Five Things.

Happy (Tebow) Sunday!

This has been an exciting day already! This morning i woke up early, not completely by choice thanks to my puppies... 5:30. However i was really anxious to go see Tim Tebow speak at Canyon Ridge Christian Church! i was ready for a great experience! It was set up like an interview and was so motivating to hear him speak, and completely give God the glory, and crack some jokes too.  However i will say, i'm so thankful for my home church, Central Christian, so if you're in the Las Vegas area and are interested, let's go to Central together, i'll drive, and even buy some coffee if you'd like! I initially was pretty far away from the stage, but since i was alone, they found me a spot only 12 rows up, which was fantastic! Tebow just confirmed exactly what my perception had been. A genuine man who loves the Lord and wants to serve him with the abilities that have been given to him. Next, to read his book! Which i heard is motivating. 

If you've been searching/stalking the blog you might have noticed a few big changes already, and a few smaller ones. There will be more changes soon too. Part of the change is one my favorite things today! I've been trying to do a brand for Davista since college. It took me a year to really get it where i was happy with it, and now I've changed it a little more. A couple years ago, i fell in love with the font that Angels and Airwaves used for their band. This might be partially because i love them so much, but it finally hit me, that if i love them, and the font, i need to just use it! (a little side story, our first dance at the wedding was AVA so it's close to my heart)  so i changed the photography font to Trajan. I got rid of all the lines, because it wasn't working for all of the design i needed it for; traded it out for a lens flare, if you know me, and me work you'll know how much i love to have some flares in my photography, so i thought it was fitting. It works much better for everything i need it for, and am so happy with it! 

Along with the logo change, i saw a few bloggers who changed the twitter, facebook and pinterest logo to fit their design, so i worked the other day on making some that fit into my design! If you're looking for small ways to change your blog to fit together, this is a small way to do that. 

Alright past some design, i found this snack when i forgot a lunch, went over to 7 Eleven, and stumbled on this gem. It isn't super filling, but it tastes sweet, and is a great snack for 100 calories! one box, and i'm addicted. 

I've been needing new flats, or something not crazy high for work. First purchased some sparkly shoes that perfectly matches the heels i bought, see THOSE here. I almost left when i saw a deal for $9. I thought they really weren't cute at all but soon loved them when i tried them on. Super comfortable, and after wearing them to church, they can be dressy or casual with jeans, and they're not high at all, which is great for running around on cobblestone all day. 

I had a friend recently tell me she was going to steal the "five things" idea, and i thought it was a great idea, mostly because well.. i found it a wonderful way to share things too, and got this idea from another blog! One of the first blogs i started reading is Cupcakes and Cashmere, and her blog is a lot of fashion, recipes, how to, and all around cuteness! definitely should check it out. It's one of the places i go to for inspiration! click on either image below to go to her blog. 

The last is a great idea i found at WPPI. if you're getting married, and looking for a beautiful guest book, look into asking your photographer to design you one of these. What a fun idea to get a guest book made out of your engagement photos, and even have pages that can give more direction; like "give some advice to the couple" or "favorite memory." It's a great way to show off your photos, still keep them on a coffee table and have a keepsake. This is something i would go back and change about my wedding too! 

Do you have any fun ideas for your wedding, or things maybe you'd go back and change now that you are married? tell me about your experiences with your big day, and add in some blogs that are your go to for inspiration! Also, anyone read Tim Tebow's book? 

Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday, full of relaxation, and family time! 

late night and mustache shoot.

Mustache March. 

I announced that i was going to be changing a lot of things about the blog hopefully in a couple months! This mostly is going to include the website, completely changed! To do this, i need tons of new photos of my husband, and myself. This is just one of the shoots i've been wanting to try. Been feeling so unmotivated lately but just decided to go ahead and just do it! After work, late night shoot. OH- i realize the mustache isn't always appealing on me, even Brandon didn't want to kiss me after he drew it on. 

I got these ideas online, just really simple, wanted all black and white. We haven't done a shoot in a while and it was about time! i have more photos of the puppies from last night, but they weren't loving getting a mustache unfortunately. pssst... click on the images to see them bigger! 

you better believe, i edited these, and still now while writing this blog, i still have my mustache on... more authentic that way. ha. Also i forgot about my suspenders until a few weeks ago, i wore them out on a day date, and also wore Brandon's hat that he never wears. It was basically a photo shoot for lonely clothes. 

