glennis Beacham's new listing at 3230 Wood Valley Road. I'm obsessed with the kitchen in this house! It's beautiful!

Have a great rest of the week everybody!

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Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

Blayne Beacham October 8, 2012

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is one of our favorite conferences. They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places. (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED! Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished. We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year. A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about! Every time it happens I do a double take. Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?" A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time. I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along? I read about them on your blog?" That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona. It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

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Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill. A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them. I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills. Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city. Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance. WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here. I've since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly. It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole. It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today. I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet. I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain. I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs. I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

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At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain. My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia. She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster. I loved her! When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy. I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating. She did a lot of test and got me all turned around. She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements. I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now. If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%! She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me. Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM! The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing. I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :) We decided to work with Flora in Asheville. She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me. It was really fun talking to her. She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane. Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

Isn't it pretty? The kitchen is so wonderful. it opens to the family room and breakfast area. The whites and greens go together so well. The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace. The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood. To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

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Beautiful home on Valley... and THOSE LAST FEW LBS!

Blayne Beacham August 24, 2012

Before I left for vacation I shot Glennis Beacham's beautiful new listing at 285 Valley Road. Rod Collins went back a few days later and got some amazing night shots. I wanted to share the photos with you.

The approach to this Frazire and Bodin house is breathtaking.

The home was built in 1934 but totally renovated/updated by Spitzmiller and Norris in 2000. I love the look of ivy growing on a house. It's such a classic Atlanta look.

I loved the foyer as soon as I saw it. A curved staircase gets me every time!

The formal living room and dining room are perfect, and they both have that "old Atlanta" look.

This is my favorite room in the house. It's a study with a fireplace off the master where you can curl up with a good book.

The chef's kitchen has an office and looks out over the family room.

This warm family room with beams and a fireplace opens to an exquisite screened porch overlooking the pool.

Here it is!

The wine cellar has the coolest ceiling. I could spend some time in there for sure.

This is my other favorite room, a cool office on the terrace level. I would never go to work again. I'd just be writing this blog from my own personal in-home office.I'm loving this night shot. It really shows off the porch.

And we end with the darling play house. How cute is that? I want it!

There is also a three car garage with a full apartment above it.

For more information on this listing please go to beacham.com.

In other news I started a new diet on Monday... gag. I don't really like dieting. About 2.5 years ago I went on a major diet/lifestyle change to shed leftover college weight. I am not the most athletic person... and by that I mean carrying in my groceries and putting them away sometimes exhausts me, but I started doing bootcamp. I got a "stress fracture" (questionable) within the first two weeks and decided to stop. Determined to lose the weight, I started swimming at the Piedmont Hospital Gym. With regular swimming and changing a few things I ate, the weight slowly came off of me. After about 8 months I lost 20 pounds. That's great, right? Well, it is except that my goal was to lose 25 pounds for regular life and 30 pounds for my wedding day. (Yes, I was thinking about my wedding day 2.5 years ago. I've probably thought about it every day since I was like 18. Pathetic? Probably, but it's true.) So, after I lost 20 pounds I accepted that it was about all I was going to lose and decided to stop dieting and enjoy life. That's when I met Jimmy. Throughout our relationship I've managed to basically maintain the same weight, which I'm pretty proud of to be honest. :)

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Now that the threat of walking down the aisle and having people stare at my back (not my favorite feature) is real, I've decided to kick it into high gear and lose those last few pesky pounds (I'll be honest, two weeks of sipping frozen drinks on vacation didn't really help). While I was shooting a house on Monday someone mentioned the Dukan Diet to me.

I remembered hearing about this when Kate Middleton got married.

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And if it works for her it could obviously work for me... right? (fingers crossed).

So I decided to give it a try. Click on this link to read Cosmo's summary of the diet. Basically you eat just protein for a few days and then eat protein and green vegetable for a little while until you reach your goal weight. Easy right?

I started on Tuesday and I've already lost 3.4 pounds! It's like magic! I'm pretty pleased with the results, except that it makes me feel a little light headed and makes my muscles ache a little bit. (Alarming? Possibly.)

Yesterday was my first day eating vegetables, so I celebrated with a nice stir fry.

You can also eat oat bran pancakes. I know they may sound gross, but believe me, after two days of eating straight meat they tast like the absolute best things in the world. Ask Jimmy. I think I sighed a little when I tasted them for the first time. It was like cornbread right off the griddle.

I was really impressed with the meal and think I could probably stay on the diet for a little while. So have a great weekend enjoying your beers and your french fries... I'll be dieting.

Who am I kidding... I'm trying a gluten free beer right after work ;).

Love you guys! See you next week!

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Photographer Angela West's Personal Home: Before and After

Blayne Beacham January 17, 2012

Famed photographer Angela West and her husband were the buyers. Angela and her husband have decided to sell the home, and they listed it with Glennis once again. I went to shoot the home last week! I was so excited. I have always loved this house....

Angela West got a BA from UGA and an MFA from Yale. I've seen a lot of her pieces at Jackson Fine Art.

Since my main two loves are photography and houses, I was so excited to see the changes she had made to the home. How did her skills as a photographer influence the choices she made in the house? Lucky for you guys I have the before pictures (I know, I spoil you), so you can see for yourselves how skilled Angela is not only at photography, but also at transforming a home! Before the home was done very traditionally. I loved it then, but I am really enjoying Angela's modern approach to the home.

