Category Archives: Misc Maya

Plaid and Coated Flares…fall in Seattle ;)

So, I’m on a roll with wearing things that I’ve been “saving”. These coated flares have been folded up in my closet just waiting to be worn, and I finally stopped waiting for the right occasion. Because playing on a pier overlooking Seattle seemed like the perfect occasion 🙂 These bubbles were totally faulty!! Poor thing. I even tried and got maybe 2 bubbles at a time 😦 That didn’t stop her though haha. She got ONE! Ok, screw bubbles. This pole is totally fun to spin around… 🙂 Her Gigi would be proud. We are getting our miles out of these boots she got Maya for her birthday!! On me…

Jacket- Gap (seriously, probably 15+ years old?? Similar here)

Top- Vintage “Panhandle Slim” haha (thrifted, but similar here)

Jeans- J Brand Martini Coated Flare ($20!! from Twice, similar here)

Shoes- Sam Edelman (thrifted, similar lower heel here)

Bag- Gustto (ebay, similar here)

On Maya…

Vest- Old Navy (thrifted, but similar on sale here)

Dress- Old Navy (thrifted, but similar here)

Leggings- Carters (similar here)

Boots- Corral Kid’s Turquoise Full Stitch Square Toe Boot

Keeping it Real…

I rarely wear heels anymore. I used to wear them all day long in my previous corporate life, although I sat for most of the day… These Sam Edelman wedges are actually super comfy when you first put them on. Two hours later, chasing Maya, running on rocky beaches…I practically threw them off the minute we walked through the door! So…back to flats/boots for me 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Thriftstore scores again!

Sometimes it’s fun to dress up for no reason…

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As a work from home mom, sometimes it’s a miracle if I take a shower, let alone get out of my walking clothes. Yes, this blog has helped inspire me to into normal clothes more often than not, but I still have those days when 7pm rolls around, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and think “YIKES!” Then I’m left to wonder if I even brushed my teeth… :{ Other days, I just feel like putting on some heeled booties and wearing a top that I’ve been “saving for a special occasion” for no real occasion at all. Sadly, I only put the effort in from the neck down haha. No shower, no make up, lazy mom top knot. I did however, brush my teeth 🙂

This is the same park we went to the other the day for Maya’s 3 year pictures. I love that it’s not really a park. It’s in the middle of this little neighborhood, but nobody has ever been there when we’ve gone. Perfect for running around, and nerdy self portraits 😉This was actually sold as a dress. I may have washed it (dry clean only, WHATEVER!!), and shrunk it a little… Like I would ever have worn it as a dress anyway… If Maya had control over what she wore, she would wear this dress and one other one every.single.day. Now, she knows to ask “Is the purple dress dirty?” Because I say that all the time in order to get her into something else haha.She could jump into my arms over and over. “AGAIN!!!” Which is good, because it took me a while to time these right. I really wanted one of her mid air, but we’ll try again another day 🙂Love this next one. I’m so glad she’s such a snuggler!!On me…

Top/Dress- H&M (cream is sold out, but here it is in Black)

Jeans- Goldsign “Mayhem” (Sold out, but similar here)

Boots- Frye “Lisa Short Stitch” (eBay, sold out but similar here and here and less expensive here)

On Maya…

Dress- Hanna Andersson (thrifted)

Shoes- Arizona Jeans (thrifted, but loving these)

Keeping it Real…

Funny story. My husband had a work event a few weeks ago that happened to be in Seattle for once. He asked me to take some pictures, and his one request? “Um, do you think you could wear your hair down?” haha.

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Getting all dressed up for a great cause…

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One of my best friends is the CEO of Alpha Supported Living Services. It’s an amazing nonprofit agency providing supported living and group home services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in homes in King County.

To say I admire all that he does would be an extreme understatement.

One of the fun ways to support him and the agency is their annual benefit dinner. It’s always a beautiful moving evening that leaves you not only thankful that your children are healthy (as selfish as that sounds), but also so relieved to know that there is an amazing place that will truly care for them if they need it in some special way. Also, having been to other events involving their clients, it makes you realize just how special each and every one of these individuals is. That even if they are lacking in certain developmental ways, they make up for it in others. And don’t get me started on the parents. Wow, is all I have to say. Wow. I find myself complaining about daily parental struggles, but the love that all these parents have in their heart and the patience they’ve had to develop. Admirable to say the least!

