boho bella photography

piper madeline :: nashville newborn photographer

2012-02-20T14:30:00.000-06:00

this precious little one has quite an amazing story! she was due to be a valentine's baby, but came as a late Christmas present instead. born 7 weeks early with no complications, little miss piper was a her parents little miracle. i had so much fun catching all her precious expressions and adorable tiny features. i brought a few of the props, but some came from their own amazing modern/vintage decor, it was a match made in heaven!. here are a few of my favorites from the shoot!

grace anne :: starkville newborn photographer

2012-02-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

my bff, carey, & i had the chance to head to starkville, mississippi to meet her newborn second cousin. and, of course i took along my camera to catch a few special shots. baby grace met her great grandfather, the photo with her brand new feet, and his big aged hands is my favorite from the whole mini shoot! i love the contrast!

i am not a cat person, by any standard. in fact, i think cats are generally dreadful creatures, but melinda, and patrick's cat fascinated me! she had stunning green eyes, and quite the personality!

zachary turns 28 :: nashville event photographer

2011-09-21T16:18:00.003-05:00

september 9

that date has held importance for the last 11 years of my life. why? you ask? well, z's birthday! and yes, even when we weren't talking for 4 years, i made a mental note on september 9 that it was z's bday. kinda crazy! i can't believe we've been together for 4 years already! this year, i wanted to do something a little different for his birthday.

our life in nashville would not be nearly as amazing without a few close friends, so of course my plan had to include them! jason & miranda, david and carey, and jarrod & laura .

ever since we've been here we have heard about kix brooks' (of brooks & dunn) vineyard out in the country. it's about a 30 min drive from nashville, and incredibly beautiful, or so i'd heard! they have "music in the vines" on friday nights, free wine tasting, and a bunch of picnic tables where you can bring food to enjoy the atmosphere.

so, unbeknownst to z, i raided trader joe's cheese department, put together a bag of supplies and dropped it off at miranda's a couple days before the big event. i really wanted to pull this off without him knowing!

we spent the morning lazily, in the early afternoon we went the mall, and z bought himself a few birthday presents (he's far too picky these days for me to try to pick out clothes for him...so he gets his own). then we meandered through the farms bewteen franklin and arrington, as we headed toward the vineyard.

these are just a few iphone photos along the way

here's the spread, the crew, and the memories! enjoy!

a southern experience

2011-09-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

labor day.

all past labor day celebrations have usually consisted of family birthday parties for my grammy & me (and more recently, zach too), since we are the September birthdays of the family. however, this year was different. very, very different. after moving to nashville, our lives have turned upside down, in most ways for the better. but there are still those moments when it feels like it was for the worse. i gotta admit, i was a little nervous about labor day, i was fairly certain we would wind up on our couch, all by ourselves, and i would be a mess. HOWEVER...our amazing friends saved us from that dreadful fate! instead, we spent labor day weekend in jackson, mississippi with 2 of our dearest friends experiencing all things southern!

we met david & carey in our small group from crosspoint.tv and were instant friends! they have 2 boxer/mix female pups, and we trade dog sitting back and forth (honestly, they watch our boys, far more often than the girls need it). the 8 of us (including the dogs) are fast friends, and i can't imagine life without them! carey is from mississippi, and asked if we wanted to join them for the weekend. it truly was a stereotypical southern weekend, we shot skeet, and had a fish fry, and rummaged through the junk in one of the back pastures, the dogs chased cows, i pet a cow, the dogs swam in the cow pond, and we worked on a bathroom re-do for her mom! it was a fabulous weekend! here are a few images from the weekends adventures!

claudia :: nashville newborn photographer

2011-09-14T15:39:00.001-05:00

i know, i know...i'm behind in blogging...again. shocker.

sometimes life moves too fast for me to blog about it. its almost as though if i sit down to blog about it, i miss the next thing. i was THAT kid. the one who was always the last one to fall asleep at sleepovers, because i was worried about missing something. i rarely can fall asleep watching a movie...cuz heaven forbid i miss part of it! in all honesty, it would be good for me to blog consistently, it would force me to slow down! ugh, maybe someday i'll get there. in the mean time, here a few catch up posts!

i got a call from a potential client wanting to do a newborn shoot. the baby was 2 weeks old, awesome! we set it up for the following week. later that evening her father-in-law passed away, and the next day they were on their way to his home, a few states away. talk about a crazy juxtaposition of life stages... it was heartbreaking! we rescheduled the shoot for another week, and when they got home, it was a welcome reprieve from the grieving process. we had some much fun trying to get the sweet baby to sleep! she is so very precious!

meet claudia!

justin & trish :: nashville headshot photographer

2011-07-13T18:22:00.001-05:00

our campus pastor at crosspoint.tv bellevue campus and his wonderful family are a total blessing to my hubby and me. not only do we get to hang with 2 of their 3 boys in our charge student ministry, we consider them amazing friends. both justin, and trish always take the opportunity to encourage my hard-working hubby. we are blessed to have family away from our families.

justin and trish have an incredible marriage ministry, refine us. based on their own experiences through the joys, and missteps in marriage, they have had an impact on hundreds of couples - newlyweds and veterans alike. the candor, counseling and support they provide are crucial to so many. a couple days ago i received a text from justin asking if we could squeeze in a shoot before the whole davis clan left for various destination. we managed to grab an hour of magical light, a little romance, & some beautiful nashville scenery for some fabulous images.

coming from two people who claim to be totally un-photogenic...i think they're pretty darn beautiful! love you guys!

cross point serving saturday :: nashville event photographer

2011-07-09T19:22:00.002-05:00

beep...beep...beep

beep...beep

beeeeeeppp

the sound of the alarm at 6:30 this morning was an unwelcomed annoyance. there are VERY (major emphasis on VERY) few things that can get me out of bed at 6:30 on a saturday morning. however... cross point church's serving saturday's are definitely one of the reasons i am willing to drag myself out of bed. this fabulous saturday we rounded up nearly 700 volunteers & had the opportunity to spread out through various ministry sites including: mending hearts, lighthouse ministries, & preston taylor ministries. the culmination of it all was a family friendly block party! free for everyone, it was a great way to thank our volunteers, and to spread some love in preston taylor neighborhood. here are a few images from this wonderful, hot day of ministry, love, "& then some!"

the absolutely heavenly "hit & miss" ice cream. bradley freeman owns the portable company, and makes all his ice cream in old school, wooden bucket makers, turned by a john deere!

the mo-town cover band 24/7 ba nd was a perfect summer day beat.

bill and his crew from "nashville high lift" are amazing grillers, and provided incredible food for nearly a thousand people. they worked tirelessly from early this morning until we cleaned up around 3. we are so thankful for their heart for ministry!

i LOVE to see our youth jumping into ministry with their whole hearts! thanks lindsey!

bellevue's campus pastor, justin davis and 2 of his kids!

for more images, check out crosspoint.tv's flickr!

