Another Wedding!

It's been almost two months since my youngest brother married his high school sweetheart... and I am just now getting around to blogging about it. lol

Every summer for the last three years there as been a wedding in my family.  August 2010 - Jacob and I, October 2011 - my brother Dustin and his wife Brittany, this year we celebrated my brother Scott and his now-wife Jennifer!  The ceremony and reception were held at my parents house (which stressed my mother out to no end!) and it was gorgeous.  My mom, dad and helpers put a lot of work into the hard and the house to transform it for Scott & Jennifer's special day.

(I don't have any photos of the back yard, where the real magic happened, but I took advantage of the landscaping for our family photos earlier in the summer!)

It was a great (busy) day.  I think it was my first day (aside from work) that I was away from Emily for the majority of it.  Between hair/make up, dressing, decorating and photos I didn't have much time.  Jacob did an amazing job keeping her happy and entertained... even took her out to breakfast. =)  We had to leave the reception earlier than I would have liked to get back to our hotel as it was Em's bedtime and she was not sleeping very soundly at my parents place, but we had a great time when we were there... I sure do miss the days of staying out late and dancing!

Front yard, reception area

My nephew, Satori. =)

Emily and Grandma!

My brother Scott, checking out the awesome wedding cake!

The bride and me! Check out my earrings! lol

I love this photo of my little bro singing to his new wife during their first dance. =)

Discovering new things every day!

Two Years Already??

This post is almost 2 weeks late... but, better late than never, right? =)

Way back on August 14th Jacob and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary.  I wanted to do SOMETHING special to celebrate, but, with both a baby and very busy weekends, it was a little difficult to plan anything too elaborate... but, thanks to Costco, and some discounted tickets, we had a memorable day*. =)

The Sunday before our anniversary we left Emily with her Nana, and Jacob and I drove out to Cascade Locks to board the Columbia Gorge Steamwheeler for a brunch cruise!  Buffet style breakfast with all you could drink champagne!  I took advantage of the lack of baby needing a boob and indulged in a couple of mimosas. ;)

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water, and I was very impressed with the food. lol  All in all, great way to celebrate. =)

*Our car broke on the way there... which made it memorable, too... but I'm choosing to focus on the positives. =)

Today's the Day

This is it.  Today's the day that I'm pushing myself out of my comfort zone and making my most recent project public!

For several years I've been in love with my camera.  I've taken a variety of senior photos and engagement shots for friends and family.  On Thanksgiving, in fact, I took my little brother's engagement photos... and it was then, after I received so many compliments and positive feedback about them that I decided I need to give photography a try from a professional level.  So, for the past week I've spent many hours thinking about it, stressing about it, finally deciding to do it... designing the website and Facebook page for my new photography and design endeavor:  Pure and Simple:  Photography and Design.  I've designed and ordered business cards, purchased my own domain name, worked out a "business" phone number and even invested a nice, new SLR camera... now I just need to see if I can get any business!  =)

I'm a little scared, to be perfectly honest.  I thought about doing this several years ago, and even booked one appointment, but it just didn't go anywhere from there and I kind of gave up.  I have some confidence issues with my work... they always say that you are your own worst critic: it is SOO true!  Thankfully I have an awesome husband and friends/family who have been really encouraging and helpful.  So, it's with their support, that I've put my anxiety on hold and have decided to finally go for it!

I'm excited.  I LOVE photography and really enjoy the opportunity to photograph new people and places.  And, to think that I can actually turn my passion into a way to earn a few extra bucks for my growing family... even better!

In order to help move things along a bit, I have decided to start things off with a couple of specials.  You'll see these along the top of the web page:  25% off all photo sessions scheduled to take place by the end of February, and $15 in cash (or $20 photo/project credit) for every friends that any of you refer who purchases a photo session or design project.  I'm not sure how long the referral reward will go on... I guess we'll just have to see how many people take advantage of it and help me out! =)

Please, take a look around this website, contact me if you have any questions or want to book a session/project, "like" the Facebook page, and pass the links around to your friends.  My family and I would really appreciate it!

(Here's a few of my favorite photos from my photo sesh with my baby brother and his fiance, Jenn, last weekend... P.S.  Jenn has started her own wedding planning blog... I'm sure she would love some more followers/advice/ideas!)

Not the best quality on this one... but i think it's adorable. lol

Would You Care for Some Tea?

Last Wednesday my cousin (Marisa), brother's girlfriend (Jennifer), and I hosted a tea-party bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law.  This is the first shower that I've had any sort of hand in planning, but I think it turned out pretty darn well!

We decided to hold the event at the Owen Rose Garden in Eugene.  We didn't want to pay to reserve the gazebo, so we just crossed our fingers that no one else would want it on a Wednesday evening--we figured we be safe... and we were!

Both Marisa and Jennifer are event planners in the making, so they had a lot of great ideas for the food, decorations, etc.

LOTS of food!  Finger sandwiches, fruit skewers, fresh veggies, iced tea and cupcakes... LOTS of cupcakes! lol

We borrowed a set of my grandmother's dishes to match the wedding colors and "tea party" theme...

Here comes the bride!

After eating, we started the games with a "How well do they know each other?" type of game.... you've probably seen these before.  The groom is asked to answer a bunch of questions about the bride and their relationship before hand and then the same questions are asked of the bride at the shower... seeing how close (or how VERY far away) their answers are can be pretty entertaining. =)

Then we had a little fun and used our creative sides with a wedding dress design competition... out of toilet paper of course! =)

The group was separated into three teams of three with Brittany (the bride) as the judge.  Each group chose one person to be the "model" and the other two "designed" the dress. =)

My mom, Jenn and Marisa

We were very bad Oregonians wasting all of that paper... someone made a joke about rolling it back up and taking it home... =)

Brittany and Jenn in their tea party attire

After the games, it was time to open presents!

