Category Archives: Personal

Woodland Pixie | Maya’s Halloween outfit 2019

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So, I didn’t get in these this year…
I’ve made mild attempts in the past years, but October is my crazy busiest month for work, and this year has been even busier.  I’ve had no time for…well, just about anything.  BUT…I’m determined to still do all the normal stuff for Maya, and attempt to capture it!!
We literally had 5 minutes before Houston was going to take Maya up to his parents house to visit for a few minutes before we ate dinner and then trick or treated. I still can’t believe this was just a branch we grabbed that had fallen down in a storm! I just wound it around and tied a bow in it. Literally…less than a minute, done. ALSO…can’t believe it was slightly warm enough to get a pic without her coat!
This LIGHT!!!
This dress is actually an adult size ballet costume that I thrifted probably 3-4 year ago! Maya hadn’t been that keen on it, but she loved the idea of it for this costume-yay for hoarding haha!! I had to knot it up in the back to make it fit. This last one is so good.  Honestly, I LOVE it, but it’s also indicative of her feelings…
“Are we done yet…?”
On Maya…
Crown- DIY (Literally wrapped a branch we found on a walk around a few times!)
Jacket- Marks & Spencer (thrifted, similar here)
Dress- Adult ballet costume, cinched to fit (thrifted)
Boots- Joy Folie (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
There was lots of “throwing the basket around” attempts…
None of them succeeded…
But, I admire the thought!!

dit-elle-Lauren

3 Generations…Girls Night Out! | Aqua by El Gaucho

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My dad decided a while back that he wanted to do a boys night out with Houston, the boys, and Houston’s dad.

Great idea!!

Oh, but, WAIT!!

Then, my mom suggested that us girls should go out too!  Sadly, my mother in law couldn’t join us, but my mom, Maya and I went out!

Such a special evening. Of course…we’re girls and we used it as an excuse to get dressed up! As we should.

The food was AMAZING! I cannot believe I’ve never been to AQUA by El Gaucho . The food was delicious, views were gorgeous, service was exceptional, and the company…beyond words.

Thanks Mom! ❤️

A few pics we snapped before we hopped into our Uber!

Uber car selfie for the win!

And, Maya took the image of me with my mom!
I mean…

Coloring!

YUMMY FOOD!!
And bathroom selfies! 🙂
I ran outside before the boys left to see if they’d at least let me take a picture with my phone, but…

This was all I got.

THANKFULLY they had their picture taken at the meal!
On me…

Leather Jacket- Vintage (thrifted)
Dress- L’Agence “Sophie  Print Maxi Dress” (eBay $35, retailed $600!!)
Belt- Vintage (thrifted)
Booties- Paul Green “Kimberlie” (eBay $24!!, retailed for $400+)
On Maya…
Jacket- Xhiliration (thrifted, similar here)
Dress- (thrifted, similar here)
Leggings- Crewcuts (thrifted)
Sandals-
Keeping it Real…
Um…where are we supposed to stand??  AND…Maya’s face!
Again…I just want a hug!! haha.
(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

LBD and Booties for our TEN year anniversary!

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Wow…I’m SO behind on blogging, it’s ridiculous.

And…this is my busiest week to date, having photographed 15 families, and two more this weekend, oh…and Maya’s bday tomorrow, but…for F’s sake.  I need to finish this post!!!

Edited to add that, I’m now at 25+ families, and Maya’s birthday was 2 weeks ago, BUT I had a complete rain out this weekend, so, I’m going to be posting ALL THE THINGS!  Ok, I probably won’t, but I’m posting this post that I had 90% done ha!

Our official anniversary was on 8/8 (those pics here), but we went out on the Saturday night after to celebrate.

Good food, amazing wine, and the best company…

Happy Anniversary to us! 

Love is me saying “Can we go take pics??” 5 minutes before he orders the Uber, and he said YES!

Oh, and while I have the tripod set up….can you take a few of me, since the remote still isn’t working?

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!

Again…my love language haha.
My face is like “You’re ok still snapping, right??”
And big thanks to my parents for taking Maya for the night!

I took this right before they took her out to dinner!

In, or course her favorite outfit that they brought her back from Vietnam!
We started off the night going to the Goldfinch Tavern in the Four Seasons downtown Seattle.

It’s a BEAUTIFUL hotel and bar in downtown Seattle.  Not sponsored in any way, but I’ve been the bar a number of times, yet haven’t stayed in the hotel.  It looks amazing though.

