We thought we’d share a little holiday card lovin’ from us to you! What an incredible year we had…2012 was by far the best year yet. A big thank you to our amazing 2012 clients and friends who enriched our year and blessed us so much. We are beyond excited for the new year ahead! Arash and I are both definitely looking forward to working with our new clients and an insanely talented team of vendors, shooting some fab weddings and of course, opening our hearts to a little baby girl, come April 2013. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! See you in 2013!
Probably some of the biggest news yet…
Last night, on instagram, we let the cat out of the bag. Yup! Arash and I are having a baby!! We couldn’t be more thrilled with the news — we most definitely had to share it with the world as soon as we could. Big changes coming our way, right? I still can’t believe it but we’re definitely excited and looking forward to the road ahead. If you think of us, keep us in your prayers, we’d really appreciate it! Next year will prove to be another eventful year full of amazing weddings AND baby goodness. Guess I finally joined the momma club. Cheers!
Mahalo Hawaii, we don’t want to say goodbye…
Arash and I are heading home from a whirlwind trip to Maui. We arrived on Wednesday, and sad to say we have to leave today. It’s been a great trip. We’ve been living in swimsuits, soaking up as much beach and sun time as we possibly could. On Saturday, we shot a wedding in the middle of a gorgeous valley surrounded by the tallest green mountains and rushing rivers. The backdrop was a scene out of Jurassic Park, minus the dinosaurs. We can’t wait to share some sneak peeks from the wedding. Yesterday, Arash treated me to some much needed spa time, in honor of my birthday, which is tomorrow! Beachside massage, and a full day of pampering in gorgeous maui? Best present ever. Although we’re sad to say goodbye to the maui coast, we’re both looking forward to all the amazing weddings we’ll be shooting in the next couple months. We feel so blessed to get to travel and shoot, we were created for it!
Europe 05 // Interlaken, Switzerland
I’m sad to say this is the last city I’ll be featuring from our big trip in April but…I’m happy its Switzerland because I absolutely LOVED this country. The views in Interlaken were unreal, from the snowy alps to the wide open green valleys, cows everywhere and an endless amount of cheese and chocolate — it was completely out of a movie. We took an overnight bus ride from Prague to Zurich, yes, an 11 hour bus ride! Once we arrived to Zurich, we hopped on a train to Bern, switched lines and made our way to the little town of Interlaken. The train system in Switzerland is pretty much the best thing ever and since we had purchased our Swiss Rail pass ahead of time, we were able to hop on to any train at any time throughout our entire trip. We did so much exploring. We took our little map, hopped on the trains and headed towards the alps on a daily basis. Each day was a new location, a new town…from the snow capped mountains in Murren to the blue rivers and green rolling hills in Grindelwald — we lived our dreams of exploring and photographing a little slice of Switzerland.
To see even more of our trip, check out: liverpool, amsterdam, berlin & prague!
Europe 04 // Prague, Czech Republic
The 2nd leg of our trip began with a train ride from Berlin to Prague, showcasing some of the most gorgeous landscapes we have ever seen! It was such a nice break, a restful, private oasis where we just vegged out, ate some ridiculously good food, stayed in and watched movies and did some exploring, walking through all the cobblestone streets and alleyways. Honestly, Prague feels like a medieval world where you just expect to see a knight on his horse at any given moment. We kept saying, “this place is fake”…it felt like a movie set. It was so beautiful and the architecture was unlike anywhere else we visited on this trip. We stayed at The Golden Well Hotel, located at the foot of Prague’s largest castle, a renovated space that used to be the house where the king would house his many wives. We were treated like kings from gourmet breakfasts to our very own driver. The top floor of our hotel opened up to a private garden that we shared with the castle above…
I can’t say enough about this place. It was magical.
To see even more of our trip check out past posts: Liverpool, Amsterdam & Berlin.
Europe // Berlin, Germany
We flew directly from Amsterdam to Berlin, hopped on a train and arrived at our lovely hotel where we set up camp for about a week. We stayed in a pretty sweet apartment hotel in the center of Mitte, a pretty cool district on the East side of Berlin. Arash and I are both students of art, design, photography and film with an insane appreciation for great modern design, graphic, and historic art too…and Berlin had it all. It was ultra modern yet had a great contrast between old and new, with the rich historic elements and the new art sprinkled throughout it. Berlin was probably one of our favorite locations and we both agreed that if we spoke German (or if we ever learn) we’re moving to Berlin. 
A museum dedicated to old type? Are you kidding? I was in heaven. The Typography Museum, Buchstabenmuseum, was a little hole in the wall gem, a must see for any graphic designer. I wanted, so badly, to take it all home with me and decorate my walls but I did get to take a cute little “d” that’s now hanging up in our studio. 
