Fall has arrived in crisp spirit & summer is becoming a sweet memory, {no matter how many calendar days say otherwise}.

I’m not sorry to dust off my boots & slip on cardigans.

I’m a Midwest girl & I love my seasons. ♥

Last June Alli & I shot a spread for Styled. The Art of Autumn Merry Making. It is an online magazine with “over 100 pages filled with some of my favorite ideas, people, projects and links for making merry this fall” says founding editor Victoria. You can view it online {perfect for viewing on your iPad} or you can purchase it in print!

Beautiful Cover Photograph By: JACKIE WONDERS

I always love working with Alli, the lovely writer of Hooray Design, because I always feel like we work in sync. Even though we’ve only met in person a few times, we can talk or be perfectly silent & it’s not awkward or intimidating. She is such a creative soul & I love how her thrifty ideas always inspire me! It’s easy to photograph her tables & DIY projects because I always feel so connected & excited about what I’m shooting.

These bottles are covered with scraps from an Anthropologie magazine… I love the colors & textures.

I want to throw a harvest party like this with ombre fruits & vegetables dressing up my table!

Thanks for letting me share your creative & beautiful ideas Alli! See her post on Hooray Blog about this fall party here.

If you haven’t already, grab a pumpkin latte & check out Styled. this weekend!
Don’t forget to sneak in some time to browse Victoria’s blog, A Subtle Revelry.
She has a way of infusing original ideas on her posts, you’ll love her clever DIY projects! ♥

When I came across this book, Soil Mates by Sara Alway, at Anthropologie, these little pieces came together & all I had to do was find a couple willing to cooperate. Abby & Brett were perfect! She listened to my concept & enthusiastically selected the perfect wardrobe for each of them. It was a great way to get to know them better & practice for photographs before their wedding that is coming up later this month!

I wanted to showcase ideas for a lovely vintage table of some healthy munchies. That is where my dear friend, Wanda, of Sugar Maple Weddings & Events came in. I showed her my (Pinterest) inspiration board, and she was set! I was “oohing & ahhing” the whole time I photographed her beautiful vegetable & fruit display. It would be perfect for an engagement party or bridal shower in addition to wedding reception inspiration! She is a Dayton area wedding planner & event stylist. She is very familiar with vintage design & showcasing rustic elegance. I’ve always loved any project that she is part of!

I found this little DIY Hummus & Baby Carrot in terra cotta pots garnished with Parsley at this sweet blog {via Pinterest}.

Wanda made this beautiful ribbon backdrop, that inspired my own DIY Ribbon Chandelier for my office.

This watermelon cake is just a creative way to serve watermelon! I found it on Pinterest too. The original idea is Martha Stewart. Of course.

I have been obsessed with pinwheels & fabric flowers lately. They are actually easy to make & a simple addition to a plain cake that adds a lovely touch! I was nervous to try this, because it goes against the idea of icing or fondant flowers on a cake. I felt a little more courage when I saw Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine {Summer 2011} had a cover spread about this very thing. You should read it if you are interested in having a DIY wedding cake! Choosing your own fabric is a perfect way to tie design together in a new way!

 Makeup was done by another talented friend, Leslie, of Glamour Make-up Art by Ruby Randall.
She is AMAZING & {understandably} in demand, so snatch her up quick for your wedding or portraits!

Abby’s dress & apron were from Anthropologie.

The egg shell planters were another Pinterest inspired idea.

Beer & Peonies were from Trader Joe’s {the Peonies in my yard had already died }.

Wanda & Leslie, you two were incredible… THANK YOU!

You can also see this shoot featured on Green Wedding Shoes.

 Thanks for coming out for a sunset engagement shoot Abby & Brett! I can’t wait to see you on your wedding day! ♥

Hope these colorful images brighten your week! Can you believe Easter will be here before we know it?

Check out her alternative Easter grass solution: remnants of fabric made into fringe! I love it!

You can see Alli’s post on Hooray Design Blog here.

Thank so much for the lovely eye candy Alli! I had so much fun photographing this set! ♥

This week has been all about playing catch up. I have my first wedding of the season this weekend, so I have been trying to touch base with clients, ship orders, & clean up the office. If you are waiting on an e-mail or phone call, don’t worry… I am definitely not through with my list yet! The hidden fact about being a wedding photographer is that you do a lot of work inside that seems to have nothing to do with a camera. I’ve been feeling a little suffocated after this long winter, I am so excited to take pictures! Nothing tops warm weather & photographing weddings.