The bar has a great happy hour, at times live music, always a great ambiance, and if you can secure it…a great view of the water!  We got there late for that, but didn’t care 😉

Oh, and the food…

SO GOOD!
Next, we went to the Purple Cafe & Wine Bar

Honestly, we rarely leave our neighborhood, BUT the great thing about Seattle and honestly Costco, is that you can get gift cards for 20% off to a bunch of amazing restaurants!  We’ve been to so many, but one memory that we had of an early date night was going to Purple and having stuffed dates with a red wine flight that blew our minds!

SO, we decided to go back and maximize our money!

I would recommend asking to go upstairs if you go.  It’s a much more intimate experience than down below.   Almost as if you are in a small bistro,

We forgot to do that this time, but…we had better light for iphone photos haha.On me…

Dress- Misa Los Angeles “Zelda” (eBay for $30!!)
Leather Jacket- Vintage (thrifted for $6!!)
Cross Body Bag- DVF (eBay, similar here and less expensive here)
Keeping it Real…
One of my fav pics of the Huz, and so accurate of how he feels about pics, but…he’s a trooper!!
I didn’t want to mess with the focusing stand, so…the Huz was my focusing stand.
So…
(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Mother’s Day 2019

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“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.”

– Princess Diana

Well said… and I’ll also add…love and laughter. The two components that make it all worthwhile.

SO glad I have both with my mom and Maya! And even more thankful that Maya has it with my mom too!

It’s a tradition.

The thing my mom and I both want for Mother’s Day?

Pictures!

We used to try and go to a “location” but found that going across the street after dinner for a few minutes made everyone more happy 😂

I think I can safely say for both my mom and myself that we will treasure these forever! ❤️

LOOOOVE  this next one!! LOVE this one too!!!
Truth be told.  The Huz and I were trying to get a picture of just us.  Of course, the quickest way to get Maya into a picture is to NOT want her in one.  
Of course she hopped in and made it the most perfect picture!!
My mom got of few of just me.  This dress is SO comfy!!

On me…

Dress- Gypsy (eBay, similar here)
Belt- Vintage
Sandals- Birkenstock “Gizeh” (thrifted, like new for $25!!)
 
 
On Maya…
 
Dress- Fleurisse “Samantha” (eBay for$3.50-retail $245!!!)
Sandals- Stuart Weitzman Kids “Camia Ava” (thrifted, similar here)
 
 
Keeping it Real…
 
I swear every time we take family pictures my mom and I think…”Well, hopefully we got ONE!!” haha.  And then every time we get SO MANY!!  But it’s not always smooth sailing and happy laughter and smiles… 😉 .   
 

We were taking pictures right in front of my neighbors house, and of course they came outside…haha.  Don’t mind us.  Fortunately, they are used to it by now!Hope everyone had an amazing Mother’s Day!!
 

Maya is 7!

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 We took these pictures the day before Maya’s birthday (which was October 4th…) . I kept meaning to do a post that honored her, and well…October FLEW BY!

Well, things haven’t really slowed down, but I wanted to make sure I posted these before too much time had passed…

I just went back and reread last year’s birthday post, and so much of it is still spot on.   Which proves that you will always be unapologetically YOU!  At least I hope you will…

You are both equal parts incredibly sweet and cuddly yet fiery with a “HISS” and claws ready to pounce!  Which…anyone who knows you, knows exactly what this last part looks like! 😉

You still love to sing, and have started making up your own songs.  They are AMAZING!!  Usually you don’t like me recording them, but I’ve managed to get a few!  One of which you taped yourself in one of the last posts!  Never mind me yelling at you in the beginning haha.  I had no idea what you were doing…

You’ve also started making up your own jokes and riddles.  I keep asking at the end…”Did you make that up??!!”  Yup!

You still don’t like organized sports and prefer to just have FUN!  I keep signing you up though, much to your frustration…When you try, you’re very good!

You do love to swim though, and really turned a corner over the summer!

You are still hands down one of my favorite people to be around!  Our morning snuggles are the best part of my day, as are our bed time cuddles/reading.  We’ve plowed through a number of series.  Some of your favs are the “My Happy Life” series and Ivy and Bean.  You read the first page and I finish the chapter.  Then if you want another chapter we alternate pages.  It’s been what’s made the biggest difference in your reading.  Anything to stay up later!  Kind of patting myself on the back for figuring that out 😉

We end every night blowing kisses to each other…you in bed, me at your door.   Then, we fight over who loves each other more.

Ps- I do!

