Doorless

This is how our front door looks.



Right, there isn't one. Dear Kris decided to refinish the front door and promised it would be all done in a day (since I'm a little on the paranoid side and like to lock my doors at night). Don't most people??

Well, it's been like this for three days now. Shocker.

Good thing Mission Viejo was rated "safest city in the country" by Newsweek in 2007. But wait...what happened in 2008 and 2009 to LOSE the title??!

Yea, maybe I need a dog.

The latest!

EXCITING NEWS:

Since we've been on the topic and I haven't done a photog update in ages, I thought I'd record the latest and greatest. Here are some of the more exciting things going on:

• Kris recently signed a contract to allow his pier shot below to be used in the following book, “Beneath Blossom Rain – Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World” by Kevin Grange about a 24 day, 216 mile trek he did in the Himalayas. His journey ends at the HB pier. Kris will be featured alongside Peter McBride—a photographer who shoots for National Geographic, Newsweek and Outside Magazine. Sweet!

• A few weeks ago Kris shot the front and back cover of the book below. And apparently, in an online pre-sales screening they already sold $400K worth. Awesome!
  

Back cover (yea, that's my chair - craigslist :) West Elm)

• Kris is now booking destination weddings. We have done shoots all over the west coast but now we have one booked in Atlantic City at the end of the pier in November and a few more on the east coast next year.

• Ok, this isn't news, just shameless bragging, but that's what wives are for. Recently Kris was shooting a reception in Del Mar (fun swanky beach town by San Diego) and the woman at the reception center said she's been working there for 14 years and has seen hundreds of weddings and he is the best photog she's ever seen. I was so proud.

Kris, it's safe to say, you're rockin' it. Good job honey, and congrats!

The Hubby's response

Well, I have to say that is super sweet of you, hon. It was a challenge to not just collapse in overwhelming disbelief and then continue through the cycles of remorse until i raged out at the bride and groom... throwing a chair or something would have felt good for sure. But really, I just found a happy thought. Sounds gay i know, but i looked over at my gorgeous wife, with her cute hair cut and delicious style... She had the most apologetic face I've ever seen and she whispers, "it's OK if you use the money I've been saving up for my car" in my ear. All I could think about was how lucky i was to be married to such a sweet and loving wife...

What is money when i have the world?

I held onto that thought... and periodically glanced over at her during the night to try and meet her gaze in the crowd. Knowing I'm "stuck" with her for the rest of my life is what helped me keep my cool and enjoy the rest of the evening. I don't know what i would have done if she hadn't been there with me. Now i just need to learn to hold that thought when she leaves the wet sponge in the sink ;) Thanks for all your love and support babe. I love you to pieces.

Kris

Accolades

One of the reasons I really liked Kris when we were dating was because he is so even tempered. He just never gets riled up and mean....EVER.

While Kris and I were moving out of our rental back in December - we were already late getting everything out of the house, I was prego (and had a miscarriage), we just bought a house that was a foreclosure mess and were going out of town for two weeks while it was closing so we had to move everything into a storage unit. It was horribly stressful.

To top it off, Kris lost his ID and we had to get on a plane so he was climbing around in the dark, cold storage unit, ON his birthday, and sick as a dog, looking for his passport. One of our friends went out to help him. When he got back he mentioned to his wife that it was the first time he had ever seen Kris a "little stressed".

Well, this weekend when he had all that camera stuff stolen at the wedding ($4,500), I was so humbled I just can't stop thinking about it. He just calmly asked me to call around and try to find another 5D Mark II battery in case his ran out and he kept on shooting. The bride and groom had no clue anything had happened. Kris was smiling and laughing and dancing around all night having a blast. Who does that? I'd venture to say, not 1 in 1,000 men could be so calm and collected in a situation like that. Reminds me a lot of my Dad, who has been a lifelong hero of mine.

I'm just humbled and feel really lucky that my kids get such a kindhearted dad and I have such a nice husband. And I wanted to record that for posterity in our little blog book.

Love and respect you dearly, Kris.

Just Finished

After three of my friends declared this book a "must read" (starting a few years ago) I finally bought it and read it this past week.

Very good book. I recommend it. Very sad. Be prepared to cry a lot. I think I was already crying by page ten. But it isn't one of those sad stories that makes you super ticked off (like movies with bad endings). It's just plain TRAGIC and sad.

It's also moving, warm, funny, thought provoking, and interesting. I was surprised sometimes how the author managed to keep it a page-turner for me, even though the story spanned 20 years. Anyway, it also makes you very grateful for your life and your blessings and is a really cute love story.

