Urban Unveiled Fall 2008

Once again Urban Unveiled was amazing. I attended this event earlier in the year so I was super jazzed when i found out they were having another one. If you are a bride in the NW, a wedding vendor or just a wedding enthusiast this is a must see event. The decorations alone are worth seeing, not to mention the good foods, the Luly Yang fashion show, amazing vendors and the swag isn't bad either.

After the fashion show they have a raffle of about 20 great prizes, this time I won a prize, a SWEET prize at that! It's a brunch cruise for up to 20 people on Waterways Cruises valued at approx $1600, I told you it was sweet! I can't wait to plan that, I'm thinking a girls only birthday cruise with mimosa's lot's of mimosa's!

So I was smart this time and brought a camera! I had a blast capturing all the amazing details!

The program of vendors/ Resource guide

Lot's of lovely flowers

Doesn't it look yummy? It smelt good too!

I was too far up to get any good fashion show pictures but check out the slideshow on Jeff Laplante's blog they are awesome!

As you can see it's a great event. I look forward to attending them for a long time. You'll have to stay tuned to see more info from some of the great vendor's I had a chance to chat with.
And my cruise info and pictures later on in the year, So fun! =)

Walk Now For Autism 08 - Seattle

Last Saturday my friend Cathy, her daughter Calmerin, Chase and I all took part in the Walk Now For Autism walk. Despite the rain and strong winds ton's of people turned out to walk the gorgeous University of Washington campus. Sponsor's and walker's worked hard all year to raise funding and awareness for Autism Speaks, together we raised $250,000 of the $350,000 Seattle goal.

Raising funds and awareness for Autism is super important!!!!


Did you know Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in 1 in 150 children in the United States, affecting four times as many boys as girls?


" The diagnosis of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown." .... did you read that right ... "no known cause or cure"


This is incredibly alarming and should be a hot topic on everyone's mind whether you know someone inflicted with autism or not. This disorder inflicts more US children than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Although autism is certainly not a new disorder it is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability. Why is this? Doesn't it make you mad that we don't know? Something has to be to blame for the rise and I want to know what it is!

"67 children are diagnosed per day - A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes"

"Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade. Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases"

Pediatric AIDS: Affects 1 in 8,000 / Funding: $394 million
Muscular Dystrophy: Affects 1 in 20,000 / Funding: $175 million

Autism: Affects 1 in 150 / Funding: $42 million

Do you see those numbers!!!! How does that possibly make any sense? Why is that acceptable to America? I do not have a child with autism or even have a child close to me with it, yet I am outraged by this! We as parents, we as a nation owe it to the children to speak up for autism!

This is why funding and awareness are so undeniably crucial.

Walkers

Sticker on my jeans ;)

Me

Cathy

Look at these cute lil' walkers!

After the walk I got a ton of great pictures of these two. Stay tuned for those!

Speak up for Autism!

Join a walk in your city

Make a donation

Or at least keep the buzz going, talk about it, blog about it, bring awareness to it because without it our children will continue to be at risk!

Helpful link's: Jenny McCarthy's - Generation Rescue :: Autism Society of America

Highway 101... 392 mile check point!

The best way to combat a long drive with a three year old is to have impromptu run around/photo shoots at cool places like this...

At this point on our road trip we were needing to get out and stretch a little. So when we saw this Harley shop we decided to stop so my dad could by my uncle a shirt and we could let chase play a little. Of course I had to get out my camera, who could resist those colors!

He does those poses all on his own! He's such a little goof ball!

She's back in the building!

I'm back... Did you miss me? We had great time on our griswald family road trip! Chase did amazing, he is such a good boy, I am blessed! I have so much to catch up on and tons of pictures to sort through. I still have posts to do from shoots I did before I left then i'll share some vaca pic's.

I'll leave you with this little gem from our first stop in Portland...

Yeah Baby! You gotta love Oregon!

See that bruise on his left check? Ouch ... poor guy must have fell off that big ol' bike a time or two ;)

Out of the office!

We are road tripping baby... Griswald style!!! Except replacing the station wagon with an Escalade.

I will try and put up a post if I can find some down time. If not I'll see you in a week! I'll have a ton of pictures ;) Audi 5000 G!

live inspired... Compendium!

On the last day of my Bainbridge girls trip we dropped into Winslow before boarding the ferry, for what you say? Shopping of course!

