Yummy Fall Treat

As much as I love Summer and warm days to enjoy the sunshine, I do love Fall. Fall brings cozy nights by the fire, warm cups of home made soup and the time to enjoy being at home with my family.

Yesterday, I made an acorn squash to go with dinner and as I cut it open and stared at the beautiful seeds inside, I thought why not roast these like pumpkin seeds. In fact, they looked like I would enjoy them even more because they're smaller and thinner overall.

Well, I was right. Matt and I gobbled them down. That was my only complaint, it was a small squash so there weren't that many seeds! I thought the whole process was beautiful and was compelled to take photo's along the way. From the initial slicing open to rinsing the seeds, coating them with palm oil and salt and finally roasted and placed in a bowl to enjoy!

Ayla

It's not a common name by any means. If fact, I've only known one girl with this name and she's my niece. But, a year ago, a close friend who had read the same book that my sister had years ago, named her daughter Ayla. The book... "Clan Of The Cave Bear" by Jean Auel and I just read somewhere, for anyone interested, that she has a new book coming out, "The Land of Painted Caves".

I photographed Ayla a year ago, two weeks after she was born and I had the pleasure to take her picture again. This time she's one and two weeks and a bundle of cute sounds and a look that just sees through you.

She's a modern girl with two mommies who are beautiful and just as much fun to photograph. It was hard to pick and choose a few to post but these are some of my favorites.

Happy First Birthday Ayla!!!

Elizabeth and Shaik - An Atwood Ranch Wedding

Right when I got back from Michigan in July, I had the absolute pleasure of photographing a wedding with my husband Matt and his co-worker Jason. The wedding was held at the beautiful vineyard, Atwood Ranch. It's a private, family owned ranch nestled in beautiful Glen Ellen wine country.

It was an all day affair and overall, just stunning. The bride Elizabeth and her husband Shaik were wonderful. The accent color of the day was purple and it brought such a fun element to everything. (Just wait 'till you see the photo of their shoes and socks!) I started the day by photographing some details which included the grooms buttonierre, yes, it was made from buttons not flowers, and a new collar for their sweet dog. I stayed with the bride and her bridal party right up until she and her parents walked down the beautiful outdoor isle to the ceremony site. I took photos of each of the bridesmaids and after the ceremony Matt and I took some candid photo's during the "cocktail hour" and then some formals of the bridal party. Well, formal isn't really the truth. They used another element that I think is always fun at a daytime wedding, parasols. They just bring a cool feeling to the day and always make for great props in photographs. We had the bridal party all holding them at first and then the rest which you'll see below, just happened as we continued shooting.

After photographing the bridal party, the bride and groom took the long and beautiful walk from the ceremony site to the barn where the reception took place. They were so sweet along the way. Stopping to kiss or just be with each other as a newly married couple. Being there, photographing with Matt, made me think about our wedding day and how much fun we had with friends and family. I loved feeling that way while photographing another couple who were just starting down the road together.

I loved capturing little moments throughout the day. When the dust had settled and we were able to go through the images, seeing the photograph of Shaik's mother or the shot of Elizabeth hugging her maid of honor after her speech, her parents cutting a rug on the dance floor, made the entire day worth it. I'm not sure how many other opportunities I'll have to photograph a wedding with Matt but any time the chance comes, I'll take it!

You can see more images that Matt posted on his blog as well as find a link to the full slideshow HERE that includes images from all three photographers but I thought I would post some of my favorite images that I took throughout the day.

Enjoy!

Life List Item - Checked Off The List!

Isn't time funny?! It can pass so quickly at times and then, somethings feel like they drag on forever. And then, some things feel like they happen in the perfect time. I think it's probably all an illusion and everything happens at the perfect time, but it doesn't always feel like that.

This time though, it feels just right. Why? It just does.

A few years ago, when I started FMN Design and was exploring book vendors to print and bind the books I designed, I found Asuka Books. They were at WPPI when I attended the trade show and I loved their books. They provided a beautiful coffee table style album that I wanted to offer my clients. They don't work with the general public so to have one of their books, you need to either be a photographer or a designer who provides the album to a client.

Their books are similar to what people would find with Blurb or an Apple Book but the quality isn't comparable in the least. The binding is sturdy and the books are assembled by hand! The paper quality is awesome too. Being a designer and having produced loads of paper products over the years, to me, paper quality is important. I'm not a fan when the paper is too thin which can lead to tearing over the years. They use 100 lb. stock and it feels great as you turn the pages.

The color quality is great as well. There are so many book printers out there that don't put enough emphasis on the print quality of their images. A lot of companies images wind up printing dark and muddy for just this reason. That means extra work for photographers and designers who want their images to look bright and crisp. Honestly, I don't have time for that. Asuka prints true to what I send, so I know that as long as I send images that are color corrected to my standard, they're going to print exactly the way I want. Perfect!

After signing up for their newsletter years ago, I saw that they highlighted one album a monthy as their "Book of the Month". I mentally put that down on my life list. I wanted that, to be highlighted by their company for my album design. How cool would that be??!!

Well, it happened! For the month of September, 2010. Is that not one of the best 40th birthday presents?! I'm so excited and get to check that off my life list. Yay!! Thank you Asuka Books for such wonderful recognition. I'm beyond thrilled.

