Perfect Friday Night

Last night I had Megan, Megan and baby Addi over to my place to hang out and catch up...AND to model two wedding dresses that arrived this week. Great news is...I've found my dress and could not be more excited about it. I LOVE it! Thank you to all of my friends that provided input on the dresses I was interested in - I could not have made this choice without you.

After hanging out for a couple hours and just as Megan was about to leave with Addi, I grabbed the camera and shot a few photos of this beautiful little girl. She was just too cute with the hood up on her rain jacket to pass on this photo op. The perfect dimple, the four teeth, the big eyes and the adorable smile - this little one is so precious. Oh and by the way, she's got some killer dance moves.

Fall Rain = Wet Blue Jeans

Having been born and raised in Seattle, I've become well equipped to manage the wet and dreary fall/winter weather. Umbrella - check; raincoat - check; Cougar rainboots - check...you get the point. Something I will NEVER get used to, or like for that matter, is the daily occurance of soggy jeans. Just a 2 minute walk in the rain can cause the bottom of your jeans to become wet causing hours of annoyance. I guess I just need to a) buy more boots - would love a pair of Hunter boots, b) roll up my jeans, or c) avoid the outdoors (not possible for me). I think, for now, I'll stick with option b. Anyone else hate the feeling of wet jeans as much as I do? P.S. The bottom of my jeans are currently damp...

* The photo I've included in this post is not me, but is included to give you a visual of this pet peeve of mine.

Few more photos from the Clark wedding

The bride with her beautiful mom Dany

Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Shelby Clark!!

Jamie, Me and Carrie

Jamie, Avery, Spry, Me, Carrie and Lyndsy

Me and my wonderful fiance

Brian and Lindsay - my fabulous tablemates

Stacie and me

Mr. and Mrs. Bunyard

Me, Marge and Jamie hanging out in Pacific Beach before our flight

I'm so happy to be living in Seattle after spending four years in Los Angeles, but these trips back for weddings make me miss the times all of us were living in either LA or San Diego. I can't even explain how much I treasure the memories we made in SoCal.

I think I'm ready for fall...

...but not 100% there yet. To celebrate the start of October, this morning, I stopped and picked up my first Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte, of the fall season - it was exactly what I needed! An added treat while at Starbucks was the free sample of the new salted carmel hot chocolate - I am a sucker for the sweet and salty combinations. I loved the tiny sample, but probably wouldn't be able to even finish a 12oz cup because it was so sweet. The one thing I wish that wouldn't change between summer and fall is the hours of daylight. I wish so badly that the sun stayed out a bit longer during the chilly fall nights.

As a sidenote, after my workout on Monday night, I quickly drove home, showered and attempted to get down to Medina beach before the sun went completely down. Didn't quite make it, but I love the shot below that I was able to capture. Quite often, I find myself daydreaming about living on the lake with a dock. I wouldn't mind owning the dock below...

Sneak Peek of the Clark Wedding

Shelby and Rich's wedding was absolutely spectacular! Above is a sneak peek of one of the photo's Steve took of the beautiful couple. Night exposure shots can be very difficult to capture, especially if the subject is moving, but I love the way this one turned out - it has a bit of a mysterious vibe to me. By the recommendation of our friend Lyndsy, Shelby and Rich hired the talented and amazing Natalie Moser to capture their special day. I can not wait to see her photos!!

San Diego + Wedding + Friends...What could be better??

Tonight, along with quite a few friends, Steve and I are heading down to San Diego for our dear friends Shelby and Rich's wedding. The two of them love (are possibly obsessed with) photography and in my mind are pretty amazing 'amateur' photographers. They do such a great job, that we've asked them to shoot our wedding in Maui.

Congratulations Shelbs and Rich - can't wait to see you two!

* Photo of Rich and Shelby taken by them on a beach in San Diego.

* Photo of La Jolla by Rich Clark

A Future WSU Cougar Was Born Today

Congratulations to my cousin Matt and his awesome wife Lisa on the arrival of their precious baby boy, born this morning in Virginia...

Paul Alan Fitch

Born at 8:06am

7 lbs. 15 oz.

20.25" long

We can't wait to meet him!!

Love you guys!

Below is a photo of me, Steve, Cousin Mike, Cousin Shannon, Cousin Matt, Dunkin the Dog and pregnant Cousin Lisa. Hmmmm...from the looks of this photo, we'll hope that baby Paul gets some height from Uncle Steve (if only they were blood related).

*Photo taken at Friends of Fitch '08 camping trip in Cle Elum.