Indy Day Bash

2011-07-04T01:46:00.000-05:00

pretty much, since we've lived in nashville, we've heard tales of an independence day celebration of epic proportions...hosted by none other than our pastor & his wife. pete & brandi open their home to a very large number of their closest friends, and throw the bash of the year. we really had no idea the grandiosity of this fabulous event until we showed up tonight, and the people kept pouring through the door. i'm a bit introverted (although i tend to force myself otherwise), so the sheer volume of bodies was a bit overwhelming at first. as soon as i grabbed my camera, and started shooting though, i felt right at home. giggles, dance moves, and sparklers for the kids were a great start to the best 4th celebration we've ever experienced. top it all off with an awesome fireworks display set off my our men, and this one will definitely go down in the books! i only had time to pull a few images for tonight, but here's a glimpse!

more to come soon!

bellies :: baby everett :: nashville maternity photographer

2011-06-25T18:50:00.001-05:00

baby everett is almost here! i am so very excited to meet the newest addition to our community group! jessi & nathan are ecstatic to finally hold their little one. a couple weeks ago we squeezed a maternity session into their busy lives! here are a few of my favorites!

estate sale finds : nashville vintage photographer

2011-06-21T19:44:00.000-05:00

estate sale: the best place to find truly vintage items for non-antique store prices!

on friday morning, we had a couple spare hours and found ourselves at a nearby estate sale.

i'm not gonna lie..

going through someone's house is a little creepy. it's almost like walking back through the life of someone you never knew. a bit of a strange custom, but in some ways it gives you a peek into the life of someone with so many years of wisdom and experience behind them.

these are my finds for the day!

this sweet old half-gallon is labeled with a hand written sticker "plain dandelion." i love the vintage feel of the jar and the label, and even the cork! i think i paid $0.25 for this one (these were at a hoarder's home, and everything was 75% off the sticker price.

this will be such a cute vase! $0.50

this 19 inch Peugeuot pepper mill was $8. on Amazon, it's listed for $140! granted, this one has a little wear and tear, but it's way cool.

i love old books. they're great for decorating, crafting, our television sits on a stack of them. if you've ever been to our house, you already know that. i especially LOVE when they have hand-written tidbits in them! even cooler when it's a text book! $1 each

1882. that's old.

wooden spools of thread make a great jar filler. this spool isn't wooden but the thread sure is cool lookin! $0.25

no post is complete without a pic of one of my pups! leo is mending nicely, and LOVES to be in the way.

word is...every good southern woman needs a cast iron skillet. well, since i'm officially living in the south, and we're not going anywhere soon (unless God has other plans) reason says that i need a skillet. and i found one! even better, it's preseasoned! $6

now this was the find of the day. (besides the pepper mill) (and, the skillet)

this is a set of drawers from an old card catalog. it was marked $18. i paid $4.50. it has the original "cole steel company" label on it. and it's a little beat up, but so fun! no, i don't have a plan for it yet. BUT it was totally one of those things that you absolutely cannot pass up. because some day...i will have the perfect space for it, and it will be filled with the perfect things! :)

so cool. right?

now i'm on the hunt for an old card catalog cabinet. like the big ones that they used in libraries. all libraries have gone electronic. but i haven't been able to track one down that's not $300. any suggestions? (besides ebay, amazon, craigslist)

i'm off to finish a framed coffee bean bag. i'll get photos up here soon.

btw. pastor boy went for a run the other night, and came back with a table. now that's what i call an excellent run! :) we'll see what i'm inspired to do with it! can't wait!

please help us save Leo!!!!

2011-05-27T16:29:00.001-05:00

Meet Leo. Leonidas actually.

Pretty cute huh?

Well there’s more story to it then that.

We had been trying to find a friend to go along with our Boxer Paddington. We are HUGE fans of rescuing dogs and there are so many dogs out there that needs homes!

We hopped on Craigslist, checked in with the local shelter, and talked around with friends, hoping to find a dog that was right for us.

One day as I was poking around Craigslist I stumbled across an ad for a German Shepherd/Rot puppy! He was 6 months old, great with kids, and great with other dogs.

Perfect!

So I called the number on the ad and the lady told me that she had rescued the mama and the mama had gotten out, gotten pregnant, and had 10 puppies. They just couldn’t keep them all.

She said the only thing with him was that he had tried to get out of his kennel and had gotten his hind due claw caught. They had gotten it repaired, but it would take another week and a half for him to heal. We talked about it and decided that wasn’t too big of a risk, it seemed like a simple procedure and it wouldn’t be that long until he was better.

So we agree to adopt him, got his medicine, his paperwork, and headed on home!

He is the sweetest puppy. He is mild mannered, doesn’t chew too much, hardly barks, and is mostly potty trained. For an outdoor puppy who hasn’t been worked with, he was like a miracle! Just as good as all of that, he gets along so well with our Boxer.

Two days later we decided to take the little guy to our vet, to have him de-heartwormed, checked for worms, and just to make sure he was healing correctly.

Well the vet knelt down, felt his leg and said, “I think we need to do surgery, it feels like he has torn something in his knee.” My heart sank. What were we going to do?!? We had just rescued this puppy and now they were telling us he needed surgery! I asked the question I really didn’t want to know the answer to, “How much is it going to cost?” Between $1500-2000 was her response.

My heat sank lower.

I knew that we couldn’t afford that.

So we said our thank you’s, piled back into the truck and headed home to tell Britt the sad news. I didn’t think we were going to be able to keep our new little guy. It wasn’t fair to him to have a hurt leg, but there was nothing we could do financially.

Sure enough, Britt was heart-broken. We had barely had this guy for a week, but already he had become part of the family.

We talked about it and decided we couldn’t just get rid of him, give him back, or take him to the county. We were sure that he would just be “put down”.

So we started talking around to rescues, talked friends and everyone suggested we try to get another opinion. We took him to a vet where a friend works and they did x-rays.

It was discovered that he didn’t have a torn ligament in his knee, but that he DID have 3 broken bones in that one leg! Poor guy! The x-rays were sent to a specialist to check out what should be done…The vet called us the next day and said that Leo would need surgery, it wouldn’t be as bad as a ligament reconstruction, but he would need 3 pins put in his leg!

We decided that although it wasn’t our plan that we were given a chance to make a difference for this little guy and to save his life! The friend that works for the vet had told him that I do some graphic design and Britt does photography and it look like we are going to be able to barter some of the cost of the surgery, but not all of it.

That where we need your help.

If you would consider donating $10, $20, $50, or any amount to help us save little Leo!
You can donate here!!!

-- i "borrowed" this from my wonderful hubby's blog... repaintedcanvas.com

i am not them :: nashville photographer

2011-05-25T11:01:00.001-05:00

comparison.

we all do it. he's more ripped than i am. she's got better hair than me. their kids are better behaved than ours. their house is cuter than mine. how is she so skinny...i eat better than her!

for me, it's about my work. her images are dreamier than mine...they use lighting better than i do...i would love to have the clients they get...etc, etc, etc. seriously?! my degree is in photography, i've been shooting since high school, i know what i'm doing. that's not to say that there's noting else for me to learn...there's plenty! But i think i need to start by being somewhat content. i am not someone else. i am the person God created me to be. i have my own style. i don't need to emulate someone else's look! it's dangerous for me to continually compare myself to others. i start to get lost in a "i might as well give up because i'm not them" funk. i lose sight of why i do what i do (because i love it!). it starts to become a "me vs. them" battle within me.

Z is constantly reminding me...."you can look at others image for inspiration, but not to compare yourself to them. you are not that person...you are you." i think being a part of Crosspoint.tv has really helped me realize that people are appreciative when someone shares their gift. i have never before felt like someone was thankful when i shot an event, or documented a moment in our community. it was always just expected. but here, there is a true appreciation for creativity, and being willing to spend valuable time shooting. i'm thankful for that. every time i get a text from the creative arts director..."hey can you shoot at ---" or "thanks for sharing your gift, and art in our community" i know that i am truly valued, and appreciated for me.

i am me. i have my own style. i love 1.2mm. i am a pastors wife. i love vintage. i love to craft. i will always love to preserve God's glorious creations. I adore capturing moment when people are effervescent and real. i love my puppies. je t'aime my husband. and everything i do is part of who i am.

i am not them.

i will strive to be more like me everyday.

what do you compare yourself to?

who are you?

everett's baby shower :: nashville maternity photographer

2011-05-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

at crosspoint.tv we strongly believe that community groups are where true life change takes place. and our community group is no exception! z and i were blessed to jump into a group where we have made some amazing friends, and feel totally connected. one of the couples is pregnant, and due in just a few weeks! so naturally, all of us girls wanted to throw a baby shower! the weather has been fabulous lately, and one of the girls in our group has connections to a home with a beautiful in-ground pool. so we decided on a pool party! and yes, we made the VERY pregnant Jessi don her swimsuit and flaunt her belly! we were so excited to be a part of her pregnancy. they've had a less than wonderful experience being pregnant, and while incredibly thankful for baby everett as the gift God has given to them, she's stoked to meet him! here are a few images from the shower! we had just as much fun planning as we did at the shower! enjoy!

jessi, we cannot wait for baby everett to arrive! we are all so very blessed to be your friends! love you!

