Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Here in Seattle we're enjoying a crisp, sunny fall. Definitely not taking it for granted as it could start raining any day. Do you have big plans for the weekend? I haven't seen much of my husband lately so we're planning to get out of town for a night or two and maybe see this movie. 

Here are some great links from around the web to get things started:

Fun fall stuff. 

Gluten free apple cake muffins, yes please. 

Shopping secrets for great deals.

Full House 25th Anniversary reunion! (everyone looks great!)

8 fall jacket trends -- I'm into the military style. 

Super cool tent art in Israel.

Meet the new Bachelor! (are you excited or disappointed? I'm undecided but will be watching)

The best time of day to do everything (even take a nap).

(Spiked!) Mexican Hot Chocolate, yumm.

Dreaming of Greece. 

Grumpy cat and yoga kitten.

Unique plant holders (I think I might need this for my new place). 

(photo via)

Becoming Angela Lansbury...

When Jason inevitably dies before me (he ate probably 30 mini Butterfingers yesterday, I think he's gonna go before I do) I'm going to model my life after Angela Lansbury's character in the TV show Murder, She Wrote. Lansbury plays Jessica Fletcher, a widow turned best selling author and sleuth, writing books and solving murders in whether in her quaint hometown in Maine or on movie sets, private islands, cruise ships and the like. For an older lady, she really gets around and my new ambition for later in life is to be her.

Here is why she's awesome:

1. She's brave. She walks into dark houses alone and confronts murderers. I'm not that brave, I might have to take Teresa along with me.

2. I'm pretty sure we have the same glasses.

3. She travels a ton, seeing lots of fun places and meeting interesting people. Inevitably a lot of these people end up dead, so that's kind of a downside...

4. She's always biking and jogging. Being in shape is a quality I admire in senior citizens and especially important if your being chased by a suspect.

5. She has great classic style: trench coats, scarves and pearls. I think I'd actually wear about 50% of her wardrobe if I found it in a thrift shop today. Face it, like Buddy Holly and your dad, she's an original hipster.

6. Her life is very glamourous. People always invite her classy parties with lots of champagne. When things get to boring someone punches someone or a body is found in a closet.

7. When you get older, it's important keep using your brain. Jessica is sharp as a tack and has great intuition. What's more, she chooses to use her skills for good, to help those wrongfully accused of stabbing their secret lovers, crooked football coaches and estranged mothers.

8. She's got gumption. I've always wanted someone to say that about me.

All 11 seasons of Murder She Wrote can be found on Netflix...I may have stumbled upon it and become a little obsessed.

To Chop or Not to Chop?

Am I the only one who spends hours contemplating how much I should chop at my next haircut appointment? In general, I like to think of myself as a "low maintenance" type of girl (ie I only wash my hair every other day, I wear minimal makeup, and sport yoga clothes around town occasionally) but when it comes to my hair, I cringe to admit, I'm a basket case. 

I'm every hair stylists nightmare in that I have no ability to describe what kind of haircut I want and have wavy hair on the bottom, straight on the top, thick hair but fine strands, and a big cowlick on the left front of my forehead. I also want a haircut that I have to do absolutely no styling and it looks great. :) Yep, pretty much a nightmare.

My hair currently looks like a bedraggled version of these two styles: 

It's feeling way too long and I've been tossing around the idea of cutting 5-6 inches. Something along the lines of Jennifer and Emma above or Marin below.

Michelle's hair is gorgeous and fun as well but I'm too much of a wuss to try it out...Jenny, how about you?

 I'm headed in to get my haircut at the fabulous Caruh on Sunday, any advice (or sympathy?) appreciated.

PS. Most requested celeb hairstyles by city, Seattle chose Zooey Deschanel!

(Jennifer, Emma, Rosie, Anna, Malin, Michelle)

Drink of the Month: Jameson and Ginger

Something possessed me to buy a ginormous bottle of Jameson last week at Costco. I'm not much of a mixologist, nor am I good at remembering to have lots of ingredients on hand, so the Ginger and Jamie, as I like to call it, is one of my favorites. It's simple yet easy to make classy. How you ask? Spice it up with a fancy ginger beer.

