“Are you nervous?” Jack asked as I ran around the house like a headless chicken scrambling to find my boots. 

“Not yet, I try not to think about it. The nerves usually creep up in the car on my way there, but mostly because I'm trying to avoid getting lost! Right now I have to focus on getting my hair and makeup done and get out the house on time!” I replied while I tossed all the shoes out of my closet searching for the missing boot!  

As I applied my last coat of mascara, I looked in the mirror and thought how the heck did I get in this situation? ME! The dork
that is afraid of her own shadow! Trying new things, meeting new people, building new friendships and going for her dreams! Who the heck is this chick!  

About a month ago I got invited to go back to the Sitehouse Design January workshop as the Hospitality Host. I was pretty excited
to go back to see the lovely crew and meet the new talents!  

But wait it gets better... two weeks later Ash (Sitehouse coordinator) emailed me offering me the opportunity to photograph the
workshop! My heart skipped a beat right then! Of course I said yes, but not without having to convince myself to take a step outside my comfort zone! The next few weeks was a roller coaster of emotions -honor to even be considered, excitement, then the self doubt sank in (their was no way I could fill the shoes of their usual photographers “Troy & Aimee Grover Photography”).

 After a good pep talk from Jack I realized that I had to jump in, give it the best I had, and if I failed I would just end up
right back where I was yesterday! Back in my comfort zone! Haha! On the other hand there was a chance I would come out smiling and proud of myself for at least trying something new.  

The workshop has came and gone and guess what I made it out alive! :)  I am beyond glad that I took the leap of faith! The team
showed no doubts in my abilities, never did they compare me to the Grovers or make me feel less of a photographer like I had feared! They were actually the opposite, they kept cheering me on! It was so uplifting and an overall awesome experience! Everyone was so thankful and appreciative! I was so honored when Promise asked me to be apart of the team photo! But I have to say thee best part was when the attendees used the headshots that I took of them in their new websites! Im such a sensitive moosh ball -I totally teared up when  one of the Attendees came up to me to thank me for the photos that she proudly displayed on her website! Right then I realized that I didnt need to fill the Grovers shoes, I could wear my own shoes and get around just fine! :)  

For those of you that want to try something different but the negative nancy thats stuck in your head is getting to you –just put a mussel on her. Take a leap! And dont over think your decision because thats when we bail out! I find that it helps me to prepare the day before and try not think about it until you've parked your car -so its too late to runaway! Just Go for it!!! :)   

So awesome to be on the list of Sponsors with some of the best in the industry! Holler Ballerrrrr!!!!

The Sitehouse Team photo :)

A few of the headshots that I took of the attendees :)

The Group photo!!! Such an awesome group of peeps!

A few weeks ago I posted the Pear Orchard Wedding - well after the shoot was done we decided to play dress up with our  beautifully talented stylist Blaire from Sparkles and Vintage!  She was such a good sport and made a great time of it! You'll even notice we used the same groom Andy for a few pics. haha! I'm not gonna lie I was a little jealous that she got to wear the gold glitter gown! ugh! It was to die for! Breathtaking!

Happy girls are the prettiest!

There's our handsome Andy! Thanks Sarah for sharing your boyfriend! Such good sports!

Hello there Gorgeous!!!!

Wedding Venue | Rileys Farm
Furniture Rental & Styling | Sparkles and Vintage
Floral | Victoria Ivy Floral Designs
Photography and Concept | Janelle Marina Photography & Lucy Munoz Photography 
Table Rental | Js party rentals
Hair & Makeup | Sarah Segura
Bridal Boutique | Chic Little Devil Style House
Models | Blaire & Andy

Its been so fun watching my little rugrat Maxx waddle throughout the house -I cant believe he started walking so early! He was already getting into everything when he was just crawling, now he's on a whole other level! Literally! He's into EVERYTHING!!! And he's a "put everything in your mouth" kind of kid! When Jack was a baby we never had a problem with him  doing this. But this kid has magnets for fingers -he can grab anything even a tiny grain of rice to put in his mouth! We definitely have to keep our eyes on him at all times! I cant believe we only have 3 more weeks of Maxx being a baby! :( He'll turn 1 soon and they seem to grow sooo fast after they pass their first year!
 
