my first wedding

I did it-- photographed my first wedding! It was a long day (temple, ring ceremony, and reception), but I think it was successful. I've just barely begun to glance at the photos. It's going to take me a while to edit, but I should have some to post in a week or two.

My parents and little brother are in town and we are headed up north to Williamsburg and DC on Monday, so I won't be posting much this week. I promise to actually take some photos on this trip though. We are going to be in DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival which I am really excited about!

Can you believe it is almost April?!

coconut cake

For the annual Relief Society birthday dinner several women in our ward baked cakes that served as the centerpieces for the tables. I, for some reason, got ambitious and baked a coconut layer cake from scratch. I had a little mishap with the whipped icing because Asher was having a breakdown, so I ended up putting a store bought icing on it. But I think it turned out pretty well. It's pretty at least! I love how the toasted coconut camouflages a mediocre frosting job.

sarah, the beautiful bride

Note: I know this blog is becoming less and less "musings" of a redhead and more and more "photos" of a redhead. I promise I am working on having a separate photoblog soon, plus a website for my photography business. Stay tuned.

I had my first bridal session last weekend with the beautiful Sarah. (The wedding is this Saturday and I am photographing that too.) Sarah is a lovely girl to photograph. I think we got some great ones! I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to post.

I played around with this vintage look a little.





We found this beautiful huge tree at a church near campus where we were photographing. Sarah was a great sport and sat in the tree in her dress. These are some of my faves.

i heart google map street view

The past week I've been putting in some serious time online in our hunt for a place to live in Salt Lake. And my best friend has been google map street view. I LOVE that you can put in an address and then see the neighborhood! It's freaking awesome when you are trying to get an idea for an area from across the country. What's not awesome is people who post houses without the address. I mean at least give an approximate location. Just saying "Salt Lake City" is not enough!

By the way, cross your fingers for us because we may have found the perfect place!

wanna win something cute?

My friend Emily is hosting a little giveaway of things created by her friend Sarah--a very talented artist and designer who is starting up an Etsy shop. Go check it out here and enter by tonight to win!

8 months

Once again I am in shock that my little baby is another month old. He now only has 4 months to go until he is one year, people! He continues to delight and amuse us. These past couple weeks he has become VERY mobile, although he's not crawling yet. He is very good at scooting and turning and reaching. And he's started pulling up on things now too. It's really fun to see him gain more and more control over his little body.

One thing he isn't doing is eating solids. We thought we had a breakthrough a couple weeks back, but then he went back to refusing solids. We need to give it another go.

Other things Asher does love:

Looking at pictures--especially of himself
Looking at himself in the mirror
Playing with his toys
Stealing the remote control and cell phone
Giving Mama open mouth kisses on the cheek
Pulling Mama's hair
Playing in the bathtub
Reading and playing with books--he still LOVES all books and is always trying to get Daddy's
Sticking his tongue out
Blowing "raspberries"
Being tossed in the air by Daddy

We sure think this kid is adorable.




*Note: Asher's hair isn't actually as red as it looks here. With the sun shining on it and the colors saturated it looks more red than it is in real life. He has some red undertones which is why it showed up that way, but it's actually more of a light brownish blond.

yay for friends and spring!

Happy first day of spring! I feel like it's been spring for awhile here although we've had spurts of winter returning. Today is sunny and beautiful but only in the 50s. Yesterday was warmer and I had a fun afternoon hanging out with my friend Molly and our kiddos. Then we met up with our husbands and had a delish dinner of pupusas and rice and beans and chips. Yum! I think I could eat that meal multiple times a week.

I also got to take pictures yesterday of baby Thea. Last fall Molly let me practice taking photos of her kids Ella and Asher. Molly was pregnant at the time with Thea and I've been wanting to take pictures of her for months! Finally we got around to it. Thea is four months old and such a cutie!

I had to snap a few of big brother Asher...

And big sister Ella, who LOVES to pose for the camera!


