As the days grew colder and lonelier, I found that taking 2 1/2 year old Kevin to Barnes & Noble was an excellent idea. He would play with the wooden Thomas the Train tracks while I would indulge in a book. One evening, something green & black caught my eye. A huge table displayed the same artwork I saw in Chicago. Although it wasn’t a Halloween decoration.
It was Wicked.

I eagerly bought the book and was deliciously surprised by Gregory Maguire’s imagination. I fell in love with the real Elphaba & her unfortunate circumstances that lead others to misunderstand her. I was amazed at the intricacies in his fable, the motifs he carried into Son of A Witch so fluidly. I told Rock about my new obsession and he bought me the third book, A Lion Among Men, for Christmas when he came home. This year, he surprised me with tickets to see Wicked the Musical at the Schuster Center here in Dayton. I was swooning with enthusiasm by the time we sat down {in the third row!} Sunday evening. I was enchanted with the huge map curtain & the ticking dragon overhead. I felt as if someone took one of my favorite things and made it tangible.

Then the curtain rose & the music began…

There were some slight, then severe differences from the book.

I knew there would be, but I almost felt like it wasn’t even the same Animal {if you will}.

Once I stopped trying to figure out why they changed it and appreciate it as if I never read the book, I liked it for what it was. The whole point of the book is that the legend of Oz is different than what is portrayed in other books & movies. They still carried that theme rather well. I will also say that the ending was kinder to the characters than it had been in the book {that we know of}. Who doesn’t mind a nice happily ever after?

It’s like ordering cake & getting cheesecake.  If you expect & enjoy cake, it could potentially be disappointing. However, if you are craving something sweet & you try cheesecake… even though it’s different you could definitely appreciate it for being a decadent dessert.
You just wouldn’t even bother to compare them as the exact same thing.

I know a lot of you have had the chance to see it, what do you think? The book or the musical? Both?

Our little man enjoyed it. We were seated near the orchestra pit and he danced throughout the entire musical. Rock was able to feel him moving and I won’t forget how his face lit up after one especially hard kick. As the next deployment draws nearer, I find myself wanting every beautiful moment to last forever.

I don’t plan on updating my other blog, Military Spice anymore. I have to admit I miss food photography. I love it.

I usually try to brainstorm ideas for cakes early in advance, but it’s been very busy. I only had 24 hours to sketch, gather supplies, bake, assemble, and decorate the cake {and cupcakes}. I was inspired by cakes I found on Flickr, it never fails to give me unique ideas.

The monkey, green pillow & tag were last minute additions. They helped bring some color to the cake that fit my color palette. I had tried to incorporate some yellow as the crib sheet color, but I added too much gel & it was almost fluorescent! I covered that layer with white fondant & I’m not sorry.

This is kind of what it’s like when you become a mama… your baby puts the world into focus.
It becomes easy to make decisions because you can see what matters & what can wait…

Best wishes to Sam & Suzanne as they welcome this baby boy soon!

Next I’ll talk about seeing Wicked at the Schuster Center in Dayton. I made the mistake of reading & falling in love with the books first…

{The “Subscribe by E-mail” option for getting notifiications when there are new posts is finally working!}

I always start any session out with some poses. Once we get them out of the way, we start having fun:

After playing, the little ones forget that I’m aiming my lens at them.

The man behind the snow. One of his amazing special-effects-snow-balls blew towards him because of the wind…

I know they made everything look fun & comfortable, but it was truly freezing outside!

I love watching toddlers check everything out. No matter their response, it’s priceless.

Aimee… you’re gorgeous.

Nataly’s enthusiasm is awesome. Love those bouncing curls :]

So it turns that The Greene isn’t just a great place to shop at the gigantic Forever 21 or grab Chipotle. It’s an excellent backdrop for photographs, especially as twilight approaches and all the city lights are illuminated against a kaleidoscopic sky…

For a photographer {or anyone for that matter} in Ohio, Winter is a great time to be inside . This season has been valuable, because I have been able to take care of some design & organizational tasks that I hate doing when the weather is more pleasant. Slowing down has also given me time to reflect on last year & set new goals for this year… and the next five. If I only take on predictable projects, I will never mature as a photographer. I have decided that every month, I want to take on a shoot that is inspiring, artistic, collaborative, and makes me completely uncomfortable.

When I mentioned this to my friends, sisters, Ruby & Sarah, they were completely on board. Ruby Randall is a very gifted make up artist, model, and vintage lover, so she offered to do all the styling for our shoot {amazing}. You can check out more information about Ruby here, she is available for weddings!

Their lovely friend, Demi, looked incredible in one of Ruby’s vintage dresses:

I haven’t been baking very much lately, but made an exception for our Valentine shoot. It wouldn’t be the same without Red Velvet Cupcakes!

I’ve been close friends with Sarah for over thirteen years & she’s always been gorgeous, but she was perfection in this shoot.

Don’t you think she is from another time? This is one of my favorites.

