Monkey Love

Flowers Week 1-3 {Cake Flowers}

2011-08-31T22:53:00.001-07:00

My mom and I decided to take the second course in the cake classes. We learned how to do many different flowers.

I combined classes 1-3 in one blog then I'll have a final blog for my final cake.

Together with my Mom and Mother-in-law we will make some more fondant flowers for the rehearsal cake next month.

Above: Is the fondant flowers (I like the ones on the right more).

Below: Is the ball of gum paste (to make is hard) and fondant (for color) rolled together.

More of the fondant flowers, which aren't put together yet.

This is the start of the fondant flowers from the left side on the first photo of the blog.

These were moms flowers which are the same as the ones on the left in the first photo.

These flowers are made from royal icing with the addition of sprinkles.

Here are some rosebuds and one other flowers. The purple are mine and yellow my moms.

Lillies (white) and violets (purple) also made from royal icing.

Yellow daffodils with royal icing.

I made tons of the violets and used different sprinkles. Wish I had more time in class to have made more daffodils.

Another shot of the violets.

More to come: The FINAL cake from course two; my bridal shower

Final cake {Cake basics}

2011-08-12T22:04:00.001-07:00

My mom and I had our final class for basics on Wednesday and we learned how to do writing and roses. I Choose not to use any writing on my final cake, but I did make 30 roses in six different colors. It took almost 45 mins to makes all 30 of them.

I took photos again while we were making the cakes, filling them and coloring the icing.

Here is the icing in the mixer with a slow shutter speed to make the spinner blurry.

All the different Wilton colors I have. Micheal's and Joann's has a bigger selection, but Walmart was a bit cheaper (as they are with any other Wilton products we needed).

I wasn't too happy with the lavender purple which was made so I added some blue in with the purple to make it a darker purple, although the photo makes it look a bit more blue than purple, but it person it was just the right purple for me.

And here all the knifes with the colors of the rainbow.

This is a neat little tool (also found at Walmart) it cuts the extra hump off or cuts the cake in half with a perfect slice. Yes some could do this with a knife, but I have never been able to cut a straight line.

I made a lemon cake and mom bought some lemon curd, that I found in the store. It was so yummy.

The icing sitting in the fridge waiting for class.

Part of the final cake. A close-up on the different colored roses with green leaves. Since purple is my fave color I did one purple then a different color and so on.

Another shot of the final cake.

More to come: More from cake class "Flower" (after we start); More from the 365 project.

Cupcakes {Week 3 in Basics}

2011-08-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

We worked on flowers and placed them on cupcakes during week three in the cakes decorating basics class.

We filled the lemon cupcakes with vanilla pudding.

Here are the bags of colored icing to make the flowers.

One of the finished cupcakes with two types of flowers.

More to come: The final cake class roses; More from the second class of fondant flowers

Basics cake decorating class

2011-08-08T18:01:00.001-07:00

My mom and I started a class at a local crafting store for basics cake decorating. During week two we had to bake, cut, fill, ice and decorate a cake.

Throughout the process I photographed each step.

Here is the final product.

The icing pre-colored.

The cake in the oven.

After being cut I placed a dam of icing around the edge of the cake and used confetti icing as my filler in this cake (since it's my fave).

I placed the top layer back on and began to ice the cake.

Finished and ready to decorate in class.

Using piping gel to get the shape before adding the icing.

Cut and ready to eat.

One of the other girls did the other design which was a fish.

More to come: Week 3 was cupcakes; week 4 final cake with flowers.

New 365 Project

2011-07-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna start a new 365 project on my Flickr account. I won't be able to do a shot every day like a "real" 365 project should be and I will be MIA from Oct. 12-25 for the wedding/honeymoon. I'll still be shooting just won't be able to edit and upload.

The project is meant to do a mini self-portrait shoot every day for a year and post on my account. I've done this project before, but It took me about 2 years to get 365 shots so this time around I want to try to get it done in one year from today.

Weight Watchers' Walk !t {Karyn, Page & Sandie}

2011-07-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

On May 23 Page, my mom (Sandie) and myself participated is the yearly 5K Weight Watchers Walk !t event.

Here are some shots from the day.

We also purchased these custom shirts to wear.

Trying to take some candid shots and Page made a funny face.

After we were done.

More to come: Food; more from Monterey

San Francisco Giants {WINNERS}

2011-07-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

I bought James tickets to see the Giants game two weeks ago and they WON.

Double play.

I think his stance is funny looking.

Made it to first safe from the bunt.

Playing with the lights after the game.

The mascot tossing peanuts to the fans.

The fans get on their feet during the ninth with Wilson pitching.

I thought the background was cute.

More to come: Walk !t; Food; more from Monterey.

Grandpa Ragsdale {In Memory}

2011-07-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

F0r most people July 4 is a happy celebration, but for my family it brings backs sad memories of when we lost my grandpa to Parkinson's seven years ago.

I did this same style when we lost my dad's father back in Feb. and wanted to get this done for my grandma and mom this year in honor of my grandpa.

More to come: Giants; Walk !t

Wedding tid-bits {Jonathan & Page}

2011-07-03T12:26:00.001-07:00

Testing out my new logo look with this post showing all the little things from the wedding.

The dress, handmade flowers, candy bar, cake, framed photos, guest book and the ladies who did most of the work.

More to come: SF Giants; Walk !t; food; more from the wedding weekend.

San Francisco

2011-07-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Last week James and I went to the Bay for a day of fun shopping on the piers and later went to a Giants game where they beat the Indians late in the game.

Here are some of my shots from the shopping areas we went to.

Above: I love love love sourdough bread, although we didn't go in (since I had some mint chocolate chip ice cream in my hands), but we still saw some yummy creations in the window.

Above: Had to stop in a candy shop to get my dad some salt water taffy. The shop had these cute suckers at checkout.

Below: One of the workers at the sourdough place making a bear.

I saw something like this in Las Vegas once. It's pretty cool to watch. They just use spray cans to make wonderful works of art.

Almost got one of these for Meeko since it's been getting hot and we go for our walks nearly every day. The salesman was telling us how it's not to hot for the pups due to the material used. It was $42 so I passed for now. Although if they would have has No. 28, I just might have gotten it.

I took a shot from each shopping location we went to: Pier 39.

Before the game we stopped to have a bite to eat at Hooters. We both had never been and some of those girls were very tiny in the waist. Here's James' food while he covered it in hot sauce.

Look our server loved us, but DANG the sodas are $3.49.

Another location shot: Ghirardelli Square. This is where James found the pet shop and a cute little cupcake shop too.

This location was more a pass-by type. There wasn't much in there. The Cannery.

More to come: The Giants game; WW Walk !t.

Monterey Wedding {Jonathan & Page}

2011-06-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Since I have the two blogs every now and then they will have some of the same photos. My professional blog with shots individual posts from the Rehearsal, Ceremony and Reception (coming soon).

This post will have some photos from all three.

More to come: Tid-bits from the Monterey weddings; "Photo-ops" from Tahoe; SF Giants game; and much more

Sunday fun in Tahoe

2011-06-19T14:07:00.001-07:00

Our final day in Tahoe for Page's Bachorlette party.

