November || Goals

Hiii, its the 8th day of November and I'm just sitting down to write out my goals...better late than never, right?

1 || Make a darn photo book, Kayla! Yes, I'm  yelling at myself. I've had this on my list for about 4 years now. I want to make a 2013 book, a 2014 one, a 2015 one, a honeymoon book, a wedding day book, etc.! The list really never ends, so I'd like to knock ONE out this month! After this weekend, we have about a month of free time before our last wedding in December, so I think its realistic!

2 || Get ahead on our Christmas shopping. I'd say we're about halfway done right now, and have been for a few months (we legit started shopping in January), but I really want to knock it out and be done before mid-December!

3 || Have another ladies night! I'm seeing my BFF this weekend and we planned a fun night including a sleepover! I can't wait. She even borrowed a projector and we're watching chick flicks on a WALL. I'm a little too excited. There may or may not be marshmallow fluff involved, too.

4 || Make some new meals. I've actually already made 2 new meals and both were a hit in our household! I love that right now that I can make the full recipe and there are still leftovers for lunch the next day - which not only is awesome, but saves money, too!

5 || Get back to our active lifestyles. Enough said. I'm excited to be working out more than I had over the summer. I think wedding season got the best of me and any free time I had was going to be spent on the couch. My waistline misses my old jeans! Caleb and I went on a long walk in the dark after dinner last night and had a blast. It also gives us time to unplug and connect with each other.

6 || Finish a book. I seriously LOVE to read, and its sad that I never make time for it. Photography is my #1 passion, but there are so many other things I love to do, like read! I have about 300 books on my list and now its just up to me to decide which one I reach for first!

7 || Finalize our logo and get the site ready for launch! Seriously friends, my SIL Erin has outdone herself, and I can't wait to show you what she's been working on for this new business Caleb and I are starting!

What are you trying to accomplish this month?!

Favorite Fall Desserts!

Fall brings so much happiness. Colorful leaves, crisp air, bonfires, cooler nights and DESSERT! Lots and lots of dessert. I wanted to narrow down a few of my faves for today's post! None of these are healthy, but hey, life is all about balance, am I right?

1 || One of my absolute favorites that I found from Lisa's blog a few years back (and have made it about 3 times since then) is the amazing Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread. Holy wow, you guys. so darn easy, and it goes QUICKLY! So be sure to be the one to pull it out of the oven so you get first dibs.

2 || Pumpkin Pie Twists. These look like the EASIEST, most delicious little snacks ever! How perfectly Fall themed, too!?

3 || Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake. YUM! I feel like Pumpkin always "takes the cake" when it comes to this time of year, but what about apple?! I love apple flavored things (give me all the apple pie, and all the warm cider)!!

4 || Oreo Acorn Balls. I think I like this one best because its so darn cute. Seriously, how fun would these be to make for a party/random get together with friends?!

5 || Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Cider. You know I had to include a drink because to me, drinks can be just as much of a dessert as food. That's basically how I look at Starbucks! Dessert, not caffeine, ha!

A few other favorite Pinterest finds? Reeses Peanut Butter Cheeseball, Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread, and these adorable Pumpkin Cupcakes! I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you try any of these and what you thought!

Hope everyone had a great week and has a fun weekend ahead of them. We have a wedding tomorrow, and we're very much looking forward to the Bengals game on Sunday! WHO DEY!? I'd also like for the temperatures to get with it, and cool the heck down. I'm ready for REAL Fall weather. My scarves are just dying to see the light of day!

Nerdiest of them all.

Friday night, my sister in law successfully surprised her man with a "Nerdy Thirty" party! He thought we were having a nerd themed double date to a local arcade center called Scene 75!

Instead, a small group of his closest friends were waiting in a party room to scream SURPRISE!!! The whole evening was such a blast. The food was delicious, the arcade games were a blast, and I've never had so much fun playing mini golf. It was honestly hilarious how many people stared at us throughout the night, but is just reaffirmed my belief that I have the coolest friends in the world - who aren't afraid to be what we truly are...big kids at heart!

We slept like rocks that night, and woke up feeling pretty rested for our second to last wedding of 2015. Brittany and Matt got married at one of the prettiest venues around town - Cincinnati Music Hall.

