psst! look over there ------->

so exciting that i am on wedding wire as a preferred san diego wedding photographer.. a HUGE thank you to you wonderful brides that left such amazing reviews for me.. i really am the luckiest gal on the earth.. you had such sweet things to say about me.. man. so crazy!

it means so much.
and..
{i can't post without a picture!!!}
 here is a photo from last weeks engagement session i am currently editing..
this kind of light makes my heart skip..
it really does.
i am such a nerd.. i know. i know.

mini kitchen remodel

 

so we have been hard at work trying to make out new house a home, just getting things to FEEL like us is hard enough. we painted the house, hung pictures and found a place for our "stuff'.. that itself is a stressful chore..

the kitchen is the heart of the home and we really wanted to make it bright and white and on a budget we did it ourselves, well, damian did.. most of it.

we took inspiration from pinterest, houzz and of course picking the brains of all my stylish girlfriends..

here is what it looked like before.

 

we tore down all the upper cabinets and all but 2 people told me i was crazy and i actually thought i was too for a minute when damian actually started ripping the door off..

6 useful cabinets of storage..

poof! 

GONE!

 

the one cabinet above the fridge i actually wanted to keep but.. it came off when damian removed the one next to it.. so.

we went with it..

yep. we will take that one down too.

why.

not?

we tiled up the wall.. allllll the way up the wall..and on alllll three sides..

the hardest part was removing the 8" black splash of granite.. that was a whole day.. yes. 1 whole day.

 

it is a bit tricky to get the pattern down.. and all the cutting! all the light sockets.. geesh!!

but.

i just LOVE the look of subway tile.. so clean and fresh..

 

we took down the drop ceiling light boxes and had some pocket lights installed.. it lifted the ceiling and made it SOOO much brighter...

 

we had all the bottom cabinets painted white and put new clean modern hardware on..

found it all home depot.. nothing too fancy.

 

repainted the ceiling a fresh coat of white..

 

hubby worked late after work every night for a week.. his hands were raw and he was so exhausted..

looking back it was quite a stressful task we took on but to tell you the truth.. 

we over simplify everything..

i mean we really do..

we usually jump into things and go..

"oh wait! this is sort of a big deal!"

it always works out and i love that about us..

remember our camping adventures?

prime example, bought a pop up trailer and went camping having no idea AT ALL what we were doing..

but we figured it out and it is what we look forward to every summer..

sometimes you just gotta JUMP! and the net will appear..

have you heard that saying?

i love it..

 so here it is the after photo.. 

a sweet friend bought me an air plant and glass bubble for christmas and i am obsessed! i went to buy 2 more because i love it so much! they were the perfect addition to our new kitchen! hanging in this corner they are just perfect!

{thanks nicole!} 

a BIG tip i learned.. adding some plants, my oils on the counter, cookbooks, etc.. made a HUGE difference it making the space feel lived in and not too stark white or just being non functional.. who would of thought i would ever say too white.. right?

for that great question..

 "where is all your stuff?"

{additional photo added}

so here is where we store all of our dishes, everything we need to serve our meals is here, i love the restaurant feel of having the dishes out there and stacked up..  we have a couple more wood salad bowls that i just pile inside of the one you see here, something about a kitchen feeling used but organized.. it just feels great! all over flow of platters, big bowls, pitchers etc are in the garage in bins and labeled for the one time a year i may actually use them :)

the tooth fairy arrives.

little c.. 

she lost her first tooth.. february 16th, 2013

we were at jersey mikes and she bit into her salami sandwich, winced in pain and there it was.. the wiggly tooth just fell out.. it wasn't pretty and i feel bad for the poor patrons that had to watch me basically do cartwheels and whip out my phone to take a photo.. it was quite exciting.. she has been hard at work.. wiggling that tooth for weeks now..we got home, she wrote her letter and put her tooth under her pillow..

it says " i am so iside."

{i am so excited}

simply stated and to the point..

love that girl.

6 things.

1.

okay.. so we bought a house! yes! uhh-huh!! we did! i want to shout it from the roof tops.. hear me roar.. we BOUGHT a house! i am still in total awe of it.. you know when things just line up and one thing after another just works.. this was one of those things.. we moved 12 house down.. same neighborhood, friends, school and street!! i didn't breathe a word about it because i am superstitious and didn't want to jinx it.. but yes. we are homeowners. it was a stressful 45 days and we are now settling in.

{iphone photo}

2.

we did a small kitchen remodel before we moved in and i took photos. on my iphone. i am working on that post. i have not had time or energy to blog and i am sorry for the absence. but my awesome hubby worked his tail off.. the kitchen is so important to me, i think it is the heart of the home.. i am glad it all came together.. i was a bit worried for a moment {or two}
yes. we ripped off all 6 upper cabinets
yikes! right?


{iphone photo}

3.

work is going to start up again soon, i have 2 wonderful engagement shoots this weekend and i have a feature coming up soon on an amazing blog i am so honored to be a part of. it is looking like another great year and i am just so blessed.

4.

i took the facebook app off my phone. decided..i really do not need another distraction from what is in front of me. my girls are growing so darn quick and i just don't need that distraction. i AM on instagram and i love the idea of snapping a photo of my life and sharing it, two passions colliding to me. i love instagram.

5.

i had a birthday. it was a weird one for me. i think the emotions of moving and adjusting to the new home, my girls decided they want separate rooms and then being another year older.. it wasn't a fabulously exciting birthday for me. i just wanted to be mellow.  hubby and i enjoyed a delicious dinner at burlap in del mar.  i went to la costa spa for a massage the day before which is like disneyland to me. seriously. the best place. ever. the day of my birthday we had a picnic on the beach with caprese and pink champagne. that was pretty amazing.

{iphone photo}


6.
a friend of mine gifted these gorgeous sunbursts to me for my bday and they make me so happy.. i adore them. and her.  
{thanks angela}

i have learned that warming a house is pictures up, friends and family who visit,  cupcakes being made and lots of snuggles on the couch.. it is starting to feel better.
so glad this is finally OUR home.
{insert sigh of exhaustion here}