All I want for Christmas...

Love Jimmy Fallon always... This was just too good not to share! It is just beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! The temperature in our little town will not be above 62 this week, which is so welcomed. We used to live in Colorado and would dream of a warm winter... grass is always greener on the other side...

Finally I have presents under the tree, star shaped sugar cookies in our kitchen, and it is non-stop Christmas music at the Crandall house. All. Day. Long. Hope you guys are getting into the spirit! xoxo.

Holiday Gift Guide no.1

Target does it again. This time teaming with various designers from Neiman Marcus like Thom Browne, Alice + Olivia, and Tracy Reece. Just in time for Christmas shopping too :) All of these goodies will be in our very own Target beginning of December and I cannot wait. Who does not want a metallic Marc Jacobs pouch in their stocking? So fun! Happy Friday y'all!

xo.

Another season complete...

(Photo shot from Ston'e iPhone)

This weekend marked the end of our wedding season! Oofta. Stone and I drove to Santa Barbara for the final hoorah and it was the perfect wedding to wrap this season up with. Possibly one of my favorites we have shot this year....

Everything was just so classic from the black tuxedo's that the men wore to the woman singing Ave Maria as the bride walked down the aisle to the all white floral centerpieces, I just loved it. 

I cannot believe we made it through this season, I am still pinching myself. It seemed so daunting thinking back to October when we found out I was pregnant it was so overwhelming to think about how we would manage. Patience from our clients, a hardworking husband, and a baby who is flexible have all made it possible and I am so thankful. We love our job. We really do. At times it is super difficult to muster the energy every weekend for 12 hour work days, but the reward of getting to know these couples and be apart of such a special day is payback. Stone and I together have witnessed so many beginnings for couples... how great is that? I am just rambling at this point, but it feels good to have made it through and I cannot wait to see what next season brings. 

xo.

Halloween.

I think this year may top my favorite Halloween of my adult life. Adult meaning post-college ;)

Our little neighborhood is just a dream... for real! Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I cannot believe that we found such an incredible little community to raise our family in. For halloween, and all other holidays of the year, they do it big. Think planning committees, pot luck dinners, parades, etc. This works for us because we are all about celebrating and traditions in the Crandall fam and Halloween is no different. This year I decided to find something  easy from Knox's already too full closet to make into a costume so he went as a nerd, and while none of the kids in our neighborhood had any idea what a 'nerd' was, the adults all found it pretty funny! Cannot wait for all of the halloweens to come with this little guy...

Happy to have all of that candy out of my home! Hope your halloween was wonderful.

xo.

Tuesday tunes.

A few weeks ago Stone snagged us last minute concert tickets to see Ben Howard at a venue right by our house! If you have followed my blog for any amount of time I am sure you have seen the multiple videos and songs that I have posted of him, so, to get to see him live was such a treat. Later a friend sent us to a link that he and pro surfer Rob Machado had made a little promo video while he was in town and I thought I would share so that you can see glimpses of the concert (the venue was amazing, so intimate) and our little town. Enjoy! Happy Tuesday.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Okay, so I may be jumping the gun with this one... but, I have to say the mornings and nights here are pretty chilly, even if our forecast says that next week we are going to be back up in the 90s (lame). This is always my favorite season, I am a girl that loves holidays and traditions, so the span of time between end of October through December was made for me. Some tried and true things in the Crandall household this fall have been Trader Joe's always delicious pumpkin bread (like I have time to make anything homemade these days, but this gets the job done!). We have now burned through not one, not two, but three of the Pumpkin Souffle candles and I am totally addicted and our house smells awesome. Also, I pulled out my flannels from JCrew (I have the navy ones) already too and I just love them so. 

On my wish list this fall are these boots from Madewell... perfection in a boot. And, I am needing a few more throws for our home to cozy it up and thought that these looked like they fit the bill.

Brew yourself something warm (and maybe put it in a sweet mug like this one) and enjoy this season! xo

Tuesday tunes : higher love

Loving this tune today and I hope you do too. Happy Tuesday y'all!

xo.

Hello.

I cannot tell you how much I have longed for this day to be here. I have missed blogging so much. It is strange, I never really realized how much this little blog has meant for me to have until I stopped posting. 

