Sunday already?!
… not only is it Sunday, but it’s Sunday night. Bah – humbug!
On the other hand, my weekend was great. Super relaxing and laid back. What did I do? I scrapbooked, watched football, drank a bit of wine, took photos, caught up on some Netflix faves, went to the REI scratch and dent sale (Hiya!! Amazing deals) and deep fried some chicken. Well rounded, eh? And now it’s evening and it’s approaching the witching hour where regardless of what I am doing I fall asleep… It’s 9pm.
Meh – not a ton to say tonight. I’m itching for some more photos to take. I’m in the market for a new lens and can.not.wait until I get it so I can just play-play-play. I find my photo taking in the winter is far more sporadic than in the spring, summer or fall but I’ll try to keep the blog alive as we all hibernate here in Minnesota.
… And since I have nothing to say, let’s move right along to some random photos, all of which are from this fall.
.., yeah, I’m totally exhausted. Not only am I thinking about the week ahead of me but I’m thinking about everything I so wish to get accomplished before the end of the year. I’ve given up on some of the more ‘wild dreams’ but even with those aside, I’ve got some work to do in 2 months … But 2011 here I come. Can’t wait!
Wow – what a seemingly discombobulated post. Anyways, good night all. Happy Monday!
final wedding of the season …
… And no, I am not turning my business towards weddings even after the wonderful summer and fall I have spent shooting. It’s still not going to be my focus BUT I’m warming up to the idea of doing a wedding or two every once in a while. The couple would just need to be awesomely cute!
This last wedding that I worked on with Emily was on 10-10-10 in a tucked away little spot in Wisconsin. The location was a small, budding vineyard and the decorations were all handmade crafts. Totally my style.
When we got there, Macey {the Bride} was just arriving and finishing up the details. She had sign painting, furniture moving, light hanging, table decorating and self beautifying to do.
My guess is that Macey comes from an all around creative family. While Macey came up with some of the greatest little decorations, her mom used her talents to make this incredible bouquet of fabric, buttons and jewels transformed into amazing little flowers. This was Macey’s bouquet…
And because of the location, we got the most amazing photos of Macey’s dress … Magnifique!
… love love LOVE that dress photo. Love.
… simply GORGEOUS bride!
The setting was absolutely amazing which makes photos come so easily. Seriously – if all weddings were this gorgeous then I could TOTALLY make this my job…
oh yes … and all brides have to be this fun too. That’s my other requirement. No Bridezillas, please.
Horay!! Happy beautiful, vineyard, DIY wedding, Macey and Justin!
iowa family
I know I’ve said it before, but it truly is always a treat to get down to Iowa to visit everyone. A few weeks back I posted just a handful of photos from the festivities and then last weekend I one-upped myself and made a fancy-smancy video. I still don’t really understand iMovie, but I’m sure in time that will come. Anyways, here are more photos from that weekend…
… I am starting to wonder how many total photos I have of this guy. I don’t even want to think about how long that would take me to figure out! Probably not really worth it – but something I’m getting more and more curious about. But yet again, I have to thank Mr Mur for being my model. It would be a lot harder to stake out fabulous spots without you.
And last but not least, here is the full fledged video I did. Please excuse the choppy music cut, I was just trying this out for fun to see what happened. I’m really digging it so maybe I will make more movies? Ya never know with me. I’m so shifty – anything can happen.
… CUTE family. Nuff said.
And what goes better with family portraits than beer and football? Ha – nothing is the answer to that one. If only there were some photos of the rockstar football game where I kicked Mur’s butt. At least I still have grass stains to prove it. Hey Hun, want a rematch?
… and what Iowa trip is complete without a few new kitty pictures.
Thanks everyone! Can’t wait to see you guys again come November. We will rock the Gopher’s socks off! Yes – that’s a threat 🙂
Up Noooorth
… A little tangent before I get started here: One of my favorite things about being a Minnesotan is being able to really say that word. Minn-e-sooooo-tan. Only a true Minnesotan can do it justice. And getting the long ‘O’ right gets easier and easier the more North you go. Another aspect of Minnesota I love.
