Five things.

Get ready for mostly Health products! One blog i love too!

WOW happy sunday once again! i have to start by saying what an interesting weekend it's been! Work of course, but My husband and i got to spend a little more time together, we went to the drive-in on friday. (little chilly but top down in the mustang of course!) The adventure getting there was really what made the evening. We decided 50 minutes before the movie started to go on this date. we ordered some Capriottis, stopped at the gas station, and then the ridiculousness began. First Brandon got pulled over; and this was my first time being pulled over with him. He got out of it of course which i had to laugh at. Then we went by at least 5 fire trucks all rushing to the same area we assumed, which made us late, but we MADE IT! However the ride home wasn't as fun. Conner threw up. We can't complain, we had a fun adventure and it's one of our favorite things to do! 

Today was our celebration of Valentines since i work on Tuesday, and he got me the etsy pink minnesota necklace i wanted! BAH!! i was too thrilled. If you don't remember, the post on it can be seen here. We headed out to the Eiffel Tower Restaurant on the strip and had such a fun time! we recently decided we need to eat at some of these places once in a while so if we have to move, we're taking advantage of Las Vegas before we leave! Let me tell you, so far we've seen one show, a little over a month ago. We're a little behind, but MAN it can be expensive. I've really enjoyed the mini adventures in our own town.  

This weekend i downloaded a few things i wanted to share! First is Skinny B*tch. I'm not a fan of the name, but it's a FANTASTIC book to motivate you. It's $10 on IBooks, and completely worth it if you want a new perspective on food. Actually it's really blunt, so get ready to laugh, sometimes be offended and then feel bad for what you're eating. It's my second time reading it, and i already am again going to change some habits. It's technically a book about being Vegan, but you definitely don't have to eat that way or go to that extreme, although the first time i read it i tried going vegan for about 2 weeks, i really liked it but it can be a challenge to do! only on chapter two and i forgot how extremely funny it is. here's some blunt truth... "Soda is liquid satan." something i like to think about.

"If you can't take one more day of self-loathing, you're ready to hear the truth: You cannot keep shoveling the same crap into your mouth every day and expect to lose weight"

I've heard people get a little hurt by the book but just read it knowing they're blunt about not just what YOU eat but what we all eat, and how unhealthy it is. Because of this book the first time, i stopped drinking milk, and switched a lot of the food to organic, still not completely there and i definitely cheat and eat junk sometimes, but i feel much better and have been losing weight! There are small changes you can make to get to a healthier you, you can decide what to cut out and how to change it!  Click on image to to go their site. 

So i said i no longer buy milk. There are a few reasons for this. It started quite a while ago, i think i was still in high school. Milk started to taste old to me, even if it was brand new, i couldn't drink it. Then after reading this book i realized that maybe i wasn't crazy! here's a little blurb from the book...

"When a woman gives birth, her body produces milk and she nurses her child. Breast milk can grow an 8-pound newborn into a 24-pound toddler. Sounds pretty fattening, huh? It is. By design, it is intended to allow for the biggest growth spurt of a person’s entire life. Breast milk alone can accommodate for a 300 percent weight gain in a 12 month period. When her child is anywhere from 12 to 24 months old, a mother stops breast feeding. Her milk dries up. The child will never drink breast milk ever again" 

Obviously it's saying milk can be great for that growth spurt needed at the beginning of our lives, but after that, it's just fattening, i know lots of people have said to be "but what about the calcium!", but there are TONS of other ways to get the daily value. I started buying Rice Dream as a substitute, i love it! it tastes great, lasts longer (since i could never finish the milk that tasted old and this has a couple week life in the fridge) and it cooks practically the same so nope i NEVER buy milk. I'm still looking for GOOD substitues for cheese and sour cream since we use a ton of it, i think eventually, but it's just not great for your system, and there are better less fattening ways to get those daily needs! 

There's my milk, and here's my cereal! I admit i still have to buy cereals like "Fruit Loops" and "Pops" because my husband still likes them, but i only eat these delish cereals. I've been really enjoying Kashi brand cereal so i stick with those my favorite being Warm Cinnamon.

Thanks to Alyssa who showed me a new app i've fallen in love with... since yesterday. it's called Fooducate and it's free, so yup try it. It's a scanner you can use at the grocery store to see what "grade" each food is. 

