courtney jade’s blog

I had a really great shoot today, with a really awesome couple- Anna Kate + Jared.

Here are a couple cute ones I quickly pulled from their session, enjoy!
More to come soon!

I think that people “see” me differently.
I think this often.
People often tell me things like “you have such a beautiful life”, “you’re always so happy!”, “you are SO talented! How do you do it!?”, and “I wish I could be like you, live your life”.
These are all very flattering comments, don’t get me wrong.

I do believe that I have a beautiful life. I believe that life itself is beautiful.

Actually, I believe that life is what you make of it. You get what you give. Per my experience, this is a true statement… or as much truth as I know.

However, sometimes I think that the internet has a way of masking some reality to life. This is in no way a “poor me” or “my life is so awful” post. I feel like I am extremely blessed, and very fortunate for every single bit of my life. I have an amazing boyfriend, a job I love, well to be exact, two jobs I love, and I lead a very happy life.

A good friend once told me “you are a genuinely happy person… you’re lucky, that’s a pretty rare trait.” I, of course, argued with him that it wasn’t luck, that I just try to put into this world what I would like in return, and he of course said something like “yea, that’s the perfect Hallmark answer”. I laughed, and said I was being for real, and he said something like “I’m serious, not many people see the world like you do.”

This made me think. Am I a “happy person” because I choose to focus on the good things? Am I naive? Have I just been lucky enough to avoid any major hardship in this lifetime so far?

Maybe.
Maybe a little of all of it.

But then I think… times haven’t always been great. I work really hard to earn what I get, and to be where I’m at right now. Life hasn’t always been easy. I was not a silver spoon child, nor was I showered with expensive, lavish gifts growing up. I think that what I was given was something so much greater than all of those “things”. I was given more love than I could possibly ask for. I was given an amazing family who supported me and believed in me. I was given wisdom, and the tools to earn success. I was taught that hard work reaps great rewards. I was taught that you treat others how you want to be treated. (thanks Dad <3)
When I think about that, I feel really lucky.

I see some of my friends struggle. I see them helplessly try to make it out there in this world, and fail. Get up again, and fall on their face again.
These are the same friends who’s parents paid their way through school. Who I was extremely jealous of, because they have absolutely no debt for the education and degree that they received.
And then I look at my cards. The ones I’ve been dealt, the one’s I’ve held on to, and the one’s I’ve earned.

I have a pretty good hand.

I think it’s a combination of love, luck, perseverance, and effort.

I am not perfect. I have not been given anything other than love and support to work with. I am very blessed, but I deal with the same problems and hardships as a lot of others out there.
I have debt. I have bad days. I get stressed out really easily. I spill things on my favorite outfits. I trip and fall in front of LOTS of people. I mess up, make mistakes, often. I laugh at all of the wrong, and most inappropriate times. I judge others when I shouldn’t. I am stubborn. I always bite off more than I can chew. I butt into conversations, and cut people off, often. I worry too much. I worry about money too much. I set up goals for myself, and if I don’t achieve them, I beat myself up over it. Sometimes goals that are even 100% out of my control.

I don’t know everything. And I don’t want to. But I know enough.
I know that if I waste my time and energy focusing on everything that’s negative (which I could), then there would be no time or energy left to dedicate to the things that are good and positive in my life.
Dumping time and energy into negative things is like throwing them down the sewer. You will never see anything good come from that… but the landfill will always be there to haunt you. When you spend time focusing on the good, and focusing your energy into the positive things in your life, it’s like watering a garden. You can see the fruits of your labor grow and blossom into something beautiful, something tangible.

To me, the positive is addicting.

One time in high school, I was having a hard time. One of my friends, I noticed, was constantly being negative. When I was around her, I felt awful. Dull, dismal. I soon realized that she was constantly being negative. Towards herself, and others. I made a conscious decision to really try to be happy. Consciously make an effort to turn a negative into a positive, or to just be in a good mood. This made me think about things that I loved, and made me want to surround myself with those who were also positive people. When my friend noticed this, they accused me of being “fake”, and preceded not to talk to me.  How can someone be angry with you for being happy? It wasn’t forced, yet I was making a conscious decision to focus on things that made me happy… Eventually, although I was never 100% sure of why… that “friend” and I stopped talking. It really hurt my feelings, for a really long time. We were really close, best friends even. And I didn’t know what happened. Maybe she was just too negative? Maybe I was coming off wrong. Regardless, I guess it doesn’t really matter.

