.{newborn photographer, tempe arizona}.

all photos were shot with a canon 60d. lenses: 50mm 1.4 and a 100mm macro.

edits were done in pse: no actions.

.{newborn photographer, tempe arizona}.

all photos were shot with a canon 60d. lenses: 50mm 1.4 and a 100mm macro.

edits were done in pse: no actions.

.{europe album}.

So I finally got around to putting together an album for our adventures in Europe this summer. I had purchased a groupon a little while ago for a company called Blurb. My friend Stacey had used it to publish her blog. I bought two. :)
Me being the "lost-her-mind-recently" type forgot about the expiration date. I swore it was in November~but alas, it was in September. November, September... easy to mix up right? I mean hello, they both end in -ber. :) kidding. But really I completely spaced it.
I immediately got on their site and requested to have an extension seeing as I missed it by two days or so. To my surprise they extended all the groupons and coupon codes for another week. GOLDEN! Ha, I can put together an entire album of 14 days of events in Europe in a week while working full time and having family in town. PSHHH... no problem. Ha, yeah right!
I did manage to get it somewhat complete. I did my best to proof read it at 11:30 at night the night of the deadline. I managed to get about 140-something pages in and a spread that sorta made sense.  It wasn't what I had pictured in my head, but hey that's ok.  It's my own fault. Oh and I ran out of time that I didn't get to create a different inside cover that doesn't thank my parents for the trip {one of the books was for them...shhh they don't know yet and I don't think they read this}.
So here she is. the finished works. Yes, there are a few typos. Again, 11:30 at night. I didn't catch them all. Nor did I give myself enough time to.
I can't wait to make the next album. I took a lot of pictures of the unique doors, hardware, and entries throughout the trip {well... Paris and on...} at the suggestion of my sister and bryan {I think}. So we will have a small coffee table book of those along with landscapes and such. I already have a MooLaLa coupon set up for that and christmas cards!
Enjoy.

.{album}.

p.s. Didn't love the design of the blurb album. took too long to manipulate and their layouts were kind of generic. Again, I didn't leave myself enough time. I've tried Shutterfly and mPix too. So far my favorite has been mPix. I'm going to be trying MixBooks next and MyPublish {recommended by my friend Annie}. Oh and I updated the paper, so we'll see how it turns out.  It should be here in a day or two!

p.p.s. I don't know why but when you view the book you can have the option to buy it. Just ignore that :).

.{hilly holbrook}.

I am in LOVE with The Help. Best movie this summer-hands down. Everyone must read this book and everyone must see this movie! This book has changed me. It is one of those books that makes you want to be a better person after reading it.  Outside of the Scriptures and other gospel related works, there are few books that have impacted me.

This past week I have had an unfortunate experience with a Hilly Holbrook type character in my life. As events have transpired I can't help but make connections between this fictional character and someone who embodies her.  Do you have a Hilly in your life? What do you do to rise above the way you feel when you are around them? Where do you find the courage to stand up to them? How do you keep them from chipping away at your self worth?

.{project home}.

Since purchasing our new home I have been on the go out how to fill it and decorate it. I have been watching HGTV non-stop since we signed the papers. I have been scouring the internet for photos that capture what I have in my head and for new inspirations.  I've been using Pintrest a lot to help me put my ideas into an organized manner.  It's been wonderful having it to keep me organized.

I've recently discovered how much I want original pieces in our home. And well let's be honest, we don't have the $$ for custom made furniture. So I'm trying my hand at re-purposing. I did these pieces a while back and then took a break due to the summer heat and just being plain busy with work.

and these two...

Now I find myself going through Craig's List ads on a daily basis. Here when I have five minutes... there when I have ten. I found this desk and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a mustard yellow of some sorts. It'll go next to the stairs in a nook we have by the kitchen and family room.

I also have been going through thrift stores a lot too. My sister and I try to get together a few times a month and hit the local Goodwill, Savers, and other small thrift and consignment stores. I recently found this mirror for $15. It was dusty, but that can be remedied. My plans for this are still in the works. I'm thinking that it might be high gloss white, depending on the wall I choose to put it on.
There is a mirror like this at Ikea.  But i think it's just a frame if I'm not mistaken and you have to buy the mirror portion separately.

