A couple weekends ago Scott and I drove down to San Diego for a fun double-wedding weekend. We spent Friday at an intimate backyard wedding in Chula Vista and Sunday at a beautiful wedding at The Prado (stay tuned for epic posts on both!) and were left with Saturday & Monday to run amok around the city.

And although there are tons of places to explore, we managed to visit one place twice. That place was Extraordinary Desserts. After rave reviews from pretty much every person I have ever met, you would have had to drag me kicking and screaming from San Diego without first trying this dessert phenomenon. We had tea and cake there on Saturday and then went back Monday morning for brunch (and, more cake, of course). Aside from the tantalizing eats, I also fell in love with the mod decor, the little shopping nook, and the general eye-candyness of the whole place.

Kokeshi dolls! <3

There were flowers in my salad. And they were DELICIOUS. Scott even thought the water was delicious:

And of course, the cake! A berry-loaded, white chocolate masterpiece:

At first glance the cake seems slightly pricey, but both times Scott and I shared a piece and still had a little bit to take home. (And we’re sort of heifers when it comes to eating.) Can’t wait to load up on more sugary goodness the next time we’re in SD!

On that note, stay tuned for more engagement and wedding posts on the way!

I spent this weekend disguised as a regular person. I was not a face with a camera permanently attached, I was not an editing maniac, I was not an inbox-demolishing email machine. For the first time in a long time I took a break from most things business-related, and had a relaxed brunch (here), went on a refreshing hike (here), watched a movie (this one), and visited my parents (they don’t have a website, thank goodness).

And I came to a small realization. A realization that as much as I most dearly love what I do, I need to find a balance. That taking the time to breathe gives me inspiration – inspiration from a sunny afternoon, from a delicious meal, from long talks that soften my heart and remind me of why I spend so much of my life capturing and documenting love. It’s been a long time since I’ve written about my life, and an even longer time since I’ve taken a step back and looked at it square in the eye. I’m going to be lifting the camera back up to my face and rounding out the summer with a fresh perspective that will enable me to be a better friend, daughter, and photographer. And in between the wedding and engagement posts that are on that way, I hope to share plenty of my daily tidbits here with you as well :)

I’ve been meaning to get this post up for awhile, but I just wanted to share a couple recent online features!

A big thank you to Rock n Roll Bride for featuring Clair & Paul’s vintage-inspired downtown LA engagement session! Her blog is just overflowing with inspiring weddings and shoots and it’s a total honor and joy to have the session featured there!

Also, I recently discovered that Bride Sophisticate by Ashley Kohler Events featured an image from Christina & Rick’s UCI engagement session. The entry she wrote has an adorable balloon theme – I loved seeing all the different ways they can be incorporated into a session!

Lots of weddings and engagement sessions in the blogging queue! Stay tuned! :)