cracklin' rosie

ne more outfit from Palm Springs!  When I spied this dress, it gave me such 90's vibes, so I styled it up with a plaid shirt around the waist (hello, that was like, my only outfit trick in the 90s.  All of the things tied around my waist), and a rad hat I got in Hawaii.  Also: boots.  I was hoping for a little warmer weather down in the desert, but we were more in the high desert, which meant pretty chilly temps.  I was actually pretty cold shooting these photos, despite how warm it looks!  It was wishful thinking.  Every time I go to the southwest I fall in love with the area all over again.  It's one of my favorite places, ever since my family went on a big RV trip around the southwest when I was a kid.  We planned on doing another similar RV trip because that one was so much fun, but so far we haven't pulled it together.  I've heard some whispers that it might be in the cards sometime this year though?  It'd be so fun to do it again as an adult!
  dress/courtesy of modcloth :: cardigan/ruche :: plaid top/courtesy of free people
boots/target :: necklaces/adorn by sarah lewis :: hat/brooklyn :: photos by Dan

favorite wedding images of 2014

 fell fast and hard for wedding photography in 2014, and I cannot wait to shoot more weddings in 2015!  It kind of took me by surprise how much I actually like wedding photography, I remember in the beginning I was totally freaked out by the one chance to get the shots and the high stress of weddings.  Thankfully, all my weddings have been low key and so much fun.  It's almost like being a wedding crasher, minus the binge drinking and taking a bridesmaid home, and plus getting to create photos of memories that will last a lifetime.  I'd say I come out on top.  No, but it's seriously amazing to get to create gorgeous images for my brides and grooms, it's such a privilege to capture the excitement and the intimate little moments between just the two of them on such a special day.
This is a sampling of my favorite wedding images from the past year.  With every wedding and every shoot I feel like I grow as a photographer and I'm so excited to grow this year.   I've already had an amazing wedding so far this year and a styled bridal shoot with some gorgeous gals in stunning BHLDN dresses.  I can't wait to share the images from those shoots in the coming weeks!  For now, here's a look back at what 2014 looked like!
































Images 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 18, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, 33 are a styled wedding shoot featuring some great local Tacoma models and vendors which I'm excited to share soon on the blog!
I'm excited to share

4 helpful fitness apps

or all it's pitfalls (oh Facebook, why do I just keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling??), technology has a lot of useful applications for daily life.  This past year I started using a few apps that I've really enjoyed which are nice compliments to my fitness and healthy lifestyle goals, so I thought I'd share them!  I don't like using a ton of apps because it gets to be a little overwhelming and too much to keep up, so I stick to a few that I really like using.  Apps are nice because they not only help me track things, but they can give me motivation as well.  I love being able to visually see goals and check off workouts.  Do you guys use any fitness or health apps that you find you can't live without? 
Jawbone UP I'd say that one of my favorite apps is the Jawbone UP app.  I started using their UP24 band a few months ago and it's really awesome motivation to get moving!  Not only does it track your steps, it also tracks your sleep and lets you know how much light and deep sleep you got throughout the night.  You can set goals for steps and sleep and if you have the wireless UP24, it'll sync directly to the app throughout the day with Bluetooth!  I have an iPhone 4, which doesn't have syncing capabilities with the UP24, so I use my iPad mini to sync and then that is synced with my iPhone.  You can also link your UP app with other fitness or health apps, so I have mine linked up with my LoseIt! app, which I love!  The app itself is free, but you do need a tracker to go with it.  I got the wireless UP24 tracker, which is $149.  I like it a lot more than my fitbit zip, which I found difficult to remember to put on everyday and awkward to find somewhere to clip if I wasn't wearing jeans.  The UP is a bracelet, so I wear it all day everyday (except for wet situations like the shower.  I ruined one already by getting saltwater splashed on it when I was in Hawaii).  

LoseIt! LoseIt! is my favorite app for tracking my food.  Now that I'm doing Whole30, it's great for planning future meals too!  My favorite thing about it is that it makes me way more mindful of my eating.  Now that I'm doing Whole30 I have to be mindful all the time, but before that, it really helped me not just graze mindlessly and be intentional about how I fed myself.  I have the Premium membership, which allows me to sync to the Jawbone app, and also gives you the ability to plan meals ahead of time.  You can also join challenges, which is another fun way to get motivation, and they give you badges for eating well, working out consistently, and tracking consistently.  Who doesn't like little awards?  The app is free, but if you want the Premium account, it's $39.99/year.

