A Jam-Packed Easter

Our Easter this year was fun and jam-packed. Usually James and I like to keep things low key, a souvenir of the days when we split our holidays between his parents and mine early in our marriage before my parents moved to sunnier climes that are a little harder to visit. Hi everyone in California!

Over the years one of the things we have started doing is going to an Easter service that isn't on Sunday. This leaves more opportunity for visitors to attend on the holiday and opens our schedule for early family brunches and Easter egg hunts. We like to go to Life Center Church when we can, and holidays we make an extra special effort. It is home to us.

This year our friends Steve and Amber came to the service with us and we then hit up downtown Spokane for some good eats. 

I have a confession to make. I love the parking garage at River Park Square. Bad weather led me there on a shoot once and the great views and natural reflectors cannot be beat. Plus: protection from the elements! I have a lingering desire however to explore the Parkade. It calls to me. 

Anybody up for it? I am seeing a vintage-y styled Mad Men thing here...

My husband was kind enough to take this photo of me and Amber. I did the settings and he clicked...rather grudgingly. I am not seeing any husband-wife photography team here, folks. In case you were hoping. 

I loved the look on James' face here. It was just a candid moment and while I have no idea what he was smiling about, I think it definitely reflects my feelings after the service.

As a group before eating we wandered the mall (Steve and Amber had never been there) and while Amber and I had stopped for pictures, James and Steve had moseyed their way into Williams Sonoma, a temple of retail my husband has never entered. I had to document the moment.

Passing by a bookstore I loved seeing some random words and finding meaning in them.

The lighting was amazing but we wanted to eat more than get photos. Sometimes the stomach wins out, you know?

We ended at a favorite --  Rock City grill. I had an extremely delicious alfredo which I ate too fast to photograph. There's nothing like good worship followed by a little adventure. 

Fast forward to Sunday...

and the frenetic pace of Easter egg hunting.

The hiding places get more creative and challenging as the kids get older. James' brothers are generally in charge of egg hiding. 

The kids may get older, but the cuteness stays the same.

I love to catch all the kids smiling and laughing. It's way better than forcing them to line up. Although sometimes I do that, just to capture the misery.

 But when you don't make them cheese, then you get the good ones.

Ah look at those freckles! I die. They are gorgeous.

Easter was lovely this year and I hope you enjoyed celebrating and loving on your family and friends. Stay fabulous!

Ineffective as a weapon.

Marshmallow Peeps are being hailed as the candy of Easter. I am a personal contender for the chocolate bunny, but Peeps were fun to photograph today. Lined up so neatly, they had no idea the fate that awaited them.

More than one of the Peeps got eaten by someone who was most definitely not me.

After I ate pretty much all the Peeps I could handle, I started microwaving. And boy, that was both messy and fun.  Sadly they did not expand enough to serve as an effective weapon. Maybe next Easter.

Shrug and Spring Thoughts

image via Style Me Pretty

I was browsing on Style Me Pretty the other day ...Okay. We are going to stop right there. Does one actually browse Style Me Pretty or perhaps does one drool over the wedding related content there? I personally drool. So I was drooling over Style Me Pretty the other day and I saw the above picture. I not only fell in love with the vintage vibe but I thought that the light shrug accented with the delicate peach fuzz flower petals was beautiful and such a cute alternative to the heavier shrugs I've seen. I thought it would be perfect for spring. 

Then I decided I was going to be fancy and make a design board for a spring wedding. Here in the Inland Northwest spring has been late in coming so I thought maybe a couple of warm elements like this shrug would be great. Then I typed in "spring" and hit search.

I forgot spring here in this part of the country is also known as "winter" to everyone else. :)

That being said there are still plenty of people getting married this time of year and for spring or fall weddings shrugs are a great option to add a little bit of warmth or interest to your dress. Here are some of my personal favorites:

via etsy

If you like a vintage or DIY vibe, this shrug might be your dream come true. It looks mostly knit with some crochet and beading. It would make a great addition to a dress with clean lines and would give it a little extra glam and texture. 

The French Vanilla Bridal Wrap by Bonzie may be right up your alley if you just want something light. It is backless for a little extra fun maybe for summer or the more adventurous bride. 

I thought that these were cute ideas to add a little interest, cover, and warmth. I hope you enjoyed them. :)

Shooting without a camera

While I have spent much of my life in North Idaho I can tell you that I am not outdoorsy. As a kid I spent a lot of time on rainy and snowy days reading Little Women and The Hobbit. Bad weather was my favorite because it made sure my indoor reading was not interrupted. Later as I got older I realized that books were indeed portable, but the bugs and sunburn factor wasn't exactly my favorite.

With age I have learned to start to like the outdoors. That being said, my idea of camping usually includes room service and shopping. I think that stems from church camp all those years ago, sitting in tents surrounded by the smack smack hiss of girls slapping away mosquitos and then applying more bug spray. I swear those bugs at that campsite were immune to OFF! Deep Woods, which is what my mom always bought me.

Today my outdoor adventures took me to the shooting range. My husband and his friend were gracious enough to invite me along.

  

Shooting friends together (including my own) is my favorite. There is something so natural and unforced about it.

We were there during a particularly moody stint of Northern weather. This picture below was taken less than thirty minutes after the first as the wind bit our fingers until they turned numb and red.

Snow still lurks in the shadows of the valleys this time of year. A little target practice was followed by clay pigeons.

My husband totally looks good firing a gun! Love it. It made me feel like if we became doomsday preppers that we would indeed be prepped.