This couple was just amazing. Their love story is heart warming, and it was actually Matt's BIRTHDAY! How selfless? To give up the one day you have to be "all about you", to now be about your best friend? I love it. They even had Holtman donuts at their reception - 18 dozen to be exact. SO they win at life. ;)

We actually got home at a decent time, and Caleb and I had a small date night in. Those are the best! Sunday I squeezed in an awesome morning at church, a couple quick photo shoots, and even a bonfire (and watching  the Bengals game that I don't want to talk about...)

This time of year is so easy to see all the blessings around me, and I'm not taking them for granted! Hope everyone has a great week!

It's already Halloween?!

Happy Friday!!!! How is it that the weeks you only work 4 days, end up feeling like you worked 6?? It blows my mind - but somehow we made it. I am so excited to get this weekend started!! Although we don't have a wedding to photograph, our schedules are as packed as possible with friends and family, and I really wouldn't have it any other way. Tonight, its my (baby) brother's Senior Night at his school. He's the Captain of the Drum Line and let me tell you, he rocks! I don't just say that because I'm his big sister. It's a little emotional for me to realize in a few short months, he'll be graduating high school and moving on!

I'm also really excited to spend some time with my family tonight. I don't get to see them often anymore with my crazy schedule so I'm looking forward to catching up with them, and just spending quality time together. As we all get older, it gets harder to continue seeing each other as often as we'd all like, but that's alright. I always know they are just a phone call away.

throwback to last years games!

I'm looking forward to watching my brothers speech, watching him walk the field, and playing the heck out of those drums at halftime! Love you, bro! ;)

Tomorrow, I'm finally getting my hair done, swinging by a birthday party, then Caleb and I have a fun evening planned with Erin and Jared! I'm still not entirely sure what the heck I'll dress up as when we pass out candy (and play Wii games all night), but I'm hoping to whip something up last minute. This happens every year, I say "I'm going to figure it out early!" and then I'm panicking in the overpriced Halloween stores on October 31st looking for a deal, ha! Here's a throwback to last years Halloween when we scored these costumes for crazy cheap (the day of the party)! 

Rick Grimes never looked so good.

Last night though, Caleb and I got home from work and got a spontaneous invitation to grab dinner with some of our friends, Josh and Marie! You might recognize Nora from random posts, because she's one of our favorite little girls on the planet. Her baby sister, Charlotte, just turned 1! They were nice enough to invite us out for their family dinner, so we accepted and stuffed ourselves silly with pasta! Sure, we had obligations (editing, laundry, cleaning the house), but as Caleb put it "memories with friends are more important than laundry" -- I love that man!

I hope everyone has a fun, semi spooky weekend ahead! ;)

About as Fall as it gets

We enjoyed friends, football and LOTS of fall-related activities this past weekend. I honestly needed a work-free weekend to enjoy, unwind and relax with family and friends. Friday evening we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday with some funny stories, plenty of gifts, and the best darn cookie cake we've ever had! Seriously, Sams Club is where its at.

Saturday we got an early start to the day when our favorite friends picked us up and we headed to the best little Fall farm in town. We hadn't gone together in a few years so it was time to reignite the tradition. We snapped this silly photo, spent HOURS getting lost in a maze (we're almost certain the map was incorrect), and then gave up. Oh well ;) we had a blast. I do have to take a moment to brag on Erin and I... we both picked out our pumpkins in about 5 minutes. The boys on the other hand? Not so much. 20 minutes later they still couldn't decide...but finally ended up making their selections. Can't wait to carve them up for Halloween! This will be the first time Caleb and I have ever done that together!

Of course, we had to get the same photo. 2012 vs 2015!

We had the best time, and of course, kept the day going with Skyline. After that corn maze, we were all a little hangry ;)

Later that evening, two of our other awesome friends came in town from Columbus to spend a quick 24 hours with us! I love when friends make special trips into town! We went to one of our favorite Mexican places and spent hours catching up with them! We all woke up early the next morning to score some donuts at our favorite local shop, then packed up the car to head downtown and grill out hot dogs while playing some corn hole! It rocked.

THEN!!!!!!! We headed to the stadium to watch the Bengals/Seahaws game. This was my first home game of the year, and I definitely picked the best one to go to. We got amazing seats and I definitely got burnt, but O-M-G, like I said...best game I've ever been to.

