Life is great.  When you add close friends that are like family to the mix, makes it even better.  Sonia and Mark have made it to my blog many of times, you probably already feel like you know them, their wedding, their pregnancy, the birth of their baby and now Roman’s baptismal.  I love being a part of such special moments in life and I am so very happy to have friends that are dear to my heart like this couple.  Makes life worth the ride.  I love you guys beyond words.  I hope you know that.  Thank you for always allowing me to be such a huge part of your world.  Huge hugs!

He sleeps like an angel.

And even though you can’t see it here… he cries… loud. 

Back in the arms of his daddy where he feels comforted.  Nothing like a Dad’s love to calm you down. 

The proud Nina. 

Love you Sonz. 

My handsome lil man.

 Those hands.  Those hands melt my heart.

That smile completes me.

Time to partay… 

I have had this blog for a year now.  I didn’t know at the time who I was or what brand I wanted to bring across to my clients.  But I am really trying to brainstorm on a brand that is totally me.  It’s a lot tougher than you think.  This is something that when people see my logo they will know, that’s Denise.  When they see a photo they will know it’s my style and my image.  I have a meeting with an awesome designer, Veronique James of the The James Agency this Saturday.  I cannot even say how stoked I am about this.  I am going to put all things that I like in a box as Jasmine Star mentioned, her friend Jessica Claire, did when she was wanting to re brand and see what we can get from that.  I thought it was an awesome idea and it will give the graphic designer a little more insight on who I am as a person and what things I love.  Because I have NOOOOOO idea how I want my logo or brand to look but I really hope that someone can pull it out of me with what I provide them.  I’m a little nervous, a little excited and cannot wait to share the new me.  I will keep you all posted.  And because I like to celebrate little moments in life, because those are the ones that matter the most, this is my 101st post!!! Whoohoooo!!!  I wanted to do this for my 100th post but I got carried away with The Jasmine Star Workshop and Napa Valley so we will go with 101 because that is a great number as well.  I am going to give away a Starbucks Gift Card to the 11th commenter on this post.    That’s it, plain and simple.  All you have to do is comment and you get a gift card.  Wow.  I’m easy like that.  It doesn’t take much to please me. Ha!  Happy commenting.

Napa Valley.  How I love Thee.  Have you ever wanted to go to a place where you could be romanced?  Learn about wine so you can feel like one of the cool kids?  Meet amazing people?  And have the experience of a lifetime?  Well I sure did.  And I was able to do so with our wonderful trip to Napa Valley, the wine country.  This trip far exceeded my expectations.  It was like love was in the air everywhere you turned.  It was amazing.  And if you know me at all, you know that I am in love with love.  Totally.  Fully.  It just makes my heart sing.  Loud!  I cannot even explain the joy I felt walking through downtown and enjoying the lovely buildings, textures, amazing light and the people.   Ohhhh the people.  From the bartenders to the tasters… truly spectacular.  I mean who wouldn’t be happy drinking wine all day?  It makes you relaxed, it makes you giddy, it makes you smile waaaay too much and it just makes you, you.  Josh was such a sport to try all the wines with me and was such a joy to be around.  I now know that I like Cabernet Sauvignon and Josh likes Merlot.  We went on a wine tasting tour with Platapus and had the most awesomest, crazy, wicked cool driver named BeeGee.  (Bacon Girl).  And she totally took this experience to another level.  She was amazing in every way.  And the other people that were on that bus (Elroy) with us were super, duper fun.  Friendships that I hope will last a lifetime and one day hopefully our paths will cross again.  Our last night there we went to a Jazz Bar and I never in my life imagined how much fun I would have there. Wow.  Jack Pollard and the Party of Three.  Awesome Awesome Awesome.  You should definitely check out Silo’s Jazz Bar, pairing good wine with good music if you are in the area.  I think Josh and I both needed this vacation.  To focus on us as a couple.  To get away from our daily routines, that get so boring and work on our relationship.  Not that we were having trouble with it but, I just wanted some romance.  So one on one time.  Work always seems to get in the way of that and it was fabulous to just stop time for awhile and enjoy each others company.  And ladies, let me tell ya, he is a stud!!!  I am one lucky woman to have someone like him.  Someone to lavish me with greatness.  I have been told recently numerous times by people we just met that we look like a freshly new couple.  And when they hear that we have been dating for almost 8 years.  They freak out.  They are dumbfounded.  I guess I don’t see the way we act on the outside, but its nice to know that we still give off that “new love” feeling.  Because frankly that is what life is all about.  Living it with someone you love and lovely every minute of it.  I hope that we have many many more years of fresh new love Josh.  You make my heart smile.  You bring sunshine into my life.  You are my everything.  Thank you for being you and for always putting my needs first.  You are truly the best!  I hope that we can experience many more trips like this together and explore the world.  I love you honey with all my heart and soul!