They picked the book I designed with the photography of Stephanie Williams. Her work is so beautiful and the locations that she shot these particular images at are awesome. The bamboo is so cool and unique. I just loved working with her and her photography. My publicist, Leila from Be Inspired PR connected the two of us and it turned out to be such a great match. Thank you Leila and Stephanie and this honor of "Book of the Month" is shared by us all!

Click HERE to see the album.

FORTY

Last week Wednesday, the 22nd, I turned 40. Strange. People have been asking me how I feel about turning 40 and my response has been truthful. "You must be speaking of someone else".

I think it has to stem from being a child and knowing people who were 40. They were old. I mean, OLD. People who are 40 are parents, and people who don't have any fun anymore. They're tired and cranky and well, OLD!

If I think about it, me, being 40, I definitely don't feel old. I am a parent but I think I still have fun?! Maybe not as often as I used to, but shoot, I have fun. As for tired and cranky? Well, I think I probably fall into that category more than I would like to. That seems to come along with the "being a parent" part of the deal. (smirk)

Honestly, I had the panic attack about turning 40 when I was 38. Something happened then. It was like I was strapped into some insane roller coaster and I had been clicking my way up to the top of a deadly drop. When I turned 38 it felt like I was right at the precipice, looking over the edge at the long, endless drop below. Tightness in my chest and rapid breathing were normal for at least 6 months. I didn't even want to celebrate my birthday. Acknowledging it was just out of the question.

Now, that I've "dropped" over that edge, the scary part seems over and I feel like I've settled in to the ride. I'm on that nice long curve where I'm almost compelled to raise my hands and smile.

This year I even had a desire to celebrate my birthday. I wanted a party. Nothing huge and over the top. Just something nice and festive and fun for me and for the people who are important in my life. It was hard to keep the guest list down. I could have invited so many more people, but then it would have been a crazy event! I wasn't in the mood for crazy. Just fun and simple. That might become my new motto in life. Fun and simple!

For the party, I knew that I wanted to have photographs of myself around, so I started digging through boxes and albums and envelopes and folders. I rounded up close to 200 printed photographs of myself from birth to around 32. I strung yarn from our chandelier to different points of our great room and hung the photographs by clothespins along the yarn. I did the same thing across our living room and dining room. It was pretty cool to create that web of my life. Living with my past around me for a week before the party was interesting for sure. Not only did it stir loads of nostalgic feelings but I was able to see my life in this linear way, visually, that you really never get to do.

My mom has been living with us since late August which added a whole other level to my experience. I would see her looking at the photographs as I was hanging them. Remembering her life as well. It was cool to be able to ask her how I old I was in certain photographs and to hear stories of what was happening at the time. We've had an up and down relationship over the years. Maybe more down than up, but for those couple of weeks leading up to the party and the party itself, it was a magical experience.

It was interesting to realize that having printed photographs ended so many years ago! We have a few prints from recent years but the majority live on hard drives. Matt solved the problem of completing the story of my life in pictures by pulling together an incredible slideshow of digital images over the last 9 years that was played on our television through Apple TV during the party. So cool.

Matt, who truly helped in more ways that I could ever express, did so much. He and I strung all of our white Christmas lights, and we have a lot, across the backyard to create a magical environment. He pulled 9 hours of music together, everything that he knew I liked. He's so incredible like that! He set up the photo backdrop which was in the corner of our dining room. Basically our camera with a flash was on a tripod, set up on a timer so people could just go and take their photo at anytime they wanted. The photo's are AWESOME by the way and I can't thank everyone enough for participating!!! We also set up a projector in the backyard, thanks Brian!, and showed obscure movies with no sound once the sun went down. He did all of this while being sick! He pushed through not feeling well to do all of that because it was important for me. He loves me that much. I don't even know how to express my love and gratitude because it flows so deep. Matt, I LOVE you. Thank you for EVERYTHING!!

We served gluten free food that was yummy and healthy and had a vodka bar with lemonade, fresh lime juice and fresh watermelon fresca. There were makings for martinis and cosmos as well. Rebecca, who we call Auntie mom, brought her "painting table" which was such a gift! She cut out a variety of shapes from clay and brought them fired complete with a hole at the top for hanging and placed them in baskets on a table in the backyard. There were paints and brushes so the children, and there were a TON at the party, could just go to the table at any point during the party, and paint. It was so great. There were kids painting the entire time. Even in the dark! Friends brought me sunflowers, orchids and my favorite, dahlias. Those flowers along with some sage and lavender from the garden were the splash of color the decor needed.

I have to say that the whole event allowed me to process my life in a new way. I made all of the decorations myself and really just had a vision of wanting everyone to have an experience being here that left them feeling happy and inspired. I think it was pretty successful. I know I had a great time. I felt loved and special and being surrounded by my friends and family as I crossed the threshold into 40 was incredible.

I know that I've only officially been 40 for a week, but, I actually think I like being 40. Did I just say that?! I think I do though. There's something about being comfortable in my own skin, knowing myself and settling in to who I am that feels good. I know myself more than I ever have. I'm more relaxed with myself and with what I like and what I don't like. There isn't a need to make excuses for who I am and I've learned how to better communicate who I am to others. Funny that it took this long to figure myself out. I'm sure I still have a long way to go but for now, it feels pretty good.

THANK YOU to everyone who came to celebrate me, it was the most incredible gift from each and every one of you. Thank you to everyone who sent me a note or a message or post on FB. I feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends I feel completely and utterly spoiled. THANK YOU

Here are some of my favorite backdrop shots. If you want to see more, go HERE.