Portraits of a dear friend

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking some portraits of my dear friend Ali (I swear this blog is looking more and more like an ode to her each day LOL!) She's graduating from San Francisco State in a few short weeks, and she wanted some classy pictures for her invitation. I've been cooped up in the house sick for the past week, so of course I was up for the challenge! Take a look at some of my favorites:

We shot 3 outfits in 3 different locations on her gorgeous property, where I always love to photograph. We had a delish sushi dinner after at one of my favorite spots. It was such a lovely relaxing afternoon spent helping out a dear friend. I'm so proud of you, pearl!  

Easy as Pie Pops

It's been so great to have the past couple days off and just relax! Today, Ali came over for a deliciously fun-filled day! We had champagne, talked upcoming wedding crafts, and made some yummy pie pops. I was inspired by a recent post from Cupcakes and Cashmere on these little cuties, and decided we had to make them. And guess what...they were so easy to make!

You literally just take some pre-made pie crust and cut them out into small circles. Then fill with canned pie filling (we chose strawberry and blueberry), place a stick in the middle, and press the edges with another stick. Brush with egg whites, bake for 15-17 minutes at 375 degrees and voila...easy as pie pops!

Some discoveries for the next batch...use actual jam or even different combinations. We totally want to make peanut butter and jelly, nutella and strawberry, and even pizza pie pops! They're so much fun to make with a friend, and even funner to devour while watching a funny movie. Give 'em a try!

Engagement Session Inspiration

We've been having so much fun planning our wedding so far, and I truly hope the process keeps on going smoothly! Lately, my personal top priority has been to find the perfect location for our engagement pictures coming up in a couple months. I know we have some time, but I guess it's just part of my planning nature. :)

Anywho, I remember our photographer mentioned awhile back that we should consider taking our engagement pictures at one of our venue locations that didn't pan out...because we certainly must have loved it for a reason. So Roehl and I went to one of the nixed venues last weekend, and I'm pretty sure it's "the one" in terms of our engagement sesh! 

It's a gorgeous old estate hidden in the hills of San Jose, and a wonderful setting for what we have in mind. We want to incorporate our beach cruisers by biking down an old dirt road, and we also want to have a picnic (trite, but we'll try to add our own special twist to it!), and last but not least...a lace top "fort". I saw something similar a couple years ago and it always stuck out in my mind. So I recreated the fort with a lace tablecloth that I'm pretty sure my grandma crocheted. 

I'd of course add more dreamy accessories, but I think it's a lovely take on a childhood memory, that just seems to evoke an idea of playfulness in our relationship. 

What do you think?

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 3

I had never even heard of Grand Turk before our cruise, yet I'm so happy we discovered this jewel of an island. Windex blue water, fine white sands, and lotsa lotsa Red Stripe, jah man!

Don't mind my scrunched up saltwater nose smile haha. I am so thankful we had a chance to take this trip of a lifetime, as a "pre-honeymoon". I'm so excited to marry Ro and I can't believe it's only 8 months until our wedding!!! We so needed this time to relax and unwind, and it totally put things in perspective and let me focus on the many, many reasons why I LOVE this man!!! :)

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 2

Next up are Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. I LOVED Puerto Rico (Old San Juan) for the cobblestone streets, bright colors, and resemblance of my favorite city in the world, New Orleans. Not to mention I snagged a sweet street painting, handwoven purse, and the best smoothie of my life for super cheap!

I seriously miss the weather...smoothly warm, so balmy and sexy. Grand Turk is coming up next...

A Much Needed Vacay, Part 1

Even though I felt guilty about leaving some work stuffs unattended, I knew that Fi-Fi and I needed a vacay ASAP! It's funny because I booked this trip for us as a surprise anniversary trip months ago, but we got engaged and I felt pressure to call it off in order to save money for our...you know, nuptials. Luckily for us, the trip was non-refundable and non-transferable, basically non-anything, so woe is us...we just had to go. ;)

We visited my future sister-in-law in Florida, where she took us beach cruising in South Beach, and showed us a grand old time.

We then boarded our cruise ship (we had never been on a cruise before!) and were basically in awe of the nonstop food being shoved in our faces, and never ending activities! Ex: 24/7 pizza therefore results in my happy pizza dance...DUH!

And they played movies in the open Caribbean air. 50 first dates...one of my faves!

Hang tight...I've got a couple more posts up my sleeve. :)