Honeymoon!

Steven & I got married this past summer (July 30). Although we would have loved to go honeymooning right away, with Steven's workload & my summer wedding calendar + editing, it just wasn't the best time to bail on real life.  Plus - Oregon is AWESOME during the summer!  We didn't want to leave during our favorite months.  So, we took a quick mini-moon (an overnight on the coast), got back to work, and began to plan our REAL honeymoon.

Emily & Steven's Honeymoon Requirements Checklist:

• Place neither of us have ever been before (this was trickier than expected)
• Hot tub & lots of time for R&R
• Lots of yummy food/restaurants

We originally planned on a beach getaway, but Alaska Airlines distracted us with their winter getaway ads. All of a sudden we were ooh-ing and aah-ing over log cabins, cozy fireplaces, snowy hot tubbing, and hotty toddys. 

Result: Schweitzer Ski Resort  One week of snowboarding, sledding, tubing, snow-shoeing, snow-hot-tubbing, and tons and tons of yummy food and wine.  Details Below.  :)

We had THE YUMMIEST PIZZA EVER at 2nd Ave Pizza. The slices were almost too tall to fit into my mouth, the toppings were amazingly fresh, and the service was awesome. Our only complaint was that the pizza was so amazing that it probably ruined all future pizzas for us by being so yummy. 

As far as snowboarding went: AWESOMETASTIC!! There was fresh powder daily & virtually no lines on any of the lifts.  The days were mostly sunny & clear. It was better than I dared let myself wish for.  

After snowboarding, it was time to soak in the hot tubs. I kept meaning to remember to bring a camera to that phase of the evening, but lucky for you, I forgot and this post is hot-tub-photo-free.  :)  

Another dinner.  :)  This place had live music and they seated us next to the fireplace. WIN!

Although there was no way that I was vacationing without a camera, I did take a pretty big break. This vacation included fewer than 100 total photos. I would have loved to have taken tons of snowboarding photos, but that wasn't really the point of this trip.  :) Plus, the snow was seriously just too amazing.  
AWESOME VIEW!! (BELOW)

Our cozy cabin suite.  :)

Steven didn't even question why I had 9 pairs of shoes (not counting my snowboots) for a 6-day trip. LOVE HIM!

Oh, and YES, I did use this trip as an excuse to buy new shoes. I've been avoiding the responsible purchase of some really good snowboots. Until now. The honeymoon seemed like a perfect excuse to get matching his & hers snowboots.  Try not to gag. They're super-good boots.  

Our view from our little condo-cabin.  :)

Some nights, we were just too tired from snowboarding to trek down the mountain for dinner. Luckily, there were lots of yummy places to eat on the mountain.  :)  

Some of my family live nearby. They had us over for an evening of awesome company and equally awesome food. :)

Our last dining experience was a recommendation that we got from family dinner night. I'm SUPER-GLAD we listened.  The Little Olive was wonderful. Our server was one of those who just takes the meal up a notch and makes the whole evening better. My wine was amazing & I could've eaten the ceviche all night long. 

We almost made it the whole trip without taking a photo of the two of us. :)  Almost.  

Sharing my "Leaf Wisdom"

The past few weeks have been full of Leaf Shoots, Fall Color Shoots, and Hot Cocoa Shoots (Yes, my job is super fun.)  And, I'll be honest, it totally took me back to when I used to play in leaf piles. And, I found myself telling all sorts of silly stories from when I used to be the one jumping in the leaves instead of taking pictures of the ones jumping in the leaves.  

So, you know I had to go through the old scrapbooks and find some evidence of that awesomeness.  (See Below)

Below is a photo of me and some of my childhood besties; I'm looking fabulous with my mouthful of braces and a nice gray sweatshirt to match.

We had just finished raking all of the leaves in our neighborhood...and transporting them via high-speed wagon-ride to the front yard of the empty house next door. So that we could have the biggest leaf pile. Ever. So. Fun.  

Of course, after building such an awesomely large leaf pile, there's only one reasonable thing to do next: Jump!

So, how are YOU enjoying Fall?

I'm a Photographer. Not a Juggler. Obviously.

I've really been enjoying all of the excitement that this year has brought me. I've met some seriously amazing people, been to some really cool places, and learned SO much along the way. My business is growing and I can see the progress. There's not a single experience along the way I'd want to have skipped.

...Which is a bit of the problem. I'm a "YES" girl. 

And, sometime this week, my Yesses finally caught up to me. I called my mommy and had a good cry. I kept telling her about all the stuff I was up to, but somehow "I'm SO Tired" crept into all of my updates for her.  After approximately the 25th time she told me it sounded like I needed a break, I heard what she said.  

The problem was actually LISTENING.  I hung up the phone and vowed to go veg out. And then I replied to 8 work emails. And paid 3 work bills. And made one work phone call.  

And then I decided to get out my camera and play.  Because I haven't done a real self-portrait in awhile.  

And this one is very real. No photoshop. No shower, no hair brush.  Because it's been that kind of week and today is NOT my "Friday"...I have work tomorrow.  :)