photography |

life goes on.

By annmarielovespaper on July 1, 2013

This past week has been nothing short of crazy, nonstop, and life-affirming.

Last Tuesday, my dad had open heart surgery. Even though it was a preventative measure to repair a faulty valve, it was terrifying for my whole family and rocked our world pretty hard. (There’s nothing that makes you want to take care of yourself more than spending countless hours in a cold + scary hospital.) THANKFULLY everything went well and he is now resting at home. Huge shout out to my amazing mom who is not only the heart + soul of our family, but a natural caretaker who will nurse my dad back to health in no time at all. Also! Major props to Jim Gaffigan for being a welcome distraction as he had me laughing until I was crying every night with his insanely funny book, Dad is Fat.

On Friday, I spent all day + night helping to photograph a beautiful wedding in Camarillo. Not only did it remind me how much I LOVE to take photos, but it was a great practice run for my own wedding! Thank you Jeff + Jess for letting me be a part of your special day!

And of course, throughout the whole week, I’ve been working like a mad woman trying to finish up a myriad of CHA projects. Yesterday was a DOOZY of a work day (sprinkled with a healthy dose of expletives) that started at 10am and didn’t end until 4am! I still have a long way to go before I can cross everything off my list, but I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the (effing) tunnel (;

All I can say is that I am SO looking forward to this upcoming holiday weekend. John has four days off and I am already dreaming of big things for us to do. And by big things, I mean a trip to Lemonade and a long visit to B+N for wedding and crafting inspiration. Living the dream!

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andy’s graduation.

By annmarielovespaper on June 17, 2013

This past weekend my brother graduated from college with a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering, so we spent the better part of Saturday exploring the Cal Poly Pomona campus (beautiful!), taking tons of photos (740 to be exact…lord help my hard drive!), and celebrating Andy’s hard-earned accomplishment (heyyyy, brother). It was a reminder of the good things in my life: lots of walking under the California sunshine, big camera + empty SD card in hand, quality family time, an opportunity to wear a new dress + a giant hat, lots of laughter, exploring a new-to-me place, and a chocolate chip Pizookie for good measure.

Not only is my brother a whip smart, hilarious, human calculator, but he is also one of my best friends. Cheers to all your successes, Andy!

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you’re gonna get hop-ons.

By annmarielovespaper on May 21, 2013

When I found out that the infamous stair car from Arrested Development rolled into town, there was no way I could skip out on it. So on Sunday, John, my brother Andy, and I headed down to Santa Monica for a Bluth mobile sighting and a walk around town. The beach, the buildings, the Bluths…what more could you ask for on the day of rest? (Ummm…how about more parking?)

The countdown to the BIG PREMIERE is on! George Michael, I’ve missed you so…

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weekend day trip | ojai, ca.

By annmarielovespaper on May 2, 2013

A few weekends ago, John and I decided to venture up north and take a little day trip to Ojai. Can you believe that in the twenty-plus years I’ve lived in Southern California, I had never visited this amazing town before? That’s just crazy to me now that I’ve experienced the wonder that it truly is. Everything about Ojai (well, except maybe the overuse of Papyrus…I’ll try to look past that – ha!), is perfection. We spent the first part of the day exploring the main street, dining at an awesome Mexican food joint, and strolling through the park. As the sun began to set, I knew we had to head up to Meditation Mount (after reading this post!) and take in all the soft colors and citrusy smells from the top of the city. My instincts proved correct…it was spectacular.

Ojai, you’ve won us over. Well done.

