Accidental Good Stuff

So. We all have days where silliness and stupidity follow us around in our shadows. The days where you wear two different color socks, or totally wreck your workout regimen by stuffing your face with fortune cookies. So I've heard anyway. It's these days that can pass with annoyance, or with humor, depending on your outlook. My day, fortunately, was a sunny day. A good day, filled with positive feedback on my hard work with my beloved black box, sprinkled with moments that passed with my head in the clouds. Like when I washed my hair twice this morning in the shower. Or when I left work and started driving in the direction of my parents' house, instead of my own. Or my running over Matt's brand spankin' new bicycle when I drove into the garage. Oops. Luckily, the bike came with fenders and a rack he was meaning to take off anyway. Those things alone saved his bike's fate!

While I may have looked like a walking blonde joke today, I realized two things. Two very important things. 1. I married a very patient man. One who merely looked at his bike, shrugged with a simple, It's not so bad Babe, nothing I can't fix! and 2. By stuffing my face with five fortune cookies, I came across these following tidbits. Maybe tidbits I was supposed to find, digest, and use to better myself, and my craft.

Here's proof I inhaled five cookies.

Lisa & Will: Married!

A simply breathtaking bride, dressed in all things white, stands ready to marry the man who makes her heart flutter. She can't contain her joy, smiling, arm and arm with the man who has been her number one her whole life- Dad. A handsome groom, clad in his military blues, declares, proudly, to love forever and protect the woman who makes his heart melt. In a touching ceremony, our wonderful friends, Lisa and Will, became one. Vows full of strength, love, devotion, and adoration for one another. The uniting of two strong families. Tearful speeches. A gigantic cookie table; italians do it right! A gorgeous quilt, adorned with memories and best wishes, crafted with love by mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and bridesmaids. Heartfelt sentiments, and details that could only be shared this day, by this couple, in this moment.

When it came time to cut the cake, Lisa asked her grandparents to join them. Her grandparents just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. A sweet sentiment, and one with a huge thank you attached. Lisa thanked them for being a cornerstone of love in her family, and with a foundation like that as an example, how could any marriage be anything but strong? As a newlywed, I found myself captivated by these two people, still holding hands after 60 years. Glancing in own husband's direction, it was a great reminder of the gift we receive when we marry. To share a life together, to never walk alone, to love wholeheartedly and selflessly.

True to form and her giving spirit, Lisa let me tag along with her and her bridesmaids all day to try my hand at wedding photography. HUGE hugs and thank yous all around- to Lisa and Will, to your giving, beautiful families, to your photographer, who, graciously, allowed me to be his shadow for the afternoon. What a joyful, touching celebration of love to be apart of.

Lisa & Will: we love you both, and wish you a wonderfully relaxing, sunshine-filled honeymoon!

Lifestyle: The Baldners

We love the Baldners! You know when you meet someone and feel an instant friendship begin? It's cool, huh? We met this happy couple this past July, upon moving into our first home. Our whole street is new, and primarily, pretty young. I knew we were all destined to meet, but I just didn't know I'd look like such a dork upon doing so. My sister and I had just gotten to my house, and we wanted Matt to take a picture of us out on the porch. Innocent enough, right? We hadn't quite gotten used to the double locks on our doors yet (darn you Energy Star safe house!) and I locked us out. At 10pm. Without Shoes. Or cell phones. And we'd only been in the house three days, so naturally, we hadn't given backup keys to anyone yet. After convincing my husband not to break a window, I spotted Kurt outside, a few doors down, watering his plants. I trotted down the street to beg to use his phone, and introduce myself, Hello! I'm your new ditzy neighbor! Please help us! The second he laughed at my misfortune, we became instant friends.

Needless to say, a couple hours and two-hundred-stinkin-dollars-to-a-locksmith later, we had gotten back inside our house, and made new friends! See? Things do happen for a reason, and there's a silver lining in every situation.


We headed down the street to Homestead Park last weekend to capture the here-and-now of Kurt and Christy. Don't you just want to hug them? They're a beautiful mix of fun and ease, with a whole lot of infectious laughter. After I paparazzi-ed the heck out of them, we fired up the grill, and the backyard games. Ah, the good life!

Little Blue Eyes

I love sweet, easygoing people. I love seeing sweet, easygoing people with sweet, easygoing children. Connection? You betcha!