My life lately has been nothing short of amazing, exhausting, and terrifying all wrapped up in one sweet little package that came on June 19. This motherhood thing is more than I ever expected it to be. I love it all the time even in the moments when I really hate it... I still love it. Knox has been seriously the best thing that has ever happened to Stone and I. We catch ourselves daily just staring at him and watching all of his new quirks develop, it is so fun. 

That is the amazing part... watching this little piece of you grow. 

I was warned about the exhausting part, and that it is. I feel like a mad woman most of my days trying to take care of Knox, be a good wife, clean, cook, work, keep up with friendships, and make sure I shower. And in the end I feel like I am doing most things half way. I think back to how put together life seemed when I was little, we always had a clean house, yummy homemade dinners, and fun events planned for the weekends. How did she do it? I am just crossing my fingers I get the hang of it... 

Thanks for hanging in there with this little blog of mine, it feels good to be back. xo.

Loving lately...

Hope you all have had a wonderful week! Okay, so since we last talked (over a month ago) I have discovered some new favorites that I thought I would share with you. 

First of all, if you find yourself in Target aimlessly wandering filling your basket with everything but what you originally went for, head over to the shoe aisle and pick up these loafers. I got the nude ones and am so happy that I did! 

Second, my man Knox and his sweet hair. I felt I needed to write a disclaimer... his mohawk is totally natural. Ha! I have had so many people ask us if we style his hair to do that. Nope, no hair gel required! I am a tad obsessed with the guy so be ready for lots of photos!

Downton Abbey has been keeping me busy during those 3 AM feedings. Have you watched it? It truly is the best, but there are only two seasons right now so it ended way too quickly!

So, Stone and I ran out of face soap the other day and I grabbed Knox's to give it a whirl and loved it! Best part about it was that it did not sting my eyes and it smells so good too :)

While I am trying to lose those extra pregnancy lbs that are still hanging around, I have not given up my after dinner treat and lately the only thing that can satisfy is Rocky Road! Yum.

Lastly, I did not even watch the season, but after seeing their interviews I have grown a quick infatuation with this sweet couple (I even follow her on Instagram!). I just hope that they last...

I know this love list is a bit random, but hopefully I at least gave you some new shoe inspiration or something fun to watch while we all wait for the Olympics to be on! Have a happy weekend. xo.

Knox :: One month

It has officially been one month since our little guy was born! I am already getting teary thinking of how fast it is all going to go. We are just totally in love. I never thought I would be the mushy, gushy mom who could spend hours talking about her kid... well I thought wrong. I have become that mom and I am going to try hard not to bore you all with countless stories, but I will share the best ones :) In his first month of life he has driven 21 hours from Colorado to California and taken his first plane ride! Such a champ.

Some of my favorite things about him so far is his head of blonde hair that naturally forms a crazy mohawk, his bright blue eyes, seeing him smile, the first couple hours of the morning when he is totally alert and happy, how he has started to sleep for extended hours at night time, his little noises, and those long limbs! We could not be more proud parents.

xo.

Our little guy has arrived...

Waiting on the world to change...

For some reason that song by John Mayor keeps popping into my head and it describes these last few days very well... just waiting... waiting... and more waiting!

We have officially past our due date and I am praying that he makes his debut any second now! In the meantime we have been keeping busy celebrating Stone's younger brother's (Brady) wedding, checking out local food trucks, spending time with family, walking (a lot of walking), playing music and talking to our baby boy trying to coax him out, and finishing up loose ends at work so we can enjoy the moments right when he comes! Let's hope it is tonight...

xo.

.

The other day I got a text from a friend telling me that she was thinking of me as my due date is getting so close and also, reminding me to enjoy these last bits of quiet time with my husband. It was a good reminder. Stone and I have been so caught up in the excitement and anticipation of everything that we have had a hard time just enjoying being together and the silence before the storm. A good storm, but a loud one... one that I hear will wake me up constantly in the middle of the night :)

So. With a lot of prayer that we can stop worrying, stop over-planning (and being disappointed when the plan is not what we had wanted), and stop stressing everything we have been able to let go. Last night we found ourselves with our favorite boxes of candy (Junior Mints for me and Sour Watermelons for Stone)  in a movie theater watching What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was a good way to relax and take our minds off of everything. Plus, I thought the movie was perfect. I laughed and I cried, part of that could be attributed to hormones, but it was genuinely funny and I definitely recommend it!

