What do you BELIEVE?

Posted by Liana at 6:52 PM

I believe that our next President should be a US Citizen (and that we should not even have to question it)...



...and be someone who is PROUD to be an American.



I believe our next President should have proven past experience...



...and be ready to lead this country as the President for a while now.



I believe our next President should have an opinion on important issues...



...and to do what is right.




Last, but not least, I believe that our next President should be someone who is truthful, leads with integrity, and surrounds himself with others who are FOR this country.



I think it's SOOOO scary what this world is coming to. While I've never been a huge fan of either candidate, the research I've been doing in the past few months on both sides makes things quite obvious who is better suited for this job. A lot of the videos above are over-dramatized bordering on silly, but the facts behind them are what is important to recognize. Plus, I believe it's good to hear these words from their own mouths versus me just typing out the facts and who said what. I have to admit that the thought of having a woman President or African American President was very exciting to me at first ... and I do hope we see this in my lifetime... but I do not believe Barack Hussein Obama is the best person to be our next President.

I have a lot of friends that are praying for this election and you can bet I am too. My friend Kelly joked with me the other day that "surely these are the ends of times" with what we're seeing in the media and how many people blindly follow a leader without really researching them. We also discussed how many small businesses, including our own, will likely go out of businesses if Obama is elected president and goes through with his tax plans. Change is going to happen no matter who becomes President, in my opinion. I just hope we open our eyes to the kind of change that backs what this country stands for.

I know this is probably not the place to discuss politics and religion but this IS my personal photo blog and I cannot keep quiet about something so important to our future. I hope you will do your own research and do what is right for this country.

Sneak Peak: Laura and Matt are Married!

Posted by Liana at 11:18 AM

This Friday I photographed an amazing, sweet wedding down at Serenbe. We actually met Laura and Matt New Years Day 2008 in our PJs at my friend Kathleen's house for a breakfast she held and here they are less than a year later - so awesome! These two are a hoot and were cracking each other up all night. More to come...

Impromptu Bridal Session with Kimberly

Posted by Liana at 10:58 PM

Yesterday after Kimberly's bridal shower she tried on her wedding dress for a small group of us and we went out in my side-yard for a few quick pictures.

Isn't she stunning??



It's so neat to have one of your best friends as the bride!! I'm really excited for their wedding next month and all the fun events and DIY stuff we're doing for it!

There are soooo many good shots I'll have to post some more up soon too.

Which wedding band should I get Mikey??

Posted by Liana at 6:42 PM

With the price of Gold on the rise, I insisted that we go look at wedding rings so we can order it before too long. We went to 4 or 5 stores today after church, and here are two that he liked the best. Now... to get the more expensive one that we like a bit better or the other one that is a bit less that he also claims to like?

Mike says I cannot blog

Posted by Liana at 7:33 PM

....because it's time for dinner...

Fondant Attempt Numero Dos

Posted by Liana at 1:01 PM

I think I have a new hobby!

After posting about our first successful try at dressing a cake with Fondant Icing, my darling friend Crystal recommended a recipe for marshmallow fondant that makes it taste even better.

One of my best friends, Kimberly, is getting married next month so we're hosting a bridal shower for her this weekend here at my place. I have a wedding to photograph tonight so I got started early with preparations for Saturday... including my 2nd attempt at a fondant cake.

Making fondant with Marshmallow is QUITE a messy endeavor and after about 10 minutes of kneading the powdered sugar into the marshmallow concoction, Mikey appeared curious and I put him to work with half the batch.

He got powdered sugar ALL over the floor and himself! Haha!



I baked up some mixes real quick using my pro pans. Quick tip... don't bother buying your baking pans at regular retailers... they have the 20-year warranty Pro Baking springform rounds at places like TJ Maxx for a fraction of the cost. These are $25-40 pans for $4-7! And the cakes practically fall out of them in perfect form.




The fondant-making was a lot less complicated than I thought... and I think Mikey actually enjoyed helping out! The clean up was not fun but it WAS a good laugh and a good workout.



Ta-dah! A perfect fondant ball all finished! This stuff feels like play-dough but it's crazy because it's really a big ball of sugar. You're supposed to wrap it and let it sit overnight and then use it.



The final masterpiece is not complete yet (I'll likely be putting it together tomorrow AM or tonight after the wedding) so I'll have to come back and post the verdict on how the homemade marshmallow fondant is to work with and how everything looks and tastes :)

Our Wedding that Almost Happened

Posted by Liana at 7:11 PM

This wedding planning has been a roller-coaster. Coming home from Los Angles last month we had a very solid idea of what our intimate destination wedding in Beverly Hills was going to look like. Some of the vendors have been booked, others we had our eyes on. Our Save the Dates are mostly sent out (Mikey designed them himself and it cost all of $54 to print and ship!) and everyone was excited. The dresses have been ordered and the catering negotiated to a ridiculously low rate for any location, making it almost laughable for a 90210 wedding!



But one thing I've stood Absolutely Firm on. I will NOT go into debt for a wedding. My parents, family, Mike, and I came up with a round about figure when we first got engaged and I've been holding onto the budget firm, becoming a proud negotiator and prioritizer. Today we got news that the economy has hit home... my father has been let go of his job. This comes at a hard time for them as they're trying to sell their house too. After my sister's wedding earlier this year and this recent turn of events, putting on a wedding for us is not in the budget for them anymore. So our wedding is officially off unless I can come up with an additional 10-16k profit (not sales, that's after expenses and taxes) in the next few months.





So now the question is... what should we do??

a) Loose the deposits and go elope, and if so when and where?

b) The two of us go to Greystone Mansion since it's partially paid for and then maybe one day have a reception back home?

c) Invite an even smaller group than what originally intended and take the money out of my emergency savings fund to pay for it (not a wise choice in my book)

d) Put our services on Craigslist and see if we can do an all-barter wedding. Or host a few additional Boot Camps and put all the proceeds towards the wedding fund.

e) Put our wedding on eBay and see if people want to bid to come. haha. I actually heard of someone doing this for bridesmaids and they got a big deal with a corporate sponsor just for giggles and a PR stint. (I'm totally kidding on this one!)

f) Not do anything and wait and see what happens. Simply stop making plans.



There are MANY more options, but a few things I DO know for sure:

1. We will still be getting married in the next 5-6 months. I don't think waiting longer is an option for either of us. The goal is to be married, not to have a wedding, right? ;)

2. We will continue with our marriage counseling and actually start with 2-to-1 next week :)

3. Wherever I go, I'll probably still wear my dress since it's already paid for in full. I might look funny in a courthouse but whatever! Haha

4. I STILL want good pictures whatever happens :) What can I say, it's one of the MOST important parts, right?

5. This is bringing me and Mike closer and having to lean on each other even more.


This is in God's hands even more now than we've ever realized before and I'm apt to say that we will be partaking in option "f" for a while. Lots of prayers for my dad to find the right opportunity, and for their house to sell quickly too. This having nothing to do with us getting married really. And patience for me. I'm a planner and this living-in-the-unknown is not my strong suite. Haha. Hey, maybe we'll go elope this weekend... Mikey keeps saying six months is too far away still ;P