The photography blog of Carissa Uribe, an international wedding photographer based out of Park City, Utah and Conroe, Texas.

Friday Fun Facts

I woke up to snow this morning. Yesterday it hit 50 degrees. I went for a run with my sleeves rolled up and soaked in the UV rays. It was perfect. But now it’s snowing again. Has it been Groundhog’s Day yet? (I told you I have no holiday awareness anymore.) I hope that little guy brings us Spring in a hurry. Anyways, how about some fun facts for the weekend?!

1. I think life in general should run on a school calendar. No one would work on holidays and summer break would be celebrated by young and old alike. (Yes, I realize that if this happened our economy would fall to pieces, but hey. A girl can dream.)

2. If Pretzel M&M’s and Flipz got in a fight, Flipz would win, every time. Pretzel M&M’s are good, don’t get me wrong. You just can’t beat a whole pretzel smothered in delicious chocolate.

3. Donkey Kong Country is quite possibly the best old school game. Ever. I’m talking Super Nintendo, remotes that only have four buttons, and games that you have to blow the dust out of before you put it into the game console. Now THAT is some good quality fun.

4. Having a hang nail should be a legitimate excuse to miss half a day of school. Or work. Those bad boys are PAINFUL.

5. Rain Shower heads. Not sure what else to say about them. Just, if you get the chance to use one, do it. It’s like taking a shower, in the rain. Amazing.

6. While we’re on the topic of showers, how great is face wash that tingles? I’m not convinced it actually makes any difference in how clean your face will be, but it sure makes me feel like mine is squeaky clean.

7. Ladies, take my advice, don’t purchase shoes with gems on them. No matter how cute they are. The gems will fall off. Even when you think it’s a only fluke and go out and buy the exact same pair because you loved them so much, a gem will fall off of the new pair, too. (I’m not bitter…)

8. Investigation Discovery claims to be America’s fastest growing station, and I believe it. If you like solving crime and catching the bad guy (raise your hand if you played detective as a little kid), you will get hooked on this channel. Except for the show Disappeared. Don’t watch that. Because the case isn’t solved so they never tell you what happened. Drives me NUTS.

9. Why do potholes form so quickly, and then take forever to get filled?

10. If you’re on a diet and you’ve never heard of Skinny Cow, let me introduce you. You’re about to become best friends.

I’ll be honest, I gained a little unwanted weight during the winter. And when I’m trying to kick it into gear and shed some pounds, dessert is my downfall. Every. Time.

Enter Skinny Cow. Particularly the Ice Cream Sandwiches. Those little babies have become a staple in my house. The perfect indulgence for my sweet tooth without ruining all the hard work I (hopefully) did at the gym that day. (I actually like the ones with vanilla ice cream better, but when you get the combo pack and eat all the vanilla ones first, all you’re left with is chocolate. Still not a bad choice.)

Now I just need Flipz to become fat free. Then I could sit around during my summer break and enjoy fat free chocolate covered pretzels. THAT would be the life. Happy weekend : )

2 comments

add a comment

link to this post

Allie - March 28, 2011 - 8:28 pm

Did you keep the first pair of shoes so you could paste the gems from the old shoes onto the new shoes?

Carissa - March 29, 2011 - 8:01 am

Yeah that definitely would have been the smart thing to do! Unfortunately, I only thought of it AFTER the shoes were in the trash and long gone… oops!

With Rapture Workshop, Part 2

Picking it right up from Part 1, after the portrait session was over, we headed to Mini’s Retro Cafe for lunch. I’d never heard of it before, but can I just say, oh MAN I won’t forget it! They serve some of the most delectable cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. Mine was a chocolate mocha something or other, complete with a scrumptious swirl of frosting on top and a chip of chocolate. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking right now. Why didn’t I take a picture of it? And the answer is I DON’T KNOW. I totally regret not taking one. But I guess that just means I’ll have to go back ; )

Moving right along. We had a wonderful discussion about the business side of things and another Q&A time before heading back out for the final portion of the workshop, the couple. My oh my. This couple? They’ve go it Going. On. Adri and Jared were adorably inseparable. For a good reason, too. Jared is usually away studying at the United States Air Force Academy, and if my memory serves me properly, he had just gotten back the day before the workshop. Maybe even the day of. Either way, they had been apart, but they were together again. Finally. I’ve known that feeling all too well. I could relate. And it was basically impossible not to feel their happiness. Because together, they are happy to the core.

Adri and Jared, thank you very much for giving us your time and beautiful smiles on a cold afternoon! It was so fun getting to know you guys and we couldn’t have asked for better models. I just hope you had half as much fun as we did : )

Without further ado, the couples portion of the workshop. Adri and Jared!

I can pretty much sum up the afternoon for you. Jared makes Adri laugh. A lot. And when she crinkles her nose in laughter, he looks at her like she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

LOVE it.