All this to say we are excited about our little guy coming, but we are trying to be patient and to not make plans... just let him come when he is ready! xo.

Tuesday tunes : Call me.

Have you had this song stuck in your head ever since the first time you heard it? Well, I have. And as cheesy as it is I have to say it is pretty fun and catchy. If you think the song is cheesy, the video is even worse, but again as soon as you listen you won't be able to stop singing it all day :)

EVEN BETTER, one of my favs, Ben Howard, covered this song and you almost don't even recognize that it is the same. You will for sure love this. Plus he keeps smiling throughout the video... most likely at the ridiculousness of these lyrics, but it melts my heart every time. I may have a small crush.

Enjoy! xo.

Weekend wrap-up : Life from my iPhone.

I have never felt more impatient in my entire life.

Usually this is not my style, but when there is a little babe taking his sweet time it is all I think about. I am a week away from my due date... so truly he is not late, but both my mom and my mother-in-law had their babes between 2 weeks and one month early, so it feels late. To pass the time Stone and I have been wrapping up some shooting and editing, reading, writing lots of thank you notes for the sweet gifts we have received (if this is you, SO SORRY they have taken me so long), enjoying some of the great things of summer (like all the sweet fruit, flowers, and BBQing of course!), and going through photos of Stone and I from when we were babes and imagining what our little guy will look like :)

Currently I am reading a book called Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old and it is pretty great! Sleep training is super important to Stone and I because of our crazy schedules. With shooting weddings we are going to have to rely a lot on friends, family, and babysitters to watch our little guy when we are gone. To make things as easy as we can on them we are hoping to get our babe sleeping since there are nights we won't be home until 1 in the morn! We'll see though... i'm just hoping he loves his sleep as much as his parents do! Either way, I totally recommend this book, she is a no nonsense writer and her book is very to the point, which I like.

xo.

Have a happy weekend.

We made it to June.

Do you know what that means? Less than two weeks until this little guys' due date, so truly, he could be coming out to join us any minute now! Let's hope sooner rather than later.

I was never planning on taking any 'maternity photos' throughout my pregnancy. Truly, I am not one of those women who loves being pregnant or loves the changes it has made to my body. I know it will all go back and the changes are for the sake of a greater good :) I just have met women who absolutely love being pregnant, and I am not one. So, the thought of taking photos of my 9 month pregnant self sounded pretty awful. But then we got down to this last little bit and I thought how it would kind of be sad not to have a couple of photos to show our son of what his mom (saying 'mom' still is totally crazy to me) looked like when she was carrying him. And, of course, having a husband who is a photographer makes it kind of impossible to escape the camera at times.

All of this to say, here are a couple of shots we took today and if you want to see more of the shoot you can go here.

On another note... any plans for the weekend? Husband and I were thinking we may go on a hot date (which means dinner and a movie) unless (please Lord) we are in the hospital meeting our son. I have been wanting to see What to Expect When You're Expecting... it sounds funny and seems quite fitting for our stage in life right now :) See you Monday. xo.

Food to Love : Summer recipes from my favorite blogs!

Summer is my favorite time to try new recipes. There is just a never ending supply of fresh veggies and fruits  at the market and at a good price, so it is a good time to pick up something that maybe you have never had before and find a recipe that uses it! I have a handful of favorite food blogs that I constantly check in on to be inspired. 

Sprouted Kitchen has been one of my favorite food blogs for quite some time, her recipes are a bit involved so maybe when you are feeling super confident with your skills pull up her site and recreate one of her incredible dishes!

Spoon Fork Bacon has practical recipes for busy people AND there is not anything on this site that my husband would turn his nose up to. Not that he is picky, he just loves... a hearty meal. So making just a salad for din would not fly in our house :)

Roost is great for those of you with specific diets because she cooks for her husband who has Crohn's disease and the ingredients are a little different, but healthier, and who would not want that? Plus, the photography on this site is incredible, it is worth it to visit just to look through her beautiful images!

Smitten Kitchen is my 'go to' spot for recipes. It even has an Ingredient Index where you can look up what recipes include a specific ingredient. Lately, husband and I have been loving brussels sprouts, so I can look up all the recipes she has that include that ingredient... how convenient is that?

Hope you are feeling inspired to cook! xo.

Shower for the babe.

