Heidelberg 2010

Each spring Gonzaga Law School puts on a formal event called Heidelberg for all the law students and law community in Spokane. It's usually at the Davenport Hotel but this year it was at The Double Tree instead, which was a little disappointing. Nevertheless, we were excited to go since we missed it last year when we were in London. Not that I'm complaining... London over Heidelberg? Um, YEAH! :)

We got all dolled up and had a blast! A big thanks to my sister for doing my hair and makeup and letting me borrow a beautiful dress for the big event!! I probably would have ended up wearing an old dress in my closet and doing my hair in a ponytail if it weren't for her...

Jordan and his best buddy, Shamus... almost law school graduates!

One of our favorite couples and our other half at Law School functions, the O'Dohertys! Such a fun couple!!

Aaaaaaannd, we danced...

We went to O'Doherty's Pub downtown after Heidelberg with Shamus and Breanne, and of course had to take some pictures in the park on our way there... :)

This is my fave... "and he wins by a nose! a photo finish!!"

Yeah, we're huge dorks.

All in all, I love having an excuse to get really dressed up every once in a while and I hope we have reasons to continue doing so now and then even though this was our last Heidelberg appearance.

It's crazy to think Jordan only has a month and a half left of school!!!! Not sure if it can come soon enough... :)

Abbie + Zach

At first glance, you might think these two are a couple. Or even brother and sister. Abbie and Zach are definitely two peas in a pod, but they are actually best friends.

Abbie is a friend of mine and Jordan's from college. She is one of those people who has an infectious personality and has the ability to make any situation a ton of fun! Abbie is beautiful inside and out!! She asked me to take pictures of her and her BFF, Zach, because he was leaving for the Peace Corps for two years (he actually left on Tuesday), and she wanted to have pictures of them together so she could make him a 2-year calendar -- such a great idea!

These two are an absolute riot together! They were so amazing to shoot because not only was it a blast to hang out with them, but I really didn't have to do anything but follow them around. But the few suggestions I did make, they were totally willing to go anywhere and do anything, which I LOVE. :) "Hey, it looks like no one is in that cool landscaping truck... wanna go sit in it?!" Oh yeah, it happened...

So check out a few Flat 4 faves of smokin' hot Abbie + Zach! And remember, you can click on any of the pictures to make them bigger.

It's too bad these two don't have any fun together... ;)

We found a random rooftop garden downtown with this funky umbrella gate -- the umbrella is actually black, but the sun was hitting it just right that it looked gold! And I love how it looks like they're sitting under the umbrella. I'm a huge nerd, I know. :)

This one below honestly blew me off my chair -- SO HOT!!! I think it looks like a Ralph Lauren ad or something.

My personal fave...

Thank you, Abbie and Zach, for such a fun photo shoot! And good luck to Zach in Belize!!!

Any fan favorites?! :)

P.S. Wedding pics are coming soon, I promise!!

Grand Opening Photo Booth Party!

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE GRAND OPENING OF THE

FLAT 4 PHOTO BOOTH!

Unfortunately that picture wasn't taken with our Photo Booth, but I figured you'd get the point. :)

We have been pretty consumed the last couple weeks with getting our Photo Booth put together in time for our GRAND OPENING, which has been an absolute blast! Picture Jordan and I running between Lowe's, JoAnn Fabric, and my parents' house for two weekends straight... and we are almost there. :)

Anyway, if you missed the invite on Facebook, here are the details for our GRAND OPENING party (which also happens to be my birthday party as well!)

WHAT: A Photo Booth Birthday Party!

WHEN: Friday, April 2nd from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

WHERE: Raw Sushi & Island Grill

523 W. 1st Avenue (click here for a map)

MORE INFO: It's two parties in one! We'd love for you to join us in celebrating Whitney's 26th birthday and the GRAND OPENING of the Flat 4 Photo Booth!

It'll be an open house style party, so feel free to come and go as you please -- come for dinner, grab a drink, or just stop by to say hi and get your picture taken in the Photo Booth. :) Appetizers will be provided.

Please don't feel the need to bring gifts, but if you feel so inclined, we'd love to have you contribute to help fill our "Box of Props" for the Photo Booth (this does NOT have to be something expensive -- think fun sunglasses, a boa, hats, a rubber chicken, or anything you think would be funny in a Photo Booth picture... the sky's the limit!)

Please RSVP to WhitJM10@yahoo.com so we can get a head count for appetizers. Feel free to bring friends -- we want to spread the word that our Photo Booth is up and running!

We would love to see you there! Please let me know if you have any questions. Raw has AMAZING food, but it's not just sushi; they also have great teriyaki dishes too. Click here to check out their menu and website.

It's going to be really fun!!!!! :)

P.S. Stay tuned for Dawn + Dave Wedding photos in the next couple weeks and another fun photo session I did this weekend!!

Time Well Wasted

I know I shouldn't be complaining, but I am just flat-out tired.

