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Asian Turkey Meatballs is one of our favorite winter dishes around here. So, as we kicked off summer grilling season this past weekend and said hello to fresh fruit salads, I had to (get David to) make it one last time before fall!

f2.5  |  1/200sec  |  iso1600

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I had the opportunity to capture baby Amelia today -- and at just 8 days old she was just a little peanut!

Though I am in lloooooooove with this pose, I can't take credit for it. It was a special request by Amelia's mom. I think she has great taste!

f4  |  1/200sec  |  iso200

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When one of my clients first approached me about photographing her daughter's Christening I had to think a good long time about it. I'd never even shot an event before - let alone a large event (150+ in attendance). Oh, the pressure!

After talking to my enginerd engineer hubby, thinking through all the possible scenarios, asking David to come with me and be my support second shooter, and figuring out what the appropriate equipment to rent would be, I said yes. And, I'm so glad I did.

The hands-on experience I received that day will be invaluable to me as I continue to grow my business. I had a crash course in lighting, flash photography, depth of field, and perspective. Learning to tell the story of the event and capturing the moments that matter is truly an art. And, I'm pleased with how well I (and he) did!

Here's just a glimpse of the day!

f5.6  |  1/200sec  |  iso1000

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Okay, seriously. It's not funny anymore.

I'm ready for the sun to come out...and stay out.

This rain is getting old.

The end.

Photo captured on my way home from work...on my phone.

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Happy almost-start-to-the-summer -- it's been a long time comin'!

f2.8  |  1/250sec  |  iso100

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It's been super stormy and rainy here lately -- and there's nothing better than a cuppa joe on a rainy day. It's not unusual for me to work from Caribou for a few hours in the morning before actually heading into the office. It's a definite perk of the job. I love being able to change up my environment and it sure beats sitting in my cube for 8 hours!

On this particular day, a Monday to be exact, I was hard at work updating the web content.

Photo shot with my point and shoot.

Oh, and speaking of rain, here's a glimpse of the storm (er, aftermath) that passed through this evening (and our new hanging basket that was planted over the weekend!).

f4.5  |  1/200sec  |  iso100

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I had the opportunity to photograph baby Max today at 20 days old. Ususally this is a bit older than I like to shoot "newborns" but he did awesome. He slept like a champ and gave us the opportunity to try a few more poses than I'm usually able to get. Here's one of my favorites from the day - what a cutie he is!

f2.8  |  1/160sec  |  iso400

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We got a slight jump start on summer planting this weekend. Last year we waited until Memorial Day to go pick out our flowers -- and boy were they picked over when we got to them on Monday. So...this year we decided to go the weekend before Memorial Day. A much better decision if you ask me. Fresher flowers to look at, less crowds to battle, and friendlier salespeople. Win-win-win. Plus, unlike next weekend, we David actually had time to set aside to plant them : )

Photo taken with the point and shoot.

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David and I have been taking on a little extra freelance work over the last couple of months (as if we've had any time for that!) and these are my cut of the deal. I think I made out pretty well : )

f3.5  |  1/2500sec  |  iso125  |  sky NOT photoshopped. for reals.

f1.8  |  1/1250sec  |  iso125

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A super awesome, amazing package came for me in the mail today -- my new camera bag!! Can you believe this sassy little number is made just for my camera gear?!? Yeah...me neither! I've been eying it for awhile and was just waiting until I could justify the cost. Okay...so, it didn't really take me that long. How could I resist?! Hello Clover in turquoise. I love you!

f3.2  |  1/160sec  |  iso125

f3.2  |  1/400sec  |  iso125

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Have I gotten lazy or what?? So much for shooting on manual and being all creative and stuff. Oh well -- I just got way too excited about this and had to share!!

A Starbucks is going in just 1.2 short miles from my house...on my way to work...WITH a drive-thru! Oh happy day : )

Photo taken with my phone.

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I can't believe I'm about to post this picture and claim it. But alas, I am...and I just did.

The time stamp on this picture is 11:38pm...on a TUESDAY. What was I still doing up?!? It's a school night after all! Anyway...after I got all comfy in my bed ready to drift off to dreamland...my mind, as it usually does, started thinking about my to-do list and all the things I didn't get accomplished today. That's when the lightbulb went off and I realized I hadn't yet taken a picture today. I can't remember and then just NOT take a picture. So...I reached for my phone, without even turning on a light, and snapped the first thing that I could.

Ahhh...back to bed for this sleepy head!

Photo taken with my phone. Duh.

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I've been working on ways to incorporate active siblings into photo sessions with newborns and I think I found a winner! It works great to put the baby on the chest (or legs) of an older sibling. The older sibling suddenly becomes very cautious, gentle, and responsible...it's amazing. I'll have to keep this little trick up my sleeve for the next time I shoot a sibling group : )

f5  |  1/200sec  |  iso125

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I can't take credit for this shot -- but I can't not put it up. My lovely husband took this great shot from the patio of his grandfather's house. It overlooks the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, and downtown San Fran!

f6.3  |  8sec  |  iso400

And here's my picture! My absolute favorite ice cream ever -- one of the best parts about California (in my opinion). I may have even converted David. It's Chocolate Malted Krunch from Thrify's/Rite Aid. And, it is heavenly. For realsies. My mouth is watering just looking at it!

Photo taken with my point and shoot.

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We woke up to another beautiful day in Sonoma. After breakfast we hit the road and headed over to Napa. We weren't quite ready to begin wine tasting so we went to the visitor's bureau to map out our course. There are SO many wineries and it can be a bit overwhelming.

