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Jamie and Jared : Anytime
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S he was set up. It was a classic case of friends wanting to hook her up, but Jamie wasn’t having any of it. Not uh, no way. And, besides, Jared was a Marine and the last thing Jamie wanted to deal with was fatigues—both of the physical and camouflaged kind.
While having dinner at a friend’s house, the doorbell rang and there Jared stood. With his blue eyes gleaming, Jamie wasn’t having any of it. Jared was kind, caring and gentle, but he couldn’t get Jamie’s attention, so he relented and decided to let this opportunity pass him. Until a week later, when Jamie called and asked him on a date. Apparently, fatigues have a whole new appeal when worn by a blue-eyed, muscular boy.
They dated four weeks until Jared was deployed to Iraq, where they corresponded via email and phone calls. After his tour, Jared returned home and discussed marriage with Jamie, but they agreed the time wasn’t quite right. When he was deployed for his second tour of Iraq, the emails and video chats resumed. Late one night, while Jamie was completing work for nursing school and video-chatting with Jared, he couldn’t bear the idea of waiting, so in a dry and dusty land far away, he typed: WILL YOU MARRY ME? Shocked, Jamie scribbled on her notepad and held her response to her computer’s video camera: YES!!!!!!
While Jamie and Jared suspect others consider their love unconditional, there’s no denying that their love is genuine, beautiful, and sacrificing. Jared returns to Iraq in a week to complete his tour and while the wedding date has yet to be solidified, I hope I’m blessed enough to work with this amazing couple again! ;)
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| We met in San Clemente for their engagement session at one of Jamie's favorite surf stores...while there, we found an alley that I just couldn't get enough of! |
| Jamie and Jared brought along these awesome hats...I LOVED it! It's fun to see how something so small can really show off their personalities and love! :) |
| Just a stone's throw away was the beautiful beach and boardwalk, so we finished the session along the coast... |
| To see more of their engagement session, CLICK HERE for a slideshow! |
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Great Set of Knockers
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S o often, I find myself trying to balance my personal and professional life. There are times when I feel like it’s a double-headed dragon pulling in two different directions, but then I take a step back and soak up life’s simplest pleasures. In the oddest of ways, the beast of a dragon morphs into two butterflies, each floating in their own direction.
While in Mexico last week, my dad asked me to bring along my camera. While I always have my camera, I’m ashamed to admit I hardly take pictures for myself. You know, just for the sake of picture taking. Embarrassingly, I’m often too tired to shoot for creativity’s sake. Yes, this is my dragon. However, while on our way to Juarez Park in San Miguel de Allende, we walked along rustic streets and I noticed an abundance of beautiful doors and knockers. All of a sudden, my dad and I were pointing and shouting across the street, Hey, look at THIS one!
For the first time in what felt like forever, I was taking photographs of things that I wanted to document. I have a strange affinity for doors and knockers, so I spent the afternoon in glorious bliss snapping away. I hope to create a collection of photographs of knockers from around the world. By doing so, I believe the two butterflies will ensure to not cross often mangled paths.
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In other news, I’m SO happy to announce that Jess from Studio3Z was my 9,000th Commentor!! Holllla! As a small token of appreciation for all you who leave comments, Jess will receive a $20 iTunes Gift Card. Thank you SO MUCH for making my day by your feedback and support! Xoxo…
Staying true to my Google Images fascination, this is what popped up when I typed in 9,000...love it! ;) |
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They're Made for Walkin'
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H e thinks they’re silly. I think they’re fashionable. He thinks the only way I can get away with wearing them is if I live in Texas. I think I can wear them because a person can wear anything in California. He thinks just because I can, doesn’t mean I should. I think…I think…I think I’m right. SO THERE.
JD has a long-standing animosity toward cowboy boots. As in he hates mine so much it makes his teeth hurt.
While in Mexico last week, I shopped through the open-air market and saw the skies part like a massive blue curtain. The glory of the heavens shined down, as if pointing to a particular stall, and I followed a white dove to where the light stopped. There stood the most glorious pair of cowboy boots I’ve ever seen. A color cacophony of crimson and brown, with stitched detailing throughout the body.
It’s like God was TELLING me to buy them! JD rolled his eyes as I recounted the story. Of course, there was no sky-parting or dove-following, but I hoped the gravitas of my imagination would make my purchase more digestible. Apparently, JD needs Alka Seltzer to swallow my fashion purchases because he suffers from indigestion every time I don my boots.
And though the battle between Can and Should will forever remain, I’ll wear my boots and stomp on all my nay-sayers. Seltzer-drinking husbands included! |
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The New Blog
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I know this goes without saying, but in case you haven’t noticed, I HAVE A NEW BLOG! I realize it may seem strange to have gone through three blog designs without ever touching my website, but my business wouldn’t be half of what it is today without my little bloggity blog. What started as an online journal to document life’s ups and downs has morphed into an awesome mix of portfolio, diary, scrapbook, and personal photo album. I LOVE it!
This project has been a labor of love and I am truly indebted to some amazing people. Firstly, I need to thank JD and Bianca for offer truthful criticism and ideas (you guys, even though I pouted and pretended to ignore you, I appreciate your candor and honesty!). Secondly, I want to thank the ever-amazing Jessica Claire for taking the rotating pictures in the masthead. Thirdly, I need to thank the dynamic duo from Infinet Design, Brock Martin and Dave Warfel, for working tirelessly on this new blog. These gentlemen were simply the BEST people to work with and they took my fragmented ideas and made them way, way cooler! Love them!