I've been wanting to share my favorite baby products with you -for those of you that have babies or that are expecting a baby soon or for whoever wants to read it! :) So here they are...

1 >>> For those of you that are pumping I highly recommend the Medela electric breast pump! With my first son I used the manual hand pump and it gave me the worst hand cramps! My hands were getting swole! The electric one is totally the way to go! I know its pretty pricey but luckily my best friend let me borrow hers and it made my life so much easier! If your pumping definitely get the pumping bra! This was you have free hands to change the channel on the remote or read a book! Trust me -pumping is a boring process so you need some form of entertainment :)

2 >>>  I have tried Pampers, Luvs, Huggies (which used to be my favorite) but I finally found my soulmate diapers -the Up & Up Diapers from Target! They are better than Huggies for only half the price! No more leaky diapers for Maxx! Yay!!! 

3 >>> Do you have a drooling baby? I sure did! Especially when he's teething! He was drenching his bibs like crazy and they would soak his clothes! Ugh! Until we found these cool bibs that are waterproof absorbent terry cloth! They have the terry cloth in the front and a plastic liner on the backside to protect their clothes! They are all I used! Saves me from having to change his outfit every hour! They sell these at Target and Walmart too! 

4 >>> Up & Up Wipies!!!! These little babies are thee best!!! They're not too dry, not too wet, they're juuuuust right!!! So soft on their baby bottoms! I stand by the unscented ones! Ive tried the sensitive and I didn't like them as much!
side note: They even remove makeup -which is a total plus!!! 

5 >>> Did you know that the Dollar Tree sells bundles of hangers for adults and babies too? That's where I buy them from now on!

6 >>>  This Fisher Price Sleep & Play saved our sleep for the first few months of Maxx's life! Sometimes babies are congested and when they're super tiny we're afraid of them choking on their spit up! So this cradle is perfectly elevated to help them breath and keep them comfy through the night! 

7 >>>  I have tried soo many doggone diaper rash creams and none of them have worked! I got this ABC Herbal Diaper Rash Cream as a gift back when I had my first son Jack  in 2008 and I swear by it!!! Its only sold online and I order it for all of my friends that are expecting! Its like Magic - its takes the rash away overnight! Poof! Gone!!!

8 >>> And lastly the Fisher Price Swing that moves both front/back and side to side! Its perfect if you have a picky baby -your able to give them options! Did I mention you can plug it into the wall outlet!!! Doesn't need batteries! Awesoooome!!!

Attention GENTLEMAN!!! I'm dying to photograph a PROPOSAL! Please SHARE this on
your timelines to hook your friends up with a free photos of this special
moment!!! Surprise your girlfriend with not only an amazing proposal, stunning
ring, and awesome photographs to capture the moment!

I have met some amazing people while pursuing my dream career as a wedding photographer! Lucy Munoz is a friend of mine that I met a few years ago at a photography meet and greet. We decided to work together on a stylized wedding photoshoot. Our vision was a Romantic outdoor wedding in a Pear Orchard. We wanted to show brides that you can mix glitz and glamour to the rustic outdoors vineyard. We couldn't pull this look off without this awesome creative team:
Wedding Venue | Rileys Farm
Furniture Rental & Styling | Sparkles and Vintage
Floral | Victoria Ivy Floral Designs
Photography and Concept | Janelle Marina Photography & Lucy Munoz Photography
Cake | Pretty Little Pastries
Invitations & Paper goods | Heart and Fox
Table Rental | Js party rentals
Hair & Makeup | Sarah Segura
Bridal Boutique | Chic Little Devil Style House
Bride | Sarah Liz
Groom | Andy Lee