Oliver and Lauren and a baby on the way...

While I was in Portland, I had the pleasure of shooting my best friend with her son as she is expecting a new baby girl. Oliver is 4 now and it has been such a joy to watch him grow.

Back from OR and WA and home for good...

Well wedding season is here and now I will be staying put in Chicago for awhile. Thank you to everyone for your patience in anything you needed. I had a great time visiting friends and taking pictures. Today its climbing, tomorrow I will post some pictures of Oliver and his mom :)

This is at Exit 38 in Washington with my very good friends Bonnie and Val.

I just loved Bonnie's socks! Typically we don't climb in socks but we were pretty cold!
I have never climbed on granite before, it was very different but I LOVE it...can't wait for more! This crag was interesting, right off a bike path so bikers would ride by while we climbed and if you turned around, you were looking right at the mountains! Bonnie making the clip, the original +1

Back from Kentucky and off to Oregon

My birthday trip to the Red River Gorge was a huge success! A great way to kick off my 30's! Me, August (mayor awesome), and Kadile, each pushing ourselves to the limit and enjoying the beautiful weather and great company.

It was a long drive down there, so I had some fun with my camera...the mayor drove :)

We headed off to Muir Valley and climbed a bunch of 10's and an 11a.
Finally a few pics of me! Thanks August :) This is the infamous Miguel's, best pizza I have ever had. And a favorite hang out for climbers. Now this was fun! A new experience...night climbing. We headed out to the crag with only headlamps to light the way. It was hard to get pictures because as you can see it is pitch black out there! The bottom picture is Kadile pulling a roof, a superhero move, with only a headlamp to see where you are going. It was so fun. As I was cleaning the gear off the route it started pouring! I got down just in time and we hiked out in the rain, good timing! :)

And so I am off again to Portland, OR and Seattle for a week to shoot and see some friends. I will be busy working there but also enjoying the nice scenery....and maybe sneaking in some climbing :) So thank you for your patience while I am out. I will do my best to keep up with my email and phone messages and post lots of pictures when I get back!

Impact Tip - Your turn to make an impact

In honor of earth day coming up, I want to encourage us to share and exchange some ideas. You send me your favorite impact tip, and which ever one I get that has the most relevance and impact I will publish here and you will receive 3 Vrai totes that as you can see are very handy for many things :) Send them to me by 4/29 and I will publish it on 5/8.

As a side note, Whole Foods is doing away with plastic bags starting 4/22, which is Earth Day, so your choice will be bring your own or use paper. These totes are perfect for groceries, my whole family uses them...no matter where we shop!

Check out our lovely model Molly ;)

Impact Tip - Invitations

An invitation to a wedding is exciting to pick out and receive. It is your guests first impression of the type of event you are planning. And it is your first opportunity to show them your commitment to minimizing your impact to the environment.

Obviously the most eco-friendly choice is to not have invitations and use a website to keep track of rsvp's and ceremony and reception information but that is not practical for every event.

There are many options out there for paper invitations, but I was recently introduced to Heather and her eco-friendly wedding invitation business and I was very impressed. Not only with her designs and her product, but also with Heather herself. She is truly dedicated to making a difference and such a delight to be around.

Some details about her invitations:
1. Luxurious 95# Cover
2. Elegant finish with sharp color reproduction
3. 100% Recycled / 50% Post-Consumer Waste
4. Processed Chlorine Free
5. Ancient Forest Friendly
6. Green-e Certified

And a few pics...



For more information check out the website at http://www.ourhappyweddingday.com/Default.aspx

Michelle and Glen

Michelle and Glen are getting married next month and they are the biggest cubs fans I have had the pleasure of photographing! I am glad I could get a picture of Harry Carey giving his blessing ;) Can't wait for the wedding!

Peter turns 1!

My nephew Peter turned one last week and we had his party along with our cousin AJ on Sunday. It was his first sugar experience, Peter liked it better than AJ, but AJ was kind enough to share with his dad. He is learning early, no waste ;)