Around here we are embracing cooler weather & grey skies. The trees are subtly letting go of green and embracing amber hues.

    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! ♥

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    Hello world!

    Here is a preview from Chris & Stephani’s Miami University wedding in Oxford, Ohio. They are both officers in the Air Force & currently stationed across the globe from each other. It was an honor to photograph the story of two extraordinary people & the celebration of being reunited with their families & each other…

     Congratulations Chris & Stephani! ♥

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    I keep starting this post over.

    There should be some pretty way to eloquently sum up the fascination of marriage & love, but my allergies have left my mind at a loss for a single polished thought.

    This week was full of huge milestones for me.
    I turned 28.
    I had my 7th wedding anniversary.
    This baby blog turned 2.

    To quote one of my very first posts, “The kindest thing I ever did to myself was get married the day after my birthday.” The closer I get to thirty older I get, the more I appreciate that the focus isn’t on how many candles are on my cake (or where to find so many), but the years Rocky & I have been so fortunate to share together. The life we’ve built. The boys we’ve created. We were always two old souls & even though we married young, it suited us.

    My only regret is that I didn’t realize the last seven years would slip by so quickly.

    The last two have been especially brief.

    When this blog was created, I was an apron clad wife baking elaborate dinners & decorating pretty cakes in my free time. As I became more fluent in the art of photography, that apron began collecting dust. Perhaps I can work on balancing it all a little better this year, especially for the sake of my dear husband {who has become quite adept at cooking for us}. He is a patient man. He definitely deserves a hot meal every once in a while.

    This diary started as a way of sharing my images & stories with my friends & family. When I look back I feel a mixture of pride & sympathy toward my earlier work. I wear my posts like tattoos, that are public for the viewing & judging. I include my pictures and hope they mean something to the people I take them for. This little online journal is home to sweet stories & sometimes very honest confessions. It always waits patiently for me to come back & allows me a canvas to hang my art.

    Thanks for being such a very big part of it. ♥

     

     

    Now it’s time for me to work on my emails. This week has not been my finest hour, thanks for your patience!

    *Yes, I love Green Day. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” has particular sentiment since Rocky left for a deployment in September of 08.

    **Tonight though, my new favorite song is Willie Nelson’s cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” from the new Chipotle ad.
    You can listen to the whole version on Spotify for free!

    ***My first tattoo was a “safe” one, I’d love to do something classic but more ambitious for the next round. I am in love with the look of painterly tattoos.
    You can see all my inspiration on my Pinterest board.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    • Jill Jensen - September 1, 2011 - 3:42 pm

      Happy Birthday and Anniversary Andrea! I wish we could have met while we lived in Dayton – we have so much in common! Photography, cake decorating and my birthday is two days before my anniversary! Although I have to admit I am a bit older 😉 We moved to Mtn. Home AFB this summer so if you ever are here (I don’t wish it on you) look me up!

    • alli - September 2, 2011 - 5:49 pm

      Andrea, your blog and your writing is so beautiful, and you never fail to inspire. Happy birthday, anniversary, AND blog-iversary!

    • Andrea - September 4, 2011 - 8:48 am

      Jill, I would have loved that! I didn’t know that you had a birthday before your anniversary too! I hope you all are getting settled ok up there, I’m glad we can keep in touch! 😀 Alli, thank you so much! I’m so happy we met on here & have been able to work together on some amazing projects! I feel so excited for you & all the ways your creativity is being shared with the world!

    • Perfect Wedding Day » Flower Fashion: All about Faux - September 4, 2012 - 11:39 am

      […] Source […]

    Mike & Helen live in Cleveland, so I didn’t have a chance to meet them until their engagement session. We had spoken on the phone several times,
    and not only is Helen really sweet, but she is from England & has the most beautiful accent.
    I can see why she got Mike’s attention when they happened to meet backpacking in New Zealand.

    Isn’t that an amazing sentence? “We just happened to meet hiking in New Zealand.”

    Their story is unique & the kind of thing that inspires writers. Or photographers.

    They’ve traveled around the world & always end up taking pictures of each other, not together.
    It was such a gift to give them their very own collection of images that include both of them.

    There is another part of this story. I had decided to meet my parents at my Grandparents’ home in Columbus before heading over to meet Mike & Helen. Everything was wonderful (I had plenty of extra time to get there) until I went a little too fast over some train tracks & broke the oil pan in my car. It started to smoke immediately & I pulled over. It was very fortunate that a van full of three Army Reservists was behind me & pulled over with me. It was such a relief to see their familiar uniforms. They looked at the car & told me about the damage I did and NOT to drive it. At all. I was mortified. I didn’t want to cancel their session, but I had no idea what to do. My parents came to my rescue & let me borrow their car while they took care of getting mine towed & sent to a repair shop.
    Helen & Mike were so understanding and their session went off without a hitch.

    I quickly learned my lesson and how to drive a Prius. ♥

     

    My car is back & better than ever. I’m thankful I didn’t drive it and incur more damages. Here is a bonus photograph of a little friend we met along the way…

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    • sarah - August 23, 2011 - 5:15 am

      lovely and sweet. i LOVE the ring shot.

    • Megan - August 24, 2011 - 1:10 pm

      Wow, what a gorgeous day! It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Glad you got to see your family as well. I agree that the ring shot is beautiful!

    • Andrea - September 4, 2011 - 8:49 am

      Thank you Sarah & Megan! Megan, I peeked at for work & it’s so pretty! I love your drawings & illustrations, I’m so happy I “found” you 😀

    • Emily A. - October 12, 2011 - 4:52 pm

      Such a sweet session! I especially love the two black and white photos. Way to keep it together even with such a traumatic car experience!

    * THIS POST WAS IMPORTED FROM MY PERSONAL BLOG ON BLOGGER TO THIS WORDPRESS BLOG
    Here are some photos from the past week as we’ve checked out Kevin’s new school. He is starting kindergarten today & I really think he’ll like it. Even though it’s been a hard one for Rocky & I to take in. Everything started happening really fast once he was accepted into this school district. He is enrolled through an open enrollment program since we don’t have any schools close to us & our choices were not promising. There is a Montessori school so close and it would be wonderful to walk him up there. But we aren’t religious & wanted him to have a public school like we both did. It was also very small, and I want Kevin to have an experience where he has multiple teachers/students. The school we chose is a 20 minute commute, but he is near the base (where Rocky works), so we plan on taking turns driving him. It’s from 8-2:10 everyday… it is so odd to pack his lunch so young!
    You can see more on my photography blog here.
    I am really impatient to hear how his day went!
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