Youth Office Redo
Waaaay back before Christmas our church’s youth pastor {who is also really cool and I also consider a friend} asked if I’d help him remodel his office a bit.
Ummmm. Lemme see. Yep.
It took a while to get off the ground because of all the holidays, but over the last few weeks we’ve really gotten things turned around. See, I’m just about out of things to make over in my own house, so this was a perfect opportunity. Not to mention he’s a youth pastor who described his style as “bold, modern and colorful.” That’s pretty much the opposite of my style at home. I’m terrified of color, white is my favorite accent choice and 90% of my furniture belonged to my {or Derek’s} grandparents.
This has been a way fun project.
It’s not done, but I’ve just been itching to show it off to you. So here’s the progress.
I wish I’d taken better before photos. But I really dropped the ball. Originally there were huge, dated cabinets {upper and lower} and a counter along the side wall. Those were removed because the storage just wasn’t necessary. We painted with poppy colors and I {with the help of some handy teen girls} built a new shelving unit from galvanized pipes.
The remaining cabinet got an accent treatment and some sweet framed-out chalkboard doors.
But my pride and joy is this architectural accent shelf. I dreamed it up and built it with my own two, girly, winter-chapped hands. It took about six tries, but I finally got it right and anchored it up today. Pretty cool, huh?
I can’t wait to show you more in the coming weeks! Furniture is coming, as is new carpet and some cool wall art. Oh, and a mini fridge too. If I was 16, I’d totally want to talk to the person who works in this office.
Kate and Bad Baby {puppy portraits}
Kate might look familiar. You may have seen her engagement session {when we ran for cover from the mosquitoes.} Or maybe you remember her gorgeous wedding back in October. You know, the one with the romantic saved-their-first kiss and read-a-Psalm-daily-together details? Oh, and who can forget her dress? But that’s not why she’s back on the blog today.
Today she’s here with her dog Muffy. But apparently no one calls him Muffy. Instead he answers to Bad Baby. Yeah, you read that right. Bad Baby.
Bad Baby is 15 years old. He and Kate have been together the whole time. He is her baby. She’s his momma. If you an animal lover you’ll totally get what I’m saying. So when she called with a “weird” request, I didn’t think it was weird at all. She wanted a couple good shots with her pup before his health fails. I love dogs. I love pets. I know the heartbreak you can feel when an old pal reaches his end. Weird? Nah, I’ve done weirder. I was honored to come over and meet the Bad Baby {who isn’t really so bad after all} and take their portraits.
Furthermore, I think we should dedicate this post to everyone who has lost a loving pet. Isn’t it so true that even after they are gone, they leave a giant print on our hearts? A good pet let’s us cry without judging us. They never say the wrong thing. They are there when we need company, and convince us to play…even when we don’t feel like {because deep down they know what’s best for their humans.} They’ll kiss us to make us feel better and sit with us when the house is quiet. A good pet will see you through a long rough patch and welcome you home after you’ve only been gone a few hours. Pets are such a lovely part of God’s creation for us. Give yours some extra love tonight.
Amy
Cabin Fever
It’s not a secret that winter lasts a long time in Practically Canada. The cold and snow blows in around October and doesn’t leave until the rest of the country is knee deep in spring. {Last year we had one final blizzard in the middle April.} This winter we are a little wiser to the ghastly tricks of PraCan. So, to stop ourselves from going stir crazy in the Polar Vortex we took a little stay-cation to Lake Metigoshe with one of our couple-besties…the Kelleys.
Lake Metigoshe is about two hours north of Minot {also where I shot that breath-taking wedding last fall} and covered in snow. Our cabin was plenty big for the four of us, the water smelled and tasted like pure rust {we bought our own from the store across the street}, but that didn’t matter. We had skis, board games, and a TV with cable so we could watch non-stop Olympic coverage.
Ideally, we would have rented snowmobiles along with our skis, but they were all checked out. So we were forced to watch others zip around the lake from our windows.
The weather was perfect. Highs above zero, and wind chills above zero to boot. It was ideal for getting out and taking a long ski through the woods, even though one person in our group said it was “…all the boring parts of snowboarding, except on skis.” I won’t mention names, but I will say that 3 out of 4 really enjoyed the cross country experience and 1 out of 4 chose to have a good attitude about it anyway.