Sarah brought some of her own treasures that completed her look. The sweater she is wearing is her husband’s Grandmother’s that she made herself!

It was so fun to hang out with my friends & stretch my photography muscles. We wrapped everything up by having coffee & red velvet cupcakes. Perfect.
Ruby, Sarah, & Demi, thank you so much for sharing your time, talent, & beauty!

I am hoping to squeeze in one more styled Valentine session with cookies & the lovely little Nataly!

When I was in school, I was waiting on a class to finish and I just happened to overhear a professor tell a student that they should always hate their past work. It means that you are growing as an artist & have gained valuable perspective. At the moment, I didn’t quite understand because I was very proud of what I was doing. Now, well… take a look for yourself:

This was my first Flash designed website. The class was very overwhelming, but I loved the program. Our final assignment was to develop a flash site for a photography business {oh the irony}. I was so happy with my ideas that I gladly shared them to my friends, family, and internet friends. Now I feel almost embarrassed to even post this screen shot!

In reflection, I do realize that part of the reason we dislike our older work is because of limitations we had at the time. Did I understand the power of PNG files like I do now? Not entirely. Did I even know how to script my own keyframes & movies so that I could put my ideas into digital format? Not a clue. I copied and pasted “practice code” from my teacher and tried to fit my designs into the template from practice files. Finally, was I still trying to cultivate my personal design aesthetic? YES. Using a feminine color palette, birds, clean space… although the Web 2.0 look is very yesterday to me. I would have handrawn the birds and definitely changed the colors if I re-did this exact site today. I would have also worked on the grid, because it’s not really working out so well. Neither is the logo, even though I can see a small bit of “good” in it.

Designing a brand is no small undertaking. Converting that brand visually into other media formats, especially a website, is very challenging. I’ve maxed out my old sketch book over this site & used up my share of micron pens trying to solve the design problems.  Here is a sneak peek:

I’ve added & taken away numerous objects… only to keep most of the existing site. I was more careful & paid attention to every detail. The purpose of this site is to showcase a digital portfolio, so I tried to focus on the best way to do that. In the second screen shot, you can see where you will finally be able to have greater navigational control on the slideshows {finally} when you mouse over the bottom of the image.

Whether it’s design or photography, I always want to grow. I always want to see progress & learn new techniques. Even when I feel like the past isn’t always very admirable, I want to critique it with clarity so I can become a stronger artist.

Thanks for keeping up with me during this transition, I will let you know when it’s ready!

My new twitter bird {above} is handdrawn. I wonder where that little birdy inspiration came from…

It seems every time my husband Rocky takes a trip for work, one of us ends up sick. This time Kevin & I are both taking turns. It’s my turn. Bundling up with my ballet slippers & hot tea while I work has made everything much more comfortable. I love that we went with greys & purples for my “studio,” so calming… if I wasn’t working on my sites I would definitely be reading on a day like today.

It’s no secret that purple is one of my favorite colors & Target is one of my favorite stores. The other day I found a coveted purple maternity rain coat {perfect for this spring when I will need all things “maternity” size} on sale for $11! That is why I can never walk out of that store without checking everything.

I hope the new year & going back to school, work, life has been a good adjustment for everyone… It was nice to take a break, but getting back into a routine just feels good too. I will keep you posted on all the new changes coming!

I have been thinking a lot about what I want my new year & decade to look like. Despite my own skepticism in resolutions, I find myself opening to new {white} pages in my sketch book. Sometimes I journal, sometimes I draw. Since college, it has been the place where I work out design & invent new ones. The enthusiasm of starting a new year always inspires me. Last year I was wrestling Flash so that I could design my portfolio site & get it launched because I already had brides e-mailing me about their upcoming weddings. I felt a little overwhelmed & inadequate, but so encouraged that they all seemed to be coming to me even though they knew I did not do it professionally. Even though I wasn’t fully satisfied with how the site turned out, I felt like I was at a place where I could either spend the next year working it out or close Flash & take out my camera. I opted for the latter. Now I want to rejuvenate my brand & let my portfolio site reflect where I am at & where I am going. If you don’t mind, I would love to post updates & have you critique my work. It is one of the things I miss most about being a student!

This new year is also exciting for my family because we will be meeting our new baby in June! I am fifteen weeks pregnant & we are already captivated by this little one. I will not be doing any weddings in June or early July. The timing might seem strange, but we’re also working around Rock’s next deployment that will also start this summer. I’ve always put my family first and never regretted those decisions, like when I quit design school to follow my husband to Texas. I was able to finish after we moved back & Kevin was a baby. Then I focused on supporting my husband and taking care of Kevin. Opportunities to do photography fell effortlessly into my lap. I have found that in the right timing & with hard work, there will always be room for my dreams…

Thanks for reading about some thoughts on my mind, I’ve started to redesign my logo a little bit and can’t wait to get my hands on the other files. I hope this new year is filled with much love & good food… because I guess right now that is about my equivalent to happiness ;]

This is Whitney, on her wedding day. Such a perfectly beautiful bride, right?