Turner Family :: Nashville Maternity Photographer

2011-05-22T00:50:00.000-05:00

The adorable Turner family met me at a recent favorite spot, The Factory at Franklin. Elias, a free-spirited almost-3 year old, kept the morning interesting! With his amazing brown eyes, and contagious giggle, we created fun family memories while capturing the precious little one on the way! Miss Adeline is due to arrive very soon, and everyone is eager with anticipation!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from today! Thanks Matthew , Jessica , Elias and Adeline! Can't wait for the sweet girl to make her appearance!

why not diy? : wednesday: a cabinet re-do!

2011-05-04T11:14:00.001-05:00

a few weeks ago, z and i emailed a lady on craigslist about some lockers. yes, a set of old, nasty, rusty gym lockers. gross! BUT, we had talked about putting some in our garage for storage (so the dog couldn't get into things) or in his office as a functional aesthetic piece, or in the youth room. we came across this set on craigslist, and could not pass it up. they were $50. ANYWAY...we met up with the lady who had them..turns out, she's somewhat of a picker! the lockers were in a storage unit, along with TONS of other stuff. actually, there were 3 storage units chocked full of stuff. we went through each unit, and wound up with not only the lockers(which we got for $40) but also a fabulous black retro cabinet. the moment i laid eyes on it, i was smitten! with a new paint job, some cute knobs from hobby lobby, and a little tlc, it could be the perfect piece for our living room! as we pulled away i made sure to save "bernie's" number in my phone, just in case i need something else in the near future!

here's the cabinet makeover!

the original look...ick

who would put pulls like that on? people definitely under-value the knobs. it leads to major furniture bore...in my opinion!

since nothing in my house is black, the handy-dandy sander and i got to work! (of course wearing a mask...don't want to accidentally inhale any lead from old paint!)

i took most of the corners and edges all the way through to the wood...

i unscrewed the door hinges to sand the rest of the cabinet, and both doors...

one of the doors had major breakage going on, nothin' a little gorilla glue, and some a-clamps can't fix! :)

i got a few coats of paint on it, but had to table it for a few days, mom & dad were in town...no time for re-store projects!

and, in my usual form, when i picked it back up, i got so into getting it finished, i forgot to take step-by-step shots! oops! oh well, i'll walk you through it:
- before i painted it green, i sprayed all the edges and corners and both doors entirely blue
- then it took several coats of green to get an even color
- after it dried i grabbed a coarse sheet of sandpaper, and my sander, and went to work. i sanded all the edges, and corners down to the wood
- i sanded the top, and the sides, not down to the wood, but just enough to give them a worn old look.
- i sanded the doors. the shutter-type doors were a major pain-in-the-you-know-what to sand, but sooo worth it! the look that came through when i finished is pure perfection! i am crazy about how the blue peeks through just enough to look amazing, but not so much as to look planned or cheap!

- i grabbed a couple cute knobs from hobby lobby, and viola!

(yes, the lockers are still sitting in our garage untouched...i'll get to them, eventually!)

...flea market friday april :: nashville vintage (tuesday edition)

2011-04-28T17:58:00.004-05:00

i know, i know...i'm a few days late...or early, i guess.. but look at this!

isn't this the cutest!? every post is made better by a cute animal!

ANYWAY...

a couple weeks ago we went to the nashville flea market...again (where i met this black mountain cur puppy). :) This time, we were on the hunt for something specific but here are a few fun items we found along the way...

if i had endless amounts of cash, & there were tons of these...i totally would have bought them, and lined my back deck with them...

the coolest old dollhouse EV-ER! too bad we don't have kids...yet! this would be a great up-cycle family project!

majorly in love with this sign! if i had massively tall ceilings this would have been AMAZING in my hypothetical enormous craft studio above a huge bay window! thats hypothetically speaking of course!!

super cool old crates! i loved the unique "choc-ola" stamp! the vendor wanted waaaayyy too much for them though!

o-o-o-o-o-o-ohhhhh the overalls... never seen me more over-alls (on men) anywhere besides the nashville flea market...and some over-all wearer has MASSIVE wedgies! its really kinda funny! and it cannot be comfortable!

sweet old follow spot...

yummm!!! fresh produce!

meet carl...he worked for the vendor i bought my new coffee table from! definitely a "good 'ol boy!"

and this...is my fabulous new coffee table!! it was an industrial cart, probably used in an old furniture factory. but now, its home is my living room! i'm so so so so excited! i love this look, and have been searching for one for months! places like Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, and Z-Gallerie have carried them...but in those stores, they run between $700 & $1500!! can you imagine!?! Even at the flea market, they are hard to find in good condition for under $300(because the vendors know their value!), but i held out & snagged one for even less! i'm totally smitten with its worn boards, massive center wheels, and unique metal band that runs lengthwise! mine is taller than most, and in great shape!

can you say "enamored?" 0:)

then i found a FAB vintage fan...and the best part...it still works!

the cord was in rough shape,

and the blades needed some major 409 help...so logically, i disassembled the whole thing!

i cleaned all the pieces, and wrapped the entire cord with electrical tape, that'll do...at least until i have time to replace it.

i'm ALWAYS adding to my vintage book collection...and these were only $2 each!

plus, i found some awesome extras in them! from names, to primary school assignments dated back to the early 1920's!

can you imagine paying $0.68 for a text book?

this cool frame was also a great find... i loved the unique 3 panes, and the rustic-ness of it!

you know you're a photographer when....

...even your dog sets up framing for you

on another note: we planted peonies when mom & daddy were here! so pretty! i can't wait til they're in full bloom!

z was tired after a long day of flea-marketing & fire-wood chopping!

...31 bits : nashville philanthropy

2011-04-17T00:35:00.000-05:00

"31 Bits Designs is a socially minded business designed to give internally displaced women in Northern Uganda an opportunity to counter poverty. By giving our beneficiaries access to the international market, they are able to earn an instant income, providing homes, food, and education for their families. Our program equips women by providing literacy education, financial and vocational training, holistic care, and strong support systems, empowering individuals to further their careers and attain social equity."

~ from the 31 Bits website

Ugandan women craft beads out of recycled paper from posters, magazines, flyers, and anything with color! this incredible company has helped create a purpose for these women, who may have had no hope before partnering with 31 bits.

the knowledge that buying a piece of jewelry through them could be putting food on someone's table is cause enough for me to get excited...not to mention how intricate, beautiful, and incredibly unique the jewelry is! the company has provided a way for people to host a "party." much like a Mary Kay party, or a Scentsy Party, someone can host a 31 bits party! You simply fill out an application, return it, the company sends you a box of jewelry, you host your party, then return money and the remaining jewelry! it couldn't be easier! it's a wonderful to share community, and fellowship while coming around a fabulous cause. check out this cool video to see some of the women who benefit from this!

i LOVE to entertain. i love to decorate. i love to cook. i love to bake. and i really love to have people over with whom i can just share life. the other night, was one such evening! early in the week i created a menu. i visualized where i could display the jewelry. i set the table. i cooked. i baked. finally, the day of the party, my amazing hubby helped me clean the whole house! (not only were friends coming over, but my parents were coming in from the OC very late the night of the party...and everyone knows you HAVE to have a clean house when mom is in town!)

the menu for the evening was:

~ brie en croute: brie with brown sugar, walnuts, and currants wrapped in puff pastry

~ spinach salad : with homemade balsmic, orange, honey and shallot vinaigrette

~ homemade spinach & artichoke dip

~ homemade pita chips

~ small chicken bites sauteed in a little EVOO and seasoned

(these were really just for some protein on the table!)