If you are wondering, the trails at Lake Metigoshe State Park are wonderful. There are warming houses along the way, so you can ski a few miles, then come in to thaw. We did a total of 6.5 miles and ate lunch in the warming house, which had a wood burning stove-thingy, which kept us nice and toasty.
On Monday we went down to Bottineau Winter Park, where Derek and I did a little downhill skiing and the Kelleys went tubing. {Because Katie hates downhill.} The tubing was advertised at “Two hours of total bliss.” She assured me that it was just that.
The weekend definitely broke up the monotony of the long winter, which–if we are lucky–will only last a couple more months. If you are feeling cramped, bored, or stir crazy check out my list of 40 things to do this winter. It’ll help break up the time.
Chris + Naomi + Boaz {a family session sneak peek}
Since it’s Valentines Day and all, I thought I’d show you some love. Really. Images of love.
No, it’s not a mushy engagement session. It’s better. It’s a family session. Meet Chris, Naomi, and Boaz. {PS, isn’t Boaz, like the coolest name you’ve heard…like ever?} This family radiates love. Shooting their portraits was so fun, because they simply emit joy. {Boaz’s antics gave me a laugh a minute.} I love shooting people who are crazy about each other and their little ones. And this was just that type of session.
Now, Boaz…he’s quite the character. I love a busy kid, and this one could be the king of the busy-bees. Once he was up from his nap it was go-go-go. He was very curious about all the oddities in my house: stairs, chairs, boxes, pillows trunks, hardwood floors to break dance on…He’s not the type to sit and have his photo taken {a la Annabelle.}
So we just tailored the session to him. Soon the living room was a scene of things to climb on, pillows to toss, and furniture constantly being scooted across the floor. Will this family look back at these photos and think, “Yeah, those look like formal family portraits…” I don’t think so. To me, these portraits turned out more like snap shots of real life, and I think that’s pretty beautiful. I think this family is pretty beautiful.
{I just love this one! What a stinker.}
This is love of the most real, raw and solid variety.
Happy Valentines! xoxo, Amy
PS, look for the full session next week on the Facebook page.
Cats I’ve Seen Lately.
So I’m working on an office redo for the youth pastor at our church. I was looking through the photos on my phone because I was sure I’d taken a good “before” picture there. Upon looking back I discovered two things. First of all, I never took a “before.” Second, I had a lot of recent cat photos. Really good cat photos.
Today, I’ll show you those photos. For instance…I recently met this pure-bred.
That is all. Happy Thursday.
Smash! {Annabelle’s First Birthday}
You’ve heard the saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Well, I’ve got news for you. At Annabelle’s cake smash session in honor of her first birthday, she had it {all over} and ate it too. Look at her. She doesn’t care what old sayings tell us. She’s too busy breaking the mold.
You might remember this sweetie pie from her newborn session just about a year ago. In that session her mother {master of sentimentality} had me incorporate heirloom blankets and clothing into her portraits, to make them extra special and personal. When she showed up for her birthday portraits, I was in no way surprised that she had another sentimental touch in mind. Our first photos had Annabelle in an antique dress that belonged to her daddy’s grandmother…hand made by his great-grandmother. There is a photo of Grandma in the dress standing next to her first birthday cake. Obviously, we needed to recreate the moment. Awesome, right?
Let me tell you some things about Miss Annabelle. I’ve photographed lots of kids. And there are just about zero that I didn’t enjoy spending time with. But, here’s the thing. I’ve never {ever} worked with a more photographic being. Adult, child, pet…Annabell tops them all.
The kid went from crying while her mom wiped lunch off her face to cheesing like a maniac as soon as I got the camera out. And it’s not just show for the camera. She’s a genuinely lovable, charming, sweeter-than-birthday cake baby. I’ll call myself blessed just to know her.
I’ve been to a few cake smashes in my time. But this one was different. See, the times I’ve witnessed this before or photographed it {check out this one of Zoe}, the baby has eaten a bit of cake, but mostly just played with the frosting. Not Annabelle. The child loves cake. Loves it. Once she discovered it was edible, it was all over. Cake was going in that tiny mouth by the fistful and fingers were being licked clean.
