November Love

I dont have a lot of time to blog today.  Here a few photos I've taken over the last couple of days.  Things I love and things which inspire me.

Sweet notes, from my love, hidden in my book.

Christmas decorations and sunshine coming in through dirty windows.

Wood fires in my fireplace.

Christmas photoshoots being packaged and delivered.

Hot chocolate!

Christmas candy in my homemade record album bowl.

Aaron, Sarah, Tucker

Can this kid get any cuter?!

I love taking family portraits for Christmas cards!  It's the most fun.

Christmas Wish List

I need more Polaroid film, please.

http://the-impossible-project.com/

So Long Astoria

This Thanksgiving weekend we were in the car for a total of 12 hours.  We went to Vancouver and had a great meal with my mom's side of the family.  She has 3 siblings and 5 step-siblings and so it's a pretty large gathering.  The meal was simple: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, jello salad.  The desserts were pretty good, too.

Then on Saturday, we drove to the beach to see my dad's parents and his sister.  Such a vast difference, this gathering from the last.  9 people as opposed to the 30-something that were at my mom's parents house.  More on this later.  Then, we stayed at the beach, drove back to Vancouver, then drove home, then on Sunday went to Seattle for a Seahawks game.  Thus, 12 hours in a car.

What I wanted to show off are some of my favorite photos from the road trip to the coast.

On the way to Longbeach, we stopped in Astoria, site of one of my most favorite movies, The Goonies.  There's a column in Astoria on a hill that commemorates the end (really it's the turn-around-point) of Lewis and Clark's expedition.  I had never been there before!  It was so cool.  I kind of love Lewis and Clark. 

Astoria is a very cute little town.  I loved it!  The homes are built on a hill so they all have a view of the ocean.  I think I want to live there.

Holiday Greetings!

Everyone that I sent a Christmas card to should have received it by now except for our friends in France....and maybe Canada... (I hope I'm not spoiling the surprise!)  At $1.24/each I was pretty picky about whom I sent my Christmas cards to this year.  And I still spent over $100!  They went out the day after Thanksgiving. (I sent them early because of our new address. Dont judge me.)  Anyway, whether you got one or not, I am sending out warm holiday greetings to all!

Merry Christmas friends, family, and blog readers!

I used Amazing Mail.  Postage is included and all my addresses are saved from previous mailings. Awesome!

Giving Thanks

I feel somewhat obligated to write a Thanksgiving post. Not for any of you readers, but for myself.

I have never liked the Thanksgiving holiday for the following reasons....
1)  It's icky.  I eat too much, I feel sick, there's football on TV, mom/grandma/insert-name-of-whoever-is-hosting gets SUPER stressed out.
2)  It's in the way of Christmas.  I LOVE CHRISTMAS and I have some strongly opinionated people in my life who think that Christmas cant start until the Thanksgiving meal is over.  [Side note: I've been listening to Christmas music for at least two weeks and I have a Christmas wreath on my front door already.  I do what I want!]
3)  I'm already thankful.  I am truly thankful for everything good and bad in my life.  As soon as the thankfulness of Thanksgiving wears off, usually about the same time the triptophan-Turkey-coma wears off, that's when the greed of Christmas begins.  Black Friday ads, Christmas lists, wants, desires, green-little-monsters - they all come out .  It's disgusting.  I'd rather skip the thankful part and ease into the season of Christmas with joy and grace and happiness.  Well, it doesn't work that way.

Okay, that's all a little over-dramatic.  I don't totally hate Thanksgiving.  I do realize that there are times to set aside and truly be mindful of all that you have to be thankful for.  Count your blessings, as they say.  So, here is a photo-list of things I am thankful for today.

I am so thankful for my husband.  He is my best friend and a source of joy in my crazy life!  

I am thankful for our new house.  I really love it so much!

I am thankful for my community. 

I am thankful for my family: biological, in-lawed, and adopted.

I am thankful that Dan and I are starting a family next year!

I am also thankful for this blog!  I really love to write and record memories.  Do any of you love Thanksgiving?  Am I being totally unreasonable?  

Record Album Bookends

I'm making some Christmas gifts this year - because it's cheaper and it's much more thoughtful than, like, a Best Buy gift card.  My brother loves music and he sorta likes books, too, so I made him some record album book ends.  I knew you could melt old records for bowls and so why not try to fold them in half and use them as bookends?  Good news - It was super easy!  You can get old records from Goodwill for 99 cents so this project will be super cheap!

Please excuse the dust!