It was SO windy when we got to the beach, and I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get any shots!  I actually LOVE how the wind made our hair crazy!  Definitely good for a laugh! I jumped in for a few 🙂

This is my fall uniform.  Cozy knit, skinnies, and booties. Looooove. One of my favs!

On me…

Sweater- Joie “Fringe Cardigan” (eBay $20)
Top- The Great (eBay $3!!! short sleeve here and less expensive here)
Jeans- Frame (eBay $18)
Boots- Frye Billy Short (thrifted NWT for $50!!)
On Maya…
Dress- Crewcuts (thrifted)
Boots- Frye “Veronica Slouch” (thrifted for $15!)
Keeping it Real…
I honestly could have done an entire post of bloopers!  The wind really was impressive!! Almost blew her over! Because it was so windy, I couldn’t hear when the shutter would go off.  SO…there’s a lot of me checking the remote.
And…Maya kissing where I was!!  HAHAHA 🙂
(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Happy Birthday to me! | 44

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 Ok, so my birthday was back on the 18th, but there were a few delays celebrating, and then more delays on me working on the pics.

I just realized I haven’t posted for almost 2 months!  There was a time when I posted every single day.  What the what??  Then it went to 3 times a week… Then a few times a week.

And now…

Well…

Here’s some pics from my birthday celebration. I’m obsessed with anything cowl neck!!  If it has it in the back, I’m always in! That grin though… Slightly out of focus, but whatever…. Getting the Huz in front of the camera requires a special occasion, and I WILL pull the bday card!!  🙂 Loooooove this next one! Maya fake laughing…um…? One of the reasons we didn’t celebrate a little sooner was that Maya fell off a bench at Girl Scout camp and cut her head open.  This kid can handle pain like a CHAMP, but…trips to the Dr and treatment…not so much.  Trips to two different Urgent Cares later…she was totally fine, but our dinner reservation was not.  BIG thanks to my parents who had dinner waiting for us when we finally came home.

A few days later we celebrated for real, and…you’d never know she had 5 stitches in her head 🙂 Maya’s in a “I’m going to make any kind of face but a real smile for pictures” phase…it’s neat. But she sure does love her Meme and BOPO.

At some point I’m hoping to get back to blogging here regularly.  I miss it.  I miss taking pics with Maya.  I miss the documentation of what’s going on in our lives, because honestly…  In the blur of our chaotic life, I forget… I forget the little moments, and to be honest, I have to stop and really think to remember the big moments.  This blog was my reminder.

Truth be told, it was also my highlight reel.  And while that’s not a true depiction of our day to day life, I need that to look back on sometimes.

SO…hopefully we will get back to this more regularly, but maybe we won’t and that’s ok too.

On me…

Top- Boulee (eBay)
Jeans- 3×1 (ebay)
Sandals- Ugg (thrifted, love these on sale here)
On Maya…
Dress- Crew & Lu (Old, but love this updated one!)
Leggings- Gap Kids (thrifted)
Shoes- Naturino (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
When you aren’t sure if the timer is working….but it is haha 🙂
Maya aka Zoolander…. Um…is this thing on?
Yup. And where are we supposed to stand??
🙂 Pretty typical Maya shot as of late… AND…I messed up where we were supposed to stand!!!  SO BUMMED, but…still love this in all
it’s blurry goodness 🙂
(Most pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya and my Parents and a few of me and Maya-thanks mom!  :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Happy Mother’s Day to me! | 2018

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 I don’t really want a big fanfare for my birthday or Mother’s Day.   Really, I want a hall pass on some of the day to day duties (namely DINNER!) and I want pictures-duh.

It’s what my mom and I ask for every year, and I’m SO glad I have them to look back on!!

If you want, you can look back on 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 part one and two (lucky year!), and 2017.

And…I’ll admit.  This next shot wasn’t just of me haha.

The remote was going crazy and firing off never ending shots until we turned the camera off!  Needless to say, there are a LOT of outtakes.  And…some of Maya and the Huz next to me with questionable looks on their face :).  But, since I didn’t get a chance to take a pic of just my outfit…this will have to suffice 😉 What to say about this sweet nugget…

While she challenges my patience, she also brings me so much joy, love, and pride every single day!

I am one lucky mama.
And…twinning is always winning! Love these next few!!!

