Happy evening, you guys. ’sup.
What I’m doing today is a sort of ‘This & That’ blog post thingie, but in a way that will be very weird/foreign to you/you may not like/you may hate/you may love so much that you can’t let it go on living if you cannot have it all to yourself.
Wtf kind of intro was that, Alison?
So ummm, ‘This/That” posts are common in the blog world, and I love them because they are typically lighthearted, fun and cool-thing-you-can-buy oriented. Today’s is a bit different, insofar as it’s a picture show depicting how trees, on the one hand, are capable murderers of childhood memories, but how, on the other hand, they are amazing at providing overhead shelter to lovers who suddenly find themselves lost in the wilderness (or safely within reach of the main highway). So. Definitely a This-n-That post, BUT, a best/worst case scenario one, and centered around decaying trees. SO OMIGODDDD, shall we begin? It just sounds like so much fun already.
Actually let’s first digress into some different personal life stuff…
It has finally happened. Honey and I have finally found a tv show we can tolerate as a couple without one of us sighing audibly start to finish. <== Few and far between, my friends. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, since I’ve been growing less hopeful by the day on my efforts to get Honey into the Real Housewives of Various Gated Communities I Cannot Legally Gain Entry.
I can’t place it, but there is something about overprivileged plastically-enhanced oral pleasure professionals hosting charity events/arguing/standing in heels the height of small children and holding their real life children only a few minutes a day so that the nanny can go number 2… that somehow doesn’t *grab* Honey quite in the same way it does me. And by *grab* I mean I’ve sat through every episode of every season of every version of the show, and at least three times. I’m not proud of it you guys, DUH. But I can’t ignore the fact that I consistently find myself willfully engaged and listening along as these women attend the day’s plastic surgery appointments and talk negatively about the women not currently in the shot. It’s some kind of television crack-cocaine situation because I am but a shell of my former self when I’m focused on these programs. I’m pretty sure I am calmed by the sound of aging women arguing over whether or not they are going to forgive each other.
So yeah, the series we watch together these days is The Walking Dead, and Honey actually just got home and the first thing he said to me after “cook anything?” was “we should watch a couple more episodes of The Walking Dead.” So there you have it – we love this show.
Alright, SO! I hope you weren’t expecting a transition. Because nothing’s coming to me.
So some of you may remember how the ish hit the fan back when that hurricane happened. I didn’t talk about specifics openly on the blog, for reasons related to my family’s safety in the home. Opening my big mouth on the internet is my favorite pastime as you well know, but I figured talking about how there were these big, huge holes in my parents’ home had an aura of “someone might break in”-ness to it. I told my Dad about it. He said “…someone would have to repel through the roof like in one of those Tom Cruise movies, so I think we’re ok…” Still, I held off just in case. But now it’s safe to tell you about it, as things are starting to get back in working order. So, check it – MY CHILDHOOD BEDROOM: TREE’D!
Funny story; when I was a kid I was afraid of the dark. Did I say “was” ? because I meant I am an adult who is petrified by total darkness and always have been. Here’s what happened every night I went to bed as a kid, no joke:
I would lay in bed staring directly into the northwest corner of the ceiling of my room, and worrying that it was haunted. I felt pretty confident that there was a portal to some other dimension in that corner. And while I wouldn’t say I believed it was necessarily a portal to *Hell*… I knew it probably wasn’t Oz.
Fast-forward to modern day, and the only times you’ll find me in pitch black darkness is when I feel secure enough with someone (or our frenchie Bambino) sleeping beside me in bed, or on a day I’ve been so caught up with work that I never switched on the lights before the sun set- always a shocking vision for Honey when he arrives home because he can hear us typing, but he cannot actually see me or Bambino at our respective computers.
Anyway, so about that portal I believed existed…
It is now time for the “THAT” part of This & That. Let’s make it official with a banner…
Nice. Ok, so I’m beyond pleased that the example I’ve got today of a good tree scenario happens to be the e-session of Leighann and Caitlyn, the smoking hot couple who won our photography giveaway with Cam and Tracy of Cameron Leung Photography! Be sure to check out Leighann’s rad write-up, below, because I love the way she tells a story. Plus; other than the fact that Honey has a penis, I feel like we share a rather identical “relationship balance” as couples. Which of course brings me to today’s big question for you:
Does your relationship have a certain unique balance to it? Are you young at heart while your partner is calm and in control? Are you the subdued one, while your partner can be considered a free spirit? Are you both wild and crazy? Total grandmas? Is there something completely different going on with your personalities? Share how your relationship balances out in the comments; I’m dying to know!
