That's a wrap : Kelda + Eric

This is just a small (very small) taste of Kelda and Eric's beautiful wedding in San Francisco. These three photos above are up there with my favorite that we have shot at a wedding ever. There is just something about the fog that makes photos look so romantic. Go here to see the full post from their wedding, trust me you won't be disappointed ;)

xo.

9/11

Stone and I were in the car driving for most of the day yesterday and had a lot of time to talk about September 11th. Every year, I always think back to where I was and what I was doing. I was definitely too young and naive to realize the weight of what had just happened and I will never know the heartache that a lot of people went through and are still going through because of what happened that day. Anyway, I always believe that God can use the terrible things that happen on this world for good, this is just one of the millions of stories of a hero from that day. We watched this a couple of times this morning and I still have goosebumps. God is good, there is not denying that. Watch and enjoy.

Weekend wrap up : The land of beauty.

This wedding season Stone and I have traveled to well over half of our weddings. It is a strange feeling for us to go to a wedding without having met the bride and groom before. Of course there is the phone calls and on occasion we video chat with clients, but really we barely know them and we are about to be the two faces that they see the most throughout their wedding day. Weird, right? Well, this was one of those weddings. All we knew was that we were shooting a wedding in Nevada City, CA and we needed to be there at 10 in the morning. So that is what we did. We showed up at the grooms' childhood home and were absolutely blown away with all of the incredible thought and detail that was put into transforming this backyard. I seriously cannot wait for you to see photos of this place and the awesome couple (I secretly, but not so secretly, want to be best friends with them).

On another note, I have never been to Sacramento and had no idea how beautiful it is. I kept having to remind myself we were not in Colorado because it is very similar. Stone and I had our first B&B experience... I have to admit that I was a little nervous. The photos of this place involved a lot of porcelain dolls and frilly old bedspreads, but we were down to try it out and we loved it. It felt like we were staying at our grandparents house complete with a hot homemade breakfast. If you have never stayed at one I highly recommend it!

... Oh ya, then we drove the 9 hours back home. Husband is a trooper :)

Tuesday Tunes : Okay, Thursday Tunes...

A little treat for your ears. Stone and I heard this song just this morning and both fell in love! We hope you like it just as much.

I have had it on repeat since! xo.

Happy Birthday dad.

We love you and wish we could be celebrating in San Fran with you today :) Hope you are having a wonderful day so far.

Food to love : Asparagus + Gruyere Tart.

(Photo was taken with my iPhone, and did not turn out too well, but you get the idea!)

Side dishes are always a tough thing for me. If a friend is hosting and asks for me to contribute to the meal I always end up bringing an appetizer, salad, or dessert. I think I just never really know what is a good side dish. Veggies, obviously are great, but I don't really make any fancy veggie dishes that I feel deserve to be shared with friends. So I did my research this time. My friend Ashlyn was cooking grilled chicken with rosemary olive oil bread, and our friend Lacey had already claimed to bring the salad. I was left with sides... yikes! But, chicken is any easy meat to pair with and I brought sweet potatoes that we chopped up and baked with olive oil and rosemary. So yummy. And then thought I would be a bit more gourmet and tried this Martha Stewart recipe. It was a hit, and so easy! Next time you have a dinner party, invite me and I will bring it along ;)

Asparagus + Gruyere Tart

• Flour, for work surface
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 5 1/2 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy! xo.

Weekend wrap up : People watching.

This weekend my mom (Becky) and sister (Lindsay) came to visit! I knew I had to convince them to make it out to the west coast before the babies were born or else it was likely that it would not happen for a while. So, they flew in on Thursday and we spent the long weekend hanging on the beach, cooking, showing them our favorite spots in Encinitas, talking about life with the babies (less than 3 months away!) and taking long walks. It seems that Encinitas likes to play tricks on us because Stone and I are always raving about the incredible weather, but then every time we have visitors it is gloomy as all get out. So our day on the beach did little in the way of bronzing us, but it was still warm and fun people watching. Does that sound creepy? I love to people watch and usually I try and figure them out, I can write a whole story about a person just by watching them. Not that it would actually be accurate, but interesting none the less. I wonder what people watchers come up with when they see Stone and I?

Either way it was a lovely weekend ending on a great note with a delicious dinner at our good friends' The Carters house! Can't beat that.

