Maternity Style // Week 37

Final stretch!  My due date is one week from today, so I've cleared my schedule, am almost finished with all my client work, and am on the lookout for signs of labor.   I've always felt like this kid will hang out in there as long as possible.  So comfy and cozy in there, why come out into the cold world before you have to, right?  And cold it is.  This weekend our highs are in the single digits and lows are below zero.  So if I was an infant, I'd most definitely stay in a warm cocoon with an ambient temp of 98.5°F too.  Although next weeks highs in the teens isn't much better.  That's what happens when you decide to be born in December.  

It's been weird thinking I'll have a different body very soon.  Not necessarily my "old" body, but definitely something more what I'm used to dressing.  I got away with only getting three maternity specific items, but left most of my non-pregnancy-friendly clothing back in Washington in storage.  Anything with a defined waist is down in storage, so maybe in a couple months I'll be able to snag some of that and infuse some different silhouettes back into my wardrobe.  It's been sort of nice, though, having a fresh start sartorially.  

Top : Motherhood Maternity | Scarf : Pashmina
Cardigan : c/o Modcloth | Coat : Coldwater Creek
Leggings : Jessica Simpson via Motherhood Maternity | Boots : c/o Cat Footwear

Maternity Style // Week 36

Falling behind on this maternity outfit thing, or rather, the posting of said outfits.  But I figure as I approach the end of this pregnancy and am busy focusing on a.) finishing up all my client work so I don't have to worry about it when baby comes and b.) preparing for the actual having of a baby thing, I'm allowed to fall behind a bit.  

These photos were taken while I was in Tacoma earlier this month to shoot my final wedding of 2016.  My BFF (and doula!), Kristina, took these outfit photos for me during a coffee outing to one of my favorite Tacoma coffee shops, Bluebeard.  The lovely folks at Bluebeard gifted me a bag of coffee beans as a baby shower gift and it felt a little like things coming full circle.  Back when Dan and I got married we had Bluebeard coffee beans as our wedding favors, and now we have a little taste of Tacoma back home in Anchorage.

Kristina comes up to Anchorage this Thursday, actually, and will be my birth doula, so I'm hoping this kid holds off on the arrival until at least Thursday, ideally Saturday, when my other friend from Tacoma, Amy, comes up and will be my birth photographer!  It's weird to think that now I'm getting so close that it's a possibility that I could go into labor before the end of the week!  Ah!  I've been keeping busy making padsicles (for postpartum lady-bits relief), calming and nausea tinctures (for during labor), labor massage lotion, and DIY bum spray for the babe.  Hopefully I finish all my apothecary-ing before labor, but at least the bebe den is nearly complete!  If you follow on snapchat (@liz.morrow) or my instagram story, you've been getting some peeks at the room so far!  

Top : Thrifted | Jeans : Jessica Simpson via Motherhood Maternity
Boots : c/o Cat Footwear | Jacket : c/o Moorea Seal | Photos by Kristina

Radio Silence

I haven't written anything here in over a month, I think mostly due to the overwhelming stress and all-consuming nature of this year's presidential election.  My thoughts have been centered around social justice, the future that my kid will grow up in, what I want our lives to look like moving forward, and then the more mundane things like trying to keep our house from looking like a hurricane blew through, finishing up my final wedding of the season, and getting the baby's room done.  

That being said I have a lot of thoughts mulling about below the surface, perhaps not yet ready or ripe for putting into words.  It's a weird transition to go from thinking about things in terms of their impact on me and my life to then thinking about their impact on my child's life.  Or even, thinking about how to raise my kid in a way that can respond to and address our culture healthily and also revolutionarily.  It's a weird place to be in to want to change the world so my kid can grow up in a world better than the one I grew up in, while also wanting to raise them to be agents of further positive change.  To continue the process of change and growth far into the future.  And in a way, raising my kid to be a kind, creative, brave, critical thinking, courageous, compassionate human IS something that I'm doing right now that is changing the world. 

My Camera Bag Review Roundup

Over the years, as both a blogger and wedding/portrait photographer, I've acquired a good collection of camera gear.  Lenses, camera bodies, accessories, they're all super valuable necessities for my business, and so finding a perfect bag for carrying them when I need to be on the go is essential.  There are tons of awesome companies out there who are making camera bags that not only have amazing functionality, but are gorgeous.  Naturally there are many brands I haven't had the pleasure of trying out, (Kelly Moore, Jo Totes, and Peak Design are a few that come to mind) but I wanted to share the ones I do have and had tried hands-on.  The ones I'll be sharing today are the Brevitē Rucksack Backpack, ONA's Union Street Bag, Black Anchor's Camera Bag, ONA's Bowery Bag, and Everlane's twill backpack with a Lowepro insert.

Brevite Rucksack Backpack: 
This bag is the newest to me, so I haven't used it a ton, but I have traveled with it and I'm super happy with it.  I really like a backpack style bag because when I travel (especially for weddings) I carry two camera bodies, 3-4 lenses, a flash, my laptop and more.  Having an even distribution of weight on my shoulders is essential with that much weight in a bag.  Before I got this bag I had the set up below (Everlane backpack w/ camera bag insert), which was fine except that in order to access my gear, I had to take everything in the bag out that was on top of my camera gear (which was in the bottom).  

