Cali Part I

We left for Cali on Monday May 27th. Ellia was an angel and slept almost the whole time. The first flight was 1.5 hours and the second 6.5. It was a long day. All 7 of us piled into the Suburban we rented and off we went to meet Mercedes and her boyfriend TJ who were already there. 

We did a lot of relaxing and hanging out in the pool and hot tub. We ate a lot of delicious food and went shopping.  It was glorious. 

Poor Ellia was a little off with the whole 3 hour time difference and woke up A LOT during the night. It's okay, we were in paradise and everyone was playing with her and helping out during the day. She loved the pool and basically sang and danced with her Auntie Mercedes the whole time. 

I didn't take too many photos, which always annoys me when I get home. When your full time job is holding a (really heavy) camera all day, sometimes you just want to put it down and give it a break. Well, I do anyways. Here are some of my favs from the first few days.

 

My daddy in the pool is huge, he hates water and can't swim (even though he always had a pool growing up)

OMGEEEE I LOVE this place...wish we had one.

 Okay guys, that's enough of a photo overload for one day. But stay tuned for some lame photos of our mini photoshoot. Also, the day that we got to meet a lovely Instagram friend and her gorgeous little lady.

California - Where the love affair began...

Anyone who knows me, (or follows me on IG) probably knows that I L.O.V.E southern California. I have been going every year, once or twice since my first year of university in the winter of 2004. My best friend Katie's wonderful Daddy and step mom live there and have a gorgeous home in Dana Point. That's in OC, really close to Laguna Beach for those that don't know where it is.  Every year Katie, Alex and I go for a week, we shop, we go to the beach and the pool, we eat delicious food and drink lots of cherry Coke Zeros. 

We had a lot of amazing times...

 Like photoshoots by the pool...

 

 on the boat...

 on the balcony...

 in the house...

The time that we went to Beverly Hills and stayed in the house that was once owned by marilyn monroe and joe dimaggio (and is now owned by some family members of Katie's step mom)...

                then we went to a bar and hung out with Wilmer Valderrama and made lots of friends...

 

went shopping...

bought a few pairs of Uggs...

went to Vegas...

 

didn't pay for one drink or wait in line...

 and went for the 4th and had a photoshoot in the park wearing matching outfits and used a tripod to take photos of the 3 of us together. 

I have so many incredible memories of California with my 2 favourite people. I love looking back and seeing how lucky I am to have such great friends and to have had all of these wonderful opportunities. 

I wanted my whole family to visit too so they could see how awesome it was and then want to move there. So a few weeks ago, we packed up Ellia, my parent's and sister's came with us, and we had an amazing time. That's all for the next post.

update time

Well, it has been over a month since I blogged. Mega FAIL. 

Between working so much, our California vacay, preparing to move AGAIN and my poor babes not sleeping well and being sick, I haven't had a whole lotta time. 

On May 25th I shot my first wedding of the season. I made the decision last year when I found out I was pregnant to only shoot 3 weddings this season. I basically chose 3 ladies who had contacted me, that I already knew, and I couldn't be more happy with my decision. I love weddings. I love going to them, photographing them, decorating them...you get the point. But it's a lot of work. Not only is it a 12+ hour day, it's hours and hours of loading files, going through photos, editing, posting galleries, making albums and I knew it would be much more difficult with a baby, and it is.

I have known Caitlyn since we were 4 years old. We went to school together until grade 8 where we then went to separate high schools and universities. Living in the same town, we had run into each other now and than and always chatted. I photographed her sisters family numerous times and was over the moon excited when she booked me for her engagement photos and weddings. She met her super handsome groom Ross while visiting Ireland. It is truly one of the best love stories ever, and these two could totally be in a movie about it. They are GORGEOUS!

I can't wait to edit this wedding and post all of the gorgeousness.

A Sunday in Brockville

We decided to take a little trip to Brockville, and boy, was it a hot one. Finally. Ellia loved spending time with her grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin Dane!

 

Brockville boarders the US, it is such a pretty little town.

 

One of my favourite houses that backs onto the water.

 Bridge to the US

As we were driving home, I asked Lucas to make a quick stop when I spotted the most perfect reflection on the water. Isn't it so magical when that happens!?

 

 I love these little outings with my wonderful little family.

So excited to share this right now! I decided to do this the good ol' fashion way. I actually wrote out  all of the names of everyone that voted over Instagram, Facebook,  blog, carrier pigeon and text message,  and had Lucas pull one out, just to make it extra fair.

Thank you so much to everyone who voted. You guys rock.

