Randomness: Happy Mother's Day 2014

{ this is part 1 of a 2 part post }

As I look back at these pictures from Mother’s Day and sort through the ones I want to feature for this randomness post,  I have the overwhelming sensation to cry. When I dropped my mother and her husband off at the airport, I was so sad to see her go that I accidently dropped them off in the arrivals section of the airport…subconsciously I wanted to start their visit over again.

                Going back to my childhood home (WEST-COAST is the BEST-COAST) is not always easy and is a rarity.  With the cost of airline tickets, pairing up vacation time with hubby (and his accursed school schedule), and toting a two-year old across the country…well, sometimes it’s too large a feat to undertake.  Unfortunately for me most of my family is there. You can just imagine everything I miss: new family additions, birthdays, holidays, etc etc. Luckily, I have an awesome husband, son, dog, and my 2nd family (hubby’s family) is all along the east coast and in driving distance to spend long weekends with.…But a daughter needs her mother! So, I was elated when my mother planned to come visit us for 3 weeks.

We shared some amazing memories during these past weeks, Mother’s day being one of my favorites.  I haven’t been able to celebrate this particular holiday with my mother since I moved to the east coast (9 years ago) and now that I am a mother myself it truly meant a lot to spend mother’s day with my mom.

                For this special day, my husband and I planned an elaborate brunch where we enjoyed everything from fruit and fresh bread to mimosas. 

Madre, this post is dedicated to you, I love you!

 Here are a few photos we took of our Mother’s Day Brunch

Thank you to catch my party for the assist on the oh so cute printables

This quote is perfect!

Although I know if my mom could she would still want to hold my hand thru life. But don’t worry mom you have what’s most important , my heart !



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Kisses for Grandmita after presenting her with her mother’s day gift



… and kisses for me. I love love love my new moccasins, thank you Julian aka Daddy

After a relaxing morning we packed up our matriarchs and took everyone out for a late lunch to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.   This bridge tunnel, for those of you who do not live in the Hampton Roads area, connects Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore and spans miles of water using a system of…you guessed it, bridges and tunnels.  Having driven across this bridge/tunnel system numerous times for camping trips in Assateague or to visit my other Family in New York, I have always seen signs for a restaurant located on one of the bridge portions of this mega-cool road.  I must say, the 360 degree views of the ocean were fantastic, the atmosphere was beach-y yet sophisticated, and the company I kept was marvelous.  This ended up being a highlight of spending the day with my mother, as we were able to see a lot of history on this little outpost, snap some wonderful pics, and eat a satisfying lunch (definitely try the flounder if you go!)…plus the drive was about as beautiful as beautiful could be.



My mom and her son-in-law





What would a mother’s day post be without  a selfie from my mom and i!



This post is also dedicated to the other 3 special moms in my life; my dad’s loving wife Ada, and my husband’s wonderful and amazing mom and stepmom, Karen & Virginia. I love you all dearly 

Lifestyle: Pi'ilani & Richie, Christmas Love 2013

If you are a reader to this BLOG then you’ve known my favorite thing to do is to shoot couples. Don’t get me wrong I love the families, kids, pets , of course wedding and parties, but my ultimate passion is capturing the love between two people. For me nothing compares to getting that perfect kiss right at sunset or trapping that lovers gaze eternally in a picture. (wow that was pretty cheesy lol )

This is my second year of having the pleasure of shooting Pi’ilani and Richie for their annual Christmas card. Not only are they the picture perfect couple, they just so happen to be some of my best friends.  This year we had a very special guest the couples newest addition… Alana, their Beagle hound.    

Oh, let me not forget to mention an uninvited guest by the name of mother nature, she made us cut our shoot early. It was COLD!!!! Extremely cold, it was 29 degrees in the sun ( well at least for me and Pi’. Hey what do you expect, she is from Hawaii and I’m a Cali girl )  

None the less we were able to get some awesome shots

Here is Richie & Pi’ilani featuring Alana Christmas 2013





look at these faces



so sexy



This picture is perfect, they are so playful and sweet to each all at the same time.

I just adore this picture!



Pi, you are so pretty and Richie you are working it.







Mele Kalikimaka Richie & Pi’ilani! You two are the definition of being genuine and true. I am so blessed to have you both as my friends! May you both continue shine in 2014. I love you guys!!!

all my love,

Rie`













Engagement: Will & Tina part I

One of my favorite things to do is shooting couples.  I adore capturing the love between two people and getting that special romantic moment frozen in time…

Lately, here where I live the weather has been monsoon like or at least it feels like it. This means constant reschuleding (no bueno)

I met this lovely family a few months ago and we finally decided to set a date for a last minute engagement session (and by last minute, I mean they are tying the knot on the 31^st of this month) but due to the monsoon like (I exaggerate) conditions it had been nearly impossible to shoot. Luckily this past Wednesday the rain Gods graciously gave us a break and we fully took advantage and I am glad we did because the end result was stunning…

Here is Will & Tina (featuring Serenity) part I

I must admit I was a little apprehensive going into this shoot, I was concerned with losing the light and the possibility of getting rained out again. But with shooting later in the evening come some advantages; beautiful sunsets and striking silhouettes, and with Will & Tina as my subjects the photos couldn’t have been more gorgeous!

These two love birds were so enamored with each other that Will didn’t miss any opportunity to steal a kiss from his soon-to-be bride.

This lovely little lady is Serenity, Tina’s daughter. We knew prior to shooting that we wanted to incorporate her in their engagement pictures is some way. I made her the heart of this couples love (she already is) Serenity is the sweetest little girl and loves her soon -to- be dad very much and absolutely loves to take pictures.

She ended up giving me ideas for poses and she made one HECK of a good assistant (Thanks Serenity!)

This was one of the last shots of the night; I love the casual carefree vibe of this photo (not to mention the sky) what an awesome way to wrap our session.

I am so excited to see this family become ONE {stay tuned for part two} it will be so special to see Serenity walk her mommy  down the aisle, but I can’t wait to capture Will’s face when he sees his beautiful bride coming down the aisle.

Congratulations guys!!

Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of you’re special moment.  

Couples: Class Superlatives

Class Superlatives

If I gave out superlatives for my friends (which I did, btw) these two, would hands down be “cutest couple” / “couple of the year”
Let me introduce you to Richie and Pi’ilani (“PE”)

After weeks of talking about how nice it would be to have semi-professional photos we finally set a date to take shots for their annual Christmas card. I had such a blast shooting this loving couple and the final product turned out awesome!
Being that PE is native Hawaiian she wanted to stray far away from the typical Beach photos and opted for a more fall inspired shoot. I enjoyed spending over 3 hours together with them in what seemed to be extra cold Saturday in Virginia Beach. We had so much fun and I couldn’t have asked better models/friends.

These two couldn’t take a bad picture even if they tried. I can’t wait for PE and Richie to grow their family. They’ve already booked me for all their family milestones! I love you guys