So i tried my favorite cereal.. not bad! It got a B+ i then tried fruit loops, D+ then the app tells you why it's good or bad, calories, and has an alternatives button to help you shop a little healthier. Thanks Alyssa i'm hooked! 

So are you sick of hearing only health things... fine i'll share something else! Tara Swain is a photographer in Texas, and i've been following her work for a couple of years, and get TONS of inspiration from her blog and photos. Her images are bright, sharp, and gorgeous. i love her new ideas! Just by her blog, and photos you can tell she has such a shining colorful personality and i'd love to learn from her someday! click on the image below to go to her blog!

After blogging five things last week, i was telling my husband about it, and he told me he should've been on it by now, and the puppies. i told him he was my absolute favorite thing, and so were puppies, so whoops! they're mentioned now ;) 

A little longer post about the five things, but i might have been slightly passionate about these. Have a wonderful week, and i'd love to hear about your valentines day surprises! Oh!- and any healthy snacks, foods, or substitutes you want to share! 

One hot mama.

Note the huge green eyes! 

Another GORGEOUS girl to photograph. This was the same day as the last post, "It's Rough being beautiful." what an incredible day it was! Becca is featured here doing a mini trash the dress session, with her husband Emil. By the way, this beauty is pregnant with her second child and you should go check out their maternity shots, by Alyssa! to see those shots click here. What was so fun is there were so many photographers, and they all helped each other out to get great shots! you'll get to see of those behind the scenes below. you'll recognize a few people too.  

Always check out a few other trash the dress sessions, one of my favorites here! If you're interested in some fun trash the dress portraits, i have some great ideas for the summer! 

 

 

just two photos to show behind the scenes! Emil and Mike holding these shoot through umbrellas and then another to show the whole set up we had going on! what a fun group. 

Lucky me that i got to photograph this hot girl! she's also done some modeling, which you can totally tell by the way she poses. 

If you're wanting a few photographs this weekend, maybe while in town for WPPI let me know! 

It's rough being beautiful.

What better way to spend the day than to photograph beautiful friends, and do that with other photographers! You've seen Alyssa in the last post, and she's absolutely stunning so i thought i'd show you more! I revisited these photos, and did some newer edits, the first is still my absolutely favorite! 

 

Hoping when it warms up a bit we can head out and do more shoots with coworkers! Oh and here's something fantastic, Alyssa is a photographer where i work, BUT she also modeled in this months magazine Spectacular Bride! Multi-talented.

Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! 

Five things.

Super Bowl sunday! In my opinion, not one of the most interesting games, BUT friends over, delicious food none-the-less so i guess no complaints here, but it's a new week, and five more things to share with you! 

I've been working on some new products to order from WHCC, trying out some great stuff from them, and while designing an image box, i discovered a new font i'm enjoying. I'm not usually script crazy, i like simple fonts but this is a little bit more cute, and i'm hoping couples will love it too! 

and with that new font, here's an unfinished product i've been working on using it. Really love it with this photo! To be honest, i have NO idea how it even got on my computer, i do know Brandon got some great fonts for me one day, and now i have this one!  

I might have to round out some of my favorite fonts together one week! Also, round up some fonts to just always stay away from. yikes. there are plenty of those. It might be a great thing to know if planning a wedding and you have to decide on some design aspects of the invites, save the dates, and even menu cards! 

I shared a blog i LOVE to read when i need motivation to workout and eat healthy! This blog is inspiration for new shoots, themed, GORGEOUS ideas, and the way she edits. The more i love her work, i start to read about her life, and she's got such a love for life, people and what she does. She seems passionate and kind, and heck i don't even know her! so if you're looking for photography inspiration check out Wildflowers Photography. However i am warning you, it's highly addicting. Click on the image below to go right to the blog! 

I'm not usually a huge fan of cowboy boots on myself, but last year i was looking so hard for some fabulous boots to go with dresses, and i somehow stumbled upon these beauties. i'm still absolutely in love with them, wanted them, and then my heart saddened as i read the price tag... $500. As much as i'd love to get these boots, i think camera gear is more important, although shooting in these would be fun! Mostly i'm sharing these as a guilty pleasure that i'd love to be wearing. If you decide you have an extra 500, go ahead, i'll let you buy me these. Also if you know of some cute boots similar and 1/5 of the price i might consider it.   

