A Carb Night With Loving Friends

If there is one thing I appreciate, it's encouraging conversation with friends. Throw that in the mix with Italian food and a lot of laughter and the result is always a heart that feels a little lighter and a face that smiles a little more genuinely than before.

My husband and I shared a dinner with friends just like this the other night. There is something comforting about knowing that there are people in your corner with whom you can share the truth with about how life is really going, knowing that they will not only have an encouraging word to share, but will also keep you in their prayers because they really do care that much.

A night filled with an overload of carbs and the best Italian canolis are always worth it when it's shared with friends like that. For real.

Happy Thursday!

Noli & Noemi - Here's to Life, Love, & LOL

I am fortunate to have a husband who loves/gives in to my begging for him to tag along to all of Heartbox Photography's photoshoots.

He willingly drives to the shoot locations (because I'm too busy hyperventhilating into a bag and getting nervous about the photoshoot), willingly holds up the necesary reflectors (so I can get just the right balance of light that make the subjects look their absolute, fantabulous, best), and willingly supports and encourages me even when I try to act cool and stuff in front of clients.

But the best part of having my husband tag along on the photoshoots? He loves making these hilarous videos as an extra fun touch and way to remember each project, each photoshoot, each memory captured.

Here's to my supportive husband, and our awesome friends, Noli and Noemi for loving laughter just as much as do.

Half Homer Simpson, Half Bear

Rain and gloomy weather tend to bring out my inner bear-like tendencies. (Minus the fur and back-scratching against a tree.) The tendency to want to hibernate. The tendency to want to snack away at whatever's around me. (salt and vinegar chips with a jar of Nutella, anyone?) The tendency to move a bit slower than usual when I'm foraging for those snacks.

My inner-bear started to protrude it's true colors as I sloshed through the rain last night and made my way to a local restaurant to meet up with some former co-workers for dinner. While waiting in my car, watching every single raindrop do a dance on the windows of my car, I longed for the warmth of my pajamas and socks at home and all the fun snacks in the cupboards waiting to be discovered. Don't get me wrong. I love me some dinner and spending time with friends, but remember people, it was raining and rain = hibernating bear in my world. So truth be told, I was struggling to feel alert and peppy as I waited for just the right moment to finally go into the restaurant and enjoy an evening with old friends.

I waited at a table and chatted on my cell phone with my husband (so of course to look cool and pre-occupied) while I waited.

And waited.

And waited. (The cool act lasts about 10 minutes, FYI)

Finally, in a moment of Spazzoid, I asked my husband to check my little calendar/weekly planner/Type A scheduling book at home and confirm with me that tonight was the night of the long awaited dinner, right? RIGHT?!?!

Silence.

"Babe, I'm not joking. The dinner's tomorrow night. You might want to come home now."

FOR REALZ?!?! I half-laughed/half groaned/half wanted to smack my forehead in all Homer Simpson-style at the mistake I'd made. Upon hearing this, I dropped the cool act like a hot plate and hightailed home.

I know things happen for a reason, even the little things like having a scheduling mishap like I did. And this time around, I think this happened just because God wanted this little bear to laugh a little...even in the rain.

Coffeehouse Chatter

BFFs! KIT forever!

These acronyms were generously scattered in multiple pen colors across old pages of yearbooks both in high school, junior high, as well as hastily scrawled in notes passed between friends during classes and lunch periods. The memory if it made me smile as I recall the days where actually writing a note to someone (and delivering it in PERSON...whaaaat??) versus typing out an email, was the everyday norm.

And maybe I'm getting old or somethng (no, I'm SOO not telling you how many white hairs I've counted on my head) but the meaning behind "best friends forever" or "keep in touch" has much more meaning and weight to it than it did when I was one of those students who'd hastily scrawl these acronyms across any note I passed or yearbook page I signed before the floodgates of summer break opened up.

The other night I gathered with a few old friends at a coffee shop we used to meet at regularly on Wednesdays. And there was something a little heart moving, a little nostalgic, and yes, a little emo for me as I observed everyone laughing and talking as we had done so many years before every Wednesday night, the only difference being that there were a few more extra chairs needed for the little babies that joined us. Time had passed and changed us, and yet nothing changed at all, if that makes any sense.  The chatter that kept battling the sound of coffee machines grinding were the same, the laughter were still the same. The familiar smell of coffee and of food from the Filipino restaraunt next door owned our noses for the next few hours. It was within these group of friends did I meet my future husband, so needless to say, these folks will always hold a special place in my heart. And though not everyone whom I've been fortunate enough to call friend was present there that evening, it still reminded me to never get tired of investing in friendships and sharing life with people. It made me thankful for friends who were there for the long haul and not just for a season. It reminded me that, truly, investing in people yielded so much more than investing in things.

A long time ago I used to want to try living in different places. To travel internationally and not be rooted to one place. And yes, I did get to travel. Yes, I left friends and family behind to try life somewhere else. But you know what? I'm thankful these experiences still led me back home...a home filled with lifelong friends, coffeehouse chatter, and the smell of Filipino food doing a happy dance in the air on a random Wednesday night.

