sneak peek

dan and lindsey's wedding was a really lovely event. the wedding was held at lindsey's childhood home in palo alto. lindsey's parents transformed the backyard and it was a perfect spot for friends and family to celebrate.
more photos coming soon...

yosemite

as a last hooray before kindergarten, sam and i went on a mini-vacation to yosemite.  we went up with a friend and her little guy and it was absolutely fabulous.  i haven't been in ages and it was so much fun to introduce sam to yosemite valley.  

first days

yesterday was the first day of school for ryan. i was torn between wanting to hold on tight to my baby and knowing that it was time to let her go in to the real world. there is no question that she is ready for school yet this is the end of an era. my little one is now in school!
while sam is slowly getting used to a new school for kindergarten, ryan didn't need more than a hug and a kiss good-bye. she just walked right in to the classroom and was ready to begin a new chapter of her life.
i know they are both in good hands and i can leave them with confidence. i wish we lived in a world where teachers salaries matched the magnitude of their responsibilities. thank you so much to the teachers. thank you to mrs. c. for being patient and understanding as my slow-to-warm child warms up to a new school. thank you to ryan's teachers for taking care of my little one as she begins her journey through pre-school.
off they go!
happy back-to-school season!

wedding chicks- preferred vendor

i am so thrilled to be a preferred vendor on the wedding chicks. they have amazing style and the site has a whole bunch of great ideas and inspiration for brides!

lindsey & dan e-session

lindsey and dan hired me to photograph their wedding before we got a chance to meet in person. dan and lindsey live in philadelphia but wanted to have their wedding in palo alto because both of their families are still in the area.
we finally got a chance to meet just a few days before their wedding and i really enjoyed spending a few hours with them and seeing how sweet they are together. after chatting about their wedding day plans, we drove to a local park and did a late engagement session.

blog out loud

i got to attend a very cool event this evening in the city. blog out loud was created by megan arquette (beach bungalow 8) and rebecca orlov (loving.living.small) because they want to help other people enter the world of blogging. how wonderful that all of the women who participated in the event did it to be kind and generous!
the event was held at bell jar, a fabulous boutique in the mission. the place was packed with people but it was a lovely event and i highly recommend attending if you have any interest in starting up your own blog and/or want some words of wisdom from established and respected blog writers.

sneak peek

monterey bay aquarium

we went to the monterey bay aquarium a few weeks ago to see the sea horse exhibit. if you are able to go, i highly recommend it! the sea horses are such amazing creatures and the monterey bay aquarium is wonderful.

back to school

we are in 'back to school' mode at our house and i have mixed feelings. i absolutely love summer yet i know it can't last forever. {sigh}

{photograph by mandy lynne photography via ritzy bee}

birthday wish

today is my mom's birthday and she really deserves a special day.
happy birthday to my amazing mom!
{image from donna hay}

erica & kumar

erica and kumar are such lovely people and i feel so lucky to be a part of their wedding.

play house

we have a new play house in our backyard! just a few more finishing touches and it will be complete in the next week or so.
the kids absolutely love having their own little space to play. sam has been asking all of his friends if they would like to sleep over in the play house! rumor has it that my brother has signed up for a night...what a great uncle!

fresh food

our garden is in full bloom right now. we have lettuce, corn, strawberries, squash, tomatoes, basil, sage, dill and carrots. yum!

sneak peek

green flowers

a few weeks ago, i had the pleasure of meeting diane of dkdesigns. she is such a nice person and so very, very talented. at first glance, you may think she is a florist but she actually creates these beautiful flowers out of clay! every flower looks like the real thing but you can keep it forever!
one advantage of using clay flowers is that you don't have to be local so anyone may work with diane. in fact, she has created beautiful pieces for brides in france, hawaii and new york.
another wonderful aspect of clay flowers is that you are free to use your favorite flower regardless of whether it is in season. check out her etsy site for more examples of her work.

sweet

i love this very sweet butterfly bouquet!
{via martha stewart weddings}