trip recap

While Stu was on his man trip to Brasil, I was stuck here, *suffering. Alone. I had school and work and a million little crafty projects planned to keep me busy but I was seriously miserable. And I've made Stu promise that he is never to leave me again, especially on any trips to Brasil. Hellooo that was torture. First off, being without my best friend, husband, love of my life for 11 days was heinous. We could only talk (MAYBE) once a day. Secondly, I found out I really don't like sleeping by myself. Actually, I HATE it. And then to top it all off, Stu was in the most beautiful place ever, without me. RUDE. Luckily, the last 5 days were made much more bearable because (thanks to mine and stu's mom) I had a plane ticket to New York to visit my momma.

It was so fun! And definitely the distraction I needed. This is what I woke up to every morning...

See that Arizona? Other parts of the world have recognized that fall is here and that the weather and the leaves should be changing! Get with it. Seriously.

We stayed in a little town off the Hudson at my moms mother-in-laws house. As soon as I walked in, I was totally in love with the place. Texture, color, angles, patterns... I was surrounded by a modge podge of decades of iconic design.

is this chair not fantastic? Mr. Herman Miller, you are brilliant.

Stu, I've picked out our future home. It's on the greatest tree lined street, it has a front porch, it's yellow and has blue shutters. It's like someone pulled this house out of my dreams. Can I have it?
We spent two days in the city. It really is "electric" and so different than anywhere else. I always become so enraptured by the people, the sounds, the fashion, the architecture, the smells? Eh, not so much...
We went shopping and hit up Times Square. We went back at night (completely different vibe at night) and saw West Side Story, one that my mom had never seen before. I love Broadway!
We made sure to visit Korea Town (much more classy and clean than china town..) and got some REALLY good food and and a couple cute knock-off purses. ooh not to mention pinkberry, twice. mmmm.

The next day, we took a walk up 5th Avenue and window shoppped on our way to the MET. Although I love the NYC fashion, I could not even fathom the amount of money people throw down at SAKS or Berdorf. I'll stick to H&M thanks..

For all you gossip girl fans, I'm sure this scene is familiar.. My sister and I watched all of season one in one day when when we were sick a couple summers ago, and I'm still a little hooked on it. So of COURSE I had to pose on the MET steps. My only lament is that I forgot my headband, shucks.

The MET was incredible. But that's just kind of my thing. I really could have spent a week in there, no sweat. Plus they let you take pictures, so I was having a ball. I had been practicing some new techniques with my camera and I really like the end results.

It was awesome! I had so many favorite sections. It was probably okay that Stu wasn't on this trip with me, I'm not sure he would have lasted past the first hour. We had planned to go to the Gugenheim Museum in Central Park after, but we were at our first stop too long.. Next time..

Hi mom!

We rested our legs for a bit in Central Park, I never realized just how BIG it is! We only had time to see a tiny section of it, but it was gorgeous.

My mom and I spent the last two days at her mother-in-laws house in a town about 40 mins out of the city. We went out for donuts (mmmm pumpkin) and went to a tag sale (which is just like a yard sale only bigger and with way better stuff) and I wished I had brought a bigger suitcase. Then we went to a garden within view of the Hudson, that was almost completely empty and I wished I could have stayed there all day. Umm hi, so gorgeous.

The city was fun, but I think that was my favorite day. Just relaxing and taking in all of natures goodness.
The next day it was HOME for me! Stu was already back in AZ and I was eager to see him again. This was a shot of us leaving the house, can you say amazing? I am so glad I got to go and be with my mom in such a fun place! Thanks a million momma and Joann! I love you both :)

To see more pictures, go here.

And to see the rest of the pictures from Nate and Amy's shoot, go here!

*I think I was a tad bit dramatic in the first bit of this post... But really, it was horrible. Never again Stu, never again...

having so much fun

I am loving all the time I am getting behind the camera lately! Thank you to all those that are referring me to friends and family! Here are a few shoots that I have finished editing...

Mika and Jarom plus baby Evan

These guys are the cutest. I had the joy of taking these photos on a weekend trip in Provo. Mika and Jarom are the best parents and love their little boy so much! See for yourself, click HERE. Such an adorable little guy.

Becca and Caleb

These two got married this last Friday and I had the opportunity to take their pictures the week before! I was really nervous because I had never taken such important photos before, but I think they turned out great! Probably because they were so much in love... This shoot left me itching to put my wedding dress on again. Click HERE to see more.

I'm not quite done with these yet, but here's a sneak peek for Nate and Amy!

