Vanessa: Boudoir

A few nights ago, our friend Vanessa instant messaged Chris, asking for anniversary gift ideas. She and her boyfriend are celebrating two years together, and she wanted to surprise him.

Chris threw the question at me, and I jokingly yelled out, "BOUDOIR SHOOT!"

One thing you should know about Chris and me is that, when we joke about something, it always comes true in one way or another. Case in point: our trip to Italy, which started off with me sending him the link to Expedia.com's promotion on cheap flights to Rome.

That being said, we totally did not expect Vanessa to think it over and agree (all within about 20 minutes). We warned her it was our first time doing such a shoot, and she said that it was fine, because it was her first time doing one.

For both our first times, I think it turned out pretty well. Here are a couple without getting too risqué!

Jake's Baptism

Last month, Chris and I made our way down to Virginia for Jake's baptism. As you dear readers may remember, we did a maternity shoot with Jake's parents, Charlotte and Mike, and another shoot when Jake was a few weeks old. He's now a growing happy baby, and we were so glad to see him after a few months!

Here are some shots from his baptism over Labor Day weekend.






The poor guy fell asleep before and after the water was poured over his head! So cute.




Knocked out.


The proud parents, Charlotte and Mike.


The proud godparents, Jenn and Fred.


Man of the day!

Jefferson 2013 White Coat Ceremony

Sorry for the semi-long hiatus, folks! We're back with

This past Friday, Chris attended Jefferson University's White Coat Ceremony for the Pharmacy class of 2013. He's in the inaugural class (2012), so last year I was taking his class' photos. This year, however, Chris was behind the lens! Here's a sampler of the reception afterwards...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful mamas out there! I know I'm a little late, but Chris and I were in NYC all day yesterday so I wasn't able to do a proper post. Here's to my own beautiful mom!


taken by eWed Photography

And of course, Chris' mom:

taken by eWed Photography

Both are the strongest, most inspirational women we know. I'm so blessed to have both the best mom ever and an awesome mother-in-law. We were a bit sad that we weren't able to spend the day with either one of our moms (thus the most recent photos of them are from our wedding back in January).

To all you moms out there, especially to our own...thank you for what you do. Thank you for the never-ending patience and wisdom you have. I can't wait to become a mom myself one day (hopefully in the next couple of years, cough), and when I do, our kids will have the fear of both grandmas instilled in them. *evil laughter* Seriously though, we wouldn't have gotten where we are without you both (tough love sometimes, but definitely necessary!). We love you!

Elaborate Plan of Deception and the Carlsbad Flower Fields

Last weekend, I flew in to Orange County to surprise my dad, who was visiting San Diego and Irvine for work. Thank goodness for Southwest vouchers, because I was able to book, rebook, and change itineraries about three times before finally flying out on Friday, April 24th!

I had an "elaborate plan of deception," as my boss called it-- I told my dad I had to work late on Friday night because a donor was doing a site visit/reception/dinner, then emailed him earlier that day saying I had forgotten my cell phone at home and would call him after the event. Chris and I even went so far as to change the outgoing message on Chris' phone to my voice in case my dad called him (and I forwarded my number to Chris' number during the flight). All was well when I got to Phoenix and called my dad, who I ended up waking up from a nap. He had no idea I was pressing mute after everything I said because announcements were cycling through the airport like crazy!

When boarding time came near, I quickly said goodbye to my dad, saying I needed to get to bed because I was exhausted and had a huge headache. Anxious to get back to his nap, he didn't keep me for long.

I landed in Irvine, hightailed it across the airport and into a cab, and called my dad from the hallway of our condo building. I said a friend of mine had dropped off the package he was waiting for (she's taking care of our place while we're gone) and that she didn't ring the doorbell because I said he was asleep. He said, "Okay, I'll get it now...go back to sleep; I know you're tired!" I said okay and hung up...and waited for the door to open.

I heard the lock turn and waited eagerly for my dad to step out. He emerged from the door, looking down at the ground for a package. I popped out from my hiding place and said, "Hey Pa, what's up?!" The look on his face was PRICELESS. I wish I had a video camera on me!

We had a great time that weekend. There's really nothing like hanging out with my dad one-on-one; we haven't done that in a while, and I think we both really enjoyed having an uninterrupted conversation at Yard House that night, him trying out the house beers and not having to worry about driving himself home (I, btw, drove for the first time in seven months, haha).

On Sunday, we stopped by the Carlsbad Flower Fields on our way down to visit family. In the 18+ years we lived in San Diego, we had never visited the flower fields. Here's to making up for lost time!
















excuse the mean mug...bright sun! :)

And for you inquiring minds, YES, I did get my Mexican food fix! Yay for carne asada fries! ;)

Spicy Shrimp with Coconut Rice

I was inspired by Jenny Sun's post on how career women do make dinner, so I decided to post pictures of a meal I haven't made in a while-- that's what a limited kitchen will do to ya!

Spicy Wok Shrimp is one of my favorite recipes; I found it a few years ago when I was perusing food blogs for dinner ideas. It's pretty quick to make, and although it is a little on the expensive side (compared to good ol' chicken or beef, that is), it's a nice treat. The only funny thing is, I used to make it in this giant wok I had when we lived in Irvine. Since our kitchen in Philly is a joke, it's really Spicy Pot Shrimp. It's yummy, nonetheless! :)

It's Chris' and my dating anniversary tomorrow (don't even ask how long; we find many reasons to celebrate, and this is our "official" dating anniversary, lol), it calls for a little celebration.


bubbling away happily in the "wok"


plated with the coconut rice


I love tinkering around in the kitchen. :)

Lynn & Fred: Anytime

We shot our first couple today!

Lynn and Fred are our fellow Californians and Chris' pharmacy school classmates. They graciously agreed to be our guinea pigs for our first couple shoot, and while Chris and I know we have quite a bit to work on (such as posing people, haha), I think we did a pretty good job! Of course, it didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day in Philadelphia! Plus, Lynn and Fred are goofy as hell, so it really made things easy. :)

Thanks, Lynn & Fred!













I couldn't resist, haha


We were intrigued by the dingy alley we passed by after lunch.




She really loves him, I swear!

I thought it appropriate to end with these two shots, as it really captures the essence of these two. This is what we dealt with during the entire session: all smiles and jokes. In fact, we got a LOT more funny shots than we bargained for, enough for a blooper album for them! It was a very relaxed environment and they totally put us at ease!