my fave things: tend terrariums at pigment, north park

happy friday! i recently found the coolest home accessory ever, when we were visiting chiropractique, a hip, urban chiropractic center in north park. i know it may seem odd to many of you to be "shopping" in a chiropractic clinic, but since this place is so cool, i think it is ok. these are the eco-orbs, made by tend living, a fusion of modern design and gardening. you can read more about them on their blog.

check out this amazing orb, which is sold at pigment in north park.


they come in all different sizes, and are offered in kits or a-la-carte. i think they look best hung in multiples of odd numbers, maybe with different sizes and at different heights for some visual interest.

as soon as our house is kid-free, we are going to buy a few of these, in different configurations, and find a place to hang them. we have been pretty successful caring for our one bamboo plant for the past few years, so i think james and i are ready for this next step in our relationship.

weaver family, sd firehouse museum | san diego portrait photographer

we love checking out new spots for family pictures, and so we were thrilled when heidi asked to do her family photos at the san diego firehouse museum in little italy. we had always loved the red door which made a perfect backdrop for engagement photos, but we had never done a family session there.

one thing that makes these photos really stand out is the color coordination of the family. heidi did a great job picking outfits that complemented each other and went well with the background. the red, cream and brown palette works nicely for an urban backdrop, or as you'll see in a future post, for a park setting to give your pictures a bit of pop. here are our faves from the session...

hall family, balboa park | san diego portrait photographer

a few months ago, we met the hall family in balboa park for an early start on holiday photos. we found out soon after that the family is moving to north carolina with the marines, and we are very sad to see them go. here are some great memories of beautiful san diego, and we hope to see you all again soon.













and here are a few of our last session at balboa, a little good-bye gift from us to the hall family...


good luck in north carolina, we hope to see you guys soon!!!

happy new year + miriam and johnny, baby on the way

i thought i would start off this year by first saying thank you to all of you, our loyal clients and blog readers. it is absolutely unbelievable to think how far we have come in such a short time, and how many friends we have made through our cameras -- we look forward to continuing our friendships for many more years.

last year was a great year, a busy year, but a great year. and we fell behind, waaaayyyyy behind, in posting our shoots. so while things are a bit slower, i am going to try and catch you up on all the fabulous shoots we did over the past few months, and share some more personal news.

on the personal front, james and i just bought a new house (photos to be coming soon) and we couldn't be more excited about this next stage in our lives. we'll tell you all about it in a future post, but we are thrilled to be able to experience all the joys of owning an old home.

i am going to start our new year posting with a very special maternity session, james' sister-in-law. we visited them last month when we went to san francisco for james' birthday and stopped in napa for some wine-tasting and maternity pics in the vineyard (thank you to the fabulous honig winery for the jambalaya and for letting us shoot in the field). the pictures turned out absolutely amazing. and if taking pictures in napa, drinking wine and visiting with family wasn't enough, we learned after dinner that we are going to be godparents, woo-hooo!!! here are some of my favorites from the shoot, we did mostly a vintage look since the leaves had turned and it was grey skies out...




and now for some fabulous color...

miriam and johnny, we are so excited to be part of your lives and share in the joy of your little baby boy. we look forward to meeting little john james joseph ready IV.

welcome baby hailey! | san diego newborn photographer

when we first met hailey, she was not a big fan of tummy time, and preferred instead to stare up at us with her gorgeous brown eyes. we were able to coax a few smiles out of her, and threw a few adorable serious stares in too...



i couldn't get enough of her chubby, chubby cheeks, super cute...





and we can't forget big brother aidan, who just loved to ham it up for us...

check back soon to see hailey and aidan all dressed up for christmas.