Because of the wedding shoot in Seattle this last weekend plus having to work straight through my days off the weekend before that, I really haven't had a full day off in 3 weeks. And not to mention having Jordan gone for the last 5 days in Las Vegas... you don't realize how much you're used to having someone there to split up life's responsibilities and day-to-day stuff with until they're gone.

Side note: I survived the wedding shoot and Jordan survived Las Vegas. As much fun as the wedding was, I'm pretty sure I got the short end of the stick. ;)

With that said, I have one million things on my to-do list that I just haven't had time to do in the last three weeks -- edit hundreds of pictures, clean my house, reorganize my life...

But oddly, all I wanna do is bake. And this cold, nasty weather isn't helping one bit.

In the last few days, I've baked Coffee Toffee Bars and Baked Apple Crisp, the latter of which was the perfect comfort food cure. I love trying new recipes (more so with baking than cooking, but I'm getting better about that.) So in the spirit of "time well wasted" instead of "time well spent," here is the super easy and really yummy recipe for the Baked Apple Crisp I made last night:

Ingredients:

- 4 tart apples (cleaned, paired, and sliced)

- 1 cup flour

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I LOVE cinnamon, so I used more!)

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup butter (melted)

Directions:

- preheat oven to 375 degrees

- put apple slices in 8x8 casserole/baking dish

- mix flower, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon

- cut in egg until crumbles begin to form with mixture

- sprinkle crumbles over apples

- melt butter and pour evenly over crumbles

- bake for 40 to 45 minutes

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I did just remember all that from memory. :) And it is HEAVENLY! Although, I would recommend serving it with vanilla ice cream -- I'm actually heading directly to the store after work to get some.

Please leave a comment and share if you have any yummy baking recipes that sound good to you at the moment! :)

On that note, with one million things to do and all, I get off work in 4 minutes to begin my first weekend off in a while. And I'm thinking margaritas and hot tubbing followed by a little Apple Crisp will probably trump spending my time wisely...

Lists

I have always been a list person. To-do lists, grocery lists, what to pack lists... you name it, I have probably made a list for it. It's a little sickening actually.

Well, I am shooting a wedding this weekend in Seattle and it is my first one where I'm actually the lead photographer. SO EXCITING, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. So... you can only imagine the lists currently in process! In fact, I have a list of the lists I need to make. Not kidding. :)

I was talking to Jordan on Facebook chat earlier today, and when he asked what I was doing I told him I was making lists. His response, jokingly:

"You should make a list of all the things you love about me."

My initial thought was, I don't have time for that, but I actually do. And I almost opted out since I did something like this last year -- remember this post? Well, partly to take my mind off the things I need to do and partly to respond to his sarcastic challenge, here is a list of SOME of the things I love about my husband... with a few Facebook pictures added in!

1. The man goes all out when he puts his mind to it. For Valentine's Day he said he wanted to cook me dinner, so I got home to prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe and my favorite wine to start, then he cooked lobster and steak with sides of mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner... AND a chocolate cake for dessert. AMAZING and so thoughtful.

2. He is a goof ball. In a good way. I love how he can persuade me to lighten up by just being himself and adding humor to everything.

3. He loves me no matter how ugly I look... well, in most cases. ;)

4. He is so great with our two dogs! And he hasn't let me get discouraged with Max or drop kick him out the door... er, I mean... give up on him. ;) Jordan has said multiple times, "Maybe God gave us Max so we could both work on being patient." Seriously, who says that?! My husband. :) And as a side note, that little dog ADORES Jordan.

5. He is willing to try just about anything, which I LOVE! When I first met Jordan, I think I would have said almost the opposite, but in the last few years he has totally expanded his horizons with everything from food to fashion to, well, skydiving and water-skiing. :)

6. Even if he's on a health kick at the time, he still enjoys the finer things in life. I know it sounds dumb, but I don't think I could be married to someone who was a health freak 100% of the time. I love that Jord will randomly suggest going to Dairy Queen or ordering a pizza every now and then.

7. He does all the chores I HATE. And I probably don't say thank you enough. These chores include (but are not limited to): picking up the dog poop in the yard, filling up the hot tub when it gets low on water, anything to do with snow...

8. The man is sexy. Truly. Body, mind, and soul. I have met very few people who look just as good in basketball shorts and a t-shirt as they do in a suit and tie. Jordan is one of those people.

9. I love how thoughtful and supportive Jordan is in my life. Whether it's a random text throughout my work day or going with me to model for photography when I want to experiment, he has been so helpful in all aspects of my life. The older I get, the more I realize how much I truly need this and sincerely appreciate it.

10. I love how Jordan has remained the care-free, happy guy he was when we were dating, but how we've also grown together in the last three years of our marriage into a deeper love and friendship. Cheesy? A little. But so true. I love that I can sincerely call my husband my best friend. By the way, this picture was taken the first summer we were dating in college... :)

With that said...

I am now going to return to making my numerous other lists for the weekend. :) It is a big weekend for both of us -- I am shooting the wedding in Seattle, and Jordan is driving over with me and then flying out on Saturday morning for the WCC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas! I was originally supposed to go with him but the wedding fell on the exact same weekend. Such is life...