A BLOG BY LINDSY READ

Friday, March 30, 2012

Nicholas

Remember Baby Nick?  Well, he's not a baby anymore.  He's running around and talking and he also loves balloons.  Who doesn't, right?

I met up with Nick and his parents, Eric and Tasha, last week at Wildwood Park.  It's such a cool park with lots of natural wildlife, thick evergreen trees, a playground, and a creek.  I brought along some balloons and Nicholas had a blast!








If you live in the Tacoma-Seattle area and are interested in family or baby pictures, hit us up!  We're affordable and speedy and we love what we do!  XOXO, LMR

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March Madness

It happens every year.  The farse of spring in Washington would cause even the most grounded individuals to fantasize about living in warmer climates.  We've made it through a dreary fall, a rainy Thanksgiving, a cozy Christmas and now the past three months have been mostly rain.  There was actually a huge ice storm, which I missed because I was in Arizona soaking up as much sun as I could.  There have been many sunny days.  But still.  Not enough.

And so, because I don't give a crap about understand random idiots playing sports college basketball, I would like to re-purpose the phrase March Madness.

March Madness, for my friends and colleagues in Western Washington, now means:

1.  going insane due to the NEED for sunshine
2.  fantasizing about a mass exodus to somewhere warmer; bring all your friends!
3.  searching on Zillow for houses and/or looking for jobs in California

You know I've said this before.  I really don't like to complain about the weather but seriously.  March is THE WORST.  Summer, please hurry up and please be better than last year.  And friends, don't move away!  Unless you're taking me with you.

























I noticed I dont have a lot of pictures of rain because you cant exactly take your camera out in the rain.  These pictures should still show you how dreary it is.

Le sigh, Lindsy

Monday, March 26, 2012

Busy Family

Hey, y'all!  (I dont actually say that, it's just fun to write).  I am on RoadWidows today giving tips (and asking for tips) on how to stay organized with a busy family.  I'd love your input!

Speaking of a busy family, I spent the weekend driving to and from Vancouver to celebrate my best friends birthday.  Dan was single-dad with BB for a whole evening, night, and morning.  Dan requested that I write out specific instructions, which was weird.  Dan likes lists.  They did great!  I got home Sunday and we had a little get together at Dan's former co-worker, Lindsay's.  She hosted a party for BB!  It was lots of fun.




Sunday, March 25, 2012

Blog Birthday!

WHOA!  It's my blog birthday!  I started this blog four years ago with this post.  Thrilling, I know.  It was just a couple photos of my first senior portrait client ever:  Sara.  She is such a doll.  The crazy thing is, she is probably graduating from college now!

Anyway, the past four years have been fun!  I started this blog because I just thought I needed one.  But then I forgot about it.  Then, I began blogging regularly in January 2011.  I posted 183 times last year!  I think the change (from blogging never, to blogging often) came when I realized that I really needed an outlet.  With all the craziness in my life (like, my husband traveling 2 weeks every month) I wanted a place to record our fun memories.  The road trips we've taken, the weddings and special people we have photographed, and the process of becoming parents.  It's all been a whirlwind and I am so glad that we have this little piece of internet to record all the fun!

To show you the evolution of this little blog I've chosen one blog per year that I think defines where we were during said year.  So, here are my favorite blogs from '08 thru 2012!  Enjoy and thanks for reading dontknowhowtorelax.com!

This is a list I created with my friend, Jody, for her wedding.  It's a great list for brides to give to their wedding photographers. 

This is when I started to get a lot more confidence in my ability to take portraits.  My editing also improved.  I bet you can't tell that Alex's green T-shirt had a big logo on it.  I smudged it out in PhotoShop.  Not my best work but it improved the photo!  His mom, who didn't get to approve his senior picture wardrobe, was very appreciative!

I get a lot of questions from families and seniors about what to wear to a photoshoot so I started researching some ideas and came up with this list.  There's no need to get too matchy-matchy or too dressed-up.   Here are five simple guidelines to help you decide what to wear to your photoshoot. 


Even though I get crazy antsy on road trips I really like them!  Road trips are a huge part of who Daniel and I are as a couple.  Our college was an 18 hour drive away from home and we drove it several times a year.  In July of 2011, we drove from Seattle to Chicago.  The first day was warm and fun and I took one of my favorite photos of Daniel, seen above.


