Top Places to Travel | Personal

As I've probably mentioned, oh several dozen times, I have a pretty nasty case of the travel

bug. Rob and I really want to take advantage of being young, child-less, and having the means to see some cool places because, before you know it, all that could away. We definitely aren't in any rush and just want to make sure we at least put a solid dent in our bucket list!

In lieu of our upcoming vacation, I thought it would be fun to share with you all my top 5 favorite places I've ever been so far in my travels :) We are always on looking for new places to visit, so I would absolutely love to hear if you have any "can't miss" locations for us to check out! Or if you have any questions, I love talking travel so please reach out at any time.

Warning: This post is long and filled with pictures! 


OPEN FULL POST

Risotto with Shrimp Cream Sauce | What's Cooking Wednesday

Do y'all have the one dish that, when you go to your favorite restaurant, you just have to have? You know you can't order anything else because nothing else will be even close to as good as that dish. Well, I know mine is the Shrimp Risotto in Lobster Sauce from Filomena in Georgetown -- a place we only go to maybe 2-3 times a year, but I got this same dish every.single.time. 

Unfortunately, I guess it would be better to say it was my favorite dish. They recently revamped the menu and took this little gem off. I was literally so bummed out that I didn't even want to go there for our anniversary this year!
I searched all over Pinterest and Google trying to find a similar recipe to no avail. As much as I love to cook, I've never really made my own recipe before, but this one seemed simple enough to recreate at home since I knew all the basics. I found a lobster cream sauce recipe that I used as a start and then made it mine from there. You guys -- this turned out SO GOOD. I know I say that about all the recipes I post (to be fair, I only post the ones that worked!) but this is seriously to die for if you are a seafood/pasta lover.

I'd love if any of you try it out to tell me what you think of my little creation!

OPEN FULL POST

Experiences Second Shooting | Tips

Let

Ashley is an avid crossfitter and you can tell by those amazing arms!!

me start this by saying, I am absolutely in no way an expert on second shooting! However, I, like many other newbies out there, understand how difficult it can be to get selected for a second shooting gig. 

Let's be honest, we live and work in an over-saturated market filled with tons of talent... which isn't a bad thing if you are a bride, but is hard to deal with when you are trying to fill your portfolio and learn. Second shooting can be a catch 22 -- it's hard to find someone to work with you if you don't have any experience, but you can't get any experience if no one will work with you! 

All that being said, I have been so incredibly fortunate thus far to have not one, but two amazing photographers who have selflessly given me advice through absolutely no gain of their own. First is Ashley, from Jen + Ashley / We Are The Mitchells -- Ashley has been so kind to let me second shoot with her and asked for nothing in return. I badger her with questions and always get an answer with a smile :) Second is Abby from Abby Grace Photography, who openly shares so much knowledge and wisdom about this business that I wouldn't know otherwise. 

I am eternally grateful for their help and I think it speaks volumes to the character of the people working in this industry.  I really want to pay it forward by passing along some tips that I have picked up along the way. Without further ado... 


OPEN FULL POST

Lemonade & Lenses: July Cover Contest | Featured

I am BEYOND excited to have been featured on Lemonade and Lenses for entering their July Cover Contest. Each month, they hold a contest on their site to determine what image will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of their magazine. The theme for July was children, so I submitted one of my favorite images from my session with McKenzy. While I wasn't selected for the actual cover, I *was* selected as an honorable mention which is super exciting for me! The other entries were fantastic, so it was an honor to even be mentioned with such talented individuals. Let's just say, I'm thankful I don't have the job of having to pick one out of all of images!

Again, I'm beyond grateful for this recognition -- thank you Lemonade and Lenses!

Strawberry Jam | What's Cooking Wednesday

The idea of canning has always really intimidated me. I'm not sure why; I love all types of cooking and baking and am always up for a challenge. I guess there was something about the idea of it that just made me think it was super hard to master. Trust me when I say, it ended up being a breeze!! We nailed it on the first try -- I know that sounds like a humblebrag, but I honestly think anyone could be successful with this recipe. 


