FRANKFURT, GERMANY | TRAVEL

A few weeks ago I got to tick a dream off my bucket list that had been there for as long as I can remember - go to Europe. I spent a week in Frankfurt, Germany with a team of nine others from BSSM and returned, life-changed. What a place. It was more than I could imagine to walk those narrow cobblestone streets and visit landmarks in Heidelberg built centuries ago by visionaries who designed their work to outlast the generations they could physically see at the time. We met the loveliest, most hospitable of people who very quickly felt like family. Many jet-lagged giggles were shared and copious amounts of coffee was had. I also have never eaten so much bread in such a short amount of time. Also let's just say that this city-slicker was beyond relieved to be back in a big city with tall buildings, public transport, minimal personal space, old favourites - Zara, H&M, and new ones - Primark. The majority of our trip was spent loving on the people there and they made it so easy. One of my favourite parts was the lack of urgency I felt - I never felt like I had to get this shot or had to try and see everything, because I know I'll be back. 

Scotland is next up so expect some rolling hills to make an appearance, perhaps even some bagpipes and kilts too.

RACHEL MARIE | PORTRAITS

This girl is a total dream to have in front of a lens! Almost every time I see her at school she is rocking a brand new hairstyle and I say to her, "Gosh, dang it! I wish we could do a photoshoot right now!" On this particular afternoon, there was a lot of giggling as we experimented with poses, one-handed reflector skills and Rachel's attempt at graceful ballet leaps. Trust me, it was all sorts of brilliant.

RACHEL MARIE | PORTRAITS

After this shoot a few weeks ago, I decided to call her our resident Chanel Iman. Rach (now officially of Wanders and Wardobes) and I brought the second half our photo adventure to Shasta Dam with a quick outfit change - I love how easily she switched up her entire look around a basic white tee and leather leggings. Genius. The chill and breeze must have heard we were headed to the dam and followed us there because it was dang chilly, though of course the pro that Rachel is, you'd have no clue from these photos. 

On the topic of freezing cold weather, I'm back from an incredible, life-changing trip to Germany - photos and stories to come. It was my first time in Europe which means it literally was a dream come true - I have been wanting to step foot on that continent for as long as I can remember and oh, how it did not disappoint! 

RACHEL MARIE | PORTRAITS / COLLABORATION

Today is this beauty's birthday. So what better day for her to kick off her adventure into one of her dreams - launching her fashion and lifestyle blog, Wanders and Wardrobes? Seeing people jump head in to what has been swirling around in their heads and hearts, to see them put images and words to day dreams, taking risks and laying them before the world - these are a few of my favourite things.

You saw a sneak peek of this shoot a few weeks ago but here are a few more from our first photo adventure together.

Happy birthday and congratulations again, Rach. I am so excited to play a small part in this!

BEN AND JENESSA | ENGAGEMENT

The lovely Jenessa and Ben - I shared a bit of the story of how I met them in their sneak peek post and now here is more of their engagement session! Talk about a good-looking couple. These two met on a ministry trip they both happened to be on to Colombia. Colombia! Of all places. I love it. Can't you just imagine how stunning their wedding is going to be? I'm so excited!

THE HUMAN PROJECT

This here is Ryan. Ryan Andrews. Approximately 18 months ago, Mum and I touched down in Redding, kicking off my crazy adventure here. The house I was to move into wasn't ready yet and Mum was hanging out here for a couple of weeks to help me settle in. We found ourselves at Ryan and Nissa's playing with their hilarious children, eating way too much food and having some of the best conversation about anything and everything. We drank milk which had been picked up at a nearby farm, watched them make pancakes from flour which they had just made from scratch, laughed at the so-called spicy kimchi Trader Joe's sells, cracked coconuts with a giant machete and pretended to ride a Harley Davidson - just for the gram. 

Needless to say Ryan and Nissa are family so it is with so much pride and excitement that I see Ryan's latest undertaking, The Human Project, exponentially exploding alongside his partners Wes Chapman and Liviu Zoe. Each day, Wes and Ryan sit down and chat about important human issues and hit Publish, sending the addictive, funny Human Podcast out into the world and inviting people into new, informed perspective as well as the challenge for personal positive action be made. The result has been incredible influence - contacted by Apple themselves and currently featured on the home page of iTunes, Wes and Ryan recently had Angelina Jolie herself chime in on a show, and the feedback from people has been phenomenal.

It is such a privilege to be spending some of my time seeing this project unfold. 2015 is going to be massive for these guys and I'm expecting their impact to measure in the millions. Cheers, boys!

BEN AND JENESSA | ENGAGEMENT (SNEAK PEEK)

I met Ben and Jenessa at a mutual friend's birthday English tea party a few months ago and they immediately caught my attention. Jenessa was wearing a beautiful flower crown and they looked so happy together. I asked if I could snap a few quick photos of them and remember thinking, "I wonder if they're engaged." I learned that they weren't but just a few short weeks later, I squealed when I saw a certain announcement on Facebook involving a shiny diamond ring!

Here's a sneak peek from their fun engagement session which involved many piggy-backs (them), jumping around puddles (me) and removing giant sticks from under cars (also me).

Happy belated Christmas! So excited for the new year to come round.

SNOW ADVENTURES | PORTRAITS (SNEAK PEEK)

It's been a busy few weeks in my world - Thanksgiving came and went, school is happily busy and we're all gearing up for Christmas! On this day last year, Redding got 6 inches of snow. The first time in years for a town where the craziest weather looks like buckets of rain. I remember being at a packed Trader Joe's where it looked like we were preparing ourselves for a war. Everyone was in a slight disarray. 

This year, no such weather, so we decided that since the snow wasn't coming to us, we'd get our butts up to the snow. Five of us hopped in a car and to Mt. Shasta we went. Here's a sneak peek of some of today's shenanigans.