I love him.

Blog world, I have a secret crush. Which clearly won't be so secret anymore because I'm blogging about it. DUH! But yes, he's handsome, he's smart, he's a blood splatter analyst, and a serial killer. His name is Dexter Morgan, and I lurrve him. To pieces. Get it?

I'm obsessed. SO obsessed. I'll be the first one to tell you that my roommates used to watch it and I'd be all "No way, I'm gonna go to my room" But because its typical Gladys to really like something 10 years after everyone else, it doesn't surprise me that I'm hooked on it. Chris and I just finished Season 1, and now on to Season 2. It only gets better and better and better.

I wish I had all the time in the world to sit in front of the TV and do nothing but be completely engrossed in Dexter Morgan's world.

Dexter, I love you.

Happy Sunday!

Wedding Wednesday - Colors

Shame on me. Actually, Double shame. I'm sorry that I didn't blog last Wednesday. I'm even sorrier that I didn't blog for an entire week. Gasp! Trust me, I'm punishing myself for my lack of blogging. I'm cereal! I've decided that I'll only eat one cupcake every two months. Or maybe one cupcake a month. Whatever I choose to do, just know that it's truly a punishment. Not for my body because that's actually a blessing, but for me.

And moving on to our scheduled program...this week on wedding wednesday, colors! That's right, colors. I've decided to blog this today instead of introducing who's in my bridal party because I changed my mind about colors way too many times. I figured if I blogged about it, I won't change it because it's in writing. Or typing. But for real, I am in love with what I ended up choosing and I wouldn't trade our final colors for anything in the world.

Through endless search for inspiration, I found a little fall themed gem on Style Me Pretty. And oh my my, it is pretty! If you click on this link, you'll see just what I'm talking about. Creams, Chocolate Browns, Bronze, and Greens. Absolutely to die for, and so beautiful that I could cry.

You see, Chris and I originally wanted to have a barn wedding. A countrified wedding outdoors, with reception in a barn, and photos with cows. Ok totally made the cow thing up, but it sounds cool. Anyhow, we didn't find the perfect outdoor venue with a barn so we chose a gorgeous winery nestled on a hill in Sonoma. It's perfect, and I absolutely love our venue. But because I love country, outdoors, live cows, and fall, I wanted to bring just that to our wedding with our colors. I wish I could take a picture of the vision in my head to show you what our wedding will look like, but you'll just have to wait :)

What I do have is a picture of myself in a green shirt with my future hubby. I figured that will work since green is one of our colors ;)

Happy Happy Wednesday!

The Style Lab!

It rained. A lot. But this didn't stop us from heading outside and shooting. That's until the 90 MPH winds, tornado warnings, and a whole lotta side ways rain decided to show up. But because it's the OC, the beautiful sun decided to grace us with it's presence after all, and that is when we rocked it out some more.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Chenin Boutwell's Style Lab. Along with the Wedding Chicks, and Totally Rad Actions, Chenin hosted her first workshop in 2 years. Rain or shine, Chenin, Jocey, Amy, and Doug shared their knowledge. And because these are some of the top professionals in the wedding industry, us attendees soaked it all up. All up until the last drop. I learned everything from how to figure out my style, what photos I want to achieve, my brand, how to shoot details, how to get published, post processing, and how to bring pretty back. That's right, how to bring pretty back.

What I love about workshops is being able to see and learn from others. Whether it be Chenin, or the Wedding Chicks, Doug or other attendees. Information was shared that helped me find what it is that I want to achieve. Defining my style, figuring out my brand, etc. We as attendees were encouraged to be our best. To be the best photographer to others, to our clients, and to ourselves. And that to me, is truly important.

Chenin, Jocey, Amy, and Doug: Thank you for a fabulous workshop! I am so lucky to have won that giveaway. I walked away with so much information. More information that I could have ever asked for. I highly recommend it to everyone, rain or shine! You guys are awesome! xo

And to the wonderful and incredibly talented vendors: Thank you for an amazing set up! It was incredible, even in the rain :)

And here are the photos...

"My Love" Amanda Rae and her hubby Mike. You guys are wonderful! So glad I got to know both of you. You both are such sweet people. Thanks for being fabulous models.

Founders Of Style Lab

Boutwell Studios

The Wedding Chicks

Totally Rad Actions

Vendors Involved With Style Lab

Venue: Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club

Styled By: Angel Swanson of Events of Love & Spendor

Stationary: Wiley Valentine

Floral Design: The Treasured Petal

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Dress Designer: Joan Shum

Makeup & Hair: All Made Up Team

Deserts & Goodies: Vanilla Bakeshop

Monday Musings

This morning wasn't a typical Monday. I didn't get up angry at the world because I had to be at the gym by 9:00. I woke up extremely excited. Excited for the day/days ahead. Excited for all of the things I'll be learning in the next two days. And, excited to be at SFO, well because, I love airports.