Now, you'll have to wait until the website reveal to see which logo actually stole the show :)

 Lauren, if you can email me at info@nataliespencerphotography.com with your mailing address I will send you a little something, something for being so sweet and voting!

xoxo nat

six month favourites

First of all, I would like to say a ginormous thank you to everyone who took the time to vote on my new logo design!! Seriously, thank you. I will be announcing the winner of my little gift and which design stole the show over the next few days!

Now, onto our six month favourites!

1. Bloom Fresco High Chair This high chair was one of the first things that we purchased before Ellia was born. We had seen it in our local baby boutique and thought it was just the coolest. We love the look of it so much, and all of our visitors are blown away by the spaceship sitting in our kitchen. Now, I have to mention that there are a ton of negative reviews on this chair floating around. Personally, I love it. I don't think it is difficult to clean at all, I actually think it is easier to clean because there are no creases for the food to get stuck in, and any crumbs roll right off/the pad is super easy to wipe down. It always looks clean and just plain cool. We also have a silver pad to switch it up if we decide, or if we have a boy next. Even though I'm pretty sure Ellia will have a sissy someday. 

2. Aviator sunglasses These ones are super tiny and cute, and actually stay on her head!

3. ExerSaucer Triple Fun Animal Planet This may be Ellia's #1. She loves this thing. She bounces, pushes all the buttons, spins around, chews on things and stands up. It also keeps her occupied for little chunks of time, so it's good for mama too!

4. Lifefactory Silicone Teether (2pk) Our favourite teethers. I bought these when Ellia was about 3 months old, but it has only been in the past month that she really enjoys them. Girlfriend likes to eat her hands or her clothes, so now we give her one of these instead and she just goes to town chewing away. They are amazing because they are light and she can bend them around, and are kinda cute in pink and purple. I love that the pack came with 2, I keep one in her back and one at the house. 

5. Mexx Leggings These leggings fit her perfectly! They are thin in the waist and long in the leg. She's been wearing 6-9 months. We have them in green and want them in every colour!

6. Animal Adventure Learning Table Dolly loves to sing and dance and listen to music. This little table is super cute, it plays music and every piece makes noise. You can also switch it to ABC's. It lights up and is very easy for her to move everything. Right now we don't have the legs on it, so she can play while she's sitting up on the ground, but I like that it has the option to be used when she can stand as well. 

7. 4moms Origami Stroller This is quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. Not only does it look amazingly awesome, it is just straight up neat. To unfold, you just push a button and it pops right up, and same goes for folding, push a little button and it pops back down.  Just like the Bloom high chair, we have the silver pad as well (the colour it actually comes with) but the pink was just too darn cute to pass up. There is an LCD screen that shows you the temperature, speedometer, and trip distance. It also has lights on it for nighttime walks and daytime running lights. And one of the best things, it charges your cell phone while you walk! This is amazing if you're like me, my cell phone is typically on low battery life by our evening walk, from being on Instagram all day long.

8. Boys Denim Shirt Yes, you read that right. Boys! I had mentioned to my BFF Katie that I wanted to get Ellia a boys denim shirt because I thought it would look adorable on Ellia but couldn't find a nice one. While she was in Toronto, she found the cutest one at H&M (we are getting an H&M here in Ottawa in the Fall-fiiiiinallllly) It's not the one pictured in this photo, but it is soooooo cute. Also, we looks really cool when I wear my denim shirt and we are mama/baby matchy twinies.

Well, that's all for now folks, hope you have a wonderful weekend! I am off to enjoy this HOT weather and sunshine with my favourite people.

xoxo Nat

mini contest - please help!

As most of you probably don't know, or may have guessed from the numerous times I have changed my logo/website/colours/design/home decor/nail polish/etc, I am extremely indecisive. I also get bored rather easily and like to switch things up. I have come to a point with my business that I am not shooting all that much, by choice of course, because I am taking what I like to call a semi-maternity leave, (Not the full year, like we get here) and needed a little re-brand, because things just didn't feel like ME anymore. 

At first I was going to pay someone to design my logo for me, but then I decided to do it myself. So I got out my watercolours and researched fonts, bought a few, did some painting and finally came up with something I like. I wanted to incorporate my love of art, and simplicity, with a bit of colour.

You see there is an issue though, I can't decide which one I love the most.  I shouldn't give myself options, ever. 

So I have decided to do a mini contest. If you could please leave a comment and vote for your favourite logo option, I would love you forever. More than I do already. And also, I will select one voter at random and mail them a super rad gift, put together with love, by me.

You can be anywhere in the world, so go for it, just leave a comment with your choice. Voting ends on Friday May 3.

Thanks guys!!

xoxo nat