MEET THE MCRAES

I got the privilege of taking the McRae’s family portraits last week. Oh my they are so cute. I didn’t have to do anything but point the camera at them and they did their thing. This family dropped everything they had, followed God and moved to Arizona to church plant. They are currently interning at Cornerstone, gearing up to do God’s work. He has great plans for them, they were truly amazing to work with. And the kids got gummy bear treats in between sets. haha. I am pleased to introduce: Aaron, will, olivia, kate and Holly. To see more of the McRaes go here: flickr

sister sister

WEDDING IDEA HELP

HELP HELP!! Brian and i are in the wedding planning process and need some of your help. We are thinking the wedding would be in California (because all of our family is there). How hard is it to plan a wedding in a state that you are not even in??!?! hahaa.

We are looking for some cool urban ceremony // reception sites in Southern California. Do you know of anything? We need some ideas and are open to anything. Since we have been looking a little… we have liked the art gallery/museum look; modern urban architecture. If you know of any cool places outside or inside please leave a comment or message me with links or any information. i would really love to hear your ideas and thoughts. Dont be shy now.

SISTER FOR A VISIT

I am about to go pick my up sister Aimee from the airport. She is coming from California to stay the weekend. Woohoo. it will be a blast. She goes to school at Biola University in southern California and is studying communications. This will be her first visit to Arizona since I have been here. She is very pretty. and yes she is taken fellas. i think we will go thrift store shopping, eat chocolate, go swimming, make brownies, and watch movies. sounds fun. i cant wait

STARFIELD AND BRAYLINE:OCTOBER 18TH

Starfield came to Cornerstone on October 18th. (I am sure you have seen the designs in previous posts). Michael Watson and Brayline opend for them. It was an awesome night. Starfield puts on a killer show. WOW. I took a few photos. I try whenever I can to get some live photos…. but I am not the best at them, and my camera has a hard time with it as well. Haha. But here are some fun ones.

SEE MORE PHOTOS I TOOK OF STARFIELD HERE: FLICKR

SEE MORE PHOTOS I TOOK OF BRAYLINE HERE: FLICKR

Take a look at Grant’s set up!! hahahaaa. I loved it. It was surch a surprise when they came on stage and it light up. Hahaa. Brian had used the rope lights for our engagement night set up. They were left in his truck, and when they were unloading the gear for the show, Grant saw them and snatched them up. Haha. That was awesome. They made for really cool lighting for photos. Grant is usually in the dark, so i cant photograph him. BUT NOT THIS TIME. haha. i think it maybe should be a staple for their shows. haha

ABOVE THE GOLDEN STATE: PRINT

This has been a crazy weekend with tons of stuff to show. I did a family portrait session with the cutest family ever (those photos will be coming soon), i did some photography work for the starfield concert last night, october 18th at Cornerstone. Brayline and Michael Watson (Above the Golden State) opened for them and it was an amazing night. Photos of that are coming soon. But first I was excited to see that Michael brought some print stuff that I did that i didnt get to see yet. It all looked awesome at his table. Here are some buttons, and a rad clear hand drawn sticker, and a couple photos of him from last night. I also have a maternity photoshoot this afternoon. so there is a lot of stuff coming. stay tuned.

I LIKE TO MAKE STUFF

I was painting last night…. and as i was sweeping glue, fabric, and paint, I remembered that i REALLY like to make stuff. it’s not that i didnt know that before…but it was just a friendly reminder. Sometimes i get so caught up in everything and i think that making something is something you do when you are bored. haha. That may have been the case when i was yougner, but now i have to make it a priority. that feels really weird to say, but i guess it must be done.

When i was in high school in Washington, school would shut down for a couple days becuase of snow days. I WOULD LOVE THAT. Most kids loved it because they got to play in the snow; and although i liked to do that as well, I would mostly look forward to spending days in my room cutting up my old clothes and sewing them back together in new ways. GOSH that was so fun. Here are a few things that i have made.
This is a cuff bracelet that i sewed together from pocket fabric in a pair of volcom mens jeans that i got at a thrift store for $2.

These were men’s jeans that i bought at a thrift store, i cut them off to shorts, ripped a few holes, and sewed some large stiches for detail. These were my FAVORITE staple for the summer. hopefully i can find a way to wear them in winter.
This is a jean fly bracelet that i loved for years. I tore the fly out of a pair of thrift store jeans. sewed the ends together and wrapped it around my wrist. hahaa. very random, but a cool way to recyle old clothing.


and last but not least… this was a cool shirt to begin with…. so cool that i didnt want to do too much to it. The neck line was choking my neck before… so i brought it down by sewing pieces that i cut off the shirt back on, This created a lower neckline that looked disshevled and urban. I even sewed the vintaged tag on for fun. ha.

