Thursday, May 30, 2013

Not Your Typical Prom


It was during Honor Society elections that Andrew spoke on the microphone making nominations. All the names were called out and Becky just sat in back like any other day. Then Andrew proceeded to make one last nomination, he nervously stepped up to the microphone and said, "I nominate Becky to be my prom date." Of course she said yes, and the rest is history! Here's an Instagram photo from that day, and yes he gave her roses too! 



Becky is a gorgeous 17-year-old who I mentor in my spare time, and when she asked me to help her get ready for her first prom, I was thrilled. I didn't have much time to prepare, but we just came up with a hairstyle on the fly and collaborated with her older sister on a make-up look that screams whimsical Becky! Of course, getting ready for prom wouldn't be complete without PHOTOS! So I brought Chris along with me and he jumped right into it! We knew before even arriving there that this would not be your typical prom photo shoot. 
  

When Becky showed us her dress, we thought, "perfect!" as we're used to photographing white dresses anyway! 
                                                          
      
We steered away from a garden background and found a cute little chair and a nice clean white palette in Becky's backyard for a more modern look and started posing away. Andrew and Becky were great sports at following our instructions, especially since they had a little bit of an audience during the shoot. All in all, it was great fun and I think we were all a little jealous inside that we didn't get to have the kind of prom experience Becky and Andrew did! 
                                                                                                           

   And last but definitely not least, prom photos wouldn't be complete without  the parentals! Here's to raising an amazing beautiful young woman!



Thanks for letting us be a part of your day Becky and Andrew! You guys were amazing!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Mother's Day Portrait Fun: The Marin Cheese Factory - Petaluma Portrait Photography


We've seen little Ethan grow up. His mother, Jennifer, loyally comes to us to capture his annual birthday parties so we were definitely just as excited when she asked for a Mother-Son (and grandmother) photo shoot just in time for Mother's Day. Ethan's bright energy and Jennifer's glowing love for her son made for lots of laughter and unforgettable moments! Of course, the Marin Cheese Factory in Petaluma, CA also made for a perfect spot for mommy and son time, and even grandma too! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who sacrifice, work hard and love beyond all measure. You deserve all the hugs, kisses and smiles the world could offer!


 








Friday, April 19, 2013

We're Feeling Generous!!

With so much heart aching news this past week with the tragedies in Boston and Texas, we wanted to bring a little brightness to someone's day. In true P1124 spirit (a movement to inspire generosity), we're giving complimentary online galleries, engagement sessions and upgraded custom albums with purchase of either our Basic or Crush package wedding packages! Keep reading for all the details! 





Thursday, April 18, 2013

Spring Flower Fever!

With the bright sunshine warming up our days in the Bay area, the weather has me with a bit of a Spring flower fever! I don't know about your neighborhood, but the flowers are blooming in all directions in my mine, which also means amazing fragrances coming through my window! The spring flowers inspired me to celebrate the beautiful bridal bouquets we've had the privilege of capturing from vibrant pinks to calming green-infused bouquets, the possibilities are endless for a bride on her wedding day! Sorry for all the exclamation points, must be the flower fever! Anyhow, hope you find these to be inspirational for a bouquet, centerpiece or even simply to put an arrangement together for your home this Spring! 






Tuesday, February 5, 2013

New Urloved Office with DIY Projects!

One of the best things about the beginning of the year is that we get to finish up all of our editing work, refresh our album folders and simply CLEAN HOUSE! Of course, this also means a little bit of more free time on my hands, so I felt crafty and spent the late afternoon completing a project that has been pending in my head for a long time.


I've been saving tin cans and waiting to organize the big bucket of pens, markers, etc that we had when we revamped our office this January. I stripped them of their labels, bought some Martha Steward Chalkboard labels from Staples (I figured they would be cheaper & less time consuming than making my own) and stuck them on the bare cans. Made for a cute look. Just for some variety, I painted two of them a minty/blue color to match the feel of the new urloved office. I also revamped an old file box I bought from Target a long time ago and just covered the top in the same color paint.


The last project was painting a bright fuschia photo box to match the other items. Sorry I forgot to take a before photo of the box, but you get the idea. I just snapped these with my iPhone and Instagram'd them! Hope you enjoy and are inspired to upcycle or revamp something in your house or office! Get the creative juices flowing!! Til next time... :D


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Battle Between Me & The Tomato


Tomatoes. I hate tomatoes. At least that’s something I would say when I was a kid. My parents grew organic tomatoes in the backyard and I remember during harvest time having to go through buckets full and bagging them to store in the freezer for winter months. I never appreciated them because they just plain didn’t taste good to me, I’d have the occasional slice of tomato in my burger but that was the extent of it.
  
One day, I saw the inevitable, I witnessed a girl in one of my classes eating a tomato like it was an apple, and as gross as it looked, there was something about it that made me want to eat it too. I envied her. I wanted to be able to eat a tomato and actually enjoy it as if it were an apple, so I set sail on this journey of battles between my mind and my taste buds.

I started with pouring salt on the large tomatoes in my mom’s fridge, because salt makes everything taste better, right? FAIL. I didn’t taste another tomato for a couple of years. When I moved to California several years ago, I decided to battle it out again, this time I bought a different kind of tomato, a tomato on the vine.  To my surprise, it didn’t make me want to throw up. I started drenching it with lemon pepper dressings and tossing them in my salads to build up to the one day when I would straight eat it like an apple. I began packing a single tomato in my lunch for work and then the day came, when I had no dressing and no utensils and I was forced to take that long-awaited yet dreaded bite. My teeth sunk into the thin skin of the tomato, pierced the slightly mushy first layer and made it all the way to the seeds and back out and it was so refreshing I couldn’t believe it. Could this be the day? Was someone looking at me and envying that they could bite into a tomato like an apple? I felt victorious. I did it. I won the battle between my mind’s perception and my taste buds. Of course, from this day forward, I ventured into eating all kinds of tomatoes: cherry, grape and even heirloom (which are SO good by the way). 


In my young adult years, I wish I would have appreciated the abundance of organic tomatoes from my parents’ garden. Now, I have to spend a little more money to get those kinds of tomatoes. I’m not sure if I was just too closed-minded or perhaps I just gave up too easily back then. Just because something tastes bad once or twice, or even the next couple of times, doesn’t mean that I will never like it. I know as you get older, sometimes your taste buds change, so maybe the tomato never changed, maybe I did. Whatever it was, I gave it another chance, I tried different kinds, and I prepared them in salads, pastas and even ate them by themselves. I didn’t give up on them. Now I can honestly and proudly say I LOVE eating tomatoes.

There’s always a lot of talk about things you should “give up” and get rid of for the new year. My question is, “What are you willing to NOT give up on?” A friendship? A love relationship? A healthy life? My hope is that you would appreciate the abundance that IS in your life rather than focusing on all the bad and convincing yourself that bad will be bad all the time. It may take a little change or a lot of change, but time and persistence and most of all PATIENCE are required.  So go out there, and eat some tomatoes! You might be surprised that this time around, it won’t make you want to throw up. ;D