Little did Brittany know that the opening of presents was going to turn into a game in itself.  As she was opening the gits, my mother was taking down notes of everything that she said.  When she was done, her quotes were read back to her as things that my brother may hear on the wedding night.

There were lots of "Thank You's" of course, but some awesome lines were also recorded... such as "you really don't want me to get in there, do you?" and "It's a lot wrinkle-i-er than I thought it would be". LOL  It was great!  And very hard for both my mom and I to keep a straight face as we knew what was going on throughout the present opening process.

On a table we also had an apron (wedding colors) out with some fabric paint.  Each guest was asked to decorate/leave a note/whatever for the bride as a souvenir.

We had a great time.  And I think the ladies who were there really enjoyed themselves! =)

Anniversary Stay-cation: Day Two

Day Two of our anniversary stay-cation was spent lazing around the hotel... and it was AWESOME! The temperature in Portland got to roughly 95 degrees... we Pacific Northwesterners are NOT used to that.  Jacob and I were perfectly content to spend the day inside, vegging in the air conditioning.  But, we did have to eat.  So, after a shower (and taking full advantage of the hotel bathing amenities),

Jacob and I left in search of a Big Ass Sandwich.

My co-worker convinced me a few weeks back to try one of these monstrosities, and, though it was delicious, I felt like a fat, greasy cow afterward. lol  But, after telling Jacob about it, he just had to give it a try.

I, on the other hand, opted for a felafel sandwich... little did I know it would make me feel almost as gross afterward (but, what can you expect from cart food, eh?)

Felafel and Strawberry Lemonade

Big Ass Sandwich

After lunch we cruised around downtown a little bit, and then, when we thought we were going to die of heat exhaustion (or the food we just consumed!) we headed back to the hotel... which was serving complimentary fruit juice with grapefruit slices in their lobby.  LOVE IT!  Then, back to the room for more vegging before we ventured out for our next meal.  =)

As hotel guests, we were given a discount at the hotel's restaurant.  So, for dinner we gave it a go.

I'm not so great with the food photography (I want to EAT it, not take pictures of it!), but I do love any place that serves dinner by candlelight!

After dinner, Jacob and I headed out to Staff Jenning's Marina to board a sailboat for a 90-minute sailing expedition up the Willamette.  I found this deal several months ago on Groupon and have been waiting for this weekend.  I was really excited about seeing all of the gorgeous downtown lights from the water.  here's a couple of photos... but be pre-warned, it's REALLY hard to take long-exposure photography from a moving boat!

We had a great time this weekend.  Even though we didn't go anywhere, or really do much more than sit in our hotel room, we appreciated the opportunity to relax without distractions... and a quick drive home. =)

Anniversary Stay-cation: Day One

Since we had a couple of other things going on last weekend, Jacob and I celebrated our first anniversary this weekend.  With the home purchase and all of the home improvement related expenses we've had over the last several months, we knew that we weren't going to be able to afford a get-away vacation, but thanks to my cousin and her awesome discount at a boutique hotel in downtown Portland, we were able to afford a pretty nice little "stay-cation!"

Our weekend started on Friday.  I got off work and walked to two blocks to our hotel (shortest commute EVER!  I loved it! lol), the Hotel Vintage Plaza.  I checked in, went up to the room, and took lots of photos! lol

Hallway

There was even a nice little note (with a bottle of champagne and some chocolate candies) from my cousin waiting for us.

After the mini photo shoot (and a browse through the mini-bar) was complete, I got a head start on a weekend of relaxing while I waiting for Jacob to get there.

"Say Yes to the Dress" Marathon... pretty appropriate I thought!

When Jacob arrived, we packed our bags (and anniversary cake!) up to the room, relaxed for a little while longer, and then headed to dinner.  We had a reservation and restaurant.com gift certificate for Chez Joy, and I was excited to try out a real French restaurant.  However, much like our luck with everything else we try to do, this did not go according to plan.  We arrived at the restaurant only to find a sign on the door stating that Restaurant.com gift certificates were no longer being accepted.  We went in, and I pointed out to the maitre de that the gift certificate clearly states that there is no expiration date.  I was told, in much nicer language, that we were SOL and there was nothing that could be done.

More than a little frustrated, Jacob and I left in search of another restaurant (as I felt quite put off by the way they handled the situation, and I didn't want to pay full menu price).  We headed down to Mother's Bistro and ended up having a fantastic dinner.

Still got a little taste of "fancy"

Then, as we were only a couple blocks from the river, and it was such a beautiful night, Jacob and I headed in that direction.  We walked for awhile, and then started to play with some long-exposure photography, and then sat on a bench and just talked (I think this was my favorite part of the weekend!).

We also got a shot of ourselves in front of the fountain where we got several of our engagement photos taken almost two years ago.

Oct. 2009

Aug 2011

After it got dark, we headed back to our hotel... it was time to dig in to our complimentary (I LOVED this part!) first anniversary cake from the bakery that did our wedding cake.  I was ex-i-ted! =)

Made to replicate the top tier of our cake

Chocolate chip cake with fudge filling... mmm mmm mmm!

After cake, it was time for vegging and bed.  It is also getting to that part tonight... I'll tell you all about day two tomorrow. =)