I love Reed's Ginger Beer Extra Ginger Brew which is made with lots of real ginger and sweetened with honey. Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale and Regatta are also favorites.

Another great part about this drink is that there's no wrong way to make it: add ice, your preferred amount of Jameson and fill your glass up with ginger beer, finish it off with a squeeze of lime and you're good to go.

Glassybaby Winnner!

Congrats to the winner of our very first giveaway, Sarah! We'll be in touch about getting you the Seattle Sunset Glassybaby.

And thanks to everyone who entered and took our survey. We really appreciate all of your feedback and will definitely be incorporating it into future posts. The survey is still open, if you're interested in taking it click here. Stay tuned for more giveaways, next month we are going to feature a little something from our talented friend Rosanna.

Wedding Wednesday: Thoughts on Picking a Photographer...

Last week I covered the most important questions to ask potential photographers. But really, there are a whole lot more questions to keep in mind when choosing the photographer that is right for you. So this week, we're gonna back up a few steps to the very beginning of the process.

So you're newly engaged and just beginning the process? Here's where to start:

1. Look at LOTS of photos. Explore what style of photography you like best. Every photographer offers something different, figure out what you love. Your own Pinterest pages are a good place to start. What's caught your eye in the past enough for you to pin it? Maybe click through the links on a couple of the photos that you love and see if you like the photographer's style in all of their shots. Also, Facebook stalk your friends who've gotten married recently, who has great photos?

2. REALLY look at the photos. So you think their photos are amazing? Look at the people in the photos, do you like what they look like? Ask yourself, "If this was me, would I like this photo?" Some photographers do amazing work, but they concentrate more on making sure the background is amazing or they use gimmicky lenses or editing techniques. For your wedding photos, you are the focus. Make sure you're working with someone who will make you look awesome in every shot.

3. Look at MORE photos. Once you've found a few photographers that you really like and think you might want to meet with, I'd suggest spending time on their website, Facebook pages, blog, etc. Look for consistency in the quality and variety in the shots. Look at full weddings, and more than one. Look for a wedding that's similar to what you are planning (indoor, outdoor, etc.) and see if you like how they shot it.

I could go on and on. After 10 years of shooting weddings with Jason, I have lots of opinions! Feel free to leave any questions in the comments below! And I'll be back again next week with tips on meeting with potential photographers.

Happy Birthday Laura Lu!

Happy Birthday to my talented, beautiful, hilarious little sister! I'm one lucky girl to have you as my sis and friend. Hope you have a fabulous day celebrating at the Florence and the Machine concert!

PS. Check out some of Laura's great beauty tips here. 

Quick Survey

Just a quick reminder that we are giving away a handblown Glassybaby candle holder tomorrow for one lucky reader. Instructions on how to enter the contest are here, it's very quick and easy!

Also, even if you aren't interested in the Glassybaby we'd LOVE to hear your feedback on the blog by taking this quick (like 45 seconds!) survey.  We are always talking and thinking about how to make this blog the most interesting to our readers and would so appreciate any feedback you have for us. Don't make us beg...okaaay, pretty please?? :) Click here to fill it out.

We'll pick the winner tomorrow and announce around noon PST!

Burgundy

Do you buy into the "color of the season" hype that goes around in fashion magazines and the internet? Apparently burgundy is the new color for fall (remember Tangerine Tango from last spring?). While I'm not likely to go out and buy a bunch of stuff in a particular color for a season, I have to admit I'm partial to burgundy. I'm leaning toward some pumps for work and play but all of this stuff is cute:

ASOS Dotty Dress

Cole Haan Chelsea Pump

Pieces Bell Belt

Free People Opaque Tights

Topshop Blazer

Monday Motivation

This Monday Motivation comes with a little story...