Though my flight was delayed, I made it to Orange County safe and sound. I'll be here for the next two days, immersing myself in everything photography. Thanks to a huge give-a-way that I won last month. Remember? I won a free seat to Chenin Boutwell's Style Lab. Yep, HUGE! Stay tuned for my style lab experience ;)

But, oh my heck! One of the best things about workshops is the cool people that I get to meet. New friends that share my passion. New friends that love being behind the camera and capturing moments that we all live for. You know, happiness and love :) My day in the OC started with just that, new friends. Plus lots and lots of rain, umbrella flipping, and shedding a couple of tears because I miss Chris a lot. But that's just another story. ha!

But fa real. Today, I had lunch with Kristine Atienza, and Emily Steffen. Two amazing ladies that share my love for photography. It was then, at lunch, I felt absolute happiness. The same feeling I had two months ago when I was in Laguna Beach with a bunch of ladies that completely inspired me beyond words. Over orange chicken, miso salmon, and iced teas, we talked about photography. Photographers. And more photography. It was perfect, and I wouldn't have it any other way. These two ladies are only the beginning, and tomorrow I get to meet more. More people to inspire me beyond belief. Especially Chenin, The Wedding Chicks, and Doug Boutwell.

I'm so excited. SO excited like Jesse Spano on caffeine pills.

Happy Monday!

Wedding Wednesdays: Bridal Party Dresses

I love my bridal party. A ton. They are my girls for life. Times eternity. Next week, I'll introduce them to you for my next Wedding Wednesday. But for now, I thought I'd share with you what they'll be wearing.

I thought long and hard about this. It was either choose ugly dresses to make myself look better ;) or choose fabulous dresses for them to work it in. And of course, since I'm such a little angel, I chose fabulous dresses! They're so excited about it, and so am I!

My gorgeous bridal party will be wearing Two Birds Bridesmaids Dresses.

Two Birds Bridesmaid Dresses are chic, classic, and oh so lovely! The thing is, it's only one dress. But it's one dress that bridesmaids can wrap 15 different ways so that it looks like a different dress. Ariane Goldman is a genius for designing such a fabulous dress. It's one size fits all, so everyone looks and feels beautiful. Perfection!

I know my ladies are going to love their dresses. The best part is that they can shorten it and wear it again ;)

The Skinny

So there's this one moment during my freshman year of college that I hid in the back of my head the day after it happened. It was tragic. There was blood. There was tears. It was painful...

I fell off the treadmill. Yup, you read that right. I fell off the treadmill. I was running and my arm got caught in the earphones and I ended up knocking Sara's iPod off. I saw it happening in slow motion, and for some strange reason I forgot that I was running and on a treadmill. HELLO! So I reach down for it as the treadmill was going and the next thing I know I hear this thud. Oh wait, the thud was me hitting my knee and sliding off. Yup, go ahead. Laugh. But whatever, I was tough. I got up and got back on the treadmill for 5 more minutes. Then it hit me what actually happened, and I rushed out of there like there was an earthquake or something. Oh wait, no earthquake. It was just me falling off the treadmill.

Ever since that happened, I vowed never to return to a gym. EVER! I mean come on internet, I was mortified. I swear they have it on camera. And anytime I ever saw one of the front desk people, or supervisors, or trainers from the campus gym on campus, they'd look at me. They'd give me this look like, "Hey! You're the girl who fell off the treadmill." Yikesabee! Also, whenever I see videos of people falling off treadmills, I laugh. (See Below) But deep down, my heart hurts. Because I was one of them.

But this year, it's different. I've returned to the gym to get in shape for my wedding, and I have a fabulous trainer to boot. He's the reason why it hurts to laugh at the video above because my body is sore today. But I love him for it. I actually told my trainer this story when I met with him for the first time to explain why I'm a bit out of shape. Why I dreaded gyms for the longest time. And why I hate when people look at me at the gym. Of course I'll blame it on this accident, and not my love for cupcakes ;)

I'm a changed woman ya'll. I love gyms now. All in the name of Skinny.

Engaged: Katie and AJ

She said she'd get in trouble because her boss thought she was messy. AJ threw paper clips at Katie's desk. That's where they met. At work. It was his way of flirting. He said, "I knew it was true love because she didn't rat me out." And true love is just what I saw when we spent some time in the city to photograph their love.

