{Grateful on Sunday} Thanksgiving, Bday Treats and Gold Sunshine

i woke up on this beautiful 26th birthday of mine to my husband creeping into our bedroom carrying a starbucks red cup filled with gingerbread latte! i seriously LOVE it when he wakes up before me (and brings me treats in bed) haha. so that was a great start to a thankful weekend. every 7 years my birthday falls on thanksgiving which means i get to eat pumpkin pie AND carrot cake (my fav). im a lucky girl. its not sunday but i shall celebrate my gratitude early in honor of this wonderful double holiday. today i am grateful for....

colorful leaves

late night dates w/ miggy getting starbucks and walking in the valley

when the sunshine makes the leaves look golden

cozy pillows

when the sun turns the clouds golden

improving my crow pose

discovering an awesome view of seattle

funky packaging

 my cat who loves hiding in the cupboards

waking up to sunshine

when miggy surprises me with flowers

cold blue sky days

firey sunrises

beautiful baked goods

chillaxin

waking up to a surprise gingerbread latte on my birthday by my earlybird husband

gorgeous morning sunlight

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
xoxo Love, 

Chamonix

{Grateful on Sunday} Bringin' Home the Benjamins & the Gorgeous Pacific Northwest

Things are falling into place. It feels so good when you work so hard and finally you start to see results. This past month, my bank account has started growing and I set up my IRA and a brokerage account and people are starting to book photo shoots because they're finding me on Google organically (which still feels like a complete miracle!) and I've been able to make some fairly big purchases (like a new computer monitor and harddrives) without feeling guilty or going in debt. Feels good. Very good. It's especially rewarding because I've been making this money out of what feels like nothing. Granted "nothing" means like three years of 24/7 working and thousands of dollars on equipment, software, and workshops but whateva... it feels like nothin' haha Don't think I'm some gangsta swimmin' in a pool of hundred dollar bills or anything. I mean, we're talking a couple thousand dollars. That's it but it's so much to me. :D #feelinglikeabigshot This week (a.k.a. month) I am so grateful for this financial growth! 

I am also so grateful for officially launching the Maui branch of my family photography business (the Happy Film Company) and seeing Seattle & Maui side by side on my website,

 trees, trees, and more glorious evergreen trees everywhere I go, 

the beautiful sunset on the valley that I get to watch everynight,

finally starting to understand how the stock market works and dipping my toes in,  

going to Value Village with my brother and finding this gorgeous green creature, 

and then taking that gorgeous green creature home with us and laughing THE WHOLE WAY home as I drove behind them,

publishing my very first wedding video, 

FINALLY after three years of putting up with my broke-ass-but-still-clingin'-to-life-card-reader...I bought a shiny new one!

discovering a crazy delicious recipe that everyone is asking for,

treating myself to a girl's date with my neighbor and getting Shellac for the first time,

  

#PNW views from the middle of Lake Washington (views so good they nearly make you crash your car),

 colorful houses, 

driving with the sunset behind me, 

 quotes, 

homemade cake for breakfast, 

pretty letters from friends,

getting green juice as a surprise gift from Cheryl who couldn't stomach it haha,

taking action and buying my new computer monitor #makeithappen

 wild daisies,

my iPhone that lets me take pretty pictures all day long (easily a.k.a. without having to haul around my gigantic camera) 

the color of the trees when the sunset hits them, 

What are you grateful for today?

xoxo

Chamonix

{Grateful on Sunday} Hot Tubs, Card Games and Mandalas

This week the rain came back to Seattle after many weeks of glorious sunshine. I can't lie though, I'm loving it! I love the refreshing variety and the cozy days and the log fires and hot tubs with rain drizzling on my shoulders and face (keeping me from over heating). I have had such a crazy busy two weeks full of photo shoots and a wedding and now, for the rest of June, I get to enjoy some peace and quiet. I get to take a little break from shooting, focus on the business admin, read some books, do some yoga, go to a new book-club meeting and reassess what I'm doing, how things are going and where I want things to head from here on out. So nice. So many ideas have been flying through my head and I am so grateful for this quiet time to be able to sort it all out. 

This week I am grateful for experiencing my first Persian wedding, 

a midnight dip in the hot tub after a long wedding day, 

inspiration from a photography friend, 

playing cards with grandma and Miggy, 

and WINNING! (heck yes!)

when Cara sleeps in funny positions, 

tasty Irish bread that was kind of squishy, 

the beauty of Skype, 

reading a book that takes place on my home turf so I get to relate to all the local mentions,

whoever drew this and published it on the internet, 

midnight snack with lots of honey mustard, 

one of the most beautiful peaceful early mornings, 

celebrating my grandma's 91st birthday! (and my grandma!)

injecting health into my life, 

all the lessons I'm learning from drawing mandalas, 

soaking in the hot tub for probably 2 hours this morning and feeling fantastic afterwards. 

What are you grateful for today?

xoxo

Chamonix