Jacob & Morgan's Surprise Engagement Session

 

One of my favorite parts of being a photographer is getting to share in those intimate and epic moments in my clients lives.  Moments like the birth of a child, their first kiss as husband and wife, the anticipation of a new child, or in this case, the moment they decide to spend the rest of their lives together.

I was absolutely thrilled when Jacob contacted me and asked me to take part in his proposal to Morgan.  I had done Senior Portraits for Jacob's sister Claire last summer and been able to get to know the family better.  Jacob had everything planned weeks in advance, so all we had to do was set up, and wait for the big moment.

Jacob wanted to propose at a quarry outside of Oak Ridge that he and Morgan had often taken walks at.  He ordered sunflowers, had a blanket by the water, and had lined the path with photos of them together throughout their relationship.  It was perfect!  I found a spot to hide and then just had to be patient, which was pretty hard.

The big moment arrived...

And it was like the whole world just got still for that short moment...

And then she said yes!

It was really a beautiful moment and one I know they will cherish for years and years.  After a few moments for the reality to set in Morgan turns and goes, "What's that clicking noise?"  I popped up  like a total creeper from the woods and was like, "Hi! Congratulations!!" To my surprise, and relief, she was excited and took it all in stride.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon reveling in their excitement and doing several engagement photos.

It was so much fun to do the engagement photos right then when emotions were high and everything was so exciting!  Jacob and Morgan are so perfect for each other and compliment each other so well.

Jacob and Morgan congratulations!  I loved getting to know you and your love story better.  I can't wait to see where life takes you and the amazing time you are going to have together.  Jacob, thank you for being a romantic and including me in a truly beautiful day.  I'm so excited to get to know you both better.

Four Generations

I absolutely love when I hear from a client that I have worked with several times before.  It's so much fun to see their lives change, families grow, and be part of some really big moments in their lives.  So I was thrilled when I heard from Tiffany, asking me if I would do a Four Generations shoot for the women in her family.

We met up at the greatest little coffee shop in Seymour, TN called Brewed Awakenings.  If you are ever out that way I highly recommend it.  Great coffee, friendly atmosphere, and cheese cake that is to die for.

I could tell right off the bat that I was dealing with some pretty tough customers here.  Didn't want to smile, hard to work with, no fun at all......NOT!  These ladies were amazing from the get go.  Our whole session was full of stories and laughter.  I honestly felt like I was having coffee with them at their house and chit chatting the day away.

Mrs. Lille Rose is a hoot.  Her quiet demeanor is just a cover up for a truly amazing, beautiful, and fun loving nature.

Her daughter, Donna, is just the same.  Fun loving, beautiful, and full of spirit. You can tell the traits of a good sense of humor have passed down the generations.

And of course, Tiffany and Avery have a very special place in my heart.  I have enjoyed getting to know Tiffany better as a friend and to watch Avery grow into a beautiful little girl.

A special thanks to everyone at Brewed Awakenings for letting us invade the space and for the delicious cheesecake and coffee.  Thanks to all these ladies for letting me be a part of your day and peep into your lives together.  Love really does last generations and that is something so lovely and so worth passing on.

Still Moments 2.19.14

 

Today I am pining for some sunshine and warm weather.  So today's entries in the Still Moments series are photographs that make me think of that.  My mind is on lazy summer days, sun coming in the windows, and well, just sunshine mainly.

We are so close to warm weather again I can almost taste it.  For those of you farther up North than Tennessee, hang in there!  Until then, I hope these will help keep you through the cold days.

Jaime and Brock's Wedding

I don't know about you but I LOVE surprises!  Seriously, I think they are the best.  Well, as long as they are good surprises.  The trick about surprises (especially when there are multiple surprises) is pulling them all off without letting the cat out of the bag as they say.  Jaime and Brock's wedding was absolutely full of wonderful surprises.  And I must say, they pulled it off like pros.

Jaime and Brock got married on January 18th at Little River Heartland Wedding Chapel in Townsend, TN.   The couple had originally decided to just get married in the court house.  They just wanted something quiet and small.  However, then Jaime found out that her Dad, Mike, was thinking about renewing his vows with her Mom, Joanna, as a gift for their 46th wedding anniversary.  Enter surprise numero uno.

So they all decided to make the vow renewal a surprise for Joanna.  They would go to the chapel for Jaime and Brock's wedding and then Mike would step up to renew their vows.  How cool is that?

However as I said before, there is a second surprise!  Everyone thought that Jaime was wearing a small cocktail dress when she had in fact picked out a wedding dress the day before.  Exactly in her size!  The only people who knew were Mike and her Best friend.  Now, I'd like to point out that together, Jaime and Brock have five children, so hiding a dress from that many interested parties is no easy feat.  But she pulled it off beautifully and everyone, I think especially Brock, were very surprised.