We originally scheduled their engagement session last year, but due to bad weather we had to re-schedule. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my first Saturday in 2010 photographing two people absolutely in love. The weather turned out to be beautiful, but I know that these two had everything to do with it ;)

I actually met Katie and AJ a couple of years ago. But it was for a brief moment. Who knew that years later, they'd choose me to be their photographer. During their engagement session, I fell in love. I fell in love with who they were as people, and as a couple. Everything about the way they looked at each other. The way AJ whispered into Katie's ears sending a huge smile on her face. The way they make each other laugh. Their chemistry. It's pure. It's real. It's true love.

Katie and AJ: I love you both! Fa real. I am SO excited that we have finally managed to somehow meet again and be in each other's lives. You guys make me laugh until my tummy hurts, and make me smile my big smiles. Thank you for spending the day with me, and I'm looking forward to it again in April! Xoxo

They make each other laugh so easily

Katie looked like this the entire day. I love her happiness.

My favorite from the session. Took them to the painted ladies, or better known as the Full House Houses. I knew I loved them when they got excited and love the show as much as I do. Yep. I'm a loud and proud Tanner Family lover.

Again, with the laughing

gorgeous lighting on the embarcadero

don't they just make you want to smile?

AJ, this one if for you! You're the star in this picture ;)

Cuteness overload!

hahahhaha. I love them.

I'm also in lurrvee with this shot.

Save the date

Click here for a slideshow

Happy Thursday!

Wedding Wednesdays: Something Blue

Let's face it. I'm 120% girly girl, maybe even more. I squeal at the sight of cute cupcakes. My heart is happy when I see cute bows. Striped ones make me happier. Ruffles make me and my heart excited. Sex and the City is my favorite show. But, Shoes. Shoes are my love. To me, shoes are the equivalent of cupcakes in a non-edible form. You get the point right? LOVE.

When I saw the blue Manolo Blahnik's that miss Carrie Bradshaw wore during her city hall wedding with Big, I died. A little piece of me died and went to shoe heaven because they were just so fabulous. And come on, I love all things fabulous. So much that sometimes my mother calls me fabulous. So after watching Sex and the City Movie over and over, plus the entire boxed set...I've decided that I wanted my something blue to be my shoes.

Below are my newest pair of fabulousness in shoe form. They're blue. They're high, and they have ruffles. They match perfectly with the sapphires in my engagement ring (another reason why I want my something blue to be my shoes) I won't be wearing these on my wedding day, but I am on a search for the perfect pair of blue shoes to wear on my big day!

But who knows, maybe...

"The Ultimate Single Gal, Gladys Jem will be married in Manolos to San Francisco Personal Trainer/Writer, Christopher James Allen come fall."

Happy Wednesday!

Me.

Chris has brought to my attention that I don't finish my glasses of water. EVER. This morning, I didn't finish my OJ. Seriously, bloggernet. There was a gulp left. I don't know what it is. It's not like I purposely drink most of my water or juice then all of a sudden stop when there is a bit left. I didn't even realize that I do it. I just do.

But then, I realized that it's probably just another one of those crazy things that I do. What crazy things? Oh. Like I have to check if the door is locked about 3 times before I get into bed. You might say, "I do that!" But do you open the door and rotate the knob to make sure it's actually locked instead of just looking at it to make sure it is locked? Or, Do you do this about 3 times because if you only do it once, you think something bad will happen. Oh yeah. I thought so.

Oh! Then there is also my routine before a movie starts. They have those commercials that say "it takes many calls to make a movie, and only one call to ruin a movie. please silence your cell phone now." This is when Chris laughs at me because I'll take my cell phone out and switch it from loud to silent. loud to silent. loud to silent. I do this about 3 times. Sometimes 6 when after 3 I feel like it's not really silent, and I make sure that it is silent so I don't ruin anyones movie experience. Especially the tall ginger man sitting next to me. He loves movies. He also likes to say, "make sure to silence your phone" after I've done it, in which I have to check again just to make sure.

Bloggernet. I promise I'm not crazy. I'm just considerate. I care for people's safety and their movie experiences. As for the water and OJ, maybe I'm just saving it for later. Or maybe I just like the look of a little bit of water or juice left in my glass. I don't know. Tomorrow i'll try drinking everything in my glass. I'll blog about it and let you know.

I don't have any pictures of me checking if the door is locked, or silencing my cell phone a gazillion times before a movie, or left over orange juice. But I do have a sneek peak of yesterdays engagement session. You'll have to wait for the rest. But all I gotta say is that Katie and AJ make me smile. So I bet they'll make you smile too!