We started our day at a little breakfast place (Red Hut Waffle Cafe), then went shopping (shown in another blog), ate at MacDuffs Pub (awesome pizza) and then went on a little drive through some nice homes to check out a huge waterfall.

Above: Jumping at the top of the waterfall.

Below: The (now) bride with the mug at the Hut.

This falls was on the way home right off the highway and it's called Bridalveil Falls.

After the massive waterfall (shown below in this blog) there was a little chapel and this wreath was on the door.

Also at the chapel Page and Amanda did a little role playing.

The yummy pizza from MacDuffs. It was the Kuna. It's like Hawaiian pizza, but with sausage in place of ham.

Posed at the beach where we would have had our picnic lunch on Saturday if it hadn't rained.

Blue skies at last. Look at all that snow still on the mountain tops and in June.

Fun at the waterfall stop.

During the drive to the massive waterfall.

Here is that massive waterfall with a little Page in the bottom right corner.

The entire waterfall.

Also at the chapel was a little pet graveyard. Shown on a stump was a mini plaque for each one.

More to come: One more bachorlette post and then wedding weekend from Monterey.

Dinner at an Irish Pub

2011-06-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

We had a nice night if you don't count the horrible service at Murphy's Irish Pub. From online and talking to the owner I thought it would be a GREAT location to cap off the night from the Bachorlette weekend in Tahoe, but boy was I wrong. (If you go there just make sure you don't sit in Jamie's section.

Food was still good and we got free cake. Here are some shots of us and the food.

Just the Bride with her Maids (minus one).

The whole group inside taken my Jamie (the one good thing he did that night).

The salad.

Bake potato lasagna.

Fish and chips.

Pesto Pasta.

The free cake.

More to come: Tahoe sights and shopping; Monterey wedding weekend

Games, food and the room {Bachorlette}

2011-06-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

We had some fun getting the room ready, preparing the snacks for the night, and the games from Page's Bachorlette party in Tahoe.

Fake Starbucks trip.....

Surprised by the room decorations.

The room decked out for Page by Amanda, Charity and Sandie.

Just some of the decoration.

One of the games with the winners answers. Winner: Page.

Page's party gift with the pink light-up bunny ears.

All the bridal gifts.

The soon-to-be-bride opening her party favor bag.

Just some of the food dipped in chocolate.

The food with wine and cider.

Yummy: Chocolate and strawberries.

Chocolate covered oreos with pink sprinkles.

And pretzels.

Chocolate and regular marshmallows.

Even the bathroom was decked out by the girls.

More to come from Tahoe and a wedding weekend in Monterey.

Emerald Bay Vikingsholm

2011-06-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

In the first weekend of June some of the girls took Page to Tahoe for hr Bachelorette party. On Saturday morning we went to Emerald Bay and toured the Viking House and went on 1.5 mile hike to view the house, grounds, and waterfall.

Below: This is a chest which is made for a bride and groom as a wedding gift. It has the couple's initials and wedding date engraved on the front.

This is a three-legged chair.

Page at the front door.

A suitcase with shown what the lady of the house was traveled with.

These locks were made and brought in from other countries such as Norway and Sweden to give her home a Scandinavian look.

Walking down the path with the entire group.

Another Scandinavian look with the mailbox. I LOVE the heart on top.

Some of the stained windows.

Page on the phone at the top of the vista point at Emerald Bay.

The view of the Bay from the dinning table of the home.

One of the many bedrooms in the home.

The Swedish looking clock is visible the second you walk into the house.

More to come: More from the Bach weekend; Monterey wedding

Linden Cherry Festival {2011}

2011-05-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

I went to the Linden Cherry Festival for the first time last weekend since two my of friends were manning a booth with their Scentsy products and HandmadE goodies.

Here are some of my shots from the day.

Above: The Cherry Festival Queen (far left in red) and her court of Princesses.

Bottom: Just the Queen. These girls were students from Linden High School.

In the back fields many cars were lined up for the cars show. I figured James would like this truck.

I thought this one was neat because it had some of Disney Seven Dwarfs on the hood, engine and in the drivers seat.

These are just some of the bows that Heather and Erika make for HandmadE (also Heather has a Handcrafted by Heather line).

I loved this purse, but not as much as the price-tag wanted it for so I just took a photo to remember it by.

I can't believe I left there without taking any shots of the cherries. I was a bit distracted when I left since I was walking out with a friend and we were talking about possible plans for the night.

More to come: Spring Fling Sale event and bachlorette fun in Tahoe.

Easter fun with Jewels

2011-04-24T15:12:00.001-07:00

The shots were of my little niece Jewels hunting for eggs on the first Easter in their new home. I have some shots of Jewels excited to find two to three eggs at a time, shocked at the size of some eggs, some of the dyed eggs and a little something from her basket.

I absolutely LOVE this shot of her with one of the "real" eggs.

Jewel's 4th Birthday

2011-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

My little niece Jewels just had her fourth birthday and we went to Check-E-Cheese with her classmates.

Here's the big man himself excited for Jewels' party.

Mommy made a Hello Kitty cake for the birthday girl.

Happy Birthday to you!!

She had so much fun on the large slide with her cousin.

Getting a birthday star medal.

Mommy, daddy, Uncle James, Auntie Karyn (me) and grandma totaled nearly 800 tickets for Jewels. Here she is picking out her prizes.

She got some yummy Mickey and Minnie cookies.

Uncle James put the bag over Jewels body and she climbed on a chair to put the same bag over his head.

The next night we went to Jewels' great grandma's house for another birthday night.

Right before the lights went completely out.

Jewels asked for a pink cowgirl hat and she got one -- and posed for the camera.

With grandma.

With Nana

More to come: Page and Jonathan's new house {Painting Party}

Disney on Ice {Fun Stuff}

2011-02-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

I got some tickets to Disney on Ice (Thanks Jen) and took my mom, Jewels, Jonathan and Page.

I'll have this blog of "fun stuff" and a "best of" from the night on my other blog (karynlynne.blogspot.com).

Jewels was so happy to be there.

Jonathan and Page told her she could pick one thing from the stands. She picked this Minnie spinning glow stick.

Just having some fun with the lights.

Happy little family. Mom has the shot of all five of us on her camera.

Another shot with the lights.

Jewels posing before the show with the ice rink in the back.

Lorton Gilbert {5-23-1919 to 2-20-2011}

2011-02-21T22:51:00.001-08:00

My grandpa, Aunt and Uncle came down from Seattle a couple years back and here are some of the shots of them (mainly my grandpa) during that trip.

My grandpa passed yesterday and I went in and found the shots from the trip to make this heart-shaped image.

Also in the photos is my mom, dad my brother (Jonathan) and Jewels.

More to come: Disney on Ice

Family fun in the Snow

2011-02-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

So here's the final set of photos from our time at the cabin.

Uncle James and Jewels having a snowball fight.

Wow that's a big snowball.

Get ready for this one Uncle James.

Hi Auntie Karyn.

Just liked the lighting on the wood.

A bird feeder hanging from one of the many trees.

Here comes a snowball my way.

