Lifestyle: Fabulous, Fearless , & Fifty!

I know I usually start off my “behind the scenes” posts by saying what a great time I had, but this event takes the cake.  I had the honor of being part of an extraordinary birthday celebration…

This wasn’t just a party, this was an event. I was completely  blown away by the magnitude of love emanating from each and every person present (and not physically present ) to celebrate Margaret’s 50^th Birthday. What made this particular event so special for me was that I experienced the emotions all the guest where going through, as if I’d known the Hall family for years. I laughed, I cried , I fell in love with this remarkable family.

Even  before I  exited my car I was already greeted with the warmest of welcomes. A stunning beach front home ( that could literally be on the cover of Southern Living Magazine) set the perfect backdrop for the party. Featuring the finest  Italian cuisine, catered by Mrs. Margaret’s favorite restaurant.  

 This was a super surprise for Mrs. Margaret,  she had no idea her daughters along with some family members planned to surprise her. As family & friends started to arrive the anticipation started to grow for the Birthday Girl’s arrival!!

{Without further ado the birthday girl herself… }

Surprise!!!

Believe me when I tell you, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house during the toasts. It was by far my favorite part of the night, I loved listening to  everyone share their special moments with Mrs. Margaret. The loved ones who weren’t able to join the festivities were able to yet again surprise the woman of the hour by  phoning in and face-timing.

by far seeing the look on Mrs Margaret’s face from the moment to she made her grand entrance was good enough for me; but the fact that I got to be there to witness the little special moments she shared with her siblings and most important her two beautiful daughters throughout the night, I consider myself so lucky. She has an enormous heart  and her  smile/laugh is so infectious you can’t help but be happy around her.

 This is one of my favorites shots with the beautiful Ashley and Kendra who are Mrs. Margaret’s pride and joy


the hands that hold the heart



a mothers hands are never empty



Once again, Happy Birthday Mrs. Margaret!!!

Thank you for allowing me to capture these memories!

 

Whats burning: Waffles & Smoothies

“What’s burning” is my first cooking/kitchen series where simply put; I post the stuff I make in the kitchen.  Mainly this series is for my Mommy, who is pretty much the only one who unconditionally loves the crap I make! (I LOVE YOU MADRE)

One of my favorite things about the weekend is making breakfast. Monday thru Friday, life is so hectic that our breakfast usually consists of “whatever we have time to grab" {thank goodness my son gets breakfast at school}

 I love going "all out" for our breakfast on the weekends, and going out is not an option. In our household we maybe eat out twice a month. So by going "all out" I mean, I like to make casseroles, breakfast skillets, eggs Benedict, pancakes (of course) all sorts of stuff. But lately I've been in a breakfast rut due in part to the boys only ever wanting chocolate chip pancakes.

 So, this morning I decided to make waffles instead [way to think out the box Rie' (sarcasm) ] lol!

 Oh, I also forgot to mention, my husband won't eat veggies or fruit [I know!] so instead of garnishing his plate with pretty fruit in the hopes he might actually eat it, I opted for the house favorite... Smoothies! Best thing ever invented for those picky eaters of every age.

Menu:
Chocolate chip waffles
Turkey bacon
Turkey breakfast sausage ( make the switch, it's so good )
Eggs
Topped with light maple syrup & cholula



Dads plate 



Smoothie:
Ice
Orange juice
Frozen berries
Clementines
Kale
Splash of lemon juice

Thanks for stoping by!!!

Weddings: Will & Tina Part II

The big day for Tina and Will couldn't have come on a more perfect day! A warm, but not too hot summer day was the backdrop for a very fun beach wedding.

Recipe for a fun and carefree beach wedding:

1. Ceremony on the beach side

2. Reception at a cool beach house

3. Time, sunset

4. Awesome bridal party & guests

I just adore this picture of Tina's bridesmaids. You can't see her here but she was being hidden from the groom in this picture.

                  Here she is hidden in-between her bridesmaids and looking beautiful.

If you can’t already tell from this couple previous session, I love sun flares. They add an extra element to my photos and being that the wedding took place right before sunset I couldn’t resist shooting into to sun to get these next shots, check out some of the attractive bridal party…

 

… And speaking of bridal parties, this bunch sure didn’t disappoint. Every single member of this wedding party held an extra special place in the hearts of the bride and groom. From one of Tina’s best friends officiating the ceremony to all the gorgeous children that played intricate roles in the ceremony and in the couples lives.

Oh and did I mention these guys sure know who to have a good time!! They had so much fun with the different poses. Living in the era of the “selfie’s”, “duck faces”, and “photo bombs” you can only imagine the silliness. These guys were up for anything, i had such a fun time with these awesome people.

And finally, the stars of the show; Will and Tina! I saved the best for last. These two love birds looked so perfect together on their big day. It goes without saying; Tina made a dashing bride and Will looked ever so stylish in his fedora.

I just want to end this post by saying congratulation again to Will & Tina and may your newly formed union bring you endless years of joy and fun overflowing with love and countless blessings.

All my love,

Rie`  

My Weekend Aug. 24th & 25th 2013

My world consists of many important things, that without I would literally be nothing. First and foremost is...

My family (the Ultimate Trifecta)!  Besides being nothing without them, who would they have to annoy them if it wasn't for me taking pictures of everything <lol>
The males in my life are my muses (whether they like it or not)
I get so inspired by the innocence and youthfulness of my son. Everything he does warrants an impromptu photo shoot if you ask me.

With that said, this weekend wasn't without any shortage of pictures. I had such an awesome few days with my muses. We spent Saturday touring dads (my husbands) new university campus

             

I'm so proud of you KuKu!!

It wouldn't be a complete outing without a family trip to Starbs 

 

Although, I was highly disappointed because this particular Starbucks was "out" of chocolate whip cream ( first world problems ) 

One of the draw backs about being the family "photographer" is the lack of pictures of myself. But I can always count on my husband to take the most candid, unflattering pictures of me lol

After a long afternoon of walking we headed back home for a little relax time. Once at home my hubs surprised me by telling me he had a sitter planned to watch the baby and that we were going out on our first date night in almost 3 years (we have been out w/o the baby, but never just the two of us in a romantic setting) 

We went to dinner and a movie and it felt so good to spend some alone time with my Man!

i love you

On Sunday we had my favorite type of day, a lazy Sunday and boy was I in desperate need of some R&R. After Juju’s nap we filled the kiddy pool and let him go to town; this was the perfect opportunity for me to get "artsy" with a camera and a kiddy pool.

*overbearing mom inserting the most adorable pictures here…

Lastly, we capped of our weekend with dinner and baths before we got cozy.

These last few shots I took of Juju right before bed.

Oh!! I almost forgot my other son {dog} Beanie

I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse of my weekend. Have a wonderful week

Love,

Rie`

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