:: Northern California :: Part II ::

On Saturday morning we headed out from Menlo Park around 10am and continued on with our coastal town excursion and then up to San Francisco.

First Stop - Half Moon Bay. I had visited Half Moon Bay, years ago, with my family and besides for the beautiful coastline, my one memory was the big story in town at that time - Half Moon Bay School District had done away with homework with the hopes that children would spend more quality time with their families. I remember trying to convince my parents that moving to Half Moon Bay would be the best decision they could ever make. We never moved to this beautiful beach town and instead I continued to have homework assigned to me everyday.


Half Moon Bay - Poplar Beach






This coffee shop was next door to the place where we ate brunch - thought the sign was cute and reminded me of my sister


View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach
After driving through Pacifica, Daly City, Lincoln Park and the Sea Cliff neighborhood {some of the most beautiful homes with the most magnificent views} , we arrived at Baker Beach and took quite a few photos. It was pretty chilly with the wind, but well worth he stop.


Just a couple fun shots in the old bunkers at Baker Beach



California's ever so popular {and my personal favorite} burger joint


I love the variety of colors that the apartments have been painted


Next stop - Lombard Street {crookedest street in the US}, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square and Coit Tower. Lots of walking around and less time in the car was exactly what we needed.




Coit Tower :: View of Alcatraz
Saturday evening we enjoyed time catching up with Laura and BBQ'ing in her adorable "back yard."

:: Northern California Coast :: Part I ::

As a birthday present for Steve, I bought us tickets to San Francisco, with the intent of exploring as many beach towns as possible in Northern California. I think the 500 miles we put on our rental car and the hundreds of photos taken, in three days, proves our success. We stayed at the Sleasmans house in Menlo Park and had the best time. Justin was out of town the entire weekend so Laura was our hostess, and a perfect one at that.


Look how adorable and thoughtful this welcome basket is that Laura put together for us - my favorite part, the towels folded into the shape of swans - love it!
On Friday, we got up early, grabbed our camera's, enjoyed some Peet's Coffee and headed out on our 14-hour journey.

First Stop :: Santa Cruz
Home of the famous Beach Boardwalk and the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Santa Cruz is known for their waterfront amusement park and surfing beaches. Since we were only in town for a little while, we had to enjoy at least one amusement ride so the Giant Dipper it was.


Looking back at the boardwalk from the pier



Second Stop :: Monterey
I had visited Monterey about ten years ago on a vacation, but I hardly remembered it. We enjoyed a late lunch at Fish Hopper and then walked along Cannery Row. We considered stopping in the acclaimed Monterey Bay Aquarium, but figured it was best to continue on down the coast instead.


Monterey Bay



Third Stop :: Pebble Beach
Everyone that visits Pebble Beach must do the famous 17 Mile Drive. Besides for making a person (me) very envious of the beautiful homes, it gives you a perfect view of the ocean and some of the most distinguished golf courses in the world. At the south end of Pebble Beach is the clubhouse for one of the courses and the 18th green is conveniently located right outside the restaurant/bar. We spent about a half hour, sitting in the sun, watching the golfers finish their rounds, drinking our mojitos and discussing how we would go about purchasing a home in Pebble Beach - still trying to figure this last part out.






Lone Cypress




18th green

Fourth Stop :: Carmel
We only drove through Carmel because we wanted to be sure to get to Big Sur in time for sunset. Carmel is another gorgeous beach town full of beautiful homes. Whenever I think of Carmel, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful ranch where the dad in Parent Trap (the original) lived - my favorite movie as a kid.



Fifth Stop :: Big Sur
The stretch of Highway 1 that winds through Big Sur has some of the most spectacular views I've ever seen in my life. It is breathtaking to drive along the highway, with hardly any other cars on the road and take in the view - especially at dusk. From a distance, the rolling hills and cliffs appear as a painted backdrop. We continued south on Highway 1, watched a beautiful sunset and continued a bit too far south. We ended up so far south that we had to take a 60 mile detour (for our own safety) which didn't get us back up to Menlo Park (120 miles away) until 11pm.











In my mind the entire day was perfect! Something in particular that I love about Steve is his love for both travel and adventure. I wouldn't call myself the most adventureous, but traveling is a major part of my life - makes me feel so good that we will forever share these explorations together.

Boston Marathon { Finishers }

These two lovebirds are two of the most athletic individuals I know and today they accomplished a goal that the two of them have had for quite a while - the Boston Marathon. Not only did the Sleasman's complete this qualify-only race, but they finished with outstanding times. Laura in 3:14:34 and Justin in 3:08:37.


I hope the race was as awesome as you had imagined and I can't wait to hear the stories and see photos next weekend when we visit - Congratulations!

:: Birthday Girl ::

Today, for Jamie's birthday, we went on a little photoshoot adventure through Georgetown. I have never explored Georgetown before and was anxious to find a fun industrial location for a photoshoot. This neighborhood is the ideal location for bright colors and funky buildings.


