* East Coast Adventure *

SEA  →  BOS

Kennebunkport, ME  →  Cape Elizabeth, ME   →  Portland, ME  

Portsmouth, NH  →  Newburyport, MA  →  Waltham, MA  →  Marshfield, MA  →   Downtown Boston

The points of this trip were to visit a new place {Maine}, play at the beach with our dear friends the Mullins and celebrate Stacie's birthday. We covered a lot of ground and accomplished more than we had planned, which to us meant a successful trip.

I have always wanted to visit Kennebunkport...not because it's home to the Bush family compound, but because it's such an adorable New England beach town. We stayed one night at the cutest bed and breakfast - the Captain Fairfield Inn - and, despite the lack of sleep from the red-eye, forced ourselves to keep truckin'. A brief snooze in the car definitely helped.

After exploring quite a bit of the Maine coastline and all of the New Hampshire coast, we anxiously headed south to Waltham, Mass (25 mins outside Boston) to see the Mullins. We enjoyed catching up, eating a delicious Italian meal and getting a great nights sleep in their beautifully remodeled basement. Saturday morning we drove 45 minutes to Kevin's family beach house in Marshfield. Ever since our first time to Marshfield 3 years ago, this place hold a special place in our heart - it's the picturesque New England beach town with a whole lotta love. We walked the beach, hung out with Stacie's grandpa and mom and Kevin's parents, played a few rounds of Rummikub (my new favorite game) while the boys went boating, ate, drank, watched flight patterns (maybe that was just me), shopped and breathed in every bit of ocean air that our lungs could handle. On Sunday, we celebrated Stacie's birthday at the beach with a BBQ, cake and ice cream and then headed back to Waltham to watch the Patriots game and be lazy.

On Monday, Kev dropped us off at Quincy Market and we ventured through the historical streets of Boston - we have our favorite spots from past trips, but on this trip decided to do something new and ride the Ducks. So happy we did this as we got a chance to see the city from the Charles River and learn more about the history of this amazing town. We also did part of the Freedom Trail, Fanuil Hall, saw Paul Revere's house, ate lunch in Little Italy, enjoyed a treat from the famous Mike's Pastry shop and relazed in the sun. We couldn't have asked for better weather on our last day touring around the city - blue sky and 75 degrees.

Until next time...thank you Kevin and Stacie for the wonderful weekend. And thank you New England for another successful adventure.

* A Favorite *

Check out a few more photos of this gorgeous couple over at my {temporarily abandoned} photography site. I promise the weddings and other shoots I've been working on will be added soon.

Dusty and Gina - Engagement Session - Bozeman, MT

* Big Sky Country

Is nothing less than perfect

I can't say enough wonderful things about this perfect hidden part of the country. I feel like people have no idea how amazing Montana is...espcially those that laughed and asked twice why I was flying to Bozeman to spend my Labor Day weekend. The people, the scenary, the fresh air, no traffic...the list goes on. I spent the weekend with Nick, Jenny, Maddy and Taylor in their brand new, BEAUTIFUL house and enjoyed my best trip to Bozeman yet. Steve and I already have out trip planned for next Summer at the end of July.

We tailgated at the Bobcats game, BBQ'ed with friends, snuggled with the babies, celebrated Maddy's 2nd birthday, drove up to Big Sky, ate Hawaiian shaved ice, did 3 photoshoots (and booked a wedding), basked in the sun while playing in the backyard with the kids, got pedicures and relaxed.

Here's a photo recap of my five-day getaway from reality...




The Weedin Family

Bobcats are definitely not fans of the Univesity of Montana Grizzlies



The littlest and cutest Bobcat fans - Maddy, Brady and Livvy


Jenny and I were shocked to see that Randy Johnson's son played for the opposing tream. I mean, these two have an uncanny resemblance, right?

Note to Cougar fans...I was only 'acting' as a Bobcat fan in MT. And this upcoming weekend when the Cougs play the Bobcats in Pullman, I hope we kick their butts...as it sadly may be our only win of the season.

The spectacular view of the Bridger Mtns from my room at the Johnson's

Miss Taylor






This RV most likely belongs to some distant relatives of mine

Random Ramblings Part II

As most of you know, in a previous life, I worked in Hollywood for four years. What some of you may or my not know is that I once had the honor task of walking the legendary James Brown, his wife and business partners down the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. I hoped and prayed I would end up with Gwen Stefani or The Killers, but someone else beat me to them. Sort of like the time I could have wound up with Leo, but instead ended up with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and received an earful from her - that's another story. Back to the Godfather of Soul...the day after the Grammy's this photo was posted in all of the trades. I guess you can tell by the excitement, or lack thereof, in my face that I wasn't thrilled with my assigned job.

Do you ever go grocery and decide you can't wait until you get home before diving into whatever it is you've just purchased? If not, sounds like you have self-control. If so, you're in my boat. This problem for me most commonly occurs after a trip to Whole Foods with items like dried mango, almonds, popcorn, pumpkin seeds...I need to pay closer attention to the road and forget the snacks. Lesson learned - groceries belong in the trunk, out of arms reach.

Have you heard of or tried the new Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka? I learned about it this past weekend during the Montana State tailgate - deeelish! Think about the endless opportunities of tasty beverages that could be created with this treat...orange juice, rootbeer, etc. Apparently, there was also a Cotton Candy flavor made by Pinnacle, but the alcohol officials felt that it was targeted to appeal to children.

It's that time again...

via

For my annual trip to Bozeman, MT...well, it's only my 2nd year in a row, but still I'm planning on making this an annual tradition for many, many years. This year I'll be staying with Bozeman's newest residents, the Johnson family, in their brand new home - they just moved two weeks ago and I'm sure Jenny already has the house beautifully decorated (no pressure Jen - ha!). Just like last year, Steve (unfortunately) won't be joining me, but instead he'll be enjoying the drunken debauchery at the Gorge for Dave Matthews. Mark my words - he will be joining me next summer.

I can't wait to BBQ with the Weedin family, play with all of the kiddos (Maddy, Taylor, Brady and Olivia), hike Hyalite Canyon, celebrate Maddy's 2nd birthday, relax and enjoy the beautiful Montana landscape.