Rocky took his much anticipated Air Force promotion test, so we all feel the relief of knowing it’s done & we won’t know the results until mid summer. Now that he’s finished studying, we look forward to doing really fun things at some point this weekend: a trip to Ikea, organizing the garage, meeting with our accountant to file taxes, & planting grass. Don’t worry, we won’t be too wild.

I just found our food coloring… looks like we’ll have green Coronas around here. Hope you all have a fun St. Patrick’s Day! ♥

***Another Sneak Peek of my shoot with Hooray Design

If you’ve been following my Facebook page, you’ve probably noticed that Caitlin of Simply Photography & I collaborated on a winter styled shoot. We were really lucky to have the cupcakes & cookies provided by The Bombshell Bakes Shop. Their hand made baked goods are 100% vegan and very delicious! We also wanted to incorporate another sweet option for couples who practice a vegan lifestyle.

Since we wanted to inspire couples, I decided to incorporate more of a masculine dessert. It’s becoming more common to have co-ed wedding showers, so this would also be a good treat for that occasion too. My husband is a big fan of coffee & tequila. During our “honeymoon” in Mexico, one of our favorite parts was our daily Tequila Coffee Drink.  I found this original recipe for vegan chocolate truffles here, and personalized it for his tastes. Truffles are so decadent, but easy to make! Just keep an eye on the melting chocolate, and the rest is effortless. You can serve them chilled or room temperature.

12 oz. Organic Vegan Semisweet Chocolate
1/4 c. Earth Balance, softened {can find this at Walmart}
1/4 c. Coffee Patron Liqueur *
1/4 c. Strong Coffee

Unsweetened Organic Cocoa Powder blended with Organic Powdered (icing) sugar (equal amounts)
Almond Flour {used in making macarons}
Sprinkles of choice

Break up the chocolate in very small pieces. Place in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook until chocolate melts, stirring often. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the Earth Balance. Gradually beat in the liqueur, beating constantly to keep the mixture creamy and smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours, til firm. With hands, roll mixture into 1″ balls. Roll balls in mixture of choice.

I finished mine in three ways, with a powdered sugar/cocoa mixture, sprinkles, and the white Almond Flour. I had some leftover Almond Flour from making macarons, and it has a nutty flavor that pairs really well with the dark chocolate & coffee. That was Rocky’s favorite so I felt very Top Chef about my little concoction

* You can always substitute Kahlua or another favorite liqueur for the Coffee Patron

* Cake Bowl from My Sweet & Saucy Supply

I will be posting the entire shoot soon… I hope you all have a comfy winter “snow” day & don’t forget to vote for your favorite military couple on my Facebook page!

Remember our little “vintage” house I mentioned a few posts back? Well, it was time to gut the living room & rebuild it… for many many good reasons. My husband, Rocky, has been working hard at it for two weeks while I have been staying with my parents. He has been texting me images of his progress, but cut me off tonight and said that I’m not allowed to see any more until I come back. I miss him & can’t wait to see the big reveal this weekend… and go trick or treating with all my “mans!” Last year I was photographing a super sweet & glamorous couple’s wedding & missed out on our tradition. It always means a lot when I’m able to enjoy holidays as a family. {I remain grateful that the boys have their daddy with them}.

This month I’ve been able to work with some lovely people & photograph some projects that have me giddy with excitement to share with you all! The first is a chic, budget friendly,  mock Halloween party styled by Alli, the creator of the blog “Hooray Design.”

She gives a wonderful narrative on her blog, so check it out for sure! Here is the eye candy from the lovely shoot she set up:

Alli thank you so much for creating such a lovely Halloween tablescape, it was so much fun to have a coworker for a day! We have some more inspiration coming up for the winter as well… you will not want to miss it {this girl is a genius}!

I hope everyone has a lovely Halloween weekend! I can’t wait to get my shark & octopus all set to go grab some candy ♥

I’ve been eagerly anticipating spring and couldn’t wait to start shooting outdoors again. The idea was to create a sweet picnic for two adorable sisters with a yellow theme. As I’ve been assembling this post, Pandora played a live version of Coldplay’s Yellow. No kidding. I had to laugh at the very appropriate selection.

I love cotton candy & how it never fails to take me back to being a little girl. Usually, the portions are too much to eat at once. I made some quick cotton candy suckers by slicing the cotton candy, then cutting it with a cookie cutter. I assembled the cotton candy hearts on the candy stick with a small dab of lemon curd. I recommend them if you have some main desserts but want a pop of color and flavor for a shower, wedding, or birthday. I’ll have to post a DIY with pictures of how I assembled them and some creative ideas. The only drawback: they won’t last long.

I don’t plan on updating my other blog, Military Spice anymore. I have to admit I miss food photography. I love it.