Last weekend my mom and I went out and shopped around for the house. We hit a model home furniture store, two fabric stores, and every Goodwill between North Phoenix and Chandler.  My mom got a bunch of frames (all 50% off) and I found some fabrics that I would like to use in the house. Didn't purchase any yet, but building a style board for the look of each room. I also found some frames for a picture collage for the entry way.

I also found this second desk to anchor our study/den down stairs. This room will double as Bry's study area and a possible place to meet with clients if life ever takes us that way. I found this piece at a Goodwill in Scottsdale. It was in need of some wood glue and nails, but had such great potential in my eyes. I feel in love with the screen in the front and the details. I just LOVE the handing handles too! It was LOVE at first sight. I snatched that right up. Best buy of the day at $40! It's SOLID wood too! The drawers are clean and it has a filing drawer too!

Great tip from the lady from Home Depot. Primer that sticks to everything! Yes and they can tint it for you for free. 

 Here are a few quick pictures I took before priming. I didn't sand anything down, but I did wipe and clean the piece before painting. The screen seems to be the hardest to paint.

 Here are some pieces of the primed desk and drawers. I removed all the hardware and plan on spraying that an off white or soft white. I primed the entire piece in about an hour or so. I can see a few drips here and there that I will need to sand down before putting on the color. I went with a BEHR Premium paint from Home Depot. I like their paint better than Valspar so far.

I went to start to put the color on and the heat was just too much. Everything was drying so quickly before I could smooth it out. So we brought the piece inside to try to keep it from warping like the first piece in the post. We mistakenly left it in the garage and now it's slightly bowed. This piece will have to wait until after the move to be unveiled. Patience. AH!

In the mean time I'm working on some Halloween projects and some individual cupcake stands. They are navy blue. If anyone has any good tips for re-finishing and re-purposing please let me know. I'm obviously new at this and any help would be appreciated.

enjoy.

.{our soon-to-be-home}.

it is true-we have finally taken the plunge. last week bryan and i signed a contract for our new home.  ah. we are growing up.  the process began a long time ago, but always sat on the back burner for the longest time due to school, work, life, etc. we'd casually look through listings and make dream lists and such.  during the whole process we kept telling ourselves and everyone else that we would NEVER live in the East Valley (i.e. chandler, gilbert, mesa, etc.).  and little did we know that that is exactly where we would end up-gilbert.

so we looked and looked. tempe and south scottsdale were our main focus. nada. everything looked great inside (a 1960s home that have been completely redone) but then when i would click to exterior pictures my heart would just sink. ugly. no curb appeal.  i could never see myself driving up to the house and saying"yeah, i live here."  we thought of re doing the outside, but then we saw the neighbors and their homes were in the same shape. i wasn't feeling like home in any of these places.

and as we drove around the areas i noticed that there were no kids outside playing together or anything green. now i know we don't have kids just yet, but we hope to some day. and i want my kids to have neighbors that are around the same age so they can have play mates. and the whole green thing.... i HATE desert landscaping. rocks and cactus just don't do it for me. sigh. at this point i was becoming super discouraged.

then one day my sister and i went for a walk to some models by her house- just to see what they were like. and BAM there it was. i walked in and loved it. i had to show bry. i knew he would say it was kind of far away from the things and places that we liked to go. and trust me it is. but the home felt like a home to me.

a few weeks later i dragged bry through them on a walk again. and after going through all the other homes, this was the first and only one to this day in which he exclaimed, "i like this one. i really like it."  at first we both thought that it was a little large for just the two of us. but then with the wisdom of my sister we realized that we needed to look at it as a place we could grow in. and it was just that. perfect to grow in.

that was about three months ago.  we battled with how far it was. and put it on the back burner again and pursued more homes in the areas that we thought we wanted to live. we went out with a realtor, a family friend, and he showed us 5 houses. and then we went back to the house in gilbert and we knew. none of the other houses compared.

sure it was farther from work than we would like, but other than that it was great.  its bright. open. great floor plan. great ward (according to my sister), and close to jacks. being close to jackie was just an added bonus in all of it. not a necessity. couples in our same situation were moving into the ward and there were lots of young families. something our very first ward was lacking.

there are parks and green belts, and LOT and LOTS of trees. yes, that is right TREES.  in arizona! my childhood home had the same elements of tree lined drives. my sister and i share the same love for the tree lined street leading in from snowcreek to our house in walnut.  we loved how the trees changed color in the fall and dropped into the street adorning them with vibrant colors.