P.S. Hey locals! Any ideas for adorable SoCal towns that I need to visit? I would love to hear your suggestions! xo

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eva’s bakery | salt lake city

By annmarielovespaper on March 29, 2013

While in Salt Lake last week for a lighting-fast business trip, I had every intention of taking lots of photos of all the things that I miss most about living in Utah. The snow-capped mountains. Waking up to fresh powder outside my window. Rows + rows of thrifty goodness at the DI (oh, the DI). All of my amazing friends whom I miss terribly. The reality? I filled up my memory card with TONS of images from my breakfast at Eva’s Bakery in downtown SLC. I mean, I couldn’t help myself! Everything about this place is what designer dreams are made of, from the blue and yellow patterned flooring to the calligraphed labels in the bakery case to the gorgeous menu typography. I was in heaven (literally…this is Utah, after all).

Oh, and the food? DIVINE.

xoxo

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we love it here.

By annmarielovespaper on March 26, 2013

When Saturday rolls around and John and I are looking for a fun way to spend the afternoon, Ventura often seems to top our list of places to go. And why not? It’s such an underrated little beach town so close to where we live. The weather is always nice, the parking is always plentiful and FREE (take note, LA!), and there are so many fantastic thrift shops on Main Street that we could spend hours wandering though. Oh, and we’re totally getting married there in October! Needless to say, we love it.

On the way home, we stopped at our wedding venue to see what it looks like at night. Despite my previous concerns that the lighting wouldn’t jive with my vision, I am happy to report, it looks SO GOOD! Warm, cozy, and ready for an all-night fiesta! Am I killing you with the wedding stuff yet? My apologies friends, but we’ve got a loooong (but not that long – ahh!) way to go! And speaking of wedding stuff, lately I’ve been sending e-mails with potential vow material to myself whenever a poignant thought crosses my mind. This includes, but is not limited to, grabbing my phone to write out my thoughts in the middle of the night while still half-dreaming (nightmaring?) about arriving at the ceremony only to realize that I forgot to write any vows…! (P.S. I woke up the next morning to some surprisingly decent work!) I am LITERALLY writing these vows with my eyes closed. If only the rest of the wedding planning could be so easy!

xoxo

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workspace wednesday: spring fever.

By annmarielovespaper on March 20, 2013

Colorful notes to friends. Taking time to smell the roses. Lots of time spent soaking up the sunshine. Clean desk (well, mostly). New maxi dress + cheery yellow bag. Knitting projects galore. New candle making my space smell like a chic boutique. JT on replay, all day, everyday. Lots of planning, organizing and writing in my journal. Setting goals + making things happen. Happy Spring!

xoxo

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sunday funday.

By annmarielovespaper on March 19, 2013

On Sunday, I convinced John and my brother Andy to go with me to Disneyland, partly because the weather was springtime perfection, but mainly because I wanted to test my new 50mm lens in the most colorful setting possible. Mission accomplished.

As far as camera equipment goes, this macro lens is such a steal considering just how fantastic it really is! The sharp depth of field blows my mind every time… even if does force me to stand a mile away from my subject to get more than just their nostrils in the shot – ha!

xoxo

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venice, ca.

By annmarielovespaper on March 17, 2013

Last week I got a fun e-mail from Urbanic letting me know that I had won their giveaway from The Cream…! I can’t even tell you how excited I was, especially about this wedding planning binder that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. The truth is, I didn’t even get a good look at the prize while I was at the event, but as a matter of principle, I always throw my name in the hat if Urbanic is hosting a giveaway. Always.

While I was down in Venice, I decided to wander around a bit, pick up a latte from Intelligentsia (even if I do feel entirely uncool while I’m there), stop by Firefly (another great little boutique!), and take a bunch of photos before the braving the 405 at rush hour. Totally worth it.

xoxo

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what our weekend looked like.

By annmarielovespaper on January 29, 2013

An oceanfront room overlooking La Jolla Cove. Shopping at Typo + Paper Tales. A trip up to Julian for pie + coffee. Breakfast on the roof of our hotel every morning. Rain + sunshine followed by more rain + sunshine. A walk around Balboa Park before heading home. And the real clincher: wedding venue hunting! We found two possible contenders, but are definitely in the market for other options. If you know of any great locations (anywhere in Southern California!), I would love to hear about them!

xoxo

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