Bad Cheese & A Subject's Heart

If something is really funny, I laugh. Loudly. And sometimes, my laugh gets my face all weird looking so much that I'm POSITIVE people around me can see my cavity fillings or at the very least, what I had for lunch stuck in my back teeth. It's in that moment that I suddenly get really self-conscious and try to unsuccessfully reel back all evidence of dork/nerd that's already escaped me.

This past weekend my husband and I set off to meet up with our good friends, Noli and Noemi for a photoshoot in their neighborhood. As I'd mentioned in this post, it's guaranteed that most of our time with them is going to be spent laughing becuase this couple has got a sense of humor like no other. And that dorky laugh of mine? Yeah, it does some serious overtime when we hang with these two.

However, I had a bit of a panic attack (internally, of course, so as not to blow my cool cover) on the way to the shoot location with our friends because I started wondering how was I going to capture serious photos of these two when all we do was laugh at, like EVERYTHING?! Ever try to smile on the outside and mask panic attack you're having on the inside? It's kinda like you ate bad cheese but wanna reassure everyone around you it tastes fine. No, really, it's fine, guys!

When our friends casually mentioned in the car that they don't take serious photos, my husband's response helped me get a grip.

"It's ok, guys, because it will allow her to capture who you guys realy are on camera."

That comment right there? It reminded me to quit stressin' because it'll be fine and it'll be fun. (And it was!!) More importantly, it was another reminder to me about what makes a great photo-- capturing the essence of a subject's heart and all that they are as a person on camera.

And the heart of this couple? It's all laughter and love. 

As it should be.

More to come....so stay tuned!

Hallmark moments and Pig Squeals

I love cards.

Store-bought cards, handmade cards, you name it. The way it's decorated, the colors, but most of all the hidden treasures of what's written inside. If I ever met the genius that started the whole idea of giving greeting cards, we'd be BFFs, homies for life, fist bump, for real.

My husband knows that I love cards so much that I'll read and re-read what's written inside at least 5 times, examine the colors of how the card looks, and if I'm really having a nerd-status day, I'll even smell the card simply for the cool new paper smell. And yes, you guessed it, I still get excited to dig through the mail and find the treasure of an un-opened card during holidays, birthdays and everything in between.

I had received a gift from my friend, Claire, as a thank you for doing a styled photoshoot of her as well as a coupleshoot of her and her husband, Jon a while back. And of course, in all my Hallmark-freak ways, I eagerly dug through the the fluffy and pink tissue paper to discover the hand-written cards she is known to give. I even pig-squealed a little as I ripped open the card.

"There is no such thing as failure, only early attempts at success."

It was written as a congratulations to the start of Heartbox Photography and of course, I read that line and the entire card about 10 times before proudly displaying the card in my office as an awesome reminder that someone took the time to tell me "You can do this."

*sigh* I love me some Hallmark moments.

Life is Too Short Not to Lick the Plate

A while back my husband and I were hanging out and having dinner with our good friends, Noli and Noemi. Noli started retelling the story of how his wife, Noemi, cooked a really awesome meal that tasted so good he not only savored every bite of it, but STRAIGHT UP LICKED THE PLATE, TOO. The four of us laughed until our faces hurt and it became a running joke from that day on.


(Sad to say, but I don’t remember the last time my husband licked the plate after I’ve made a meal. And this is just a guess, but it MIGHT have something to do with the fact that I microwave quesadillas and call it dinner. (I didn’t inherit my momma’s culinary skills….BUT I can program the heck out of a VCR. Told you I got mad skillz.)

In a few weeks, I’m going to have the opportunity to take my camera to a whole new level and shoot a wedding alongside my good friend and photographer, Sarah McGlaughlin. She’s a talented photojournalist (and actually gets it when I turn geek and start talking about lenses and apertures and stuff like that. Think pocket protectors but for camera folk) and though we’re friends I actually found myself stuttering “will, um, you, uhhhhhhhhh, consider, oh but you don’t have to be , but oh like, possibly be the second shooter for, this, ah, huh? A wedding, um, yeah for this wedding coming up?”

Though I sounded like a happy and stuttering nerd, she agreed and said she was excited to work on this project together. As we chatted about how the day was going to unfold, preparation details, more geek talk on lenses, etc. it dawned on me what a huge blessing this is. To be given a chance to challenge myself on a whole new level as an artist and photographer, to look every fear I’ve had in the eye and say “let’s do this”, is a HUGE deal for me. And it’s in these moments that I’m once again reminded that when someone gives you the gift of a wonderful opportunity to use your talents and shake what yo momma gave you, don’t hesitate to graciously accept it , be thankful, and enjoy it.

Every.

Tiny.

Part.

Of.

It.

Life is way too short to not lick the plate and enjoy the entire blessing given to you.
Quesadilla, anyone?