So we get home, and I’m prepping the bacon. Mark preheats the oven, and I start cutting the croissants in half- which is much harder than you’d think! I slip the bacon in the oven once it’s ready, and continue to butter the croissants to toast them on the frying pan (we are so healthy sometimes!!!).

The next thing I know, I look over and the oven is smoking…. “what is THAT!?” I panicklly asked Mark. He give me a funny look and rushes over, opens the oven, and tells me that the bacon grease is dripping and I need to get it out of there- FAST!

In my mind, I was thinking “where are the oven mitts!?” but I think in reality I just stood there with a dumbfounded look on my face. So he flung open the oven door, grabbed the kitchen towel, and pulled the pan out- FAST.

In the meantime, the smoke alarm was triggered and Quincey was shaking (he HATES the smoke alarm, and smoke for that matter) with his tail between his legs, completely freaked out. I raced to grab a pillow to fan off the smoke alarm, then grabbed Quincey so he would calm down, all while Mark  worked on scrubbing the grease out of the 400 degree oven.

I thought BLT’s would be easy???

Anyways, Mark soon realized that while pulling the bacon pan out, FASTLY, he had dripped some grease on the kitchen floor, which I may or may not have stepped in…. It wasn’t a lot, but he is a little OCD (bless him), and made me take off my socks and recount everywhere I had stepped after I had maybe stepped in the grease so he could go clean it up.

Once things had calmed down, Quincey stopped shaking,  the mess was clean, and there were no more rogue pieces of bacon hanging off of the pan, I said to him “Haste makes waste”…. to which he replied “Haste keeps the house from catching fire.”

Touche.

Since I don’t like to post without some photos,

I have been lucky enough to meet a two of such people in the past 9 months, and one of them is Deena.

Deena is the type of person who will do anything for the ones she loves. She always thinks of others before herself, she is kind, thoughtful, and sincere. She is one of the hardest working people I know, and is always willing to help others, even if it means personal sacrifice. She has an amazing sense of humor. She is strong, yet gentle in her nature, and extremely compassionate.

I had only known Deena but for just a couple of months, we had met up once for some happy hour, and chatted online about photography and such a number of times. I knew her well enough, but at this point she was still more my acquaintance-friend than a good friend. I ended up having to make some last minute travel plans for a family emergency, and Deena stepped in, offered all of the resources she had available to help, and literally bent over backwards for me. More than I would ever ask, or expect, of my dearest friends. When I told her how much I appreciated her help and gestures, this is what she wrote to me: “you know when you meet someone and just feel like they are all around good-hearted and well-deserving people? that’s what i felt when i met you, and while i don’t know you very well, i appreciate the person you are”

And that is exactly the same kind of person that she is.

We share the loves of food, photography, laughter, and dessert. Yes, dessert deserves it’s own category outside of food. We said so.

I was lucky enough to be able document something very special for Deena recently. She and her husband are celebrating their one year anniversary of marriage, however they never had any professional photos done. They ended up having just a small family ceremony, and no reception. It has been a very hectic first year for them both, Deena transitioning jobs and starting her own photography business, and her husband Sari completing his Masters degree. Amidst the chaos of everything, they haven’t had much time to celebrate and enjoy just being married, together.

I am happy to say that Sari completed his thesis and earned his Masters degree last month, and they are currently on a fabulous trip across the world in Amman, Jordan, and will be headed to Turkey next to celebrate the honeymoon they never got to take. While I have only known this couple for less than 7 months, I feel like they are some of my most dearest friends, and I am so happy that I was able to capture some memories for them to keep and cherish forever.

For their session, we shot downtown Portland. Their favorite “spot” is a lovely little coffee shop/cafe called Caffe Umbria, so we shot in and around the cafe. They spend a good amount of time here, and it is somewhere that is special to them both, so we figured it would be perfect!

Deena + Sari, I wish you nothing but love, happiness, health, and success. I feel so blessed to call you my friends, and I hope that these photos take a special place in your heart. Enjoy <3

THANK YOU to EVERYONE who participated, spread the word, and who supports me and my work. Without you, I would not be able to do what I love.

There were 37 blog comments on my HOLY MOLY blog, so the odds were pretty good for those of you who entered the contest!

Now, let’s review what this lovely person will win….

