Monthly Archives: June 2010

29!

HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEE!!!!!!!! well, yesterday (June 14th);)But, if you know me… even 1%… you know that I am kind of obsessed with my birthday. “kind of” is not really accurate… more like… I flipping LOOOOOVE my  birthday!!!!!!! For me… it’s more like birthday week. So… yeah yeah yeah, I’m technically a day late but really… the festivities have just begun;)

When I was a kid… my family referred to me as “the rainbow kid” and to this day… G-ma still calls me that… especially when she comes to our house and see everything so brightly decorated. Why was I called that? I love love LOVED all things rainbows… I colored rainbows EVERYWHERE, I saturated my bedroom in rainbows, my Christmas ornaments usually had rainbows,  many of my clothes were rainbow themed, and I (OF COURSE) loved rainbow bright. Yes yes yes… I absolutely was THE RAINBOW KID!

A few years ago I saw a rainbow striped cake photo somewhere in web 2.0 and this rainbow kid has been DYING to try one.

My birthday seemed like the PERFECT excuse to do nothing & feel zero guilt in a major cooking project… furthermore… it’s not healthy train appropriate… not even a little bit. SO… my birthday seemed like the absolute best day to try this.

Now, I’ve never made a layer cake… let alone a SIX layer cake… so, it was quite the undertaking. I did a lot of reading/researching in perfect layer cake making/frosting.:D

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright and early and headed to the grocery store.   I spent a couple of hours shopping feeling SO grown up and domesticated buying these ooh la la cake-making accessories.  By ooh la la I mean… a $9 spatula, $10 cake stand and 2 round cake pans for $13. OH YES… FANNNNCY!

 

Here’s the beginning of my cake-making project:)No, they’re not each flavored differently…  Yes, that’s food color.  Doesn’t it look like I should be dipping Easter eggs in those???

I had two round cake pans… so the layers were made in 3 baking shifts.

Layer one:)

It’s REALLY starting to come together now.

Ryan and Andrea (our good friends) showed up right before I frosted the amazingness when Andrea exclaimed… “BOBBI! YOU MATCH YOUR CAKE!!!” She insisted that Ryan take a photo (as Mike was out grilling the BBQ chicken). I handed off my camera… took a look at the LCD and yes yes yes… she was absolutely right! I DO look like my cake!!!!

twenty nine candles…

Mom was over and she watched the cake making process… Needless to say we were just WIGGLIN’ with excitement to see what the cake looked like when I cut into it.  I cut a HUGE piece so that we could get the full effect:)

THE CAKE CUTTING MOMENT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! IT’S PERRRRRFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom and Andrea were just as thrilled:)Ryan is clearly in awe.:DAddison was more concerned with what it tasted like.

HEALTHY TRAIN FAIL!!!!!!! Oh well… it was my birthday…:)and it was perfect.

Oh, and as for its taste…. YUMTOWN, USA!!!!! I even made HOME MADE buttercream icing which was perfectly applied with my brand new aforementioned $9 spatula.;)See… TOLD YOU I WAS DOMESTICATED;)

As for all of you who sent me birthday wishes… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You sure do know how to make a girl feel loved!  I wish that I had time to respond to each and every single one of you.  So, thanks friends:DBIG time!

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!

~bobbi

PS. Mike’s THIRTIETH birthday is in August… I’m 100000% open for suggestions… anyone have any amazing ideas? PLEASE????

healthy train | 4.

For those who follow me on Twitter/Facebook… you may have heard me mention my “5 lbs in 2 weeks” goal. For me, that’s a lot… and given my schedule the last couple of weeks, kinda dumb for me to think that I could do it.

I’m again blogging in the airplane (I’m officially OBSESSED with in-flight wifi) so, needless to say… I haven’t weighed myself yet.  However, given what my weight was last I checked, it’s pretty fair to guess that I didn’t make it.:(

So, why did I set this goal? Because again… I’m closer than ever before to my “wedding weight”.  I SOOO badly wanted to fit into my wedding dress for my 29th birthday (which is Monday).

ARGH! I should have squeezed in more work outs than I did. I’m a bit disappointed in myself:(

…. there’s always healthy train 5, right?! ARGH!

So, on that note, how did YOU do???? Were you able to stick to your mini goal? Me? I stuck to mine BEAUTIFULLY! A quick refresher: I wanted to go to bed before 1:30 on at least 8 of the nights… as I’m a bit of an insomniac.  Well… I TOTALLY exceeded that goal by going to bed before midnight  all but 4 nights. That’s huge for me:D

What’s YOUR mini goal for the next two weeks?