BUT…just wait for the outtakes at the end…
My new favorite of the three of us!! And…to my amazing mom and friend…

Maya and I are both SO lucky to have you in our lives!  Even luckier that it’s in our daily lives!! I can’t even… Again….NEW FAVORITE!
Funny story.  I cropped myself out of this shot because I was frantically running towards the camera on the tripod that was going CRAZY taking pics!  Maya’s face though….WORTH IT! All the heart eyes… Pretty much the best reality of our group shot attempts… But then we got this!! And this, so…I’ll take it all! And then…letting her do what she loves to do.

Which, is what I love to capture, so…win WIN!

On me…

Dress- Corey Lynn Calter (eBay for $14!!, LOVING this midi version!)
Clogs- Sven “Ankle Wrap Strap”C/O
On Maya…
Dress- (thrifted, but similar here)
Keeping it Real…
I thought of doing an entire post of our outtakes, but…let’s be honest.  I don’t even have time
to blog REAL posts, so…here are some of the best ones.  There are more!
SO…just know…as my mom and I walked away, we thought…
“I’m sure we got one or two…”
And of COURSE we did.  BUT…, it wasn’t all super smiley perfectness…
AND, I really could have posted twice as many outtakes, BUT, I also could have posted twice as
many shots that I love too!  I guess it’s all about balance…and…reality. 🙂
This first one.  Maya probably telling my parents she doesn’t want to take pictures.  And one of the many shots with the shutter firing when it wasn’t supposed to!
Hahaha.  Yes, by butt as a try to stop the shutter AGAIN, and Maya picking her nose…as she does ALL THE TIME. Licking me….as she does ALL THE TIME 😉
Me trying to wrestle her to NOT lick me… Maya giving herself a hickey that you can STILL see 3 days later…I love that I caught the remote being thrown in mid air.  I’d had it with it’s craziness!
Maya probably explaining to me how I can fix it 🙂
AND….any guesses what I’m about to say here?? 🙂
Even with all these, I’m so grateful for ALL these images, and feel totally thankful for my role as
a mama to Maya and daughter to my amazing mom!
Most pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod.  Or taken by me, my mom, and my dad!

dit-elle-Lauren

Happy New Year! | Family Pictures, a little late…

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 I honestly wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to take family pictures this year!

Between my work schedule on the weekends, Jackson’s schedule coming home for the weekend, the WEATHER, and…my overall desire to pick up my camera for anything that wasn’t being paid for…well.  That left one weekend in mid December, and all the stars aligned!!

I almost didn’t do a card this year, because we missed all the deadlines for STEEP discounts at most card vendors, and I honestly like to upload my own simple design that focuses on the image with only a few simple graphics.

Low and behold…I randomly tried Costco!  AND…you can upload your own design front and back!  Huge for me, because I can never decide on ONE picture to post!  And, sorry for those of you that do, but I don’t want a bunch of small images.  It’s a GREAT way to share a bunch, but I really like one image of us all looking at the camera smiling, and then a more candid happy shot.

And, no coupon code needed!  It was super affordable!  This is NOT a sponsored post!!!  I wish it was haha.  But, just know, you can absolutely print your professional pictures at Costco, with the CAVEAT of marking the button at the end of your check out “do NOT color correct!”

My parents joined us! Love these shots of them! And Maya could NOT be any luckier in the big brother department!  I kind of feel sorry for any guy that dates her…

Watch out for BIG brothers that LOVE their little sister! That gap tooth smile…LOVE!  And it’s even more gap toothed now!  And will be SO gap toothed in few more months! And…getting this guy in front of the camera is not easy.

I talked a lot about how thankful I was for Maya and my mom in the last post that I did…a few weeks ago-yes, I took a break from blogging for a while. I need to mention that I couldn’t be more thankful for this guy!  The way he looks at me is enough, but what he does on the daily…

Works his ARSE off to provide for us, while working from home and no longer traveling so that he can be HOME.  He made a conscious decision to try something different because he wants to be with us, which speaks volumes to how lucky our family is to have him.

Does he “complete” me?  No, but he compliments me in just about every way.  Literally is not only the yin to my yang, but the yin to my yin, and the yang to my yang!  In ways that I never thought I needed someone to compliment me.  And I don’t mean saying nice things to me, although he does that too.  🙂

He’s always been SO supportive of everything I’ve ever done, and consistently helps with my business in ways that I NEVER could.

At the end of the day…I can’t wait to just hang out with him, and I think that’s the most important thing!
Might be one of my new favs of the three of us!  Thanks Huz! Oh, and had to take an outfit pic!