Click here for the slideshow!!! 

Enjoy our journey~ 

 The lovely windmills driving through California.  Favorite part of the drive.

Aren’t they gorgeous??!!

Keep in mind this was me with my camera out the window like a crazy woman while my man is driving around 85 miles an hour.  Pretty good huh? LOL.

Hello  Napa River Inn.

You sure are pretty.

Now this was heaven.  I was served breakfast in bed every single morning here. Ahhhh the life.

My love.

Headed downtown for some tasting.

Our very first stop.  And what a lovely experience Mark our bartender showed us.  Taste at Oxbow.  Waterstone. Yum.  Probably my fav.

This menu was adorable.

I will have to say that 2004 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon was my absolute fav of the entire trip.

Aren’t they a pretty couple?!

Well aren’t they in a nice little row waiting for me to try them.  Thank you, I promise I will get to you all. 

Swirl it: Our sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good impression of your wine’s aroma, swirl your glass for a solid 10-12 seconds (this helps vaporize some of the wine’s alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression.

Smell it:  Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through your nose. What are your second impressions? Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine’s aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics. Swirl the wine and let the aromas mix and mingle, and sniff again.

Taste it:  Start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of taste. 1) The Attack phase: the initial impression that the wine makes on your palate alcohol content, tannin levels, acidityand residual sugar. These four puzzle pieces display initial sensations on the palate.  2) The Evolution Phase: also called the mid-palate or middle range phase, this is the wine’s actual taste on the palate. In this phase you are looking to discern the flavor profile of the wine.  3) The Finish: is appropriately labeled as the final phase. The wine’s finish is how long the flavor impression lasts after it is swallowed. This is where the wine culminates, where the aftertaste comes into play.

Now be happy! 

This part is very sentimental to me.  As many of you know I lost my daddy to cancer 7 years ago.  And call this coincidence but I call it, my dad was joining me on my journey of one of my many dreams. Josh and I were not even headed in this direction but we were looking through a magazine on the table at Taste and this name popped out at me, Gustavo Thrace, and I knew I had to find this place.  Needless to say it was right around the corner.  Yay!  I love you daddy! Thanks for always being with me.

Yummy vintage wines.  I will definitely order some of these so we always have it stocked in our household for remembrance of my father and our lovely trip.

Watch this movie first, if you haven’t already done so before you go to Napa.  It tells the story of how Napa became famous.

  Bottle Shock

Oh the Oxbow public Market… such a fun place with fun people.

I ADORE this photo.  It just speaks to me.  Could be because nothing but goodness will fill these cones when all is said and done. But don’t they look so purty?

Grapes.  These little guys are your best friend.

Flowers.  Oh such beautiful flowers all along the way.

I took a picture of all the wines that I liked so I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to order.  This particular one was at UnCorked.

And this is the look I get at our 2nd tasting place.  Love it!

We met this lovely couple along the way.

I love him.

John from UnCorked.  Fun Guy.

Gotta love Kyle.  I say it like Cartman from South Park.  KYYYYLE.  He hooked us up.  Many of times.

Dawn.  Not just Dawn, but Dawwwn with a New York accent.  Love her!

And we can’t forget about Guy from Israel.  Thanks for an unforgettable time guys!

The walkway on the side of our hotel down to the river.  Serenity.

Hello pretty vineyards.  On our way to our 2nd day of wine tasting in our tour bus from Platapus.  Elroy.  Treated us right.  And BeeGee the best driver E.V.E.R.!!!

Andretti Winery.  Yes Andretti as in famous race car driver.

Meet Mike and Rebecca.  Such an adorable couple.  The minute BeeGee picked them up in Elroy I knew we would get along juuust right.

We are extremely happy here.   Absolutely loving life.   

Even more so here.  Ha!  The bartenders were good to us.

Where all the magic happens.

Can I please get a set of these doors at my house???!!! Gorge!!! I could shoot a couple here on these grounds ALL DAY!

Does anyone remember Mumm’s?  From Meet the Fockers??!! That’s right.  These people HOOKED it up.  Normally during wine tasting they give you only an ounce to taste of 5-6 different wines.  But Mumm’s Oh Mumm’s gave us 3 full glasses.  I didn’t know this prior to ordering the Champagne.  Ohhhhhh this put me on my butt for the night.

Hellooooooooooooooo Lover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You are so purtty and peach.