This week 10 years ago, I was about to start my freshman year at the University of Washington and was moving into a house a few blocks north of campus. I was nervously unpacking, slowly meeting new roommates and desperately hoping they would like me and not think all of my things were stupid. I wanted to hang a photo that Jason had taken and framed for me of my favorite place in the world, but I didn't have a nail. I ended up borrowing a nail from another freshman moving into the next room. She walked in and saw my photo and immediately recognized the place, (Malibu, the Young Life camp in British Columbia, pictured above) and exclaimed that it was her favorite place too.

And that is the story of how Teresa and I met and immediately realized we were kindred spirits. 

Welcome to the beginning of the celebration of our 10 year "friendiversary"!

I encourage you to go hug a friend today and tell them how much their friendship means to you. 

Friday Roundup

Hey! How was your week? I hope it was less crazy than mine. If you're in Seattle, come join me here  tonight. 80's music+good cause. What more do you need?  Wherever you are, I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

For a really wonderful weekend, maybe try some of these great wines for $20 or less. 

Paintings on pennies. So amazingly tiny.

One of Teresa's favorite Irish designers, Orla Kiely, teamed up with Method to bring us super stylish soap.

I really want to try this homemade kombucha recipe. Not gonna lie, I'm slightly afraid I might grow some mutant form of bacteria and kill myself.

Super cute hula dancing Duke & Duchess.

One of my goals in life is this, but alas, my hair is highlighted and never long enough.

Actor's opinions on what they'd do if they didn't act. Not all the answers are boring either. Natalie Portman claims she'd be an action figure, really.

There was a contest. For best word ever. This is the winner.  I was rooting for kerfuffle...

Oh wait, and then there is the Les Miserable extended preview. We are very excited to see the movie!

Photo taken in Iceland by my good friend Johnny of Mazagran Photography.

36 Hours

Do you read the NY Times 36 Hours columns? This weekend travel column is one of Patrick and my favorite resources for short trips. I've been meaning to pick up their colorful coffee table book that came out last year and includes 150 of their articles. Do you see the cute pink space needle on the front?

Speaking of...I was thinking I might write my own little 36 Hours in Seattle sometime soon, anyone interested in reading my tips for a great weekend in the rainy city? 

A Mid Week Cat Pick Me Up...

How's your week going? I'm celebrating the little victories of small accomplishments and attempting to ignore the large pile of things that I still haven't gotten to. It's been one of those weeks. It always is when I get back from out of town. So much to do and so little time. Anyway, I thought we could all use a little cat humor. These never fail to make me smile. 

Seattle Sailing Adventure

I've been working to check items off my summer bucket list and one of them recently came to fruition when my dad and I took a weekend-long sailing class through the Seattle Sailing Club. Our instructor Steve (below right) was fabulous and we had a great time learning all the lingo and getting the hang of using the wind to power the boat. And we are now certified to crew a boat through the American Sailing Association! If we take Sailing 103 we'll be able to skipper a boat under 27 feet and 104 will enable us to skipper boats under 50 feet (eek!).

I've been trying to make effort lately to do things that are very "Seattle-ish" and embrace living in this area. It hasn't been the easiest transition for me moving back from living on the east coast and then abroad and instead of fighting living in the Northwest I'm trying to really get into things that the area is known for, like hiking, going out to the Islands, being in nature, listening to local music, etc. Any suggestions for me?

Helms A'lee!!

Win a Glassybaby!

Hi Friends! In honor of our recent makeover, we would love to get some feedback from you all on what you think of the blog. Would you be willing to fill out a very short survey for us? Pretty please? As an added incentive we’ll be giving away a gorgeous hand blown Seattle Sunset glassybaby from one of our favorite local shops to one lucky participant! 











Follow these three simple steps and you’ll be entered to win via random selection:

1. Become a member of the blog by clicking “Join this Site” on the right side of the blog (if you’re already a member, you can skip this step!)
2. Fill out the survey (which is anonymous) by clicking HERE.
3. Leave us a comment saying hi and that you filled it out :)

A winner will be selected at random from the comment section and announced next Wednesday. Thanks so much as always!!