I’ll be totally transparent with you. This is my living room floor. I cleaned it and disinfected it right before we started. Annabelle’s mom, Tiffany is a good friend of mine. I took all of that into account….then I ate some cake off of my floor as well. I mean, really–it’s funfetti. How could I not?
Tiffany also snagged a few bites. At which point I asked her to step in for what became a priceless mother daughter moment. I love this shot. And I know it will be cherished by them as this little one grows up. {Aren’t fun mom’s the best?}
All in all, I’d say this session was literally a sweet success.
PS…You may have recognized these two from other sessions you’ve seen here. Like Tiffany’s maternity session, Annabelle’s newborn session, or most recently–their Christmas card session. I LOVE my regulars!!
Awkward Moments Related to My Age.
I think everyone goes through spurts when they feel old. I’ve been feeling that way a bit lately. On top of that my sister and mother are having milestone birthdays this month. {I won’t say which milestone just yet.} That all just got me feeling aged. So today I thought I’d relay a few quick anecdotes that have left me feeling old and out of the loop. The kind of things that leave you reaching for a Buzzfeed list of 90’s nostalgia or clearing your throat with “When I was your age…”
I got this sweet piece of Agro Crag for my birthday. As an unathletic child, I dreamed of being able to capture my own piece on GUTS. Even now, I dream of climbing that big, metal-plastic-dry ice-mountain, fighting through snow storms of glitter and falling foam boulders. If this doesn’t scream 90’s, I’m not sure what does. Also…I’ve mentioned the Argo Crag several times recently only to receive blank stares. Even blanker stares when I explain what it is.
image from the things we say {thethingswesay.com}
Quite a few months ago I was talking to a group of teenagers. I don’t know how it came up, but I referenced the phrase, “Shake it like a Polaroid picture.” In earnest, a one asked what a Polaroid was. The phrase was familiar, but they really didn’t know what that meant. So, I explained the magic of Polaroid, its instant gratification and how you would eagerly shake it, while watching the photo appear. Which leaves me wondering…How do they capture priceless moments at junior high dances these days?
While having dinner with a sweet gal from the youth group, she told me how a friend was “best friends” with someone on Snap Chat. I played it cool, like I totally understood what that meant. In my head thinking, “What the heck is a snap chat?” When I got in my car I Googled it.
I had my teeth cleaned today. Which I really dread, because I’m a bleeder. My dentist has a new partner. When he sat down, I looked at him. He was young. Like weirdly young. Dentists are supposed to be at least middle aged. And me, being me…I said “Hi, you look young.”
To which he replied, “I am. When did you get your braces off?”
“2001 or 2. I can’t remember. The early 2000’s are all a blur of good music and awesome pop culture.”
“Cool, we graduated in the same year.”
Yuck. I’m not old enough to be peers with people with professional jobs that take a million years of school. I’m not old enough to be the same age as my dentist. Wait…
At the New Year’s Eve party at church with the youth group, I overheard our youth pastor explaining to some junior boys that before Mark Wahlberg made movies he was a rapper who called himself Marky Mark. As in Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. They thought it was a sick joke. This is history, people. History that I witnessed.
Last one. It’s just been over the last year that I’ve officially started not being carded. Like, for anything. Ever. Unless I force someone to look at my ID, they just assume I’m good to go. I mean, isn’t the standard to card unless someone looks a definite 40? I look a definite 40?
I’m no longer greeted with a “Is your party all over 21?” Instead it’s “The full menu is served in the bar, if you don’t mind a small table.”
If I have my retainer in {oh, I don’t think I’ve told you…yeah, I have a retainer now, but that’s a story for another time} it’s a little more lenient…because then people are confused about why a 40 year old is wearing a retainer. But, my, my, my, it’s weird when you realize that not only are you not very young, you also don’t even look young any more.
Here’s to getting older gracefully. By relaying our witty, awkward moments in aging for all to laugh at. But really, family milestones are ahead, and you better believe there will be a tribute post here in each of their honor.
Amy