Thanks for the fun day, Molly!

wanted: house to rent in salt lake

I am in the process of trying to find a house we can rent in Salt Lake, which is hard to do from across the country. It's also hard to do because most people don't list houses to rent until about a month before they are available, and we don't need it until June. We are looking for a 3 bedroom place in the Sugarhouse area, which will be close to Jared's work and the kids. If any of you out there in the internets know of anything that fits that bill, let me know. Or if you know any tricks to finding a place long distance, let me know that too. (I've mostly just been checking Craigslist.)

Peace out.

easter photos

Last week I took these pictures for my friend Katie so she could do an Easter card of her cute kids. I love the colors she chose for them to wear and the happy daffodils.

I'm so glad that after days of rain the sun is back!





And this one is from yesterday--I snapped it at the playground of Briar after she feasted on sand!

excuse me while I rant

I hate tv network executives. I hate that they are ratings slaves. I know tv is a business just like everything else, but its product is something people care about and are invested in creatively. Television shows tell stories, and when shows are cancelled before the story is complete it is like only reading 3/4 of a novel. Who wants to do that?! This year has seen the demise of two of our favorite shows--and the only 2 that Jared actually took the time to watch each week--Pushing Daisies and Kyle XY. I have already lamented the loss of Pushing Daisies, one of the most creative, witty, and darling television shows ever! I won't go into it more because it depresses me.

Last night was the "Series Finale" of Kyle XY and it ended on a complete cliff-hanger. No resolution whatsoever. I am so mad! It turns out ABC Family decided to cancel the show after this season was filmed, so the writers didn't have the chance to wrap up the story. I hate that the powers that be base their decision solely on ratings and don't give shows more of a chance. Why don't they try a better time slot and more advertising? Kyle XY was a really interesting show and different than other things on TV. If they really wanted to end it, they could have wrapped up the story satisfactorily in just a few more episodes. But no, now we are left hanging. I think it is ridiculous. Cancelling shows so abrubtly shows a complete lack of integrity and respect for the creative process in story telling. Shame on you, ABC... again!

last weekend

Last weekend we were blessed with deliciously warm spring weather. Yesterday and today a cold front came in, but I know the warm weather will be back. I love spring! Saturday we went to check out a new park in the area. Asher had his first ever swing ride.

He was somewhat underwhelmed.

He looks so little in the swing. Whenever I feel like he's growing too fast, I'll look at these and remember he's still a baby...for a little while longer at least.



Finally a smile!


Then we just hung out on a blanket on the grass soaking in the late afternoon sun.

If you haven't gotten enough of Asher (I know I hardly have any here!) you can see more photos on Asher's blog. It is private so if you don't have an invite and want one and you aren't a stalker, email me.

celebrating with food

In my opinion it's not a special occasion without food. On our anniversary we had two fun, delicious meals.

For lunch: Yummy artisan bread, mozzarella and provolone cheese, and tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (This has become one of my most favorite meals.) To put it over the top we also had delightful blood orange Italian creme soda.

For dinner I really wanted to do something special and surprise Jared. He often cooks amazing meals for us, but when I cook it's usually breakfast food or something simple like pasta. But not for our anniversary! I made tikka masala with chick peas and potatoes and whole wheat naan. It was spicy, creamy, and delicious! (Thanks for the link to this recipe, Rachael!)

For dessert I made Jared's favorite--key lime pie. No picture though.

I do have a photo or two of the happy couple though.

more rasmussens

I did another shoot with the Rasmussens last week now that Joseph is a little bit older and more alert. This time we did the whole family. And of course we got a few more of sweet baby Joseph.

2 years ago

I had a waist.

And long hair.
And we threw a party.

And we ate good food that I can barely remember.
And we danced.
And cut cake.
And most importantly, I married my favorite friend.

It was a great day!

And the past two years have been even better!

(Although I really do wish I could have that meal again and actually enjoy it.)
(And can someone please tell me how it feels like forever ago and like it was just last week at the same time?)

And now we have this little munchkin.

Life is good.

Happy Anniversary, Jared!

Wedding photography by Daniel Vineyard