~ pesto & parmesean pinwheels

~ pesto, proscuitto & parmesean pinwheels

~ mini nutella pinwheels

~ mini cheesecakes with Lemon curd,

raspberry preserves, or blackberry preserves

a HUGE thanks goes to 31 bits for creating such a wonderful marketing plan for these Ugandan women! we sold lots of fabulous pieces, and i cannot wait to get the money back to them!

follow their blog here: 31 bits blog

here are a few fun images that catch the spirit of the evening! and a peek into my living room!
**(please forgive the dreadful lighting! i forget how dark and tungsten-y my house gets at night!)

why not diy? wednesday: the chair: a re upholstery project

2011-04-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

dun-dun-dun....

the CHAIR! this the chair. no, not just A chair...THE chair! this is the chair (actually 1 of 2) that came from my great-grandparents home when they moved into assisted living. this is the chair that my dad tried to get me to get rid of multiple times, he even offered to buy me a new chair! but alas, i am one stubborn girl, and this is the chair i wanted. i had big dreams for recovering it. but no one believed i could. so it sat in my old room at my parents house while z and i moved into our apartment. it came time for us to move to nashville, and z said "we are not taking those chairs." ha. into our 22-foot moving truck they were loaded, and off we went across the country. so, for the last 5 1/2 months these chairs have been sitting in the garage waiting.

and waiting

and waiting

until i found the perfect fabric on a trip back to Cali. and then, i got after it. no one actually thought i could make it happen, but i did! and it's not perfect, but it's pretty darn great! you see, the house that we are renting is wonderful, and i love it! but not knowing how long we are going to be in it makes it difficult to want to put the time into painting my walls. currently they are your basic "sienna sand" tan-ish, which contrast wonderfully with the white ceilings and baseboards, but blends into our hardwood oak floors. if i had it my way, every room would have its own personality...including paint colors. for now, though i'll settle for pops of color in bright whimsical colors and prints on pillows, and furniture.

one chair is going to be mostly the print, with blue cushions, the other will be brown, with green cushions and a printed accent throw pillow.

in all the "diy: re upholstery" blogs i've found, they (the proverbial "they" of course. like the tim mcgraw song...."who are they, they're probably livin in LA..." ANYWAY) THEY tell you to take each piece off the chair, trace them onto your new fabric, and put the new pieces on the chair backwards of how you took them off. however, i knew i wasn't going to replace any of the batting (aka stuffing) and the printed fabric is really light weight so i wanted to use the original fabric as a bit of a backing to my new stuff. instead of pulling off all the nasty, pea-soup, crushed velvet, i re-covered it! here's the essence of how i managed...

Step 1: gather all necessary pieces of equipment, and triple-check that you have enough fabric! the worst thing would be to get 3/4 of the way finished only to realize you don't have enough fabric, because then...if you can't match dye-lots...you're back where you started!

necessary tools:

~ staples - mine were a little short, i would go up one size next time

~ staple gun - mine is pretty basic, but works fabulously!

~ measuring tape - to help estimate the size fabric you'll need for each panel (always give yourself a good amount of fudge room!)

~ fabric scissors - an ABSOLUTE! use them only for fabric, and they'll always cut it like butta' (sidenote:make sure your hubby/children know they aren't for cutting paper!)

~ pin cushion - how better to celebrate great-grandmas chair makeover than with an old fashioned pin cushion!?

~ flat-head screwdriver - for removing staples

~pliers (not pictured)- for those hard to pull staples

~ hot glue gun (not pictured)

step deux (2): with the skirt...i'm pretty sure there were a gazillion staples and 8 furniture tacks holding the skirt on. i mean if that chair went through a tornado, it needn't worry about showing its nether-parts...that skirt ain't goin' no where! i pried the staples out with the aforementioned screwdriver, and broke out the pliers and some muscle for the really stubborn ones. (no, z isn't the muscle mentioned but i was halfway through the second skirt when he walked in from work, and he offered to help...)

"skirt on the ground...skirt on the ground...lookin' like a foo' with your skirt on the ground..."

step trois (3): i attacked the back of the chair with the new fabric, and the handy-dandy staple gun! looking back, it probably would have been better to start at the front and work my way back...oh well...it was totally unchartered waters, and i was diving in headfirst.

i oriented my pattern to my liking, then cut a piece of fabric large to cover the whole back of the chair, PLUS and extra 18 inches. i had plenty of fabric, and since this was my first re upholstery project i wanted PLENTY of fudge room. thankfully, the width of my fabric was much moreso than the chair, so there was no need to have a seam or try to match up the pattern perfectly.

i flipped the chair and started at the bottom, i stapled the fabric to the wood frame every inch or so to keep it from putting to much strain on any one small section. from there, i stapled the back panel to the frame going up both sides. i made sure to smooth out and pull the fabric taut without stretching it, or deforming the pattern! again, i stapled about every inch...but i pulled the fabric around each corner, and THEN stapled it on the side. i wanted the back to be super clean looking.

next i realized i needed some sort of welting. since i have zero experience using a sewing machine, not to mention that i don't own one, i worked some magic with my hot glue gun. my wonderful husband drove me to joann's fabrics (the closest is like 30 min away), so i could buy some unfinished cord. i cut a few strips of the brown canvas, placed the cord in the middle, hot glued the cord, and folded the fabric over the cord lengthwise. i ran a line of hot glue down the patterned fabric where the staples were, and attached the welting to it.

i laid more glue on the other side of the welting, and attached the pattern fabric to that.

oops...my glue got a little out of control...

then i stapled the side panel of fabric to the bottom of the chair and worked my way around. again pulling taut, but not stretching it

i added more welting where the seams on the original chair were. i love the dimension the welting gives it! i left excess fabric hanging for the arms, so i could have plenty to work with on the most complicated part of the chair.

the panels on the face of the arms popped off really easily. i gathered the fabric around the curve of the arm, and stapled it to the frame too. the little arm panels were recovered in the same brown as the welting, and lined with the brown welting. then they were hot glued back into place.

these chairs had attached cushions, however, yours truly wanted them unattached. cue the "seam-ripper."

i pulled the cushion off the back, and simply wrapped the blue fabric around it (again comes into play the no-sewing machine issue). thankfully i have a friend who is willing to help me sew the cushion covers, when i get around to it, that is!

by the way, one of the coolest things about this chair is a little tag, stitched into the original upholstery that has the address of the place where they were originally done!

i LOVE my new chair! it fits perfectly on my frame wall, and matches the rest of our decor wonderfully! i can't wait until i have a few spare moments to re-do the matching one!

why not diy? : wednesday : nightstands

2011-03-30T17:20:00.000-05:00

nightstands...

nightstands have been two very hard-to-find pieces of furniture! they're all either too formal, or too blah, or...most importantly...too expensive! we bought a couple of nightstands at ikea as temporary pieces, until we found some we loved. i've been scouring craigslist daily. every trip to the flea market i've been on the lookout. shoot...i've even been watching curbs as i drive by! just in case, of course!

february's flea market brought cold weather, and great finds! we stumbled upon these too nightstands in someone's lot. they were marked for $25 each, but the guy (without any prompting) said "i'll give ya both for $35." sweet! but man, they were nasty! one had a big chunk of duct tape on a side, the veneer on the tops of both was peeling off, and the color was like moldy-bread-green. GROSS! and the handles were metal, but hollow, and had all kinds of nasties up inside.

of course they don't look too terrible in the photo...

so hubby and i chipped off the remaining pieces of veneer, unscrewed the handles, and went after 'em with the sander, and of course some good ol' fashioned elbow grease!

the sir watched rather dubiously while z & i worked. he couldn't understand why we wouldn't throw his ball for him all day long! plus, z made me a delicious lemon concoction!

then, it was time for paint! since the rest of our bedroom furniture is a creamy white, we went with the same on these. but they were a paint to paint! i took sandpaper to the edges, and a worked on "vintage-ing" them up a bit.

ta-da! i found some great pulls at hobby lobby the other day, and put them on this morning, one of these days i'll get a photo of them totally complete, and next to our bed!