As you can also see, I have a new logo and brand!! I can’t wait to debut my new website (coming soon!) and so many other cool projects in the works! Thank you—my blog readers and friends—for taking time out of your busy lives to stop by and spread a little cyber lovin’!
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**EDITED TO ADD**
I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who has left comments of support and encouragement!! It means a lot and y'all really made my day! And a special shout out to all my unveiled Blog Stalkers! See how fun it is once you leave a comment and we're friends?! I hope to see more you around these here parts! ;) |
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Happy Mother's Day!
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L ast night over dinner I heard a six-year-old boy crying as if someone had poked out his eyeballs with toothpicks. With his lips turned south, tears streamed down his face and he cried with such vigor I was reminded of the Spanish soap operas my grandmother used to watch when I was a child. Those Mexican actresses can cry so dramatically the camera appears to be shaking with their violent sobs.
The mother, in demure grace, ignored her child and conversed with her husband as if on a private date. She acted as if the room was silent and life was gorgeous. The world was black and it was just them.
Mothers. They are such a force of nature. They are a simultaneous blend of actress, coach, referee, teammate, lover, chef, chauffer, banker, nurse, and friend. I happen to be blessed with one of the best mothers IN THE WORLD and—while I make no qualms being undeserving such a fabulous chromosome donator—I am incredibly thankful for the impact she’s had on my life.
Mom, I love you. These simple words can’t really convey how I feel or what I want to say, but until I can find a better way of saying it, they will have to do. Thank you for never, ever thinking of yourself first, slicing your heart and pining it to my sleeve, and using your soft lips to remind me just how special I am. I love you.
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| **And in case anyone is wondering WHY IN THE WORLD we would take our mother to a restaurant that looks like it belongs in a neighborhood where drive-bys are an hourly occurrence, it was HER choice! We told her she could choose any restaurant to spend her afternoon and she chose a ghetto fabulous restaurant where her children spent their childhood. We kinda thought she was crazy, but it was such a great afternoon!** |
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Hum and Drum of Life
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O ne good thing about being away from home is the ability to realize how much normalcy I crave. Often times JD will have to hear me bemoan the everyday hum and drum of life—wake up, pray, email, workout, edit, blog, lunch, edit, client care, dinner, tie-up loose ends—but being away from home forces me to realize just how blessed I am to do what I love.
And to be around those who love me.
Taking a break from the fast lane of life is much appreciated, but I sure miss my boys at home. The male species who allows me to kiss, cuddle, squeeze, and bite at my discretion. I miss the nights of JD complaining about my infatuation with The Hills (yet he always seems to watch it with me!?) and the late night runs for frozen yogurt. You know, the everyday hum and drum of life that makes each day beautiful.
Here’s a couple of pictures I snapped of My Favorites the day before I left to Mexico:
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I'm leaving Mexico this afternoon and returning to Orange County late tonight. I've had such an AMAZING time here in San Miguel de Allende, but I'm also looking forward to the hum and drum I dearly miss! :)
In other news...something very, verrrry cool is happening on Monday morning, so be sure to check back read all of the juicy goodness! |
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San Miguel de Allende, Day Three
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I hail from a family of five children, with me being the eldest by one long minute. As a child, I’d tote this notion like an expensive purse, Being the older and wiser of your children, Mom and Dad, I think you should listen to ME! It drove my twin sister nuts.
Of the five children, there is none more like my father than me. For some reason, God thought it’d be funny to create a female carbon copy of my father, complete with his mannerisms, humor, and brain chemical codes. Specifically dealing with the latter, the older I get, the more I realize I’ve inherited a few of my dad’s not-so-finer qualities: Anxiety and Hypertension. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s the reason my father invited me on this trip with him. A couple months ago, I experienced something I’ve never dealt with before—something I’ll call The Episode for sake of blog ease—and it radically changed my life. In retrospect, I realize they were a series of panic attacks, but at the time I felt like my life was flipped upside down. Moments when I couldn’t breathe, bouts of desperate crying, and panic-driven calls to JD. I was a textbook anxiety case. The only reason I know this is because I’m reading The Anxiety Cure by Archibald Hart. The Hart pretty much described my life in the first two chapters and I’m learning so much!
Since moving past The Episode, life has resumed normalcy. JD and my family are working hard and offering support when needed…how I love them! Speaking of support, my father has passed me the proverbial peace pipe by bringing me to his hometown. While he claims he brought me to San Miguel to exploit my photographic ability for a new headshot for his upcoming book, I tend to think the trip was two-fold: Headshots and Headchecks! ;) I’ve come to understand and appreciate my roots, and further understand that taking time to relax and smell the churros is just what a person needs to see life for all its beauty.
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Papi, thank you for unconditionally loving me. Though there are times when I try your patience, I know deep down you want me to avoid the potholes and stay true to the course of life. Thank you for challenging me…for teaching me…and giving me everything you never had or dreamed of. With all my heart, I love you. You’re not only the bestest dad a girl could have, you’re one of my best friends.
And, at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, I felt it befitting to say: Viva San Miguel de Allende! |
2008
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2007
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