Five things.

Now that we're mostly settled in to our new house, and life is slowing down at least for a couple weeks, i've had some time to gather a list of the wonderful new products and findings.  i've had so many favorite things piling up lately, i just had to share! beauty products, food, shoes, and decor. 

 

ONE- Victoria's Secret Pink Collection: Warm and Cozy. seriously, i'm having a slight obsession with this scent. i've been looking for new body scrub and perfume and found this one. then i realized why i like it.. it has a touch of vanilla..but it's so yummy! so if you're looking for something new, check out the PINK collection, they have tons of variety! plus added bonus.. i really like the design. yes, that plays into it. don't pretend it doesn't when you pick up new scents to check out.

TWO- Rudis Gluten-Free bakery. i've been trying a few GF bread out, and some are just gross. i'm still looking around, but found this and really enjoy it! so check it out, most grocery stores have these options. and i got a great secret from the family i stay with (the warrens) toast it, it doesn't crumble as much. also i still try to only use one slice for sandwiches, i still look crazy but i then fill up on the veggies and yummy toppings. i still have such a long way to go to clean eat even 80% but i'm slowly learning and feeling good about the food i'm eating. 

THREE- Nican mug. Get it?-ni-can. I've been wanting one of these Nikon lens mugs for a while, and brandon surprised me with it the other day! it fits perfectly on my desk, and love having it every morning. although, there is a Nikkor brand.. guess i'll just have to get the 70-200 mm next! 

FOUR- Reef shoes. i found these cute little shoes with the most comfortable insoles possibly ever at a bike shop on the mountain the other day (and yessss i finally got a road bike.. should be in this week! more on that later) so comfortable, cute, and i can wear them for weddings and other shoots. i'm pretty pumped about this find. let's be honest, it has a touch of pink. perfect.

FIVE- Metallic prints. it's hard to tell taking a photo.. of a photo. but i just ordered my first metallic prints; and one panorama and i LOVE it. it works for only some photos but it's a gorgeous little touch to add to some fun photos you really want to pop. Professionally printed on Kodak Endura paper, adds shimmer and vibrant colors with highly reflective glossy finish. i'm not usually for reflective.. or glossy.. but it adds such a fun element to photos and i'll be ordering more soon! if i've taken your photos recently and you're interested.. just ask! i'd be happy to order some for you too! 

****if you have some favorite things to share.. post below under "post a comment" especially good healthy recipes, or anything great you'd like to share! i had a suggestion to add in the photos of the new house. who's all interested in seeing those? i'll hop to it a little quicker if you'd like! enjoy your weekend. go outside. :)

Kayaking adventures on lake mead, Las Vegas

It was our first time Kayaking on Lake Mead in Vegas and i don't know why we didn't go sooner! it was absolutely lovely aside from the blisters and paddling into the wind for most of it. (gloves next time...) 

as many of you may know, our new home is now in New Mexico. I just moved here this weekend but i'm getting much more positive about it! Before we left however, we decided to use the time (9 days to be exact since this summer has been crazy) to do some adventures together of things we wouldn't be able to do for a while. it made me realize we need to be doing more of these fun things together WAY more often. 

i didn't bring my camera because i knew if i did something awful would happen but thanks to an otterbox that floats, i stored my phone and when when i wasn't scared of tipping over of the huge boats passing, i snapped a few. so glad i did. they aren't perfect but that first one is going to get printed for sure! 4 hours, $60. definitely a doable date and we brought our own food so get to it. plus.. it works your arms and back. workout baby! 

what these semi forced adventures helped us learn is to take some time to get to know the area, we have lists down and now when we move we have fun things to do! i suggest you do too. people of mn.. get to it i know how much beauty there is there. unfortunately so do my torn a part feet from all the fun shoots! 

i was really excited to share this post cause... it's an awesome adventure/date/workout/tanning session and it's completely doable! so skip the dinner and movie this week and find something fun outside to do. 

what are some fun adventures you like to go on with your significant other? any ideas for us in the middle of nowhere!? ;) we already have two dates this week planned to get plugged in and start loving where we live. Oh and i'll be posting more of the new digs when things get picked up a little more around here! lots of fun decorated rooms to share! 

Back to my regular lifting schedule.

i'm back from minnesota, for a little while anyway and some of you have been asking about workouts and eating habits i've recently started to form more seriously. a few of you might know my story from the past couple months but here it is!

for a couple years now i've been on again off again working out, and also starting changing what i eat but i wasn't seeing any change. i was completely stuck and because of that, i would get so unmotivated. As gross as this might sound, i always was feeling bloated, i wasn't getting anywhere and i had a few lbs to lose. (i still have a couple, but i'm well on my way!) My good friend Jordan has been a distributer of Advocare for a while and i saw the products he was using and how good he felt, i finally decided the last time i went to Minnesota, i was ready to change and try a cleanse.

I started the 24 day challenge in May and for me, discipline of food was the toughest part. yikes. it slowly has been getting easier to say no to junk seeing how my body is changing and how good i feel after eating better. i stuck as close to the diet as i could and by the end of the 24 days.. i felt GREAT! i lost a few inches, the food i was eating made me feel good and i was finally understanding the saying that "nothing tastes as good as fit feels" cause.. i didn't fully believe that before. 

I wouldn't have made it through the challenge with such enthusiasm if it wasn't for the Warren family and my husband. They have great eating habits, and helped me every step of the way with whatever i needed, they were there for encouragement. 

now that the cleanse is done, yes i have cheat meals but when i don't i feel how different my body reacts to food and how much better i feel when i stay away from a lot of dairy or gluten. i'm not completely gluten or dairy free but it gets more and more everyday. 

