BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I enjoy the thrill of putting together a costume.
I decided a month ago that I wanted to be Beetlejuice this year since my hair was kinda green.

So then it became a matter of putting together my costume since I don't like buying packaged costumes (unless it's perfect like my Peter Pan Costume haha)  I bought my pants at Forever 21, tank top at Target, and tie at Party City. I owned the jacket already. Special effects make up was purchased at Spirit Halloween: white cream, green grease, purple and black eyeshadow, liquid latex, and brown browshadow (pre-owned). Shout out to my friend Amanda Fonseca for instructing me on how to achieve make up I wanted!

“BEETLEJUICE”

“BEETLEJUICE”

“BEETLEJUICE”

Lastly, my roots had grown out and I needed them green (plus I needed a hair trim) so I went to Jessica at Gold & Braid Salon in Mission Viejo, CA and I was thrilled with the results of a green shadow root and silver ends. 

Halloween has been twice as fun the last 4 years since I have been able to dress up with my significant other. This year we went as gender-bending Beetlejuice and Lydia Deets. We celebrated Halloween at our friend Ali's birthday party and we had a fun little photoshoot. 

My husband Chris had all the clothes and hat already so I bought some black lace for a veil, created a polaroid, and he borrowed my 35mm camera (I couldn't find my polaroid camera!).

“My whole life is a dark room”

— Lydia Deets

Our new friend

“I myself am strange and unusual”

— Lydia Deets

“I’m the ghost with the most, babe!”

— Beetlejuice

How was your Halloween? Who did you dress up as? 

[Picture LIFE] The Warren Family

I met the Warrens in September of 2013 through my husband Chris. Chris and Rosa went to high school together, played music together, and have continued to be friends. Rosa is a HUGE Disney fan and I did a small family session with them at the California Adventure Hotel when they were visiting. Rosa and her family currently live in Santa Clara, so we set up a shoot during our stay over the holidays. I was ecstatic to take their photos again, especially with Rosa being pregnant! We started off the evening by taking some family portraits at a local park. The boys were dressed as classy gentleman. Here are a few of my favorite:

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Rosa and James moved into this 900sqft house in September of 2011. In March 2015, they will be saying goodbye to this home but then saying hello to their new home in Cupertino, CA. In the past few years they grew from being two adults sharing custody of Cohen & Max, to gaining full custody, getting married, having their own child, and two canines. Now their next baby boy is on his way! 

“It has been an amazing experience and has offered us a lot of insight into living humbly, loving each other, problem solving and staying close. ”

— Rosa Warren

James and his mother set out to make ravioli with sausage for dinner.

This was the wedding favor James & Rosa gave away: a bag of coffee beans. They own their own coffee roasting company that James started in their basement. Check out Chromatic Coffee Co. on Facebook and Stop by if you ever find yourself in Santa Clara! 

“We are a great team. Not just me and James, but all 5 of us. We each have a special role in the family, and we embrace what that is, and work together. Each component is very necessary. ”

— Rosa Warren

“We are a family that talks about everything. There is no emotion to big or to small for us to have a conversation about. This is also the mantra for our marriage. James and I have an open book policy, and it’s so great, because it really keeps us each other’s best friends, and biggest critics. We aren’t afraid to fight or disagree. Where he’s made incredible sacrifices, I have made many as well. We keep each other accountable. We know that even when it gets tough, the only way out is through it. It makes the good stuff even better!”

— Rosa Warren

Max, age 6, drew his momma a picture of their family. Only he and Leo had hair.

“Being a big family in a little space means that there’s a lot of fun to be had, I really do think it keeps us so close and connected. But the other side of that means there isn’t much “me” space or time for any of us. Feelings get hurt, people feel crowded and sometimes it can be hard. We all have to sacrifice some wants and desires sometimes, for things that are important to the greater good of the group.”

— Rosa Warren

Max got a hand-me-down camera for Christmas and took some pictures while I was. Photographer in the making I tell you! 

Brothers being brothers. They love each other, I promise! 

And then James took a close up picture of me with Max's camera.

“We became a family in this home, I met and got to know my step sons and became a Wife and a Mother in this home, we had our third baby in this home, we all did so much growing here. It will be incredibly hard to leave. But we’ll take all these incredible memories, and valuable lessons with us. It will always be in our hearts! Well, except for the part where we have to share a bathroom - as a family of 6, I’m betting we won’t miss that at all.”

— Rosa Warren

[Picture LIFE] The Evans Family

I met the Evans family just before Christmas through Jaclyn's sister Cat. Jaclyn and Colin have been married for over 4 years and have two beautiful little girls: Karaleigh age 2, and Aria age 4. When I met their girls, they were all about performing, poking, and playing. Normal kid stuff. Cat had told me about her sister Jaclyn's wonderful massages and her family's unique lifestyle. She mentioned that Jaclyn enjoyed bartering services and well, I can't resist a good massage so Chris (my husband) and I reached out to Jaclyn about trading a photo shoot for massages for us. I was intrigued by the lifestyle that they lead and couldn't wait to document it and spend more time with them.