Some snow coming down the stairs.

Meeko's first time in the snow

2011-02-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Meeko had his first snow when James and I went up to Page's cabin last month.

Holly came to join Meeko in the fun with the snow.

More to come: Fun at the cabin.

Wood Art {Snowy Cabin}

2011-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

James and I went to Page's family cabin on Thursday to play in the snow, take photographs and just to get out of town.

One of page's family members carves wood and had all these tree trunks with carvings of faces.

The photo above was my absolute favorite from the bunch. It's a raccoon and reminds me of Meeko from Pocahontas, which in turn reminds me of my puppy dog Meeko since that's the character I named him after.

This carving is the first one sees upon arriving at the cabin with their name on a sign (There's a photo below).

Below is one of the face carvings which again has a raccoon on the top, but also has a little added detail with the nose hairs.

This was one of the longest carvings, but is not carved straight into a living tree. This one, along with another are posts near the fire wood pile.

Here's a gnome-like carving also near the wood pile.

Here's the welcome sign with the raccoon and their name.

Here's eyes and mouth carvings added to a tree to make a face (view from the cabin).

Another bridhouse-like face from a different angle.

The eyes and mouth carvings view from the ground.

Another face on a pole.

More to come: Meeko's first time in the snow & Fun with Jewels

Lunar Eclipse {2010} FUN SHOTS

2011-01-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

I also had some fun with with the moon during the Lunar Eclipse.

Lunar Eclipse {2010}

2011-01-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

Last month (Dec. 21, 2010) was the Lunar Eclipse. After I got home from work I took out my camera and got down on the ground to get some stability.

I compiled the four shots as one and placed the four separate below.

What's to come: Fun Lunar Eclipse photos. (I played around with the zoom and moving the camera around.

Holiday Hay Ride at Jackson Rancheria

2010-12-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

Jackson Rancheria has been doing holiday hay rides, which contains more than two million lights. The event also have a visit from Santa for the kiddies and cookies with coffee and coco for the ride.

Here's some of the shots from the light. I wish the tractors weren't so shaky -- So I just started playing around with some shots, since it wasn't steady enough to get a crisp shot of the holiday lights.

This was when we were stopped at Santa's house and the end of the trail of lights and I used my "Light Speed" trick.

So this is the start of it.....

And this is a little faster "speed."

Again just playing.

Jewels was so excited while standing in line.

This is about the best shot while moving on the tractor.

Jewels telling Santa she was a yellow car and pink camera.

Page and I while in line.

Mom and Jewels.

Mom and I while in line.

Playing with the Christmas tree that Jewels posed by.

Christmas baking with the family

2010-12-22T17:16:00.001-08:00

The other day I did some Christmas baking with mom, Jewels and a little bit with Jonathan.

Here are some of the shots from the day.

These are rosettes. My mom and brother (Jonathan) used to makes hundreds of these cookies years ago and weren't even on the list to make this morning, but I wanted to make some to show my friend Erika.

Little mini break with Jewels and took this shot while the light was streaming in through the window.

Some of my chocolate candies (from the molds Jonathan and Page bought me last year) and the sugar cookies in the backdrop.

Jewels rolling the dough for the snickerdoodles, which are my older brother's (Andy) favorite cookies.

Jonathan came in to help me make the candies.

The finished rosettes with the candies in the backdrop.

Jewels stole my bag of melted chocolate.

These mint kisses were added to the peanut butter cookies in the back.

I had leftover caramel from the caramel candies so we made one caramel apples them made caramel apples pieces.

Finding the tree {2010}

2010-12-21T00:06:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving we always go up and pick out a tree for my mom. Here are some of my shots for the day.

Last year there wasn't snow and this year we had snow, cold and rain.

Our little snowman. (sorry it's side ways and it's late so I may fix it later).

Daddy walking me around.

"It's so cold."

And the tree which was picked out.

What's to come:

Jackson Christmas lights

Christmas baking

D I S N E Y L A N D (WooHoo)

Sacramento Fish Hatchery

2010-12-20T01:38:00.000-08:00

My mom took Jewels, Page and I to the Sacramento Fish Hatchery to see the trout swim up for spawning.

Some eggs which were taken from of the trout. We missed the "birthing," but these were awaiting our arrival.

Can you see the trouts opening their mouths to get the little pellets of food.

Jewels having fun while walking to the fish.

This was a big guy going for some food.

Here's mom and Page playing with Jewels.

Going crazy for some food.

And Page playing around.

They are really jumping.

This vehicle in the back was shooting out hella food making the fish jump as it went by.

Here are some of the rainbow trout.

Some more of these purple flowers.

These big guys are making their way up to "give birth."

Phillips Farms {Flowers}

2010-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

While visiting Phillips Farms with Jewels and mom I took shots of some of the flowers on the property.

More to come: Mom Jewels and I took a trip to the Fish Hatchery in Sacramento.

Phillips Farms {Animals}

2010-11-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

When I went to Phillips Farms Pumpkin Patch I also took photos of the animals around the farm. Here are some of my shots.

This fuzzy little caterpillar was making it's way into the field of flowers.

Tons of little baby chicks bundled together to keep warm.

And here's the mommy looking over her babies.

Gobble-Gobble.

And another turkey.

This male duck was pretty mad at me since I got a little close to a female and her two babies.

Good thing there was a fence in between us.

Here the little babies I was talking about. You can really only see one walking into the darkness.

All the females with some babies. I got a little too close and they are starting getting up to leave, but I walked away so they could lay back down.

Downtown Lodi Halloween with Jewels

2010-10-31T11:54:00.001-07:00

Page took Jewels to the Downtown Lodi Halloween event yesterday for some pre-Halloween trick or treating and invited me to join them.

Here's some shots of our little Super Girl.

She's coming to the rescue.

Look at how fast she's going with the cape flying in the back round.

Getting some candy.

Jewels with mommy.

Jewels with the A&W bear.

She was all about the candy.

Posing with a blow-up Tigger.

And getting even more candy.

Jewels with the PALS doggie.

Standing in line for some candy.

We saw so many different costumes. Some of the top outfits were Buzz Lightyear, Pirates, Princesses and a few Super Girls. But along with the popular ones were a few different ones.

Cute little baby Tigger and look at the scarf on mommy and the little orange and black basket for candy.

This girl was dressed as a sandwich. Now I missed the best part with the cute little hat with a toothpick. I was trying to get angled shots without showing off the kids faces too much.

And this boy was dressed up as moss I'm guessing. He was trying to fix the top half here. I guess it was hard to see while walking.

And many pets were out and about. I was going to take Meeko with us, but I had to stop at the store before, plus he would have barked at all the kids and other dogs.

More coming with from Phillips Farms: animals and flowers.

Phillips Farms Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-31T00:50:00.001-07:00

My mom and I took Jewels to the pumpkin patch not too long ago and here are some of the shots from the day.

Holding the baby duckies.

Look at the determination on her face while working with the tractor.

Some of the characters within the corn maze.

Jewels with Little Red Riding Hood.

Jewels ran away from the little white house after opening the door to the big bad wolf.