Oh just stop it with your bad self.

I believe this is our 3rd stop of the day.  Rutherford Grove.  Please remember we started around 10am.  Yes 10am.  They like to get you toasted early in Napa.  Put you to sleep by 9pm.

Meet these beauties.  Christine and Annette.  Believe it or not they are sisters.  And both nurses.  Such fun girls.  I heart them!

Rebecca you kill me with your cuteness!!!!!  She was laughing about her old school phone here.  We were trying to friend each other on  facebook but she advised me that she didn’t have internet access on her ancient phone.  It might as well have been attached to a wall with a long cord.  LOL.  JK Rebecca.  Love ya girl!

We had lunch with this scenery.  Gorge.  Aren’t you jealous?  Well you should be.  This is the dream. 

I love the simple things in life.  Details.  Details.  Details.  Soak it all up.

I can definitely imagine myself cuddling up with a book here and just enjoying the sunshine and breathing in all the fresh air, flowers, grapes and beauty. Ahhh.

As I said.  Details.  Love.   High School hand in the pocket you take with you when you are older.  Ahh.  This is why I am a photographer.  I love love.  Every detail of it.

Meet the gorgeous Donia and Jimmy.  Or as I called him Daughtry.  Ha ha!  Fun fun couple!!!

Beware for this cute thang…. BeeGee.  Yes our lovely tour bus driver.  Such a lively soul.  I just knew it was gonna be a great time with her sunny attitude.  Beautiful.

Daughtry… only a little scruffier. 

I wish I could tell you who this was but ladies and gentleman this was our 4th stop and I don’t even remember the name of the winery… but I am pretty sure he was the owner.  Yikes.  BeeGee a little help here please!!!

Our lovely couple from Tucson!

Josh and BeeGee acting like Horatio Cane from CSI. Ha ha!  Toasted!!!!  Well Josh was.. I think.  Hopefully BeeGee wasn’t.  She is just naturally silly. Ha ha!

Josh and Mike all lookin cool by the Lambo.  Josh was a little upset that I cut off the car.  I’m a people photographer Josh.  Don’t hate!  Plus I was a little toasted off the bubbly.  Forgive me.

Bye bye Napa.  It sure was fun.  Until next time.

Wow wow wow.  How can I possibly put into words the feelings that I felt after attending The Jasmine Star Workshop??!!  It was definitely a dream come true.  A goal that I knew I would complete one day but definitely was not prepared for the awesomeness that was in store.  Most of my close friends know that I totally adore Jasmine Star.  And if you don’t, well this post will catch you up to speed real quick.  I found her blog about a year and a half ago and have been a fan ever since.  Even if you are not a photographer, you NEED to check out her blog… she is like chicken soup for the soul.  No joke!!!  She can totally turn your frown upside down on a bad day.  A year and a half ago… let me see, where was I??? I was a girl with a hobby.  I loved taking pictures.  I never thought it would turn into a career, or a passion that fills my every pore.  However I was given the opportunity to photograph for my friends local magazine and that pretty much changed my life.  I knew photography was the thing I was missing.  It was a HUGE challenge and at times I wanted to just quite… but after reading one of Jasmine’s posts it really hit my core.  Deep.  I continued to move on, harder, faster, more determined to reach my dream.  Because of her, I have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.  She gives you hope.  Inspiration. Motivation.  And most of all it feels like you have known her your whole life. 

There was a mixer the night before the workshop that a few of the girls set up at a gorgeous restaurant called The Winery Restaurant andwe had such an amazing time getting to know one another!  These girls seriously are the best!!!  I could not believe the talent that was sitting all around me!  Jasmine Star showed up even though she was a little under the weather and joked about blaming it on the Sudafed if something came out wrong or totally uncalled for! Ha! Love her! 

The next day was jam packed full of knowledge.  Jasmine talked about branding, finding out who you are and making that your signature.  I still have yet to find out what words describe me and my work.  I am so versatile.   Guess it doesn’t help being a Cancer/Gemini… does that mean I have 3 personalities? LOL!  Maybe by the end of this post I will have it nailed.  She is a natural with making people feel comfortable.  Hilarious when she poses them!!! She is such a doll and you can’t help but love her when you watch her go go go.  JD, her adorable husband and 2nd shooter, is nothing short of amazing!!!  He really supports her 100% and it shows just how much he loves every minute of it.  I want a team like that!!! Jealousssss.  So much was learned, so much was shared.  Friendships were made with girls from all over the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.  I cannot express how excited I am to watch them all grow.  I just know big things are coming their way.   They are already fabulous and when implementing J*’s stuff in the mix. Well Uh…. they are gonna knock your socks off world!!!!  Thanks for everything girls!!! Jasmine and JD you guys are such a big part of my success and I cannot wait to implement all your goodness with my business.  Thank you for being yourselves.  It’s not often that you meet such down to earth people.  And I am truly honored and grateful to have finally met you face to face.  You make my heart smile!!!!  Here’s to a great year ahead and many many more to come! HUGS!

