snow hearts

I get love. I understand love. I love love. But I don't get valentine's day. All the stores make everything pink and red. The restaurants add extra tables to max out their seating. Then there's the rush to buy something or make something special. I'm not saying that I don't participate in all these silly shenanigans. oh I do. I'll be the first wearing pink heart stockings and a red dress but why only on this day. Why can't love just be celebrated everyday? I know this is the cliche response to the cupid overkill… but still, we should celebrate love everyday. After all, it is what makes the world go round. 

Sending out extra love today!

"be good to yourself, be excellent to others and 

do everything with love."

{john wolf}

take me there :: mardi gras

Last year I had the opportunity to experience Mardi Gras for the first time. Fat Tuesday New Orleans style. It was beyond awesome. Wishing I was there again but instead here's to looking back at last year. Do you guys celebrate Fat Tuesday?  

"THROW ME SOMETHING MISTER!"

“mardi gras, baby. mardi gras. 

time when all manner of weird shit cuts loose and parties down.” 

{sherrilyn kenyon}

another new year, another chance

After two days indoors this weekend, I decided by Sunday it was time to get out of the house and that I did. Yesterday I trekked downtown to Chinatown for the Lunar New Year. Did I wear my snow boots? Yep. Did I still almost bust my butt? Yep. Black Ice sucks. But it was worth it. I haven't felt firecrackers in my chest like that in a long while. I love that feeling. That quick burst and then the sparkle to follow, I just can't help it. Love it. We got there later than most people though so we didn't really get the best of views to see the sparklers and the dancing dragons but it was still fun. Then it was time to warm up so we stopped by BabyCakes for coffee and a cupcake. So delish. Being vegan vegetarian in NYC is one of the easiest things! Especially after growing up in the South, where you get a side of meat with your main course of meat. You really appreciate that you can walk to the corner store and get a vegan deli sandwich. So back to the Chinese New Year… the Year of the Snake is believed to bring surprising changes to our lives. You should pay attention to the details and keep yourself focused to reach your goals this year. Plan accordingly and be ready for the unexpected! Also if you've missed your traditional New Year's resolutions, here is your second chance. Get to it. 

Happy {Chinese} New Year!

"new york is the biggest collection of villages in the world." 

{alistair cooke}

love times two

As you know I adore this couple and loved shooting my first wedding in 2012. In addition to their Utah wedding in November, they had a December reception in South Carolina. Most of the bride's family {my family} and old family friends live there. It was such a great time to see so many faces that I don't get to see that often. Since we did most of the traditional photos in Utah - I focused on details of them at this one. Simple and sweet, that's how they like it. But there was cake cutting and sparklers.

It was a celebration after all!

"Love is the moving force in the world. 

Without it there would be no life and no music."

{andrea bocelli}

just another day in love

In November I flew out to Utah and shot my first wedding. I was nervous, excited and so happy because it was for a family member. My younger cousin who is more like a niece or the baby sister I never had… I was even there to help drive her out to college in Utah a few years ago. Feels like yesterday and now she is a Mrs. 

Photographer perspective though, taking on a wedding day was a lot and I'm not sure if this is something I would want to take on full time but it was fun for the experience and the memories. I'm slowing learning more about editing and remembering that the best editing should be done in your camera meaning when you take the picture. Advice :: Don't take the picture knowing you can crop and adjust contrast, etc. Take the photo as it should be seen, as a final product. I used to do that more on film but now with digital and editing I sometimes forget and think, oh I'll just figure out a way to fix that. Not always the best idea. I'm still learning and reminding myself everyday of these tips. 

Seeing these two together is magical. They represent the simplicity of love; they are so sweet and kind to each other and you can feel them together in a room. It makes you want to know that love. Love forever. 

"When you love someone, 

all your saved-up wishes start coming out."

{elizabeth bowen}

another amazing year

What has this year been? It has been amazing. insightful. selfish and selfless. emotional. fun. exciting. balancing. loving. educational. And above all, it has been a roller coaster. I have gained perspective and I am thrilled to see where this next year takes me. 

Last year I did something new every month in the place of making resolutions. This year I'm doing something similar and different. There is so much to share in the weeks coming up and my main resolution is to post more consistently but for now I'll just say I hope everyone had an awesome New Years Eve and wishing you all another incredible year!

{I had so much fun trying to take this photo - thanks to my fam for the help!}

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from me to you

the birthday boy

I'm still doing flashbacks of September. It was busy and playing catch up is fun... my favorite toddler turned THREE! Here are a few pictures from the day. While the kids play, the adults play too... notice the extra large punch bowl of sangria. Yum. 

1st Birthday & 2nd Birthday

"love is the condition in which the happiness 

of another person is essential to your own."

{robert a. heinlein}

sweet summer send-off

 I cannot believe how quickly this summer came and now it is over. Labor Day is the cue for New Yorkers to start waking up earlier. For the days to get cooler and for the fashion to get hotter. I think fall fashion in the city is always the most exciting, as I've said too many times before. 

But first, to share the details of this past weekend. A dear friend got married on Sunday {he was my first roomie in nyc...more than 5 yrs ago now} and I was so happy to be a part of their special day. The ceremony was perfectly short and so sweet. More food than I've ever had at a wedding and drinks with no end. They were ever-flowing, even before the ceremony began. Definitely my kind of wedding, along with the superhero groomsmen. Then they added...  photo booth fun for the memories and flip flops to spare by the dance floor. Awesome wedding. They really did it up and it was a blast. 

So happy for these two. 

    

:: my advice ::

love always.

be rockstars forever. 

laugh everyday.

"in dreams and in love there are no impossibilities."

{janos arany}

the details are in the wine

It was a girls day of wine drinking in Long Island. A fun summer day, spent the perfect way. 

"...wine, food and the arts. 

Incorporating those three enhances the quality of life."

{robert mondavi}

too much rock for one hand

2011, hello, I loved you, bye bye :: 2012, why hello there :: the past year was filled with highlights but I am ready for a New Year and now 2012 is here! I’m not usually one for the typical resolutions like be more fit, read more books, drink less wine… so this year I’ve decided to do something new each month that I typically wouldn’t do or maybe even something I thought I’d never do. Sky Diving? Speed Dating? Another Tattoo? Kind of along the lines of what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail or no fear or just plain, trying to achieve greatness. Cheesy much? Maybe. But that’s me and this year feels like it’s time for all those things. Anything you can suggest that you thought you’d never do?

Except first, some Christmas moments to look back on – it was a good one this year.

Now cheers to a New Year!!

Matt Damon’s character in We Bought a Zoo:

 

“All it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage and great things will happen.

I promise.”

{benjamin mee}