Our friends who came into town are Seahawks fans...Andy actually played with Russel Wilson back in college, as a punter. Unfortunately for him, my Bengals beat the Seahawks in OT and they are now 5-0!!!! Caleb and I may or may not have had tears in our eyes, while jumping up and down in celebration for a crazy amount of time. #dontjudge


After the game, we enjoyed the views our city has to offer before heading home. They already can't wait to come back to explore again! Maybe it was the Bengals win, but man, I really love my city!!!! The rest of that evening we edited and watched more football...because, why not? Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and that the weather was as beautiful as it was here in Ohio!!

Finally Friday!

Everyday this week I stayed up way too late, and every morning I swore to myself I wouldn't do it again that night...yet every night I continued to stay up way too late, torturing myself with the glowing screen of my phone/computer/TV. It's disgusting, really. Hoping to make some schedule changes next week so I can break this ugly habit. That being said, I'm a little sleepy today! But I wanted to bring you a few happies from my week;

I was finally able to go to Caleb's softball games last night! I had a blast watching him, he seriously loves doing it, and I love that! Afterwards, on the way home, we stopped to celebrate the fact that McDonalds has all day breakfast... you can imagine my disappointment to find out they didn't include the best menu item of all; The McGriddle. That's about the only thing I like from there, ha! Anyway, we snapped this photo when we got home to celebrate the night off we were able to enjoy, and goodness, guys. He makes me melt!! Can't help it!

I found a couple gift cards in my old wallet recently that I had completely forgotten about. Hellooooo free date nights!!

I spent about half an hour at the park yesterday cleaning out my trunk of all the old photo booth props/random junk we've accumulated then did a little walking, enjoying the gorgeous leaves. This time of year needs to last longer.

I should be getting an amazing package in the mail today! Which means I can't wait to get home! Artifact Uprising was putting on a 25 free large square print sale (value of over $20!) so you know I took part ;) that was my first order through them, and while they are usually expensive, I think its worth it. Print your photos, people!!!!

While looking for a dining room table the other night, we somehow ended up in Walmarts clearance aisle, where I found some funny, adorably clever mugs that I'm now adding to my wishlist. #ilovehaghtags #cantstopwontstop

In other news, we have a FREE weekend to enjoy!!!!! After the crazy hours we put in last weekend, we really need it. We have lots of fun planned for this weekend, and I mean LOTS. We'll be celebrating friends, fall and football. Can't wait to recap!

6 things for my Fall!

I'm so sad I missed this link up when it went live yesterday, but hey, I suppose when you pick up everything you own and move to a new home, that's what happens! ;) Anyway! Lets get started. Fall is upon us and I'm over the moon. I've officially dusted off my booties, rearranged my scarves and am stalking Targets $1 section for the cutest glittery pumpkins I can find.

I decided instead of writing all the things I love about Fall (cause listen, we'd be here all day), I'd post a few things I want to do this season!

Throwback to last Fall. You're never to old to play in the leaves.

1. Visit a fall festival of some type. The plans for this are already in the works due to a couple free Saturday's (say what?! FREE SATURDAYS?!!?) next month, and I'm pumped. There's something so fun about finding your way out of a corn maze, and picking out pumpkins.

2. Speaking of pumpkins, I'd actually like to carve some this year! It's something I say I'll do with Caleb EVERY year, and yet it never happens. Now that we have a small deck, I'd like to USE it! I'm thinking something Disney themed?!

3. Sit by a campfire. It's one of my favorite things to do!

4. Make a crock pot potpourri...I'm eyeing this one in particular! I mean, can you even imagine how good that probably smells?!?! Perfect when having guests over!

5. Make the best s'mores ever. Last year our church put on a really cool fellowship event to kickoff Fall and everyone got to experience my amazing s'more making skills...

6. Take more personal photos. I'm so busy carrying around my DSLR capturing OTHER people's moments...I want to get better at capturing my OWN with more than just my little iPhone camera.

Like I said, I could go on and on about things I want to do this Fall, or reasons why I love it so much, but we'd probably be here all day. I'm just ready for life to slow down a bit, for the weather to get a bit cooler, and to relax and enjoy the last few months of the year to the fullest. I've also got some things up my sleeve for Halloween! Stay tuned!!

Have a great Thursday, friends!

My Fall bucket list...that I WILL complete!