So check out what happens when a tree isn’t behaving badly…
Such a cool shot. Way better than the other version. Here’s the write-up; the rest of the shoot follows below!
Caitlyn and I met a little over 4 years ago through mutual friends and we’ve been inseparable ever since. We are complete opposites in most ways, I’m a left-brainer and she’s the right brain. I truly believe that is the reason we get along so well, we are really good at balancing each other out. Caitlyn is definitely an old soul which brings out my inner kid and that pretty much sums us up. We don’t take things too seriously and we’re always looking for a good laugh. One thing we do have in common is our competitive nature so when we heard about the e-sesh giveaway on The Knotty Bride back in June 2011, we set off on a mission – TO WIN!
We had no idea what to expect when we met up with our photographers the day of our shoot. Were we going to feel comfortable with these strangers with their cameras in our face? What if the pictures don’t come out well? What if I worry too much? Fortunately for us, Cam and Tracy were, and still are, beyond amazing! Though we had some initial jitters, they did an amazing job of calming us down and encouraging us to be just that, us.
Caitlyn’s family owns ranch property in northern San Diego County which goes back to her great grandparents in the early 1900’s. About 3 years ago, her dad built a cabin on the property where we have since spent many family weekends. What we fondly refer to as “The Ranch” has become such a special and sacred place for us. It’s a “short” 2.5 hour drive from where we live so when we need a little escape or alone time, we pack a bag and head to the ranch.
When Caitlyn and I discussed our engagement session, the idea of shooting at the ranch immediately came to mind. It would be so uniquely us and we would have 65 acres of pure scenery to work with. Then it dawned on us that asking a photographer to drive that far and spend an ENTIRE day traveling and shooting might be overkill. Ahhh, but not for Cam and Tracy!! I briefly mentioned the idea and without hesitation, they said “absolutely!”
For kicks, and because it was only 30 minutes away, we threw in the idea of going to Julian which is a tiny little town known for its amazing apple pie! Side note: Don’t wear a dress if you visit Julian mid-December, just a bit chilly! Once we migrated to the ranch, I was able to change into something a bit warmer and stop the convulsive shivering. It was there, in the middle of the desolate fields that I could really feel the emotion and memories taking shape.
Every now and then, Cam or Tracy would show us a little sneak peak on the camera and it was at that point that I found myself giddy like a school girl. When we received our finished photos, I was so impressed and grateful for the fantastic work they had done. If I had had any expectations, they would have been blown to smithereens. Cam and Tracy captured us so perfectly, simple and in love.
So happy this turned out to be such a great experience, ladies! Congrats on being in love so much, while simultaneously being so damn photogenic as well. Rare talents!
Time for today’s fave app for photo editing!
Go to the app store, and search for ‘photo combine xmas’ if you want this one. I like it because I love silhouette cutouts and this one’s packed with legitimately adorable cutouts that aren’t lame. My photos are typically not a good fit for the reindeer shape, but I think this slap bracelet (SLAP BRACELET SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY GRADE SCHOOL READERS) pic I snapped at Kate Spade will do:
I ended up cropping the cutout above; below is an accurate depiction of the options:
Moving on, I haz question(s) for you now.
1. Do you and your sweets have a particular show you watch together?
I’m curious to hear of some options Honey and I might have; you know, outside of half-eaten faces of death eating currently alive faces. (The Walking Dead should be called “FACES EATING FACES,” not Walking Dead, because that is what it is- face eating. And I can’t with the face eating frequency. They’re averaging at least 20 half-off faces an episode and I was bred to handle one, two at most. I LOVE the plot development of this show, but it’s annoying having to watch it unfold through the fingers of the hand I’m using to shielding my face from being eaten alive.
Wait.
Does this show come in 3-D??? That would be so cool.
2. When you were a youngster, did you think your room was haunted? Or were you one of those lucky kids who didn’t see portals to evil dimensions in the harmless white paint of a corner of your completely safe room that your parent(s) provided for you with years upon years of backbreaking work and personal sacrifice, you ungrateful human being..? That was more directed at me, than you, I think.
xx! - Alison
Photography: Cameron Leung Photography / images of my childhood bedroom/Hell portal: taken by me, whilst shaking before the manifestation of my own childhood prophecies.