These past nine(ish) months have been a whirl wind! We have purchased our first house, moved, traveled all over for weddings and fun, all while growing a little being who now should be coming any day! Our family and friends have been so helpful in preparing for our little guy and I just know we would not be nearly as prepared without them. They have showered us in 3 different states with both gifts and wisdom for raising a babe and we could not be more thankful or feel more blessed by them. Seriously, it is totally overwhelming.

Below are photos from our couples shower in Colorado complete with yummy BBQ, homemade sweets, and a 'make your own onesie' station (they turned out pretty funny!).  So fun!

Below is the entire Crandall fam, I feel so lucky to have married in :)

xo.

Insta-love.

Okay, I am late in the game, I know.

But, I just joined Instagram the other day and am hooked! I used to give husband the hardest time about constantly checking his phone for the latest feed of photos, but it really is so fun. You don't have to think of anything clever to say, just take a photo, that's it. Truly I like following fellow photographers because it is fun to see what they take photos of when they are not working. Stone is the best, really, my unbiased opinion! He just sees things with a different eye than most people and I feel like most of his iPhone photos could be printed and hung on a wall :) 

Are you using Instagram? I cannot promise that my photos are going to be that incredible, but I will try and post daily, so if you want to follow my feed you can @shelcrandall.

See you there! xo.

5 things for the hospital...

We have less than three weeks to go and I still have not packed my hospital bag! Whoops. This is part because I have not grasped the fact that he really, truly is going to make his appearance any day now and also part because I don't really know what to pack. I know I won't be there that long, but any time I stay somewhere foreign I want to have my creature comforts with me, is that lame? Probably. Oh well. Either way I have the standard things down... pillow, robe, slippers, pj's, going home outfit, and all of the special ointments and pads needed to get me through those first 48 hours! Ha. 

But, I have a few thoughts of some things to pack that just may make the stay a bit more comfy, or at least keep my spirits up while in labor...

First thing is first, if I don't make it to the nail salon (do people still say 'salon'?) before he gets here then I need to be equipped with a neutral color that will last me a while, because we all know after the babe comes my nails become last on the priority list! Next, I am eyeing this cardigan to throw over my nursing tanks AND it is on sale! Of course I am going to bring along a couple of my favorite movies just in case this labor takes a while... how fitting is Father of the Bride II? It is the best. Also, I hear hospitals can sometimes be a bit chilly, what better thing to keep my toes warm than these Happy Socks! Last, I know the hospital gives you a water bottle, but I worked at a hospital for a summer in high school as a candy striper and now the hospital bottles just remind me of being sick so I will probably pack one of my own, hopefully a swanky one like these from Lifefactory!

Other than that, do you have any suggestions? My homework tomorrow is to get this all together!

xo.

It has been a while...

I am still here. I feel bad that I have not been around lately, our lives have just been chaos... good chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

I guess, especially lately, it has become very real that our little family of 2 will be no longer soon. Don't get me wrong, we are absolutely thrilled to meet our little guy. But, I already feel selfish of my husband's time... does that seem crazy? Like I just want to soak up these last few moments of peace with Stone. I use the word 'peace' loosely, as we have traveled to Colorado, Mexico, and up north in California in these last few weeks shooting weddings. Projects around our new home have almost been another full time job on top of our real jobs. Husband has been pretty incredible though, in the short time we have lived in our home he has changed faucets, lighting, painted all of the kitchen cabinets, hung curtains, created storage by adding shelves in our garage and closets, and so many other things. Truly he has been a hero in getting our house ready for the babe. Oh ya, and the babe, we have been super busy preparing for this little guy to come along. Who knew something so tiny would take so much preparation. Along with our childbirth classes, which were great but perhaps scared me more than prepared me (I also am a secret hypochondriac, so if you tell me something bad could happen during labor I am convinced that it will happen to me), we have made tons of trips to BuyBuyBaby to stock up on the essentials, and have been reading up a storm so we are prepared to get this guy sleeping and eating on a schedule (fingers crossed). I need my sleep, lots of sleep. 

So, as you can see blogging has been put on the back burner, but now that things have settled I am excited to be back at it, especially before the arrival of our little one (3 weeks and counting until his due date)! I cannot wait to share with you all when he arrives. These days my only prayer is that he comes to us healthy and happy. I now understand more than ever how easily worry can consume a parent... parent, ahhh, it still does not feel totally real that we are going to have a child! I don't know that it will totally sink in until the day he is born, and maybe not even then.

