Woven Legacies

11/23/2021

After a morning inside dodging the rain and analyzing doppler radar (with an actual meteorologist), the heavens finally opened and gave us the most beautiful landscape to capture this iconic squad.⁠⁠⁠⁠
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11/20/2021

Can you smell the sweetness? No, not the flowers 😊 ⁠⁠⁠⁠
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11/19/2021

Would you be brave enough to follow this hauntingly charming couple into a cemetery on a full moon? We're just glad we lived to share the story. ⁠⁠⁠⁠

11/16/2021

It's these moments where two friends - with a story we can't possibly know - collide in a dance of joy that absolutely melts our hearts. It's just one of the things that makes this job such a privilege to share with our couples.⁠⁠⁠⁠

11/15/2021

Nestled in the heart of a Seattle neighborhood is this stunning, century-old garden that we had the chance to explore before heading downtown for the ceremony. You will never regret those pockets of tranquility you create on a day that moves so fast, it's almost easy to forget it's happening.⁠⁠⁠⁠

03/23/2020

As the world grows quiet around us, ⁣
as the streets clear of cars and the sidewalks of people, ⁣
as we retreat to the stillness of our homes, ⁣
you may hear a quiet voice begin to whisper. ⁣
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It may ask you to turn off the news, to sit and meditate, or to eat that slice of cake you were saving for tomorrow. ⁣
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It may ask for a warm bath, the voice of a friend, or simply for the silence in which to speak. ⁣
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This voice has been speaking for years, you see, amidst the busyness of our lives. ⁣
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And it is only now, as the world grows quiet, that we may hear it speak. ⁣
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I hope that we will listen to these voices that rise inside of us, instead of to the voices of the radio, the TV, and our friends — the voices that speak to the future, and to the “shoulds” and “musts” instead of to the simple ask of this quiet voice. ⁣
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This time is a small tragedy for each of us, whether it brings fear for our aging family members, the stress of a postponed wedding, or the slow creeping of depression and anxiety. ⁣
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And this tragedy, as any other, brings with it the invitation to listen closely to the needs of our hearts and bodies. ⁣
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Now is not the time in which you must get in shape, launch your business, or clean your garage. You may do so, of course, but the only thing you *must* do is to listen to and gently tend to yourself. ⁣
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Sending all my love to the many beautiful souls who are affected by this in our own, unique ways. Should any of you be facing the screaming voice of fear, I am here always to help you care for your ever-deserving heart.

03/05/2020

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There is so much fear in the air this week with the coronavirus hitting king county. I went to the grocery store on Monday to find — hilariously — that they were almost out of every type of organic produce and tofu/meat alternative.⁣
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As usual, I’ve found that the people I know are most freuquently taking 1 of 2 sides: the world is ending or it’s no big deal at all. ⁣
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My gut says to argue, but my heart speaks first: the voice I’m arguing with is nearly always the voice of fear. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that fear needs to be cared for, held close, and comforted. Stats from the latest CDC report aren’t going to do much for my friend who is, at the end of the day, worried that something much bigger than us is going to change her daily life as she knows it. ⁣
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Empathy can take many forms, but I hope as you’re dealing with those who are panicking or those who are dismissive, you can see the small and tender heart that needs care this week. ⁣
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Including your own. ⁣
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01/31/2020

My worst fear for as long as I can remember is the story we hear so often from folks around middle age, “where did my life go?”. ⠀⁣
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I’m afraid of the blink that carries me 10 years into the future. I’m afraid of the car rides I take where I don’t remember the drive. I’m afraid of the weeks I look back and can’t remember doing anything at all. ⠀⁣
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Working as hard as I possibly can to be present, for the bad and the good, is my antidote. ⠀⁣
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I’m a huge psychology ju**ie, and the more I read, the more I’m amazed by how drawn humans are to escaping the discomfort of living. ⠀⁣
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Life is hard, and when it gets hard, we do our best to make it better: drink too much, smoke w**d, eat too much, watch tv, scroll on social media, work — you name it and we are using it to run away from our lives. ⠀⁣
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I say that not to shame anyone — goodness knows I have my own challenges to overcome — but rather to share what has been transformational for me: sitting in the discomfort. Letting the fear, stress, shame — whatever — sit in the room with me without chasing it away. It’s changed my life. ⠀⁣
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Photography is a mechanism of expressing intention and being fully present. But so is closing your phone. So is leaving work early to spend time with your kids. So is turning off the tv to talk with your partner. ⠀⁣
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Life is short but it is also very, very long. And I’m trying to remember every moment I can of this crazy ride.