**btw...i don't know WHAT is going on with my photo alignment...but it's driving me crazy! i'll work on fixing it!

...flea market friday :: nashville vintage

2011-03-25T10:15:00.000-05:00

the last weekend every month, nashville has a fabulous flea market at the controversial fairgrounds. i mean like buildings full of stuff! some of it (mostly inside the buildings) is very swap meet-esque...you know the stuff, cheap sunglasses, homemade breads, knock-off designer handbags, etc... but once you get past all that, toward the back of the grounds, there are huge permanent awnings - that is where the good stuff is. from old suitcase, to barn wood planks, from vintage church pews to dirty bottles, from funky old toys to broken cameras....it's all there.

and of course...it happens to be my favorite weekend of every month! in my utopia we would wake up super early on the last friday of the month, make a breakfast stop at starbucks and head over to the fairgrounds where we would spend a good part of our day and find tons of vintage, relatively inexpensive stuff that helps turn our house into our home... but like i said...that is the utopian version. in reality, we usually don't wake up early on friday, partially because it's z's day off & partially because we're usually up late thursday nights. then we tend to putz around the house for a little while. eventually we'll get to starbucks, but not before noonish. when we finally get to flea market...who knows how many awesome finds are already headed home with their new owners! but there is always plenty left to choose from. we usually take a certain amount in cash, which depends on our budget and don't spend anymore than that. cash makes it easy to know exactly how much you have to spend, and can give you a bit of a bargaining tool as well. and often, i will go with a few certain things in mind that i hope to find. sometimes i've even gotten away without spending anything!

February's flea market was a total success, and we got away without even spending the entire amount of allotted cash! here's what we found...

each bottle was only a couple bucks...i'll show you what i did with them in another post

these two night stands were very unique, but pretty nasty looking...but we didn't have any, and at 2 for $35 it was totally worth the time for a re-do...again for another post

this old door was only $25, AND it still had the original hardware! way cool! i gave it a good sanding, and its hanging out against the wall in my dining room for the moment!

if you haven't figured it out, i'm a sucker for vintage...pretty much anything vintage. this suitcase was in awesome shape, inside and out! it'll be a great prop for a baby shoot...not to mention a perfect addition to my other two suitcases!

i just love old worn-out books. often they'll have cool old photographs tucked between pages...which is a total bonus! @ only $5 for the 3, they were a steal!

that was last month's flea market! i can't wait to show off what i found today! check back next friday!

why not diy? : wednesday

2011-03-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

i've had a vision in my head for months. it involved burlap (with which i happen to be currently obsessed), some black electrical cord, big-round-clear-glass light bulbs, and a piece of plywood. don't ask how...it just came to me.

**disclaimer...all the photos were taken on iPhone4...so don't judge!

we are currently renting our home, and over the dining room table is (was) a not so fabulous faux brass chandelier. you know the ones...the little flame tip bulbs, very formal looking...sooo not me. i've been wanting to change it out since we moved in - AND put whatever we replaced it with on a dimmer switch - but hadn't been able to find anything i loved. (if i don't love something, i usually won't spend money on it. mom taught me that one!) somehow i envisioned an uber unique bare-bulb, burlap covered, anthropologie-ish light fixture. Z couldn't see it very clearly in his head, but thankfully he trusted me! so on Saturday we headed to Home Depot to gather supplies and attempt the impossible! (ok, not really impossible, but that sounded much more dramatic!)

we (by "we" i mean z) started with changing the dining room light switch over to a dimmer...it was a success! in other words...he didn't electrocute himself, and when we turned it on, it worked the first time! ta-da!

then, he cut piece of plywood into a circle for me (one of the items we bought at home depot was a jigsaw blade...but of course it was the wrong one...so its a rough circle)

i marked where i wanted holes drilled from which the bulbs would hang(obviously, i didn't like the first placement..oops!)

i had some burlap lying around from a couple of other projects, and cut a piece a couple inches wider than the wood in the shape of a circle.

hot glue is my friend! (well, that is until i burn myself on the metal part of the gun...then i curse it.) i grabbed my handy-dandy hot glue gun, and started a-gluin'. i glued little sections of the burlap to the wood, making it a little "poofy" as i went to add some character. then i put slits in the burlap where the cords were going to pull through the holes.

z cut the ends off the extension cords and cut them to my desired lengths (somewhere between 2-3ft) into 5 pieces he stripped the ends so we could wire them the way we wanted. one end of each cord was threaded through metal ring on the plastic sockets and tightened in. i wrapped the whole socket, and part of the cord in electrical tape...

they were pulled through the burlap-covered plywood holes, and up to meet in the middle all the white were twisted together, same with all the blacks.

when we took the brass-ish fixture down from the ceiling it obviously left a big hole so we bought another dreadful gold-ish plate to cover it, but spray painted it cream so it blends with the ceiling.

somehow, we managed get all 5 cords up through the hole, and attached to the wires in the ceiling. (all while the electricity was off, of course!) we attached the new "chandelier" to the brace with some rustic looking rope, and screwed in the fabulous round bulbs!

and viola! what do you think?

a bit more fitting with the vintage door behind it! (it hangs straight now, and the door is in the opposite corner.)

we may add a few more bulbs and wires, but not wire them in so they won't be lit... who knows! :)

overall, i'm pretty please with the outcome! especially something that started in my head!

...the cone family :: nashville children's photographer

2011-01-26T14:38:00.000-06:00

sunday morning. the sun was shining. it was cold, but promised to warm up. or so i thought! after church i had a shoot planned with the ever-amazing cone family. sami (mom) is an incredible blogger, who endeavors to help people follow their passions! the kiddos have so much personality, and rick brings the style and the Starbucks! we headed to the factory@franklin to make use of some of their colorful windows, textured walls, and unusual architecture. the afternoon turned cold and grey, but the light was beautiful, and their eyes were bright! here are a few of my favorites from the afternoon!

downtown campus launch @crosspoint.tv

2011-01-17T20:02:00.000-06:00

last night we launched our downtown campus of Cross Point Community Church at rocketown in Nashville! the turnout was awesome, the band led glorifying worship, and it was incredible to be a part of the experience! here are a few images that tell the story of our evening....

Candle Light Services @ Cross Point Bellevue

2010-12-28T01:35:00.000-06:00

let it be...

Cross Point Church

...barefoot sunday

2010-12-20T00:22:00.000-06:00

sundays at cross point community church in nashville are always inspiring, but today was truly an incredible one.

pete spoke this morning on love, and being generous with our love. he read the story of the good samaritan, and explained much of the historical and background context…giving the story a whole new meaning for most people. he asked us to love those around us. unabashedly. however god calls us to. whenever god calls us to. then it got crazy…

a video was shown from the organization, soles4souls. it explained a little of what they do, and how we as average, everyday people can partner with them to help put shoes on the feet of the 300 million in our world who have none. it was a tear-jerker…to say the least. when the lights came back up all the women (and I'm sure a few men)in the room were quickly wiping any traces of tears away. then pete challenged us. he asked if we would leave our shoes as evidence of our decision to live generously, and love fully. there was no guilt attached. it was not expected. if you walked out with your shoes, totally fine! but i cannot say it better than a women i was speaking with today.

"my husband looked at me and asked if i was going to leave my new boots, i said yes…he said 'me too.' and while yes, i knew i would be sad that i was letting go of my new boots, i realized that i could not let myself be sadder about the boots than about the people who have NO shoes."

in that moment, i was blown away by this woman's realization of living for jesus.

jesus refuses to allow us to limit how we love, and who we love.

-pete wilson

watching people rubber-band their shoes together and drop them in a cardboard box on their way out to 30 degree weather was surreal. but what really spoke to me, the thing that made my eyes well-up was watching parents get down on their kids' level and explain what was going on. some children understood, and were eager to help those in need, others were a bit more reluctant to give up "their favorite pair," still others came back after service with bags full of shoes. i had the privilege of capturing family after family donate their shoes…together. some children even understood better than adults. small children grasping the concept of loving your neighbor in a very tangible way was such an incredible experience. the 2 year old girl with a big red bow, and corkscrew-curly hair sobbing over giving up her shiny christmas shoes…put them in the box. the mom who had only had her boots a few weeks…put them in the box. the dad who had shoes he wears nearly everyday, every season…put them in the box. the high school senior cheerleader with knee-high boots…put them in the box. everywhere you looked people were grabbing their shoes and dropping them in the boxes. within moments, our 4 empty boxes became 4 overflowing cups of love. one man came into bellevue after first service with 5 boxes of brand new shoes. thank you soles4souls for partnering with us today. many were blessed by this amazing, yet simple suggestion of love.

a common phrase heard today among our staff was "cold feet, warm hearts." and it could not be more true.

learn more about the soles4souls program at soles4souls.org

please feel free to re-post these images! i was blessed to be a part of it, and am excited to share them with you!

all images ©bohobellphotography2010

oh the weather outside is frightful...