We went into the kind of store I LOVE the most. The kind I could spend hours in, reading every single card, touching all the textured paper goods, drooling over the new embellishments, admiring the journals that I end up buying because they are so darn cute but then never write in. Ahh the stationary/paper goods store how I love thee so! I'm not sure how long we stayed in the store on this trip but i can tell you if i would have been by myself it would have been at least 45 minutes. There were many thing's i wanted to buy but I settled on only a postcard okay fine 5 post cards!!! I couldn't choose which one I liked best.

These are not ordinary postcard's they are inspiring "Wonderfuls because life is full of wonder" cards. Isn't that too cute? I tried to scan them so I could show you their awesomeness but they have UV coating so the scan is all pixelated... boo for bad scanners! So naturally I googled them so I could show you guys. Boy am I glad I did because I found my new favorite company.

Seattle based Compendium Inc has products that chicks like me go gaga over. Check out this 80 page book for mom's ...

Wouldn't you love to have one of these from your mom? Our better yet leave one for your child! They have a dad's one too! And they are only $9.95 a steal i think for something this cool.

I'm also in love with the She line I almost bought that journal but Cat talked me out of it! Boo on you cat! ;)

There are a ton more incredibly delicious goodies at Compendium I could go broke buying their products. If you are a paper goods nut like me or are just looking for something special or inspiring as a gift or even as a treat to yourself you have to check out their website.

Find something that inspires you today!

Bainbridge Island Getaway

I'm back! I have been on and off sick for a week now I'm finally feeling better, I hope it stays that way. How was your memorial day weekend? Mine was great I got to stay at this place....


The Cedar Guest Cottage was a nice little place for our girl's mini retreat. Friday after work we caught the ferry over to Bainbridge Island for some much needed R&R. As bad as it sounds just being away from the kids for awhile was treat enough but it was also nice to be able to chillout and reflect in a place close to home but still far enough away to feel like a vacation.

The cottage was super cute, check out these exposed beams ...




I love the natural wood. It's nice to have the feel of a log type cabin but still have modern amenities! Saturday after breakfast we took a short hike down to the beach.


I was super stoked that the tide was way out because I got to go exploring! (squit and you can see the seattle skyline)




Of all the thousands of times I've been to the beach I've never seen live sand dollars before. It was so cool to find these little families of bright purple sand dollars of all sizes from big grandaddy ones to tiny little baby ones. I wanted to take A better picture to show the different sizes but their feelers things were moving and i didn't want to disrupt them ;)



I found this little friend and chased Cathy around with it. She's such a girlie girl!



Sunday we had to get home to the kiddos so after a short shopping trip in Winslow we boarded the M/V Puyallup back to the our beautiful city.

I had a great time, can't wait till our next girls getaway!

Hosts with the Most!

There are two reason's I decided to attend the Sonoma workshop instead of the one's up here in Seattle. First was that I liked the idea of it being an actual retreat as opposed to driving home each night after the festivities. I wanted to feel like I was getting away to my own little photography paradise. But I was more sold when I found out I would have the opportunity to learn from not just Me Ra and Brian but also Garrett Burdick and Rick Chapman. How could you not jump at the chance to learn from such a great group of photographers?

I feel truly blessed to have had a chance to interact with professionals of their caliber, in case you didn't know they are a pretty big deal! Nothing drove that home more that when we first met Garrett he let it slip that he and Rick had recently wrapped up a shoot with Justin Timberlake! I mean I'm no groupie but that's a pretty big star right there, not to mention the tons of others stars that these guys have captured! Oh did I mention they scout pottery barn houses and other places for shoots. What a rad job right? It's so cool that here are two totally amazing guys that work with big name people all the time and they are willing to chill with 7 newbie women photographers that are still trying to learn what the heck they are doing! Are you understanding how awesome that is?

Here is Garrett:

He is the sweetest man! At first he was pretty shy being around us crazy ladies but he quickly warmed up and became a huge help to all of us! I can not say enough nice things about Garrett, he is funny, patient, kind and just plain freaking awesome! I love his shyness and how he turns red when we compliment him. I love how he took special time with each one of us to teach us about everything from technical camera stuff to lighting to "foofing". He found the lovely place the workshop took place, the great restaurants we ate in and the beautiful models we were lucky to shoot. I am beyond grateful to have had the chance to meet him and get to know him!

As if Garrett weren't enough we also got to work with the his AMAZINGLY talented business partner Rick Chapman:

Here's Rick with his adorable son:

*This photo taken by Garrett*

Rick opened up his home to us as if we were all great old friends and let these stranger women roam around his home. But not only was his home open but so was his heart and mind. He shared I wealth of knowledge with us that I with forever be grateful for! It's hard to explain but there is this crazy peaceful vibe around rick that is at the same time calming as it is invigorating. And did I mention he is cool, I'm talking the coolest of the cool! This dude is freaking awesome! I feel so very lucky do have had the chance to learn from this great man!

