26 April 2010
Springtime in Plymouth
I'm totally loving living in Plymouth! What a fantastic town! Living near downtown, I get to walk to the bakery, butcher, and produce market, which is so cool! Matt and I have been enjoying the various restaurants and we've been walking around the neighborhoods. There's always something new to discover. Love it love it love it! Oh, and there are blossoming trees everywhere! My neighbor asked me to take a picture of this tree near our home:
19 April 2010
Italy 2010
I first went to Italy in 2006 to fulfill my cross cultural requirements for graduation from Spring Arbor University. Little did I know that three weeks in a country I previously had little interest in would leave me longing to return almost every day after. So, in January of this year, when everything seemed to be lining up right, Matt and I decided to take the jump and plan our Italy 2010 trip for March! We did a whirlwind trip for 10 days. It was so fun to show Matt all the things I had wished I could have shared with him the first time (we were engaged at the time).
We fit in most of the major sites, but most enjoyed the quiet non-touristy stuff. Like our 24 hours spent in Assisi, where the tourist season had not yet started. It was surreal to venture through the super quiet medieval streets at night. We stumbled upon La Bottega dei Sapori, where Fabrazio showered us with Italian hospitality, feeding us various delicious samples of his family's olive oil, truffle oil, balsamic vinegar, and the like. He made us the best pork paninis and sent us off with hugs and kisses!
Our hike in Cinque Terre was amazing too. We hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia, conquering the heights and taking in the view down the cliff and across the sea. It felt like we were the only people on the side of the cliff.
Then there was the evening we spent in Fiesole, just outside Florence. We got there just too late to see the sun set over the city, but we did enjoy looking at the city lights from such a high, quiet perch. Then we enjoyed a quiet dinner at Ristorante Perseus, where we used almost all Italian when conversing with our waiter! Matt had learned how to ask for a glass of red house wine, and I learned how to ask what they recommended and ask for the bill. Between the two of us, we had it covered!
Near the end of our trip, when we were in Venice, we took one of the water buses to the island of Burano, which was one of my favorite places last time. The houses are incredibly colorful, it's away from the bustle, and they have oh-so-gorgeous linens and hand-made lace. We enjoyed a cappuccino off at a quiet corner by the water (being near water always makes my heart sing!) and just relaxed.
I hope you enjoy the little glimpse of Italy that I brought back with me!
**********
This is Bernini's Baldacchino in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. That basilica is so amazingly ornate and beautiful!
Rocca Maggiore, the castle at the top of Assisi, was just a short walk from our hotel. It offers such beautiful views of the area.
This is a view from our hike in Cinque Terre, looking at Corniglia. It wasn't a very clear day, so the waters weren't quite as vibrantly blue as I saw them last, but it was still stunning.
One of our many self-portraits: overlooking Florence from Piazza Michelangelo. We climbed the Duomo (one of my favorite things!) earlier in the day.
The view from Ponte Vecchio in Florence:
Another self-portrait: Standing on the Rialto Bridge in Venice. I think we were laughing because it was proving difficult to get a good self-portrait!
The view of Venice from a water bus.
This is a little taste of the neat textures and colors you find when you're on a gondola ride in the back canals of Venice.
The view from our gondola:
A window on Burano, the most colorful place in the world (in my opinion!):
Reflections of Burano:
We fit in most of the major sites, but most enjoyed the quiet non-touristy stuff. Like our 24 hours spent in Assisi, where the tourist season had not yet started. It was surreal to venture through the super quiet medieval streets at night. We stumbled upon La Bottega dei Sapori, where Fabrazio showered us with Italian hospitality, feeding us various delicious samples of his family's olive oil, truffle oil, balsamic vinegar, and the like. He made us the best pork paninis and sent us off with hugs and kisses!
Our hike in Cinque Terre was amazing too. We hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia, conquering the heights and taking in the view down the cliff and across the sea. It felt like we were the only people on the side of the cliff.
Then there was the evening we spent in Fiesole, just outside Florence. We got there just too late to see the sun set over the city, but we did enjoy looking at the city lights from such a high, quiet perch. Then we enjoyed a quiet dinner at Ristorante Perseus, where we used almost all Italian when conversing with our waiter! Matt had learned how to ask for a glass of red house wine, and I learned how to ask what they recommended and ask for the bill. Between the two of us, we had it covered!