With the front and side access panels in the Brevite bag, I can very easily access my gear.  Plus, it has a laptop sleeve and space in the top of the bag for other things.  I always use my camera bag as one of my carry-ons when flying, so I almost always have books, snacks, and other necessities in the bag as well, and it's plenty big for all of that, while also fitting under the seat in front of me.  

Everlane Twill Backpack w/ insert:
This is sort of a DIY version of a camera bag backpack, but it worked just fine for me for a couple years.  I like the Everlane backpack a lot, it's simple, has great capacity, and has a laptop sleeve inside.  This bag was my go-to when I would bike to a coffee shop to work (biking with a messenger bag is a huge pain).  It also became my go-to for air travel because having weight on two shoulders instead of one, in the case of a messenger), was way more comfortable.  I would just take a basic camera bag (like this one) and put it in the very bottom of the backpack.  I'd put my camera gear in there, and then have space above the camera bag to put other stuff like books, snacks, etc.  

Obviously the downside of that is that there's no easy access.  If I wanted to get to my gear I'd have to pull the stuff out that was on top of the camera bag insert.  That being said, usually the only time that was the case was when I was flying and I didn't often take my camera out while mid-flight.  When I would take this set up on shoots, I wouldn't put a bunch of stuff on the top because I didn't need anything except my gear.

I've had this bag for a few years now and it's held up pretty great, the only thing I've noticed is that it looks like the top handle might rip out eventually if I load the bag too heavy or yank on it too hard.  

ONA Bowery Bag:
I have to say, while I only had this bag for a few days, it definitely lived up to my hopes.  I had this bag on my wishlist for a long time and a couple years ago I was able to work with ONA to style it for a blog post and then do a giveaway for the bag.  This bag is definitely not in the same category as the two set ups above, it's more something I would use while shooting a wedding or during an outdoor portrait session to carry my other lenses, batteries, and memory cards.  For that (or I could even see using it while sightseeing as a purse that also carried a camera), it's perfect.  It's obviously too small to carry all my gear, and that's not what it's designed for anyway.  As a smaller lady, it's a very comfortable size, and it's still on my wishlist after giving it a try!

ONA Union Street Bag: 
I've had this bag the longest, and it's a very nice bag.  It has a pretty big capacity with three spots for camera bodies and lenses plus a laptop slot and it usually accompanies me to weddings and shoots.  It also used to be my main travel bag, but I found that, for me, having it fully loaded and wearing it for long periods of time makes my shoulder feel like it's dying, which is why I now prefer a backpack for carrying my gear for air travel.  It feels ever so slightly too big for me, but I'm also a relatively small lady.

I've had this bag since 2013 I think? Maybe 2012.  It's held up wonderfully.  It's waxed canvas so it was great for rainy PNW weather.  It's definitely weathered, but there is no sign of any wear and tear that would be compromising the structural integrity.

Black Anchor Camera Bag: 
This bag is also a bit newer to me, so I haven't had a lot of time to see how it stands up to wear, but the materials are super high quality, so that's not something I'm really concerned about.  This bag is about the same size as the ONA Bowery bag, so more of a support bag for carrying lenses, etc. on shoots.  This bag also is made with waxed canvas so it's great for the PNW's moist weather.  It also has a little sleeve inside that fits an Ipad Mini, but which I tended to use for a journal, or for storing my phone or wallet when I didn't want to put them in the more exterior pockets.  The one thing that I'm still on the fence about with this bag is the padding.  I like the thicker, more dense foam in the other bags, versus the thinner foam in the Black Anchor Bag.  

Right now I think my favorites are the Brevite Backpack and ONA Bowery, for different reasons since they are designed for different situations. I like having a larger capacity bag for when I travel and a smaller on for taking on shoots.  These bags all have a pretty similar aesthetic, rugged and rustic.  I've actually put a camera bag insert into one of my small fancy-looking Fossil purses when I wanted a bag that was more Bowery sized, but fancier looking than the rugged waxed canvas.  You can buy camera bag inserts which are great for dropping in bags you already have, which I think is a great option, since having a dedicated camera bag might not be the most practical thing for you.  

Maternity Style // Week 34

Today I voted!!  Here in Anchorage we had some early voting polling places open, so I took care of business before the madness next week, mostly because I'm traveling on election day and I'm not sure if I'd have enough time in the morning to get it done!  I'm actually glad I'll be traveling that day, it'll keep me distracted from the stress, though I suppose most of the stress is in the evening when polls are closing and votes are getting counted, so perhaps I won't avoid it after all.

This pregnancy, or rather the part where I have a baby at the end, is getting super real these days.  An acquaintance who had my same due date had her baby 7 weeks early and posted a photo of him on facebook and my mind was blown that that's basically what is living inside me currently.  A (nearly) full grown, human child.  WHAT.  My mind can't really wrap itself around it.  I posted my fun baby wish list yesterday but I've actually been taking steps toward purchasing practical things, getting my stash of cloth diapers ordered earlier this week.  I still need to figure out feeding accessories (I plan on breastfeeding, but would like to be able to pump and have a milk stash), and other practical things.  Not as fun as buying cute things, but probably a better use of my money.

I wore this dress super early on in my pregnancy when I was, like, not even showing at all.  I thought it'd still fit in my later weeks since it's super tent-y and loose and it still does!

Dress (similar): Free People | Leggings : Jessica Simpson Maternity via Motherhood Maternity
Hat : c/o Moorea Seal | Boots : c/o Cat Footwear | Necklaces : c/o Jewelmint + Tribe Jewelry