Heat your oven to 200° Fahrenheit.  Find something with a 90° angle.  (I used a box but I wouldn't recommend putting cardboard in your oven.)  Place the record on the box as shown below.  Place it in the oven and watch it closely.  Mine only took about 4 minutes to melt.  Take it out, it will be pliable for a few more minutes so you can flatten both sides.  Try to keep the 90° bend so that it will hold records and books up straight.

I am planning on making some custom CD labels to cover the stickers that are on the LPs.  I think he will really like them!

Newborn: Mason

About two and a half years ago, I photographed one of the most fun weddings I've ever done!  It was for Heather and Ryan.  Heather and I have kept in touch over the years and I was so thrilled when I found out she was pregnant!  Mason was born October 30, 7 lbs and 13 oz.  He is a tiny little guy!  I met him and his proud mama at their house on November 15th (and 16th because babies don't always cooperate with picture-time).  He was such a sweet little baby with the tiniest squeals and [un]happy squawks.  Plus, he has a really cool hat collection!

It's so rewarding that my past brides and grooms are having kids and hiring me to take their baby photos!  [It wont be long before some of my high school seniors start to hire me for their weddings, too!]

Not too happy about this monkey hat!

Mommy and Daddy's wedding rings.

Honesty

My first post is up over at Road Widows today! Here is an excerpt....

Dan and I have reached a turning point in our tour-coping-skills. He wasn’t telling me when he missed me or when the road got tough and he was lonely.   He thought he was doing me a favor by “being strong” and protecting me from any negativity.  It took me almost two years to figure this out. He’s hurting just as much as I am and it’s not helping either of us that he wont express it.  Hearing him say, “I miss you so much” makes my heart happy.  It’s actually a relief to know that he’s not out having the time of his life.  I know that he loves his job.  He is the happiest he’s ever been, but it’s still work.  He’s driving lots of miles, occasionally sleeping in the van or at strangers homes or lonely hotel rooms, and he misses me.  I feel it now.  I can recognize it by his contentment when he’s home.  I catch him watching me from across the room, telling me how much he missed me while he was gone, hugging, kissing, cuddling, taking me out on fabulous dates – I know I am loved and missed.

Honest communication is the foundation of making your relationship work. If he’s on the road and you’re not telling each other how you really feel, you’re going to fall apart.  It was a huge turning point for us when Dan finally admitted that he misses me, too.  Before that, I thought that he truly was happier out on the road and that idea - no matter how true or false it may be for you – is crushing to any woman’s spirit.

I’m sure your husband misses you just as much as you miss him.  Go ahead, ask him!

Full post: HERE.

Wedding Photos I Wish I Had

So, yesterday I shared my wedding photos.  I got married right when photographers went digital.  Seriously.  My sister in law got married two months before us and her photos were on film.  I had a really good photographer but digital photography was just too new.  My photos are only 1MB each.  For any of you non-nerds, a good digital photo these days is at least 5 or 6 MB.  

Dan and I didn't want to see each other before our ceremony.  Which is romantic but it never leaves enough time for photos and it definitely doesn't give a lot of time to do anything too creative.  We had set aside some time in between the ceremony and reception.  We literally ran out of the church, drove to the golf course where the reception was held, and took all the family and group photos we could, then we spent about 10 minutes alone on the fairway and got a couple good shots.  

I wish things like wedding blogs and Pinterest existed back then!  If I was getting married again, or better yet, if I could go back in time, here are some photos I would LOVE to have.  Maybe it's not too late.  If I lose 5 pounds I can fit into my wedding dress! 

Amazing.  Obviously.  [Via]

Our reception was at a golf club so we could have totally done something like this!  Only, we would have used Dan's special wedding day shoes, too.  [Via]

I LOVE THIS!  Our centerpieces were potted flowers and golf balls in driving range buckets with moss.  [Our gifts were monogrammed golf balls]  But if we were to get married again, I would use vintage cameras and monogrammed mugs with flowers and music books - just like this picture! It's very "us".  [Via]

This is a fabulous editorial shot!  And it's in Seattle at Pike Place!  [Via]

It would have been nice to get married in France, oui ou non?  GOSH!  I love this! [Via]

I loved laying in roads as a kid.  This shot really caught my eye and it would be so simple to re-create.  [Via]

I dont have any close-ups from our big day.  (I dont remember the photographer getting anywhere within 15 feet of me at all times!)  The photo is candid and personal and so sweet.  [Via]

Magical.  And, again, it's in France.  Need I say more?  [Via]

We have a photo similar to this but without the jumping.  I just like the action and excitement it shows.  Dan would totally be into it, too.  [Via]