How to survive your family photosession

Family photosessions are hard. That's the truth but there are many tips and tricks to save your day that inevitable will be stressful. I'm sharing those secrets with 5 years of experience, I've seen it all!

Howard Johnson at Anaheim (best kids waterpark)

Had a wonderfully LONG weekend in Anaheim at this overtly kid friendly hotel. Highly recommend if you are looking for something walking distanct from Disneyland with the ultimate waterpark.

Yosemite at Tenaya Lodge

5 Ways to Rock Deployments like a Boss.

1. Expectations. Set yourself up for success by getting a firm grasp on how much you communicate, roughly when, and by what means. I cannot tell you how much this eliminates useless quibbling during a potentially stressful time. Figure out what kind of communication works best for both of you. My …

An advent calendar that goes with my living room

Gideon has been begging for an advent calendar, so last night we scoured the internets and landed on one! My prerequisites: no candy, nativity centered laced with scripture, artsy, goes with my living room. Yeah, kinda crazy list, right?!! I'm certifiable sometimes, but etsy came through as it…

Fall Favorites 2014

Living in SoCal means essentially no Fall. I'm making up for it in the wardrobe department even if I have to wear a coat with shorts. Desperate measures people. So here we go, my favorites:


Pink coat: I need pink to compensate for all the boys in this house, very justifiable.
Nail polish- Those a…

That time I had surgery

image via
People are my jam. So as the last two years doing photography have exploded, I became overwhelmed and burnt out quickly losing my faith/trust in people. Mainly because I didn't understand boundaries or really know how to run a business. My heart became hard and I felt lost and worn. …

A baby girl nursery featuring Chairish

Two close friends of mine are about to have baby girls, so I've got baby girls on the brain. Ok fine, they are always on my brain....one day one day! When Chairish contacted me to feature one of their amazing chairs in a space I jumped at the challenge. I was attracted to the mustard yellow to…

Emily Henderson's Home tour, its a wowser.

I stumbled upon Emily Henderson's blog a couple months ago and I'm pretty hooked. Her winsome personality and knack for well, placing knacks is incredible. Design in my opinion is the study of how things go together and she's got it down.
A little "us"update,  I've built …

Making base housing pretty: the kitchen

First, let me start by saying this military home we are living in is a complete gift. An answered prayer for me, set in a wonderful neighborhood overlooking a canyon in San Diego. And did I mention the full basketball court in the backyard. Yes, yes, yes and thank you again Lord.
It came complete …