Written by Candace on January 26, 2016 | 1 Comment

Preparing for Valentine’s Day

We are just a few weeks away from Valentine’s Day so I thought I’d start the conversation.

Valentine’s Day will never be the same for us. February 14 is now Rose’s birthday too! Thankfully, Vitaliy and I never put a lot of weight on Valentine’s Day anyway. In fact, when we were dating, we boycotted the holiday and purposely celebrated a different day. We are such rebels! But now we’ve embraced the holiday and enjoy any excuse to celebrate love. This year we’ll get to celebrate the love we share as husband and wife and the new found love we both have for Rose. A day of love paired with Rose’s birthday – it’s going to be an epic Valentine’s Day weekend!

We’re going to be doing the Whole 30 this February so we’re going to have to get creative. No chocolates or baked goods. I decided to go back through the archives for some inspiration. Here are a few ways we’ve celebrated in the past.

Valentine’s Day Dinner Party with Delighted Co.
Delivering Notes with a Kiss
A Count Down to Valentine’s Day

This year I’ve made a big effort to set realistic goals for myself. I had no idea what life would look like once Rose arrived and I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. I figured motherhood would be overwhelming enough. I’m now feeling more and more comfortable in my new role, but I feel like I learned a valuable lesson – less is always more. This even applies to goals, expectations, and my daily to-do-list. In keeping with this, I hope to apply the same idea to Valentine’s Day this year.

We’re going to be celebrating Rose’s birthday on February 13th so she has her own day to herself (I’m a Christmas baby so I can relate). This way Vitaliy and I will also “hopefully” be able to have a little one on one time at some point on the 14th. But I like any reason to celebrate and I love countdowns, so I’m going to use the advent calendar idea but turn it digital and make a few changes. Join us on Instagram for a Valentine’s Day Countdown! Small and simple ways to intentionally love your spouse leading up to Valentine’s Day – #pictiliolovenotes.

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Written by Candace on January 22, 2016 | 1 Comment

The Weekender

It’s Friday! And it’s raining (maybe snowing by you?) and I am so ready for the weekend. Vitaliy is leaving town so it’s going to be a girl’s weekend spent with my mom and Rose. And I’m excited about that!

Rose’s First Birthday: Speaking of Rose, we are weeks away from celebrating her first birthday. I honestly cannot believe it! I’m not into anything over the top. I’m thinking small and low-key with family and a few friends. Any tips or ideas for a first birthday party? Please share!

Whole 30: Vitaliy and I are starting our second Whole 30 on January 31. Have you heard of Whole 30? We did our first one last year when I was about 3 months postpartum and I felt amazing. It definitely takes a certain amount of dedication and extra time preparing meals, but the physical benefits are well worth the effort. This time we finally have a game plan for after the Whole 30 ends so I’m hopeful for more long-term change this go round. We’re going to do eat mostly Paleo, 90/10 – 90% Paleo, 10% wiggle room. Anybody have any Whole 30 or Paleo Pinterest boards or blogs you’d recommend? Anybody want to join us? We’ve got a group of about 10 people so far. So happy to not be doing it alone this time!

Date Night: We finally had a date night this week! We dropped Rose off to friends and went to a local coffee shop to caffeinate, breathe and connect. We spent the entire time looking face to face just talking. It was just what we needed.

MOPS: If you are a mom to little ones, I highly recommend finding a MOPS meeting in your area. I really wasn’t sure it’d be a good fit for me, but I was wrong. Being surrounded by a group of women who know precisely what you’re going through is so comforting. Every time we meet, I leave encouraged and ready to take on motherhood for another week.

Scary Close: Remember I mentioned I received two copies of On Writing by Stephen King. Well, I exchanged the extra copy this week for Donald Miller’s book Scary Close. I read the intro and first Chapter on the way to date night last night and choked up. Have you read it? I’m only one chapter in, but I’m intrigued. It made for some great conversation over coffee with Vitaliy.

What are you up to this weekend? I’m hoping for a lunch date with Mom and Rose on Saturday. Then church and rest on Sunday. Happy weekend, friends!

Photo: Can we go back to Christmas week?

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Written by Candace on January 21, 2016 | 2 Comments

Photo Shoot In Downtown
St. Louis

Throwback Thursday! We are starting a new series on the blog. Though a new series here, the concept is definitely not revolutionary. But we have so many old weddings and shoots that aren’t featured here and we have been having a ton of fun looking back. Seeing how far we’ve come in the last 7 years while also seeing how much the heart and vision of how we shoot has stayed the same.

This was a photo shoot we did back in 2011 with my cousin and his (then) girlfriend in downtown St. Louis, my hometown. These two are now married and own a thriving start-up called Artifox. They combined their architectural and design skills and produce some of the coolest products! Go check them out!

Photo tip: When choosing a photo shoot location, don’t feel like you have to choose the iconic backdrops of a particular city. For example, these photos were taken in downtown St. Louis, but we purposely did not choose the standard locations (Arch grounds, ballpark, etc). However, I have such fond memories of this shoot because it was shot in my hometown. It has the urban grit of St. Louis and the blistery winter can be felt as I look through these images. Simply shooting in a place you love will do the job of turning a photo shoot into a memory making moment. This will help you avoid any unmet expectations of wanting a specific building or landmark in your photos. And it will also likely offer a more intimate experience as the iconic locations are usually full of people. It’s really all about the two of you anyway.

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