We ended up going to Mondavi, Raymond Vineyards, Beringer (my favorite!!), and Castello di Amorosa. We didn't have complimentary tasting cards for the wineries in Napa like we did in Sonoma, so we tasted at Beringer and that was plenty all. We did tour the grounds of each of them ourselves -- which are absolutely beautiful.

I loved all of the flowers that were in full bloom! I snapped this picture on the side of the road as we were leaving Raymond. And bonus - Poppies are the California state flower!

f5.6  |  1/1000sec  |  iso400

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One of the other things I'd really been looking forward to doing while in California was taking a quick trip to Napa. I looked forward to it not only because I'd never been there before but because it was an opportunity to slow down, get away, and relax with my hubby.

We spent today in Sonoma....and a beautiful day it was! We checked into our wonderful bed & breakfast, picked up our complimentary wine tasting card, and hit the road making stops at the Kunde Family Estate and Chateau St. Jean before calling it a night.

Kunde Family Estate

Taken with my point and shoot

Chateau St. Jean

 Again, the point and shoot.

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I'd been to San Francisco just one time before this trip...and not since starting my photography business and buying my fancy schmancy new camera. So, one of the things that I really wanted to do on this trip was to make up and take a photo safari around San Fran - hitting all of the major touristy spots and capturing images around town. We coerced a few others to join us on our photo safari (David's mom, sister Jen, and cousin Krista) and had a blast being tourists for the day!

Stop #4: China Town

f5.6  |  1/2500sec  |  iso400

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Today was a low key day in NorCal. David and I got to spend some time with his grandfather, help him out with some errands, and spend some time on our own. This afternoon we went to one of our favorite places to view the Golden Gate Bridge only to find out that our spot was under construction...so we had to go up the hill a little higher. It's not quite as picture-esque...but I did snap this picture which I think is pretty cool.

Downtown San Francisco is just past the bridge and Alcatraz is the small island off to the left.

f8  |  1/400sec  |  iso125

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The day after the wedding was Mother's Day -- and since David's mom was in town we decided (along with his sister Jen) to surprise her with a trip to Carmel for the day...including the most amazing brunch I've ever had at Clint Eastwood's restaurant, at Mission Ranch. There was nothing this brunch buffet could have possibly included that would have made it any better - and the dessert buffet blew the socks off of any dessert buffett I've ever seen. It a was a.maz.ing!

After brunch we walked around the town of Carmel, ducking into cute little shops, and making our way down to the beach for a stroll in the sun. It was a gorgeous day.

On the way home we hit up the 17-Mile Drive...which is where the following pictures were shot.

Check out all those sea lions!

f10  |  1/250sec  |  iso100

 f10  |  1/250sec  |  iso100

f10  |  1/250sec  |  iso250

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Today we celebrated the wedding of David's cousin, Tracy, to her new husband Kenny. It was a beautiful wedding at a private estate in Atherton. Congrats Tracy & Kenny!!

See more pictures here.

 f4  |  1/250sec  |  iso200

f1.8  |  1/200sec  |  iso2500

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We spent our second day in California with David's family (mostly). We met up with a few of his siblings/spouses and his mom and her two sisters for lunch at the Sonoma Chicken Coop in Campbell, CA. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and were able to hangout and chat for awhile. After lunch David and I shopped around Campbell for a bit before heading over to Santana Row - a gorgeous outdoor shopping venue with some super swanky and super high-end stores that we couldn't even afford to step foot into. We had a lot of fun just walking around together, talking, and enjoying the beautiful SUNSHINE. I even managed to get some yummy froyo at Pinkberry before heading to his aunt and uncle's house for dinner that evening.

My face rarely makes an appearance on this blog since I'm usually behind the camera -- so I'm taking this opportunity to say "Hi!". This shot was taken with my point and shoot while at Santana Row.

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Wow -- this is WAY overdue. Sorry if you've been diligently checking the blog only to find my feet for the last month and a half!! Let's see if I can fix that here : ) I'm still going {pretty} strong with my picture-a-day project...just not so good and editing and posting them in a timely manner. I'm going to try to get better at that.

After an early flight out of CLE we landed at SFO around noon. We picked up our rental car and headed north...to Sausalito. We met up with Chris & Tessa for a delicious lunch over the bay. If you've never had the opportunity to visit San Francisco (or Sausalito)...you need to go. Sausalito is a cute little coastal town that reminds me of Italy. Not that I've ever been or anything...but it's what I imagine it would be like there!

 photo taken with my point and shoot

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I'm freshly pedicured and ready for my trip out west -- soooooo excited for a much needed break!

Just what you've always wanted...an up close picture of my feet...

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I've had some of the busiest weeks at work and with photography lately that this was another one of those "Oh no, I need a picture today" days. So, I leave you with the forsythia wreath. I still love it!

f2.5  |  1/200sec  |  iso3200 (whoa baby - gotta love the new camera!)

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I'm pretty sure it's literally been raining for a month straight here. Seriously, no exaggeration. It's getting to be a bit ridiculous actually. Because it's been unusually rainy and not-so-sunny we've anxiously been waiting for our tulips to bloom. They are SO close...but they're just not popping. We leave for California on Thursday and we're really hoping they bloom before then.

David snapped this picture on our way out the door for church this morning. So, technically I didn't take it...but close enough ; )

*taken with point and shoot