There are a lot of instructions and I recommend reading them through several times before starting. The most important way to get it right is to follow the instructions to a T. Often, when I'm cooking/baking, I take liberties and add spices I think would give more flavor or eliminate ingredients that I'm not a fan of... Here, that's not possible. Do exactly what the recipe calls for and I can almost promise you won't fail! 

Another insider tip -- the strawberries you use make ALL the difference. If possible, try going to pick your own (PYO) or go to a local farmer's market for the freshest variety possible. Anyone living in Northern VA, I highly recommend Green Truck Farms in Markham... They are super kind people with some delicious PYO strawberries! We always pick the "Sweet Charlie" variety and they do not disappoint.

Don't get overwhelmed by all the steps below... I promise it's easy!


OPEN FULL POST

North Carolina Couples Photographer | Tom & Katie

You might remember reading a bit about my brother-in-law, Tom, and his wife, Katie, a couple weeks ago on Memorial Day here. Well, Rob and I spent the weekend visiting them in North Carolina and I thought some new photos might be a wonderful gift to thank them for being such thoughtful hosts.

Tom and Katie were married in December 2012, but their story starts way before then. They both grew up in Stafford, VA, less than 10 minutes from where the other lived. By the chance of zoning, they ended up attending different high schools. It's a relatively small area where schools tend to mix, so they knew each other by name, but hadn't ever really had the chance to talk. Luckily that changed when Tom went to visit JMU in 2009, where Katie attended college, the same weekend she was having a birthday party. (Fun fact: Rob and I also met at my birthday party at JMU -- weird!) They hit it off immediately and spent the summer getting to know one another.

To say "the rest is history" would be unfair to how much dedication they each put in to making the relationship last. For the next year, Tom was at GMU while Katie finished up at JMU -- a solid 3 hours apart. Tom then graduated college and had to start spending months away from home on various Marine training courses. Meanwhile, Katie immediately started grad school, requiring an additional 2 years at JMU. There were countless hours spent by both of them driving to and from, just to see each other for a day or two at most. 

After all that, they are finally able to live their lives together now in NC. They have such a beautiful house that's only minutes away from the beach, which is where we decided to do their shoot. I hope you enjoy their beach session as much as I do! 


OPEN FULL POST

Our House, Part 2 | Decorating

I

found decorating the upstairs of our home to be much easier than the main floor (Part 1, if you missed it). Granted it's about half the space, but just as many different rooms! Our guest room was super simple -- we had a set up that we loved in our apartment, so we just kept everything exactly the same! We knew we wanted to upgrade to a King size bed in our master, so we figured we would probably just get new furniture to go along with it. 

Our master bedroom is huge -- but in a bad way! It's kind of a waste of space... there is this whole "annex" that is pointless. I mean, you could sit over there with a book and read, but we already have places downstairs to do the same thing! Anyway, I digress. We based our whole bedroom off of this AWESOME canopy bed I found on Anthropologie that I knew would be beautiful. It ended up being the biggest pain to get delivered and arrived slightly scratched, but they gave us 50% off! When you are trying to fill a house, a few scratches are easily worth saving some $$$. It took us about 6 months to save up for the rest of our furniture, so we were half living out of our guest room! It worked for us though and it finally all came together and I LOVE it! Such a peaceful, serene room. Also, wait til you see the walk-in closet... 

The rest of the upstairs isn't super exciting... We have one empty room that will probably be a child's room in the future, but currently is Rob's closet :) The final bedroom I turned into a craft room -- it was the one spot in the house where I went all out girl -- pink walls, girly pictures, etc. We still have lots of walls, etc to decorate upstairs, so I'll be sure to post updates along the way!

