a break from MY norm.

seattle evergreen lake washington bellevue square slugs emeral city ferry rides dick's drive in special burger port of tacoma nirvanna puget sound olympic mountains tully's coffee rain space needle layers the great northwest salt water duke's chowder house moss mt rainier driftwood farmers markets overcast seattle sounders downtown historical pearl jam queen anne hill broadway starbucks seafair weekend hendrix





the great northwest

a&t... ...wedding

Summer Montoya called again and asked if i wanted to hang out with her for an afternoon - evening, oh AND shoot photos. yup, i jumped at the chance to be her 2nd shooter and it proved to be yet another great event.

Love! love is the word i use to describe this wedding. yes the bride and groom were oozing with adoring love for one another, but honestly it was everything else that boldly spoke of love. the many friends and family that gave their time, their talents, their all to create an unforgetable wedding day for this couple. it was a simple, backyard ceremony, yet there was really nothing simple about it. this wedding was much more than an expression of commitment and love between a man and wife it was a pouring out of support & joy from their friends and family.

super fun wedding party too!

You're Here... ...album cover

this was by far one of my f.a.v.o.r.i.t.e. photoshoots everrrrrrr! a dear friend and personal mentor of mine called me and shared the wonderful news that she was making an album and asked if I would help her with pix for the cd cover. i was excited about her making an album and simply honored that she would invite me to be a part of it. and let us all be thankful that she didn't ask me to perform a duet with her. photos i can do, singing? not my thang. we headed to a local pistachio grove and waited for the sunlight to come out and play. it did, and so did we.

a beatiful woman, inside & out (i know that's cliche, but it is the truth) great sense of humor, which made for a FUN-tastic shoot and the voice of an angel (i know i know, but really God blessed this woman with an amazing voice!)

ABOUT THE CD: titled 'You're Here', it will be released on September 1st of this year. It is a collection of 10 songs, 2 of them are original. The songs are inspirational and meant to encourage the listener in their faith. Proceeds will got o 'Finisterre Vision' to reach the tribes people of Papau New Guinea with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When the album is released, I'll post more on how to purchase a CD as well as details on the ministry the proceeds are going to.

i'm looking forward to that duet...in the privacy of my own home!

a&a... ... wedding

1st things 1st: a big shout out to my super fly friend & fellow photographer Summer Montoya who invited me along as her 2nd shooter. It really isn't 'work' with you girl!

Wow! that is the word i choose to sum this wedding up. from beauty (i began to wonder if it was a prerequisite in order to attend the event) to silly craziness (much laughter was had from photos to the dance floor) to oh so sweet tenderness (the goom shed a tear or two during the ceremony) this afternoon had it all.

both bride and groom have vibrant personalities which reflect a vibrant love and i for one was happy to witness it. congrats to the Mr. & Mrs.!

Fourth Annual 4th

Every year since my sister & her family moved to the desert we’ve celebrated the 4th OH July together (and every other holiday we possibly can) so naturally I’ve been planning the festivities and have decided to step it up a notch yet keep it home-spun if you will. The menu: baby back ribs, corn on the cob, macaroni n cheese, raspberry lemonade, brownies and s’mores. The fun: swimming in the pool, dancing in the kitchen, bbq-ing in the back yard and lighting up the sky in the driveway. The extras: all American tunes, all things red-white-&blue… canning jars full of red licorice, glow sticks & star beaded necklaces for the kiddos, platters of baby ruths & nestle crunch bars, all trimmed with a homemade paper banner. Which leads me to the purpose of this post – the banner. I’m always up for a craft project so I challenged myself to this one…a few google searches and a 5 for $1.00 sale on scrapbook paper at Joann Fabrics and I was ready to go. Keep reading to learn for yourself.

Step 1: hit up your local scrapbook store and try not to spend the entire day in there.

Step 2: create a simple triangle template, trace onto stacks of paper and get busy cutting.

Step 3: lay them out into a pattern

Step 4: pin the ribbon to the front of each triangle, lining up with the top edge and allowing ¼” – ½” of overlap from paper to paper.


Step 5: start sewing the ribbon on



Step 6: that’s it! Find the perfect place to display…around your front door, in front of your buffet table or along a stair rail.

Note: this is a very simple banner, all about the papers. You can easily fancy it up by cutting triangles with decorative edge scissors or adding layers of colored papers & cut out letters. I also found a no sew version, using a hole punch and weaving the ribbon, which allowed for easy folding and storage.


I saw these AHmazing strawberries last year http://kreatid.blogspot.com/2010/07/strawberry-awesomeness.html and you can bet they’ll make an appearance on our table again this year.

come and knock on my door.

Below are pix of a little weekend project. (Okay maybe a few weekends.) This June marks 3 years in this house and we’ve been trying to make it ‘ours’. Truth be told we wanted to paint the entire exterior last Fall and just couldn’t validate the expense of it. So I went into thrifty creative – not gonna give up – mode and came up with a few little changes that would update the front of the house. New paint for the door & trim, and for the metal railing on the upper level; new light fixtures for the entry & garages; updated door knocker and new kick plates; some greenery and clean door matt; purchased some new house numbers then built & routed a custom wood plaque for them. All inspired by the custom made ‘welcome’ sign (by my friend Jessica http://www.joyframeworks.blogspot.com/ ) a $2 chair I rescued from a yard sale and a cranberry wreath I snagged at Target in the Holiday clearance bin.

When Joe broke his toe (the weekend we had planned to start) I wasn’t sure any of this would get done. We had the HOA approval and all the supplies already purchased so I just went for it. And I am so thankful I did. It would be too hot to tackle any of it now.

Don’t be surprised if you get stuck behind me on our street…every time I back out of our driveway, I have to check it all out!

before & after

Jordyn.........senior part 2 [continued]

beauty. pure. stunning. sweet. wholesome. beauty.  jordyn you are unique for SO many reasons and i am so honored to have watched you grow up over the years.  you already know that you can achieve anything you want, so i'll just remind you to follow the path HE is laying out before you and continue to shine along the way.

we took some of her favorites shots and turned them into a mini accordian book.  such a fun keepsake.  read more about 'em here  .