I usually try to brainstorm ideas for cakes early in advance, but it’s been very busy. I only had 24 hours to sketch, gather supplies, bake, assemble, and decorate the cake {and cupcakes}. I was inspired by cakes I found on Flickr, it never fails to give me unique ideas.

The monkey, green pillow & tag were last minute additions. They helped bring some color to the cake that fit my color palette. I had tried to incorporate some yellow as the crib sheet color, but I added too much gel & it was almost fluorescent! I covered that layer with white fondant & I’m not sorry.

This is kind of what it’s like when you become a mama… your baby puts the world into focus.
It becomes easy to make decisions because you can see what matters & what can wait…

Best wishes to Sam & Suzanne as they welcome this baby boy soon!

Next I’ll talk about seeing Wicked at the Schuster Center in Dayton. I made the mistake of reading & falling in love with the books first…

{The “Subscribe by E-mail” option for getting notifiications when there are new posts is finally working!}

For a photographer {or anyone for that matter} in Ohio, Winter is a great time to be inside . This season has been valuable, because I have been able to take care of some design & organizational tasks that I hate doing when the weather is more pleasant. Slowing down has also given me time to reflect on last year & set new goals for this year… and the next five. If I only take on predictable projects, I will never mature as a photographer. I have decided that every month, I want to take on a shoot that is inspiring, artistic, collaborative, and makes me completely uncomfortable.

When I mentioned this to my friends, sisters, Ruby & Sarah, they were completely on board. Ruby Randall is a very gifted make up artist, model, and vintage lover, so she offered to do all the styling for our shoot {amazing}. You can check out more information about Ruby here, she is available for weddings!

Their lovely friend, Demi, looked incredible in one of Ruby’s vintage dresses:

I haven’t been baking very much lately, but made an exception for our Valentine shoot. It wouldn’t be the same without Red Velvet Cupcakes!

I’ve been close friends with Sarah for over thirteen years & she’s always been gorgeous, but she was perfection in this shoot.

Don’t you think she is from another time? This is one of my favorites.

Sarah brought some of her own treasures that completed her look. The sweater she is wearing is her husband’s Grandmother’s that she made herself!

It was so fun to hang out with my friends & stretch my photography muscles. We wrapped everything up by having coffee & red velvet cupcakes. Perfect.
Ruby, Sarah, & Demi, thank you so much for sharing your time, talent, & beauty!

I am hoping to squeeze in one more styled Valentine session with cookies & the lovely little Nataly!

It turns out that Saturday is not a very good day to start a blogging series. After spending all morning in the kitchen baking, the afternoon at a photo shoot, then the evening enjoying my in-laws’ Christmas party… the post was never actualized. Yesterday’s topic was My Favorite Christmas Song. In all honesty, that one is a little hard to narrow down for me! Today, however, is pretty simple.

My Favorite Christmas Recipe: Sugar Cookies.

This was platter of cookies from last February, when my family celebrated Christmas {after my husband’s homecoming from Afghanistan}.

I bake a lot of cakes & cupcakes, but sugar cookies are always a holiday staple {in fact, they are what I was baking yesterday}.  My mother-in-law gave me a cookbook as a wedding present. It was a good thing too, because I had just turned 22 the day before my wedding and had no cooking experience. I was a bit overwhelmed with the big book, so I started where I felt most comfortable- desserts. At some point I tried this sugar cookie recipe, and decided I would always make them at Christmas. I love baking them when I am not rushed and Kevin can help & play in with the extra dough. I love seeing his ideas for what to make and his little creative mind at work. It can be a mess, but these cookies are always worth it!

I have started a little collection of cookie cutters. Okay, I’ll admit, it’s more of an obsession. I have a deep drawer full of them! They represent everything adorable about childhood. If you are ever looking for a little gift for me, cookie cutters & ornaments will always be cherished :]

From that same day, my husband Rocky & Kevin making shark cookies for our late Christmas.

Sugar Cookies {from Better Homes & Gardens}:

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Our Christmas morning tradition of homemade waffles topped with strawberries comes in a really close second…

If you were not able to read my previous post, I am participating in a A Blogger’s Christmas via Wives of Faith. I love to write & I love Christmas, plus it’s an excuse to post some personal photography.  As an Air Force wife, I also support the Wives of Faith organization & what they do to support & encourage spouses. I will continue to update my blog with weddings & photo shoots, so there may be a two posts a day at times.

Christmas is coming so soon & I look forward to the chance to reflect on Christmas topics daily… I just thought it would be a nice way to share my own thoughts & traditions from my favorite holiday :]