Feels Like Home

Feels like home…because it still is.

3rd Annual Thanksgiving Photoshoot

For the past two years, my sister and I have orchestrated a Thanksgiving day photoshoot so we were excited to proceed with our 3rd Annual photoshoot. While the first year we put on as much make-up as possible and rushed out of the house wearing whatever clothes we had packed and last year we upped the photography and used a white background with a few flashes, this year was by far the best yet and completely out of control!

See, what I forgot to realize was that my father participated in many mountain man rendezvous shoots for his gun club back in the day and had an entire trunk full of mountain man attire! Um, yeah. You want to know how legit he was – he even hooked us up with a quiver! A quiver, you ask? Don’t worry that is the same thing we wondered when my Dad came in asking us if we had seen his quiver!

Quiver: A portable case for holding arrows.

Kelsey, seriously killing it in this light! She may be little, but that girl can model with the best of them! 

A special thanks has to be given to my Dad for photographing these and being just as crazy as us and to Ryan for still loving me despite my sometimes crazy behavior!

xoxo

Friday | Picture of the Week | Week 45

I present to you the 3rd Annual Thanksgiving photoshoot! More pictures to come – but yes, this really happened and am dying laughing as I am posting this because we had one heck of a time and once again, could not control the laughter! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend and now I’m off to start decking these halls with some much needed Christmas decor!

xoxo

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Photoshoot | Finals

As previously mentioned, on Thanksgiving we had our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving vacation photoshoot! The pictures are a bit overdue, but my Dad took some pictures as well and I grabbed them off his computer over the break. I wanted to make sure those were incorporate into this post so I apologize for the delay!

I wish you knew how much we were laughing while taking these – seriously laughing 99% of the time! This is why we are not paid models because we would be on the floor rolling the whole time! So, yes, please laugh along with us as I show these!!!!

SPACE

Even Kevin George got in on the action.

And lastly, photo credits go to both Kevin George and myself (as previously mentioned, we both took pictures and it would be to complicated to say who took each one)!

Celebrating with Family

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Ryan’s family in Manhattan Beach on Thursday and then drove to Placerville on Friday  morning to celebrate with my family.

Here is a picture I snapped out of the car window somewhere on I-5 between Los Banos and Coalinga.

Each year I look forward to setting the table with my Mom’s china and her crystal. I am in amazement that she picked out her china pattern when she was just 19 years old and yet somehow, 30 years later her china is almost a perfect painting of their new home in the gold foothills filled with fences, horses, and rolling hills. My Mom made another fantastic Thanksgiving feast filled with some family favorites: twice-baked potatoes, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, stuffing, and cornbread!

In high school, I worked at the local coffee shop Bella Bru. As a former two time, Bella Bru employee-of-the-month (no joke!), we always try to make a stop in just for old time sake.

Here is another picture, out of the car window, taken on I-5 somewhere near Kettleman City on the drive home. The clouds were looming in the distance all day and they made for spectacular lighting!

Ryan took this picture right before we got on the Grapevine. We heard reports of snow on the Grapevine, so we were happy that the clouds held off until we got through.

It was a short trip and there is never enough time to fill the empty spot in my heart that yearns for family and old friends, but even just the short time there helps keep me held over until Christmas!

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Photoshoot | Sneak Peek

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend and enjoyed a little to much home cooked food to be comfortable! Here is a quick peek from our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving vacation photoshoot. Stay tuned for more…and yes, that little house fan in the corner magically became a wind machine!

 

 

Untraditional Thanksgiving

The beach is just a part of our life here is Los Angeles and these pictures are a perfect example of that. As much as I have always hoped to one day spend a Thanksgiving among the beautiful east coast trees full of orange, red, and golden leaves, I am a California girl and here in Los Angeles, we have an endless summer made up of palm trees, sand, and light weight scarfs that eventually leave you sweating because it just isn’t hot enough to actually need one. Sad, but true.

This all leads me to our Thanksgiving morning which began with a walk on the beach and a quick surf in the Pacific Ocean before heading to the grandparents for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. While it may not be what most people envision for Thanksgiving morning, it was our morning. Spending it enjoying this beautiful land that God created for us to enjoy with lots of family and laughter – now that is something to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!