Our mutual friend Josh is a fellow photographer and therefore can anticipate when I am framing a shot and ruin it. Ten points! :-)

In case you are wondering, I did fire a gun today. It was thrilling. It also hurt my bicep since I wasn't holding it properly -- which resulted in big laughs from my husband. Just keepin' it real here.  Josh promised me smaller ammo next time. I even got to see it -- it was tiny and cute. I can't wait for the next adventure.

Soft thoughts and soft light

It's a quiet night at home and I'm off for the evening. The lighting is soft and the house is still except for the dog snores coming from the foot of the bed and the sappy romantic comedy that's playing on TV. I have knitting on my lap and I am reading blogs and stretching out the dark rainy hours until James comes home from a Halo-fest at his friend Steve's.

It's nice to forget the world and retreat to my bedroom. Outside there is so much effort. There are people to impress, to-do lists to complete, and photo assignments. Here  in my room there is a soft bed and soft light and a place to dream away the time until my next photograph.

Now Squarier

Very excited! Yesterday my Square register arrived. I can now take payments via credit card (MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, and Discover). It's the little things that are truly exciting. :-)

Notes from a snow day

 

 

The snow has continued. While warm weather has flirted with us here in the mountains, we are not there quite yet. Yesterday the snow piled up coating everythung like a thick layer of powdered sugar.

 

 I spent the day cuddled up in bed with James and the dogs, catching up on the geeky History Channel shows we're watching together -- Vikings and The Bible -- and just relaxing.

 

Our day in bed involved some delicious baked macaroni and cheese and staying in our pajamas all day. I am learning to crochet so I laboriously eked out a few stitches. I normally knit but I am trying to make my brain learn something new. I am sure that eventually double crochet will come second nature but for now it requires a lot of thought. But even though it's hard for me right now that doesn't mean I plan on giving up. Because I'm a scrapper. Or I guess determined might be a better word for it.

 

Yes. I'm determined.

Early Spring Hideaway

Spring is starting to show up. The bulbs I planted in October are slowly pushing up green shoots and we have had a couple of gorgeous blue sky days already. I woke up this morning to perfectly iconic Northwest weather -- snow was coming down and coating everything in sight just daring me to have a happy St. Patrick's Day.

I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and was well rewarded.As I rounded the corner onto a trail I like to take, I took notice of a little corner of springtime color already blooming. Despite the snow bright color stood out against the sky, boldly proclaiming to everyone within sight that spring is coming, even if today is not that day.

It's not a real bird out there in the snow...yes I checked!

  

I love this little corner of my neighborhood. It's a reminder that beauty and creativity are everywhere. I am so thankful that my sweet neighbors are willing to share their creative spirit and bring a little joy to the neighborhood. They are such an inspiration to me.

I thought the way the Easter eggs were strung were very creative and might be a fun idea for a springtime wedding.

This time of year always reminds me that change is coming. That change is inevitable and good. That I need to learn to embrace the new and jump in with both feet. I love that no matter the season in my life, no matter what the weather, the world keeps turning on into another season.

The Official Pants-Wearer

Meet my firstborn, Molly. She is probably the most expressive dog known to planet Earth. She will also lean on just about anything, including my laptop. Because those eyes just say "Mom...pleeease quit staring at that plastic box and adore me the way I deserve."

By now I hope you are starting to figure out who really wears the pants in this family...

After all, we spoil her rotten.

Friday Favorites

Ahhh... Friday. Nothing says "Welcome to the weekend!" like relaxing at the end of a long day with some of my favorite things. Since it's the weekend I figured I'd share some things that I am enjoying:

     via

San Pellegrino lemonade. A coffee shop near me stocks it and to be honest it's so delicious that it's almost better than the coffee. It's carbonated, not too sweet, and always served frigid. When I drink it I am transported to a warm sandy beach somewhere. It is a treat that I always relish.
                                                                       

                           

                                                                           
Photography is always fabulous, and I plan to go out and take some pictures for sure this weekend. Stay tuned!

                                                                              via

via

TLC never fails to deliver on bride centered programming. Something Borrowed, Something New has my eye right now for sure  -- taking elements of the bride's or mom's old dress and creating something new but sentimental. Immediately juxtapose this with a brand new designer dress and there are some hard choices ahead. I never am able to guess which dress they'll choose and I love all the history behind the dresses. New favorite for sure!

                                                                           

Jen Stovern's Clean Day

Today I cleaned. I am not a neat freak by any means but my house felt like a mess of epic porportions. It looked kind of epic too since great mountains of laundry loomed all around, vast and sinister as the dust bunnies lurked under the bed. I used to love watching a show called Clean House a few years ago because those laundry piles made mine look miniscule. But I really needed to wrangle the mayhem and foolishness today. 

 I have been sick for a while and if you've ever been sick you probably know the drill. Whatever yuck feeling you have starts setting in and you brush it off. "Oh, I'm just tired and I'll do the laundry tomorrow." That escalates and starts turning into "When I feel better I'll catch up," which finally ends in fantasies about hospitalization and lots of Jell-O and the mantra becomes "If I ever recover I will..." Well maybe not that far. But you get the idea. :-) So today before my first client meeting of the year I made sure my house was tidy. "Are they coming here?" my husband James wanted to know. No, as a matter of fact they weren't. But I wanted to reclaim my house for myself. Just to say that I could. It felt very good to change the wax in my Scentsy warmer and put new sheets on the bed and to evict the dust bunnies.

And then once the laundry was washed and the floors swept I maybe began to wonder how many cleaning products I could stack one on top of the other...

The answer is four. The Febreze fell over.

With a yell and a bang. Or something like that.

I am never very good at those "all about me" posts. I would rather we learn about each other slowly but surely. So I'm starting this blog with a yell and a bang. (Hopefully.) This is one of those songs that to me just says "reeling excitement!" So here we go!