  • Drink more water?
  • No snacks after 8pm?
  • Walk the dogs 5 days/week after work?
  • In bed before midnight?
  • No more soda?
  • Try 2 new fitness classes?
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator/escelator?
  • 50 pushups/lunges/situps/etc a day?

Be sure to include what your mini goal is down there in the comment section… it will help hold you accountable and give the rest of us ideas for our mini goals.:D

Mine? hmmmm…. OH! I’ve got it… minus my birthday celebration and the traveling to Valparaiso next weekend… no going out to eat:DSo, no temptations with inviting me out to eat, k? If you want to hang with me… we’re walking instead of eating. Got it? GOT IT!

And for the top 5?

Jill Pollitt    15.2%
Stephanie Wortley    9.71%
Jessica Seamon      7.59%
Devan Whitson    7.37%
Michelle McDonnell      7.28%

BOOOOOYAH!!!!!! those are some AWESOME numbers!!!!!:D:D:D

To those on the train, be sure to weigh in via the Google doc first thing today!:D

Speaking of the Google doc… there are 7 of you who have never logged in and reported loss…. and 12 of you who only weighed in the first time. I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’re no longer interested in being on the train, it’s a bit of a bummer. Howeer, each of us have to decide, on our own, when we’re ready to make this happen… so, we hope to see you guys here on the next round of the train:D

A few quick reminders:

  • Next official weigh in is June 11.
  • If you’re a twitterer, be sure to add the hashtag #healthytrain to your HT tweet.
  • Join  “bobbi’s healthy train” group on Facebook… ANYONE can join… not just the people with the before pics. My trainer is an admin … so if you have fitness questions, ask ‘em there!  Dane is also an admin, so if you have questions about diet/need motivation… he’s the guy to talk to. We’d love to have you…:D
  • You don’t have to be officially competing to participate.
  • If you haven’t measured yourself yet, DO IT!
  • We’ll be taking optional “progress pics” July 23 to keep the motivation levels high, oh… and I fully expect the top 5 to join in on that, we’d love to see what these huge numbers are looking like… OHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!
  • Finale date is October 29th.

I adore you guys… thanks for keeping us all motivated!:D

LOVE!!!!!

~bobbi:!:

PS. after looking at that wedding photo, I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress of my personal mission, “Operation: Grow Back Eyebrows.” Those things were thinnnnnnn! I’ve been in full swing since February… and these things are lookin’ a little Bert (&Ernie)… but in the end, this will be fully worth it.:)

 

ellen+brian

Meet Ellen, you’ll adore her… I guarantee it:DAnd if you don’t… I owe you a million dollars.* 

OHHHHH how I love when brides wear non-white shoes:)A little pop of the unexpected…. people everywhere, all day…  “WHOA! WERE THOSE BLUUUUUUE SHOES I SAW?!” Okay… maybe that’s a bit of a lie…. but I KNOW they were all thinking it!;)

Meet Ellen’s younger sister Sarah:DShe’s cute… and a big fan of the blog:)Doesn’t she look like Kirsten Dunst?! Yes, I know I know… I’m so good at the “what celebrity do you look like” game;)

Meet Brian (or at least meet the lower half of his face), he’s in the top ten nicest guys I’ve ever met…. and, I know a lot of guys. So yes… that’s a BIG deal:DHe’s THAT nice. (Mike is in the number 1 position, but I may be biased;))

HAAAAAA!!!!! This is HILAAAAARIOUS!!!!! If you’re not laughing yet then you haven”t notice the guy on the right and the quality of his bow tie.  They stood in line and had Tony, the resident boy scout, fix them:DI couldn’t stop laughing when editing through this series!

Ellen used to be a florist in Chicago… LOVING the flowers in her hair. Can’t wait for you to see the amazingness that were the bouquets:)

love.love.love.

If you were a bug watching this ceremony, this would be your view. ORRRR if you were a Mike photographing this wedding, this would also be your view….

YOU’RE MARRRRRRIED!!!!!!

I know… I knowwwww…. this composition looks familiar:)When Ellen saw that image she KNEW she wanted one similar… and because I don’t like to 100% recreate our past work (especially a shot so uhm… memorable…), I made this one a weeeee bit different;)I’m a fan!

YEAHHHHHHH!!!! GO TEAM WEDDING!!!!!!!!! I’m telling you, we’ve had some incredible color combos this year:)LOVING the navy and hot pink!