It’s so hard to pick and choose who you donate your money and time to. Every story that you hear tugs at your heart! I think we all chose things that have meaning to us in some way. I’ve always donated to things that involve children (young and old). Even when having them was not even close to being on my radar. I could go on and on, but in case you want to know more about Alpha, you can do so here.

SO…in a rare occurrence on this blog, I’m in a dress, I actually have make up on, AND my hair is not in a bun SIMULTANEOUSLY! All that happened literally 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave, so there was no time to set up the tripod and do my usual self timer shots. My parents came over to hang with the kids, and my mom was nice enough to run out and take these pictures really quick 🙂 Patiently watching…Ok, in reality, she was just running up and down my neighbors hill in front and in back of me haha 😉 My new favorite picture of me and Maya! Then at the 5 minute mark, the Huz came outside. I asked if he would take a few pictures, and almost fainted on the spot when he agreed! LOVE!!! Now, sadly one of the boys was working and the other was playing video games. Guess that means we get to do another real family shoot for our holiday card!! 🙂

And then of course, I had to get a few more of just the Peanut.On me…

Dress- Karen Zambos (ebay, loving this high neck similar style ONE SALE if you’re a P here)

Shoes- Nine West (thrifted, similar here)

On Maya…

Jacket- H&M (thrifted, but similar here)

Dress- Gap (thrifted, it’s actually a size 5/6, but I love how long it is 🙂 couldn’t find similar style)

Boots- Xhiliration (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

There are a lot of reasons I take a majority of our posts myself with the self timer and tripod. I’ve talked about my control issues before a few times ;). One of the nice things, is that I know when the picture is being taken. Although, one of the funniest things about when someone else takes the pictures, is the outtakes! The look on my face on the left?? And, on the right, I was trying to figure out how to show off the cool sleeves. THAT was not the correct way haha!

(all pictures taken by my mom, except ones of Maya at the end :))

Pops of color…

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Truth be told, I would be happy to wear denim, white, black, and gray all day every day. At one point in my life, I made a conscious decision to try and work color into my wardrobe. I’m still not a big pattern fan, but every once in while I’ll try and do that too 🙂 Part of the reason is that I like to ~~hoard~~ hold on to my clothes FOREVER, and people remember patterns year over year. A well made basic black sweater?? I’ve got some that I’ve had for 15+ years and STILL wear them!

There’s something about this coral color, though. I think it works for just about every season, don’t you?? Please say yes haha.

We went over to a friends house for dinner while the Huz was out of town, and literally took these in 10 minutes before hopping in the car. So…not much variety 🙂 Maya’s Gigi (the Huz’s mom) lives on a ranch in Oklahoma with horses. She STILL competes and places Nationally in Horse cutting. I won’t say her age, but let’s be honest…at 40, I would consider myself lucky to be competing in anything! All that said, she sent Maya these beautiful cowboy boots for her birthday! You will be seeing these a lot in the next few months 🙂 Some boots were made for walking…and some dresses were made for twirling 🙂 On me…

Top- Sanctuary “Jacinda” (Nordstrom Rack a few years ago-Sold out)

Jeans- Vince Destroyed Stretch Skinny (thrifted, similar here)

Boots- Frye “Lisa Short Stitch” (eBay, sold out but similar here and here and less expensive here)

On Maya…

Dress- Hanna Andersson (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Corral Kid’s Turquoise Full Stitch Square Toe Boot

Keeping it Real…

We went over to a friends house for dinner while the Huz was out of town. I literally took these in 10 minutes before hopping in the car. So…for those that wonder if taking pics has to take a long time or if you have to go searching for a fancy location…you don’t. At least not all the time 🙂 Find a nondescript wall or a bush/ivy lined wall, set up your self timer, and snap away. 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Transitioning to fall…Knits + Leather Shorts + Booties

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First of all, I want to say Happy Birthday to my mom!! I am so lucky to have you so close, and look forward to spending today with you!! 🙂 xoxox

Now, I’ll be honest. I was worried that a 40 year old mom had no business wearing leather shorts with booties. That is one of the things that I’ve loved about doing this blog. Stepping out of my comfort zone… Sometimes when I see the pictures, I think “what was I thinking??”, and then other times, I think…”Hey, that actually worked!” I kind of think this worked! It helps that the shorts kind of look like just plain khaki shorts, but that if you get close you notice that they are leather 🙂 On me…