The Evans family lives at the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains in a 500sqft home that has a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living room combo. This September will mark 5 years in their humble abode.

Jaclyn describes their lifestyle as, "Rewilding; transitioning from a lifestyle of relying on society to being self reliant. Every change in perception and choice makes a big difference, and successful changes fuel that fire to continue on. Whether it be composting, foraging, fire making, or making our own soap." 

Karaleigh is on the left and Aria is on the right. I arrived soon after they woke up that chilly winter morning.

Colin makes his family butter coffee and butter hot chocolate. 

Even his girls drink the coffee sometimes. 

Karaleigh was not a fan of the "gooey egg" that daddy boiled and made momma eat the gooey part. 

First, Aria wanted to show me their fort.

And then it was Karaleigh's turn.

Jaclyn: Come sit and drink coffee with me. We do that together.
Colin: I don't like to sit by you *jokingly*
Jaclyn: You can squat. You like to do that. 
Colin: I can do that :-)

As part of their organic and natural lifestyle, Colin and Jaclyn only drink water from springs, like ones they find here. 

Even though the girls haven't seen the Disney princess movies like most little girls, they know all of the songs by heart and enjoy playing with their dolls. Rapunzel is Aria's favorite. 

Karaleigh is quite the ham and loves performing for anyone. I predict she will be an actress or performer of some kind when she's older. In this photo she is "pinning" (spinning). She can't pronounce her s's yet. I can't handle how adorable these two chickies are.

While dad makes a fire in their bedroom, the girls practice their hand drill skills that they learned at a nature awareness program in Felton called Fox Tracks. The three of them attend every Monday.

“Our inspiration for parenting comes from the old tribal mindset. Our culture is not set up to support this but we do what we can to bring it back to the roots of togetherness, songs, story telling, and following our children’s natural desires and passions rather than imposing those things. This is a reason we have chosen the unschooling route.”

— Jaclyn Evans

Time for some archery Aria got her own bow and arrows for Christmas. 

It was a wee bit chilly outside at 10:30 am in the mountains. 

Ilford 400 - 35mm film

Karaleigh was looking for some help with Aria's bow and arrow.

Every parent needs their own space. This is Colin's star jointed annex that he built himself

The bottles on the floor were collected to store fresh spring water.

Colin's standing workstation helps improve posture and focus when working on the computer.

Jaclyn wanted some photographs of Colin on his slack line. Have you ever tried walking on one of this things? It's hard! 

“Our house is small and can get messy. We get make trips to Goodwill often as we aspire to live in a yurt one day with more space to pursue our lifestyle dreams. In the meantime, while our kids are real little, I like to remember the quote ‘cobwebs be quiet, dust go to sleep, cus I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep’”

— Jaclyn Evans

[Picture LIFE] Adventure in the Redwoods

Over Thanksgiving break, my boyfriend and I traveled from Orange County to the Bay area. We spent a day in San Jose, a day in San Francisco, and half a day in Santa Cruz. I took a lot of photographs on my iPhone and posted them on my instagram: @picturesomething over the whole weekend 
Here's a mini session of Chris and I that we took on our drive through the Santa Cruz mountains. Enjoy! 

Thank you for stopping by! Please "like" this post or leave a comment with your thoughts!

- S

[Picture LIFE] Syc Amore

I had the pleasure of photographing my friend Julie aka Poison IV (derby name) aka Sc Amore before she moved to New Orleans. She's a wonderful human being and I am going to miss her presence in my life. 

 Thank you for your friendship these past few years and I hope to visit you in NOLA soon. 

[Picture LOVE in MOTION] Cori & Kristal Proposal

Here's a fun story!
Kristal (gal in the red shirt) has been a great friend of mine for about 4 years. She planned on celebrating her birthday early with friends at Disneyland. Well Cori, her girlfriend, decided to hijack her birthday celebration with a proposal. So everyone was in on the surprise and Kristal was absolutely clueless! I showed up just in time for Cori to pop the question at Snow White's wishing well and well...why don't you watch the video and see what happened for yourself. 

I am so excited for you two! I wish you the very best and look forward to when you'll be able to legally marry here in California! 

[Picture LOVE] Suzanne & Jordan Engaged!

  I recently did an engagement session with these two Love birds in Laguna Beach, CA. A friend of mine had pointed out this spot to me just a couple months ago and I knew the next photo shoot I wanted on the beach would be here. I've known Suzanne for a couple years through church and she has modeled for me in the past. I was thrilled to hear of her engagement and honored to be asked to take their engagement photos. 

I hope you enjoy!