OPEN FULL POST

Crockpot Carnitas | What's Cooking Wednesday

I

seriously love the crockpot so much! Once I branched out from recipes that simply cooked meat with BBQ
sauce, I realized how versatile and easy cooking with this little machine could be. If you don't already, look into getting a crockpot with a timer -- this means that if you set it before work, it will automatically stop cooking after 8 hours (or whatever time your recipe calls for). Mine goes to warm so that everything is still good to go once you're home -- it's awesome! 

This carnitas is SO simple. You just rub in all the spices and cover it with the sauce -- 8 hours later you are ready to go! Let the meat cool for a bit of time before shredding... it gets quite hot and burns your hands. I always discard the bone and any of the fatty part during this time too. You'll end up without about half of what you started with, but still plenty for 4 people! I always give it a little extra time under the broiler so it's nice a crisp. 

Pair this with tortillas, rice and your favorite toppings:  Guacamole, sour cream, beans, cheddar cheese.... It's like Chipotle at home :)

OPEN FULL POST

Our House, Part 1 | Decorating

I wish I could say I love decorating -- truth is, I'm kinda lost when it comes to it! I'll find a really cool piece that I want to incorporate into our home and just have no idea how to do it best. However, I of course love having our home decorated, so this is one of the things where I feel like if someone already invented the wheel, why re-do it?

I take a TON of inspiration from Pinterest and blogs (hello, Katelyn James -- seriously, how is she so talented at everything!) when it comes to decorating all the space in our new house. I try not to copy item for item, but instead take a picture and put my own spin on it. Or if I find an item I love, I look up ways other people have used it in their home and see what will work best for our space.

The house is definitely still a work in progress. My husband and I came from a tiny, one bedroom apartment so filling all the rooms will take some time. It's also just the two of us for now, so no need for every room to be full!

The "tour" will start with out main floor. Check back next week for part 2!
OPEN FULL POST

Rosemary Potato Pizza | What's Cooking Wednesday

I

absolutely love cooking + baking, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite recipes with y'all on the blog. Thanks to Pinterest, we have repeated recipes only 1-2 times in the past year or so! So every Wednesday, I'll be posting up images I took of a new recipe I tried out the past week, include any tips and changes I made!

First up, Rosemary Potato Pizza. At first I didn't understand how potatoes would be good on pizza, but being the carb lover that I am, I had to try it out. Turns out, it is SO delicious. 

The recipe calls for making your own dough, but I'll let you in on a little secret... 9/10, I always use frozen dough! Homemade bread is awesome, but also super time consuming. I personally think frozen dough makes for a really good substitute and cuts the recipe time in half. Just be sure to set it out early enough to thaw and rise! I also highly recommend a mandolin slicer for potatoes -- you can pick one up for under $20 on Amazon. 

Anyway, enough already -- go make this pizza immediately!

OPEN FULL POST

Granger | Personal

I can't believe I've gone this long without posting about my little fur baby, Granger! As many of you probably know, I am a crazy dog momma - I love that pup as if she was my own. Like all repressed youths, I must blame my overzealous love for dogs on my parents who refused to let me have one from age 10 - 22 (all joking aside, they have totally embraced her).

Well, Granger has had a big milestone so I thought she deserved her own post! We've been taking her to training courses with Petsmart since she was just a puppy. She isn't that great at meeting other dogs on her leash, so we just wanted her to be interacting and engaged as much as possible. So after all that, about 36 classes over 2 years, she finally earned her big degree -- being a "Canine Good Citizen". This is a program designed by the AKC that requires dogs to pass a series of 10 tests, proving they have good manners at home and in public. 

Now I'll be the first to say, she still has some crazy in her. If she sees a little critter, bike, motorcycle... be prepared to brace yourself! But all in all, we got super lucky -- she has only ever chewed up ONE thing, doesn't go potty in the house, and doesn't even need to be a crate when we leave-- all at the young age of 2. In exchange, she is spoiled rotten!

All that being said, I love ALL dogs. If you are ever interested in bringing your pet to one of our sessions, please reach out to me and we will definitely work them in! 


OPEN FULL POST