Oofta, sorry for the droning on and on. See you tomorrow! xo.

Tuesday tunes : Fleeting heart.

Weekend Wrap Up : A party for baby boy.

This weekend was all about celebrating our baby boy! His arrival is coming up so fast and we just cannot even wait to meet him. Stone and I have been so incredibly overwhelmed by our dear friends and family's support. Truly, we feel so comforted knowing how much people love him already too. Not to even mention all of the gifts and help in preparing for our babe, it is all coming together and we could not say more THANKS to those of you who have sent along treats, advice, and offered your help! Thank you, thank you.

A handful of my closest girlfriends got together on Sunday for a little shower and even though the sun never came out it was perfect!

The decoration was beautiful and SO creative. The hostesses, Lacey and Laura, seriously went all out... hand stamped tags, dip-painted vases, and gorgeous flowers...  I loved it all!

My friend Alexis made the cupcakes with Nutella (yup, Nutella) frosting... I think I ate three!

One hilarious thing that my friend Jenni did for the shower was to make ice cubes with plastic babies inside for our drinks... the first one whose cube had totally melted or as she put it, the first one whose water broke, wins a prize :)

There were lots of mamas and mamas-to-be at the party so I soaked up as much advice and wisdom as I could... although, let's be honest, nothing can prepare me for what is going to be happening in only 7 weeks time!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. xo.

.

Happy Friday. Go make some memories :)

LOVE

shel + stone

SHE + HE : Hookie.

We may or may not have taken the morning off today to escape to the beach... okay, we actually did do that. Sometimes working from home when there is 70 degree sunny weather and beautiful waves is pretty difficult, and sometimes we have to give in. Like today. It was perfect, Stone got to surf for a bit, I soaked up some vitamin D, and baby boy got to hear the sound of waves for an hour or so. We ended our morning of playing hookie with lunch at Raul's and froyo at Berry Happy, a double whammy for sure. Needless to say I detoxed with pure greens for din to make up for it :)

PS. Baby boy is now 32 weeks and the bump is looking quite big! Woah.

Tuesday tunes : Fun.

Weekend wrap up : Some times call for special socks...

Happy Monday!

Stone and I had a pretty great weekend starting with a rainy Saturday morning... but, who does not love a good rainy morning on a weekend? The weather turned around quickly and we headed to Olivenhain to shoot engagement photos, which are always my fav! After that we hosted our very first gathering at our house. Yup, even though there are still unopened boxes, walls that have not been painted, and shelves that have yet to be decorated, we still did it. I'm surprised too because Stone and I are both kind of crazy about having things perfect in our home when we have guests over, so this was truly a stretch for the both of us. But, I think we got enough wine in everyone to forget about the piles of random crap that needs to be put away :) and we spent the night playing games and laughing, which is always the best. Stone even whipped out his part socks for the christening of our home with good friends.

Now it is Monday and I need to focus on putting away those boxes... Ooofta.

Inspiration board : Making a bar.

Okay, to be honest, Stone and I are not big drinkers. Of course, I love a glass of wine here and there (not in the past seven months, of course!) and Stone will never turn down a cold beer from a friend. But, do we know much about wine or beer, no. Since moving to California we have definitely learned a lot more about wine from our trips to Sonoma, and the restaurants around these parts are big on specialty drinks, so we have tried lots of great things. Either way, after buying our house we quickly learned that it is only polite to have, at the very least beer, and wine to offer neighbors who are passing by, which seems to happen pretty frequently in our hood. We have to step it up a bit! Good thing our house already has a built in wet bar perfect for some funky trays, bar glasses, copper mugs, and such. Now we just need to learn how to actually make some drinks :)

Mirror Bar Tray

Green Ice Bucket

Yellow Shaker

Gold Shaker

Crystal Barware

Green Bar Tray

Tuesday tunes : My Girl.

Stone is listening to the classic rock station today while working and it has played a few goodies from My Girl... one of my fav movies! Oh way back in the days when Macaulay Culkin was every girl's crush, then he had to go and ruin it for us all. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these tunes :) Happy Tuesday.

PS This print is by Slim Aarons and is on my wishlist to have in my house one day...

Food to love : Muffins!

