Mother & Son

I always really enjoy photographing in the downtown of towns, especially when they are practically empty. On Christmas day See, Judah, and I went to downtown Oshkosh and shot some quick photos. It was completely empty except for some few passing cars. I loved it and I totally forgot how cute the downtown area was in Oshkosh. Maybe when you take away everyone you it's easier to see the architecture and details of every shop.

It's weird to look at these pictures; you can really see how much time has passed. Not saying See looks really old now, but when I left for college 4-5 years ago Judah was only 3 turning 4 and now he's turning 9 next week. It's such a bittersweet feeling - I've had so many wonderful memories and blessings these past years, but I missed about 5 years of living close by to my family except for every other Christmas break. So many things have changed and everyone is having their own adventures. Although that makes me kind of sad to not be with them every step of the way I'm excited to continue on my own journey and see where life takes Ryan and I. Cheers to the New Year!

Winter in the Mountains

On Sunday Ryan and I decided that we wanted to take Winter/Christmas photographs, but there hasn't been any snow in the valley and it's been 40-50 degrees on average. It hasn't been feeling like Christmas outside this year except for the random spurts of Christmas lights we see. Anyways, we knew that if we went up to the mountains we would surely find snow and guess what - we did! It was so beautiful - exactly what I imagine when I think of a winter wonderland. The mountains were covered in white and there were pine trees everywhere, making it look like Christmas trees galore. 

We drove up to Snowbird, which was filled with skiers and snowboarders so we decided to head down to White Pine Trail and took the path that led to this cute bridge. Some people who were taking bridals came shortly after we got there and we decided to share the spot, but I seriously didn't want to leave, although exploring the rest of the trail was fun as well. I love pine trees covered in snow - it's my favorite winter scene. Looking back I wish I didn't wear a white top since I'm blending in with the snow, but oh well, you live and you learn. We also had to get Ryan a new suit last week since he was leaving on a business trip to Atlanta and didn't have one that fit. I was sad I didn't get to go with him, but I'm crossing my fingers I can go to his Washington DC trip since we'll already be out in New York City that week. We've been to NYC before, but only spent a day there so let me know if you have any must do or sees, as well as for DC.

Today we have a snow storm advisory all day until tomorrow evening so I'm hoping the valley is blanketed with snow and then I can go sledding. I bought some sleds from Target a month ago, but haven't been able to use them yet and I'm crossing my fingers I can go before I leave to Wisconsin. 

Anthropologie belts are my favorite.

This last week Ryan and I got dolled up and headed towards an area of the lake we've never been before to take some portraits. It's been a while since we've done this so I didn't realize how cold it was starting to get and how soon the sun went down, especially with how cloudy it was the other day. I got these red heels from Charlotte Russe the other week during Black Friday when I was shopping with my cousin, Shirley, and they're super cute but almost impossible to walk in for more than five minutes. I'm not sure I'll be pulling them out very much, but I was excited to get pictures of them. I always love taking portraits though because it gives me the chance to wear pieces in my wardrobe that I couldn't wear every day, like this pink skirt and Anthropologie belt. I think I'm addicted to their belts - I mean they're so beautiful! Besides that, Anthropologie for several reasons is one of those places I take my closest friends to wander through all of the wonders stored up in that room. It seriously holds many of my favorite memories. <3

 

Pre-Thanksgiving

This year we decided to head down to Fresno, CA for Thanksgiving to spend it with my relatives, but before doing so we stopped at the grocery store and bought some cornish hens, potatoes, and stuffing. We were going to have our own little pre-Thanksgiving dinner before heading out. I spent hours following recipes I found off of Pinterest and prayed for the best. The cornish hens turned out great even though I burnt the outside a tiny bit and the mash potatoes were probably the most American thing I've ever made in the kitchen. We finished all of this off with chocolate brownies and vanilla ice cream - it was delish! I enjoyed cooking the meal even though I was not thrilled about the clean up. I probably waited about a week before I looked at the dirty dishes filled sink. Can I just say I love the holidays? It's an amazing time of the year with great food and wonderful company. I especially love sharing these moments with Ryan. This week we are Christmas planning - it'll be filled with Christmas concerts, looking at lights, putting up Christmas decorations, baking, and traveling.

Oregon Coast

I honestly think that my favorite part of the US is the North Eastern coast. It's so green and mysterious - oh, and the Fall! I love Fall in general, but it was unbelievably beautiful where we were in Oregon. Plus, we drove right by a tree farm and all of the leaves were bright yellow. It was gorgeous! Our first stop was right on the coast at a state park and it was so calming. The beach was really quiet and there was a lot of fog with no sun, but I loved it. All you could hear were the waves and the sand was so soft and perfect. I could have spent a lifetime right on that beach. We took a couple of day trips out to Cannon Beach and another town to check out some touristy places and watch a movie - The Intern (btw, it was a great movie - go watch it!). After such a stressful time at work it was so nice to get away with just Ryan. We really needed this time together. After a couple of days we headed to Portland and that was fun. Everyone told us to head to Voodoo Donuts so we did and they had an interesting selection of donuts to say the least, but I loved the pink box that the donuts come in. After grabbing donuts we went to a great Thai restaurant and then to Powell Bookstore - oh, how I wish I could take weekend trips to Portland just for the book store. It had such a great selection and I didn't even get to see everything. Oh, and I found the most amazing thrift shop while we were there! I wish I could have spent days thrifting in Portland. We definitely didn't have enough time in general to explore the area. I can't wait to go back one day, but until then I'll just have to keep discovering Utah.