IM ENGAGED TO MY BEST FRIEND!! 10//11//08

Brian completely surprised me. I had No idea it was coming. Well… I knew it was coming soon… but had no idea it was this day. Even when I was there I had no idea. haha. I guess I am easy to surprise in some ways. It’s funny because usually other people spoil Brian’s surprises on accident, but he really kept this one a secret. What a surprise. He worked so hard and planned everything out to the details. I am very impressed.
WHERE AND HOW: He got me out to this desert // mountain area by telling me that he wanted to do a photoshoot and take some pictures of us. Being a photo lover, that sounded AWESOME and I was so excited that Brian was so into doing a photoshoot. He told me that there was this special place that he has been wanting to go to. He said it was beautiful.
DIDNT QUITE GO AS PLANNED: Unfortunately his plan didn’t quite go like he thought because it was SOO WINDY and COLD. I only had a sweater and the winds were really strong (not what we are used to). I got a little cranky because he kept taking me higher and higher on the mountain, climbing rocks and beating the wind. I told him it might not work because I couldn’t set up my camera without it falling over. Our hair was blowing all over the place and i was thinking “geez, we might have to do it somewhere else”. But Brian said that he REALLY wanted to try it out because it was going to be really cool. Of course taking photos probably wasn’t exactly on his high priority list. haha. So I told him I would take a few of him, and then he took a few of me. Here are a few:

my hunky husband to be.

THE BIG MOMENT: He was holding the camera and asked if I would like some water. I said “YES”. He handed me the water bottle and then went digging back in his back pack. There was a moment when everything stood still and I saw what was coming. He got down on one knee and explained the REAL reason we were in the desert and up on top of the City… and it was not to just take photos.

Here is what he has to say about it: “As I was praying over this spot and just looking around me I was standing in the middle of this barren desert and looking out towards the city. I was reminded that the sustaining life of the desert is dependent on whatever God gives it and that our marriage (or life for that matter) will be the best as we learn, together, how to depend on God for everything we need. One of the coolest pieces of this vision was the reality that as we learn to live standing in the desert God invites us to join Him in a reality beyond our own possibility. The city has that vibe. It’s exciting, forward moving, innovative, dreamy, romantic and seems to have endless possibility. The city is what God wants for our lives and marriages. I believe we experience that best as we step back in to the desert and learn to hear His voice and know Him deeply so that we can join Him well in the work of the Kingdom. At that point I knew this was the spot and that this would be a place where God would meet us and bring us into this next step! I had the chance to share this with Promise just after i asked her if she would marry me. It was a VERY SPECIAL, emotional and holy moment as I got to share with her what the Lord showed me in that place.”

He said: “Now i want to take you to your next surprise”. He wrapped me in his jacket and walked me around the mountain and up to this ramada type structure, high in the hills over looking the sunset. The ramada was set up with twinkle lights, and the city lights were shining bright. We danced to music, cried, and jumped up and down.

There was a table for two set up with roses, thai food, drinks, and dessert. (I snaped this after the fact, so its not that pretty in this photo). 

Right across from the table there was a large screen and a very elaborate contraption to stabolize the screen. We cuddled up, ate chocolate, and watched the notebook in a HUGE bean bag chair with lots of blankets, pillows, and sweatshirts. 

These are the guys behind the madness. Seth Wells, Chip Neal, and Steve Adame. They worked so hard to set all this up in the middle of the desert. What a treat. Those are some good friends if you ask me. They brought us back scooters and we road them down the mountians to his truck.

SURPRISE PARTY: On the way Back Brian told me that Nicole (my roomate) had told him that she wanted to see us and my ring before she went to sleep… so she wanted us to stop by. I called her and told her we were on our way back. I thought by this time that the surprises were over. We unlocked the door, walked in and saw candles lit, and around the corner 15 -20 of our friends jumped out from the other side of the room and yelled “surprise!!!’ I WAS SO SURPRISED!! I was not expecting that at all. We ate more chocolate.. (or at least I did) ahhaa. It was truely a great night. So full of surprises and of Joy. Brian is the best. I love him so much. SEE WHAT BRIAN WROTE ABOUT IT: HERE

SHAWN & SARAHBEL

Shawn Tyler Gray and SarahBel Garcia got married last night. Woohoo. It was a very beautiful wedding that represented them very well. I love going to weddings. It was nice to be at a wedding just to enjoy friends, food, celebration, and dancing without being all stressed about doing the photography for it. it was so relaxing. and its fun to get semi dressed up and take photos. haha. Shawn and sarah have been friends with brian for a while, but it has been fun to get to know them as a fun couple. Plus you need to check out Shawns music. He is very talented: Shawn Tyler Gray. AND they had a photobooth at the reception for all the guests to enjoy. What a fun idea. Brian and I had to much fun with that. hahaa. The photo below was taken by Bugg photography. I am so excited to see the photos of the wedding. They were all over the map yesterday it was great to see them in action. Check out their website as well: buggphotographer.com

SAVERS FINDS: AGAIN

I love thrift store shopping. There is truely nothing better getting such a great deal. I wanna be a personal shoppper for people at thrift stores. hhaa. here is what i recently found.

red belt: $1.99

dress: brand: old navy: $3.99

jewelry total: $3

yellow scarf: $.99

stripe lace tank: $2.99