I consider these photo shoots mini dates, even if it takes 30 minutes and we haven't left the house! It's still another adventure, good quality time together, and let's face it... i'm a photographer so these shoots have to happen. Plus, it's more photos to have for the house! BONUS. We tried puzzles, but started with the largest amount of pieces... gross, it's still sitting on our table, 2/3 complete. 

Do you have any mini dates you enjoy? Anything that might not even take long but it's amazing quality time together? 

Time for YOU to guess what we used to draw mustaches on each other.. cause there was NO WAY i was letting him sharpie it on.

happy thursday!

Little celebrations.

While out to eat with my husband, we talk about the most random things, and today was no different. We got to talking how long we've been together, and comparing how long we have til we beat our longest past relationship. The table conversation got silent for several minutes, while we calculated how many days we had left til we've been with one another the longest. We've both in some long relationships SO we got it down. November 29, 2012 we will be celebrating being together more than any other person we were with; which also happens to be Brandon's birthday! We've had some amazing times as husband and wife so far, and are oddly excited to celebrate this achievement! Which leads to the question, what do you and your significant other celebrate? 

Almost every day one of us does something insane, and we say to the other "i hope other couples do this too, do you think they do?" Simply because it's ridiculous and we have so much fun playing. The first time we ever really played, we wrestled. i have to say, i lost.... he didn't even pretend to give me a chance. 

Even in the short time we've been married (2 years in may!) we've come up with some great made up games to play. Sitting here and thinking, i think those are the best times, the small moments where we're fully ourselves, in love and best friends. 

Please note how creepy Brandon is in this second photo. This is one of our cheap "puppyventures" yes part of our love games is to make up words. Remember, we call all our dates adventures. Capriotti's, park time, soaking up the sun. Oh yes... and creepy faces.

Just was excited to share just a blurb into the world here in las vegas, and i'd love to hear some fun games you play with your significant other, and all the little celebrations that mean so much!  

can't wait til Brandon's next birthday, and a step together that means, we've been together the longest. :)

Hot Florals!

I sat down with a dear friend of mine today. We discussed so many things, like usual since neither of us can ever seem to be quiet for two seconds. This is a reason i love her so much, we can be ourselves completely, and help each other realize even more who we are. Today she told me when she thinks of me, she thinks of pastels. I've come to terms very recently that i need to embrace the girly side of me. It's been since i've been married that i can finally embrace all of it. 

 i told her i have saved hundreds of wedding images, lots of floral and anytime that i do they're always either pastels or hot colors, and let's be honest 90% of the time they include the color pink. I want to share some great bouquets for 2012, hot trends, and all things gorgeous! 

First i have to admit, if i could go back, one thing id do differently is my bouquet, i loved the flowers, the colors, BUT i had a smaller bouquet, and seeing thousands of flowers now at the chapel, i have a new opinion of the perfect bouquet! Of course this isn't the perfect for everyone but something to consider.. first the length of the stem, and how thick the bouquet should be example:

This is an example of longer stems, less flowers, not as "chunky." 

if you want to see some constant kickin' bouquets, check out layers of lovely, click here. They were the florists that put together the fabulous flowers for the trash the dress session, if you forgot, click HERE to see that photo shoot.

click on the image below to see them bigger! something i think is wonderful are the bouquets made from broaches. You can get these made with antiques your family has, as well as any that the florist has. i haven't found someone i know personally who does this, but there are lots of places that do these! love. i have a love for all the chunky types of bouquets, short stems, tons of flowers... absolutely gorgeous!

You'll notice these have tons of the color pink, but there are favorites of mine without it i promise! one of my favorite color schemes right now is gray and yellow but i'll talk about THAT another time. here are just some inspiration and if you want to find more i can give out some other great places for inspiration! 

 what kind of flowers are you using? what style? i'd like to what you love! 

Make all the difference in your marriage

keep your relationship fun, stay in love, and great books to read!