A little over a month ago Mur and I took a much needed {quick!} vacation beyond Duluth to the amazing hills of Northern Minnesota and shores of Lake Superior. The trip was amazing and amazingly beautiful which is why I feel the need to share just a handful of the hundreds of photos I took…
We couldn’t have timed the trip any better to see the fall colors. When we left on Friday morning {nice and early!!} we were a bit bummed by the weather forecast – it was to be overcast with a chance of rain for Friday and Saturday and then clearing off a bit on Sunday. We packed rain gear with the hopes that would ward it off. The rain crept in and cluttered our drive to Duluth. We stopped at Caren’s for an amazing breakfast {well, brunch by the time we got there} and then we headed out for our hiking and photo taking excursion.
Our first stop was at a little overlook between Duluth to Two Harbors …
When we stopped, the sky was gloomy and the air was cool. We wandered around on a rocky peninsula and Mur watched the waves on the water while I played with my camera. Soon the sun started to break through the clouds and all the gloom started to burn away. I instantly wished I didn’t have my sweatshirt and I had brought my sunglasses. And all the stress of work disappeared so I just relaxed and continued snapping photos. When all was said and done at the end of our trip I had taken just shy of 500 photos. In 3 days. How awesome is that.
We got back to the car and continued Northbound towards our camp for the night. The destination? George Crosby Manitou State Park. Neither of us had been there before but when Mur was planning our camping spots he said he picked this one because it looked remote and would be fun to pack into. He was so right on both accounts. We got there by way of Finland, MN via a dirt road. The hiking was tough and a bit tiring, especially when you are wearing a full pack on your back and you have a desk job…
Once back at our site, we dropped our packs and set up camp. Then Mur chopped fire wood while I cat-napped on the ground. Mur started a fire while I took a handful of photos. Mur kicked back while I made dinner. Mur hung his bear bag while I had my wine. All in all, it was a great night full of all things we both love.
The next morning we enjoyed coffee and oatmeal before packing up and heading out. To get back to the parking area {and then onward to our next site} we took an alternate route back. We had seen amazing color on all of the Maples as we drove in the day before and we were hoping and hoping we might see a grove up close and personal. … We hit the jackpot.
Once back to the car we packed up the car and headed out going South back down the shore to our next destination of Tettegouche State Park.
We got to the park and checked in and cruised over to the campsite. Mur got us a walk in site amidst the hustle and bustle of this campground. Even though the camp was filled with families and big ‘ol campers, we felt tucked away in our own little walk in site with oaks, beer and corned beef hash.
The day was still young so we went down to the mouth of the Baptism River where it joined the lake.
Gorgeous.
… And as a preface to the next smattering of pics, I really had a great time taking photos upon photos of Mur and I. I mean really, can we ever have enough photos? ha – those words – ‘enough’ and ‘photos’ simply don’t belong together…
After basking in the sun and watching the waves softly come into the shore, we packed up and headed down the trail.
We got to Lake Superior Beach and Mur went left and I went right. Mur scaled some rocks and got out a little ways into the lake. I stuck my camera right in the face of waves to get some fun photos of splashes … Sometimes I can really tell I’m a kid at heart who happens to have a camera in her hand…
Back at camp, we settled in for the night. We got set up, dinner started and began a game of Phase 10. I totally won.
I made friends with this little guy {ie: fed him cashews} and snapped a few night pics before crawling into my bag for bed.
On the trip we concluded TJs has great camping food, and for breakfast on day 2 we made corned beef hash + fried eggs. And when on vacation camping, it is totally appropriate to have beer with breakfast, so don’t judge.
And the last part of our trip prior to driving back to the real world was a little hike to a waterfall near our campsite. It was lovely and a perfect way to end our weekend in the Northwoods!
… phew … that’s all for now