This little sweet pea belongs to an equally sweet mommy. Liz and Ava are friends of our neighbors who joined us this past weekend to grill out, and just hang. We all had a great time! Little Ava has the cutest little voice and demeaner. And talk about piercing blue eyes! She let us take turns helping her hunt for kitty, rotating among all of the babyless hips in attendance. I'll admit, it was really nice to have little bare feet pitter-pattering about. Dear Matt, hint, hint, wink, wink.

Bubbles

An older couple came into the office a couple of days ago, holding hands. Wait, that just doesn't say it. An absolutely adorrrrrable older couple came into the office a couple days ago. Holding hands. The sight was so sweet, my teeth started to ache. He held the door for her, and smiled, proudly, as he checked both of them in. They spoke sweetly to one another, as they sat, quietly, in the waiting room, magazines open on each of their laps, but much more invested in their conversation than reading material. They are what you hope you'll be like at age eighty. In love, happy, and presumably, the sweetest grandparents in the whole world. She wore her hair pulled back, a flower tucked on the side. He wore polished dress shoes. In their day, my guess is, they were real head-turners. When she spied a chain to attach to her glasses, for sale, at the counter, she dug into her purse and came up a few dollars short. My co-worker joked to him, She's always costing you money, isn't she? He thrust his hand into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and with a wink and a smile, repiled, It's what I signed up for. My honey's worth it.

Sometimes your heart warms in such a way, that it bubbles over, and causes you to smile ear to ear. This happens in order to let some of the bubbles out. (Scientific, I know.) I wish I could have had snapped a photo of this storybook couple as they left our office, the same way they entered- he held the door for her, and took her hand once they were both outside. Since I was at work, and taking photos of patients may be considered a wee bit inappropriate, I, instead, chose a few photos that radiated beauty, just as they did.

My supportive husband dragged himself out of bed at 8am on Saturday morning to accompany me to Goodale Park to capture some morning light. Great way to start a weekend, if you ask me! My heart was full and bubbling with gratefulness for the little things. A sweet example of lifelong love. A tired, but smiling better half. A gorgeous morning. A feeling of joy that comes only from discovering what it is you were made to do.

Be glad of life; it gives you the chance to love, and to work, and to play, and to look at the stars. - Henry Van Dyke

Laughter

Something that makes you feel good. Something spontaneous. Something you can do anywhere. Something that costs nothing. Something you never have to think about. Something that can't be taken away. Something considered beautiful in any corner of the world. And by any person's standards. Something understood by all cultures. Something that breaks tension, awkward moments, and language barriers. Something you never have to learn. Something that can turn a sour mood around within seconds. Something that can put anyone at ease. Something familiar. Something everyone can appreciate. Something that causes shortness of breath, and a stomach ache. But in a good way. Something shared among friends. And family. And strangers. Something all photographers love to shoot..

A Teeny Bit of Tiny

I love little people. They are hilarious. And cute even when they're not acting like it. Before declaring our majors in college, professors used to group the education department into two oh-so-very-different categories: those who liked to deal with teenagers, (notice my word choice. I could have said work with, but deal with seems more appropriate.) complete with drama, broken hearts, bruised egos, and attitude, and those better suited to teach children. I'm in the latter group, equipped to remedy skinned knees, grimy hands, untied shoes, messy faces and broken crayons. I have quite a few little nuggets in my life. They make my life richer. And really, really funny.

Two of our best friends had their baby this past October. And as the newest member of our crew, her job is to melt all of our hearts on a regular basis (big, strong, I-don't-cry-or-watch-Desperate-Housewives husbands included). She does her job extremely well. She's the absolute best of her mommy and daddy, and I secretly hope she's as ornery as they are. It's a beautiful thing to see your friends SO happy. And to see this new little life begin and grow. As one of her many honorary aunts, it was love at first sight for me!

This is Camille, and as you can see, she's every bit as beautiful as her name. Now a smiling, bouncing, adorably snuggly six-month-old, we had an impromptu photoshoot to capture some of the joy Cami exudes. It's not surprising this little beauty is a happy girl, her mommy and daddy have smiles on their faces, humor in their voices, and laughter in their hearts. Take a look at these photos. You might just die. Or want to have a baby. Or two. Or a whole soccer team.

Hey, don't say I didn't warn you!