Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest I feel most alive surrounded by trees and breathing in the fresh mountain air.
When I am not working you will most likely find me spending time outdoors, volunteering with my church and exploring this beautiful planet with my family.
This is my place to share my passion for life and to encourage you to take time to find the extraordinary in your life.
Many of you already know my love for The Pantry. Although I have only taken a couple classes there so far, I find them to be hands on, informative and most of all fun. I always leave the classes feeling inspired and with the confidence necessary to tackle more difficult recipes in the kitchen. The instructors are a combination between rotating chefs and onsite staff, all are true experts in their chosen course.
Over the long weekend we had family in town. It is a rare occurrence that we are able to play tour guide to out of town guests, so we thoroughly enjoyed having this opportunity. Over the few days they visited, the weather cooperated. On Saturday, we made a day trip to Deception Pass and then went on to visit the small town of Coupeville. We love visiting Coupeville and always make it a point to stop at the delicious restaurant called Knead and Feed.
I was tagged by the lovely Melinda of Melinda's Musings to do a little Q & A.
1. What is/was your biggest dream?
To establish a home where love and faith prevail.
2. What's your favorite quote?
Surround yourself with the dreamers and doers and the believers and thinkers, but most of all surround yourself with those who see greatness within you.
As much as my DSLR is my preferred tool for taking photographs there are countless times when all I have is my cell phone. I am grateful the camera on the iPhone has improved so much over the years because it tends to be my standby for all my everyday photography needs. Whether it be a sunset, a picnic or a flower I end up capturing a lot of my life on my iPhone.
I can't tell you how many baby showers I have attended where all the mother received was clothing. As nice as I imagine it is to have drawers full of clothing, there is an endless list of other fun and useful items an expectant mother may want or need for their baby. With this in mind, I put together a little assortment of some of my favorite gifts to give expectant mothers for their new babies.
There is nothing which makes me happier than a sunny day in Seattle. Lately, we have been spoiled and have been able to enjoy loads of them. Combine sunshine and being out on the water with delicious spicy catfish tacos and ice cream and you have yourself a perfect weekend afternoon or midweek date.
As the weather continues to improve and Summer is just around the corner I start to scheme up all types of Summer plans. A couple years ago we went on an Alaskan cruise from Seattle, as a started to glance through the photos I was reminded how staggeringly beautiful Alaska is. We were not certain what to expect when we booked our cruise to Alaska, but between the convenience, price tag, scenery and company we had ourselves a marvelous time. Although I don't anticipate us becoming "cruisers" anytime soon, we certainly can appreciate what the draw is for so many people.
On occasion I have the privilege of photographing families. Typically, as I go through the photos from the shoot the candid shots are usually the ones which pull on my heart strings. I love the sweet moments captured between siblings and it makes me super excited to document my own little one soon.
I love a good story of ingenuity, reinvention and ultimate triumphant. Nancy, the proprietress of Auberge Edge of Seattle has created just that for her bed and breakfast turned cooking school with overnight accommodations. For many years Nancy ran award winning bed and breakfast in Woodinville, just a hop, skip and a jump from Seattle. After the economy collapsed, the phone started ringing less and guests from all over the world started to slow she shifted her focus to the local business. Instead of making the bed and breakfast her primary focus she gathered a team and promoted Auberge Edge of Seattle as a French Cooking school with the added luxury of the ability to provide overnight accommodations.
Mother's Day weekend consisted of one baby bump, one pair of rubber boots, one weekender bag, one beachside hotel, four delicious meals, numerous bike rides along the beach and invaluable time spent with my parents. As I have become older I have realized how inherently divisive motherhood can be and sadly even Mother's Day. Women tend to love it or hate it, there seems to be no middle ground. I recently read an article explaining why so many women dislike Mother's Day and at the root of all reasons was disappointment, guilt or sadness. My hope for all women, especially on Mother's Day, is that we can be kind to ourselves and allow others to celebrate us despite our imperfections and where we are on the path to motherhood.
