take me to the island

i blogged our travels over here today. did you get a chance to see the entire post? there are lots of bright colors. i'm realizing more and more how much i love colorful images. they just make me really happy.

his birthday!

my parents own this big-beautiful home in central florida. it's the perfect escape from our fast-paced lifestyle here in los angeles.  we normally visit in the winter months, but this year, we were lucky enough to spend a few days there in august before boarding a giant ship from cape canaveral.



well, today is andre's (29th!) birthday, so i thought i'd share these fun photos of him swimming in my parent's dreamy pool. i'm pretty sure andre spent three full days relaxing in that pool, can you blame him?



i'm going to be spending this entire day celebrating my man. thankfully we both have today off, so it's going to be the perfect celebration. enjoy your day, friends-



and happy birthday, andre!

san diego getaway

i'm pretty sure i meant to blog about our san diego getaway weeks ago! sometimes life gets so busy, and it's hard to keep up with blogging on a daily basis, especially when odd jobs keep popping up, but i'm thrilled to be keeping so busy with everything. as a photographer, there is nothing more exciting than being booked constantly, so i'm definitely not complaining. well, i thought it would be more fun to create one giant san diego post, and share all the fun stuff we did in 48 hours, amazing what one can do in such a short period of time.



i should probably start this post by admitting how long it took us to get there. yes, san diego is only 2 hours from los angeles, but somehow it took us over 5 hours!! what can i say, we love taking the scenic route and stopping everywhere. how eclectic is that rooftop?




when we finally made it to san diego, 5 hours later ;) we ordered pizza from bronx, opened a few bottles of wine, and hung out on the rooftop with our incredible hosts, alison and steve. they have a gorgeous home in hillcrest. it kind of reminds me of west hollywood a little because it's so easy to walk everywhere!



saturday was incredible! we spent our entire morning exploring balboa park; the carousel, the floral gardens, and the picnic we enjoyed (with this beautiful view) was just so perfect!




i love these two photographs andre took of me and alison. sneaky-sneaky guy.



our adorable hosts&friends. such sweet people, and we're so lucky to have them in our lives.



this colorful picture was taken in the spanish village. i was immidiately drawn to the bright colors



Our afternoon was spent biking through mission beach. we biked along the water, laughing and goofing off. i have to admit, it had been years since i had been on a bicycle, so i was terrified! turns out i had nothing to worry about, and this was probably my favorite activity of the whole weekend! i never realized how much fun biking was. i've been thinking of getting my own bike now. it would be great for biking along the ocean from santa monica to venice beach! meet me there?






after such a jam-packed day in the heat, we rushed to happy hour at ortega's mexican bistro!! this place was so delicious. i mean, i really love all the mexican food in california, but i seriously could not stop eating here. such fresh and tasty mexican food. their guacamole and their traditional margaritas were insane. i highly recommend it for those of you planning a little stop in SD.



look at that guac!



the best way to end this perfect trip was with sunday brunch on the rooftop. steve made us chia seed and chocolate chip pancakes, what a great combination! i think it's so fantastic to have friends in all sorts of different cities. i always get that much more excited for a trip if it also includes meeting up with friends we haven't seen in a little while, so this was truly special.

thanks so much to steve and alison for having us over, we'll be back soon.

here we go!

my weekend is already here, and i'm just about ready to leave for san diego with andre! we're spending the weekend with our friends alison & steve eating lots of pizza and mexican food, drinking wine, hiking, beaching, shopping, and just hanging out! i think it's going to be a blast! cheers to a great weekend, friends!

oh, and if you have any san diego recommendations, please leave them below. 
we're always up for an adventure!

VEGAS

sharing a bunch of vegas photos today-


well, i never thought i'd find myself in sin city twice within a week, but that's exactly what happened.  my mom called us with less than 24 hours notice to let us know she'd be landing in las vegas & ready to be picked up the following day. turns out a flight from ottawa to vegas is much more affordable than a flight directly to los angeles, go figure?



andre & i are very spontaneous people, so short notice is always exciting for the both of us. as soon as i got off the phone with my mom, andre and i packed up the car with snacks, mix cds, and toothbrushes (clothes too!)  we booked a hotel and planned a visit with our friends kathleen, jenner and baby violet- see post here




spending time in vegas with my mom was a blast! we ate lots of pizza from the secret pizza place in the cosmopolitan hotel (have you been?), we walked fremont together, checked out a few wedding chapels, oh & did i forget to mention andre and i almost tied the knot? ha!





and how rad is this motel?  i'm pretty sure the final scene from vegas vacation was filmed here, is that possible?





this right here was our overpriced paris breakfast. i have to admit, the garlic cream cheese was so good, and probably even worth the extra few dollars, so maybe it was overpriced for a reason. you win, paris hotel, you win.





we had an incredible time together in vegas and an even better time here in los angeles.  my mom loves visiting, and it was her first time seeing our new-ish apartment in west hollywood. we spent the entire week walking and showing off our favorite restaurants and shops. it was perfect!



'til next time, vegas & see you soon, mom!

from the road

i'm just starting to go through our pictures from our vegas getaway. andre captured these as the sun was slowly starting to hide behind the mountains. it was such a great little road-trip together. we bonded over smiths music, and we laughed endlessly over the silliest conversation topics. we love being on the road, it truly is our happy place. enjoy the weekend, lovelies!

hello from las vegas!

a spontaneous vegas getaway. a little work, a little play, and a little family reunion (with my mama) all happening right now. wish me lots of luck!

also,
just updated my portfolio blog

My Friend Cheryl

an evening in ottawa with our lovely friend, Cheryl.  what can I say about cheryl, she is such a unique and creative person. a few years ago, cheryl drew an incredible portrait of me (i may have to share that drawing on my blog soon). we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the village cafe in westboro; i used to love spending time in westboro village before moving to los angeles, so it was nice to lunch here during our visit back home.  it definitely brought back many memories.  i'm so glad we were able to spend as much as we did with cheryl; she is such a dear friend to us.

Cold+Gloomy

so many mixed emotions regarding our trip back to ottawa. it was cold and gloomy, and in all honesty, depressing. it was nice seeing our friends and family, but flying home and not being able to see or speak to Jennifer was the worst feeling. i'm looking forward to the days where all I can think of are the happiest moments we've shared with her.

hit the road

it was back to school for me this week.  i'm already thinking about packing the car full of snacks and mixed cd's, and making my way up to Yosemite. what. is. wrong. with. me?