Sweater- H&M (last fall, but similar here)

Belt- Old

Shorts- Current Elliott “Boyfriend Leather” (similar here)

Boots- SixtySeven “Blake” Bootie (Nordstom Rack)

On Maya…

Top- Ahoy Amigo

Skirts- Xhiliration (thrifted)

Shoes- Vans (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

The Huz was out of town, so I had all these hopes of taking some pictures as the sun was setting, with the golden light. Well…the sun sets at 6:30 now!! UGH! I made Maya dinner to go, we raced out of the house at 6:15, then drove to the place I had in mind. The sun was already too far set for my original location, so I drove down to the beach. The sun was literally at the horizon, so I knew by the time I unloaded both of us and set up the tripod it would be gone. Plus, there were a ton of people sitting around watching the sun go down. So… we just pulled over and went to a park instead haha. The moon was literally out when we took these. Best laid plains…oh well.

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Maya is THREE!!

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I’ve been so back logged with work that I haven’t gotten a chance to work on these images from Maya’s 3 year Birthday pictures last weekend besides the sneak peek I did on Instagram! All that said…these aren’t really my favorite images haha. Kind of a great problem to have, no??!! I found out early on in my photography career that props, fancy set ups and “grand intentions” were NOT for me. I’m way more about capturing the emotion on the fly and LOVING moments in between. That said…I give MAD PROPS to all the photographers that do all the complex set ups. It takes time and not to mention pressure on everyone to make it work!!! I obviously can’t handle all that pressure!! 🙂

Can we also just acknowledge that my shirt was completely wrinkle free when I left the house. And by wrinkle free, I mean I spray bottled it 15 minutes prior to leaving while I ran around getting Maya ready. It’s my favorite time saving tip, because WHO HAS TIME TO IRON??!! Yet, sadly…you’d never know… :{ Every year since I took Maya’s newborn pictures, I’ve used pumpkins. What OCD Professional Photog Mama wouldn’t take her own newborn pictures a week after having a C-section?? Here is her one week old pics. I was still new to newborn photograpy, and have lots of regrets/wish I would have known this or that, but…all that said, so happy I was able to capture my own images, as flawed as they might be. I mean, how could I not?? And then…her ONE YEAR SHOOT!! Gah, I die… That chubby little nugget!! SO CUTE, I can hardly stand it!! And THEN…her two year shoot that I lazily did in the alley up the street from our house. Soooo, the tradition had to continue. This time at a park close to our house.OMG, there’s just something about this next one that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!And then, the typical…see ya, Mom!On me…

Top- See by Chloe (eBay)

eans- Citizens of Humanity “Carlton Retro High Rise” (thrifted, sold out, similar here)

Boots- Sam Edelman “Petty Suede Boots” (thrifted for $8.40!!!)

On Maya…

Dresss- Gap (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Osh Kosh from Zulily

Keeping it Real…

Hahaha. This image is SOOOOO Maya!!! I LOVE IT!!! Yet, I probably wouldn’t post it normally, because…well, duh. But, it’s so her. Screaming randomly about NOTHING. It’s not a fit, nor a tantrum, just….a scream :} To which, I always say “Shhhh, “their sleeping”. I kid you not. She’s repeated it to me so many times. “Their sleeping”. Yes, that means, be quiet 😉

Blog Baby Gap Yellow Dress Osh Kosh Leopard Booties-outtake

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Muscle Tees and Leather High Tops

Aaaand it’s sunny again…

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Just when I was getting excited about sweaters, the weather switches it up again! NOT complaining!! Especially since it was warm all day vs cold, warm, cold, warm 🙂Maya’s like “See ya!!” 🙂 Thankfully, she usually comes back for a hug 😉 Not sure how much longer I’ll be able to do these throws, but I’ll do them as long as I can! I swear she caught more air than this haha. Darn self timer 😉 The cool thing about this particular park is all the windy paths that go up and down and around. Maya loves to just run in circles/up and down. GREAT exercise for her, and I don’t have to worry about her running away 🙂She kept running around the corner and yelling “SURPRISE!!” 🙂Running up and down the paths is hard work… 🙂On me…