01/01/2020

Reflecting today like the sentimental sap you know I am, I have so so many things to be grateful for this year. ⁣
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People - this year has brought me some incredible clients, friends, and mentors, each of which has shared a little piece of their souls with me. Words can't express the deep joy I feel for having met the people who came into my life this year and decided I was worth sticking around for. Even if everything were to fall apart tomorrow, I know I'd never lose these people who just mean everything to me! ⁠⁣
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Timing - it all fell together (and fell apart) at just the right times. Things went right when I was ready to appreciate them, and things went wrong when I was strong enough to learn from them. Even on my darkest days, I was moving forward. ⁠⁣
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Mindfulness - this year brought me a new awareness of the world and my place in it, and I found myself noticing more and more of the little moments that could have so easily passed by without notice. A sampling: the way Josie (my pup) puts her ears back when she runs in the rain, the taste of the inch of foam on the top of a hot chai, the discovery of a new trail in a familiar park. Simply noticing these ordinary things brought me immense joy. ⁠⁣
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To be honest, I started this year with every intention of starting a gratitude practice -- of saying "thank you" each day for my many blessings in a journal. But I didn't because I was too busy, too tired, too distracted -- you know the drill. ⁠⁣
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And, in the spirit of grace, I've decided that's okay. Instead, I tried to say "thank you" in the moment. As I fought back tears on the hard days when I knew I would be ok on the other side, I said "thank you" for my strength. On the good days where I looked around and saw the amazing people that surround me, I said "thank you" for my friends. On the days in between where I spent 16 hours on my computer, I said "thank you" that I love my job and "thank you" for the way the light made shadows in the eucalyptus on my table and "thank you" for my pups. ⁠⁣
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As the year comes to a close, I find the words on my lips are -- again and again -- thank you.⁠⁣

@ Pacifica, California

12/29/2019

Celebrating success⁠⠀
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I feel like I need to add a big caveat to this one -- success for me is under critical evaluation these days. What does it mean to be successful? Is it time spent with friends? Trips taken? Clients booked? Instagram followers?⁠⠀
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I'm the sort to say "yes" to everything. And I mean EVERYTHING -- your daughter's bake sale? Sure I'll bake something. Free photos for a friend of a friend of a friend? Okay I guess. Pick you up from the airport at 2AM? I'm your gal. ⁠⠀
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But as I got to September of this year and was beginning to feel the itching of the dreaded ~burnout~, I realized maybe I didn't have such a good idea of what success was after all. What was I working towards, and was it really worth it?⁠⠀
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A friend of mine gave me an exercise to do called the Values Card Sort from the University of New Mexico. It included 100 cards with values like "adventure", "fame", and "wealth", and you ultimately get them down to your top 5. These are then the criteria that you use to evaluate how you spend your time in order to build a full and fulfilling life. The question is no longer "do I want to do this?" or "what do I get out of this?", but instead, "how does this align to what I value in life?". ⁠⠀
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For me, it was a much better question to determine what success meant to me. ⁠⠀
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In case you're wondering, here's what my value card sort got me: ⁠⠀
1. Self-knowledge: to have a deep and honest understanding of myself⁠⠀
2. Contribution: to make a lasting contribution to the world⁠⠀
3. Growth: to keep changing and growing ⁠⠀
4. Caring: to take care of others⁠⠀
5. Knowledge: to learn and contribute knowledge ⁠⠀
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As you think about where you've succeeded this year, I HIGHLY recommend doing this exercise or one like it (it's free to download from the UNM website)! ⁠⠀
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Maybe you didn't get the promotion or grow your following like you thought you would, but accomplished something much bigger in an area much closer to what really matters to you in life.

12/28/2019

In January of 2019 I was a few weeks away from a trip to Hawaii with James, looking forward to a year of growing my business and building some healthy habits. ⁠⠀
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And then... well, I blinked, and it was May. And then September. And then December. And now just 5 days away from the start of a new decade. ⁠⠀
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I think it's kind of funny how every year I think I can plan myself into having more control than the year before -- like somehow I'll know what lessons need to be learned, obstacles will be overcome, and people will be met. ⁠⠀
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I, of course, am just as ignorant of what's in front of me as I'll ever be. And so, as my heart calls to me to START PLANNING FOR 2020, I'm willfully ignoring it. Instead, I'm looking back. At where the turns in the road showed up, what trap doors I fell through, and where it's all led me to today.⁠⠀
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I think -- not that you asked -- that this is what growth feels like. Not the counting of external metrics and markers of progress (despite what my S.M.A.R.T. goals would have me believe), but the mindful cataloguing of the feeling that where I am today is so much further than where I could have dreamed of ending up a year ago. ⁠⠀
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Here's how I'm measuring success this year:⁠⠀
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- Laughing at myself⁠⠀
- Celebrating my successes⁠⠀
- Honoring my “failures”⁠⠀
- Expressing gratitude ⁠⠀
- Documenting the lessons I learned⁠⠀
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As we inch across the finish line of 2019, feel free to follow along :)⁠⠀
@ Gold Creek Pond Trail

12/28/2019