Year: 2011

So as most of you know who have been following my blog for a while, Randy and I live in a cute older little house in the neighborhood where we grew up. Both my parents and my in-laws live less than 2 minutes away :) We’ve taken this house room by room and did what we could afford at the time. First it was the den, hallway and our bedroom. (Took paneling down, ripped up the carpet, refinished the wood floors, put crown molding up, new doors, new knobs, new blinds, fresh texture, fresh paint, all new closet doors, new front door) You get the picture… our house has had a major face lift. We then moved on to the kitchen, which some of you may remember. This was our biggest expense and totally worth every penny. I have really enjoyed cooking dinner with Randy in our kitchen and sipping wine together after a long and stressful day. It’s the place where we get a chance to actually talk about our day, talk about life and future goals/plans.

Next we re-did the laundry room and my office, which was right around the time we did the kitchen. Well almost a year later since the kitchen renovation and 6 months of being married, we decided it was time for the bathroom to get freshened up. So here it is… all our stages are below. It’s been so relaxing to take a shower in there now, knowing we have a fresh new tub, floor and cabinets. Our house is finally starting to feel like home where we have put so much of our time and love into it.

Special thanks to my brother Jimmy for getting this project rolling for us. He is a great contractor and knew just what to do next. With his dedication to get it done and our style thrown in there, I think it came out great. We love our painter Matt who is in Randy’s band. He is the only person I would ever recommend to paint. He’s painted something for just about everyone in my family. His business is Perfectionist Painting… and he is just that… a perfectionist!

To be completely honest, it takes a lot of patience to renovate a house. It’s not the easiest circumstance, especially when last month I shot over 20 sessions. It was tough to juggle it all. There are bound to be arguments and tiffs along the way about this paint color or that tile, etc..  In the end, it’s all worth it though. It only brings you and your better half closer, makes you communicate more and learn how to problem solve. After being with Randy for almost 10 years, I can honestly say the main ingredient is communication.

So here’s our process from start to finish. We are just about done with our house. We have one more bedroom to renovate, the garage outside would look great with new siding and I would LOVE to paint the bricks. One day at a time…….. one day at a time :)

Happy Thursday Ya’ll! Be on the lookout for 5 photo posts next Mon-Fri from my shoots this week.

Oh, my favorite part of the new bathroom, is my makeup organization now!

Partied out. Yep. That’s how I feel right about now. This is the first night I’ve been home sitting here doing nothing in about 10 days. When I say mini vacation that I scheduled myself, I meant it. It’s almost been a marathon of how much fun I could have. Exhausted. I’ve never been so exited to be sitting here in a clean house on a Saturday night with nothing to do and nowhere to go. I also just got back from the grocery store, needless to say it’s all fruits, vegetables, milk and protein. I think I’ve eaten so much, I might turn into a big fat Italian meatball. Well now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’m looking forward to a new start. That involves healthy food, water and lots of exercise.

I really can’t believe it’s 2011. Where did last year go? It feels like the blink of an eye. Looking forward to thumbing through my images from last year and pulling my favorites out. It’s crazy to think how much I’ve been shooting lately – I am forever grateful to each one of you who has asked me to photograph for you. I never in a million years thought I would be where I am today. I look forward to photographing the 24 Weddings I have booked for this year, my special ‘Grow With Me’ kiddos and all the new people I’ll be meeting this year.

In 2010 I married my best friend, road tripped to Vegas, LA, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Napa, San Fran, and witnessed our best friends Dana and Tim marry in the Bahamas. I captured some sweet moments behind the lens, and also experienced what it was like to be on the other side of the lens. Learned that a handful of the brides I’ve photographed are now expecting their first child :) Watched my business mature to a new level, made some great new friends, watched the Saint’s win the Superbowl, laughed, cried, gotten sick a few times, called my mom to help me out more times then I can think of, experienced turning a house into a home. Had fun remodeling, decorating, buying and refinishing. Enjoyed picking out our first Christmas tree. Gotten in 2 wrecks this past year, one was the other persons fault – one mine. Cried some more. Read some amazing books. Worked my butt off. Edited more hours than I can count. Celebrated, danced and enjoyed the company of my loved ones. Gained some more responsibility, turned 26. Planned and organized as best as I could. Set some new goals for 2012. Grown richer in Faith and really enjoyed going to church every Sunday. Prayed and given thanks for everything I’ve been so fortunate to receive.

Here’s a toast to you all- I thank you for your kind works and comments over the past year. For allowing me to follow my passion of photography. For checking back to see what’s new, for supporting me and being my friend. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.

Here’s how we rang in the new year last night. 5 couples, Tony Angello’s Restaurant for dinner, laughs, jokes, reminiscing about when we were young and first became friends, toasting to a new year! At midnight, we were still at the restaurant, so we headed outside with our champagne and watched the fireworks!

Much love, happiness, health, success and blessings to you all in 2011!

Love, Jen