2010-12-13T01:15:00.000-06:00

...or is it?

snow.

white. glistening. soft. powder. quiet. blanket. flakes. clean. blank. crunchy. weightless. flurry.

this gorgeous form of precipitation made middle tennessee quite discombobulated this fine sunday. it seemed everyone was as much in awe as we so cal kids are! there were something like 400 traffic incidences reported on the roads today. schools are closed tomorrow. life seems to have slowed to a snails pace here in nashville. pastor boy and i canceled our plans in honor of the rest of the tennesseans who can't seem to figure out how to drive in the white stuff, and chose to go on a walk instead! we headed over to our dear friends' house (about a mile) with Sir Paddington in tow. all 3 of us were bundled up, in our coats, and i'm the sir wished he had gloves. being the snow-loving girl that i am, i could not bring myself to forgo the camera...thankfully my canon mark III is mostly weather-proof! here are a few shots from out excursion... by the time it really started snowing hard, we were safely in pat & mandy's living room drinking coffee and socializing about the snow. we ended up with about 6 inches as of 10pm tonight!

**disclaimer...there are lots of Z and the sir...we were the only people outside!!!

thanks for taking this one mandy!

the beautiful rowland home! i must say...there's nothing quite like twinkle lights in the snow!

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-08T19:49:00.000-06:00

i LOVE Christmas time. i love decorating for the ridiculous consumer holiday that is the celebration of the birth of our savior. BUT i am definitely one of the die-hard "you can't start Christmas until after Thanksgiving" people. that means no Christmas music, no Christmas decor, no Christmas movies, until the day after Thanksgiving. (i fudge the rule for Starbucks holiday drinks) the day after the feast of turkey, and being thankful, however, the pumpkins, and the orange and red and yellow and browns quickly disappear into their designated rubbermaid tubs. the blues and light greens, and reds seem to magically appear from their storage bins. the hunt for the perfect tree is begins. not too skinny, not too fat, layer-y, but not hole-y, with a straight trunk. the wreath for the front door is bought, and hung. a lifelong family friend made us a beautiful taffeta tree skirt, and matching stockings for our wedding. (truly one of the most unique, and memorable gifts...if you can sew...its an AWESOME idea) those are hung on the mantle...with care, of course.

this year, i have had a little spare time, and had clear glass ornaments from michael's. i broke out the teal, and green, and red paint, and every ornament on our tree is handpainted! i even made a matching paper garland. here are just a few iPhone pics of our Christmas decor this year.

run, run, run, run, runaway...

2010-12-08T12:20:00.000-06:00

*don't mind the iPhone shot!

sir paddington a wonderful dog. he's loyal...mostly. he's eager to please...sometimes. he's playful...always. he loves to cuddle, and if you throw the ball, he will most certainly go after it...although it might not come back to you. anyway, the good sir (as we like to call him) sits at the door and whines when he wants to go outside. often, when we let him out, there is a 30ft cable we attach to his collar so he won't chase any cats and we can leave him to lay in the sunshine when we go back inside.

welllll, this morning, i grabbed my computer, sat back down in bed, and was planning on finishing editing a couple shoots when he rang the bell on the door and began whining. i, thoroughly annoyed by this, got up, grabbed a coat and walked outside with him. thinking, however mistakenly, "oh he just needs to pee." WRONG! he put his face in the dead grass, flipped on his back and rolled and wiggled and slithered until he was COATED in it. yay. then, he proceeded to stand, shake his whole body, turn his head and look at me with that mischievous "i wonder how mad she'll be" look, and took off! (despite my telling him "NO!")
**now, for those of you who have never been to Tennessee, there are very few fences. this means that our backyard opens into a big wide belt of grass between our house, the houses next to, and behind us.

seriously?! ok, so now i'm angry, but due to my cold...i couldn't exactly run to chase him. about 8 houses later, i finally caught up...thankfully he had stopped to socialize with some unfriendly dogs behind a fence. as soon as he saw me approach, he sat and waited happily for me to grab him and walk him back home. he acted as though he had done nothing wrong. when i scolded him, Paddington put his ears down, lowered his head, and would not look at me until we walked back in the door.

as i was stewing over the fact that my mostly-well-behaved dog made me chase him through other backyards, i realized how much similarity there often can be between Paddington and i.

sometimes, i find myself turning around, looking my master in the eye and wondering "how upset will he be...?" and heading in the completely opposite direction of where i know i should be going. it's not ever out malice, or fear like Jonah, really more out of a curiosity of whats in the next yard. but when i slow down enough to find that its really not something worth it (like antisocial dogs behind a fence) i turn back, and happily act as though nothing has happened. that is, until i'm convicted. when something (a sermon, song lyrics, a friend's struggles...etc.) or someone does, or unknowing mentions something that convicts me, i drop my "tail between my legs," hang my head, and refuse to face reality. i'm working on remembering that conviction is not criticism whether delivered intentionally, or rather by accident; its God voice gently reminding me that He knows my heart, and always has my best in mind.

are you ever guilty of running the opposite direction?

weeds and pigtails...

2010-12-02T02:34:00.000-06:00

a couple weeks after we moved here, mandy called and was headed out to shoot her 3 amazing daughters, of course i never turn down the opportunity to hang with these amazing girls, so i grabbed my camera and joined them. i love these girls. don't misunderstand me...their parents are awesome too! Alivia, Claire, and Presley are 3 of the sweet young women i know. i have loved spending time with their family. the way pastor boy and i so easily slid into the rowland family is a true testament to how incredible they are! we moved here, and almost without an instant of loneliness they pulled us in. for movie nights, and dinners, and card games. for grocery store trips, and shopping, and grabbing a birthday card. it was amazing to be brought in to a family so easily. these 3 girls already almost feel like my little sisters. presley is the cutest little thing EV-ER! (although i am constantly reminded by her sisters that i don't have to live with her, and shes equal parts cute and baby sister) alivia and claire have me blown away by their maturity and love for Jesus. they. just. get. it. they aren't afraid to worship in all out surrender to God. they treat people (including each other and their parents, well...most days) as He would. i love them!

i didn't even mention that they are incredibly talented knot/crochet- ers! :) i love to watch them, and can't wait for them to teach me!

despite the nasty light, this is one of my favorites...

back it on up...

2010-12-02T01:21:00.000-06:00

i'm going to start back-tracking. in no particular order. i have way too many events, people, places, and random things photographed not to start playin some catch up.

someday, i'll get to our 36 hour road trip out here with our dearest friends, but alas...tonight is far too short for a post that is certain to be as long-winded and image filled as that one.

how about halloween...

this year, halloween looked a little bit different for us. most of our friends here (in Nashville) are a step ahead of us in the process of life...meaning they all have children. and not just one. most have 3, some have 4, a couple have 2, but NO ONE has 1. if they do, its cuz they have a baby, and havent gotten to #2 yet. a very interesting phenomenon from the view of an only child. :) moving beyond my awe. some amazing friends of ours, the davis', had a group of people over to take kiddos trick-or-treating, eat dinner, and gorge on sinfully addicting packages of processed sugar and cheap chocolate. oh...and fellowship! a few fabulous Cross Point Staff, and surrogate cp-ers- the davis boys, the whittaker crew (minus carlos), the brewster gang, lindsey nobles, pastor boy, and i had the privilege of just being in community on halloween...with 10 running a muck, of course. i didn't shoot much, light was gone quickly, and yall know how much i hate flash...but here's a glimpse into the night of costumes, fun, and friends...

Cross Point Worship Night

2010-11-18T01:30:00.000-06:00

and i'll stand,
with arms high and heart abandoned,
in awe of the one who gave it all

i'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered -
all i am is yours....

this was the anthem of worship night at Cross Point. i truly was blessed tonight by the talent of these incredible vocalists and musicians! as i looked around the room, the people were in utter abandon to the Lord. you could watch it in their countenances, and hear it in their voices. it was evident in the way they raised their arms or bowed their heads, or clasped their hands. God was so incredibly present in that room tonight. from 12 year olds to senior citizens this group of believers were completely unhindered in the worship of our God.