Get it Adri!

We had a quick outfit and location change, and then we were back at it.

Jared, your uniform suits you quite well!

And Adri? You just ooze fabulous. There’s no other way to say it.

Rawr.

Ok, pause real quick. Before I continue, I just had to post this little paparazzi shot. Please don’t kill me Brooke : )

And play.

I love that Adri couldn’t keep a straight face…

This one seems like a good one to end on.

Thank you again Adri and Jared! And Brooke, thank you SO much for everything!!! The workshop was all that I had hoped for and more : )

4 comments

add a comment

link to this post

Brooke Dahle - March 23, 2011 - 8:57 am

OH carrissa, I love love love them and I think you are so talented. You did such a wonderful job and you are the sweetest. I am so glad you were able to understand what I was teaching even with all my babbles :) the pictures of me …oh my lol made me laugh.

Adri - March 23, 2011 - 9:44 am

Oh my gosh! These are beautiful!! You did such an amazing job!

Alicia - March 23, 2011 - 9:58 am

oh my goodness gracious, you’ve done it again! absolutely beautiful (and beyond!)
this is one of my favorite posts of yours!!! They’re so beautiful and you can tell have great chemistry and you captured it perfectly!

Carissa - March 23, 2011 - 4:10 pm

Thanks SO much you guys! : )

A Family Affair

I can’t cook. I know this. But that’s why it started. Because I can’t cook.

Last Fall my mom and I came up with this idea. I had aspirations to become the next Rachael Ray (because that’s what you do when you get married, you become Rachael Ray, right?), so we decided that on Monday nights, my mom and I would make dinner together so that I could learn to cook and the family could come together for a yummy meal. It started out well. Really well, in fact. For quite a few weeks I was a cooking machine. (My particular favorite was the night we made white chicken chili like they do at the Cheesecake Factory, since you’re asking.) Unfortunately, though, due to the craziness of winter, conflicting schedules, and to be completely honest, a growing lack of motivation on my part, our Monday night dinners slowly evaporated.

And I found myself missing it. Badly. Not because I wanted to cook, mind you. No no. I missed that time with my family. I missed catching up with my mom while we cooked. I missed my dad asking us to rate the food and yesterday’s sermon. I missed my brother Caleb chowing down on his plate and giving us a sports update in between bites. And I missed my cousin Alyssa telling us hilarious stories about what her first grade class did that day.

It’s so easy for me to get trapped in this little bubble of my life. But with everything that’s going on in the world, especially the tragedy in Japan, now more than ever I’ve found myself thanking God for blessing me with such an incredible family, that we’re all healthy, and that we have the opportunity to spend time together. I never want to take those gifts for granted. Ever.

Last night was the first night in several months that we had family dinner again. I chatted with my mom about my plans for my business. We rated the steak for my dad (mine was an 8.7). Caleb discussed the missed calls in the Syracuse vs. Connecticut game.

And while the chances of me becoming the next Rachael Ray are pretty slim, Monday night family dinners will live on. Because they should. Because they can. Because they are a gift.

With Rapture Workshop, Part 1

No, I won’t need gloves. That’s what I thought to myself as I did a triple to check to make sure I had everything. WRONG. I almost didn’t bring a jacket. Almost. What a mistake that would have been. But other than the fact that it was a terribly frigid day, the Blush Photography With Rapture Workshop could not have been better! So rather than complain about the cold (I mean, it really wasn’t THAT bad), let’s get to the goods : ) After the initial meet and greet, we had a little Q&A time and Brooke jumped right into posing techniques. SO good.

Then came Jessica and Emilee, the wonderful models for the first portion of the workshop. And let me tell you, those girls know how to WORK it for the camera. See for yourself…

How downright gorgeous is Jessica?!

I might have been a little jealous of her feather earring.

Model status? I think yes.

Emilee, you are stunning.

Thank you, wind, for blowing at exactly the right moment.

We finished up in a quaint little bookstore to warm up.

Thank you so much Jessica and Emilee!! You were both fabulous : )

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming later this week!

Just a Taste

This weekend I had the privilege to attend a workshop put on by Brooke Dahle, the photographer behind Blush Photography, and ohhh what a wonderful experience that was!!! Brooke is pretty much the queen of posing, and I can’t wait to apply some of her tips to my own photography. I’m still trying to process everything (literally and mentally, ha), but I’m left feeling extremely inspired and motivated. I can’t wait to share some of it with you in the next few days, but until then, here is a little behind the scenes taste : )

Brooke showing us how it’s done. (Please notice how hilarious Jared is, the guy on the far right. Our models were awesome!!!)

Making the magic happen.

I hope everyone has a relaxing Sunday!

2 comments

add a comment

link to this post