Wedding Wednesday: IMPORTANT Questions When Meeting with Potential Photographers

9 times out of 10 we have a moment in meetings with potential wedding clients that goes something like this:

THEM: Wow, well, I think you've answered all the questions we have...

US: Would you like to know the questions you should ask that no one knows to ask? 

THEM: YES!

And this is what we tell them that they SHOULD have asked us and I recommend that you ask when picking a wedding photographer. 

1. DO YOU HAVE BACKUP EQUIPMENT?

2. HOW DO YOU BACKUP THE IMAGES?

Just incase you're wondering, here are our answers to these questions. (Obviously every photographer is going to be different, but I'd highly suggest finding someone who has pretty good answers to these questions and doesn't have a problem sharing their answers with you.) 

1. We have backup equipment. Cameras break (or Jason drops them in the ocean, true story) flashes fail, there is a plethora of things that can go wrong with equipment, so we always have extras. We usually bring 5 DSLRS to weddings.

 2. We backup your wedding images onto our laptop as we are shooting and keep them on the cards, that way, even at the wedding, we have 2 copies of the images. Once we get back to our office, we store the images on two different hard drives, one attached to the computer that we are working on and another in a fire safe. 

This is the first of many posts I'll be doing this fall about picking a photographer from my own unique perspective of being one. I hope you'll be back next wednesday for more! 

Image Via JKOE PHOTOGRAPHY

Fan Club

We're already huge fans of the intelligent, beautiful and talented Emma Stone but this little stunt with her boyfriend Andrew Garfield put us over the top.  After realizing the paparazzi was stalking their restaurant they decided to put their fame to good use by sharing about two non-profits that they believe in. Just in case you can't see, they wrote www.wwo.org, the Worldwide Orphans Foundation which helps orphans become "independent, productive members of their communities and the world," and www.gildasclubnyc.org, Gilda's Club NYC which is a support network for those with cancer named after Gilda Radner. LOVE them!

PS. Another inspiring story that made me smile. 

The Best Rice Pudding

Have you ever been to Rice to Riches in New York? People say it's the world's best rice pudding and I might just have to agree. I happened to walk by it in Nolita when we were in town a few weeks back and between the eye catching neon and futuristic styling of the shop to the hilarious signs, I couldn't help but walk in. Oh, and then there's the fact that I LOVE rice pudding. 

Jason was skeptical,  but in the end, he was licking the bowl. 

If you aren't planning a trip to NYC anytime soon, you can have rice pudding shipped to you or if you're ambitious (and don't want to shell out $55 for dessert) you can try to make your own. 

I'm planning on attempting some rice pudding of my own soon. I'll report back with the results. 

The Not So Glamourous Life of a Photographer

Hello from Seattle! I'm so thrilled to finally be home. Thanks for putting up with my lax posting schedule recently. Life has been a bit crazy. In the last 3 weeks, I've been in 5 states (9 if you count layovers), stayed up for 24+ hours on multiple occasions, sat in many a middle seat next to strangers who did not believe in sharing the armrest and missed meals because there just wasn't time to stop. Jason and I haven't had a day off since our New York trip.

View from the hotel, San Antonio

I don't mean for this post to come off as if I'm complaining. I love my crazy life, but I tend to run into people that think being a photographer is a lot easier than it is, that it's all fun photo shoots and sleeping in late and no crazy clients or long nights of editing to meet deadlines. It is true, we have gotten to go to a lot of cool places and meet wonderfully interesting people but there is a lot of had work and demanding schedules involved.

Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Here's a little behind the scenes peak at what life actually looks like. 

From left to right: After being awake for 36 hours, Jason finally gets to sleep on a flight from San Antonio to Atlanta. Pulling an all-nighter in our "office" at the Greenbrier. Daisy and Jason waiting for a delayed shoot to start. 

Photos via Jason & my instagram (@jkoephoto, @jennykoekoe)

Monday Motivation

Happiness is the only thing that is doubled when you share it. 

