Twenty-one years

This pretty amazing person is turning 21 today. For real, twenty-one YEARS have passed in the blink of an eye. I say something along those lines every year, but 21? Really? I know my world was significantly made an infinite amount more awesome, more incredible, more MORE, when she came into the world and I know the world is a better place because she's in it. How could it not be? I could just say how beautiful she is, but that's obvious just be looking at her, and not even the important bit. What's awesome is she is determined, courageous, smart, funny, sarcastic, sassy, talented, strong, creative, talented, opinionated, stubborn, shy, helpful, compassionate, loyal and just plain ridiculously wonderful. That's her. All 21 years of her! I love you baby girl.

Left of Saddlerock [Wenatchee photography]

You have got to love living in a city where you can hike somewhere like this on a lunch break. I know I do. Thanks Steph, for asking me to go with!

Winter Wonderland [Wenatchee photography]

Winter has finally come to Wenatchee. Thanks for visiting Winter, we need to break up. It's not me, it's definitely you, now, buh-bye!

Greer + Bryan = Bryce [Wenatchee family photography, newborn]

While not quite a newborn at 2 months old, the very gentlemanly Bryce was just a peach to photograph today. His parents, Greer and Bryan, were equally wonderful to work with and I am happy to report another successful session of capturing a little bit of family magic. I kid you not, tears came to my eyes while photographing them, noticeably so, leaving me to explain to my new friends that I am NOT a basket-case, really, I just get overcome with emotion sometimes, seeing families interact and sharing that little je ne sais quoi that makes them so THEM. Unique in that combination that only those people at that point in time can be. I'm sure Bryan thought I was a loon, wiping tears from my eyes as I shot them, but so be it. It's one of the reasons I love what I do, to capture a glimpse, however brief, of that bond that families have. The inside jokes and running commentary that makes them them. Glad I got to share just a little and make these images for them. Welcome to the world, Bryce!

Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. We recently got a new couch, which led to a bit of a reorganize of the living room that exposed MORE WALL FOR HANGING ART. Yay! I was running out of wall space. This is a decent sized piece (13x25) listing my all time favorite music artists. The ones I've loved for years and imagine I always will. I'll be that grandma still listening to Eminem.
2. Had a two-family back-to-back mini-mini session last weekend. Quick way to get a few "Christmas card photos" without all the time requirements of a full session. I've shot both of these families before and it's always nice to see everyone and be amazed at how big the kids are getting!
3. Did you hear that this new Coke can, which donates part of the proceeds to helping Polar Bears, is being pulled because people complained it looked too much like the Diet Coke can? Are you kidding me? An absolutely gorgeous design that is being used for good, for the benefit of such an amazing creature that can surely use our help and that's all being scrapped because it confuses all the poor coke drinkers? I LOVE Coke -- grew up on it and think it kicks Pepsi's ass, but if it takes me a whole second longer to PAY ATTENTION and grab the right can to benefit something besides myself, then I'll do it. I'm equally pissed that people are so self-centered that they complained about their inability to read the can and also that Coke caved in and pulled the cans. Sure hope they still donate an equal amount without people purchasing the official can. (And I also think it's stupid that an organization capable of donating big money only does so if we jump through their hoops. You wanna' help the Polar Bears, just help them already.)
4. Have you heard of Pinterest? I'm sure you probably have, it's like a virtual bulletin board, where you can "pin" and categorize anything. Anything you find or see on the web, or that you can upload from your computer. The pin links back to the original site, so you can always get back to that information for later reference. Love the convenience of knowing "I saw it somewhere...." really is somewhere I can find again. Yummy recipe? It'll be in my "I want to taste this" board. Awesome DIY? It'll be in my "I want to make this" board. Easy-peasy. I've been on Pinterest for quite awhile and have quite a few boards -- so if you want to see them, just follow me.
5. I tried to make these adorable rainbow cupcakes for Indie's birthday this week. (Found them on Pinterest!) From the get-go, I had problems. But, I kept going and...ended up with a LOT of half-assed looking cupcakes. I wanted perfectly flat tops, not the domed, rounded cupcake tops I usually get. First batch were hugely rounded. Made a second batch, using my own brain to try and solve the problem. They were about half as round. Went to the internet to try and solve the problem and ended up with a third batch that was pretty flat, but when I tried to make them totally flat, using one of the tips I found online, all the tops ripped off. Sigh. Started a 4th batch, no kidding, and they weren't much better. I finally gave up and we had a TON OF CUPCAKES all over the kitchen. Fine if we were having a huge party. However there are only 4 of us here to eat them. Went to frost them and about half-way in realized I didn't have all the ingredients. So I winged it and the frosting, while tasting pretty good, had an odd consistency. The next day I added the white frosting "clouds" and went to the the store to buy the rainbow candies used for the rainbows. And after several stores, realized I was not going to have rainbows. I bought some "Fruit by the Foot" fruit snacks, because they were the closest things I could find. I quickly discovered they were too flimsy to hold the arc shape. But still, I soldiered on. Finished ALL THOSE CUPCAKES only to wake up in the morning (the actual birthday day) to find all the rainbow-fruit-by-the-foots had collapsed and the colors had bled into the blue frosting, which had also turned into an even weirder consistency. I can bake, really, but I do not know what gremlins were afoot in my kitchen this week. Luckily the taste-good gremlins still allowed them to taste REALLY GOOD, despite their ridiculous appearance (much worse than the in-progress photo here, because I refused to take their picture after they got so silly.)