LOOK FOR US TONIGHT ON ABC’S NASHVILLE!

When Stephen and I felt the nudge from God to drop our nets and move to Nashville, we literally took a leap of faith and followed His calling.  We were uncertain of what the next chapter held for us, whether we would keep doing photography in a new city, or start exploring other dreams.

Currently… while, yes, we are still doing photography, two other dreams are unfolding that have nothing to do with photography.  One, is something new I’m launching on my own, and you have to wait until November 25 to find out what it is, and those on my mailing list (you can sign up at the end o this post!) will be the FIRST to hear the big news straight in your inbox!

The other… I can FINALLY reveal.  It’s been killing me keeping this secret the past few weeks but we required to keep everything off social media.  But I can finally reveal…. Stephen and I will be on ABC’s Nashville TONIGHT!!!!

But first… let me prep you by saying, it will probably be a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but nonetheless… it all kind of began like this.

So in the midst of unpacking, Stephen saw an opportunity online for how we could go and be extras on the show.  To take a break from unpacking, we decided to go do it for a day just for the heck of it. It’s one of our favorite TV shows to watch together, so if anything we thought it would be fun to go see behind the scenes of the show.

We arrive and next thing we know, one of the casting directors points to Stephen and says “Let’s use him! Come with us!”  Stephen, half confused, then found out he was chosen to be a bartender in a scene at the Bluebird Cafe.  And I got to be a bar patron sitting right in front of him as one of the main characters walks up. That was my cue to scoot off the stool and his cue to take her order.  We also got to cheer on someone special who plays at the Bluebird Cafe in tonight’s episode, but you’ll have to watch to see how that storyline unfolds.

Below, here’s Stephen and I backstage on Day 1.  I got a laugh out of when the wardrobe stylist said the first thing that had to go was Stephen’s faux hawk, so they made him rewet it and do the comb over country boy look.  The next thing they did was throw this flannel shirt on him, and they made me get rid of my sparkly gold heels and trade them in for some boots.  At least they let me keep my cheetah blouse… at… least.

After that experience, we had so much fun and met so many cool people, that we decided to go in for another day they were looking for extras.  We were scheduled for a 3-day shoot to play backstage VIP at a concert. Except the first day, I couldn’t participate because, as I was getting a pedicure one day, I look down at my phone and see a number from Beverly Hills calling.  I answer it to be asked to come in separately to audition for the director of the show to play a specific featured extra part…. ummmm… wait… back up… excuse me…. the director picked MY headshot to come in and audition?  I nearly fainted.

This was the day I auditioned, nervous as heck, but I can conquer anything with red lipstick:

And while I found out I didn’t get the part, just the thrill of being asked to audition in front of THE director of a hit TV show… yeah, bucket list item checked off!

The next two days, I joined Stephen as backstage VIP, and you might be able to see us standing right off the stage in next week’s episode!  While watching the CMA Awards last week, we saw this shot of Stephen in between the two stars of the show in their promo video of what’s coming up on Nashville!  We of course nearly fainted but jumped up and down when we saw this.  Such an exciting moment!  This was one of many takes of us that was shot of us backstage, so keep your eyes peeled for more, and hopefully in a little more focus!  I was told by the director that for one of the shots, where I pass by the character Rayna, they were starting the camera in focus on me and another guy I was walking with in the hallway… he then told me to act excited to be walking into this concert and to take a “selfie” as I walked up… I laughed and said ,”Well you’ve asked the right person!” #guilty #selfiequeen

Leave me a comment here on the blog and let me know if you see us tonight or next week!

Lastly, while Momma was in town, we took her to a benefit concert the cast was playing for a crew member fighting cancer, and that night we got to get a pic with the guy who plays Deacon on the show, Charles Esten (who goes by Chip!)  We weren’t allowed to grab pics with the stars on set, so we were excited to finally get to grab a photo with Chip, who was by far our favorite and kindest cast member we met.  Such a gracious and caring guy, even to the “extras”. And what’s crazy is, while he plays a dark and tortured soul on the show, in person, he’s actually super funny and lighthearted!

The coolest thing that resulted from all of this… Stephen and I were talking about our childhood dreams… and how I was super involved in the drama club and minored in Theater in college… and how he was once with an agent and pursued acting in California…. so we decided, you know what, what if we pursued getting an agent here in Nashville and see what happens?  If anything, it could be a fun side thing…. and a few weeks ago we were excited to get signed by one of Nashville’s best agents, Josh Robbins of BNA Talent Group, who was actually looking for a married couple to add to his roster…. and today in fact, we are on set filming our first acting gig in a national broadcast commercial!  Can’t reveal much details now, but more soon after it airs!

This whole acting thing is definitely the last thing I ever expected to get into again… but I guess it’s all part of this new chapter in a new city.  I continue to wait expectantly at each new door God continues to open and surprise me with…. and I can’t wait to reveal my NEXT big news to you on November 25 to all those exclusively on my mailing list!  Sign up below to be the first to find out what it is!!!