Later grandma helped Jewels take on the big bad wolf.

With a different baby duckie.

The Sunflower Girl.

On top of the haystack.

Another odd character.

Some dried corn.

Posing with Brittney.

Coming out of the tunnel with Auntie Karyn.

These peppers were hanging from a tree. There were many different colors I just didn't understand why they were hung.

More to come: Downtown Lodi Halloween event, Animals of Phillips Farms and Flowers of Phillips Farms.

Sacramento Bridal Show

2010-10-26T23:29:00.001-07:00

Shots from the Sacramento bridal show I went to with my mom last week.

These favors are from My Bridal Stuff (mybridalstuff.com)

These two favors sets of favors are from Capital Confections.

Still to come: Jewels at the pumpkin patch and the Lodi bridal show.

Jewels school carnival

2010-10-25T13:24:00.001-07:00

Saturday was Jewels Pre-school carnival.

I gave away a package for a photo shoot during the Silent auction and it went for $75 (the profits went to the pre-school).

Here are some of the shots from the day.

Waiting to start the cake walk with daddy.

Mommy painting a purple spider.

The necklace she made.

Her favorite thing from the day. She kept going back and back and back again to fish out some ducks.

She made the 2-point basket.

Jewels and I during the cake walk. It took her about three time to win a cake.

Comming soon: Jewels in the pumpkin patch.

Halloween contest for Meeko

2010-10-14T12:26:00.001-07:00

It's contest time again. I entered Meeko in a contest for NaturVet on facebook.

They are giving away a prize for the pet (dog or cat) with the most votes on their facebook page. Meeko is now entered and can use some help. You have to have a facebook and need to "like" their page. Then "like" his Pirate photo.

Lodi Grape Festival {2010}

2010-09-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Went to the Lodi Grape Festival this past weekend and here's what I shot.

{Warning = SERENA -- There are two photos of snakes in this blog}

We felt bad for this little guy. He had gotten a hair-cut, but it looked more like a hack-job than a hair-cut. But he was still a little cutie.

The theme for the grape murals was "Around the World."

In the reptile building.

The same little guy in the petting zoo.

My two photos of Jewels which were hung at the festival. (I kept her photos in color while I made the rest of the shot in black and white.)

Part of the mural, which are done with seeds, rice, beans and much more.

This year the festival had a shark exhibit. Jewels was able to squeeze into the shark cake posed with the large shark on the wall.

Another grape shot. I like taking these angles with the grapes.

A large frog in the reptile building.

My best shot (my family thinks) which was hung at the festival.

Another snake shot, but I liked being able to see the reflection in the water.

All the little lambs in the petting zoo.

I loved all the color and the DOF in this shot.

One of the five sharks in the sharks area.

Carr Lake trail head hike

2010-09-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Went on a hike with with mom, brothers (Andy and Jonathan) and Jewels. We started at the Carr Lake trail head, but went by many different lakes and ended at Downey Lake.

This is Milk Lake.

This was near the start of the path and I loved the bright green everywhere. Andy said the line of the moss shows where the snow line is.

Tons of lillie pads on Delaney Lake and the beautiful reflection.

The little cutie-pie posing for the camera at Downey Lake.

The family shot at Downey Lake.

The little one being a goof-ball.

We stopped for lunch and the boys plays with the Frisbee which doubles as a plate from Pizza-my-Heart.

Another shot from lunch with Jewels and I.

Water droplets.

At the top of a mountain looking down on Downey Lake.

Hayley taking a break waiting for mom to come down the mountain at Downey Lake.

A little frog at Downey Lake.

For a while we kept hearing these clanking sounds and when we got closer we found out it was about 6-7 cows and their cowbells in this little meadow.

JVL Jewelry -- Tungsten

2010-09-09T11:31:00.001-07:00

I received a card to pick out free Tungsten rings at the bridal show "An Evening of Elegance at the Vizcaya Pavilion" this past July. We picked out our pair and only paid shipping (the rings were nearly $500 and we only paid $50).

I took some shots in the studio in a box I have and here is what I got.

The the engagement ring.

The lighting is a bit harsh but I snapped a shot of James' ring on his finger.

Wine tasting in the foothills

2010-09-08T17:21:00.001-07:00

Went wine tasting (I was the DD) with some of my family last month and finally sat down to edit and upload the photos from the day.

Some of the wineries we went to were:

* Bella Piazza Winery
* Bray Vineyards
* Clos du Lac Cellars
* Dobra Zemlja
* Villa Toscana Winery
* Vino Neceto
* Young's Vineyard

Awards won by Bray Vineyards.

Awards from the 2008 Lodi Grape Festival won by Vino Neceto.

This set-up was from Villa Toscana Winery.

Barrels at Dobra Zemlja.

The custom bottle labels from Young's Vineyard.

Custom sign from Dobra Zemlja.

Also notice the bunch of grapes made from wine corks.

Awards with the bottles at Young's Vineyard.

Outside the window of Clos du Lac Cellars.

A live dragonfly in the window of Clos du Lac Cellars.

Folsom Bridal Show 2

2010-09-07T11:07:00.001-07:00

Mom, Page, and Pat (Page's mom) went to another bridal show in Folsom. We had to leave a little early since I had to work, but it was much smaller than the last one so we were able to get done fast.

I loved the room where the fashion show was in was pretty and the lighting was nice.

I've seen these pearls a few times and even though I don't like pearls these are pretty and they come in a set so I can shear.

This dress was so pretty, but I don't like the fabric so it's a no, but so pretty.

This sting set has been at almost every show we've been to and we always have them play Cannon D.

Arden Hills Bridal Open House

2010-09-06T00:41:00.001-07:00

My mom and I went to to a hotel and spa (Arden Hills) up in Sacramento for an open house for brides.

The main ballroom only had a few vendors, a small fashion show and offered a brunch.

Here are just a few shots from the morning.

Cakes by Village Cake Shoppe.

Some of the food.

California State Fiar 2010 {Motocross}

2010-08-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

The final set of photos I have from the California State Fair is the motocross event James and I went to watch. Three guys showed off their many tricks and here are some of the best shots.

Look ma no hands.

One-hand steering.

Again no hands.

Everyone needs a little captain in them.

This guy in the blue is James' fave. I guess he was also the most well known.

Just relaxing.

California State Fiar 2010 {Petting Zoo}

2010-08-10T00:14:00.001-07:00

The final animal blog from the California State Fair. This time it's from the petting zoo -- A good use of $3 in my book. I love the animals.

The few pigs inside were pretty tired.

Three deer also roomed around in the petting zoo. They were too cute. One kept trying to eat people's shoe laces and clothes -- Needles to say it didn't work.

More little goats and the llama in the back.

A mother and baby together resting.

A sleeping goat.

Another hen.

The back of a deer I liked the pattern.

California State Fiar 2010 {Babies, goats, cows, and bugs}

2010-08-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some more shots of the animals at the California State Fair. In this set of photos you'll see the goats, cows, one shot from the insect area, and the babies in the nursery.

Baby lamb, but I couldn't get a great shot, but I still really liked this shot.

And the baby pigs. Too cute.

More goats. They were so playful and wanted to get close.

