farewell

new year. new blog.

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welcome new year

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I had a lot of optimism going into two thousand and thirteen. It had to be God given because the year prior had been quite dull. But I was determined to follow where I felt I was being led rather than make the many excuses I had habitually been making. Though surprising to many including myself, I actually stuck to most if not all the resolutions I had made. I got active and in turn am feeling healthier and stronger. I was able to travel and go on adventures, took plenty of photos and documented trips. I read books that have made me laugh and books that changed my perspective. My heart has both grieved with family as we had to say goodbye and rejoiced to welcome new life. I realized the importance of community and became involved in a wonderful group of people who have inspired, encouraged and challenged me everyday. The amount of growth in in my life this past year, in so many different facets, has been absolutely incredible. Friendships have strengthened and new friendships have been found. I have found a particular someone whose friendship I cherish dearly and whose heart I immensely admire. Without whom my days wouldn't have nearly as much laughter and my heart not nearly as full. There are roots growing deeper by the day in my relationship with Christ. I have been so blessed this past year to have been surrounded by people who love The Lord and love to share that love. God is doing amazing things in the lives and hearts of myself and those around me and it's a beautiful thing. I am thankful for so much this year, so so very much. But I truly believe that two thousand and fourteen will top even this. 

wedding diaries: mrs. erica dobbert

Today marks the one year wedding anniversary of lovely bride and groom Erica and Tommy Dobbert. their wedding was in the big redwoods of mount hermon tucked away near santa cruz with breathtaking scenery and a most romantic wedding chapel. we got erica ready for her big day in a small bridal room right in the chapel itself. I heard stories of family and friends and of love and laughter, she could hardly contain her excitement to be tommy's wife. for her look we wanted to stay with her natural elegant nature, we went with neutral tones, favorites being chanel's sillage and chanel's taupe (a now discontinued color), smoked out her liner, added a bit of lashes and paired it all with a lip color that could be mistaken for her own. we curled her hair and added the most ornate hand made head band and she was ready to take her vows. happy one year of marriage and to many many many more.

"When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable." - walt disney

all photos courtesy of scot woodman photography

visit here for more detail shots of their wedding

wedding diaries: mrs. janet angelo

Janet and I went through beauty school together, our work stations were often times next to each other and we bonded over our mutual love for disney, michael jackson music and Jesus. when Janet got engaged last year I was overjoyed and even more ecstatic to be asked to do her hair and take care of her bridesmaids and mother's hair and makeup on her wedding day. Janet has always worked for chanel cosmetics since I've known her and is one of the people who kindled my love for their makeup and skincare, her longtime friend and co-worker Sandy was to do her makeup for the day of. the morning of the wedding was quite peaceful, there were just a few ladies in her party with a darling suite and plenty of room for everyone to relax. as I began on the bridesmaids hair and makeup we turned on some disney music to wake everyone up and as Janet says, and I totally agree, "it's my happy music!" as a lover of beauty she and let the girls choose what style they'd like for their hair and each let me play with their makeup just ensuring everyone was picture perfect. the girls chose all-down and curled, but each a little different, one with loose curls, an other bouncy and an other glamorous curls with lots of volume. for their makeup a few of my favorite products used were giorgio armani foundation for long wear and an even build able coverage, chanel bronzing powder for that sun kissed glow, a favorite coral and pink toned blush by make-up designory, and of course different variations of chanel eyeshadows for each. for Janet our lovely bride's hair she desired a very elegant and classic old hollywood wave. I used aquage thermal spray for protection and hold then after brushing the curls to achieve the soft wave I used a touch of finishing spray and my personal favorite beyond shine. I could not be more in love with her choice and I think it turned out beautifully, she truly looked like a perfect disney princess. congratulations janet, so happy for you and matthew. wishing you the very best. 

all photos by scot woodman photography | scotwoodmanphoto.com

roma, part three

Our third day in rome had us roaming all about to various sites all throughout the city, the trevi fountain, pantheon, piazza navona with the church of st. agnes, and campo de' fiori and its market filled with local goods and fresh foods and herbs, it was here where I found olive oil and a few other things to bring home. it was drizzling out that day so we spent most of the day walking quickly from site to site and touring as many indoor buildings we could. of course while taking plenty of photos. we did most of our souvenior shopping that day, peeking into different little shops here and there. The next day was going to be long so we went back to the hotel a bit early to pack up. 

Saturday was our last day in rome, we checked out at noon but left our bags at the hotel until that later that evening when we were to catch a train to the airport. we took our time in the morning making sure all the liquids being brought back fit correctly and were secure enough not to be broken and on my part looking for more room to bring home just a little more pasta. it was a beautiful day that day, the sun was shining and there were just a few clouds in the sky. we walked leisurely to the spanish steps and found a cafe to eat at right at the bottom. afterwards we trekked over to a piazza de popolo and from there found our way up some hidden steps and suddenly came upon a huge park with incredible veiws of the city. oh it was so fun. a little man with an accordian was playing as we took photos and took in the view then found a cute little place to grab a cannoli and our last gelato. there were families everywhere, we definiely had found a spot the locals go. there were tons of children on bikes and roller blades- yes roller blades, they were a big deal -they were having competitions and there was a man I'd say in his sixties or seventies spinning circles around the youngin's! it was awesome. we later found ourselves a bench and just laid back and relaxed. I found shapes in the clouds because when do you really get to do that anymore and I think tabitha read. we stayed there until it started to chill down and it was about the time we needed to walk back to find somewhere to eat. we ate our last italian meal at a resturant in campo de' fiori, I hadn't had pesto pasta yet so I ordered that and had my first ever tiramisu for dessert, both were excellent. our server was hilarious, in fact just about all our servers all along the trip loved to laugh with us. italians really are hospitable that way, you felt like you were in someones home, it was very nice. an other thing, a side note, is that as kind as they were the service is so much different from in the states- in italy, and maybe throughout europe but I woudln't know, they generally don't bother you at the table more than just to take your order or clear your empty plates and you have to flag someone down when you want the check. that was why it was always so easy to make our meals last a couple of hours. we really milked out that last meal and ended up half running to our hotel so we wouldn't miss our trains. we didn't and we stayed the night in the airport before our six am flight. 

After quite the interesting journey home- more so on my part I had a little flight cancellation issue upon arrival at lax but we wont worry about that here- I was happy again to see my family, leia and after forty-eight hours of no sleep my bed to dream of italy. 

until we meet again italy. you were lovely. arrivederci