First revision of logo… I’m sure it’s not the end but I do like it!

My funniest Christmas memory: The Monopoly Crasher

I mentioned that we started dating in December. When I say, “we dated,” by “we,” I mean my “entire family” dated Rocky. I have a huge family  and I had to share Rocky with all of them. This meant that instead of just going on little romantic dates alone, we would find ourselves in Gestures & Monopoly battles with whichever one of my seven siblings was home at the time. Things could get out control pretty quickly. I won’t say we are all cheaters, but none of us like to lose. I don’t think you’ve ever understood the word “intense” until you see how we play board games.

It was on a night like this that my dad answered the door to a guy about our age, dressed in his sunday best. My dad, the friendly person he is, led him to the living room couch and engaged him in some small talk. I assumed he was my brother’s friend, and we played on. They assumed he was my friend, and played on. By “played,” I mean got back to our belligerent & loud Monopoly game in the same room as this guest.

There was laughter, accusitions of cheating, and probably some bragging.

Finally, the confused man on the couch stood up & began talking. We all took notice.

“I must be in the wrong house… is this _____?”

No.

“He said to go to the house with all the cars so I assumed it was this one. I’m supposed to be at a wake…” he trailed off quietly.

We knew the person he was referring to and the tragedy that had just happened in the family. It became silent as we said goodbye and the realization of what happened sunk through us.

“So… you didn’t know him?”

“I didn’t know him. I thought you did.”

“We didn’t know him, figured he was waiting on you.”

We looked to my dad, who innocently shrugged and said that he was just being nice to who he figured was one of our friends. So the man thought he was in the midst of a grieving family and found instead… us.

I’d like to say that we kept quiet & learned to behave, but I’m pretty sure that will never happen.
We just try to do a bit more of an interview before we let random people sit on the couch.

To read some other funny Christmas memories, click here!

In the spirit of Christmas, I will try to narrow this post down to more festive topics.  I’m so curious at what other spouses have written {click here to see} but I am going to be a good girl and not peek until I am done with this post!

You Might be a Military Spouse at Christmas: Top Ten List

10. You receive Christmas cards from more than five states.

9. You have trouble buying for the man who has been issued everything he could possibly need {and has the closet to prove it}.

8. Coming “home” for Christmas is your gift.

7. You are a sucker for collecting anything military themed. Santas, nutcrackers, ornaments… you name it. We dust it off and proudly display it.

6. You instantly burst into tears at any commercial that hints at soldiers being away for the holidays, {thanks Best Buy & Walmart}.

5.  You’ve ever decorated the tree alone & taken about four thousand pictures of it for your deployed husband.

4. You know the words to the traditional carols, but can just as easily belt out all the lonely tunes.

3. You’ve ever told your children that packages that appear aren’t from Santa, but from the Daddy they haven’t seen in months.

2. Really, you don’t need any presents. One round of great sex will suffice when he gets home.

1. December 25 becomes just another day… it ceases to be the definition of Christmas for you. We have the amazing ability to make Christmas happen whenever we are together, whether it’s before, after, during the traditional day… or just somewhere tucked securely in our hearts that no war or absence can take away.

Bonus: No matter how thankful you are to have them home to participate in every tradition,  you feel the nagging & persistent reminder that it’s not going to be the same next year. Then you go back to feeling grateful for right now.

The best Christmas present I ever received: Diamond Earrings

As fall 2003 churned out colder temperatures, I kissed my single life goodbye. It was the only life I’d ever known for twenty years. I was the most surprised when the most handsome man I’d ever met became my boyfriend. We had our first date on Decemeber 6, after my younger brother’s high school basketball game. I really couldn’t have dreamed a better beginning, {and believe me, I was the queen of daydreaming}.

We both knew that we were going to marry each other pretty early on. I won’t call it love at first sight, because I had known him for a few years before we ever dated. I figured he was too handsome & intelligent to ever look twice at me, so I just took a mental picture of him & asked God for someone exactly like him. As our first Christmas rolled around, I think I picked out some nice boring gifts like sweaters.

He chose earrings.

He pretty much could have gotten me anything & I would have been thankful. But he chose them because a few days before, my ears came up in conversation. I told him I didn’t show anyone my ears, unless I was wearing my hair up for softball. It had been years since I had played softball. I kept my hair securely covering them, because I have the smallest ears of anyone in the world.
At least I thought so…

He decided to give me diamond earrings so that I would get over my insecurity & show off my ears. It took me a minute to hear him out as he explained his ulterior motive. I kind of wanted to hate him, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, “I love you.”

He has done a pretty good job at raising his sword to all my outrageous personal myths & insecurities… I only have a few left :]

Check out other Wives of Faith stories here.

*I will have to post a picture of them tomorrow, today went by too fast & I didn’t get a chance to photograph them!