A profile.

The butterflies.

A pregnant cow.

A blueish snake James loved.

California State Fiar 2010 {Fur and birds}

2010-08-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

One of the exhibits was called Fur and Birds and had bunnies, birds, chicks, and many other little furry pets.

My favorite bunny shot of the day.

The little baby chicks who were only a couple days off at this point.

Another cute bunny. Some of the colors were just beautiful.

And some were huge.

More little chicks, but these were older.

And Dalmatian bunnies (not really called that, but I liked it).

These were called lion heads.

Still to come

*Animals

- Petting Zoo

- Rest of the fair (Reptiles, Insects, Goats and Cows).

* Motocross

California State Fiar 2010 {Exhibits}

2010-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Eight buildings contained all the exhibit entries. I didn't take photos in each one (and most shots are in the animation room.

Building 1 = Photos and digital art
Building 2 = Food
Building 3 = Metal shop stuff and more photos
Building 4 = Cycling
Building 5 = Animation
Building 6 = Fur and birds (these photos will be in the animal blogs)
Building 7 = Sculpture and museum type stuff -- some from the Crocker Art Museum
Building 8 = Crafty (scrapbooking, quilts, clothes)

Here are my shots from the day.

Sketches
Above: My favorite princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
Below: Another Disney favorite -- Meeko from Pocahontas and the same character I named my puppy after.

Some of the stuff which makes animation so colorful.

Some sketches from Disney's newest animation "Tangled" about Princess Rapunzel.

The many characters of the Toy Story series.

Stills from "Steam Boat Willie."

It's YellowBob (that's what my niece calls him).

These next three were in the museum building.

This quilt made me think of a scene in Twilight's third movie Eclipse. Bella's mom made her a quilt out of the trip t-shirts and I saw this and thought of that small scene.

And people can enter scrapbooking pages and win ribbons.....Here's a Disney page.

California State Fiar 2010 {Dinosaurs}

2010-07-31T10:17:00.001-07:00

One of the things James and I did at the State Fair was the Dinosaur experience.

It was a little ehhh, but I took some shots of the Dinosaurs with the neat lighting. They even made sounds and moved when we walked by helped by senors letting the models known when someone was in front of them.

Above is a little valasorapter (Hope I spelled that good enough), but I didn't know the "hands" were like wings. Like I told James I was basing it off the movies "Jurassic park."

This one was still alive and moving...

What to come.....

* Exhibits

* Motocross

* Animals

California State Fiar 2010

2010-07-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

James and I went to the State Fair the other day and here are just some of the general shots from the day.

I plan on doing different blogs for some of the things we did while we were at the fair. Think the different blogs for the Twilight convention back in Feb. and March.

This is a real steal beam from the North tower of the twin towers from the September 11 disaster.

According to the Cal Expo website 125,000 pounds of the wreckage was donated from the City of New York. During the 2002 State Fair more than one million people were able to see the beam.

These are a replica of the Carillon Bell Tower.

Many different bush cut-outs were around that fair. James got a shot of the bear with the purple heart, which is the logo for the State Fair.

Just one of the rooms, which was covered in these blue banners.

WHAT'S TO COME:

More blogs from the State Fair

* Animals

* Dinosours

* Exhibits

* Motorcross

Fairytale Town with Jewels

2010-07-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

After the Sacramento Zoo I took Jewels to Fairytale Town which is just across the street from the zoo. It has most of the well-known from the story books we love as a kid.

Here are the shots from the day:

Wizard of Oz
I was able to multiply her four times to fit in each hole.

I don't know about this face, but this was the little house at the end of the crooked mile, which she loved and had fun with other little girls in the little house. She also made me pancakes in the little house.

Behind Jewels is the J from the alphabet garden, where the children can learn vegetables with the letters.

Playing on a turtle outside of the alphabet garden.

I don't remember the name of the farmer, but there was farmers barn and animals. Here is the bull from the farm.

Sitting in Little John's seat in Sherwood Forest.

Riding a horse attached to Cinderella's coach.

Sliding down Alice's rabbit hole. She kept running back up the hill to go down the hole about four times.

She loved all the slides -- did each one about four to five times each.

Atop of Cinderella's coach.

And inside Cinderella's coach.

Here's one of the slides she loved going on. We went to it first and again later on in the day. It's the old women who lived in a shoe.

King Arthur's round table.

Walking the crooked mile. I went with her once, but she did the second time with some kids since I had the stroller -- it was a little hard to do it with the stroller.

Some flowers within the park.

Sacramento Zoo

2010-07-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

I took my niece to the Sacramento Zoo today (since I've never been) and we had a blast.

I have some pictures of her and some of the animals we saw during the day.

The lemurs -- These guys were mainly sleeping, but this little guy was playing around on the ground and when I started taking some shots he looked right at me when he heard the shutter.

Didn't think I was gonna get anything good from the giraffe, but then this guy came over to us and picked some greens from the ground and ate right in front of us.

Here is a mama Sumatran tiger with her newborn baby Jingga, who was born on March 18. The guests of the zoo picked the cubs name with more than half of the 43,000 votes.

Right outside the Red Panda exhibit (which was empty) stood a huge koi pond with koi fish.

Here are the three newcomers to the zoo, which is the first in its 83 years. The red river hog piglets. Two females and one male were born on July 16. The three were playful while Jewels and I watched on.

Again the giraffe looking right at us with its tongue out.

Jewels playing in a construction truck.

One of the frogs in the reptile habitat. It's called a Colorado river toad.

The three siblings again.

Jewels has been wanting to see a hippo since we went to the San Francisco Zoo last month and there wasn't any in the Sacramento Zoo either. She got to make a hippo masks though with the "red panda."

The koi again.

The zebra "taking a shower."

The snow leopard is sure enjoying that box. Must be tasty.

The hyena "stocking it's pray." It had just come out from the back and went up these blocks and preceded to fall asleep.

Evening of Elegance at the Vizcaya Pavilion

2010-07-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

Two bridal shows in one week.

This was had a great incentives. The first 150 brides to register and attend received free Tungsten wedding bands, hand-rolled cigar, chocolate, and much more.

Here are some shots from the day.

This cake was made by Sweet Sensations Custom Cakes.

This would be a neat idea for a grooms cake. River City Cake Co. put a plastic bottle inside so booze can be used if the groom wanted.

Page saw this set-up and liked the fact her colors were used (chocolate and sage) and was thinking about setting up a candy bar for her weddings. The set-up was designed by Capital Confections.

This entire table could have been made for my wedding with the purple coloring. The table was designed by A Dazzling Day...by Darcie.

One of the photographers at the show who does weddings and boudoir had this tree which I've heard up again called a "Wish Tree." It's decorated with mini photos of the wedding pair and on the back side.....

The Secret to marriage is.....

For the quests to answer in hope to help the bride and broom in the years ahead of them.

Enchanted Bridal Shoppe had models changing into the gowns they offer and look at this one with the cape.

One of the first flowers tables we came to had these crystals in the middle of the roses.

Delta King Open House

2010-07-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

I got free tickets for the Delta King's Open House in Old Sac last Sunday and took Serena, Erika and Page got tickets too.