Insane Tracker  For those of you who do the Insanity program, I found this little app which was a really nice way to keep track of what workout to do that day, enter your fit test results, and I liked getting to check off the workouts I completed!  Obviously you can do all this manually, but it's nice to have it all in one place, and it stores your fit test results so you can see how you did in comparison to the last one!  This app isn't free, but it's only $0.99 which isn't bad!
Nike+ Running I haven't been running in quite a while, but when I was a semi-consistent runner I really liked using the Nike+ app, which tracked my pace and route, miles ran, and would tell me throughout my run how far along I was.  Since I'm not an avid runner, this is the only running app I've ever used, but I really enjoyed using it!  It's also free!
 

ace up my sleeve

his past week I got to spend time up in Anchorage, which was such a great way to start off the year.  I shot a wedding on the 2nd, saw an Aces game on the 3rd, did a styled bridal shoot on the 4th, had a mini family Christmas on the 5th, and headed back to Tacoma on the 6th.  These photos are actually from our time in Palm Springs over Christmas, not to be confused, Anchorage Alaska certainly does not look like this in January.  For both the wedding and styled shoot we were working outside at temperatures around 8º F.  Brisk, to say the least!  I love traveling, but it is nice to be home for the next couple months with no travel, especially with Whole30.  Eating while traveling makes it much more difficult to find Whole30 compliant meals, so it'll be great to spend the month at home cooking for myself.  After 8 flights in 6 weeks, some stability will be nice, and a great way to get grounded for the coming year.  
In recent years I've chosen a word that I hold on to throughout the year, last year's was honest/genuine and it helped me let go of a lot of things that were holding me back, things that no longer served me.  I let go of goals that I had been holding on to just because I had them as goals in the past, but realized I didn't really want those things anymore (or that I wanted other things more).  This year, my word is Build.  I let go of a lot of stuff in the last year, which means that in some ways I'm starting afresh at the bottom.  2015 is a year for building.  I like that it's a word of action.  It gives me purpose and drive, and I need that this year.
Do you pick a word for the year?  If so, what word are you picking for 2015 and why?


jacket/modcloth :: dress/courtesy of lulu's :: necklace/francesca's belt/thrifted :: top/courtesy of modcloth :: photos by Dan

roasted butternut squash soup

his recipe is left over from early December, before my whole30 aspirations, so it's not one of my whole30 recipes, but it is delicious!  I believe the only things in it that aren't whole30 compliant, though, are butter and heavy cream and I'm pretty sure it'd be a great soup even without those!  We got two plump butternut squashes in our last CSA share of the year and I'd never made butternut squash soup before, so I figured I was due to give it a go.  I actually might look up some good whole30 soup and crock pot recipes because I love the idea of making lots and then having leftovers, saving the trouble of having to come up with something for every single meal.  I'm anxious to start, but I know that it will work better when I have time to really prep and get my kitchen ready, rather than diving in without any plan.

How is the new year treating you guys so far?  I was never one for the whole new year's hype but I'm actually really excited for this year and fired up about hunting down some new goals.  It's been super fun to read through everyone's new year goals in the comments of my last giveaway post!  In the past I used to do a birthday goal list every year (this year would be 28 before 29), but I think this year I want to mix it up.  I'd rather focus on one or two really big goals that I can work towards, maybe with smaller goals that are contributing to achieving those big ones, and then what I'm also excited about is challenging myself to do something new, or a little scary, something outside my comfort zone, at least once a week all year.  It was funny because I was thinking about doing this in 2015 a couple weeks ago and when I got up to Alaska my mom told me about a book she read, I Dare Me, which is basically the same thing except she challenged herself to do 365 new things, not just 52.  I think 52 sounds just right, and besides, I can always do more than 52!  I think that making goals is much more practical than making resolutions, and maybe it's just the phrasing.  "I want to do more yoga" is so much more ambiguous than, "I want to do yoga 3 times a week, every week this year."  One is just more tangible and easy to conceptualize than the other.  It gives you something concrete to focus on.  I want to work on giving myself really clear goals.  Not just "work towards XYZ," but "Do *thing* 3x a week to work towards XYZ."  Do you have ambiguous resolutions?  Go rewrite the in a more goal-oriented way and see if that helps you with actually achieving them!


Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
(recipe via chow)
Ingredients
4 pounds whole butternut squash (about 2 medium), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)
1/2 medium yellow onion
8 fresh sage leaves
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1 / Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

2 / Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush all of it over the tops and insides of the squash halves (alternatively, you can rub it on evenly with your fingers). Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast until knife tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

3 / Meanwhile, peel, core, and cut the apple into medium dice. Cut the onion into medium dice. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple, onion, and sage, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

4 / When the squash is ready, set the baking sheet on a wire rack until the squash is cool enough to handle. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh into the saucepan with the sautéed apples and onions; discard the skins.

5 / Add the broth, water, and measured salt and pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces of squash, until the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.

6 / Using a blender or immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with sour cream, herbs, or toasted pumpkin seeds.