Welcome Baby Jae!



Patrick and I are so excited to welcome another niece! Kenedee now has a baby sister named Jae Lynn, born on August 27th in Tacoma, WA. The pictures here were taken a couple of weeks ago, these cousins are full of energy and fun! We ventured over to the Proctor Farmer's Market to get some treats and flowers and see a tiny kitten. 









The Sounds of Autumn


A good fall soundtrack should have plucky guitars and soothing voices with a splash of something loud to keep you awake and happy despite the gray. Here's a bit of everything I'm listening to right now.



Just a couple notes…
I'm honored to call multiple people on this list friends and they are all truly doing amazing things.

The wonderful Mary Lambert's album comes out in October and I'm thrilled for that, if you've been listening to "Secrets" all summer, you'll love her newest single "Heart On My Sleeve". Mary's one of the most genuine people that I know and I love that her honesty comes out in her songs.

Fences, who Jason directed "Arrows" for earlier this summer, has a killer album coming out this winter, I've included the two tracks that are already released from that.

I love all of Ed Sheeran's album but "Thinking Out Loud" is about to be everywhere. It's such a sweet love song and it's about the long haul. I love it.

Rudimental was Ed's opening act while we were on the road with him so I've gotten to see their live show a few times now. They are super interesting guys and they have a crazy energy and it really comes across in "Feel The Love".

I got to kick it with Ruby the Rabbitfoot a bit on the set of "Arrows" she's the girl in the video hanging out with Macklemore, riding the tandem bike, etc. If you have to be stuck on a set waiting to film for hours and hours, Ruby is a good person to be hanging out with- she's feisty and funny and as it turns out, a great singer too!

Photo of Ed Sheeran in Toronto by me and my iPhone :)

Monday Motivation


My friend Brittany has been telling me about Brené Brown and the amazing TED Talks she's given. You can check one out here. 

quote via


Friday Roundup


Happy Fall! We're hoping for a sunny weekend in Seattle. I'm spending my Friday morning hanging out with Teresa and relaxing, since we will be shooting all weekend. Here are some fun things from around the internet to keep you entertained...

The phone call is cool again! Ring a friend and let them know.

I want to DIY this rug.

90's slang that should make a comeback.

Did you see Emma Watson's UN Speech?

Lady Gaga + Tony Bennett

Seattle Met's interview with a metro bus driver, super interesting.

A cake to bake this weekend...

Seattle travel guide, if you're planning on coming to visit OR if you, like me, are home for the fall and wanting to rediscover your city :)

Adam Levine on Jimmy Fallon, so funny.

Image via @usinterior


Life lately...


I realize I've been fairly silent about my life lately. If you follow Jason (@jkoephoto) or me (@jennykoekoe) on Instagram, you might have noticed that we've been on a little adventure these past few weeks. We flew to Charlotte and hopped on a tour bus with our friend Ed Sheeran for the end of his North American tour. It seems like a pretty random thing to do (it was) but he invited us and we were in need of a little break from life in between projects.

We had an awesome little group and I am one of those weird people who sleep well in a dark little cubby on a moving vehicle, so I had a great time! Also, I'm now stuck on the habit of at least three cups of English Breakfast tea a day.


Near the end of every concert Ed takes a photo of the crowd and posts it to his Instagram (@teddysphotos). One night, Jason accidentally ended up in the front of the shot, so the next night we planned it out and made sure to be shooting in front of the crowd at the right time. Can you spot us front and center in the shot above?

PS. Also Ed's album X is one of my favorites of the year and he's an amazing performer, just him his guitar and a loop pedal. Pretty impressive. 

My Favorite TV Show


It's no secret that I watch a LOT of television. I make excuses like I have a baby that goes to bed at 7:00 so I have to stay at home, etc, etc but really I just love good TV. Patrick and I watch most of the award winning dramas and some of the comedies. We love the big hitters like Game of Thrones, Homeland, and Mad Men but our absolute favorite doesn't get nearly enough credit: The Good Wife. The show has an unfortunate title that seems to turn people away but it is so incredibly well acted, compelling, thought provoking, and surprisingly fast paced for a legal/political drama. The new season started last Sunday and it seriously seems to get better each year. Most of it is on Netflix and it's worth watching from the beginning.

If you don't believe me, here are Vogue's four reasons you should be watching the Good Wife.

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Wedding Party...

Twins Baby Shower!