Before we set out to explore the streets of Georgetown, we enjoyed amazing sandwiches from Jamie's favorite sandy shop, Smarty Pants - I'm officially hooked!








Being that Jamie is the Cupcake Queen, we had to get a photo with her favorite treat.



Unlike the babies that I usually shoot, Jamie was the perfect model - no crying, no sleeping and no wetting herself - ha! Happy Birthday Girl and can't wait to continue the celebrating later on tonight in Ballard. Thanks for spending the day with me!

The flower vendors at Pike Place Market have the most beautiful tulips right now - I had to snap this shot real quick since we were fortunate enough to score a front row parking spot.

{ Cousins }

Last Saturday, I had a planned "kids in their Easter outfits/family time" photoshoot with my friend Lauren and her in-laws visiting from London. The original idea was to meet in Kirkland at a park, but with the soggy weather, we were somewhat stuck indoors. The two adorable/camera-loving girls are Tristan's cousins, Emma and Sasha. These girls have the most charming British accents you've ever heard from a child. Makes me wonder...Is there anyway for my children to have an accent without living in a foreign county?










These three could not be more photogenic - such a beautiful family

{ Runners } Take Your Marks

After much debate on whether to sign up for the half or full Inaugural Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, I have decided upon the half. I haven't ran a full marathon since March 2006 in Los Angeles and after looking at the course map for the full, I just don't feel quite prepared. I had put my registration off for a couple of months now and after receiving an email last night that the half was 90% full I realized it was time to bite the bullet and pay my $100 ($90 with a coupon code I found). Yes, paying to run - to some of you that may be a bit foreign, but for those in the running world, it's something you must do in order to participate in these amazing events.



For any of you out there that are contemplating ever running a half marathon, I highly recommend it. I became a more serious runner four years ago and I love the way my body feels after a long run. My training for the LA Marathon involved runs along the Pacific Ocean through Venice and Santa Monica. It's not quite the same in the NW, but I still love a run through Seattle/Bellevue - please honk or wave if you see me out there this weekend taking full advantage of the warm weather.

More Tissue Please...

Apologies in advance to those who work near me - don't worry I haven't stuck my hand in the communal M&M jar this week - ewwww. At least once a year (usually in March or April) I get a horrible head cold/sinus infection. I felt this cold coming on this weekend and did NOTHING about it...a huge regret, as I am currently miserable. I have the urge to claw my eyes out because the irritation and itchiness, but I'll refrain. I feel like I've gone through enough Kleenex to last an individual an entire year and I think my co-workers are just about fed up with my (loud) sneezing. However, I refuse to take a day of from work due to illness because I'd rather use those days to play (i.e. next Friday in San Francisco), maybe that's a bit selfish, but it's the truth.


••• Lesson Learned •••
Next time I feel a cold coming on, I will take Wellness Formula pills immediately. My friend Carrie has been taking Wellness Formula for a while now and swears by these magical wonders. You can take them as a preventative step to contacting a cold virus or as a healing method to rid of you of the cold. I picked up my first bottle at Whole Foods, but found through a bit of research that you can pick them up significantly cheaper on Amazon or VitaminShoppe

Best of luck to each of you on avoiding the cold/flu this season.

* Special Delivery *

Miles Duncan Blyth

joins big sister Ava as the newest child of the Blyth-Grout Family.

Miles was born at 10:48pm in Bend, Oregons, weighing 6lbs 15oz - the exact same weight that Ava was when she was born. It appears to me that he may have curly hair like his daddy.


Congratulations Galen, Megs and Ava on your adorable son / brother. I haven't met him yet, but already feel a huge amount of love for this little guy. Love you guys!

{ Happy Friday }

For those of you that had today off from work or left work early for the holiday weekend - I'm envious. I do have to say that this has been a pretty good week - maybe it was the weather. First, I love that I've been able to run outside at night rather than at the gym and secondly, I've thoroughly enjoyed the photoshoots with the babes this week - they've all been perfect.

• Random thought • I've been dreaming of sushi today and wishing I lived next-door close-by to Sansei Restaurant in Kapalua. I could eat at this restaurant every day of my life and be perfectly content. Here is a photo of the dessert Steve and I shared on our last night in Maui.


☀ Warm weather, please come back to play soon ☀
Happy Easter!

Introducing { Miss Westyn }

This angelic little girl was born three weeks ago to her fabulous parents Ashley and Troy. Ashley had been in contact with me a few months before Westyn was due and had asked if I would take some photos once she was born - of course I would as I'm currently captivated with childrens photography. I've learned that patience is an absolute virtue when shooting photos of babies. You never quite know what they're going to do. I came into Ashley and Troy's house with a few samples of what I'd like to accomplish and despite the fact that we weren't able to make any of it {exactly} happen, I still left with a good feeling of what we did make happen with this very hungry and darling baby girl.







•• Ashley and Troy - your family is beautiful - congratulations ••
* I'm currently on a black & white kick - not sure what it is, just enjoying the composition, I guess.