Let me not forget the hilarious tag team Brian and Me Ra:

I think everyone knows how great these two are but just in case your not hip to them yet do not waist another minute go to their blog immediately and bask in the wonder that is this dynamic duo! Me Ra is this amazingly open kind women that inspires and gives to many mom's unbelievable support and a wealth of knowledge. Brian is her rock and an super nice, way hyper and often hilarious man. He's "actually" also a really great photographer as well ;)

Do you see how lucky I am?

Sonoma Workshop Report... Finally!!!

Okay before I start I have to let out some frustration at blogger right now because I am not able to post! I've waited a week to find time to blog and now I can't even post! I'm writing this on Google Doc's in hopes that the error will fix itself soon enough for me to get something out tonight! ~ Yeah it finally worked!!!

Anyhoo on to the subject of this post... I'm home from beautiful Sonoma! Okay you got me I actually came home on Monday night but haven't had any computer time since I got home. Last week I was fortunate to attend Me Ra Koh's Photography Workshop down in gorgeous Sonoma California. This was not only my first time in Sonoma but my first trip I've ever taken solo. I have to admit I'm pretty proud of myself for taking this journey alone. Usually I would have needed a friend for support or just plain companionship but this time I embarked on a journey all by myself and it felt really good! I arrived at Oakland airport, got my rental car, hit the 880 north to wine country with my aviators on, the sun shining in my window and my ipod blasting. I caught a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror and as corny as it sounds I truly felt like a independent women!

Lucky for me even though my travels were alone I was about to meet 7 amazing women that would fast become my great friends! I was so looking forward to this workshop first to get to work with Me Ra, her husband Brian and two other great photographers, Garrett Burdick and Rick Chapman . Also to get a better sense of what I'm doing with this camera I always find in my hands! But little did I know that the true joy was going to be spending time with and getting to know all the girls attending with me!

Here are a few group shots...

Whole Group + Brian

Sonoma Girls Album Cover

Doing the famous Brian pose!

And here are my new friends...

Wendy- Wendy is amazing! She is the type of person that instantly becomes your best friend!

Carrie- With an amazing eye for detail she didn't realize she had!

Michelle- Who thought that all her amazing pictures were "just luck", I think she learned that is just not true!
Dori- A lovely lady with the most gorgeous smile and contagious laugh!

Sharon- The funny animated one with tons of talent and FOUR beautiful kids!

Wendy T- The self proclaimed introvert with an inner beauty that radiates out of her!

Dana- My Canuck sister ;) she is so fun, awesome to hang out with and full of insight!

Special guest star Maggie- The best most patient baby in the entire world!

Notice something??? Perhaps a theme going on here???

We were all laughing and having a GREAT time all weekend! From our first dinner at the Red Grape to our farewell Monday from Rick's house in Stinson beach we were laughing, sharing and sometimes even crying together. Words really can't do justice to the experience we all shared together, it was a magically moment that I know I will never forget! I am so thankful for this experience and having met this amazing talented group of women.

There is so much more to say and pictures to show that I'm going to break up the posts with this being the first and a few more to follow so stay tuned for more of my sonoma adventure!

**All picture's in this post by Garrett Burdick**

Totally Tubular

A couple of Saturday's ago my friend Liza & I took our boy's up to Snoqualmie pass to the tubing area. We had been planning this trip since December but anytime we where free to go the weather was lousy. Boy am I glad we waited because the conditions were perfect when we finally did make it up. We all had a ton of fun both tubing down the huge hill and also just running around planning in the snow. I was too chicken to bring my camera to the actual tube hill but I did get some good shots before and after the session.

Chase & My Godson Dennis

Dennis' Brother JJ

Dennis with his HUGE "snowball"

My personal favorite! My little snowbunny!

I hadn't been tubing since I was a little girl and we used to have to walk up the huge tubing hill. Now they have pulleys that bring you back up! That turned out to be awesome, I was a little worried about how we were going to get the little guys up the hill each time so the pulley was great. I think Chase actually enjoyed the leisurely ride up the hill better than the fast "scary" one down it.

After our session was over we played in the snow for an hour before chase was done. I changed his clothes and then we pulled up close to where the boys were playing. Here's a few of Chase in the car...

Posing for mommy

Watching out the window

The bossy control freak yelling orders out the window

The other two boys continued playing for at least another hour maybe two until the sun was almost completely gone and it got freezing. 40minutes later, one gas stop and two drive thru windows we were home. WE had soooo much fun the kids loved it can't wait till we go again!