Congratulations Brock and Jaime!  You had a lovely wedding day and you have an absolutely beautiful family.  It was a pleasure to be a part of all of the surprises and fun!  Also, congratulations to Mike and Joanna for 46 years!  I'm sure it has been a ride and I loved watching you renew your vows.  It was truly beautiful.

Miss Lily is One!

That's right, I know you've seen the party but you don't think we could let this little girl turn the big O-N-E without a proper photo shoot do you?  Get out your awww's and oooo's because this is about to be a whole lot of cute!

First of all a big shout out to The Cup in Bearden for letting us do the first half of the photo shoot there.  It was perfect for Lily's intimate birthday celebration and I can't say enough how awesome the staff was (and the cupcakes!). 

We met early and a very very cold Saturday to do the photo shoot.  I was so glad we were inside and sipping coffee when we got started. As previously stated, we met at The Cup and got out the balloons and party hats.

And what's a birthday without  cake?  Especially a yummy cupcake?

After we had our fill of cupcake and balloons, we headed over to the L&N for a few more shots of the beautiful birthday girl.

Thank you to Freddie and Lindsey for letting me be apart of this exciting time in your family's life.  I have enjoyed getting to know you two better and you beautiful daughter.  I think you would both agree that its been an exciting and wonderful first year for Lily!  Happy birthday Lily!

Still Moments 1.27.14

 

It's been awhile since I've contributed to the Still Moments series that I've been collecting.  But this moment hit me the other day. What is more still and than a quiet house and a cat appreciating a sun beam?  I don't know, there's just something about it that is peaceful.  Pets themselves bring so much comfort and peace to our lives.  I try to keep my crazy cat lady tendencies to a minimum but it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate our pets.  There are times when they drive me nuts but at the end of a bad day they can also be a great comfort.  I know many of you feel the same way.  So enjoy a cup of tea (or maybe something stronger) and cuddle up with that pet today.  Here are a few of the "runners up" for the still moments for this entry.

Lily's 1st Birthday Party

That's right, this little lady just turned one!  Can you believe it?  It's hard to believe that I've been photographing Lily for a year now.  She has grown faster than I could have believed.  It was so much fun to celebrate with this little girl and her family.

Lily's parents threw a Lady Bug themed party and it was ADORABLE.  They had everything from Lady Bug cake to a color coordinated tutu for the birthday girl.

The party was an intimate gathering of family and close friends.  You could just feel the love coming out of that room!  Freddie, Lily's Dad, smoked the pork bbq himself and we had a small feast.  Instead of cards for Lily, they had everyone sign one of her Cat in the Hat books so that as she grows up she will be able to know everyone who was at her first birthday party.  So sweet!  However my favorite moment had to be watching Lily discover her cake.  I say "discover" because she didn't smash it, she just investigated it more and more.

Happy Birthday Lily!  You are a beautiful and sweet little girl.  I can't wait to see you grow more!

Fish Tacos

You might be thinking that I'm on some sort of Mexican food kick.  And in some ways you would be right.  Really it's just a matter of convenience.  I hate when ingredients go bad, so these two recipes had similar ingredients, so I made them close together.  But I promise you will enjoy both! When I first heard the term "fish taco" I thought, "Ew gross! Who would want fish in their tacos!"  My husband looked dismayed at my outburst.  BUT thanks to his prodding and poking, my tastes have expanded and I now love fish tacos.  And these were particularly fabulous.  This recipe is also from www.eatingwell.com  I'm kinda stuck on them right now.

Again, this serving is for 2 people so you might want to double it up.  It took me roughly 30 mins! Yay for fast food!

First you want to make the Tomato Avocado Salsa.  Dice a large tomato, add 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1/2 jalapeno minced (or dried jalapeno), 2/3 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, 1/2 diced avocado, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, and cayenne to taste.

Next in a small bowl you want to combine 3 tbsp flour, 1/8 tsp ground cumin, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp cayenne.  Whisk in 1/3 cup of beer to make batter.

Add two tsp oil to pan on medium high heat.  NOTE: This recipe calls for a nonstick pan and they mean a nonstick pan.  My first go at this I used a regular pan.  I had fish, but all the batter was stuck to the pan...not fun.  Dip your 1 inch strips of tilapia  into the batter, let the access drip into the bowl and then put the pieces in the oil.  Fry into golden on each side (doesn't take to0 long).  Place fish into warm corn tacos (I used flour tacos because I think they're tastier) and then add salsa on top!  That's it.  I added sour cream and hot sauce for a little extra flavor.  What I love about this recipe is it's tasty AND quick, just remember the non stick pan so your not doing dishes for the rest of the night...like me.