I don’t really know what inspired me to write this entry, but I hope that it gives you a little bit of insight into who I am, and “why” I am “so happy all of the time”.
It’s hard for me to be around negativity. I see it so clearly, dragging people down, weighing the world down, and my natural instinct is to first, try to nurture the negative. Help those people see things in a more positive light. But after so much negative feedback, regardless of the positive I try to throw in, some people just never cheer up. And so, it seems, my sunshiny rays of happiness are being sucked into a dismal abyss, and nothing is reflected back. This becomes almost as dangerous to me, as throwing something down into the sewer. If you see no fruit, no glimmer of hope… what’s left there but a happy-sucking-siren? To be quite honest, it’s exhausting. I don’t like giving up on these people, because they are often people who I know and love. But sometimes, for my own sanity and health, I know that I need to take a break from the situation. It’s kind of a catch-22.

Anyways, this has gotten to be MUCH more extensive than I started it out to be… and i’m exhausted! I have 2 shoots tomorrow- an engagement, and a newborn, and I still need to make sure my batteries are charged and my beanbag is stuffed, so I’d better hop off to bed!
Thanks for listening.

Oh, and I love you Dad, happy Father’s day.
Thank you for the love. And the lessons <3

Being an artist seems to come with a few fun, yet random, perks. One of my favorite (and this one is not so random), is having a good network of creative friends. I am constantly inspired, challenged, and encouraged by my creative network of friends (I will now refer to them as my CNF), and I often find myself feeling very blessed to know such talented and amazing people.

Some of the people in my CNF I have known since childhood, others, I happen to meet here and there, and everywhere (Thank you Dr. Suess!). More recently, at one of our favorite “spots”, Jade, we met Josh. Josh was our waiter the first time that we went to Jade, and he was probably the friendliest waiter I’ve ever had. You can read more about our first trip to Jade here.

Anyways, Josh is a foodie himself. I’m not quite sure if he refers to himself as that, but he definitely knows the best places in Portland to eat good food. He has a blog called PDXploration where he writes and posts photos of his dining experiences. Check it out, he has some great info and his pics are awesome! He sets up group dinners once in a while for his CNF, and I was lucky enough to be added to the list!

This is the first of the group dinners that we were able to attend, but it definitely won’t be the last! A group of fun, creative people, delicious food, and a warm inviting atmosphere is sure to mean a good time!
And now, I will relish and reminisce all about our fabulous, awesomely delicious dinner ::siiigghhh::

Taste Unique
Just a few blocks (literally) from the house that I grew up in, in my old neighborhood, there is a freshly renovated strip of buildings. In that little block, is a cute little place called “Taste Unique”. They say themselves that “Taste Unique isn’t a real restaurant. If you walk in at lunchtime we will seat up to 10 people and you can choose
one of our daily specials, but our appearance places us somewhere between a Bistro and a Deli.”

They have an array of delicious dishes that you can take home and reheat for your family as well. They also offer cooking classes, and hold special dinner events once in a while. Check out their calendar for the most up to date happenings!

The owners, husband and wife, are extremely friendly! They are kind, warm, and well, let’s be honest, who doesn’t get that cozy new best friend feeling when being fed amazing foods by someone? Ok, maybe it’s just me…. hahaha! Anyways, they are great! Lawrence is from Rome, Stefani from Italy, and together, they create some fantastic dishes!

We started off with the Millefoglie di Verdure- delicious multilayered casserole of 7 different vegetables.

This was INSANELY delicious!! Each vegetable is cooked separately and then stacked, so you get the most flavor out of each  different ingredient. (Mark’s favorite was the zucchini on top- YUM!) Stefani explained to us that when she was in cooking class, they spent a LOT of time practicing cutting vegetables, so instead of tossing them, she found a way to make something delicious out of them… ok, well she was modest, I added the delicious part! I can’t help it! I felt like a judge on Iron Chef eating this one, superb quality.

Needless to say, I don’t think any of us left a morsel of this dish on our plates.

Next was the Risotto con gli Asparagi- Risotto with asparagus and a drop of lemon. Topped with real home ground Parmigiano.

Ummm, can you say “comfort food”??? This dish was something I could eat on a daily basis. The cheese, the asparagus, the risotto… mmmm it was all just sooo yummy!

Up next, just when I was almost full, came the next dish- Fettine al Marsala Beef cutlets cooked in Marsala and served with ‘summer style’ mashed potato side.