Hmmmm two words that explain me… sweet and saucey.  You think that fits??

It started off with a fabulous gift.  Score! 

And the lovely Jasmine *

Having fun at the workshop

I just adore her many facial expressions! 

The adorable couple that modeled for us that day were Joe and Jihan Cerda.  Can you say Gorgeous!!!!?? Wow! 

I just love how cute they are together. 

YUM!

Its hilarious how Jasmine grabs a hold of the guy, looks at the girl and then says.  I’m happily married… don’t get jealous.  Then goes on with her posing them.

How can you not love this couple??

Beautiful flowers by Carissa of JL Designs

You guys are beyond gorge.

Hey girl heeeyyyy.

Love is priceless.

Helloooo handsome

Fiyah… 

Stunning make up by Vivian of All Made Up.  You are killing me with your beauty Jihan!

It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside with the way he looks at her.  Total adoration. 

  The moment in between the kiss.  Ahhhh.  Lovely.

The lovely Menu at the ever fab restaurant Maggiano’s.  Yes she is cool like that!

I just love how McCall was in the back ground of all the photos.  Ha ha! xo

Some workshop attendee fun in the sun photos… taken by JD.  I love how I am all on the floor in a dress.  Classy!

 My girls.  Holla!

Some dinner fun…taken by the adorable Mikaela Ruth.  Hope you don’t mind that I snagged this from your site hon.  Loved it!!! 

Wow, like I said, such an amazing time!  Words cannot begin to express how full my heart is at the moment.  Thank you for everything Jasmine and JD.  Much love!!! Muah!~ 

I just wanted to have a small tea party for her.  But who was I to think that a “tea party” is cool at the age of 9??? That is soooooo 2008.  She opted to go to Amazing Jakes and then have a sleep over.  With 6 girls.  Six.  It’s going to take me a year to recuperate from that!!!  Seriously how could 9 year old girls be so energetic???  Sheesh.  We ended up having a great time!  My baby is getting so big.  She promises me that she will not grow up and leave me lonely.  I’m not so sure of it.  She seems so independent already.  So wise for her age.  So nurturing.  I will promise to enjoy every single moment with her while she is young.  I don’t want to miss ANYTHING!  Leilani, you are sooooo loved by soooo many.  You bring me happiness consistently.  Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter and for always making me feel beautiful even when I complain about how fat I am.  You never see the bad or wrong in anyone.  You are such a sweetheart.  You know exactly how to make my heart smile.  I love you to pieces baby girl. 

Love your mommy,

I hope you had a great Birthday!!! I love you Monkey Moo!

Soooo sorry that I have been neglecting you oh lovely blog of mine.  I have just been sooo busy, and sooo tired.  I was sick for an entire week, then my friend/co-worker got sick and was out for a week, so life has been a little hectic.  Things are back to normal again and I have tons of sessions to post!!! But for now here is a photo of my lovely 9 year old daughter, Leilani and her little friends.  She is quite spoiled.  And soooo very loved. xoxo

So funny how she towers over them.  I knew she was tall, but next to her friends who are the same age as her, really does put her “tallness” into perspective.  Wow!  My little model.

Here is a little sneak peak of the gorgeous sisters that were baptized on Valentine’s Day.  They were the cutest sweethearts in town that day.  Guaranteed.  I cannot even express the joy that I carried in my heart on this very special occasion.  But you will soon see what I mean.  I hope that my photos can explain it all.  Sunshyne and Bellyna you girls are loved sooooo much!!  I hope that one day when you are both old enough you will look back at these photos and realize just how much we all adore you!  You make our hearts sing.  Love you girls!!!!!!!!