Mikey’s fave:?:(…he’s so predictable;)…)

How GORGEOUS are these bridesmaids?! Two things. 1) At first you may have thought I was crazy with my Kirsten Dunst reference from above… but look at Sarah now with that big ol’ smile… THEY’RE TWINS! (second from the right). and 2) Notice Kristina on the right?

If I could do my wedding over again, I would absolutely have had guys on my side. See her there? That’s Brian’s sister… and also the “Best Woman”:DTradition schmadition… Good for you Brian!

TOLD you the flowers were amazing! If you want peonies… and you want them to be this gorgeous… and you’re getting married in the Midwest… and you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg… get married in May:)

IT’S A DRIVE-BY TONY!:DMike let him use one of our second cameras and he went to town with the photo snappin’! ….I caught him in the act…:)

WHOA! ARE THOSE BLUUUUUUE SHOES I SEE?! …you were thinking it, weren’t you?! Told ya!!!!!;)

OH HELLLLLL YES!!!!! I’m a fan. A BIG fan of this.

Ellen, you’re a stunner. K? k.

It’s reception time baaaaabies!

ABSOLUTELY my favorite:!:

PARRRRRRRRRTY!

This makes me smile.:)That’s Ellen’s mom on the left… We get to photograph the best best best parties. Seeing this makes me want to turn on some GaGa and boogie…. at 9 in the morning. Who’s with me?!

 

……………………………

ST. LOUIS, Mo.

event planner & florist | Rachel & Amanda, Lucky You Productions
hair |  Melanie Wilson
makeup artist | Lauren Graf
church | St. John the Apostle and Evangelist
reception venue | An American Place
band | Arvell & Company
cake | Rosigliones
invitations & programs | Lemonseed & Co.
dress | Town & Country Bridal Boutique | Watters
bridesmaid dresses | j.crew
tuxes | Black Tie Formal Wear

……………………………

 

their songs:

First dance: “That’s How Strong My Love Is” – Otis Redding
Father/Daughter: “Unforgettable” – Natalie Cole

 

ellen+brian:

What was the most memorable moment of your day?
ellen: When the doors of the Church opened and I looked down the aisle and saw Brian and all the guests.
brian: When I took Ellen’s arm at the front of the Church after she had walked down the aisle.

What was your favorite detail?
This isn’t really a detail, but we loved the room where the reception was held.  It looked really, really beautiful with the architectural details and the stunning flowers.

Any advice for future bride/grooms?
Hire a planner! At least a day-of planner like we had.  Lucky You did a great job keeping everyone in line.  It was so easy and worry-free on the big day.  Also – get a band! A live band is so much fun.

Funniest memory from your wedding day?
ellen: Joking with Brian while we were waiting to be announced at the reception…watching funny dancers…taking lots of Bobbi and Mike photobooth photos…photographs at our last location next to the “questionable” building/garage/residence
brian: Seeing the first-try bow ties on the groomsmen

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?
More time to talk to everyone, dance, take pictures!!!

What was your favorite wedding purchase?
ellen: Dress! Bobbi and Mike!
brian: Tickets to Spain

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Spain!!! Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo, Madrid.  Mucho gusto! Mas vino tinto por favor!

 

 

bobbi+mike:

What was our favorite part of the day?
bobbi
:
1. I adoooooored this bridal party. Seriously, my kind of people! Fun, nice, unfiltered, sincere and crazy. 2. Hanging out with Ellen and her bridesmaids as they got their makeup on. Seeing SO many familiar faces. I about flipped my poopy in excitement when I saw (past bbmk bride & groom) Mike and Kristina. 3. Photographing them in an unexpected part of town.:)I asked Ellen what she had in mind for photo locations. She said… “you know, I have zero preferences when it comes to that… I trust you entirely, just pick something you like” And that we did!:DEllen & Brian, you two rock rock ROCK. 4. Shooting in the unboxed photo booth… what a FUN group! I haven’t been so great about blogging photos from that… maybe I’ll get on that next week! 5. Getting one of the sweetest emails from Ellen, after the wedding, before they’d even seen the photos. Seriously brought me to tears. I’ll share a part of it below.:)
mike: I’m actually blogging from 40,000 feet on a Boeing 737 en route to Florida for a wedding tomorrow (HOW COOL THAT I’M ONLINE?! OHHHH how I love AirTrain!). Anyway… Here is Mike’s current state. SOOOO… needless to say, we’re just gonna have to wait for his fave. Lucky for him, he’s even cute when ZONNNNNNKED out:)

Oh, and that email I told you about… here’s what she wrote that got me a bit choked up.