My mom is the ultimate baker... well, really just cook in general... she can do it all! Growing up we would wake up on weekend mornings to the smell of fresh muffins baking in the oven. This was pretty routine too, so she got creative with all of the variations of muffins that she made... my favorite being coffee muffins. The other morning I was having a craving (go figure) and made my very first batch of my mom's coffee muffins. They turned out pretty tasty especially with the crumble on top! Perfect for breakfast, afternoon snack, midnight snack, etc.

Yummmmm!

Batter:

1/2 cup melted butter

2 c brown sugar

3/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tb instant coffee

1 3/4 c flour

1 tb baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Topping:

1 tb sugar, and 2 tb finely chopped pecans, mixed

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugar, then add the milk, vanilla, egg and coffee, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed, being careful not to over beat. Fill greased muffin tins (or you can use paper baking cups) 1/2- 3/4 full. Before baking, sprinkle a little of the sugar-pecan topping on each muffin.

Cook for 15 minutes or so, depends on oven!

yield: 10-12 muffins

Weekend Wrap Up : Friday a thief, Sunday a King.

Well hello there.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. Stone and I spent our weekend finishing up the paint job (it took Stone a full week to complete the task... what a great husband!) on our kitchen cabinets, having game night with friends, taking my large baby belly out on a hike, celebrating Jesus' resurrection at our church, and bbq'ing with friends in the incredible summer weather we have been having lately! Pretty perfect.

My brother in law sent over a pretty great video of one of my favorite Easter songs, I meant to post it yesterday, but forgot. Either way here it is, I hope you enjoy it...

Though the Earth Cried out for blood

Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls on men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
The Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
And over turn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of men
Would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
When the day rolled a new

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke holding keys
To Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

Weekend wrap up.

Early Saturday morning I flew to Dallas to celebrate our little guy with friends and family! We had a shower and he got a lot of great things that I just cannot wait to see him play with, or wear, or use! Whoever thought I would get so excited about baby things? Surely not me...

Anyway, the most fun part about the weekend was spending time with the cutest babies in the world (I may be biased...), my little niece and nephew (Ruthie and Liam) and their mom, my sister, Lindsay. We ran errands like crazy on Sunday and you would think with two 3 and a half month olds it would be next to impossible to get anything done, but we both strapped those babies on and took them all over the place. They were champs! Even at dinner with my dad at one of our favorite mexican food places, Mi Cocina, they endured not one, but two shockingly loud 'Happy Birthday' songs to the tables on either side of us complete with about 10 waiters and clapping, a nightmare for any mother with sleeping babies at a restaurant, but again, they made it through without tears!

I only pray our baby boy will be as good...

Inspiration board : Spring!

Spring is here and I could not be more excited! First, because that means we are just one season closer to having our little baby boy here! Two, there are a lot of things I just love about this season...

- it is the marking of things like school coming to an end (even though it does not effect me, I remember how fantastic that feeling was)

- a bountiful of new fruits in the market... my favorite being watermelon, peaches, and perfectly ripe avocados

- BBQs, campfires on the beach, and yard games with friends!

- gardening... we actually have our very own yard that truthfully has not been touched in what looks like years, but Stone and I will get out there sometime soon and give it our best shot :)

- fun patterns and clothes in all of the stores, because I really cannot shop for clothes right now I am loving all of the Spring inspired shoes

- as cheesy as it sounds, the scents of this season make me pretty excited too... whether it be a new wreath for the door, flowers in the yard, or a fresh candle for the house I just love the way it smells around this time!

Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am... xo.

Baby love : A sneak peek.

Things are beginning to come together in baby boy's nursery! We finally got the fabric in the mail that I ordered from Etsy (bottom left) and it works so well with the bumper and rug we ordered. I am so happy! I am hoping to make a crib skirt out of the fabric and possibly a pillow as well! Oofta, if only I could sew...

Cannot wait to show you the finished product! xo.

Look of the weekend : Dressing the bump.

This large growth on my belly is only getting bigger by the day... and dressing each morning has definitely been a challenge, things don't quite fit like they used to and some things just don't fit at all! I have to say I used to judge all you pregnant women who went out in public with sweatpants and an oversized t shirt on. Well I was wrong for judging, because the effort to find something suitable to wear is pretty difficult and then when you do it most likely will be uncomfortable... ahhh the joys of pregnancy, right? Well I have found a few staples for my 'bump' wardrobe that I would love to share... and also some things that have been on a wishlist for my third trimester to get me through until the end. I have my first baby shower next weekend and I so wish I had a great dress to throw on... we'll see what I come up with :)

Staples for the momma to be wardrobe:

Joe's Maternity Jeans

Splendid Jersey Maxi Skirt

Cotton T's... lot's of them

Lululemon Pants

A structured Jacket

On the wishlist :

Pretty Spring Dress

Colored Maternity Denim

xo.