There were bookstores like this one that sucked us in for hours. We found this amidst a walk around our neighborhood, Buchhandlung Walther Konig, a dream bookstore. Every book was a work of art. Photography, fashion, illustration, graphic design, typography, film, art mags, interior design, you name it…oh man I miss it. I did order some killer photography books and magazines from the shop after we got home — I’m such a sucker for print, can’t get enough! 
This was our morning coffee/brunch stop. Kaffeemitte was just around the corner from our hotel and had the most amazing coffee and sandwiches. Not to mention, the design was super modern, of course, and that branding? Loved it. 
One thing we loved about where we stayed was the local scene and vibe was just super young and felt so up-and-coming. A couple days out of the week, we shopped and ate the most amazing chocolate crepes and hearty sausages at the local farmers market in Mitte. We found one guy who was selling old art prints and maps from the 1900’s, definitely a cool find.
We couldn’t go to Berlin without visiting historic landmarks. Arash and I both have this weird fascination with World War 2 so needless to say, at one point, we were like two school kids on a field trip. ha! Visiting the Holocaust Musuem was probably the most moving for us both. Underneath these giant cement blocks, underground, was a museum that told a very sad yet touching story of the Holocaust. These blocks were designed to represent graves, covering a whole city block in the center of Berlin. It was beautifully designed yet a bit haunting to walk through the rows upon rows.
I could probably could dedicate a post to the graffiti in Berlin, alone…there was so much of it. From the 1970s to 1989 the west side of the Berlin wall was home to graffiti paintings and wall newspapers. Since the fall of the wall, Berlin is home to a huge community of graffiti artists from all over the world. The buildings and old walls are covered in some of the coolest graffiti art I’ve seen. There was one particular alley way that was an off shoot from the main strip of shops and restaurants and as walked further and further into it, we were pleasantly surprised by the collection of graffiti that completely covered the entire space. 
All over Berlin, set in random little spots in different city districts, lived these newly renovated yet really old photo booths, called Photoautomats. We just couldn’t resist jumping in as many as we could find! Can’t wait to go back to Berlin some day. We most definitely left a piece of our heart in Mitte.
Europe // Amsterdam, The Netherlands
We checked into our cute little bed and breakfast overlooking the canals, decked out in modern design and lush bedding — we were excited to call this home for a few days. Arash and I both had Amsterdam on our “list of places to see” and we definitely took advantage of it! We’re definitely not the type of travelers that have to see and do everything, we aren’t the greatest “tourists” but we do appreciate a few galleries and museums from time to time. We especially love to just walk around, photograph and discover things as we go. Our little Trip Advisor app came in handy here as we made our way through all the little streets. I highly recommend it!
One of the greatest highlights in Amsterdam was getting to meet Alice. Thanks to Facebook, Alice reached out to me when I posted that we were headed to her city — she had been following my blog and thought she’d reach out. Having never met before, our mutual love for photography brought us together. It was a divine appointment to say the least. My greatest hope in all I do is to inspire others to tap into their creative passion and come alive because so much of who I am and where I’ve come from is a direct result of taking risk and having faith. It was surreal, to sit across from her at dinner, answer questions she had for me, motivate and encourage her to keep at what she’s doing…(she’s SO talented!)…it left me so humbled. Sometimes God brings people into your life to remind you of how great He is, and to reassure you that the path you’re on is the right one!! Alice did that for me. I was so touched and thankful to have a friend in Holland. She shot the cute photo below, too! 
Amsterdam really is the land of bicycles. Everywhere you turn there are bikes along the canal, in the streets, on every little corner — its THE mode of transportation. Arash I dreamt about living there and riding our bikes along the canal to go get groceries. Chill lifestyle…we like!
Going to the Van Gough museum and seeing his work up close was unreal. Something that really resonated with me was how he saw beyond just telling a story. He captured texture, line and color so beautifully. He believed that true art is all of those elements combined. I believe that about photography as well…its more than just telling a story, its about the textures, colors, lines, compositions…all those factors together make the story that much more impactful.
One cafe we stopped in was Buffet Van Odette, along the canal. The perfect little hole in the wall with some of the tastiest food we’ve ever had. Arash had the salmon sandwich and I had the pumpkin soup and a quiche — SO yummy. 
One thing you need to know about Arash is that he has a deep love for chocolate so it was an obvious choice for us to stop in and get some chocolates at Pompadour. Its a little hidden gem and the best chocolaterie in Amsterdam.
De Kaaskamer is one of the best specialty cheese shops in Amsterdam. I wanted to take it all home!
