GETTING TO KNOW YOU

looking forward to getting to know my new camera and practicing by taking millions of photos of this sweetheart #sorrynotsorry

FAUX-MAS

we're getting ready to travel for the next two weeks, which means we're missing christmas and new years eve festivities at home. while we're excited for the adventure, we didn't want to miss out on a christmas morning-like experience, so this morning we had our very own faux-mas.

that is, we treated this AM just like christmas morning would be if we were home - we woke up, opened presents in pjs and played with our new toys all afternoon and it was perfect.

possibly the best part is my amazing husband got me the camera i've been lusting over for the past forever, a fujifilm x100T. seriously, this guy is the best. with all my film issues and hatred of iphones this camera solves all my photo taking problems in the best way possible.

so thankful for having a special someone in my life who goes above and beyond to make my day (or year). and ready to add this little lady into my arsenal of cameras i love. she's a beaut.

SUNDAY AT THE RESERVOIR

there's something about toddlers holding hands that melts my heart every time
south mountain reservation
new jersey

NEWBORN VS TODDLER

when hazel was turning two months old we stayed at jay and mo's for our first overnight trip with her. so naturally i took the same picture in the same spot when we were there for thanksgiving now that she's a year and a half old.

GIVING ALL THE THANKS

this year for thanksgiving we decided to stick around home and enjoy our newly renovated kitchen. 

at least that was our plan until our buddies jay and mo invited us up to their amazing old schoolhouse in the catskills to spend thanksgiving with friends. 

how could we turn that down?

we feasted over and over again. watched literally HOURS of lipsync battle on the couch, and took hazel bowling for the first time. 

it was such a wonderful way to spend the holidays - we couldn't have asked for anything more... well, i could have dealt with hazel not puking on the drive up, but that's a gross and mildly tramatic situation so just gonna act like it didn't happen.

PS, have you ever watched tom cruise lip sync The Weeknd? 

google it. for real.

HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS

there's something about having a toddler and a house and a fireplace that just makes getting ready for the holidays so much more exciting

MISSOURI IN OCTOBER

after fashion month madness ended in october, i decided to take a week off and head to missouri with hazel to check in with family.

it was a great trip - we spent the first part camping in warsaw, missouri with my mom/larry and checked out the heritage days festival and a craft fair. then we headed back to jefferson city to spend quality time with dad/jean and get wild with hazel's cousins.

it was so great to see hazel jump in and play with her cousins. i wish we could be around family more often. but we'll take what we can get!

missouri

october 2015

GETTING OVER IT

so it's taken a little bit but i'm starting to come to terms with most likely losing everything on my computer, which includes my backup of photos of hazel's first year and a half. obviously not over it, but i'm working on it.

BUT THE SHOW GOES ON! 

and since my film camera has decided to crap out as well (zero breaks given recently) i'm relying on the trusty 'ol iphone to at least be able to continue to document our little lives and adventures.

PAINTED SIDEWALKS: HAZEL'S NURSERY TOUR

we were so thrilled to have hazel's room featured on the adorable blog painted sidewalks last week! i was hoping to post some outtakes but, you know, all my photos are gone (for now). 

so check out the full post with all the photos here!

ALL OF THE TECHNICAL ERRORS

the last month has been full of technical errors. 

my dear old leica crapped out (again) on the second day of our trip to missouri. then last week my laptop bit the bullet with all of my photos from 2015. oh, and then it took me three days to figure out my login information for flickr to be able to post here. sooooo that's cool.

really hoping we can save the data from my computer. take all the documents and programs you want but give me back my photos!

MISSING THE WEEKEND

already missing the weekend and summertime adventures like this day at the natural history museum with my favorites.

june 2015

NURSERY TOUR: KAT JOHNSON

i have the pleasure of being a contributing photographer for the adorable new boho burbs mom blog, Painted Sidewalks. it's a great opportunity for me to be shooting, as well as a wonderful way to get inspired by some of the other local ladies i'm surrounded by.

the first thing i shot for them is this adorable nursery tour filled with one of a kind nicknacks, patterns and treasures.

   

check out the full shoot on their blog here for many more photos and stories behind the stuff

maplewood, nj

october 2015

MY MID-MO

i'm taking a week off from freelancing and heading to missouri tomorrow with hazel. we weren't sure when the next time we'd get a chance to catch up with family was going to be, so we jumped on the opportunity. why not, right?!

looking forward to giving these two little ladies (and hazel's cousin caden!) a big 'ol squeeze.

photo from may 2015

steve and sandy's house

DIY MOSS DROPS

it's been awhile since i've felt like i had time to fiddle around with random DIYs. 

after working full time (and then some) for the past six weeks, commuting, coordinating a kitchen remodel, daycare and daily babysitter, and trying to just have some fun here and there - i haven't found much time to get crafty.

but today was my first weekday off in awhile so i took full advantage of hazel's nap time and made these cute little moss drops to hang in the window. i love how they turned out!

it feels good to be back.

YEAR THREE

three years ago today i married this joker and our life together has been better than i could have imagined. we've gone on some amazing adventures and turned our life together into it's own adventure, not knowing what's around the next corner but happy to explore it together.

we celebrated our 'leather' anniversary early by taking a day trip to Cowtown, NJ last weekend. We walked around the flea market, bought a few little things then headed to lunch then back to maplewood. it was a nice little trip for the two of us to do together.

i sure do love this guy.

ITS FALL YALL

flashback to last years brooklyn pumpkins

october 2014

TURTLE BACK ZOO

a few weeks after we moved in, chris's mom and aunt came to stay with us for a long weekend. it was great to have our first house guests, and we took advantage of the great weather by spending one afternoon at our local zoo.

hazel also got to experience her first train ride.

she thought it was pretty awesome. 

turtle back zoo

august 2015

THE OLD ICEBOX

found this random pic of our old fridge on a roll of film i developed this summer.

funny how you piece together refrigerator collages over time without really thinking about it, but looking back each piece evokes a very specific memory or feeling.

BECK1 AND THE BALLOON

renegade craft fair

june 2015

MINIGOLF

i need more minigolf in my life

even though i'm crap at it

TALL TREE CAKES

i made my first wedding cake for nina and todd's nuptuals. it was a special request from the bride so i wanted to make it extra special.

after a LOT of planning, a couple technique trials, and a solid amount of fear it came together exactly how i was hoping! i packed the three layers individually for the drive and assembled it on site. (insert more fear here).

TA-DAAA a tree trunk wedding cake with fondant leaves!

THE TN EXPERIENCE

we were so lucky to be part of some of our best friends - nina and todd's - wedding last weekend. they held a camp themed wedding in the adirondacks and it was pure magic.

we arrived to the stunning location to find old log cabins spread out on the bank of a private lake surrounded by woods. nina had decked out each room with lots of goodies, including personalized patches, coozies, lanterns and banners for us to take home.

after the rehearsal there was a bbq feast with todd's dad on the grill. we chowed down at long tables listening to music in an edison bulb lit field.

on the day of the wedding the bridal party hunkered down in the boat house cabin, getting our makeup and hair done while drinking champagne and listening to dirty dancing (on cassette no less) over and over.

the wedding ceremony was everything. it was funny. it was romantic. and it most definitely had a few tear jerker moments. it was followed by a beautiful dinner, speeches, dancing, lots of photobooth pictures, glowsticks and debauchery. you know, exactly what you would expect from nina and todds wedding.

so many congrats to the newlyweds

can't wait to watch you grow old together. 

adirondacks

august 2015