A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of helping to throw a baby shower for my dear friends Brittany and Victor who are expecting a baby boy AND girl in November! I wish I would have gotten better photos but this is what I have. Our friend Danielle had the brilliant idea of bringing in the brightly colored cribs to serve as the center of the party. We tied balloons to them and filled them with all of the gifts. I can't wait to see the finished nursery, love these colors (you may recognize that poppy color from Mylo's room!). 

Congratulations Brittany and Victor! And big thanks to Danielle and Alicia of Fetes on Fetes for helping to design another beautiful party. 









Monday Motivation



Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend ahead. We are going to try to soak up every last drop of Seattle sunshine and go see a movie in the theater (recommendations??).

Here are some links to kick us off:

This made me laugh so hard there were tears.

In case you want to dress like Olivia Pope.

Incredible wedding photography in Australia.

Washington wineries made the NY Times!

The best movies of 2014 so far, I want to see Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend.

Obsessed with these doughnuts at Top Pot, might have to try to make them at home (Jenny??)

Spring trends for 2015 from fashion week. I'm loving the prison stripes and I could definitely see Jenny in one of those bib top onesies.

12 dreamy bathrooms.

Cute and functional diaper bag that would work for men or women.

Amazing doggy swimming photos.

This made me smile, love Mindy.

(Image: tapas at home)

I Officially Have a Toddler


As you can see from the above photos, I officially have a toddler. Myles took my shoes and threw them in the plant, then proceeded to try to eat them and throw dirt all over the dining room. He's on the move constantly! 

People keep saying "Enjoy this stage while you can, as soon as they start crawling/walking/moving it's crazy!" But both Patrick and I agree that we've yet to hit an age that we didn't like better than the last one. The older he gets the happier he seems and the more fun he is to be around. His little personality is emerging and it's a blast to see him constantly learning new things and discovering the world (even if it is at the expense of my blue suede flats!). 

Do any of you toddler parents out there have recommendations for shoes though?? My poor child has such chubby little feet that he hates wearing shoes because they are so uncomfortable. We've been fine all summer but now that fall is approaching he needs to start wearing shoes!

Just a pretty picture...

Do you have a signature scent?


Do you have a signature perfume that you always wear? I've always wanted to be one of those ladies that has a specific signature aroma that my grand-kids can say, oh she always smelled like .... but what? Instead of sticking with one scent I end up spritzing on a bunch of those sample perfumes that come in my Birchbox or I pick up at Nordstrom. 

Have you seen the "Fragrance Wheel" above? It was developed in the 1980's to help women pick out perfumes that fit their personality. In the past I've drifted toward amber/oriental notes but lately I've been more into woody and fresh scents. I'm in LOVE with the new Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt Cologne, it's on my Christmas list already. 

What scents do you prefer? Would you rather wear a different perfume every day or have a signature scent?

Monday Motivation

Friday Roundup


Happy Friday from the road! We're headed Nashville for the weekend and I'm loving the warm weather. Although I think I'm almost ready for the coziness of autumn- sweaters and hot drinks and such. I hope you have a lovely weekend wherever you are. 

One of my favorite things about this time of hear is new TV shows!  And some of these look promising.

This new book on the etymology of food looks super interesting, and yes, this is a link to an article from American Airline's inflight magazine. Don't judge, it's a good article!

Great story of a Yazid girl's escape from ISIS, from her perspective. It's a little long, but the best article I've read all week by far.


Loving this song right now, and this article about it.

I just learned about the Food Recovery Network, brilliant idea for a non-profit!

Gilmore Girls is coming to Netflix! 

This cat poster is the best. 



Photo, time exposure of the last time we were in Nashville AKA when we we're ghosts. :)







Music Video #tbt


Hello from a coffee shop in Charlotte aka my office for the day. If you were to walk in here, you'd notice me. I'm the crazy one on the barstool singing 90's hits to herself. So I invite you to join me and take a break from your Thursday grind and enjoy the vocal stylings of TLC. I still love this song and video and I'm pretty sure can still do all of Left Eye's rap part!

Amazing Artist Transforms Daughter's Work Into Paintings


Isn't this amazing!? Canadian artists Ruth Oosterman takes her daughter's drawings and paints over them to transform them into beautiful works of art. I wish I could do something like this. People are so talented and creative.



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Weird Things All Couples Fight About

Have you seen this new viral video called "Weird Things All Couples Fight About?" It made me laugh out loud -- and also feel not unique at all!

