Destination: Napa

I just got back from my first trip to Napa! It was such a relaxing get-away weekend/girls trip. I really enjoyed exploring Napa & the cool, bright day in San Francisco. Thank you to my mother-in-law, Laura, for taking me on the trip, and to Pam & Tom for letting us stay at their place! I had a great time!

This is the vineyard we stayed on, in the early morning light:

I love small, interesting details





We visited the incredible Castello di Amorosa, which has a Medieval ambiance






...and an incredible view!

Lucy was a celebrity, all over Napa and San Francisco! The Castello di Amoroso bartender especially loved her!

Lucy didn't love all the pictures taken of her. No animals were harmed or intoxicated in the making of the following images:



This is how she really felt about it ;)

More of the vineyard we stayed at:

Quiet Colorado

Wow, I can't believe it's already August 7, and this is the first blog post of the month! I've been hard-at-work on Allison & Rob's wedding images -- they will be up on the blog (and Facebook, online viewing, etc) in the coming week, and I'm excited to show them off. I'm shooting Sarah & Jimmy's wedding tomorrow, and you can expect a sneak peek from their big day, also! In the meantime, here's a little something to hold you all over. If you're at your desk working (or pretending to work ... lets face it, you ARE on my blog right now!), you can dream that it's a beautiful day on the quiet Colorado River. Enjoy! =)

The Living Desert

I just got back from several relaxing days in Palm Desert. On Monday, after the boys got back from their 6am tee time, we had breakfast and went to The Living Desert for a few hours. During the summer, The Living Desert is only open until 1:30pm ... and after our 115 degree morning there, I totally understand why!! I think the hot weather made the desert animals feel more at home, though. When Bob and I went back in March, I REALLLY wanted to see giraffes, and they weren't out. On Monday, we saw 4 of them, basking in the shade of palm trees. Two hours & one rootbeer float later, we were headed back to the condo, where we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the pool! I could have floated in that pool all week ... it was fabulous! =)

"Downward Facing Giraffe"The goat really liked Julia scratching his neck!This isn't a great picture ... it was taken through dirty glass from the only angle I could shoot from. I love it though, because the mountain lion's feet were twitching while she slept. Here kitty kitty kitty!
This fountain looked so refreshing & zen-ish that I broke into yoga "tree" pose. For a moment. =)

Destination: New York

Earlier this month, my mom, sister, and I went to New York for a girls trip. It was a lot of fun to explore NYC. We did most of the New York "musts" -- like walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, visiting the Met, visiting Central Park, and seeing a show. We also did fabulous but lesser known activities like take a food tour through Greenwich Village and tour the United Nations (where we left U.S. soil for about an hour). We also had a chance to visit family & meet their twin babies. I'll be honest, I did a little shopping too. I was on an earrings kick ... I bought 4 pairs.

One of my absolute favorite things was hitting Serendipity3 for AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS frozen hot chocolate!! I had seen the frozen hot chocolate featured on travel shows for years, and it was my one "must do" for our trip to NYC. It was every bit as good as I knew it would be! =)

Here are some highlights from the trip!

Off to NYC, and a sneak peek!

My bags are packed. Almost. Well, actually my clothes haven't touched my bag yet, but they lay across my queen size bed in neat piles. Some of my clothes haven't even made it to the bed yet, because I want to postpone wrinkles for as long as I can. I suppose packing (in the literal sense of the word) hasn't begun yet, but I feel like the hardest part is over. My clothes are picked out, my shoes are picked out, my camera gear is ready, and I printed out maps and travel information that we'll need. I feel pretty darn accomplished!

I've been looking forward to this trip for a while. It's a girls trip with my mom and sister, which is sure to entail delicious food, shopping, wine, and Broadway! And photographs ... definitely photographs! =)

I'll be gone until late on June 11th ... so if you leave me a voicemail, you'll get a call back on the 12th!

Since blog posts are dreadfully boring without a picture, here's another sneak peek from Jocelyn and Ryan's wedding! I absolutely love their soft smiles as they breathe each other in. There's no doubt about it ... this image makes me totally happy!

Evocative B&W

I was going through old files today, and found these 4 images from a trip down the California Coast in 2007. I had forgotten about these evocative images, and I absolutely love them.

New York readers...

I'm going to be in New York in early June, and would love to do a NYC photoshoot. If anyone is interested in booking an Engagement or Anytime Session, please email me!

Just for Fun: Sun Flare

I spent a few days in San Francisco last week. Clouds rolled in & out, and rain occasionally fell, but the first morning there I woke to a beautiful clear sky. I spent a few minutes catching sun flare from my hotel room as the sun rose over a church tower. I think sun flare adds such a touch of romance to an image.

Here ya go ... something a little different =)