My two best friends and I started doing email updates about our lives to each other.... It's been so nice to be an active part of each other's lives again, even if it is just words. I've been replying to their long emails, sometimes one-liners, sometimes a little longer than that.... but I haven't written a long "life update" email to them yet. Erin called me out on it last night, so this morning I did it. I wrote it all out, the good and the bad. I sat there and stared at it for a minute, and seeing it all there on one page left me completely overwhelmed.

I realized that I have become very good at holding it together. There was a time, not so very long ago, that I couldn't stay composed at all... but I've become very good at it. I've become so good at it that I realized I haven't allowed myself to feel anything at all about any of it.

Here's me, about to feel the good and the bad... the vulnerability is going to be so worth it.

for now, enjoy this real beauty from a few weekends ago... maggie of maggie evans designs is so drop dead gorgeous on her own wedding day:

never been more proud.

I've never been more proud of anything in my life than I am of everything that's happened in the last year. I'm going to do one of my favorite things, look backwards a little bit.

In the last year, I have...
moved across the country to a place where I literally knew no one (except Erik, that is).
hiked my first 14,000 foot mountain.
celebrated a whole year of being married.
climbed outside for the first time in Boulder Canyon (AND am in love with it!).
got my first tattoo.
received government benefits for the first and only time (and got off them as soon as humanly possible).
had my first holidays away from home.
fallen back in love with my bike.
gotten very close to making photography my full time gig (coming soon... yes!).

most importantly, I feel like I've finally made a life for myself... and it's the thing I'm most proud of overall.  

I'm so lucky, some days I can't believe my life is really real.

a few days ago I was having this "poor me" moment, wallowing in the only negative things I could find.... and Erik just looked at me and said "are you serious right now?" and proceeded to remind me of every single wonderful thing I have going in my life and all the great people we have around us.

and he's really right, I couldn't be more lucky.

must remember to be a better blogger... i'm behind by a whole month!!!!! and it's not as if nothing has happened, it's that EVERYTHING has happened in the last month! in one of my (in)famous recapping posts i'm going to roll over all the wondrousness of june and july, all at once.

hilary and john got married, and it was wonderful.






















I visited the Yves St Laurent retrospective with my friend Grace and her roommate/mom Nina (and it was SO incredible, words don't really do it justice.... the swatches were everywhere and oh so beautiful) and then the same day attended my first ever Rockies game and baked myself to a crisp in the bleachers.

I finally got a new bike (now if it would only be put together and rideable, I'd be the happiest girl ever!).

 Then, 2 super fabulous weddings happened in the very same weekend; Kelly and Justin in Estes Park (OMG THEY DID AMERICAN GOTHIC!) and Kari and Cody right here in Boulder.... so much love all around!!

I went climbing for the first time ever with my captain, my rock... my lovely boss Angie (and LOVED IT!!!!!!) and had some serious adventures in Denver. The lovely Meredith and Davis got hitched atop a mountain overlooking the continental divide with 30 of their nearest and dearest; I feel privileged to have been among them.


Jenny and Jesse got married in Vail (omg too gorgeous for words).

The wonderful Rachel and Aaron decided to have their 5 year vow renewal and I'll be darned if they aren't just the best thing ever (and he just got a permanent job offer from Ball, yay).

The Ostermans got married and Erik was in the wedding.... what a perfect reason for a trip back home. SO GREAT!

Loving life and getting excited for all the things that are ahead; I have this feeling that my life is finally getting started. Looking forward to this week as we settle into our new place (moving day was yesterday) and have our 1 year anniversary. Life is good.

So. I had a revelation today.
As anyone who knows me can attest to, I am an extremely busy person, and I like to be busy. I don't know what to do without a schedule or a plan; I even plan my "fun" time (which, one could argue, takes some of the fun out of it).
I always write my schedule on a big Ansel Adams calendar so that Erik knows it (he often forgets things that are said to him in passing!) and I was writing my July schedule on the calendar today and something happened.
I arrived at the 28th of July, and my google calendar was empty. My wall calendar was empty. My outlook calendar was empty. I frantically pulled up my work schedule from my email because I thought there had to be a mistake.

There was no mistake about it...  somehow, I have a day off.
My inital reaction was, sadly, total and complete panic.

What do I do with a day off?
A legitimate day off... where NOTHING is happening?

We are going to find out.

libby+mark: married!

libby and mark, all hitched up!! here's a wonderfully select few photos to show you how wonderful they are.

a smidgen of libby and mark

just a little happy from last week's flurry of wedding activity.

busy bees.

Things are about to get real... look out for a new website launching so soon! I'm so completely excited beyond belief!! It's been a busy last two weeks, what with so many visitors, a lot of FABULOUS bike racing by my better half, and weddings galore (and more weddings coming up!). hope to post at least one of those weddings this weekend so you all can see how fabulous the couples i get to work with are!

my nyc.

this is my personal new york. the view from the 35th floor, the best shower in the history of planet earth, another from my Francesca buzz, and watching celebrity ghost stories and eating crumbs cupcakes with rachel, and the best ferry ride of all time. i did a lot of things, but these are the memories that stand out the most. not your average "i went to new york cityyyyyy" photos, i know... they're just for me!

just one from a little francesca-inspired session with myself in new york.