I am very particular about how to fold towels, to the point that I refold when Patrick does them because it drives me crazy in the cupboard! Also, we can never decide what to eat (and by we I mean me).

Can you relate?

Back to School for the rest of us...


I've been out of school for 8 years now, crazy. But I still find myself feeling a little nostalgic around this time every year as my social media feeds are taken over with nervous smiles and new outfits in first day of school photos.

To distract myself from the fleeting warm weather and I allow myself to tap into my nostalgia and indulge in two of my favorite back to school pastimes.

The first,  back to school shopping. Because going into fall is infinitely more fun if you're looking forward to the cold weather so you can have an excuse to wear a new sweater :).

The second back to school pastime I discovered I really missed, LEARNING! The fall after I graduated from UW, part of me was thrilled to be done, but as the fall went on, I realized this was the first time in my life where I felt like I wasn't learning. So I went to the bookstore and splurged on books I was interested in reading and have continued to do so every year.

In the past I've picked authors and tried to read all of their works (Flannery O'Connor, F. Scott Fitzgerald, JD Sallinger).

Because I do love literature & The Gilmore Girls, I've gotten some inspiration from this list of all the books Rory is seen reading on the show, although I doubt I'll ever tackle all of them, that's one long list!

Another year, I wasn't really into reading so instead I spent the fall watching a wide variety of TED talks and documentaries on Netflix (America: The Story of Us, Food, Inc. and Helvetica were some favorites). The bonus of this, I could usually watch and get work done at the same time :).

This year, I'm focusing on India, as it's an area of the world I don't know much about and it looks like Construction for Change and the 30/30 Project might have projects in India in the next couple of years. So my fun reading is actually fairly educational this time around and thankfully it has a purpose. I'm planning on tackling Gandhi, An Autobiography and Midnight's Children

Image via Famous People Reading on Pinterest 




Monday Motivation


I've posted this one before but I needed a reminder this morning. As we enter a new autumn season I'd like to keep this in the front of my mind. 


Friday Roundup

Happy Friday!!

Hope you have fun plans, it's going to be a gorgeous weekend here in the Northwest and we are heading east of the mountains to enjoy.

Here are some links to kick us off:


This cake looks so indulgent and delicious.

Beautiful wedding inspiration.

Lovely short film about adventure.

9 rad Ikea hacks.

Would you paint your walls a dark color?

Cool idea in Cape Town for clothing donations.

5 minutes in a mom's head, made me laugh and cringe at the same time.

Crazy looking cocktails! 

I'm not sure I'm daring enough but love this skirt for fall.

30 perfect day trips from Seattle.

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Jenny's Favorites: August Edition

I wish my August favorites post was filled with sunscreen and sandals but lets be honest August was a whirlwind of Arrows getting finished and then playing catch up on work and sleep and life. Here's what got me through it!

1. I've been carrying my life around in this bag from Uxibal all month. It's a beautiful gold leather which goes with a ton and the shoulder strap has beautiful woven fabric, a perfect little burst of color. I know I've gushed about Uxibal before, but there stuff is unique, beautifully crafted and made by artisans in Guatemala. What's not to love?

2. I've been reading Molly Weizenberg's blog Orangette for years. She has the best recipes and such lovely stories to complement them so naturally, her book, A Homemade Life is wonderful as well. The end of August is the perfect time to read a book filled with lots of yummy recipes, I now have a long list of sweets to bake and dinners to cook through the fall!

3. After a year where "exercise" consisted solely of mad dashes through airports and loading heavy bags in and out of vehicles, I got a new yoga mat and am determined to get back into a routine that includes yoga.

4. I attempted to garden this summer and the fruits of my labor (or lack there of) amounted to three very small strawberries. Now,  I've been given some small succulents and a cactus, hopefully they'll last longer than all of the other plants I've had. I love having green in the house going into the fall. Any tips on keeping them alive are appreciated.

5. For most of the beginning of August, while Jason was literally living in the editing space finishing Arrows, I was putting myself to bed each night with a giant bowl of popcorn and this stuff is my favorite. If you come to my house, I will make you some :)



Loving My YSL Lip Stain


One of my favorite products of late is my YSL Glossy Stain. I bought it in color 27, Peche Cerra-Cola, which is a coraly pink and I've been wearing it all summer. It is amazing in that it is meant to stay on for eight hours! I find I really only need to reapply every three or so which is very impressive to me. A bunch of us wore it a my friend Tracy's wedding and it was great because we didn't have much time for makeup reapplication. The key is to apply it, press your lips together, then not press them together again -- which is a lot harder than it sounds but really makes it last! Highly recommend.