Cross Point is teaching on a series called "THIS IS OUR GOD," and tonight was an incredible culmination of all things God. sovereignty. justice. faithfulness. goodness. the realization that OUR GOD is all of these things and so, so, so much more hit me like a 2x4 tonight. of course i've always known these things. everyone "knows" these are qualities we use to describe God…don't they? but it's been a long time since i really was conscious of them. in the first couple song of tonight's worship night i was moved nearly to tears by the words that came flooding back. sovereign. good. faithful. just. i'm fairly certain, i wasn't the only one!

the worship team is made up of incredible performers. (the longer i live in nashville, the more i realize that EVERYONE is musical!) however, tonight they were not performing. tonight they were not on stage for their own glory. no, tonight these amazingly talented men and women were on stage to be a gateway for the rest of us to worship our Savior. and lead they did. on the way home with a friend, we chatted about how well the evening turned out, and how much work it took, and what a fabulous job the team did of not performing, but simply leading. (Kate Carlson, Miranda Telford, Jarrod Morris, Matt Warren, and the rest whose names i don't know!)

i am so thankful for the amazing experience this evening. and even moreso, i'm thankful that God led us to this incredible place. a place that desires to grow closer in relationship with Him through everything that's done. a place where people have welcomed us with arms wide open, and been encouraging, and understanding. this place that is beginning to feel a little bit like home. so thank you Cross Point! we are blessed to be a part of this incredible movement!

and i'll stand,
with arms high and heart abandoned,
in awe of the one who gave it all

i'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered -
all i am is yours....

this was the anthem of worship night at Cross Point. i truly

...a wonderful stop in the oc

2010-11-09T02:58:00.000-06:00

as everyone knows, pastor boy and i now live in nashville. this weekend i had the honor of shooting a wedding on saturday, and decided to make a mini vacation out of the weekend. it was a fabulous weekend - full of family, and a few friends...a wonderful chance to catch up with loved ones.

tonight (sunday) i had the privilege of hanging out with some of my junior girls from our previous church. about a year ago, while we were still at the church, some of jr. girls and i started a Bible study/accountability group, and its wonderful to see that they are still going strong! mostly, it turned into a scramble to finish homework, drink coffee, and talk about the things going on in our lives, but i honestly can say that even through the few hours we met each monday night, i saw life change in those girls. they are the girls whose faith has grown enormously, they are the girls who know that even though life hits us with unexpected bumps in the road, our God is sovereign, and ultimately holds all control. i was so very blessed tonight to sit with these young women and hear what they are struggling with, and what God is doing in their lives. between school, and friends, and church, and extra-circular activities, and family they have heaping plates of stress, homework, and drama. as they watch their friends breaking into party/drinking scenes, and simply walk away from their faith - i pray unceasingly that these girls will be able to follow Him through the craziness of high school and college, and come out on the other side relatively unscathed...as stronger, more spiritually mature, and more tightly bound than they ever could have dreamed. while i don't get to take part in their everyday lives anymore...and i desperately miss that, it's their commitment to Jesus that makes my heart glad.

with that, i am off to dreamland. goodnight bloggers...

Mr. T and his family!

2010-11-05T02:46:00.000-05:00

ok, so i know i have TONS of catching up to do, as far a blogging land.... in the meantime, feast your eyes on this precious hunk.
my cousin rebekah has 2 precious little boys, tanner drew is 2 and ty christian is just about a month old. while i was in socal for a wedding this weekend, i had the privilege of capturing this adorable family at their home! i'm absolutely in love with the personality, and love that comes through these images!

some of the morning went a little like this...

but most of it was absolutely picture perfect, like this...

meet Bruiser...

metamorphosis

2010-09-27T21:02:00.000-05:00

met·a·mor·pho·sis

[met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis]

1. Biology . a profound change in form from one stage to the in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa from the pupa to the adult butterfly.

(this is the only bug photo of mine readily accessible)

when i was little, i loved bugs. yes, you read that correctly. insects. 6-legged creatures with an exo-skeleton. from ladybugs to flutter-bys. from walking sticks to praying-mantis'. yes, even arachnids. i studied them outside. i read books about them. i captured them in my bug box. when i was in kindergarten (i actually remember doing this), there was a tree on the playground that always had ladybugson it. so, one day, i captured a few and made them a home in the clear plastic front pocket of my pink nylon backpack. it had ballerina slippers on it. (i don't have ANY idea way i would have wanted a backpack with ballerina slippers...never a ballerina...and never really liked pink) i made sure they had fresh aphids every day, and plenty of leaves and sticks. a few days later, i noticed some little yellow dots...eggs! some time after that the black larvae with orange spots emerged. eventually, the larvae turned into a chrysalis. from which the beautiful ladybugs slowly emancipated themselves. they originate as a goldish-orange color, and slowly change to red, with spots. my mother was slightly appalled that her daughter was hatching ladybugs... in her school backpack, no less...but thats beside the point.

as i think back to watching these creatures change from one form to another, i am reminded to how easy it is for them. it is entirely natural to be a funny little worm-like thing one day, but transform into an adorable, little, spotted, flying ladybug the next! they don't fight the change. i can't imagine they curse their life. and they certainly are not angry at God for their circumstances. you could even go so far as to say they morph with grace.

if only we could be THAT graceful. at this transition point in our lives, we are looking for what God has next. we know He has something better for us. we know He will take us to a place where he can use us, and work through us. but it's the getting there that is the hard part. instead of gracefully walking His direction, it's taking all my will-power not go kicking and screaming, and fighting every step of the way.

for anyone who doesn't know, pastor boy (my hubby) lost his job a month ago. he was the high school director at a church with a steady, thriving high school group of over 100, and was laid off due to "reductions in force." it was heartbreaking. with no warning, he was asked to turn in his keys and walk away. we weren't even going to be able to say goodbye to our students, but thankfully, someone stepped in on our behalf. that week was the hardest week of my life, thus far. after the inital shock, the realization set in that our wednesday nights, monday nights, saturdays, and sundays would no longer be filled with the craziness of high school life. from events, to sunday school, to bible studies...it was gone. over in an instant. we shared tears, and fears, and memories. even still, it brings tears to my eyes. the hurt is still in my heart, and will be...probably for years. but we know, down deep, we really know that God was releasing us for a greater adventure on his behalf.

now, perhaps, you can understand why half of my being is kicking and screaming, and the other half is dragging the former away and toward His desires for my life. i have watched my junior girls grow and mature in a myriad of ways. some of them are truly understanding what it means to live for Christ, and i am incredibly honored to have been a part of helping them grow. some of them have walked away, and while i understand that is part of life, it still breaks my heart. i pray for them consistently. some are realizing how their passions can be used to further his kingdom, and some are just in the beginning stages of learning about God's love, and how it pertains to them, and i pray that they can continue to grow.

i feel like i'm in the chrysalis stage of that bugs life. God has taken everything i know as my life, and changed it. our lease on our apartment is up in less than a month, pastor boy and i both have birthdays in september, and the lay-off was the last day of august. its been a month of turmoil, and frustrations, but also a month of growth. i feel like i'm wrapped in a tight cocoon, but i'm eager to see whats on the other side. i'm working on gracefully emerging on the other side, a shiny, ladybug...

"God- give me the peace and patience to get through these days of unknown. remind me that you're in control."