On me…

Top- Ramy Brook (eBay, similar here or sleeveless here)
On Maya…
Jacket- Crewcuts (thrifted, but similar here)
Sweater- Crewcuts (thrifted, but similar here)
Dress- Gap Kids (thrifted)
Tights- Hanna Andersson (old, but similar here)
Boots- Nine West “Sassy Tran”  (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
Ok, Maya was ON FIRE for this family shoot, which is usually not the case!
I know…SO WEIRD if you follow us and see her in every other post, but during family shoots, she has freaked out more often than not.
BUT…this year.  I told her she was free to be her goofy self.  That i WANTED her to be that way.  Well…she took that to heart haha.  BUT, it made everyone else laugh too, so I’ll TAKE IT!!
(All FULL family pictures taken with a self timer shutter release and tripod, but everyone pitched in for the rest!)

dit-elle-Lauren

Thankful for (in reality Thanksgiving) in 2017

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 This post is a liiiiiittle late, but…  Better late than never, I say!

This year was ridiculously busy!

I kept holding out the hope all year that when Maya started kindergarten, I’d be getting things done left and right!  I’d be knocking things off my “to do” list every week and then some!

That SO did not happen.  If anything, it was the exact opposite.

I often felt like I was running from one thing to the next and failing at SO many things.  I think when things are like that, it’s super important to stop and not only give myself some slack (very hard to do in reality!!), but remember how many things are amazing in my life.

I have SO many things to be thankful for!

HER!  Above all else.  I’m so thankful for this sweet nugget.  Every single day she says or does something that makes me SO happy and incredibly blessed that she’s in my life.

That laugh?  That joy?  It’s so infectious!  And this is her on the daily.  I am so lucky that I get to bask in it! Oh, and the fact that my parents are only a few blocks away?  Don’t get me started on how thankful I am for that!

Maya is SO lucky to have my parents in her life, and I am too!

So many last minute “Hey…do you want to….” or “Could you help with….” and they are alway up for it!

Weekly Sunday walks, last minute date night baby sitting, taking Maya to every single movie she’s ever been to.

No, I’ve NEVER taken Maya to a movie…EVER.  I’m SO thankful that my parents have taken her to ALL of them!!!

Oh, and watching her when we go out of town for a weekend getaway, coming over for pretty much every holiday dinner (that is always planned late minute-sorry!).

And my mom being up for last minute pictures?  LOVE THAT!  Pretty sure I told her I planned to run outside for a few pictures before our Thanksgiving dinner about an hour ahead of time.  Oh, and it was RIDICULOUSLY windy!!  DUH.  And we thought at the time that we got no good pictures, but…
I will treasure these images forever. LOVE THEM!!! And then my sister in law came over unexpectedly and Maya suddenly turned on the charm.

As she does… And I couldn’t be more thankful!!

Because this is SO HER!!!

Next week I’ll post our family pics we FINALLY took!  That in itself is something to be thankful for, but will be talking about even more things I’m thankful for in that post.

On me…

Sweater- Vince (Nordstrom Rack)
Boots- Frye (Old, similar here)
On Maya…
Jacket- Hudson Kids (eBay, but similar here)
Leggings- Children’s Place (thrifted, but similar here)
Cowboy Boots- Nordstrom “Cassidy”  (thrifted, but similar here)
Keeping it Real…
 Yes, most of Maya’s pictures are with her sticking her tongue out… 🙂
Did I mention it was WINDY?? I often have to wrangle a runaway Maya
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Happy Birthday to my MOM!!

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Ok…this is a month and a half late, but…better late than never, right?!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

I asked my mom if she wanted to to get manicures, or have some pictures with me and Maya…

She picked pictures-birds of a feather and all that haha 🙂

Looooooove this next one!! I mean….SO CUTE, right?!But this next one!!!!

Loooooove!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

We are sooooooo lucky to have you in our lives, and I am so thankful for the relationship that Maya has with both you and dad.

We love you!!

*******

No links on this post, sorry!  No time, and I really just wanted to post it!  If you have any questions, just let me know!

Keeping it real…

I actually looked back (thank you text messages!!), and the afternoon went like this…

I worked while Maya was at school.

I literally texted my mom at 2:00 to ask if she wanted to take a few quick pics for her bday.  The only thing was that we needed to leave by 3:00 to get to Maya’s gymnastics class.

All that said.   In it’s entirety, this shoot was 10 minutes.  And, to be real…Maya wasn’t really into it at first-such is life…

I’m sooooo thankful to have captured these images of us!!!  To be honest….we left-rushed and wondering…

“Did we get ANYTHING?!!”  haha.

(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod)

dit-elle-Lauren