Welcome back to work. xo.

That's a wrap : Stephen + Amy

I so wish that I could have been here for this wedding! But, alas, I was fulfilling bridesmaid duties in Texas (which, I have to say, was a total blast as well!) while Stone was in Boulder with Stephen and Amy taking photos of their beautiful wedding day complete with mountain views and incredible dance moves. Go here to see the complete wedding and the reception that looked more like an awesome breakdance party! Enjoy.

Inspiration board : Clothing and color.

Mmmmm, I have to say this is prob one of my favorite inspiration boards that I have made so far. Stone and I have all sorts of new things on the horizon... moving into a larger home, becoming an aunt and uncle (times 4), and of course FALL. This is one of my favorite seasons to shop for, as I am sure is the same with most of you. So if you go to my favorite shops across the world wide web you will find shopping carts full of boots, cable knit sweaters, felt hats, and warm colors. Love it all. You would also come across some shopping carts full of baby goodies for my nieces and nephews to come! I just cannot even wait to meet them. And lastly, there are thousands of dollars worth of items in online bags of home furnishings, rugs, lamps, and all things home decor. Basically I would need to be somewhere on the level of Donald Trump to afford the things I have saved to purchase online. Oofta. Not gonna happen, but you can't blame a girl for dreaming can you?

Hope you enjoy just a taste of my shopping carts ;)

xo.

1 : This dress is perfection, if only I worked in a really swanky office in Manhatten. There is not much need for it when I literally walk from my bedroom to my living room to work. Ha!

2 : A must for this Fall. A must.

3 : I mean, who would not want to throw this on as their PJs, love it.

4 : Okay, I have to get one for each of my future nephews and nieces. They are just the cutest little animals, the hard part is deciding which one to choose!

5 : A little splash of color for your Fall wardrobe. Arm candy!

6 : Is it too much to ask for our next living room to replicate everything from this room? The wall color, bookshelves, and comfy seating is pretty awesome!

7 : As Rachel Ray would say 'Yummo'. The perfect fall cake, I have huge doubts I could recreate this one to look so pretty though.

8 : I am still STILL trying to find the best shade of red for my lips. On another note, I cannot wait for Glee to be back on!

Food to love : Jenni's Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies.

This girl can bake. Since she and her husband moved out west (just a quick jaunt from where Stone and I live!) she has made us incredible cookies and scones. I mean who really makes scones from scratch? Jenni does. And they are awesome.

We were over at their house recently and she offered us these delicious cookies, which I know so many of us have had and loved for years. There was something different about these though, something that made me go back for seconds and even thirds. So I thought I must share the recipe with you all too so we can stop sticking Hershey Kisses in store bought Peanut Butter cookie dough and calling it good :) Hope you feel inspired to get in the kitchen and bake something. I know I do.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

1 1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 doz chocolate kisses

Beat margarine, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add and blend into creamed mixture. Place the 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar to coat. Place balls 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven, quickly top each with a kiss, press down firmly. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely, store airtight. Makes about 3 dozen.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Tunes : The Cave.

I had not seen this video until recently when it was nominated for a mtv music video award. Mumford and Sons can really do no wrong in my eyes and they lived up to the hype with this video as well. Hope you like it :)

Some of my other favorite nominated videos were :

Justin Bieber 'U Smile'

Adele 'Rolling in the Deep'

The Black Keys 'Howlin for You'

Bruno Mars 'Grenade'

My bones are tired...

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday so far. Stone and I are back home finally from our weddings in San Francisco, Boulder, and LA. Whew! It was definitely a whirlwind, but oh so fun. All three weddings were totally unique and beautiful... we feel pretty blessed to be working in this business and to have such incredible clients! I cannot wait to begin sharing all of these photos with you. But, a secret, just between you and me I slept until almost 11 today.

Whoops! It is hard having such a demanding boss not only do I assist him at weddings all around this great country, but he also expects me to answer emails, blog, AND have dinner on the table at the end of the day! Goodness, who knew working for your husband could be so tiring :) Seriously though, this girl needs some rest. I will be back tomorrow, don't you worry. xo.

If you want to see a little shoot we did of our good friends The Grovers while we were in Sonoma this past week, head over here! Enjoy!