Walking around the 9 Little Streets, you’ll find an overwhelming amount of adorable little shops which we both love to browse through! Arash and I both appreciate a good wardrobe find, especially if its super unique. One of our favorites in Amsterdam was LockStock & Barrel — how cute is that name? Its an independently owned shop, the owner is the girl in the above photograph. She hand picks everything for her shop, super unique, urban and modern. Another favorite along the 9 Little Streets was We Are Labels, a small little boutique overlooking the water, filled with great finds! How cute is that cabinet with the heels displayed? 
One thing I can’t get enough of is accessories and random little trinkets to decorate our house with. Walking down the canal streets, there was an unlimited number of gems to find along the way!
Visiting the Ann Frank House was something I had wanted to do for years. I remember reading about Ann Frank in school and relating to her because I journal like crazy. I had bookmarked it in my head to visit the museum someday and it was so moving. To walk through the house she lived in, the small spaces she spent her childhood hiding in — insane. Ann was such a cool little girl…watching her little videos and hearing her excerpts really gave you a glimpse into who she was. She had always dreamt of writing a book, a book that would reach the world and although she faced some gruesome realities, the journals she left behind are reaching thousands everyday. She inspires me.
Europe // Liverpool, England
It’s finally time to get our Europe travels documented! The trip was by far an amazing adventure, one that Arash and I will never forget. So over the course of the next month, I’ll be posting images from each location, one location every Wednesday — that’s the deal. So many of you have asked me about our trip and have been anxious to see the images, and I am so happy to finally get these posts up! It’s really challenging editing them down and I really just want to show you EVERYTHING but I’ll spare you. I’ll share highlights from each city and a few instagram frames in case you missed all our instagram posts. I hope you enjoy! 
We couldn’t go to Liverpool without catching some kind of show. Have you guys heard of Snarky Puppy? Check them out…such a cool vibe. I loved all the great people we met here, it was so inspiring to meet artists from across the pond. Did you read my interview with Daniel Ilabaca? We met him that night at the show too. 
Hands down some of the best Olives we’ve ever had from Lunya and thanks to Michael and Danielle we got to snack on these throughout the day. I still crave them and haven’t been able to find anything close. 
Nestled in the center of the Albert Docks, was this gem of a restaurant. Gusto was the perfect spot to unwind, eat some delicious italian style pizza, baked avocado with baby scallops and dough petals with garlic butter. I about fell in love with the lighting in this place as it highlighted all the classic photos of Sophia Lauren on the walls. 
On Easter Sunday we woke up bright and early at 5:30am to head over to Liverpool Cathedral where Danielle and Michael’s church, St James In The City, met for Easter Service. As we climbed the stairwells and rode up the elevators, the sun began to rise. At the very top we gathered together had church as a community. I loved hearing them sing and speak in their Liverpool accents, I felt like I was in a movie. Take a look at that view below…so beautiful right? The church was so historic, huge, full of gorgeous detail. I felt so small but it was a moving morning to say the least. 
Arash and I are major fans of tea so when we discovered Leaf, we were right at home. Not only did they have a ton of different tea blends to choose from, but they had the most charming environment. Wood tables, brick walls, olive green tufted couches, lamp shades from the ceilings…totally our kind of place. I wish I could spend an afternoon here all the time!
When in England…you must try the fish and chips. Arash was looking forward to this the entire flight there and he was not disappointed!
Liverpool’s claim to fame — home of the Beatles. We were total tourists when we hopped on the Magical Mystery Tour and we loved every second of it. Growing up I would memorize my Beatles songs so it was pretty surreal to take the tour throughout Liverpool and learn more about why their songs say what they say and see all the little things that inspired the ever so popular songs. I completely recommend the tour…you get to see a whole other side to the city. 
Yummmm the breakfast and chai latte at Moose Coffee was to die for. Authentic American and Canadian breakfast — it was a stop we just had to make. Breakfast is probably my most favorite meal of the day.
Cheers to an epic season ahead!
I’m definitely looking forward to this month, we are gearing up for some really great weddings with some super sweet couples. I feel so blessed by the relationships I’ve got to build with them and I am so happy for each of them as they tie the knot! YAY. This upcoming wedding season is going to be a blast! From LA to Napa, from Hawaii to France — we are definitely jet-setters this year, its going to be insane. Cheers to everyone getting married this year!
HOME SWEET HOME
We are officially back in California after what was hands down one of the most inspiring trips Arash and I have ever taken together. We both felt like we were living out a dream, visiting cities we had always wanted to see. I can’t wait to share our photos — but first I have to try and sort through them all. A task in and of itself. So many great things to share! A big thank you to Alice Mahran for snapping this cute photo of us in Amsterdam. We feel so blessed to have met some amazing people while on our trip and experienced some of the most beautiful landscapes, can’t wait to share soon!