...some beach

2010-09-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

it was a perfect hazy Friday morning.

we had been talking about taking sir paddington to the beach, and a week ago was the perfect day to do it! we all jumped in the truck, and headed to dog beach. the one between Newport, and Huntington...you know, right where the river goes under pch, and out into the ocean? it's an off-leash beach. so we grabbed chipotle to-go, sat on a bench at the edge of the sand and observed the butt-sniffing extravaganza before us. as i crinkled my last bit of foil, the good sir was finished waiting patiently, and practically pulled me off the bench.

we walked down to the ocean (p was still on a leash...i'll admit, we were a little nervous about just letting him run wild because he's quite a bit stronger than other dogs) to see how he would react to the waves. it was hilarious! he chased them, almost like a small child would, with inexplicable fascination, and thrill. he attempted to bite them, then quickly resorted to lapping up copious quantities of salt water. (i don't recommend this...it definitely messes with their digestive system...and they wind up with rather wet poo)then, our lovable pooch decided he was going to run...still on leach, mind you...and run he did!! towing z behind him! i was having a hard time shooting (with a camera, of course), because my laughter was NEARLY uncontrollable! Paddy was dragging dad through the waves, across the sand and then yanking him back again. the annoyance on z's face was clear, but he knew our puppy was having way too much fun to really care. we threw the ball for him to catch...i would definitely kill to have hops like that in sand!

we eventually let him off the leash, and he was ecstatic! so ecstatic, in fact, that he took off running...and kept running, and running, and running. finally about 4 lifeguard towers later, way past the dog beach, he turned around and looked at z (who had been trying to catch him) as if to say, "aren't you coming?" then trotted back as if nothing had happened.
we were more worn out than the sir after a couple hours, so we practically dragged him out of the water, and trekked back to the truck, as salty, and sandy as they come...

..and just like with children, we went home, and the good sir promptly got a bath.

GIVE

2010-08-20T15:23:00.000-05:00

a few weeks ago, at the irvine spectrum, an event took place. this was an event of epic ideas, incredible sales numbers, and authentically unique artists. hubby and i stopped by to check it out, and here is what we found...

i don't know if you're familiar with toms shoes, but they are an incredible company! toms shoes was started by a guy with a vision to change the world. one pair of shoes at a time. toms is known as a one-for-one company. when you buy a pair of toms (or a t-shirt, hat, sweatshirt, necklace...etc), you are essentially buying two pairs of shoes...one goes home with you, and the other is stockpiled to be sent to children in 3rd world countries with no shoes. a pretty amazing concept! although toms has become a bit of a fashion statement (no, i still don't have a pair...if you'd like to donate...i wear a 9), the heartbeat behind the origin still runs strong. at this GIVE event, 20-ish artists came together to customize the toms that people purchased.

these happen to be my favorite that i saw that day...created by none other than j*'s sister, alexandria

yes, i would encourage everyone i know to go out and buy a pair of toms...they are about more than just the fashion, the trend, or the customize-ability. they are about saving childrens lives...

thanks toms!

...little miss sunshine...

2010-08-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

ok...i have to start with this photo...its just too hilarious!

...now for the real post!

i am adopted.

most people who know me, know this little fact about me. i have never been shy about it. i have never tried to hide it. i, actually, happen to be proud of it. a couple years ago, my birthmom (jen) found me. we emailed back and forth and finally decided to meet. we spent hours walking San Juan Capistrano, chatting about anything and everything. really just catching up on the last 21 years. we try to see each other at least every few months now. during Christmas time last year, hubby and i met jen, her man, her sister jocelyn, jocelyn's hubby dan, and their baby, sheridan. we all got along so well! it was fun to chat about the similarities and differences in our lives. well, last week, i learned that jocelyn, dan, and sheridan were going to be in san diego. we all made a point to get together and catch up in san clemente. we met for a delicious dinner of pizza overlooking the beach, and then, i had the privilege of capturing sheridan's first experience at the beach! here are a few of my faves!

...penny for your thoughts

2010-07-07T01:24:00.000-05:00

do you ever wonder what your pet is thinking? "why did we take THIS route, its boring..." for example. or, "no, i'm not going to sit...just because you said so." i mean small children often pout, and pretend to ignore your pleas...so why should your dog listen?

thoughts like these ran through my mind tonight as i walked sir paddington. i walked right, he pulled left. i walked on the left side of the sidewalk, he wanted to be on the right side...traipsing through the brush like an uncivilized animal! oh wait...he is. (although, he can dance on command) anyway, i would love to be able to ask him why things make him run for cover [like the BBQ...he's terribly afraid of when it's blowing smoke], and why he feels the necessity to relieve himself on every bush, tree, curb, wall, fire hydrant, post, pot, and trash can around! i mean seriously! how much can a 70lb. dog's bladder hold!?! sheesh!

...that was all just rambling... so let's get down to business [...to defeat, the hun-major bonus points for catching THAT reference!] because all of you actually have the ability to respond and communicate your thoughts...

i have a couple shoots coming up one maternity, and one newborn...and i'm looking for input. i know what i like about both "genres," but what catches YOUR eye? bright colors? pale palettes? monochromatic schemes?

ideate with me please...

...still thinking? excellent...

ps...Sir Paddington had his first water experience with us on this 4th of July...pretty adorable...in my in-laws pool with pastor boy...

this is kinda pathetic...i'm like a proud mother...but he's my DOG.

please leave me some thoughts! :)

Sir Paddington

2010-06-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

say hello to my little friend...

ok, so not he's not so little...more like 70lbs of love and muscle! :) his name is Sir Paddington, or Paddy, or Bubba. he joined our little family just about 2 weeks ago.

pastor boy (my amazing hubby), and i have been itching to get a dog for what seems like forever; even though in reality its only been 9 months. pastor boy decided we needed a dog that looked like it could protect me if i was walking it, or even our home. our apartment automatically ruled out rottweilers, dobermans, pitbulls, german shepherds, and any other breed that seems in the least bit threatening. however, boxers were not on the list! our good friends have 2 boxers, and they have only had wonderful things to say about the breed. we researched, and dug around for all the characteristics of this playful breed. being in youth ministry, plus multiple side jobs, neither one of us have the time to train, and raise a puppy. so we looked into adoption! We found a rescue based in santa monica called Take Me Home. they manage to rescue dogs out of shelters, and terrible situations, and place them in foster homes. they then get to know the character of the dog, and eventually use that place them in the perfect family!

we first saw paddington on the website. i fell in love with his innocent look, and big floppy ears. we had to fill out an online application, do a phone interview, a volunteer came out and did a home check, THEN we finally got to meet him! it was love at first sight, and he came home with us! he's still adjusting to our lives, we're constantly on the go, but most of the time, he is right along side!

don't be surprised if often there is a Paddington Post! he's our precious 2 yr old puppy! there will be photos of P, and exciting stories of our adventures...but i just wanted to introduce him today.

You know that if he likes Starbucks, he's in...

a new day

2010-06-14T00:58:00.000-05:00

once upon a time i was a blogger. blogged everything from what i ate for meals to the people i photographed; from anecdotal snippets of my life to embarrassing moments; from my journeys through the difficult times, to my stories of successes. and then, one day, i lost all inspiration. i decided i didn't want the whole world to know exactly what i was thinking…well, really more like one individual. so i quit. done. finny. no mas.

that was over a year ago. now, i have the itch to blog again. my creativity is still low on the scale, and my life is even more hectic, but i actually miss the moments that i had set aside with my computer. i miss pouring my heart out to void of cyberspace. i miss asking questions that sometimes are answered, and sometimes are not. so, i decided i need to start up again. blogging, that is.

i have a new passion when it comes to photography. don't get me wrong, i still love shooting weddings! i manage retroyourday.com , which is ONLY wedding photography. however, there is just something about little fingers & toes, bright innocent eyes, and single tooth grins that makes my heart leap. kids. children. i love them! their expressiveness, their unadultered joy, their unknowing adorability (yes, i just made that up…don't hate). anyway, these days i spend my time shooting small children. [with a camera…DUH!] and high school/college seniors. and families. i love it. i still shoot weddings through retro, and manage that company for a close friend. but i'm thoroughly enjoying building my brand. my own brand. that i'm happy with!

go check out my site…bohobellaphotography.com…click through it all. you can learn everything you need to know about me, my family, and my brand there!

leave me some love every once in a while on my blog too! :) it's kinda like getting a letter in the mail…it makes me all giddy when i get blog comments! (if you want to send me real, old fashioned mail, that works too!)

someday

2010-06-07T01:59:00.001-05:00

...ill blog again