France

Here is a view of Belgium from France. Next weekend we are going to the Champagne region of France which is only less than three hours away. We are taking the dogs and camping overnight somewhere and looking forward to it!

Torgny, Belgium

I think I'm spelling that right but I might be wrong. I'm still struggling with French and plan on taking classes as soon as I return in September after all my weddings and travels are done in the U.S. this summer. So in the future I'll be able to know a lot more about what is going on in Belgium. As of now, we lack a lot of understanding because we can't speak French or Dutch, the two official languages of Belgium. I want to learn Dutch as well but I know French will be easier because I already speak Spanish and I can read French, understand a little at times but Dutch is completely foreign to me.

Anyways here are some nice photos from the little town of Torgny, which is supposed to look like Provence, France. I haven't been to Provence, France so I can't say so but it was really beautiful.

Orval, Belgium

We went to a few places on Saturday that were really nice. The first was the Abbey, Orval, which brews their own beer of course. There are 7 Trappist Beers that you can find in Belgium and these beers are brewed by Trappist Monks inside the Abbeys. Orval was a beautiful setting and we had a meal and a couple of their beers at the local restaurant outside the Abbey called, L'Ange Guardien or The Guardian Angel. Since you often can't go inside the Abbeys you have to find the beer at a local restaurant outside the Abbey that usually serves beer, food, cheese and caters specifically to the people that come to taste the Abbey's beer. These are photos from the outside of the Abbey and the food-typical fare in Belgium, meat, potatoes, some sort of gravy and a little vegetable.

more mushrooms this weekend!

I bought a different kind of mushroom this weekend from the mushroom man. These come from the mountains of the Pyrenees! I can't remember what they are called but they smell good. I'm probably impressed by something that is rather ordinary if you are an expert at mushrooms but I am excited because you don't get a big variety of mushrooms in the U.S. unless you hunt them yourselves.

Mushrooms at the local Market

Okay, so now I'm starting to post things about my life in Belgium. There's a lot to say but I'll put the interesting things online for you. I'm really excited about eating mushrooms...not the magical kind, just the edible, delectable and gourmet kind. So at the local farmers market there appeared a great collection of mushrooms and I bought some shitake mushrooms to make a shitake, sake and almond pate. It was delicious! Interesting fact I read: If each family in the U.S.A. shopped one day a week at a local farmer's market and bought local food for one meal once a week, it would save 120 million barrels of oil a week used to transport non-local foods.

My "Little Nut"

This is my dog, "Little Nut" or "Peanut" and she likes to eat bees but today she got stung! I couldn't resist taking photos of her. She was so sad and still is...they are taken with my point and shoot camera so they aren't the most amazing quality but they are cute.

More of Marshall and Maria

I like to take non traditional engagement photos. It's fun just being natural and letting people find their comfort zone with the camera. Marshall and Maria have a variety of photos from their engagement shoot that was at Cox Arboretum, which is a popular place to photograph people. I always try to find different angles there as well as some of the more common places you see photos from. Here are a few different angles.

Marshall and Maria

Scroll down to see more photos

Marshall and Maria

Enjoy the photos!!! I love engagement shoots because I usually have a lot of time and we just have fun without the pressure of the wedding day.

Megan and Andy's wedding

Here is my favorite ring shot and then a fun group shot of Megan and Andy's wedding. Scroll down on the blog to see more of their wedding. The red roses are so luscious! If you click on the group photo it will go to a larger view of the photo.

Megan and Andy's wedding

I photographed Megan and Andy's wedding about a month ago and I know that they are anxious to see some of their photos on my blog. Here are a few of my favorites!

Amy and Silas

My cousin Amy got married last weekend! They had a beautiful wedding at a place that overlooks the Columbia River in Oregon at a place called Bridal Veil Lakes. It was a beautiful outside wedding. Amy and Silas help run a river rafting company in Maupin, Oregon called All Star Rafting and their wedding reflected their relationship with their outdoors lifestyle. Simple, fun, beautiful...Congratulations and Best wishes to them!