“I just have to say again how much we love you guys.  We are truly so happy that you and Mike were there on our big day to capture all of our memories.  It’s a very personal thing to have somebody photograph your wedding and I didn’t realize that until the actual day.  We feel like we have gained two new friends and could not be more grateful.

PS. In Spain we did lots of walking toward/walking away photos a la bobbi+mike… Brian even did a lying on the ground photo in honor of Bobbi – unfortunately I did not have another camera to catch him!”

You’re absolutely right Ellen, it IS a very personal thing…. and we take that honor quite seriously. After all, it’s one of the most intimate/memorable days of your life and we’re there to photograph it exactly as it happens, without being the creepy photographer in the corner. We try to photo these memories as though it had happend with no one else is in the room.  However, yes yes yes, once the moment has passed, I like to throw high fives;)As cheesy and cliche as this sounds… for us, it’s so much more than just our  job. So yeah… your email definitely made my month. Thank you thank you thank you.:)

Oh, and you DID gain two new friends, DUHTOWN!;)

You guys are the best… Really, the best.

Much love…

~bobbi+mike:!:+:?:

 

Me, with my hot tamale brides. OH HELLLLLL YES TO THIS!!!!!! Having a bridesmaid that was a past bbmk bride… It’s one of my favorite parts of the job:)

These two guys and I had an “emotion competition” in the unboxed booth. From left to right: happy | angry | scared. SERIOUSLY guys… SCAAAAARED?! THAT IS YOUR SCARED?!!? I clearly win! BY A LANDSLIDE! You clearly only have two emotions.:D

My famous leg move. I’m pretty sure this is why Mike married me.;)

Photographers, if you’re looking for your next pose idea…. We saw this out of the limo bus window as we were leaving the arch and I snapped a photo for future reference… You’re welcome.

Mike’s long flowing hair… He’s borderline Fabio!;)

:!:+:?:


*Offer only applies on Thursday morning between 8:00am and 8:01am during a hailstorm while the presidential motorcade is driving by you. Offer does not apply if you are a male, female or android. Offer not legal in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico or Zimbabwe.**

**We don’t have that much money anyway, sorry about your luck.***

***And if you’re still reading this, high fives to you.

****Exchange rate for one high five from bobbi or mike is equal to that of one million dollars.

 

kortnee+ted+micah

Fact: the Miller’s are one of THE cutest families in the history of the world.  There are statistics, I’ve read them!;)

are you KIDDING me with that little hat and vest?!

I am in love with this family. Just am.  MAN OH MANNNNN have I been BEYOND excited to show you this session:D

Kortnee and Ted are a SUPER fun husband and wife photo team based in Cincinnati. :D 

OHHH OHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t TELL you how much I love this photo. Oh wait, I think I just did. :)If this photo doesn’t represent 10 years of marriage… then I don’t know what could?!

Meanwhile… Mike was taking photos of this. Micah walked the entire perimeter of this fence. He’s quite the adventurer…:)

Micah doesn’t deal too well in the heat (Kortnee told me about this when she  first inquired…) and wouldn’t it be our luck that it just HAPPENED to be a serious heat wave going through Cincinnati that week…. by that I mean it was hot. Well, not just hot… it was HOT HOT HOTTTTTT!!!!!!!! We had to shoot a bit later and a bit shorter to avoid the heat… but, I tell you… this family didn’t NEED much time to turn on the amazingness:D

OHHHH to be six again! I had to shoot this with manual focus because he was moving so fast that the auto focus couldn’t keep up. Though not 100% sharp… still pretty cool, eh?

See, told you… one of the cutest families in the history of the world.

Micah, you’re awesome. I haven’t met too many kids who were full of so much personality:D

HA! If you knew what was said to get this reaction you’d laugh.:DToo bad so sad for you… you will never know… so, just laugh anyway;)

MELT MY HEART INTO ONE ZILLLLLLLION PIECES!!!

 

……………………………..

cincinnati, ohio

kortnee+ted | married 12.9.2000 | 9.5 years

micah |  born 5.16.2004 | 6 years

kortnee | photographer    •    hometown | bloomington, illinois

ted | photographer    •    hometown | cincinnati, ohio

……………………………..

:!:+:?:

 

I was shooting so wide that I had to spread my little footsies to keep them out of the shot.:D

Mike was on mosquito patrol! :D  Never in my life have I seen so many in one place. He probably wacked me 50 times during this session! Though, I do have to say… I only came home with two bites;)(I’m pretty allergic to them… we’re talking welts the size of silver dollars, it’s not cute)

:!:+:?: