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9.11.12

Sonoma, California:: Napa Street

Like I mentioned before, Travis and I got to spend some time this weekend in Sonoma, California. We were surrounded by vineyards, cute shops, and beautiful homes. It is a stunning area to have a wedding and we were so excited and felt very blessed to get to photograph Matt and Chelsea’s wedding.
The morning of the wedding, Travis and I explored Napa Street a little bit. 
(Travis made fun of me for wanting a picture of us in the store’s reflection.)
We enjoyed some coffee & pastries while imagining what the afternoon would hold at Cornerstone Gardens.
Check out the last blog post for a sneak peek at Matt and Chelsea on their Wedding day. Stay tuned for more photos of them in the coming weeks.
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9.10.12

Sonoma California Wedding Photographer:: Sneak peek

What a weekend! Travis and I got to spend the past few days in Sonoma, California. I know, we’re spoiled! Getting to work with Matt, Chelsea, and their loved ones was a joy. The venue was absolutely gorgeous and I will be spending lots of time looking through the thousands of photos we took. 

Here’s just a little sneak peek of our time together Saturday.
 
Cornerstone Gardens had such an artistic flare–can’t wait to share more of these photos with you!
Matt and Chelsea, enjoy your honeymoon in Italy and Croatia!
Filed in: Portrait Photography
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9.6.12

Chico California Photographer:: Wedding Day Gift

As a photographer, one thing that always pulls at my heartstrings is when the couple gives each other a gift on their wedding day. How they express their excitement for becoming husband and wife can come out in different ways. Whether this gift is something of monetary value or not, it is a sweet moment to capture. Even a card for the bride or groom to read says something special–I think it can say a lot about a couple. Their private words to each other, the way they show love and their deepest thoughts with each other on paper. 
Just a little something I would have done on my wedding day, had I known about the sweet idea. 
So, tuck this away in your “Someday Wedding Ideas” or pin it in your “Future Wedding” board on Pinterest. If that day has passed and you are already with your Mr. or Mrs. then write them a card or get them a gift today to reminisce about the day that you became husband and wife.
(Like my new set up? Special shout out to my friend and awesome fellow photographer Katelyn for your help in so many ways–you’re the best!)
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September 7, 2012 - 12:38 am

Katelyn Owens - Aww, you're so sweet! Love it!!! :) Looks great! :)

September 7, 2012 - 1:21 am

Anonymous - Love this! Consider it "pinned!" 😀

9.6.12

Chico California Photographer::Our time away

Our time away this past weekend was much needed. Granted we came home feeling exhausted, but it was definitely much needed. One of my favorite, most energizing activities is having a meal with friends. Although we mainly eat meals with friends at home, going out to eat is a great time to catch up and who doesn’t love an excuse to have someone else make you food?? 
After church at The House (awesome, diverse, encouraging church in downtown Sac), we  headed to de Vere’s Irish Pub for some brunch.
 Lauren enjoying her Irish Coffee.
 My decaf coffee–it was goooood.
 As I mentioned before, our friends Kevin and Krissy are moving to North Carolina so they organized a moving sale. This was for friends to come and buy their things and for all of us to get to hang out. Well, a few of us decided to make a weekend of it and crashed their pad. (Thank you for letting us take over your living room!)
We played Mafia late into the night and both nights I laid on the air mattress with everyone around me to have our little one do some acrobatics for the crowd. He’s a crowd-pleaser.
Oh, and we had sushi one night–I was in heaven. Sushi is my favorite meal. Anyone else been to Blu Nami in Roseville? They have a menu of rolls that are always 50% off. To-die-for. Okay, I’m drooling just thinking about it. 
On another note–we are shooting our last wedding of the season this weekend in Sonoma and are so excited! The following weekend we head to San Diego for our babymoon. We will definitely be getting sushi…

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9.4.12

Chico California Photographer::Daddy duty & Nursery

For those of you who know Travis, you know that he is a hardworking man.

Now, I know that I am not offending my husband by posting this so don’t think I’m a witch. My hardworking man isn’t going to be the guy you call when your car isn’t working or when your dishwasher is leaking. And, I’ve learned to accept that. I now know what friends we do call when stuff like that happens.:) He has many, many other qualities that I am thankful for.

So when it came to putting together furniture for the baby’s room, I knew he wasn’t too thrilled. When he was gone at work one day, my little sister and a girlfriend of ours put together the dresser. BUT, I told Travis that HE HAD to be the one to put together the crib. He could not recruit any of his guy friends to help him. I was serious about that. You don’t want to mess with pregnancy hormones–for reals. I just felt like it was the dad-to-be’s job to put together the crib. Kind of like a rite of passage. Am I crazy or is this making sense to anyone else?
 
I knew he would be proud of himself and really, it was simple. We worked together on it and it took less than two hours. The only time I almost started crying was when I thought we had put two legs on backwards and would have to start all over. Come to find out that wasn’t the case so my blood pressure resumed to normal. Phew.
Yesterday Travis and I worked on the Nursery a little bit. We hung up some decor and Travis spray painted some frames. I had originally hand painted the frames but I didn’t like the color they turned out–too pumpkin. I tried spray painting with a mask on but the fumes were too much. So, husband to the rescue! We picked out some spray paint that we liked and Trav did a great job.

I want to wait to put pictures up of baby boy’s nursery until it is done. But, I think I am going to lose some friends if I make them wait that long! So I’ll share my favorite part of the room so far…

Like I’ve mentioned before, my mom is making his bedding. The fabric in the embroidery hoops are scraps from his bedding. We are going with a teal and orange theme. The biggest embroidery hoop holds my favorite fabric–vintage bikes.
As you can see in the photo, we painted the ceiling teal and used Home Depot yard sticks as crown molding. We love it and think the yard sticks are an original idea and add some boy-ness to the room.:)
The painted frames will be going above the dresser/changing table and will contain some graphic art and some photos of our baby boy!
I’ll definitely be doing a more detailed reveal of his nursery but it won’t be for a while. 
Thanks for following!
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September 4, 2012 - 9:50 pm

aubrey - oh my goodness! love it! the colors, the fabric and the yardsticks (so original!) thanks for posting pics. I was getting anxious:)

September 4, 2012 - 11:01 pm

Travis and Danielle - Yay! Thank you Aubrey! I pretty much posted this for you;)

September 5, 2012 - 2:17 am

Anonymous - The room looks fantastic! Thank you for continuously sharing you and Travis' journey through this time. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you two! -Karen Brenner :)

October 2, 2012 - 12:38 am

Anonymous - I completely agree, it's definitely a right of passage! Love your blogs Danielle, very entertaining! Can't wait for your posts when the baby comes, congratulations to you and the hubby!!- Amy-Anne