Lots of fascinating things have come out of using Pinterest. the most recent find is a new blog, i've still only read the first post i stumbled upon, but it's a great marriage encouragement! It was a list of 10 things that make all the difference, i wanted to see if Brandon and i were on the right track, and so far we're doing okay. Good news huh! The post describes what has helped their marriage stay fresh, stay friends, stay in love, they also suggested to use some of these tips for your own , and make some for your relationship! so if you're part of a couple, or engaged, or already married, i'm encouraging you to sit down and go through some of these tips, and see what you'll be able to do together to grow strong and stay in love. I'm going to also suggest to write a few of your own. 

click here to see this couple's suggestions that make all of the difference in a marriage. my favorites from the post..

1-  Weekly Questions- The Loerke's said they have been asking each other the same five questions every sunday night.. check out these questions here.

 

2- Small Metal Box- after reading a story that encouraged them, they decided to put a dollar in a special metal box after every time they made love, and they would save up for a trip to Hawaii. Also they advised not to constantly count the money in the box, and that it was about quality not quantity. 

 

3- I skipped a few of their tips BUT you can check them all out, and i suggest you do! my next favorite was playing together. I changed this slightly to adventures. this is really what we call any dates, or vacations. If you know me, you'll know i love some Angels and Airwaves, my all-time favorite song "The Adventure" also has special meaning since it was our fist dance song. This is all to say, we decided our life together, our time together are all adventures. And these are so important! Simple things like going out to eat, hiking, or like the post suggested building forts or going on walks, which i loved. They explained how it's a way to connect emotionally and physically.. really i just am so thrilled to apply some of these tips to my marriage!

4- Praying together- this is another suggestion by the post, and Brandon and i did such a great job of this before we were married, and even right away after we were married, but we have gotten caught up and don't always spend time in prayer, but i agree that it's a great way to stay spiritually connected. 

5- Celebrate each other- You don't need to make a huge deal of holidays you're not crazy about, spending tons of money, BUT you should make a big deal out of anniversaries, birthdays and small accomplishments. It shows you're each other's biggest fans. 

6- don't do marriage alone. i have a fun (short) story that helped me realize this. We were having a minor disagreement that another couple were also having, we all sat down together and had our first couples fight. we did fight fair though! Everyone took their time talking, explaining concerns, and still arguing out of love to help the other side (guys vs girls) understand where they were coming from. It might sound crazy, but when Brandon and i left, i was really thankful to have friends that we were comfortable enough to not just have fun, but disagree too. 

7- Study each other- THIS is a strong point of mine. Brandon and i have our talking time once we're laying in bed, no electronics, and talking about the day. i come up with the most random questions, and although he sometimes thinks i'm crazy for asking these, we end up learning new things about one another! The article talked about how people change, and there's always something new to learn, so interview one another. 

8- Dude time/girl time- Time apart. the article said it best. She said it blesses her and her husband Tim when he can take trips with his buddies, since they meet certain needs that she can't and the opposite is true as well. 

SO technically i skipped 2 of their tips, BUT i thought i'd spin off it a little. Also it'll lead you to want to read the ones i skipped!  Thought i'd suggest some books to read together too! (or apart and talk about it later like we did while living in different states!) 

quick little blurb about these books- first if you've read other posts, you've read about Captivating, if not click HERE for more information.  Wild at Heart is the version for Men, i've read part of it, and Brandon read it too! i really suggest this! John and Stasi Eldredge also wrote Love and War, which i've only started to read, but i've heard some great reviews, same with Love and Respect, both of these couples' books have a notebook to fill out everything too! The Five Love Languages is one i read while in high school, and it's great to read to figure out for yourself, and your significant other so you can communicate the way that you feel and show love! 

Before You Say I Do, i wouldn't say is the best book we've read together, but it was a good book that got us talking, and thinking about things before we got married. Sometimes praying can be a difficult thing to start, i makes you so vulnrable, and a book like this will help both of you become more comfortable with it! the last book, a two-parter, the most important day of a woman's (man's) life. i haven't even bought this one yet! but one of the photographers i follow Zach and Jody suggest it. to see their page click here. (LOVE them, heard them speak at WPPI and they are a photography couple. CUTE) 

Do you have any great books you and your spouse have read that has encouraged your relationship? I'd love to find some more great reads! Also, would love to hear about any tips YOU suggest to keep the marriage going strong.