GLITTER IS GREAT, BUT FAILURE CAN BE OKAY TOO.

Although I am a strong advocate of glitter, gold, and all things glam, I also recognize that not every moment is filled with beauty.  Sometimes in order to reach beauty we have to work through the ugly things, the embarrassing things, and face the not-so-graceful moments of life.

Take these shoes for example.  What do you see?  Four-inches of fabulousness?  That's what I thought when I first laid my eyes on them.  If I were Dorothy, my Kansas would be California and these gold glittery heels would be my ruby slippers.  And they were such a great deal, I knew I'd be crazy not to buy them.  At least that was the logic I worked out in my head for when I'd show them to my husband :)

My thoughts changed though when I wore them out to dinner to celebrate his birthday.  As we headed back to our car after a lovely night of fondue (yum!), we began descending a grimy concrete stairwell that would lead us to the underground parking lot where we parked the car.  In a split-second decision that I lived to regret, I thought, I should probably hold the railing to brace myself, but foolishly my germaphobe self recoiled my hand, deciding otherwise.  As I reached the last 6 steps I felt my ankle give way and in the most inelegant way possible I fell forward down the rest of the stairs. In a dress. Into a puddle. A dirty, little puddle.

I was humiliated, embarrassed, confused, disheveled and in pain.  I didn't break anything, thankfully.  No one but my husband saw my tumble, thankfully. But my feelings were definitely bruised.  And my ankle was sore for weeks.  But I was humbled too, realizing that I have limitations and that I needed to slow down sometimes.  And that I need to reach for help.

Lately, I've been trying to figure out some stuff related to this blog and have run in to some, ahem, technical difficulties.  And have made some mistakes that have left me pretty stinkin' frustrated.  But I realized last night that sometimes stumbling can be a good thing.  It shakes things up, forcing me to pause, reassess my direction, and make sure that I've got my priorities in their proper place.  To grow in patience.  To question myself about what really matters.  For example, should a blog really be causing me to be that angry?  No.  I have so many things to be grateful for and joyful about, I'd be crazy to let myself sit and stew over this.  The glitter and gold will eventually come, but for now I need to be okay with the ugly. The messed-up stuff. The failures.

You may be wondering, did falling down the stairs keep me from wearing heels again? No way!  These shoes are still utterly fabulous in my book! But next time I am for sure taking my time, being patient, and never being to proud to reach out for help.

PROMISE TANGEMAN, SITEHOUSE GO LIVE, AND RESTART

Last summer I attended the first ever SiteHouse Go Live workshop. SiteHouse designs are handcrafted by Promise Tangeman.  The designs are completely customizable, meaning you can change your website at anytime--no coding required! At the workshop, I learned the Showit software, implemented my SiteHouse design, got creative input and critiques from Promise and her team, and hit publish on my first website all in two days!  Woo!

Today and tomorrow, the third ever SiteHouse Go Live workshop is taking place in Phoenix.  I'm so excited for Promise, her team, and all the awesome attendees!  They will accomplish so much in two days and they'll have a blast while doing it!

Recently, I saw Promise again in Seattle.  She was a part of Restart: A Photography Business Makeover with Jasmine Star.  Promise and her team offered their amazing graphic design skills to help 3 photographers with their websites.  She also shared valuable information with the rest of the viewers about how to improve their online presence.  It was so wonderful to see her again and it was great to be able to catch up on life.  Promise is such a sweet girl and I really look up to her as a creative, business owner, and friend!

If you're interested in attending a workshop in the future, sign up for the newsletter to be the first to hear about the new dates!

MONDAY MIXER: APRIL 2013

It's time for another Monday Mixer!

So what exactly do I mean? Here's a quick definition: Mixer /ˈmiksər/ n. An informal party arranged to give people an opportunity to get acquainted.

How it works: I will list off several random things and you can feel free to respond with comments on how you can/cannot relate or maybe even with your own random Monday list!  Let's do this!

This time around I am using these list (1/2) from Darling Magazine's March instagram photo challenge as inspiration for my random facts. Alright, here we go!

This might seem a bit obvious, but the most restful place for me is my own bed.  I was just thinking the other night how much I'm thankful for my mattress and pillow.  I know that not everyone can say that.

My favorite tool in the kitchen is my red KitchenAid mixer.  I don't use it everyday but it works great and it sure looks pretty on my counter! :)

My favorite word is grace.

A must read: right now I am really interested in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.  I've only read a few of the prayers so far but I've decided that this is definitely a must read.

The most used item in my bag is my chapstick.  I can't live without it!

Blast from the past: This recent post by my friend and fellow photographer Ryan Greenleaf about being a 90's kid through and through.  It brought back so many memories from my childhood!

Something new that I've recently done for the first time is the twist braid hairdo!  Haha, I used the fabulous hair tutorial I shared with you all last Friday :)

A moment that took me by surprise is when Kurt asked me to be his girlfriend 5 years ago.  I had liked him for months and had no clue about whether he was interested in me at all.  Best surprise ever!

On the shelf in my living room are books and photo frames with pictures of family and friends.

Today I am grateful.

My most worn t-shirt is a basic white v-neck. It may be time to retire it, but it's so soft and comfy and I just can't seem to part with it!

My favorite feel good movies are anything by Pixar!  I find that they are always so clever, heartfelt, poignant, and hilarious, all in one film.  Pure genius!

Something that always reminds me of my mom is the smell of this Bath and Body Works lotion.

The best time of the day is sunrise and sunset because that means there's lots of pretty light!

My workplace is best described as anywhere my camera takes me!

A quote that made an impact on me: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" -Jesus

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Thanks for reading!  Feel free to post your own fun facts about you in the comments! Happy Monday y'all!

VIDEO: TWIST BRAID HOW-TO

This may sound silly, but I firmly believe that one of the absolute greatest things about the internet is hair tutorials.  They not only provide a warning about what not to do (i.e. this poor girl!), but they also give provide dozens and dozens of ideas about hairdos that can be done quickly and easily while still looking ah-may-zing!

This video tutorial comes from my amazingly talented friend Alejandra Vidal of Imaginale Design.  You may recall me mentioning that she captured my headshots last summer. Specializing in capturing stills and motion, Ale has an eye for all things lovely and dreamy. She shared this hair tutorial earlier this week and I wanted to pass it on to all of you!

I'm definitely going to be rocking this hairstyle for my next date night with Kurt... and I'll be sure to post a picture on my instagram when I do!

ENGAGEMENT: BINGYING + HAOREN

Hello there!  Between travelling, learning, shooting, and planning, I've been a bit busier lately.  However, I've been dreaming up ways to revamp things within my business and on this blog too.  If you've been reading this blog since my beginning, THANK YOU!  And if you are just joining me on this journey, WELCOME!  I believe that there are many great things to come and I am excited to use this forum to share my successes and failures, hopes and dreams and all that's in between.

Today I have some more photos to share with you!  Engagement photos to be exact.  This next engagement is one of the several engagement shoots I was able to photograph while shadowing my mentor Meg Perotti.  Bingying and Haoren wed in Singapore in December, and had their engagement photos done by Meg at the end of the summer.  This couple was so sweet!  You can totally tell how much they love one another by the way they look at each other.

One thing I learned from this shoot is how amazing it feels to find good light... and how I love a glorious California sunset!  I think we definitely got some good ones on this shoot :)  Enjoy!