I also snagged a couple shots of them preparing this dish in the open kitchen

This dish was incredible. The food was all so simple, so pure. The flavors were bold and rich, you could really taste the Marsala, the beef, the potatoes mixed with celery root. Truly gourmet food.
They also served us fresh foccacia bread (baked every hour, fresh) with an olive oil and some type of salt sprinkled on top. I’ve never had bread that wasn’t garlic bread that was SO good!!

For dessert, we had -Maritozzi con la Panna -fresh baked sweet bread stuffed with whipped cream. One of the most famous Roman traditions.

Simple, light, fluffy, a tad bit sweet… I could have eaten about 4 of these they were so good! Lawrence was telling us that in Rome, they are no kind of delicacy at all, more that they are “street food”, served in bars, dunked in coffee (which would have also been REALLY good).

Even baby Maya loved it!

We were also served fresh Caffè, which is more amazing than regular espresso or coffee. First, the little cup is coated with a sweet cream, then the espresso is poured in. The sugar in the cream stabilizes the shots of espresso so that it doesn’t turn bitter, and it also leaves a beautiful creme on the top. Y-U-M! Mark doesn’t even like coffee, but he didn’t leave a drop of this liquid deliciousness behind!!!

The restaurant itself also has a warm charm. It is decorated with old family photos and real kitchen gadgets that have been handed down from generations before. They even have some articles of clothing hanging from the ceiling that were given to Stefani from her family. Their logo is brilliant, a silhouette of Stefani’s mother, from an old photo of her cooking. They also have an awesome chalkboard menu. I love chalkboard menus.

All in all, if you aren’t drooling by this point, then something must be wrong with you! If you live in the Portland area, stopping by this fabulous little joint is a must. Eat in, take something home and be the “dinner hero”, or sign up for a class. Stefani & Lawrence, the owners, are genuine and kind, and they clearly just want to share the love of good food. Mark and I will be going back for sure, Italian is my favorite, and this place is a home run! Thank you so much for your hospitality and delicious food!!! Taste Unique gets an A+ from us both.

<3

Let me just first start off by saying that this is one AWESOME couple you are about to see.

Kayla is beautiful, smart, optimistic and SO fun to be around.
When we first met, I complimented her on her adorable boots, and she took it off and let me try it on! Basically, she is totally RAD.

John is a ton of fun, sweet, and someone who could cheer anyone up on their worst day. He is so in love with Kayla, and it’s evident, even just in the way that he looks at her.

They met at summer camp years ago, and their summer romance just never ended.
They are fabulous, and they are even more fabulous together.
I can’t wait to shoot their wedding this summer! Kayla + John, enjoy your pics!

Their wood cookies So cute!

Major props to John for squeezing on this bench! I just adore this shot

Did I mention they are hardcore U of O fanatics?

Such a fun couple!!!

<3

well, if you’ve been following me for a while now, then you know how I’ve been dying to get a pair of Toms shoes. I am happy to announce that I have finally bought my first pair!! These shoes are  SO comfortable, and completely amazing, I’m considering investing in a few more pairs for shooting in

First, if you don’t already know about Toms shoes, then you should hop on over to their website and see what they’re all about. It’s a fantastic company that has it’s heart at it’s core. For each pair of shoes that are purchase, a pair is donated to a child in need. One for one. So not only are you getting an adorable pair of kicks, but you are also helping a good cause! See more in the video at the end of this post (also posted previously in my christmas list post).

I first found out about Toms a couple of years ago. My photo friends Matt and Kevin had some, and they swore that they were the most comfortable shoes that they’d ever worn (i agree). I looked into getting some, but at the time, money was tight and I wasn’t able to.  Then, AT&T came out with a commercial featuring them a while back, and they’ve been on my mind ever since.

I recently discovered that one of my old friends from high school is now working for Toms shoes! He does freelance artistry for them, and his work is awesome!! Once I found this out, I emailed him to find out how I would go about getting myself an awesome pair of these “custom Toms”, and the rest is history! He did such a fantastic job with them, I just HAD to take them out for a mini photo shoot so that I could always remember how sweet they look. (Oh, and to share them with you all as well! hehe)

Without further adue, here are more photos than you’ll probably ever want to see of my custom Toms!

Needless to say, I LOVE MY TOMS!!!!!