Would You Hire a Wedding Videographer?

If I was getting married to Patrick again today there are quite a few things I'd do differently about my wedding, but the biggest one is that I would hire a videographer. When we got married I thought that wedding videos were mostly cheesy and why pay money for something I would probably just cringe at. WRONG! Our wedding day was such a blur that it would be so wonderful to have it on tape so that I could look back and remember the details of the ceremony, the music at the reception, some of the things we said to our bridal party, family and each other, etc. Our photos were wonderful (thanks JKOE!) but we spent so much time and money on the day I wish I had even more record of it.

How about you? What would you do differently at your wedding? Did you hire a videographer?

PS. Have you seen the wonderful new HBO documentary 112 Weddings? A videographer who has been filming weddings for 20 years went back to catch up with some of the couples. Patrick and I were glued to the screen, it's definitely worth checking out.

Ten Books



So you may have seen this going around Facebook...the prompt is "here are 10 books (in no particular order) that have contributed to changing my perspective on life/the world at different points".

I think this is quite possibly the ONLY time I've thought, OOOOHHHHH I hope someone tags meeeeee! And then my friend Jenn did! I took this very seriously, in that it took me 3 days to come up with my answer. As required, I posted my list to Facebook, but it isn't enough for me to write a list, I like to give explanations. Basically, I want to tell you all why I love all of these books in hopes that I'll inspire someone else to read and love them too. Here's the list:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
While written for children, these have changed my perspective on God, heaven, and spirituality as it relates to the world in which we live more than any other work of fiction. I cannot tell you how many times I've reread these books to myself, read them aloud to nanny children, listened to the audiobooks, etc.

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
I love how Steinbeck tells stories. It inspires me to want to write better, to speak better even. Also, this story changed my perspective God and humanity all while keeping me highly entertained for 700 pages. When asked, East of Eden is most often my answer for favorite book.

3. First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
I read this after traveling to Cambodia, its a powerful story of one girl's life under the Khmer Rouge, giving a personal perspective on historical events. I couldn't imagine going through something like this. This memoir left me me amazed at the strength within a person, inspired to be stronger in my own life and thankful for everything that I have.

4. My Life in France by Julia Child
This is the story of a middle aged woman who couldn't cook, who worked incredibly hard and didn't give up when people told her she'd never succeed. She proved them all wrong in the end. I want to be her.

5. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
The memoir of a boy growing up black in apartheid South Africa. Mark recounts an time in his childhood where he is searching for food with his mom in a dump, they are thrilled to discover rotten eggs. Every time I boil an egg, I think of this scene.

6. The Bang Bang Club by Greg Marinovich
This is a memoir of photojournalists capturing the ending of apartheid South Africa, they saw some crazy things and had to walk that line fine line of shooting things as they happened or choosing to step in and get involved. Even though I've never seen anything as extreme as what these guys were shooting, I am reminded of this book when we shoot in the developing world and the question of which is more important- shooting what's happening to tell the story, or immediate assistance- the question has to be answered over and over and yet still sometimes you walk away wondering if you made the right choice.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I think this should be required reading for everyone, ever. I love this book. If you haven't read it, go do so now.

8. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
This shaped my understanding on the impact of colonialism on an entire continent and how that's impacted the world today.

9. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling
Among other things, this book has helped me to come to terms with my non-traditional creative lifestyle. If Mindy says it's OK to work from bed, I will no longer feel guilty when I've gotten 10 hours of work done and I'm still in my pajamas.

10. When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman
Reading this book was eerie. It the story of someone else's adolescence, but so similar to my own. I recommend this to anyone who grew up in an evangelical Christian church in the 90's/00's, whether you identify as a Christian now or not, this book is healing.


Honorable mention goes to everything written by J.D. Salinger. The only reason he didn't make the list is because I couldn't pick one book! I love all of his short stories about the Glass family and you should read them too!

Monday Motivation


I'm in mourning for the end of summer. Oh how I despise September 1st. I keep telling myself that summer technically isn't over until September 21st, but this feels like the end, doesn't it? 

Anyway, it's a sunny day in Seattle, I'm off to meet Teresa and some friends for lunch and I plan on trying to soak up the last little bit of summer to keep the feeling of sunshine, warmth and lightness with me into the cold. 

Image via Brewed Together