Here are some of the shots I took from the day.

This is a set of flowers Page really liked.

This one room had suggestions for menu ideas and I hadn't even thought if doing these, but now it sounds fun and the girls love doing crafty things.

I already went out and bought some stuff for the menus. Yey for upcoming girls fun.

Although I don't plan on using different looking plates like these shots just what the Grand Island Mansion has to offer.

This was one cute cake -- although instead of cats I'd want little dogs on the cake. The paw prints are just me.

Here are the purple calla lilies I like.

Serena modeling the flower slap wrist thing-ma-bobs which were around when I was a child.

This is my camera made up as a cake.

This was the dress Page liked. She liked the way it was flows.

Oakland & San Francisco Flowers Marts

2010-07-03T17:57:00.001-07:00

Before the trip the zoo my mom, Page and Jewels when to two different flower marts in the search for flowers for our weddings.

Page is getting married to my younger brother in June of 2011.

Our first stop to The Flower Superstore in Oakland.

My mother liked this place due to it's big selection, being able to order and I think it's smaller and less known so there were still many flowers to chose from.

These orchids were so pretty and it would be the thing that will drape down a little in my bouquet.

I love calla lilies and these would be perfect for my bouquet and for James. The only problem is is the outside layer is too yellow I wouldn't like it -- Only if it was more on the whiter side.

I also really like these huge lilies, but for my bouquet they would be solid white. With the sketch up my mom and I have down there will be three of these in my bouquet.

These are like roses, but look a little more delicate, but hold up really well. This would be the filler in the bouquet.

These are the HI flowers which lays are made out of -- I just also liked them and the color, but I don't know if they will go in anything.

These are little swirly sticks which were in sliver and purple and had glitter on this which can be put in my bouquet to give a little glitz to the flowers.

On our way to the San Francisco flower mart Jewels feel asleep.

Jewels still sleeping but we made it to the SF flower mart and found the parking.

LOVE these deep dark purple calla lilies which will be worn by the rest of the boys in the wedding party, dads and my brothers, along with a few in my bouquet.

Mom was talking about getting two of these swirl trees to put on each side of the gazebo to add lights, tulle or flowers to.

Not going in anything for the wedding I just loved the colors of these sunflowers.

Jewels woke up to play with some of the flowers.

These were another deep dark purple option for something.

We found these antlers in this fake flower section and made Jewels a deer.

These were awesome. They were wreaths made of wood, but the wrapping of wood kind of looked like flowers.

Just one area of the SF flower mart. Those white and purple tulips are a thought for the centerpieces.

And one place had BLUE roses -- not died, but blue. Not used for the wedding for anything -- just something I saw that was different.

And lastly at the end of our day after going in the zoo.

San Francisco Zoo {Flowers}

2010-07-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

Surrounding the zoo are many flowers within and outside the animals exhibits.

According to the San Francisco Zoo website the zoo's gardens are combined from five different categories which at time overlap throughout the zoo.

* Public "park-like" landscape
*Animal exhibits
* Browse plants for animal diets
* Windbreak forest
* Native plant garden, restoration and conservation areas

I think the bulk of my photos would go under the public "park-like" landscape. I remember some areas where I saw the flowers but not all so under the photo will be a little description if I could recall the location of the flower.

These were in the African Savanna area on the pathway.

These were seen after leaving the Children's Zoo.

This pink and purple one was seen near the polar bear section (although we didn't see any polar bears that day).

The pink hydrangea was seen on our way to the penguins near a park bench.

This pink flower were growing up the fences near the storks.

A larger shot of the white flower from the top leaving the children's zoo.

San Francisco Zoo {Animals}

2010-07-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

After checking out the Oakland and San Francisco flower marts on Monday my mom, Page (soon-to-be) sister in law and her daughter Jewels went to the San Francisco Zoo. I took shots of the animals and the flowers.

Here are some of my shots of the animals from the day.

This little guy was way too cute. He was licking the window. I can't find him on the SF Zoo site.

While in the African Savanna many animals joined in a three-acre exhibit. Viewed here is the head of a giraffe who shears his home with kudu, crane, ostrich, spur-winged goose, oryx, Marabou stork and zebras.

Chilean Flamingo

Eurasian Eagle Owl is one of the worlds largest owls with a wingspan of 6
feet and weighs about 9.25 pounds.

This female was intercepted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service after being smuggled into America.

A Barn Owl was resting on a zookeepers arm and we got to watch it eat some meat.

African Crowned Eagle.

Only about 10 of these live outside Africa.

This koala, along with a second one were given to San Francisco from Sydney, Australia. This one is named Zakery.

We came back to the Koala Crossing exhibit for a second time to let Jewels (who was sleeping through most of the zoo) see them. When we came by the first time he was sleeping, but I was able to catch a glimpse of his open eye the second time we came around.

This baby is named Hasani (born on Dec. 8 2008 [Mother=Monifa]) is lived in the Jones Family Gorilla Preserve.

It was too cute. Little Hasani was looking up at a squirrel climbing up the tree and then fallowed it up into the trees.

The Preserve is home to four females (Nneka, Bawang [daughter and mother, respectively], Zura and Monifa) and the sliverback male (Oscar Jonesy).

This was too cute with the gorilla sitting in the bucket.

The Australian WalkAbout is home to red and grey kangaroos, and wallaroos. Above are two red kangaroos eating grass, but I thought it almost looked like the pair were kissing.

Baby Kangaroos are called "Joey" and I didn't see any in the pouches, but after going through my photos I did find one big belly, which could have been a Joey inside it's mommy's pouch.

Within the Fisher Family Children's Zoo (just an area of the zoo) were these little prairie dogs.

Another in the Monkey area, but I can't find a name for who was pretty active.

It's Rafiki from the Lion King. Not really, but it's the same kind of animal -- a mandrill.

Lipman Family Lemur Forest is the home to many different lemurs (three pictured here under a heat lamp). My favorites are the black and sliver ones which are called ring-tailed lemurs.

This is one of the largest homes for lemurs in the US. It also is the home to black lemurs, black and white ruffed lemurs, red ruffed lemurs, and the ring-tailed lemurs.

They look like they are bored. There wasn't too much action going on when we went by just a lot of sitting, laying and licking.

The barn owl again.

The two grizzly bears in the zoo live in the Hearst Grizzly Gulch. Both are females (Kachina and Kiona) and have 1 acre land which contains heated rocks, herb garden, mountain stream waterfall, sunny meadow and a 20,000-gallon pool.

Yet another one in the monkey family where I don't have a name for.

And again eating.

This male peacock was on the wall near the rhino exhibit, but not with his feathers out, which would have made such a better shot.

These peacocks were all over the zoo in many different exhibits and just walking around the paths.

And his tale/feathers after I got a little too close which forced him to jump into the exhibit.

The flamingo again bathing.

A blue herein in the children's zoo. Mom loves these and her camera had died by the time we got here so I took the shot.

The cute little baby turtles.

The first of two hummingbirds we saw while walking through the zoo.

There were two of these birds and there beaks looked odd -- Mom was thinking something might have been wrong with them.