Here is the kitchen before..

And here is is now. I never get tired of seeing how fresh paint can change a room. I love the bare walls and that simple green vase on top of the cabinets.

The before breakfast area...

I love the paint color and new pillows. Did you see the chairs? The different fabrics on the front and back are really cool. The table is perfect as well. It's much lighter.

Here is the dining room before. It's very Traditional with the Oriental rug and furniture.

Here it is now. Obvious changes: wallpaper, curtains, chandelier, larger table, rug removal, de-cluttering. I am usually a fan of rugs, but these hardwoods are so beautiful I am glad we can see them. I believe Angela and her husband had all the floors refinished.

Here is another view of the dining room where you can see Angela's beautiful photograph on the back wall!

The living room is where you can see the biggest difference. Here is the before picture. I remember being amazed with how large this room was the first time I shot the house.

Here is an additional before picture form the other direction.

Ready to see it now?

Doesn't that look great? I love the style of this room now, and the painted beams almost seem to disappear. The room is light and airy. They added custom fireplace screens and a built-in bar in the second enclave. Also, isn't that chandelier beautiful?

I wanted you to see Angela's photography above the fireplace. Those are the same pieces highlighted above on the Jackson Fine Art website.

Here is a better view of the bar they added.

And I include this overview so you can see how large the room really is, and how functional the room is with this furniture layout. Didn't she do a great job?

To see more of the amazing rooms in the house, including these...

... and to see the gardens...

... and the guest house...

Have a great week everybody!

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Keith Summerour, the perfect glass of wine, my NYE dress...

Blayne Beacham December 14, 2011

For those of you who have been reading this blog a while, you know I am slightly obsessed with Keith Summerour.

If you are looking for a laugh you can read this post I write about him 2 years ago titles "Keith Summerour: What makes it a Summerour?" I think it was maybe my 3rd blog post ever. Cute Blayne.

I somehow got the nerves to interview him a year later about this house. It was a wildly popular post. Read it if you like.

People like Keith's houses because it is modern without being too modern. It's clean and European and just a tad bit equestrian. I adore his work, and that is true for Glennis Beacham's new listing at 5549 Long Island Drive. It's lovely and everything a Summerour should be.

The home is beautiful from the approach. I love the arches (back right), which are so characteristically Summerour.

The heavy wooden doors are very wide (like barn doors), which provides a nice entrance to the home.

This foyer is open and welcoming.

Love this dining room with the wood windows and cathedral ceiling.

The best part about the living room is the curved/trey ceiling. Oh yea, that fireplace is pretty amazing as well. Oh heck... I love the floors and the arched hallways as well, so it's all great!

What a great kitchen! There is so much prep space with the center island, and then you can have people eating at the island closest to us in these pictures. The wood beams on the ceiling tie the kitchen to the rest of the house and echo the floors nicely.

This is the family room right off the kitchen. You can see how the wood beams are continued in here, and the oversized windows let you look out to the back (we will see that later).

This hallway leads to the master suite, and is so reflective of Summerour's style with the arched doorways, beamed ceilings and wood doors opening to the front porch.

I like the trey ceiling in the master, and all the windows allow for tons of natural light. That's also a really cool fan that I am just noticing for the first time!

Look at the archway leading to the master bath! It's interesting how it's open from the bedroom into the bath, but the shower is off to the side, so it's still private.

Let's head outside!

Not to shabby, eh?

Oh yea, this is the approach to the house. Amazing, right? It's like something out of a childhood fantasy. Once again Keith Summerour=Perfection.... duh.

To see the rest of this dream home, click here.

In other news.... (I'll make this quick... I know you only came for the houses! ha ha.)

My NYE dress came in, and I couldn't be happier!! If you don't ignore my horribly messy closet behind me I'll die. I cropped it as tight as I could. Now I get to wear this $70 dress that looks much more expensive for the Christmas party and New Years! Shhh. Don't tell anyone. Also, sorry for the confusion in the dress post. I am FOR SURE going to NYC to see Phish at MSG for NYE (wow!). I have THE BEST boyfriend ever. He got us 4 nights FREE at the Four Seasons New York and got us tickets to all four nights of Phish. He is amazing... I am a very lucky girl with a REALLY cool dress.

We finally took our Christmas card picture. This is usually painful because Ben bitches and mom and I always think we look bad. This year was a breeze! My uncle, Rod Collins, took the picture. He's very talented, especially when it comes to people. Let me know if you would like him to take a picture for you!

I discovered the perfect glass of wine. Jimmy and I went to Roswell on Saturday and ate at Salt Factory Pub, which Jimmy claims was the best place he's eaten in Georgia... so there. This glass of wine is called "Knights Valley" by Beringer. I went to Beringer when I was in Napa a few years ago and and was really impressed. I have tried a lot of their wine, but this was the best glass I've had by them.... maybe by anyone. Do yourself a favor and order a case. Since I don't know how to talk about wine, I am stealing this from The Wine Enthusiast, "an appealing wine showing likable softness and flashy flavors. The palate brings cassis, mocha, licorice, sweet tobacco, sage, Asian spice and smoky oak; finished long and rich. Notable for its superb structure." See? Told ya.

Don't say I never gave you anything! Happy Holidays Kid-Os