a new year

leading up to my birthday i was getting rather nervous about turning 25.
to most this is a silly statement. but it is true.
growing up is real. and it got real on saturday.
when i woke up, i woke up to my two best friends sitting on the end of the couch (because i gave up my bed for them since they were in town) singing me happy birthday.
we got in our dresses then walked over to the coffee shop and enjoyed vanilla lattes + coconut macaroons.
for lunch we had my favorite, indian. we enjoyed the buffet and then enjoyed a crisp fall walk around my beautiful city.
later that evening a handful of friends joined me for dinner at Luna Maya to end the day with great food + great drinks!
i am so thankful for all the friends that God brought to my life. I am incredibly blessed & excited to start this new year of life!

1. to see portland in the spring
2. go overseas
3. to get published in kinfolk magazine
4. chop a pumpkin off the vine
5. sleep in a teepee in marfa, tx
6.  see the painted hills
7.  meet all of my IG besties
8. go back to california
9. book a wedding in the pacific northwest
10. visit Charleston, sc
11. build something from scratch
12. learn french
13. bake bread from scratch
14. to be in the kitchen more
15. be more intentional
16. make a new friend
17. read more
18. along with #17 to be on the computer less
19. to go camping
20. visit canon beach, oregon
21. spend less
22. to create more
23. learn how to play the guitar
24. go on a new adventure
25. most importantly to be more like Christ.

excited to see these goals come to life.
mostly excited to see what this year holds.

cheers*

september calendar

(right click and save as desktop calendar)

september is here and i couldn't be more thrilled.
this month means i turn another year older (on the 14th)
and that the best season of all is so near.
the leafs are starting to change and the nights are starting to feel more crisp.
i am so anxious for fall.. and winter.
so happy that summer is coming to an end, for a new season to begin.

growing older

august is coming to a swift end and september is creeping its way here. in just a few short weeks i will be turning twenty-five. i remember being younger and thinking that 25 would be this magical golden year of life. but now that it is approaching, (in all honesty) i am actually dreading it. because still inside of me is that teenage girl daydreaming of what 25 would look like and its nowhere near what i imagined.

i know this is rather depressing. but in the midst of this is a lesson that i have learnt.
life is never what you expect it to be. if i were to choose i would be living in a big ole house with a husband and a golden doodle pup. but i am living on my own in a wonderful apartment, shooting weddings every weekend and traveling. God's plans are always greater than ours. even though the past 25 years has been a roller coaster of ups & downs, adventures, amazing food & new places + faces. i am excited to see what God has in store for the next 25 years. who knows, maybe somewhere in the next 25 years i'll find me a husband and a cute puppy.

(photos above taken last fall by Christian Agha)

san francisco, california

(photos shot below with my canon ae-1)



i had always dreamt of the day i would venture out to california and i never thought it would come so soon.
the opportunity arose for me to head west when a couple emailed me and told me they found me through kinfolk magazine (dream sentence right there!) and that they had searched high & low for photographers with my similar style and they were out of luck.. so they wanted to bring me to california to shoot their wedding.
it was an unbelievable experience.
as soon as i got into the city my good friend Ben picked me up from the airport. we instantly set our eyes on adventure. he took me to the golden gate bridge where we blasted "california" by phantom planet (and i cried a little bit on the inside). we headed for the hills to see where the road would take us. we found the most magical mountains with dry desert grass at our feet and the pacific ocean in front of our eyes. everywhere i looked i saw beauty, i coudln't help myself but be so fully amazed by the presence of God in those moments. Ben and I spoke about how amazing it is that God created such a beautiful world but yet He sees us more beautiful because He created us in His image.
 How rich is the love of Christ.

& i am so thankful that this gift God has given me has taken me to so many wonderful places + has given me so many opportunities to see all sorts of walks of life.

  (right click & "save as desktop image)