Micke Grove Rose Garden

2010-06-20T16:34:00.001-07:00

After visiting the zoo I drove by the Rose Garden and stopped to take some shots of the flowers.

I am also using the new logo Serena made for me the other day.

The Rose Garden is a memorial dedicated to William G. Micke, "A man who liked people" on May 4, 1969.

Here are my shots from the garden.

Micke Grove Zoo

2010-06-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

After doing a child shoot in Micke Grove I went into the zoo to play with the animals. Some where way too cute.

I took many close-ups of the faces, feet, hands (paws) and some of the flowers within the zoo.

I spent the most of my time with the top two I posted here.

Here are the Ring-Tailed Lemur. I loved the coloring on these animals. And the eyes -- they were so focused.

The other family I spent the most time with were the Golden Lion Tamarin. This cute little baby was born on May 6 -- Also the day one of my best friends Erika gave birth to her little Elle.

This little baby stayed on the back of the father the bulk of the time, but during feeding it roamed along. The zookeeper said the baby would stay on the backs of the father and the brother, but never the mother after the first week.

Here is the little family shot. The baby can be seen right under the tree branch on the back of the left Golden Lion Tamarin.

Here's a better shot of the baby, but I didn't like the way the twig got in the way of the father's face.

Back to the Ring-Tailed Lemur. I loved the way her was hanging on the fence.

The little foot on the fence.

The final of my favorite shots of the Ring-Tailed Lemur.

Here is a Green Iguana. He was just sitting on a tree in his area.

Another one of my favorite shots. It's the arm of the Black-Handed Spider Monkeys.

From May to September the zoo has a new area for the Lorikeets. These little birds were so colorful and each one had it's own different look.

I loved how this one's feathers were ruffled while it was cleaning it's fur.

One of the many flowers around the zoo.

Another bird with ruffled feathers. This bird is called a Scarlet Ibis.

These little guys were so cute. I loved how the "mommy and child" were swimming together and gave each other a little "kiss."

The vibrant colors of the flowers just popped out with all the green bushes and trees around.

These little guys were so cute. They are Prevost's Squirrels. I loved the tri-coloring.

This one is near a little basket where food was placed.

One of the other squirrels running around the trees.

Purple is one of my favorite colors, which I think is what drew me to this bird. It's a Purple Glossy Starling. It hails from Senegal and North Zaire, which is East to Sudan and West of Kenya.

The final flower photo I have.

This is the second time I taken shots of this Bald Eagle. I know this because his other eye is solid white.

And his feet.

This guy, a Cotton-Topped Tamarin, was pretty active the second time I came around. He was running around and eating some food. I got a shot with his tongue out, which I liked quite a bit.

This is the arm of the Hamadryas Baboon. He was reaching out to get some different green from which were inside his area.

His face. I always feel the baboons are sad looking, but it's almost like looking into a humans eyes.

This is just a wild squirrel, but I thought it was too cute the way he was laying down near the baboon cages wither resting or getting some sun.

The Waldrapp Ibis, a critically endangered bird rests on a rock.

This little guy is a Standing's Day Gecko who comes from Southwest Madagascar.

The Black and White Ruffled Lemur was hiding the first go-around I had done, but I went back to see if some were out and he was one of the three I missed, but snapped during my second round of the zoo.

The Swainson's Hawk looked right at me for one shot before she flew to a different area.

This little ones were pretty active, but I got a shot of this guy, a Black Tufted-Ear Marmoset, while he was looking back at me.

In the same cage as the Marmoset was two (a male and female) Yellow-Knobbed Curassow.

I had to go back to the Snow Leopard cage three time to caught a glimpse and the third time was the charm, but it was just sleeping.

In the same atrium as the Waldrapp Ibis were these pretty blue birds called European Rollers, which live from Europe to Central Asia and winters in Southern Africa.

Wedding centerpieces

2010-06-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

I took photos of all the different flowers which were added to the jars for the centerpiece for our wedding. You will view eight photos: one of the entire jar -- two a close-up of the four different flowers.

This is my favorite flower because it's so sliver and glittery.

My Wedding Dress Hanger

2010-05-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

After looking at the Sacramento Engaged Blog (http://www.engagedsacramento.com/blog) I found these awesome personal hangers and I knew I just had to have one. I ordered it thinking I wasn't going to get it till later this year since I said I didn't need it until October. I got it in the mail a week or so ago and I shot photos outside and in the Studio in a Box James got me.

Here is the website where you can get your own hanger for anything.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lilafrances?section_id=5626386
All hangers are hand-made and orders take a while. They say about 8-10 weeks depending on when the order is made and needed.

All these shots also have my ring. Above and below the ring is on the D.

Ring on the top of the hanger.

Ring on the S in Snyder.

Ring on the Y.

Engaged Bridal Event

2010-05-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

James and I, along with Heather and Joe went to the Engaged Wedding Library event: The Engagement party in Granite Bay last Sunday.

Here is the Engaged Sacramento Blog on the event
http://www.engagedsacramento.com/blog/2010/05/05/dancing-diving-and-diamonds-at-the-engagement-party
I can be seen in two of the photos from the cake dive. Heather and Joe can be seen in the Waltz photo. Part of James, Heather and Joe can be seen in one of the cake dive photo too.

My camera died so I had to take these shots are taken with my iPhone.

Here are the many cupcakes we crushed. There were 300 cupcakes and three cakes with 16 little stones worth prizes such as $2,000 in diamonds, photobooth, DJ and much more.

The three cakes were added in. These were the three cakes that three couples decorated with a chance to win a wedding dress worth $1,500

I thought I found something (on the left), but it was just a flower =( oh well. Heather also on the top in the pink.

Heather and I didn't find anything. It was still fun taring up all the cupcakes and Heather dug into the cake next to her.

The aftermath from the cake dive. It got all over the ground and on my shoes. It was a big brown mess.

One of the table set-ups from a designer at the event.

The three cakes from the decorating contest.

Studio in a Box: Wedding tidbits

2010-05-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

I was playing around with the "Studio in a Box" James got me for Christmas last year. I finally got it out to take better shots of the centerpiece for the weddings. I also took shot of this blue mug and "just married" luggage tags I got from the Engaged bridal even I went to last Sunday with James, Heather and Joe. Lastly I took some shots with my ring.

Here's what I plan to do for my centerpiece. I'm trying to figure out how to add some sort of flower to it. Maybe where the ribbon connects on the outside of the jar.

And a view from the top.

Here's the blue mug and tags.

Being playful with my ring.

A little close up on the ring.

Folsom Bridal show

2010-05-02T22:57:00.001-07:00

I went to another bridal show in Folsom with my mother and Page (Jonathan, my brother's wife-to-be).

I won two things on the spot and got two free offers via email.

1. A $275 value for a DVD montage (25 photos, two songs and one DVD). I win this on a spin game after I got 25 vendor stamps on my card I got when I entered the show.
2. A vase with some flowers. This one booth was giving away three of its bouquets to three brides-to-be at 3:45 p.m. I got there about 3:35 and she just handed it to me.