Whelp, now time for a bit more realistic shoe. It's brand new for me! Just purchased these on saturday after work, late night errand run with Brandon. This has been a difficult task, and although Brandon didn't think he needed to be along, i'm glad he was there. As a hater of running, but lover of being skinny, and eating a dessert i had been getting blisters from my running shoes and it made me less excited to run. My old pair weren't really for running I actually think they were just a weight room shoe and BOY they were loud, it sounded like i was slamming my shoes on the ground; and all i could concentrate on were my feet. I have extremely flat feet, but hate anything with an arch since it just feels unnatural for me. Luckily runner husband suggested something that also bends with my feet. (he actually suggested those ones that go between your toes, but i'm just not sure i could handle the between my toe thing..) i asked around and found these basically feel like your natural feet, completely flexible, light, inexpensive, and even though this may not seem important, i felt cute! We ran this morning, and they felt fantastic so far! 

I had been using Nikes so long, and thought maybe i should try a different shoe. Adidas climacool is what i have, and oddly enough they're not pink! it's weird i know, but i'm really happy with these. Although it's too late for my shins, i've been icing them and breaking up the tissue after running, my feet are MUCH better. WHEW. 

Now snack time. Most of the time if i crave ice cream, which isn't terribly often, i'd rather use those precious calories on a salty chip snack we get all natural Breyer's vanilla. Although since i started working out again, i don't allow them in my house except today when we bought for everyone.  MEH. i figure it's not too bad, BUT i tried Almond dream a couple months ago and think it's really great! It's a non-dairy frozen dessert and really tastes like ice cream. It's made from almonds, and of course you can taste those but i find it delicious! I actually started out buying the Rice Dream dessert since we use the Rice Dream drink, but yuck, didn't like it quite as well. 

If you're lactose intolerant, doing gluten free meals,  or just trying to cut down the high fat content in dairy products like I am, this is a great treat! It's about 140 calories for 1/2 cup, still not the best snack to have but it sure beats all of the dairy ice cream!  

So i hope you had a great relaxing sunday! If you have any snack or fonts that you like! let me know, always looking for new things to try! 

Something i found while reading captivating lately...

"Just like God, woman is not a problem to be solved but a vast wonder to be enjoyed." 

friends. models. love.

Dry lake bed shoot

 This was such a great day to meet new photographers, to be with friends while we shot some great models! I'm sharing a few of my favorites then on to my crazy friends and husband, a slight look behind the scenes and what it's like to be around us. Hope you're prepared! It's a great glimpse into my crazy life and friends! 

I'm hoping to do a lot more fun shoots like this again when summer comes around, and if you have something in mind, let me know i'd love to photograph even more! 

Here you go ladies and gentleman, like i promised in the last photo post, danette and dominique, back in action! along with my husband, and friend/photographer alyssa! I'm thinking we all had a pretty good time.. for most of it anyway, there is one of brandon assisting and getting super distracted by his IPhone. He's wonderful though and i love him. he's always willing to help out.  

After i put up a photo of my cute husband assisting (and not the one jumping over dominique) i realized there was a great article that i read recently on Davello Photography blog called "where are all the men?" It made me especially proud of Brandon for being so supportive of me and my photography. He's so helpful and even has learned along with me how to use a camera on full manual settings, he knows how to set it up! the only thing we differ on is, he admits he isn't creative, but he knows how to make the lighting correct for any time of day, and i'm so thankful for a great man in my life! the article said to take a photo of our significant other and share, i've done that before but now you can see him helping out! I also admitted there are times when i'm frustrated without his opinion but when it's important, he always is giving his input. I'm one lucky girl.  

Be ready once again for more friends shoots, and lots of photos of the beautiful Alyssa!

When you're out shooting do you have assistants with, particularly close friends too? Do you get the chance to hang out with other photographers to shoot? For the non-photographers, does it make you more nervous having more than one photographer around? 

I've also been thinking lately of the most recent shoot at the dry lake bed, the trash the dress shoot, and it's one of my favorites still! so check it out here. 

Here's an update that i'm going to share because it motivates me, i'm down 3-4 lbs officially! workout/eating healthy for life has started! 

Hope you're having a fantastic Tuesday! God Bless.