-Albert Schweitzer

(print available on Etsy)

Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Is it just me or did this feel like a really long week? I'm hoping for some R&R this weekend, life has been crazy busy lately. Need some downtime to continue plowing my way through The West Wing (how did I not watch this show until now?).

Here are some links from around the web to kick of the weekend:

I cannot contain my excitement. Best. Trailer. Ever.

Five beautiful fall wreathes to DIY.

Say it ain't so! 

Unique purse that doubles in the program.

Because I can't resist: chillest cat, adorable crazy cat owner, and Rich Cats of Instagram.

Also, cats at fashion week.

We need one of these for our new place.

12 tendencies of creative people.

NYC love.

Fun times in Seattle this weekend!

(photo from here)

"What's a Girl Doing Here?"

This fabulous short by Diana Deroy about women cab drivers in New York City is well worth a watch.


"What's a girl doing here?" from Narratively on Vimeo.

Copying Kate: Longchamp Bag

After watching the Duchess of Cambridge carry a Longchamp tote throughout most of her Olympic appearances, the brand and style was definitely on my mind when I was looking for a new, casual, all purpose sort of bag for fall. Lets be honest, part of me wants to be a princess like Kate, and I can't afford most of the other things in her wardrobe so I was excited to get this!
I picked up this one, part of the new fall collection, while at The Greenbrier last week.

Images via Pop Sugar & Longchamp

8 Weird Tips to Fall Asleep

I ran across these 8 weird tips to fall asleep over at The Secret Yumiverse and thought they were quirky and fascinating. I sometimes have trouble sleeping (my kitty, Rafa, waking me up 5 times a night doesn't help), I might have to try curling my toes tonight. Patrick and I are thinking about getting a king size bed in our new place to help us sleep better, but I guess it would be cheaper to buy some cherry juice. Do you have trouble sleeping? Any tips?

Getting Excited for Fall TV!

Although I'm going to miss the sunshine and outdoor activity of summer, I am looking forward to curling up with a cup of tea and enjoying some great TV this fall. I'm pumped for the season premiers of some of my favorite shows like The Good Wife, Amazing Race, Boardwalk Empire and New Girl. But I'm also going to try out a few new shows to see if any of them seem worth watching, here are a few on my list:

The Mindy Project is at the top and I've already watched the season premier thanks to Hulu. As, you've read, Jenny and I have a girl-crush on Mindy Kaling and I think this show has a lot of potential. They didn't knock the premier out of the ball park but New Girl was a slow starter too so I'll keep watching.

Ben and Kate is on during the same night as Mindy and New Girl so I'll probably give it a shot too. I watched this premier and laughed a couple of times, worth watching a few more episodes.

Elementary, based on the Sherlock Holmes books, also seems to have potential. It has a lot to live up to as BBC's Sherlock is one of my favorites.

Call the Midwife, already a hit in the UK, this BBC show about midwives in 1950's London comes to PBS in September. I'll definitely be tuning in for this one!

Wedding Wednesday

We're taking a little break this week. See you next week!

Book Cover

An exciting thing happened in the world of Jenny & Jason yesterday. This arrived in the mail:

Why are we so excited about a stack of books you ask? Because Jason took the photo on the cover! The image is from Jason's trip to Jarkand, India to shoot for Construction for Change in 2011.
You can see more amazing India photos here.

If you're interested, you can get the book on Amazon. We have five copies and a few long flights in the near future, so Jason, myself and the two friends we are traveling with can all read it at the same time and STILL have a copy for someone across the aisle to borrow!

Back to School Shopping

Do you miss back to school shopping as much as I do? When I was a kid growing up in Spokane we used to be so excited to wear our new outfits that we'd end up sporting sweaters and boots in 90 degree weather on the first day of school. Fall clothes are my favorite to wear, there is something magical about a great pair of boots with a fitted coat.

I have my eye on a few fun things for fall but I'm also trying to hold out for some good sales going into the holidays. Here are a few things on my wish list:

Brown boots

Wool coats

 Dresses with tights 

Scarves and 

hats

Blazers

Sweaters and cardigans