Love Notes

I abruptly sat up at 3:58 a.m. this morning, perhaps subconsciously aware that I was suddenly alone. Brandon wasn't scheduled to leave the house until around 4:30, where he planned to meet his mom and grandparents at the hospital before his grandpa underwent a serious surgery. I wandered around the house for a few minutes before thinking to check the garage where, sure enough, his car was already gone. After prying myself out of bed at 6am, I wandered into the bathroom, acutely aware of being alone (i've never seen Psycho, yet I am still afraid of showering while its dark out and i'm at home alone). Squinting through the glare of light, I saw a small card propped up against the mirror, where I was certain not to miss it. While he snuck out early, denying me the opportunity to say goodbye, Brandon still left a sweet heartfelt note to greet me. Little things like this - small discoveries of the depth of a person you have known and been with for ages - is what makes marriage wonderful. I really am blessed to have a person who I not only love, but who is like my best friend, to grow old with.


ps - yes, I know that busting out a camera is not necessarily the normal reaction to a love note, but I instantly knew that I wanted to blog about the moment - not for everyone else, but to remind myself of how lucky I am to have someone to share my life with

Kristen and Dustin: Details!

Here are some details from a wedding I shot with Emily last week. Full post and a slideshow coming later this week!

Kristen prepared the cutest little bags for bridesmaids gifts.


There was a 'sea' theme throughout, including on the placecards, in the bouquets, centerpieces - everything tied together so well!

Just Like Being at Home....

Brandon and I have 'date night' every Friday night. We don't necessarily have a fancy date, just we take some time to do something together. Last night, 'date night' entailed Rubios and games (playing scrabble with Brandon is endless entertainment). After leaving Rubios, Brandon remembered that we needed batteries, so we detoured over to the drugstore. I don't exactly know why, but we ended up wandering the aisles in Longs... where I made the most magnificant find ever - the Hawaiian Aisle!!!!!


A wake of longing homesickness washed over me (after all, i'm lucky if I get to see my family once a year), but was soon replaced by ecstasy at being able to find my favorite goods from home. I began snapping pictures with my iphone as Brandon looked upon me with amusement (and possibly embarassment), so that i could share this find with the world.


First, there is this AMAZING papaya seed dressing. I love this stuff so much, when she visited in January, it was the ONLY thing I asked my mom to bring. Unfortunately, much to my disappointment, when she went to the grocery store right before getting on the plane, they were out! I grabbed a bottle, ignoring that the expiration date was June 2008.


But this was far from the only reminder of home... they also had Hawaiian soy sauce (in the usual gallons), Hawaiian cookies, Hawaiian jellies. These were also all well past their expiration date, so I ignored them. But it makes me feel better that I could bring a little piece of home back to my home if I so desired.

Finally, there was affordable Hawaiian sea salt - only $3.50 for a bag. Back home, this stuff is cheap. But on the Mainland, I once paid Williams-Sonoma $15 for a small jar (which I use sparingly). Now... a new source.

It may seem silly to be so excited about a small stretch of aisle in a drugstore. Although Brandon constantly points out that I didn't grow up in Hawaii, so it's not really 'my home', home for me will always be where my family is. The little things - the sprinkle of red salt, the tang of Papaya dressing - take me back, make me feel like i'm there. And sometimes, these are all I need to be home.

Katie and Kevin: Wedding

Katie and Kevin's wedding was held in the beautiful Temescal Gateway Park. While I used to pass the park on a regular basis (i'd park on Temescal canyon Rd and run from there to the Santa Monica Pier... almost makes me miss LA!), I never realized what a hidden gem it is for a wedding. Katie and Kevin were married beneath a massive tree (I think a Sycamore or an Oak, but tree identification is not my specialty) in a gorgeous ceremony site overlooking the Santa Monica mountains. After the ceremony, these two were troopers, hiking through paths and even climbing on a fallen tree to cross a mini-canyon, complete with a trickling stream running along the bottom.

The reception was held in a large meadow just a couple hundred yards away from the ceremony site, with a large hall nearby for dancing. Although the wedding was during the scortching heat wave, the cool ocean breeze trickled through the trees and kept everything bearable. Katie and Kevin had an awesome theme, featuring foods from the locations where they would be honeymooning (France, Spain and Morocco - for three weeks!) and specialty drinks from the same locales. These special touches, along with the dessert bar (yum!), the personalized song during the ceremony, the gentle roasting during the speeches, the live band in the reception hall at the park, and (best of all), the wedding pinata made for a unique and memorable event.

While you are most certainly back by now, Katie and Kevin, I wish you a lifetime of happiness and hope that you had a wonderful honeymoon (and that no one was injured running with the bulls in Pampalona)! Special thanks to Emily for bringing me along for yet another wedding!

The shoes and flowers:



The adorable flowergirl:


Kevin kept tearing up during the ceremony... so sweet!



The ringbearer was awesome... after refusing to go down the aisle, he decided to play in the dirt during the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony - after he sat down and threw dirt all over himself - his mom just scooped him up and said 'I was only trying to make it to the ceremony.' I hope I can be that lighthearted about my future children playing in the dirt!

See... serious trooper on the tree!
Some details!
Doesn't looking at this make you hungry? (I just had to go get a cookie)

Everyone needs an aging rocker for their first dance!

And... wait for it... the wedding pinata!

Click here for a slideshow!

Kellie and Paul: Wedding Teaser

Remember how I said that I was getting close to being caught up on wedding? Not anymore Another fabulous event with Emily.

This wedding teaser is unusual. Normally, I find a picture of the couple that is more fashion-forward, posed, fabulous. But this moment - the two of them exchanging their first look and words after Kellie walked down the aisle - resonated with me. We should all look at our significant others the way Paul looked at Kellie, with adoration and love apparent in our eyes and our touch.

With that, time to tear myself away from the computer and tell me husband I love him!

Kristen and Dustin: Wedding Teaser

Most gorgeous couple ever!

Thanks Emily for bringing me along!

Kristie and Kyle - Wedding

Around a month ago (my, how time flies!), I shot Kristie and Kyle's wedding with Emily. Instead of a traditional wedding, we shot some formals and photos of them after the ceremony, and then made our way down to Pacific Beach to shoot photos of the couple. Different from a normal wedding, but so much fun!

Emily is amazing at finding brightly colored walls... I think we hit up every one between the beach and Ingraham (ok, i'm not sure we really walked that far... but it sure felt like we did!).

Kristie & Kyle - congratulations on your marriage!


I love the emotion of the next two:

Some details!








Just married!

Something different... I thought it was kinda interesting.

Rings!

And finally... I was so excited to see my puppy's name in the middle of the board!