under the stars....

...you can always find love.

happy birthday to a very special young lady. :)

You're 21....our baby no more!!

Crafty Inspiration: Happy flowers

Spring is here...and I cannot describe how happy fresh flowers make the part of me that is a little too girly. There is one thing that bums me out about them though - that they eventually die.

Of course there is a happy compromise to that situation. Making paper flowers! It's a trend that regularly circles around the wedding-blog world and I have more than enough tutorials saved on my computer than I have opportunities to use them. Considering its "bridal shower season" I thought I would take a break from blogging my work to compile my favorite tutorials for your non-traditional blossoms! Enjoy!

Intimate Weddings blog shows you how to make flowers from cupcake liners

Normally I'm not a fan of carnations but this Folding trees tissue paper carnations tutorial kind of changed my mind about them.

Button blossoms done as adorably as martha stewart could.

One of my favorite techniques is burning the edges of fabric so that they curl. Reminds me of my favorite ranuculus. Of course a tutorial for it would be on 100 Layer Cake.

DIY-able tissue paper centerpiece from Once Wed.

i could think of a dozen uses for this simple spiral rose. dozi design posted a very easy to follow tutorial. How would you use them?

romance & candlelight {fullerton, ca}

Tim & Steph's february wedding at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center was nothing less than beautiful in so many ways.

spring is HERE. :)

{from Tim & Steph's wedding}

practice makes perfect

I'm just about caught up with posting most all of the projects on my plate from early winter, there should be no more 4-5 month delays in blogging!

But an idea that I've been challenged with recently is to shoot more for myself. Not being selfish, mind you, but being more intentional in shooting when I don't have to and allowing my creative to develop. With the heavy intake of blogs that I read daily, its so easy to get discouraged by how AWESOME everyone else seems to be and how wah-wah I am as a photographer. That's what I'm gonna try to do while I'm here in Tennessee...just practice thinking outside the box.

I did manage to have one day in the past months when I took some photos...just because I wanted to. I had a yummy brunch with two of my favorite sisters (jen & caro - you've been seeing a lot of them on this blog lately :D....because I love them) to celebrate caroline's birthday. I love Cafe 222 - if you're ever in SD, be sure to stop by! They give you free coffee while you wait for a table. :D

Made of teacups and spoons! I think i took about 10 shots of it.

BISCUITS AND GRAVY. Yum.

my usual getaway...

...consists of an iced chai latte, books, the nutcracker soundtrack, madeleines and of course the perfect little cofffeeshop when I can't quite leave San Diego.

But I'm actually on my way to Tennessee right now for a REAL getaway. I'll be showing you the Smoky Mountains sometime this week!