Near the end of our trip, when we were in Venice, we took one of the water buses to the island of Burano, which was one of my favorite places last time. The houses are incredibly colorful, it's away from the bustle, and they have oh-so-gorgeous linens and hand-made lace. We enjoyed a cappuccino off at a quiet corner by the water (being near water always makes my heart sing!) and just relaxed.
I hope you enjoy the little glimpse of Italy that I brought back with me!
**********
This is Bernini's Baldacchino in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. That basilica is so amazingly ornate and beautiful!
Rocca Maggiore, the castle at the top of Assisi, was just a short walk from our hotel. It offers such beautiful views of the area.
This is a view from our hike in Cinque Terre, looking at Corniglia. It wasn't a very clear day, so the waters weren't quite as vibrantly blue as I saw them last, but it was still stunning.
One of our many self-portraits: overlooking Florence from Piazza Michelangelo. We climbed the Duomo (one of my favorite things!) earlier in the day.
The view from Ponte Vecchio in Florence:
Another self-portrait: Standing on the Rialto Bridge in Venice. I think we were laughing because it was proving difficult to get a good self-portrait!
The view of Venice from a water bus.
This is a little taste of the neat textures and colors you find when you're on a gondola ride in the back canals of Venice.
The view from our gondola:
A window on Burano, the most colorful place in the world (in my opinion!):
Reflections of Burano:
12 April 2010
First things first!
Happy April!
Yep, time sure has flown by since I last appeared here! I'm back from my trip to Italy (pictures soon, I promise!), and digging into the business. Since I've moved, I'm reassessing everything, fine tuning my business plan, updating things, and getting the ball rolling here. Whew! It's tiring! But I'm loving it. I'm so excited about what is in store here at my new home! I have high hopes for my photography. I'm so glad I'm finally somewhere I can put roots down, and thus focus on building the business. I can't wait to share all my new ideas and adventures!
But FIRST... You know the concept of "the cobbler's children have no shoes," right? Well, in my case, it's "the photographer and her husband have no wedding album." Eek! We've been married for three and a half wonderful years now, and I'm finally going to order our album this week! I determined that I absolutely had to get this done before I get consumed with everything else. I'll be sure to post pics of the album when it comes in so you can see how beautiful Zookbinder Zookbooks are! I absolutely looooove albums, and I'm hoping to rub some of that excitement off on you, because I know that if you get one from your portrait session or wedding or such you will looooove it too!
In the meantime, check out our wedding album design below (or click the link for a bigger version since this one will be teensy!). The majority of the photography was done by Jody Ross Photography. Some reception pictures and such were also done by my friend, Jeremy Bricker, and others. And the design was done by me!* Oh, and you'll notice lots of words--they're the words from the ceremony, as well as the super sweet toasts Matt's brothers gave. It was all so important to me I just couldn't leave them out!
* Tiny disclaimer: The design is just a tad more old school than I would usually do, but I had to adapt to the photography style the pictures were taken in (as well as the size of the files). Can't wait to show you what my designs are like with my own images!
Yep, time sure has flown by since I last appeared here! I'm back from my trip to Italy (pictures soon, I promise!), and digging into the business. Since I've moved, I'm reassessing everything, fine tuning my business plan, updating things, and getting the ball rolling here. Whew! It's tiring! But I'm loving it. I'm so excited about what is in store here at my new home! I have high hopes for my photography. I'm so glad I'm finally somewhere I can put roots down, and thus focus on building the business. I can't wait to share all my new ideas and adventures!
But FIRST... You know the concept of "the cobbler's children have no shoes," right? Well, in my case, it's "the photographer and her husband have no wedding album." Eek! We've been married for three and a half wonderful years now, and I'm finally going to order our album this week! I determined that I absolutely had to get this done before I get consumed with everything else. I'll be sure to post pics of the album when it comes in so you can see how beautiful Zookbinder Zookbooks are! I absolutely looooove albums, and I'm hoping to rub some of that excitement off on you, because I know that if you get one from your portrait session or wedding or such you will looooove it too!
In the meantime, check out our wedding album design below (or click the link for a bigger version since this one will be teensy!). The majority of the photography was done by Jody Ross Photography. Some reception pictures and such were also done by my friend, Jeremy Bricker, and others. And the design was done by me!* Oh, and you'll notice lots of words--they're the words from the ceremony, as well as the super sweet toasts Matt's brothers gave. It was all so important to me I just couldn't leave them out!
* Tiny disclaimer: The design is just a tad more old school than I would usually do, but I had to adapt to the photography style the pictures were taken in (as well as the size of the files). Can't wait to show you what my designs are like with my own images!
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