One Full Portrait Session

FINE PRINT:
* The prize is one photo session, in or around the Portland, OR and metro area. It does not include any prints or digital files, those are sold separately.
* Prize must be redeemed, and session held by September 30th, 2011.
* The prize is not redeemable for cash value.

And now…. the winner of the contest is……

Comment number 25!!! BETH!!!!!!!

Beth- email me at courtneyjade@courtneyjade.com to schedule your session date! I am so excited to meet and take photos of you and your family!!! Congratulations, and thank you for all of your support!!!

To everyone else, I can’t thank you enough for playing and supporting me!!!
<3

There is a non-refundable deposit of $100 due to book your session time. If you select a package, the remaining package amount will be due on the day of your session.
You can also just purchase the $100 session and purchase prints/digital negatives at their regular price a la carte.

Do you want to win a free session with Courtney Jade Photography!? Well, it’s easy!!!
All you have to do is:

1. “like” Courtney Jade Photography on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you have done so.

2. Post “HOLY MOLY! Courtney Jade Photography is giving away a FREE SESSION! Check out her blog for more info: www.courtneyjade.com/blog“ on FB or Twitter, and leave a comment here saying you have done so, and link to where it’s posted (must be a public page). Extra credit if you tag my FB page when posting

You can post one comment per time that you share #2 per day. All additional comments will be deleted. This means that if you post on your page more than once, you better your chances of winning!

Then wait until I hit 2,000 fans! Once I reach this goal, I will select a winner from one lucky commenter on this post!

FINE PRINT:
* The prize is one photo session, in or around the Portland, OR and metro area. It does not include any prints or digital files, those are sold separately.
* Prize must be redeemed, and session held by September 30th, 2011.
* The prize is not redeemable for cash value.

SPREAD THE LOVE, AND GOOD LUCK!!!

Of course, how could I go over there without snapping a few shots of her adorable daughter, Violet?! I have been taking Violet’s photos since she was 3 months old, and it’s crazy to see how big she’s getting! She’s talking up a storm, can sing all of her ABC’s, and loves to model for me! Violet just turned two this past fall, it’s crazy how fast time flys!!

I just can’t get over how cute she is! Thanks for being my impromptu model sweet little violet, you are fabulous!

<3

She wrote:

I’ll be emailing you tomorrow about how to receive your prize! Get ready for some VERY yummy cupcakes!

Thank you all for participating in my giveaway, and spreading the word! Keep your eyes peeled for the next one

I’ve chosen one of my all-time favorite places- Saint Cupcake!

One lucky winner will get to pick their six favorite cupcake flavors, frostings and sprinkles to be made into their own personal “cupcake kit”! The winner can choose to send the cupcakes to themselves, or anyone they want (in the Continental US)! Don’t miss out on this super sweet deal!!!

By this point, you’re probably drooling.
You’re also probably wondering “How do I win?!”

Details Shmetails

You will have FIVE chances to win by completing the steps below. A random winner will be announced on Monday, August 2nd. Here is what you must do to win!
**For you to have FIVE entires, you MUST leave each comment SEPARATELY**

1. “Like” Courtney Jade Photography on Facebook, comment back here that you did.

2. “Like” Saint Cupcake on Facebook, comment back here that you did.

3.  Share this contest on Facebook (please tag Courtney Jade Photography and Saint Cupcake in your post) and comment back here that you spread the word!

4. Leave a comment response to this question: “If you were a cupcake, what flavor would you be and why?”

5. Lastly, tweet about it and come back here and link to your tweet!

Please be advised that all comments are moderated by me. If you do not see your comment right away, please do not post again. I will moderate all comments as fast as I can

Good luck!!! May the sweetest little cupcake win!!!

Contact me for more details- courtneyjade@courtneyjade.com

this is jaimee.
jaimee works for Toni & Guy.
she is my hair stylist.
she’s been doing my hair for almost 6 years now.
the first time she did my hair was right before i flew out to meet mark for the first time.
she is beautiful.
she has one of the kindest hearts of anyone i know.
her laugh is even pretty, and infectious.
my dog de-flowered her dog (hehe!)
she has a great sense of humor.
she is creative, and full of fun ideas.
we shot this photo at our condo in Costa Rica last week during a mini-photo shoot.
i heart her <3

more to come soon…