One of the days, i allowed more cheese than i have had since the start of the cleanse, and for the rest of the day, i felt sick. my stomach bloated and i could really tell how dairy affected my body. yuck. for those of you who don't know... i absolutely was in love with bread and cheese so not desiring it (as much) is a huge step. 

These photos are slowly showing progress and when i feel like i'm at my first big goal, i'll show before and afters. my workout is mostly lifting, a little cardio, and of course... as much clean eating as i can. I'm so excited to continue to see progress, and if any of you have questions or are maybe in doing the challenge, let me know! i'd love to help you out and start feeling good about YOU again! Want to see product i use, food i eat or more progress pics? follow me on instagram for all your stalking needs. :) 

beauty photographs, my turn!

It's been a couple months since i've done some photos of me or my family, so it was about time again! :) I usually love to capture moments of my family, but with brandon gone it's been about trying new poses, light, and  new ideas. If you follow me, you might know i do boudoir and some women might be skeptical to jump into that type of photography but there is another option... beauty photos. Ya know that old glamour shots you had? you might have had fluffy hair, huge earings, and a jean jacket. well gorgeous, these are the updated, modern version! It's becoming more and more popular among women again to get these done so to show you a quick 20 minute session, i photographed.. myself. I'm also going to show a before and after!

So why should you do beauty photos? There are so many reasons women are jumping into this type, i did some a little more casual, a gorgeous flowing dress always works too, or even jeans! one reason for me was i'm finally getting back into working out and eating clean (for the most part) my body is just starting to change and i wanted to show some progress! but even if that's not the case for you, i think about if i have kids someday; they'll be the ones to hold on to photographs and everyone always treasures photos of their mom. so ladies, i know a lot of you don't want your photos taken.. but your kids do! one of my favorite photos of my mom is when she had these tiny little shorts on a top that showed her stomach when she was about 19, she's adorable. 

in these, i decided to be real. i did a few serious, but my personality is just a LITTLE outgoing, so i wanted to show who i am and yes kept the crazy ones too. my set up was my camera on a tripod going off every 5 seconds, and a blow dryer sitting on a pillow and a box, that simple with my white walls. i ended up with about 9 favorites, and am SO happy i'm going to have them printed (and pretty big sizes!) for wall art when we move. i have some photos of just brandon, so why not me! :) 

as a woman, i could pick a part these photos. i've been working hard to eat clean and lift, but i still have days where those flaws just pop out at me. i know most women feel this way, but when i take photos of myself i try to see a woman with lots of personality, who's happy and loving life. i also try to always look at photographs of me from a perspective of my husband or my best friend, and what they see is a beautiful woman.  

i didn't want to touch up, liquify, or change too much in these because i wanted to show you that by a cute outfit, light, and posing can make the photograph, not changing how you look. so here's a before and after. the only thing i changed before any of these, is i cloned out the light switch. what i did to this photograph is lighten and add warmth in lightroom. In photoshop i used two of my favorite actions and then changed how i wanted them. i also touched up my skin but only on 20 percent. did i want to do a lot more to make me look perfect? absolutely. but the best part is i look happy, and i look like me.. i love it! 

So, if you've been interested in photographs but aren't sure about doing boudoir, beauty could be perfect for you. get your hair and makeup done and let's get some fabulous photos! 

another great part? you can hang these anywhere in your home, where boudoir usually is a little more kept away. so show off your gorgeous self! 

What Success looks like for me.

"i'm not where i want to be, but i like where i'm going."-Jasmine Star (um yes i realize we both have the same middle name, does it make me feel more awesome about it? why, yes it does.) 

This year at WPPI was absolutely beyond inspiring. I learned so much about practical things for my business. Every piece you can imagine that goes into a photography business. Tips and tricks, posing, light, contracts, emails, service, pricing, products, vendors, website, blogs, marketing, branding, accounting, music; you name it, i took notes on how to better every aspect.  (below is Sue Bryce and me. holy cow!) 

Aside from the practical tips, i always make sure to see some of my favorite speakers. ones that not only give away a few secrets and tips, but motivate you to think differently about what success is, and what you want from photography.

a couple times i wrote down what success means to me, and what i want. i won't share it all, especially boring numbers and pages of thoughts, but i will share that i enjoy doing some work in pajamas and scheduling my own time. But what it looks like to me is this…

"i just want to be a beacon of light, helping women feel beautiful, like they're more than enough, and i want to bless people in abundance, make a difference, tell the story and connect, following what God has in store."- a few lines from my pages of scribbles and note taking.

i talk about women and beauty. a lot of you know that i've recently fallen in LOVE with boudoir/beauty shots. I'd really to do even more of those sessions, and will hopefully be doing a few of my own projects soon to show you. I just wanted so share with you, because every year i'm growing, learning and staying motivated to be the best photographer i can. I want to thank all of you who you support me, and can't wait for what God has for me in the future.

i'll leave you with this, my devotional that was at perfect timing:

a confident woman avoids comparisons. Confidence is not possible as long as we compare ourselves with other people. No matter how good we look, how talented or smart we are, or how successful we are, there is always someone who is better, sooner or later we will run into her. i believe confidence is found in doing the best we can with what we have to work with and not in comparing ourselves with other and competing with them. our Joy should not be found in being better than others, but in being the best we can. 

so what's your definition of success?