This year, my wonderful husband starting blogging with me.  He is, afterall, a photographer for LMR Photography and his life is sometimes a lot more interesting than mine so I'm so glad he's contributing.  In January, he took me into the wild west and he took some pictures of me that I actually like.  I love how he writes and his photos are great, too!

I'm looking forward to many years filled with photos and stories and more about BB!  Thanks for reading!  We love it.  

XOXO, D+L

Friday, March 23, 2012

BB's Nursery Tour














Here it is!  This is our baby's room!  Complete with some special things from our own childhood, gifts, and fun thrift-store finds.  We put a lot of love into choosing each detail and are so excited to share this room with our special little guy!  The car and apple prints were Etsy purchases.  The frames are Goodwill and IKEA.  The camera-girl on wood was a gift from our friend, Rachelle, and also an Etsy find.  Dan found the "Ask for DAN" sign years ago and it seemed appropriate in the kiddo's room (it used to be above the bathroom door - hehe).  The little boy plaque (in the top photo) was at Goodwill, also.



The changing table was a garage sale find (Thanks, Amanda!) for $15.  The changing pad and covers were from Target and plastic bins are from IKEA.  The Diaper Genie was a gift.  Hanging above the changing table are two paintings by Lindsy, a paper owl from Jessica, framed bunnies cut out of felt by our cousin Brit, and a print with the phrase:  Keep Calm Travel On.  [Below] On display on the high shelf is our vintage camera collection, an old photo of the Broadway Theater in Portland, OR, a music box from Lindsy's childhood, and some stuffed animals.  The armoir is from IKEA, filled with his clothes and blankets.  The rocking chair is one we found (literally, on the street) in Seattle and restored.  The movie poster is one we 'borrowed' from Dan's old job.  They had a big cafe filled with old movie posters that got eventually ended up in storage and later were auctioned off as part of a fundraiser so I dont feel TOO bad taking one.  Plus, it totally matches his room (and, sadly, the weather here).





Thanks for stopping by!  Love, D+L


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Showered with Love

Oh, this sweet boy is so loved!  He just let everyone pass him around at all the parties and he did fine!  And to think that he was about to cut a tooth is pretty impressive.  

We just want to take a moment to thank our family and friends for all of their love and support and for welcoming BB into the family with open arms.  Thank you for the thoughtful presents, the hand-made gifts, the kind words, prayers, and encouraging letters.  












Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Quilt Squares

One of our ideas for Baby Bread's parties was to use Steam-A-Seam to create custom quilt squares from my family and friends.  Andrea and my mom chose fabrics that match our kiddo's room and even printed sheets of animals, shapes, and letters to help with patterns.  The background of each quilt square is a simple off-white with tiny little letters all over it.  My grandma is a fantastic quilter and crafter so she will putting it all together.  There were 20 squares all together, each from a special family member or friend.  

We decided that it's going to be too delicate (and pretty) for him to play with so we're going to use it as a decoration or wall-hanging.  What a wonderful gift to cherish!  I cant wait to share the finished product.















Monday, March 19, 2012

Party Weekend

My mom and my sister, Andrea, held two parties this weekend for my family and friends down south that haven't met Baby Bread yet.  Both sets of my grandparents were there, aunts, cousins, friends.  Here is a quick look at everything that they did.  I am so lucky to have a sister like Andrea, right?  And, you guys!  Andrea doesn't even have Pinterest.  She just does these things out of her own creativity. Incredible.








We had:  red velvet cupcakes, Arnold Palmers, cheeses and bruschetta with toasted baguettes, fruit kebabs, hummus rolls, veggies and dip, and a raspberry tart with white chocolate drizzle! YUM.



When we got home late last night, BB would not go to sleep.  It was 11pm and he was still awake, rolling around in his crib.  Then, the screaming.  He screamed bloody murder twice last night.  We fed him both times (yes, WE.  Dan was on night time duty but I couldnt stay in bed when I heard this kid crying like a maniac.)  Then he awoke, an hour earlier than usual, happy as can be!  Then I saw it..... HE CUT A TOOTH! I thought he was freaking about the overwhelming weekend and the long, late night car ride but he was teething.  Duh.  Sometimes we have to learn the hard way.

More party details later this week!  Hope you had a good weekend, too!

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