Read it.

BEYOND LAME

Getting $4,500 worth of camera equipment STOLEN right from under your nose while shooting a wedding tonight.

The end.

PLUG

1) Latest find. I love country kitchens and "Farmhouse" sinks seem to be the thing lately. I love them but even the cheapest ones out there are at least $400. I found the sink below on craigslist. A plumber had one that had a small scratch so they couldn't use it. He had to point it out to me because I COULD NOT even find it. Anyway, point is, check the link. This sink is OVER $2,000. Yes, you read that right. We bought it this week for $300. STILL IN THE BOX.

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=332902&section=1&category=5&subcategory=36


2) Another good one. I was cautious about getting a used couch. Kinda grosses me out so it took me three MONTHS to find this one from a couple in Irvine that just bought a $1.5 million dollar house and didn't have use for it anymore. No pets, one baby. Since Tofer is going to ransack the furniture anyway I was OK getting this $2,800 down-filled sectional from them for $700.



http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19230&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuSubcategory=201195

3)Last one "for today" We were not going to buy a new toilet for the downstairs, even though it's kinda old. But then we saw this Duravit on craigslist. This toilet is $579 dollars. We got it for $80. Why? Girl's Dad is a contractor and it needed extra caulking because of a small drip. Rather than caulk it, they got a brand new one. Now it's ours.



http://www.irawoods.com/Duravit-D16530-Starck-2-Series-One-Piece-Elongated-Toilet-Kit-White

So, here's the deal. It requires patience, some practical sense (because yes, there are scammers on there and maybe even total weirdos, but I look for specific things from specific people so I've never had trouble YET) and then it also takes some more...patience.

Just something to think about next time you want to buy a new couch that your kids are just going to wipe their dirty hands on. Take a look at craigslist, trust me, you'll be glad you did...

P.S. Oh and the list goes on if you are interested....crate and barrel table and chairs, pottery barn crib, pottery barn train table with rolling shelves, Z-Gallerie leather recliner, West Elm arm chair, Rock Star Baby stroller....I could keep going. The best part is, I spent what you may have spent at Target and if I get sick of this stuff, since most are "brands"people like, I could probably sell it all again!

Goodnight!

Truly beautiful

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

~Audrey Hepburn


*I've always thought she looks like my Mother, another truly beautiful person

Priceless

Who needs to buy pics to decorate the bathroom when you have this model!?

K, seriously, he just cracks me up. Love him. These were the three we picked.





P.S. Click on the first one to get a better look at his expression. Priceless. HA!

Bangs - For the Record

Let it be written, let it be known.

P.S. They are actually growing on me. No, I mean, like getting longer. Har har har.

I'm still not loving it, despite what you might think from all the glamour shot poses I'm throwing out. On a good day, it's fun to have a change. On a bad day, I wear a hat or barett/headband and pull them back. Kris loves them. Go figure.

How white trash are you?

White Trash has such a negative connotation. Probably something to do with the word "trash" :)
But here's the deal, it's ok to be white trash AS LONG as you are AWESOME about it!

White Trash: Not mowing the lawn for four months

Awesomeness: Finally "mowing" it by crawling around the grass with a hedger since you don't HAVE a lawn mower (ps all the neighbors have gardeners)

White Trash: Getting everything you own for free, at a garage sale, or on Craigslist

Awesomeness: Selling it for a profit

White Trash: Chronic greasy hair from lack of washing
Awesomeness: "Bumble & Bumble Hair Powder" - The perfect hair degreaser

White Trash: Alley/Dumpster diving at any time and for any reason

Awesomeness: Finding an old bbq IN the alley and dragging it home behind a bike with a rope ON a tandem beach cruiser (see pic below)

White Trash: Chronic malfunctioning toilets
Awesomeness: Resetting it yourself by gluing it to the floor

White Trash: Old dumpy cars
Awesomeness: WITH one headlight out, one tail light out, no seat cushions in the back, and a door that will never fully close (all the neighbors have the typical Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and one even has an old school Rolls Royce)

White Trash: Pulling out a 12 foot palm tree by attaching it with a rope to the hitch of the car and driving back and forth for two hours until it rips out of the ground
Awesomeness: Putting it (standing up straight) in the garbage can and then slipping the garbage man $20 to chainsaw it up - oh yes he did - and take it



I'm not sure we totally belong in Orange County yet....but at least we're pretty awesome... (and I blame, ahem, I mean I give Kris credit for about 80% of it :) Go ahead, click on the pic to enlarge, and you'll see what I mean.