If Seattle had one spokesperson, it should be Terry Divyak, the owner of Shutter Tours. From the moment he greets you at Pike Place Market until the moment he drops you off he is high energy, full of interesting information and completely thrilled to be showing you around Seattle.
I really cannot say enough good things about visiting Paris in the spring time. We were fortunate to have spectacular weather throughout our entire stay. We relished every moment we were able to sit in the sunshine admiring all the lovely flowers and people watching. I especially enjoyed how this trip turned into a baby moon of sorts. Walking hand in hand exploring the city made me reminisce on the wonderful thirteen years we have had together. I wouldn't trade our time together for anything in the world. Sure, sometimes we disagree and get on each other's nerves, but we have learned a lot from each other and I like to think we are better together than apart.
This past week I was fortunate to attend Seattle Bloggers Unite inaugural field trip. For our first field trip we spent an enjoyable, informative and delicious evening at Trophy Cupcakes with owner, Jennifer Shea. Jennifer took us through the process of how to make the perfect buttercream, how to hand frost, use piping bags and create that signature Trophy swirl. Like most creative endeavors, between practice and perseverance she was able to make things look easy to us onlookers. We were impressed with the ease in which Jennifer was able to frost, chat and look so stylish. Jennifer has that rare combination of beauty, brains, talent and style. Any woman who's motto is "Make Everyday a Party" is a woman after my own heart!
Ever since I saw a positive on my pregnancy test we have been in baby mode over here. I know for many "nesting" does not occur until much later in the pregnancy, but for me it is quite instantaneous. Last time, I had clothing hung on hangers, the sheets washed, the crib set up and made, and the baby quilt finished. By week 27 I was pretty much just waiting on our baby to arrive. I was prepared or as prepared as I thought I could be.
Keukenhof is like Disneyland for flower lovers. It is the annual place growers get to showcase their best and brightest for the coming year. After a couple hours perusing the different displays I kept thinking about how I did not need to be taking so many photographs of flowers, but in the end it was too beautiful not to capture.
I have been looking for the perfect camera bag for quite sometime. I wanted something stylish, versatile and yet something which did not scream camera bag when you saw it. When I ran across ONA camera bags I knew these were the type of bags I had been looking for. We were in the process of planning our trip to Europe and I knew it would be the perfect time to break in our new Brixton Camera bag. The Brixton camera bag is quite large and is able to hold: my camera, extra lens, iPad or small laptop, wallet/clutch and all my other camera paraphernalia (ie. charger, extra batteries, etc.) The Brixton is the perfect size to take on a photo shoot or for carrying a full day of equipment.
All this gorgeous weather last week has put me in Summer mode and dreaming of all the fun things I want to either do again or try for the first time this Summer.
Upon recommendation from a friend we booked a tour through Vayable with Anne Ditmeyer for our first full day in Paris. I liked the idea of a tour because it had been long time since I had been to Paris and this was going to be Cameron's first visit. Upon meeting Anne at our hotel I instantly knew we were going to have a good day. She was easy to talk to, full of energy and a wealth of information. She easily customized our tour to include the areas and sights which would be of most interest to us. One of my favorite take aways from our tour was the handful of photographs she snapped of us during our time together.
There is a certain mystic or love affair people have with Paris. While we were visiting a couple weeks ago I asked Cameron if he thought Paris was romantic. His reply, "It is just as romantic as Seattle" Ha! So for all you lovebirds dreaming of a rendezvous in Paris, come visit Seattle. As a wise man recently told me it is more about who you are with than where you are.
Reykjavik is one of those charming little cities I wish I could fold up and put in my pocket. I would love to be able to pull it out and transport myself there whenever I am feeling blue. Although two thirds of the Icelandic population live in Reykjavik it has never felt busy or frantic like other cities we have visited. Reykjavik is a very walkable city full of interesting things to stop and take a look at. I am drawn to the rows of brightly colored buildings and I have found so many amazing places to shop while I am there.