If you’re interested in having some custom Toms as well, you can email my friend Alex at: Alex@MinchArt.com. He charges $20/hour, and most all pairs take an hour or less to do. Check out more of his work here: www.minchart.com

Support your fellow artist, support your soles, and support a good cause!!! These shoes kick butt!

xoxo <3

this is baby Grayson

I’m trying out a new slideshow program, let me know what you think!

The weekend before last I got to spend some time with my lovely, wonderful step-sister and her two fabulous children, to shoot some photos.

McKenzie is now three years old, and a little firecracker! She has got an opinion of her own and she’s more than happy to share it with you. I just love little personalities! It’s so fun to ask them silly questions and hear their answers. I’m convinced that child logic is amazing.

Then there’s the adorable Brady. He just turned one month, and this was the first time I met him. What. A. Doll. I could eat him up I love him so!! Congrats on the handsome baby boy Bowling family!!!

Sometimes, when I’m lucky, I’m able to get a photo of a child that is almost like a vision into their future. It doesn’t always happen, but it did this day. Maybe it’s just me and my eyes, but when I look at this photo, I see a much older McKenzie than just a three year old little girl. These are some of my favorite moments to capture <3 And isn’t she just gorgeous?? Watch out Steph, this one’s going to be a heartbreaker!!!

And who couldn’t love a face like Brady’s?? Just look at those eyelashes! They would make any girl i know completely jealous. Why is it that the boys are always the ones with the thick, beautiful, long lashes? Thank heavens for mascara!!

Thank you for letting me capture some special moments for you and your family Many more to come!!

<3

brian (awesome) + lea (beautiful) = beautifully awesome couple.

Over a year ago the beautiful Lea asked me to be a part of her and Brian’s most special day- in Costa Rica. This was my first destination wedding ever, and I am so glad that I was able to have such a wonderful bride and groom (and their friends) to experience it with!

Brian and Lea make such a beautiful couple, but they are also genuinely wonderful people. It’s not every day that you feel like your clients are friends that you’ve known forever, yet this is how they made me feel. Thank you to both of you for making me feel like such a part of your group, not just on your wedding day, but my entire stay in Costa Rica. Brian and Lea were married at the beautiful Tamarindo Diria Hotel in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

You are both lovely, I hope your photos will forever be a reminder of how extremely beautiful your day was.

view your slideshow here

the beginning.

<3

a while back i did it. i splurged.

i posted about it on my facebook page.. but never said what it was that i splurged on. it took about a month to get to me, but when it arrived from hong kong i couldn’t have been more excited!!! i have been wanting one forever now, so it’s really fun to have one… this is the beauty that i purchased:

a fujifilm instax mini 7s!!!

i also purchased 5 packs of film with it. It produces business card size polaroid photos, and i am in loooooove with them!!! Thank goodness they still make film for this baby, i hope they never quit!!

my first photos i took with it were of quincey and the flowers that mark brought me when he picked me up at the airport from costa rica

Then i took my fabulous friend Tonja out to a newer restaurant here that I’m in love with- Slappycakes for her birthday, and we had some Polaroid fun It’s a super awesome modern style restaraunt that is all about having fun, making pancakes, and enjoying deliciousness!! All of the staff is SUPER nice too! We ended up taking my dad there for his birthday the next weekend, we loved it so much! Oh, and they serve Stumptown coffee <3 win!

Making delicious pancakes!!

Us and our delicious blood orange mimosas! Yay birthday breakfasts!!!

My camera shaped pancake with butterscotch chips <3

The awesome booth decal! This place has STYLE!!!

Can you say “YUM!”?!

They came over and sang “Slappy Birthday” to Tonja, and gave her a deep fried banana with fresh made whipped cream and a candle to blow out

still learning to use the different settings on this polaroid cam… you can set it to indoors, cloudy, sunny, or really sunny…. i forgot to switch it, and it was bright out for these 2. Thanks to the random dude on the street who took these for us!!

And of course I had to get some fun pics of my boys and i

Mark bought me an amazing 7th Heaven bunny butt cupcake from JaCiva’s!!! THAT is LOVE! <3 Quincey wanted some, hahaha i love that pic!

<3

Needless to say, I’m putting my “splurge” to good use! And hopefully I’ll be able to use it soon on some of my photo shoots!

until the next post!

<3

I seriously have the BEST clients!!!

I was surprised today with this adorable and perfect treat from my most recent bride and groom (who were married in Costa Rica).

Thank you SO much!!! It totally made my day, and it was just so extremely thoughtful of you two

They are YUMMY! I may have to re-work my logo after all of this delicious inspiration