Amy and Nate's baby boy Rigden is joining us in just 8 more weeks! His parents couldn't be more excited! K seriously, isn't Amy the cutest little pregnant lady you ever saw?! Loved taking shots of her belly :)

what do you think? let me know! i love your comments!

he's home!!!

Last night Stu met me at the gate as I got off my plane. I can't even write how amazing it was to see him and hold him (and kiss him). I'm sure I made quite the scene running out and jumping at my long lost husband. I'll spare you all the mushy details, long story short- it feels SO GOOD to have him home. You can bet I made him promise never to leave me again! We've decided that we're not doing anymore vacations without each other, it's the worst!

I will leave you with one image before I start doing the lonnng posts about our trips...

bahahahaa. Stu and his brothers didn't shave during the whole trip. I took this picture after he shaved half of it off this morning.. "grizzly adams did have a beard!" sexy huh?

...

On a more serious note, a dear bloggy friend Alexa is facing an enormous trial right now. Her husband is in the hospital right now, and although I don't have many details, I know that their family could use your prayers. Please keep them in your thoughts. Thanks so much.

i'd send a postcard to you dear, cause i wish you were here

Since Stu gets to be here:
my loving mama and mother-in-law helped me get a plane ticket here:

So just after a fun weekend of shopping, shows, and some quality mama time- I'll finally get to see my Stuart again!

one million seconds

Stu and I said goodbyes this morning at the airport, he was headed to Brasil with his dad and brothers for an 11-day "man trip". Both he and his brother Tanner served their missions there and they have been planning this trip back for quite some time. Stu loves Brasil, LOVES it. He loves the people, the culture, the language, the food... He's been singing the national anthem for the past couple weeks, non-stop. When they bought the tickets [months ago] I cringed at the idea that my Stu would be leaving me for such a long time, but it was kind of one of those things where I tried to pretend it wasn't going to happen. I mean, October seemed like forever away, it was easy not to think about it. But daily it creeped closer. This last week, I felt myself getting a bit cranky every time the trip came up, my little "let's-pretend-Stu-really-isn't-leaving" game wasn't working anymore. And today I had to come to terms with it as I rode away from the airport without him sitting right next to me. I felt so lame as little tears started to flood my eyes, the same reaction I had when I left for girls camp over the summer.

Is this boy that much a part of me that I can't be away from him for a week and a half without bawling like a baby? Yes.

Did I cry when he called me from his stopover in Atlanta [a mere 7 hours after I had seen him last] because I was so happy to hear his voice, because I missed him already? Yes.

Am I desperately excited for 6pm tomorrow when I can finally Skype him? Yes. Gotta love the world wide web.

Stu and I were doing some time conversions a few days ago, like, "one thousand seconds is 16.6667 minutes." I'm not sure why it started. I plugged in 1,000,000 into my calculator and converted that into minutes: 16,666. Then to hours: 277. Then days: 11.5 days. Which ironically enough is the exact amount of time that will lapse before I see my Stu again in the flesh.

Counting down the seconds...

starstruck

Sometimes I catch myself staring at my engagement ring- in the grocery store, at church, in class, at a diamondbacks game where the lights are incredibly bright and make my ring SPARKLE... etc. When Stu and I first got engaged, I never stopped looking at it. I admit I was completely dazzled by how sparkly it is. I figured I was allowed this distraction for a few months, but here I am, still completely dazzled. My checkout lady at Safeway was staring at her ring in between customers and I asked her if she had just gotten married and she laughed and said she's been married for 3 years, she just loves looking at her ring. I guess I'm hopeless.

A few months ago, Stu and I were watching a show on discovery channel (?) and there was an old man talking about the composition of precious stones. He said that diamonds come from the explosion and scattering of star particles, where the core of giant stars are hot enough to transform the carbon into the sparkly things we women love. I don't think that's where all diamonds come from, I know they can be formed from carbon with intense heat and pressure on earth, but I choose to believe mine came from a star :) Maybe that's why I am so drawn to it...

Stuart pointed out that it's been a year since he proposed, September 26th, 2008. The day he gave me a star. When I first put saw the ring on my finger, I was a bawl baby. I was so happy! He wanted me. He loved me. With that ring, he promised me forever. And I wore it proudly, as a declaration to the world that I was his. I finally got to give Stuart his ring when we exchanged them in the Mesa Temple a few months later, I was ecstatic finally able see it on his finger.

I love what our rings mean [not just that they sparkle, although it is an added bonus]...

love. happiness. support. faith. forever.

p.s. last night as I was rushing to the checkout at the grocery store, I got cut off by an old man who had at least 30 cans of Fancy Feast and one tube of Preparation H. That's all. Hmm, nothing like a balanced diet..

love grosgrain givaways

handstamped goodness.