Wedding Cupcakes

Why cupcakes instead of a wedding cake? First, who doesn't love a cupcake? Utensils not necessary and the perfect amount of deliciousness. Better question - who doesn't love a cupcake made by our dear friend and renowned baker Jamie? For those of you that have never had the pleasure of enjoying one of Jamie's cupcakes, you are missing out. Secondly, after receiving a quote from our wedding planner for a wedding cake on Maui (after picking my jaw up off the floor) I just could not justify the cost on a cake for the price she gave me. I also quickly realized that our guests would appreciate and enjoy a cupcake made by Jamie more than any cake a so-called professional would whip up for us. With all of that said, we are so thankful to Jamie for agreeing to make our cupcakes. Below are a few images of cupcakes that Jamie has made for previous events. The 80's cake toppers were a huge hit at our friend Michelle's 80's prom themed birthday party this year. The cupcakes with the gold coins were made for Steve's pirate themed birthday party and the #30 toppers were made for our friend Mike's 30th birthday party. Each of the toppers were creativey made by Jamie as well. Not only are the cupcakes appealing to the eye, but are mouthwatering as well. If you're thinking you want cupcakes for your next event, don't think twice about it, you should definitely contact Jamie.

To view more of Jamie's delectible treats you may check out her Flickr page here.

What exemplifies Hawaii more than their beautiful flowers? In my opinion, nothing! Hence, one of the reasons most tourists are welcomed to the tropical islands with leis. The first flower that comes to my mind when I think of Hawaii is the orchid. Therefore, I love the idea of real orchids as the toppers for each cupcake at our wedding.

* Image from Cook (almost) Anything (at least once)

I love the arrangement of these cupcakes - beautiful presentation.

* Image from Lighthouse Cake Compay

* Image from Pink Cake Box

Happy Birthday Stacie!!

I had to find an oldie, but goodie photo to post of the two of us for your birthday shout-out. This was taken while watching the Coug game after Susy and Dan's wedding in Sun Valley - 4 years ago! Yes, the morning after I wore two left heels to their wedding. I know you're going to have a fabulous birthday celebration because you're off to come see all of us on the West Coast. Have so much fun celebrating in Sonoma/Napa and I can't wait to see you in San Diego next Thursday night. Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Cheryl!!

Hope you have a wonderful day! Being that I'm practically 29, let me tell you that 28 is a fabulous year. I know many great things will come your way this year.

Wedding Location

I realize that most of you already know about our wedding location in Maui, but I just had to share this photo that my future father and mother-in-law (Mike & Mo) took today while touring the Olowalu Plantation House on Maui. I absolutely love it!

Below are a couple of photos that the photographer, April Greer, took at our engagement party at the Seattle Aquarium. I love how the first image looks like we're kind of in the tank. I'll send out the link to the rest of the photos in a bit.

Introducing...

The newest member of our family...

Boots Rinakitty

Boots was a stray cat that wandered onto Steve's parents property on Harstine Island and decided he didn't want to leave their side. After searching for the owners, to no avail, they brought him home, tried to find a home in their neighborhood and he ended up at our place. I've had cats for most of my life, but none that were ever friendly. Boots is the sweetest cat and he loves to cuddle. We're excited to have him join our family.

Baby Maddy

Friday night I met baby Maddy Johnson for the first time and immediately fell in love. She is such an adorable baby and so precious. At only six days old, I could already see the resemblance in both Jenny and Nick. Congrats again to the Johnson family and I can't wait to see you again soon.

Do The Puyallup

I have not done the Puyallup Fair in years - quite possibly since high school. For a lot of people, they LOVE the rides at the fair, but for one poor fair-goer last night, his/her stomach didn't quite enjoy it as much as the others. Just as we were stepping onto the Zipper (after a 15 min line), a passenger in the top car became sick to their stomach (you've got the visual) and we quickly bolted for the exit and the ride closed. Besides for the rides, we definitely had to take in the whole fair food experience and let me tell you that this was a success - corn on the cob, corndog and funnel cake. The food was good, but the people watching was better. We brought the camera out for the night and had fun working on night exposure shots - would have loved to have the tripod, but that definitely would have been a bit awkward with this crowd.

* This last one is for you Marge

Baby Johnson Has Arrived!

I'm so excited to welcome the newest baby to the bunch of my babies!!! Congratulations to my dear friends Nick and Jenny on their amazing addition to their family. Their beautiful baby girl Madeline Kay Johnson was born on Saturday, September 6. I can't wait to meet her and spend time with her mommy and daddy. I know they are going to be the perfect parents.