now these trees aren't nearly as mature as those trees and i'm not sure if they will ever grow to be that big, but anything is better than desert landscaping. so i am over joyed with the community.  we will be in the same ward as my sister and her family. that will be fun. and we will join the ward just as they are changing from 8 am start time to 11 am start time. how perfect.

our house right now is just a dirt lot. it will get started at the end of the month as soon as we go to the design studio to pick our interiors. it'll be a blue house with shutters and cream trim. at least that's the plan for now, we might change our minds.

here is a virtual tour of the model home. .{the farm house}. it worked from this computer. i hope it works. if not let me know. thanks. the count down is on! when we have a more exact date i will get it to you and pictures of where we are going to live!

p.s. a big thank you to my grandparents {grandma lee and grandpa lee} for all your help. and of course my mom and dad too. we couldn't have done it without you. and thank you to robyn and steve for supporting us and we promise not to be strangers, we understand it was farther than we all thought it would be, but it's not THAT far :). and to jackie and brad. we will try not to embarrass you or cramp your style in the ward :) we love you all.

.{charles hudson little}. .{newborn baby photography}.

there has been a recent addition to the bluth side of the family.  courtney and austin had a little baby boy last week. his name is charles hudson little. he was born on july 1st at 4:35 am. he weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces. he was 21 inches long and had a full head of hair.  courtney was gracious enough to let me take pictures shortly after he was born and she's been letting me release the shutter ever since. my very first nephew.

bryan and i got a text that court was being admitted to the hospital rough 8 hrs after being "induced." it was just after 9 o'clock at night. we quickly gathered up what we would need to stay the night up at robyn and steve's, jumped in the car, and drove up to the hospital. by the time we got there she was ready for her epidural. court was a trooper. i hope to remain as calm as she was that night when/if it's my turn.

we stuck around until midnight. then retired to the house until it was time for charlie to arrive. at this point he was nameless and the suspense was killing me :). at 3:55 am robyn text me and told me it was time to go! ahhhhh!!!!!! this is really happening. he's coming. finally! those left at the house jumped in the "explosion," thank goodness it started.

as we arrived outside the room a faint cry could be heard. he's here. he is really here. he had the best cry. soft. but noticeable. he had entered the world and let everyone know it without being intrusive or loud. about 10 minutes later we were all invited to see him behind one of those hospital curtains as the dr attended to courtney. austin in the mean time did just as well as courtney. austin isn't one for blood and such and he stayed by her side and didn't faint. :)

thirty minutes later the little bundle of joy was being passed from family member to family member. i have pictures of those as well. i haven't gotten to editing those yet.  we stayed for about an hour and then it was time for the Little family to move to a recovery room. for the rest of us, it was IHOP time. when we came back court looked amazing! no make up or hair touch ups. she just had this glow about her. i again, shot some more pictures of the new family. working on those too.

bryan and i took a hiatus from the hospital for a few days. during this time we put an offer on our first home and took in a round of golf on the hottest day on record this summer. it was 118 degrees. wow. lucky for us, not to long after getting started clouds rolled in and we got a small shower and light breezes to cool off the day. we are in the process of countering for our home and more details to come.

yesterday we celebrated the fourth of july with the bluths and the new baby. i talked to court about doing a mini photo shoot with charlie that day in celebration of independence day. it turned into less of a patriotic shoot to just a plain ole cute baby shoot.  here are some of the images captured during our time.

 to "style" this little mini shoot, i just gathered up whatever i had laying around the house. i used the letters that i painted from the shower. i had just purchased a navy blue tray from ikea for a steal at $7.99 and used that. i had fabric left over from quilting projects for texture (thanks to my mom). the chair i just purchased last week with a desk i am re-doing from craigslist. i wish he was more natural aka naked in the pics. but we are waiting for certain "healing" to take place before taking the nudes. so stay tuned for more pictures.

all the pictures above were taken with a cannon 60D with a 50 mm f/1.4 USM lens. they were all edited (very armature like) in adobe photoshop elements. thank goodness for 30 trials as i work out which program i want to invest in. this is my very first "photo shoot." if i can do it, anyone can. pick up your camera and start taking pictures.

enjoy.