Tuesday tunes : Dance.

Ummmm... yes please...

Both Stone and I have a crush on Ben Rector so it is okay for me to publicly talk about my affection... Love this. Go dance with somebody, it is Tuesday after all.

xo.

Weekend wrap up.

Stone and I spent the weekend shooting a wedding, doing house work, going to the farmer's market and hanging with friends. I feel like our weekends are going to start sounding quite repetitive now that wedding season is full speed ahead! We shot a wedding that was planned by the super talented girls at Before I Do Events and the venue, Darlington House, was absolutely incredible!

Sunday we woke up and decided to have a relaxing afternoon at the Farmer's Market stopping at a few furniture shops along the way. We had not been to the market in a while and indulged ourselves in a lot of yummy foods! Lastly we braved the pouring rain last night and met friends at one of my favorite spots for dinner. All in all it was a happy weekend and I cannot wait to show you photos from the wedding.

By the way... does husband kind of resemble a blonde version of Chris Gaines (aka Garth Brooks) in the color photos above. And, while I am at it, Garth really made a huge mistake trying to change his image by creating his alter ego Chris Gaines... I mean really?

Welcome to the week. xo.

That's a wrap : An update...

Stone and I have been busy, busy lately! Lot's of incredible weddings and engagement shoots happening around these parts and we could not be more excited to be able to be apart of it all. Yup, we are pretty dang lucky to have the job that we have. First I want to tell you a little about this sweet couple we shot last week... Written by husband...

'Sometimes when Shelby and Ishow up to a shoot it's like a blind date. Usually we meet all of the couples we work with before the actual shoot phase, but sometimes, when distance is a factor, we aren't able to. So we show up there and are basically looking for the people that look about as confused as us. Well, this shoot with Diana and Logan was not only the aforementioned situation, but also a blind date with the location itself. Both Shelby nor I had ever been to this spot, and believe it or not, every photo you see below was shot within thirty feet of each other. Pretty cool (and convenient). So, needless to say, we were stoked on the shoot. Diana and Logan were way cooler than we could have ever imagined and the location forced us to look outside our normal field-of-vision. We loved everything about it. Hope you do too ...'

One good looking couple for sure... they were so fun to hang out with and we cannot even wait for their wedding! See more of their shoot here.

On another note, I recently was asked by a reader to share a little more about how Stone and I decided to work together and how we decided to jump into wedding photography...

Well, first thing first... Stone and I dated for 3 years long distance before he popped the question. Having never really lived in the same location before we were married we were just praying that we would live well together in the same city, let alone the same home! And we did. Stone and I get along really well together, we kind of fill each others weaknesses both in our relationship and in business. But, when we decided to start our company together this was a huge leap of faith. Starting your own small business takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work. We both had full time jobs when we began Stone Crandall Photography. After about a year of juggling a handful of jobs Stone was able to take on the business full time while I continued to work a second job. He is definitely the man behind the lens when it comes to our business. Stone graduated with a degree in Film and after working as a videographer for Warren Miller for a couple of years he decided to go in the photography route. This is where my background as a wedding planner kind of came in and melded harmoniously into what we are today... wedding photographers. He has taught me all he knows about photography and I have taught him all about the ins and outs of the wedding industry. Just this past year I have taken on a full time role with Stone Crandall Photography and I have to say it has been working out pretty well. Of course, you can imagine, with any couple working / living / eating / playing / sleeping under the same roof that we definitely have to find our own balance of space. Separating work and home life can be difficult too. These are just things we have to be mindful of. When we get in an argument we usually will take some time apart then reconvene and talk it through later. Stone and I have found that our clients like the dynamic of working with another couple and we have made so many great friends through work. There are some couples that can work together and some that just can't, that's okay too. It just takes giving it a try and being able to separate work and life for your own sanity :)

I just wrote WAY more than I thought I would... but, I hope I answered your questions! If you have any more feel free to comment. xo.