Email offers:
1. I can get a free boudoir session ($175) and "little black book" ($100) for free, but only if I books with her for my wedding. Since I have already booked with Christopher Kight I won't be booking with her.
2. A free engagement session and 8 by 10 print from another photographer. This offer I might take on even thought I have an engagement session included in my package with Kight.

Here are some of my shots from the day.

These were just some of the flowers this one vendor had on site. They sprayed the flowers with water making them look prettier with little water beads. I guess you can really only see the water beads on the top petal.

I love love love this setup. I like the dark purple and I really like the calla lillies and adding the rhinestones make it even better. I'm planning on having rhinestones on the flutes, knife, my shoes, added to my dress, hair and the cake, so it's only fitting to have them in the flowers too.

I thought this shot was cute. It was taken by the same photographer who I got the No. 1 e-mail offer from.

Here's her blog: http://shoopsshutter.bigfoloblog.com

This shot was from a spa vendor. The table had the name of the spa in these little diamond looking crystals with red rose petals.

A table setting arrangement.

This cake was so large with so many different styles throughout the layers.

I thought this one was cute and fun. Mom said not for a wedding though -- It's more for a bridal shower or birthday.

This one needed a touch of color, but I loved it. Wish I'd gotten a better shot. But really cute idea.

Grand Island Mansion -- Our wedding location

2010-04-29T22:44:00.001-07:00

James and I have picked our date and our location.

We are getting married on October 14, 2011 at the Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove.

These are the "Save the Dates." Since we both met while on the Delta College newspaper dealing with photographer I loved the idea of using a Polaroid template. I just found a Polaroid online and put out photo in the picture area. Some rhinestones will be added to the bottom and black card stock and a magnet will be added to the back.

Here are the shots I took from the first time James, his mother, my mother and I went to the Grand Island Mansion. We feel in love the moment we stepped out of the mansion.

Here is where we will exchange our vows (unless weather gets in the way -- there is a space inside the wedding will be moved to if foul weather comes rolling in on our day).

Facing the other way from the gazebo.

The view from the mansion standing near the gazebo.

Inside where our guests will eat.

We will be placed back in between the pillars in the back near the glass doors. I think I have a better picture later on.

We are going to do a buffet style for dinner and here is the room where the food will be.

Here is the second room we might have to use. The other room will fit about 106 people, but we are inviting about 130ish plus children since all our friends have babies already.

This is where the dance part of the reception will take place and the alternate location for the wedding ceremony if weather is bad.

The bar (which will be a no-host bar) and pool table in the back. This is also the room where the photobooth will sit in.

The other view of the dance floor.

This is the brides dressing room.

There is a min-theater where either a children's movie will be played for the kids or a looped CD of photos of James and I.

We are planning on staying the night with some of the wedding party and family. This is the room with a fire place where a good portion of the bride and groom's stay in to keep warn at night.

Here's the fireplace.

The alternate view of the dinner room where we will be placed in the middle pillars with a sweetheart table and the wedding party of each side of us.

This is the other bedroom where bride and groom's pick due to the spa tub in the back doors. I still don't know which room I want, but maybe leaning towards this room. Although I'm pretty sure the bed in the other room look bigger.

This is the lounging around room where there will be a no-host bar and pizza after the wedding to the ones who stay the night with us.

The upper hanging our room, but we may not need this area if we only have seven room needed.

My first bridal show

2010-03-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

I went to my first bridal show the other day with Page my brother's bride-to-be. The show/expo was the fourth for Page. She said she might be done with the shows, but if asked she would again and why not with all the free stuff given out.

I took some shots of some different thing while there.

Best shot of the expo in my mind, but I'm in LOVE with is kind of style of gown. The pink bow was added, but not part of the dress. I like the jewel part and maybe a little color around the waste, but not draping down the entire dress.

I like the jewel on the flowers and purple is going to be one of the colors. Purple and sliver.

Page and I.

I LOVE caramel apples. These are a good idea as favors for the wedding party and I think this is what I want to give to the people in our wedding. I'll plan to have them on the head table.

The apples are $3.99 each.

They offer many more options than apples too.

http://californiacaramelcompany.com/

This is the bride and groom apples.

The white apple has little bits of glitter sparkles to make the "bride" ones pretty.

I like the drapery on these cakes.

By Shelton wedding cakes design.

http://www.sheltonsweddingcakes.com/

I saw on the website the drapes can be done in color too.

Just thought this was cute and behind this cake was a cupcake set-up.

There was a fashion show for Disney inspired dresses.

I'm totaling falling in LOVE with the one of the right without the large bow going down the front.

http://enchantedbridalshoppe.com/

Can't wait to go to another one.

Just engaged on the Lilly Belle

2010-03-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

James "popped the question" while we were in Disneyland last week on the Lilly Belle, with the help of our friend Billy who works for Disneyland.

Lilly Belle has been retired from day to day passenger service and has been made the show train so people can't line up to get into the car. Celebrities and royalty have ridden in the car.

Here is our entire group. I'm in the middle, James is to me left, his mother, Robin behind him and his father, Rich to my right, and my mother, Sandie to my far right.
Photo taken by Billy.

Billy telling us about the different engines to the trains, while we wait for the train with the Lilly Belle car to come in. The car is just the next land (Tomorrowland).

A photography of Walt Disney with his wife Lillian Disney. He named the Lilly Belle after his wife.

Other "Lilly Belle" stats:

Built: 1928
Wheel Configuration: 2-6-0 "Mogul"
Serial Number : 60598
Locomotive Color: Green and red
Coach colour: Green
Driver Diameter: 44 inches (111 cm)
Locomotive and Tender Weight (dry): 61000 pounds (27,669 kg)

Billy giving us info about the Lilly Belle.

After he asked me to marry him.

posing for his mother.

Inside the car is a guest book for any of the special riders to sign. There wasn't much room left, but I found half a page left so everyone in our party to sign. The other thing now is that I forgot to take a photo of the page we signed.

Inside the car.

The door.

The next few shots were taken by Billy.

Twilight convention concert

2010-03-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

Friday night during the Twilight convention a concert tool place where Goodnight Juliet and Reggie Ginn preformed.

All the photos of Goodnight Juliet are of the lead singer Niki Leigh.

This is my favorite shot from the concert.

She said she was suffering from a cold, but I couldn't tell. I really like the band and bought the three-song CD they had for sell.

In between songs she would talk to the audience.

Here is Reggie Ginn. She wrote her songs which were inspired by the Twilight series.

It was cute she said let me introduce you do my band and she pointed at her keyboard. She hit a button and drums (and much more) came from the speakers.

Gil Birmingham as Billy Black

2010-03-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Gil Birmingham was the surprise quest at the convention. He spoke on Saturday and Sunday.

This was from Sunday -- I only remember because the first day he didn't have glasses and the second day he did. It was a little bit of a conversation starter in the area where I was sitting.

In the middle of the session Gil's mic stopped working. Hilly from The Hillywood Show went in the back to get him a new mic and took the dead one back with her, while at the same time Jacob and Drew (also from The Hillywood Show) went up on stage to give him their mics. It was too funny because Gil was messing around with the two mics.