Life can sure throw curve balls at you.  I am at that point where I feel I might break.  Deep down inside I am a mess.  A puddle of mush.  On the outside… you might think my life was perfect.  I don’t normally focus on the negative stuff.  I try to always think positive.  Because quit frankly I KNOW that IT COULD BE SO MUCH WORSE!!!!  I am a firm believer of that so I thank my lucky stars every single day.  I just feel the need to vent at the moment because for me, it makes me feel better.  My entire family is sick.  With different strains of the flu.  I have a sinus infection and this is not fun!!!  And in the mist of it all, my teenager… yes the little angel I speak of all the time… is giving me trouble.  I knew it would come sooner or later but it’s finally here.  The rebellion.  The I-don’t-ever-do-anything-wrong kid has finally done wrong.  I won’t go into detail about what he did because that would just be focusing on the negative… but my heart is broken at the moment.  I have asked God to give me the strength to get through this.  I know he will give it to me.  I know this is not the end of my heartbreaks with my son.  He is a great kid.  I know this.  We all make mistakes and we learn from them.  I really do hope he learned his.  I am not perfect world.  I have done my fair share of wrong.  But when your baby does it.  Wow.  It hurts.  I would like to say MOM I am sorry for everything I ever did that hurt you.  I now know how it feels to be disappointed.  Oh life.  It sure does know how to throw curve balls at you.  Next time around I will be ready.  Ready to swing at it with all my might.

Speaking of curve balls… here is a sneak peak of the shoot I did with the Diamondbacks @ The Boys & Girls Club

I don’t have much to say today.  But I am on here anyways, spilling out my life to the world.  I have been writing every day for the last 30 days now and it is easier than I thought it would be.  Most of the time I probably bored you with babble of my personal life.  But this is my journey and I hope you enjoy following it.  I don’t have a very exciting life.  I guess if I were twenty you would have been more interested in me.  Ha!  At twenty I was a hoot.  My friends used to say my life was like a soap opera.  I’m not sure that was a compliment Internet.  Now that I am in my thirty’s life hasn’t slowed down, I just have other responsibilities now and doing grown up things.  Which consist of cooking, cleaning, working, working, working, cooking, and did I mention working??!!  Just kidding, just kidding.  I do have fun.  Like this weekend, my boyfriend will be taking me out to a lovely dinner.  He won’t tell me where we are going but I am pretty sure I have a good hunch.  Maybe the Melting Pot?!  Don’t tell him I told you that.  He would be crushed.  He was so excited when he said… Saturday you need to be home no later than 6.  Make sure all your appointments are early, cuz I am taking you out.  I was like Score!!!  Heck yah!  I love being babied.  Saturday will be our Valentine’s Day since Sunday I will be busy baptising my Goddaughter and all.  So enjoy your Valentine’s Day everyone.  Share some of your stories with me.  Let me know if  you got spoiled???

And just for the heck of it… here is a snap my good friend Sara took of me during her photo shoot @ the Mondrian

I am currently reading two books at the same time.  Weird you might say.  Well at least my boyfriend thinks so.  How do I concentrate on more than one book?  It’s easy I say.  I keep one downstairs and one on my night stand.  And they each get the same amount of love.  It takes longer to finish but I don’t get confused.  Fearless by Max Lucado is kind of in both categories, personal and professional.  It’s kind of hard to explain but both personally and professionaly, I need to let  go of fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of not being the best I could be, fear of comparing myself to other fabulous photographers, fear of living my dream, fear of losing someone I love, fear of raising my children right, fear of never getting married, fear of losing my house, my job, fear of fear.  I know this is not the kind of life to live.  I know I have issues.  It is odd how when I bought the book I knew nothing about it.  Nobody told me to read it.  It just stuck out on the stands.  On the cover of the book it said,  Imagine Your Life Without Fear.  Just as simple as that.  And I said. Wow. That would be awesome!!!  Then I opened it and read a couple of paragraphs on the 5th page:

Fear, it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop.  Oversize and rude, fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness.  Happiness complies and leaves.  Do you ever see the two together?  Can one be happy and afraid at the same time?  Clear thinking and afraid?  Confident and afraid?  Merciful and afraid?  No.  Fear is the big bully in the high school hallway: brash, loud and unproductive.  For all the noise fear makes and room it takes, fear does little good.

Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease.  Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry.  Fear never saved a marriage or a business.  Courage did that.  Faith did that.  People refused to consult or cower to their timidity’s did that.  But fear itself?  Fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors.  Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?

How powerful are these words?  This books blows my mind!!!!  I went to church a couple of weeks ago after I first bought the book and the service was about Fear.  Go figure.  It’s like God was talking to me.  It’s like he knew I needed the courage to let go and to grab on to hope, to faith.  Pasture Lee, from Radiant said if you let go, he will save you.  Just open up your heart and believe and he will be there walking next to you.  Have faith.  Have courage.  If you believe in Him you will no longer have fear.  What an amazing service!!!  From here on out Internet…. I am letting go of fear.  I don’t want him residing in my heart any longer.  He doesn’t belong there.  God does.  Will you believe and let go of fear????

I will keep you posted when I finish the book and give you another update.