valentine's day shoot.

remember that shoot that i was styling for carina of love me do photography? well, here it is! i was inspired by traditional valentine's day colors, like pink and white and red - but on a more sophisticated, muted scale. the lace, book pages, and touches of bronze glitter reminded me of valentine's day love notes, but didn't scream "omg i luv u!!1". i figured i'd let the models show that. i've also always been a sucker for old homes and antique glass, and i really wanted to incorporate that into the shoot; the table and crates gave that natural and demure vibe. i couldn't be happier with how carina and nadine photographed everything. the first time i looked at the pictures i literally gasped; how gorgeous are the photos with the hearts in the air?

all of the wardrobe was mine (except for the guy's clothing - i just provided the bow tie), and was almost all vintage. i was also responsible for the hair and makeup; the little flowers were made by my friend bernadette. the bottles were leftover from our wedding, and the paper heart chain, masks, and crates were mine. there's so many things that i made that weren't photographed (we ran out of daylight), and hopefully i'll be able to post those soon.

you can also check out more pictures on ruffled. my valentine's day outfit post is coming later today!

shots fired.

dress: vintage, estate sale
cape: handmade by my mama
tights: urban outfitters
shoes: anthropologie

valley forge is a gorgeous national park about 20 miles outside of philadelphia. about 225 years ago, george washington and his troops parked there for the winter. during this time, the army was suffering from starvation, disease, exposure, etc. they made thatched huts, which took anywhere from three days to one week to make. the huts that you see in the first picture are reproductions, but one can imagine how cramped and uncomfortable (not to mention unsanitary) the conditions were.

maybe you remember valley forge from the cycling trips i've taken there. the park is huge; there are cycling and roller blading trails, a big stream, lots of open fields, and historic landmarks. there's even a church built in 1903 that (apparently) has a seven year waiting list for getting married there. as bryan and i were driving around the park, we passed an old hotel/restaurant that had been abandoned and i'm dying to go inside.

also - thank you for the incredibly sweet comments and emails about louie. he is now able to take 5-6 steps before sitting down, but is still limping on his right foot. he's eating and drinking, which is also a good sign. we've been spoon feeding him, fluffing his pillows: i even set my alarm for every two hours last night to check on him. by saturday, we'll know whether to go with the surgery or not. but - and i say this hesitantly - it looks like he's improving. all your thoughts and good vibes helped!

people make me super happy sometimes.

by way of blog-reading and wedding planning, bryan and i met possibly one of the sweetest girls ever. shannon was looking to expand her photography portfolio and offered to take engagement pictures for free. i sent her an email and we planned to take pictures at riverbend environmental education center, and some at home with our pets (she also has a menagerie of animals). how amazing are these? and remember - this was one of her first engagement shoots.

amazing, right? now that is natural talent. she's also super hilarious and has amazing ideas for sets and props and locations. if you're in the philadelphia area and looking for engagement or wedding pictures, definitely send her a message.

but here's why i love her most - i was complaining (okay, freaking out) about the chance of rain on the 21st. i'm incredibly disappointed because we wanted to dinner outside in the garden. rain would completely ruined this idea. at one point during my self-pitying, i had tweeted "what i wouldn't do for a giant cookie right now" and a couple hours later, i see a response from shannon that says "I might have just ordered you a giant, heart-shaped Mrs. Fields choco chip cookie to have it delivered to yer place on Monday".

um, amazing. i adore her.

meet my babies.

meow

peter

louie

henry

oliver

this is the outcome from the photoshoot with carina romano we had the other day. i can't wait to frame these and hang them over the couch. don't they all look so regal?

definitely worth running around in a polyester dress and sweating like a madman.

high and low.

dress: vintage
belt: vintage
purse: vintage
shoes: marc jacobs (these are the shoes i found for $30 on ebay - new in box!)

i wore this outfit to our friend carina romano's photo studio to have portraits taken. i helped her style an engagement shoot a couple of weeks ago, and in exchange, she agreed to take portraits of our pets. we currently have 3 dogs (plus one that we're temporarily watching), 1 cat, and 1 rabbit. while we do have assorted pictures of them from over the years, we'd like something that's nice enough to frame and hang in our living room. as you can imagine, getting them to sit still long enough for carina to get some pictures was difficult (to say the least). peter rabbit was easily the best behaved; he posed, stuck his tiny pink tongue out, and stood on his hind legs. the dogs were furiously running around, barking, and generally being naughty - even with much bribing with snausages.

have any plans for the weekend? we're making a trip up to north jersey, and stopping in our cabin in the poconos on the way back.

ms. magana

while jana and i were at her family's farm this past weekend, i suggested (forced) that she model for me. i know how to work a camera, but i'm by no means a master of it. i know how to edit photographs like a pro, but i'm really trying to learn all of this aperature and f-stop and ISO and shutter speed nonsense. while we were walking around the fields in the back of the property, i snapped these pictures. here's some of my favorites:


i think i'm drawn to the hazy background, the absence of really harsh light, the smooth lines, and the bright pop of color. i wish i knew more technical names to describe my preferences. i'd like to try shooting indoors to tinker with all of the different camera options. maybe i'll try to throw together a little mini-shoot this weekend - i have a really gorgeous red velvet smoking chair that would look gorgeous in photographs.

sneak peek...

...coming tomorrow!

sunbeams.

just a little sneak peek of some photographs from this weekend - more to come monday.

hope your weekend is going well!