Dish-o-the-Week: Barbecue Portobello Quesadillas

That's right friends!  It's been a long time, but there is finally another Dish-o-the-Week!  I think you will be particularly fond of this one, I know Speed Racer and I really enjoyed it.  It's an interesting combo, and of course I cannot take credit for it.  I found this recipe on www.eatingwell.com.  I changed just a few minor things here and there, but I think you'll like it.  ALSO, this is a two for one special, I'm also giving you my Green Green Guacamole recipe in honor of all the green grass outside and as a way of saying sorry it's been so long.  So now, less talk, more drooling.

Note: This recipe is for 2 servings, but I got 4 Quesadillas out of it...so you may want to make more if you're cooking for a group.  It took me roughly 45 min.

Dice 1/2 pound of portobello mushrooms as well as 1/2 of a medium onion.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally.  The recipe says for 5 min, I did mine a little longer. Add onion and continue to stir until the onions are looking golden and translucent.

While the mushrooms and onions are sizzling away and making your mouth water, prepare your delicious sauce.  You will need.  1/4 cup barbecue sauce, we use Stubbs.  (Until I took this picture I never realized the moto was "My life is in these bottles."  It kinda creeps me out, just sayin'.)  Combine barbecue sauce with 1 1/2 teaspoons of tomato paste, 1 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar (I actually forgot to add this, still tasted good), 1/2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce.  Our grocery store doesn't have the best variety so I couldn't find the chile in adobo sauce, so I added green chiles instead and they added a great flavor to the sauce.

Mmmmm, yummy yum yum yuuuuuuum.  It looks like it's not a lot of sauce, I have to admit I was a little worried, but it's actually just the right amount.  Never fear!

Once your onions and tomato's are done, add them to your sauce and mix until they are coated.  Then lay out your whole wheat tortillas (8-10 inch kind).  On half of the tortilla add Monterey Jack shredded cheese and your mushroom mixture.  Fold the tortilla in half.  Add another teaspoon of oil to your pan and then lightly fry your quesadillas on each side.  Mine took about 3-4 min total.  Now all you have to do is enjoy the cheesy goodness.  That's it..the end...bye bye.....

.......

Oh.  What's that?  I forgot the guacamole?  You MUST have the guacamole??  Okie dokie then.

This is my favorite guacamole recipe, it's so good! And one of the reasons I love it is that it's not a spicy guacamole, so it's nice for parties.  If you want to spice it up some though, you can.  Just add cayenne or red pepper flakes.

So! You will need 2 medium avocados, 1/4 cup of cream cheese (softened), 2 tbsp onion, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/8 tsp salt, dash of black pepper, and 2 tbsp cilantro.

Mix all ingredients well in large bowl.  Simple.  I just mash mine until it's the consistency I want, I like it a little chunky.  Also, I would definitely add fresh cilantro.  A friend of mine recommended this recently and it has changed my life.  Cilantro is Fan-freakin'-tastic.

Now go stop drooling and enjoy!

March Mischief

Last weekend was Speed Racer's birthday!  The Padre, Mr and Mrs Hokie, and even Mrs Miami and Little Miss came down for the weekend.  Our house was chock full of people but we wouldn't have had it any other way. Everyone got in on Friday and we had a great time staying up late and catching up.  Saturday the boys went off for a manly pancake breakfast, and we ladies slept in and started on cooking the desert for that evening...delicious delicious banana pudding!  Mrs Hokie brought the double boiler and stand mixer (so jealous!) needed for the recipe, apparently it's a Paula Deane recipe and I highly recommend it.

Yum!

Little Miss helped out a lot and was a good sport because all the ladies did was talk, talk, and then talk a little more.

But we enjoyed catching up, it had been awhile since we had all been together.

Once we got all the cooking prepped and the pudding was in the fridge, we headed into town for a ladies lunch.

With all that girl time I think Little Miss was ready for the boys return.  She hung out with them outside while they got the brats and hamburgers ready.  She had them wrapped around her little finger though.  These next pictures of Little Miss and The Padre were all taken by Speed Racer.  I saw this out the window but was mashing up ALOT of potatoes for dinner, when Speed Racer walked by with his camera and starting shooting.  Great minds think alike, huh?

They were feeding this stray that has been around our house a lot.  She's suffered some abuse and we keep trying to get her to come to us.  She only will if you have food, and even then very hesitantly.  She's very sweet and I wish we could find her a good home.

Unfortunately, this is the last picture for the night though.  I had my hands pretty full for the rest of it.  So after this we dug in.  Speed Racer's special hamburgers, brats with sauerkraut, creamy mashed potatoes, and of course...banana pudding.  The girls and I put candles in the banana pudding and had Speed Racer blow them out.  Classic.  Soon after that Little Miss fell asleep on the couch, while the rest of us sat around the bonfire and enjoyed just being together.  All in all I think it was a good birthday, I know I had fun, and hopefully there will be many more like that to come.