May 26
0

stella is 1!

By | Personal | 16 Comments

on august 1, 2009 on the way home from jen & jake’s wedding in asheville we stopped at a farm to meet ‘big sis.’ the awkward little pooch with big white paws and blue eyes stole our hearts right away. we couldn’t help but giggle with happiness as i put all 17 pounds of squirmy pup in my lap and we drove off scrambling with the phone to get a pic to share with the world! stella’s first portrait:

then we freaked out.

we immediately decided that everything we’d ever read could go wrong in great danes (or just puppies in general) was already wrong with her- she might be blind, she might be deaf, she might have mites, is she limping? her hips!, she’s bloated!, she must be crawling with heartworms! oh my gosh! turns out, after all the tears, after putting everything in our cart back at petco and deciding we had to return her right away- we just needed to take her to the vet to get checked out. we should probably never have kids…

she was perfect. absolutely healthy- just overwhelmed with her new environment, new food, her own big puffy bed and also just recovering her energy after we cleaned the fleas off of her. she just needed to rest. by the next day we had our perfect little pup!

also, she winces (winks?) when we’re doing something to her she doesn’t like- i guess first baths and birthday crowns fall in the same category:

and today, she turns one year old! happy first birthday stella bella altmix! (that middle name isn’t totally official…;)) congratulations on gaining 100 pounds in the last year and also learning to sit, come, bow & eat on command. thanks for putting up with your birthday crown turned birthday necklace long enough for a few images; you’re the best!

birthday treats!

we love you big baby!

May 25
0

brandi & thomas are married!

By | Weddings | 5 Comments

matt and i don’t have favorite couples or favorite weddings but if we did, brandi & thomas’s would be on that list. but we don’t have said list, so…starting over… ;)

my day with brandi started with a delicious brunch spread in the restaurant at the king plow arts center. all of the ladies from brandi’s family lounged around with her best friends, recalling old stories about brandi, laughing at their crazy exploits and generally enjoying the easy pace of a well-planned wedding day. [as a little side note i want to bestow some huge props to one of our very first clients ever, laura, who was brandi’s wedding planner! it was wonderful to see her again and hear about her booming new business! it was equally exciting to watch her truly ROCK at her job; give her a call if you’re in the market!] the girls took turns dipping out to have their hair done and before i knew it brandi was ready to get into her stunning dress and spend some time with thomas- if only every wedding day could be as relaxed and peaceful!

while the guys were finishing up i had a few extra minutes to grab the rings; i guess when you notice a pin stuck in an old post it’s kinda meant to be:

matt’s morning was just as calm and cool as mine- he hung out with thomas and some of his closest friends and by the time he saw me he was just one of the guys. he also learned all about thomas’s amazing new job as a landscape architect at one of the most creative firms in atlanta- i think you’ll notice his & brandi’s passion for the natural in their reception decor!

brandi & thomas are super sweet together- their first look literally brought tears to my eyes! they were both just so excited to see one another- they’d been apart a whole 12 hours! they are just meant to be together, always, love it!

after portraits while everyone was cooling off inside, matt had a few minutes to capture some of the details they designed! thomas did all of the graphics and they masterminded the rest together. i love how they used natural materials but still achieved a vibrant, modern color scheme:

i’ve never seen a bride so pumped to walk down the aisle! brandi could barely stop laughing she was so excited to marry thomas!

after the ceremony we took a little time to explore the grounds with brandi & thomas. we were thrilled to still have daylight so we could make use of all of the interesting architecture! i love how these next two capture what a beautiful day it was- it compliments their overflowing happiness:

sometimes if we ask you to look directly into the sun for an image we’ll suggest you just close your eyes until we’re 100% ready…and then we may or may not shoot while your eyes are closed to make sure our settings are perfect…and then we may end up liking that photo the best: ;)

we decided we’d end with a few portraits in the air conditioning so we could all cool off before the big introduction- a little drama, anyone?

i love the movement in this next image of their introduction- it portrays so much of the energy and happiness we were surrounded by the whole day!


brandi & thomas, we are so thrilled you guys trusted us to capture such an incredible day- we had an amazing time being part of it all! hope you guys had a super relaxing honeymoon and we hope to see you soon!

May 24
0

backyard goods

By | Personal | 9 Comments

i’m sitting here watching my dog kick herself in the head- to get to a little itch- and i can’t help but think that’s kinda what gardening has been like for me so far. i’ve read everywhere about the subtleties of soil PH, the complexities of trellises and the almost imperceptible signs that a plant is sick and yet, sometime around mid march i decided i was meant to be a gardener and dove straight in. thank goodness matt was there to keep my enthusiasm in check (note: i do not see this as negative) when my ideas started to get out of hand (running lines from the house windows to use as plant supports may have come up…) or we’d be in even further over our heads. as it stands now, we’re looking at 40+ tomato plants, 12ish cucumber plants, 9ish jalapeno plants, 6 strawberry plants and an abundance of herbs and edible flowers that i need to learn what in the world to do with. does it seem a little extreme to have so many tomatoes? you tell me how you bring yourself to throw out perfectly good seedlings!! i’ve been documenting it all and i hope to have a sequence to share later in the season but right now the plants are still in their growth spurt stage- so i’m waiting on that. for now, just a few pics of what i’m so excited about!

lavender- we have a couple types and i have yet to do anything with it other than grab a leaf to rub between my palms when i need a little pick me up. a friend of mine made a chocolate lavender cake once- maybe i’ll give that a whirl- though we all know what a disaster baking is for me!

big boys & supersweet 100s will hopefully overflowith in a month or so! i’m trying not to get too optimistic and i’m limiting my google searches on how to can tomatoes until i see some serious progress. for now i’m almost content with their pretty yellow flowers and the heavenly smell of ‘fresh!’

the cucumbers are budding too and the teeny little veggies are getting me excited about one of my all time favorite foods- pickles!

OH YOU GUYS! i totally forgot that i have’t introduced you to our new little gang of chickens! without further adieu, the ladies:

…and their delicious gift to us:

they can usually be found scratching the ground for yummies(?), fighting for perch space or begging (sqwaking) for table scraps. they are hilarious to watch, they cannot be trained (not for lack of trying) and they go to bed at 8pm every night. on the dot.

so far we’ve learned a LOT and we cant wait to make our little backyard more fruitful next year! what about you? are you gardening this year? chickening? any tips for us? lavender recipes? ;)

for now, peace out friends! the bachelorette starts in exactly 60 seconds which gives me just enough time to take care of this ambush pickle craving i was just hit with! go ali!