Best Beaches in SoCal?

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in Quick Snippets, The Travels

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I have a confession to make, I haven’t been to a SoCal beach since Little T was born. I know, right? That’s unheard of for a SoCal momma! Thus, when I was asked which beaches were the best in SoCal, I had to reach out to my fellow facebook parents. They more than delivered, and suggested several family friendly beaches that have the perfect family environment.

Mother's Beach

The most popular recommendation on my facebook page has been Mother’s Beach, located in Long Beach, CA. This was suggested because it’s a peaceful and quiet beach that’s geared towards families and children, with a playground and other attractions nearby.

 

 

Another popular suggestion was Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach, CA. My friend Scott said it’s a “state beach, so it’s well patrolled, with fire pits, not too crowded, and good visibility. There is a parking fee, but many beaches have them.”

My friend Eric suggested Baby’s Beach in Dana Point. He said, “it’s next to a neat marina, a playground, the Ocean Institute, and has a kids swim area with a boundary marker for the little ones.”

Of course, if you aren’t so much into the sand and you just want a nice beach like place to walk around, there’s always the Balboa Fun Zone at Newport Beach.

I’ll update as I get more suggestions, thanks facebook peeps!

 

I’ve been trying to think of a way to write about this….

16 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Photography

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But I’ve been at a loss for words. Sadly, the bride of the pirate wedding I photographed contacted me a few days after their wedding to let me know her father had unexpectedly passed away. She was grateful he’d made it to her wedding, and asked if I could quickly send the images of her with her father for the memorial service. I photographed her father’s memorial service last week. Although I was glad to see them all again, I wished the circumstances had been different. I was touched that they asked me to photograph the service. As I’ve gotten to know them, I’ve learned more and more about how loving and special their family truly is, They had one of the most beautiful and creative weddings I’ve ever seen. The details they add to every event show their care and their love for each other. You could see in all of the photos of their wedding day, how happy and proud their father felt. Please keep them in your thoughts as they get through this difficult time.

Happenings

15 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in The Family

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Two Christmas card photos sessions:

Little T taking a trip to Auntie M’s room with his new backpack:

All dressed up for a wedding:

Little T loves the drums, which makes me think that our house is destined to be loud.

I finally got my order in for my wedding show booth. At first we were excited, then we were realized we were the owners of a gigantic photo of our friends kissing. Akward?

We took Little T to Barnes and Noble to spark an interest in reading, but we accidentally sparked an interest in toy trains instead:

Our photo with Santa at Disneyland. Little T wasn’t scared. Instead he looked at Santa and said, “dude, your beard is cray cray”.

Eeeek! Gah! Squee!!!!

10 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in Photography, vegan

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Check out the new book from The Veggie Queen! Not only are the recipes amazing…but I took the picture on the cover. w00t!

The Veggie Queen Cookbook

I was honored to be able to take a few photos for Jill. I cook from her book all the time and loved the opportunity to try new recipes. I spent the entire day cooking and snapping photos, which just so happened to be the day that some hungry friends and family members stopped by. Hmmmmm, suspicious? I think so. Let’s just say that everything disappeared. Some things disappeared before the *ahem* photographer had a chance to try them. Yes, I’m looking at you, Big T.

Someone is taking advantage of Christmas.

09 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in The Family

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And I hate that.

Excuse me while I complain for a second, but I’m really irked today. Over a chicken. A chicken named Chica.

Controversial Chicken

Little T loves Chica. I think it’s because Chica’s voice sounds like a kazoo and Little T loves blowing on his kazoo. So, imagine my excitement when I saw a commercial on Sprout advertising that they are selling a Chica plush for 15$. I rushed over to Amazon to purchase Chica for my little babycakes so he could have it for Christmas, and was shocked when I saw that the price is now a whopping 54.40. I love the forty cents they tagged on. How they came up with the last 40 cents, I don’t know. It’s like that extra forty cents is the icing on the cake. If you’re going to price gauge us, at least charge us 54.99 or something.

Apparently, some heartless Scrooge bought all of the Chica plushes online and decided to sell them for a profit so they could take advantage of parents who want to give their kids a gift they’ll love. I’m just glad Little T isn’t old enough to realize they are selling Chica dolls, because then I’d have to explain that we can’t get a Chica doll. Sprout and Amazon should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen. Rawr, or maybe a Bah Humbug would be more appropriate. You’re all going to get coal in your stockings.

 

 

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I Heart Faces {the color black}

06 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by in Photography

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This week at I Heart Faces, they are focusing on the color black.

I always check out a location a few days before a photoshoot. Last time, I begged and pleaded asked my mother in law to come with me. She was my fake model as I figured out the lighting and snapped this photo of her.

I kind of love it. 🙂

To see more photo challenge entries from I Heart Faces, click the link:

A Day at the Race

05 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by in The Adventures of Little T, The Family

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Sometimes people mistake what Little T is saying. For example, the other day we were at a race to support Big T, and Little T saw a giant horse and pointed. Everyone thought he was saying, “Look at that cool horse, I want to snuggle it!” But it turns out he was really saying, “OMGWTF THERE’S A GIANT HORSE WALKING AROUND. ARE YOU PEOPLE SEEING THIS!?”

His terror became more apparent when the horse decided to come over and say hi. Poor Little T, I’m guessing this means we won’t be having cute pictures with any Disney characters in the future?

Little T did enjoy the cheerleaders and the band. He was dancing and singing shouting along with everyone. He liked the drums the best.

At the end of the race, Little T cheered for Big T as he crossed the finish line.

Big T got third place in his age division. 🙂

Miss Piggy came to the race too, but she didn’t have the best time. She was very overwhelmed by the band and noises. She also didn’t understand why we couldn’t chase after everyone who was running in the race. She was glad when it was time to get in the car and go home.

After the race, we went to Cal Poly’s Pumpkin Patch. To tell you the truth, we had a terrible time. The walkways were too narrow and it was so crowded that we could barely move with the stroller. There’s no way we could have taken Little T out of the stroller to walk around and enjoy the booths. Once we got in the pumpkin patch we found an isolated spot and were okay, but it wasn’t worth the chaos it took to get there.

Ah well, there’s always next year.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

04 Friday Nov 2011

Posted by in Photography

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Little T and I went to my friend Heather’s wedding not too long ago. Big T was sick, so he had to stay home. Heather was kind enough to say I could take a few pictures for my portfolio, and thankfully my friends stepped in for Big T and watched Little T for me while I was snapping away. Little T was quite the entertainer, dancing and running around the wedding. I wished I’d been able to spend a little more time with him, but I knew he was in good hands. It made me happy to see all my friends taking care of Little T. I could tell they adore him, and I felt like a lucky girlie to have such good friends in my life.

Heather looked beautiful and we had a great time at her wedding. Even though she was rushed at the beginning because she had to go back and get her flowers, she kept her cool and everything went well. I’m nowhere near done, but I wanted to post my progress. I hope she enjoys these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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