I (along with the rest of blogland) am so happy its October. Although Caleb and I have a pretty jam packed schedule the next 3 weekends, we're ready for them. In the midst of all the craziness that this month brings, I'm excited to create (and hopefully achieve) all the things on my Fall bucket list.

Oh, you mean no one has ever made a Fall bucket list? *insert sarcasm* I know, but I feel like if I'm not intentional with this list, none of it will happen. SO, in true blogger fashion, I'm writing a post on it.

Drink fresh apple cider.

So I've never had a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. I KNOW, what the what!?? ;) I just love the taste of warm apple cider so much I can't stray away from it! When I was young my family and I would always go to this cute farm called "Rousters Apple Farm", and they have since shut down...so I'm determined to find a spot in Cincy where I can get myself some!!

Have a silly, ridiculous, selfie filled Fall photo shoot.

I don't even care if Caleb and I have to take a dang tripod out in the street that we find with a ton of leaves, we need to get out and use our cameras more for personal use. I think BECAUSE I shoot weddings, sometimes I forget to document my own life with my DSLR. I stick w/ my phone, etc...which in some cases is fine, but I want to get better about it. There are SO many beautiful trees already changing in our complex, leaves falling, etc. We just gotta make it happen!

Cropped photo from our engagement shoot (2012)

Carve pumpkins.

Caleb and I have NEVER done this together. We talk about it every year, yet just never go out and buy them. So we decided that we would...even if its on Halloween!

Celebrate Caleb's golden birthday.

He will be 26 on the 26th, guys! I'm so excited and can't wait to celebrate with him!

Make s'mores.

Like, around a REAL fire. No microwave stuff (although, that's an acceptable option when you're desperate). I miss bonfires...and thankfully my church is putting on a Fall hangout at a local campground and we are so excited for all the chili/s'mores we can eat!!

Play in the leaves.

Yeah, I'm 4 years old. But its literally the best thing ever. Just throw a few in the air, you'll see.

Shoot an entirely rustic, Fall themed wedding.

I know this is already planned, but I am so out of my mind excited for this day. I get to shoot a wedding back in our college town of Mount Vernon next Friday and its a ton of friends from school. Not only will it be so fun to see a bunch of old friends, but to also get to shoot their big day? I'm pumped! They are having a burger bar, s'mores, mini-movies playing, and I'm hopeful there are huge piles of leaves around for them to play in ;)

Take more walks.

That's one of our favorite things to do...but I'm determined to soak up this last full month of extra daylight. I am going to miss it so much come November...so I want to make the absolute most out of these late nights!!

Bake a REAL apple pie (possibly with my mom/grandma)!

I've never done this...and I think it would be so much fun. I'm talkin from SCRATCH, y'all ;) any of you ever done this? If so, please share the recipe!!

Any fun ideas I left off my list?!! Please add to it below...I REALLY want to make the most of this Fall!!! :) what's on your list??

(Linking up with one of my favorites, Shanna!!)

Falling for fall.

Fall has always been my absolute favorite season. That could have something to do with the fact that I've NEVER (yes, never) had AC in my car since I began driving. So to say summer is always a little unbearable is an understatement.

I just can't help it. Fall is perfection. I'm able to wear sandals AND a scarf at the same time, and my body isn't confused by this at all. I can take a walk at 8PM with Caleb and need a light jacket, and most importantly? I can make a cup of hot tea and not feel crazy for the high temps outside. You ladies with me?

So if I could choose (and my bank account would oblige), these would be my Fall staples.

Chunky sweaters/scarves. Just yes!

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Adorable booties.

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soft, comfortable mid-calf boots.

source not found, but AH I love these.

This adorable scarf that would pretty much go with anything.

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oh and a campfire would definitely be in order.

This is where I need your help!!
I'm in need of a new pair of fall boots. Two years ago I spent a pretty penny on two pairs of boots, and they have lasted for a good two years. They are starting to hit their breaking point though...so this is where you ladies come in! I'm looking for an adorable pair of booties (grey, brown or black) and a mid calf pair of boots (preferably brown). Any good sales I need to know about!!? Any amazing websites (I already subscribe to Shop It To Me, Groopdealz and Zulily, maybe I just need to be looking a little harder!)

What would be a few Fall staples in your closet?!!