Forever Awaiting Nov.13th

I have a confession to make....I really love Justin Bieber.  I've loved him and his music for a really long time now and he is finally releasing his 3rd studio album, Purpose, on November 13th.  It has been 3 years since his last album dropped so I am ecstatic.  He has recently released two singles off  his upcoming album, "What Do You Mean" and "Sorry", respectively.

He had a star studded social media campaign while counting down to the release of "What Do You Mean".  Stars from Ryan Seacrest and Ellen Degeneres to Ariana Grande and Kendall Jenner would take a picture of themselves holding a sign with "What Do You Mean" written on it and however many days left until the song came out.

I thought this was such a creative and different way to spread the word about not only Justin's new song but his comeback too.  You all know that Justin hit a rough patch and was getting in to trouble but he has finally found his way back to what is most important: MUSIC!

He made a video for "What Do You Mean"  starring John Leguizamo and himself.   The video was more like a mini movie rather than a normal music video.  I loved it.  When his single "Sorry" dropped I was blown away.  It is definitely my favorite out of the two singles.  His voice is so beautiful in it.

He also released an acoustic version which is my absolute favorite because it really shows off what his voice is really capable of without any beats or music taking it over.  There is a video for "Sorry" which stars a group of girl dancers.   The video is fun and full of bright colors and let's just say those girls can dance!

People might not like Justin Bieber but there is no denying his talent and I am so glad he is back to making music.  November 13th can't come fast enough!

Stephens Wedding.

I got the privilege to be apart of two of my friend's, Austin and Caiti, wedding by being their wedding photographer.  This was my very first wedding to do photography at so I knew I wouldn't be able to do all of it by myself so I hired Lorian Graziano, a girl I went to high school with to help me.

Lorian, my assistant

I was so extremely nervous about how the pictures were going to turn out because the wedding was outside at 7:30 p.m. which means it was dark pretty much the whole time.  I am by no means a professional photographer so I wasn't sure how to approach a night shoot.  Luckily, my assistant Lorian had a light kit that helped enormously.

The Groomsman

On the day of the wedding, Lorian and I got there few hours early to capture some pictures of the bridal party getting ready. One of my best friends was a groomsman and I knew all the other groomsman so that created a fun and comfortable atmosphere.  Once we got through doing getting some pictures of everyone getting ready  we decided to go ahead and get some groomsman pictures with the groom out of the way.  We took the guys outside so we could use the venue as a background.  Once we got done it seemed like time flew.  The bride originally wanted to take bridesmaids pictures before the ceremony but we ended running out of time.


The ceremony finally started and went pretty well except that we lost sunlight way faster than anticipated.  With the help of Lorian, we were able to get a decent amount of ceremony pictures.   After the ceremony we took family pictures and some couple pictures and thankfully they turned out great due to Lorian's lights. I made Lorian actually take the pictures while I directed people where to stand.

The bride and groom had finally had enough of picture taking so we followed them inside for their grand entrance and to capture their first dance.  We continued shooting throughout all the normal  wedding things like cake cutting, boutique toss and dancing.  This was a great learning experience for me.  I learned a lot of do's and don't's.  After going through 1000 pictures I'm finally done editing.  I can't wait to see what the bride and groom think of all of them!

Austin and Caiti

Crimison Peak

I have been anxiously awaiting for the newest movie by Guillermo del Toro called Crimson Peak to be released.  It stars Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowsk, Charlie Hunnam and my favorite Tom Hiddleston.  I initially really wanted to go see the movie for the simple fact that Tom Hiddleston is in it but the more and more I watched the trailer and different teasers the more I actually wanted to see the movie for the story itself.

My aunt and uncle, cousin Brittany, sister Allie and myself

 I had planned to go see it with my cousin opening weekend but I ended up having to cancel for work but I finally got to go see it this week with my cousin, aunt, uncle and sister.

Crimson Peak is set in back in the Victorian Era and is classified as a gothic romance, horror and mystery.  The plot of the movie according to IMDb is:  " In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author (Mia Wasikowsk) is torn between love for her childhood friend (Charlie Hunnam) and the temptation of a mysterious outsider (Tom Hiddleston).  Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers."

From a filmmaking perspective this movie was absolutely beautiful.  With having experience in the art department and wardrobe department, this movie excelled in both.
First off the production design was breathtaking.  It was so detailed and fit the time period to a tee. By using great techniques the art design was able to make the house that this story took place in a character itself.  Katie Rife of the A.V. Club must agree because she wrote " The production design is the real star of Crimson Peak."

The costume design was simply spectacular.  I honestly couldn't stop staring at every piece of clothing that anyone had on during the entire movie. I was in awe. I couldn't imagine getting a chance to work in the wardrobe department on a movie like this.

Now from an average movie goer's perspective,  I thought the acting was fabulous and of course all the costumes.  However, I really didn't like the way the ghost looked, it was a bit ignorant. The story wasn't what I expected either and ended up being a really sad love story which I loved.  It was a bit too gory at times as well but I mean it is a horror movie so that is expected.  Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Haunted Houses

Our group

One of the many family traditions my family has is going haunted housing every year.  We have been doing this since I was in 7th grade.  We all get to invite a friend to come over and watch a scary movie and eat pizza.  Then go haunted housing.   I love going and getting scared out of my mind.  It is one of my favorite traditions.  This year we went to three different haunted houses.

The truck at the Newcastle Haunted House

The first one we went to is in Newcastle and not only was it a haunted house but it was also a zombie hunt.  I had never been to a zombie hunt before but it was a ton of fun.  A zombie hunt is where you shoot zombies with paintball guns.  This zombie hunt was setup to where we rode on a trailer that was pulled by a truck that drove us around the area where the zombies were and we just went crazy on them with our paintball guns.  It was really exhilarating.  The haunted house was not so good but it only cost $5.  They also had a creepy maze we did while we waited for our zombie hunt to begin.

The second haunted house we went to was the Trail of Fears in Bridge Creek.  Trail of Fears is a fundraiser that Bridge Creek High School puts on.  So its not the scariest haunted house but its only $10 and for a good cause. They have the trail setup as if you were walking through a zoo of fears which I thought was really creative and different.


We ended our night out at the Katt's Haunted Forest in the city.  This was by far the best haunted house of the night.  The only bad thing about it was we did have to wait in line for a while but it was definitely worth it.  I was scared during the whole thing. So I think it is safe to say we had yet another successful year of haunted housing!  

Pumpkin Patch

My family and I went to TG Farms Pumpkin Patch in Newcastle yesterday. It only cost $12 to get in.  Once we got in we went over to see all the farm animals.  They have goats, bunnies, ponies and much more.  We got to go in the cage with the goats to pet and feed them.  One of the goats kept following me around.


After we got done feeding the goats we went and did the hay and corn maze.  The corn maze is my favorite out of the two.  We always play hide in seek in it which can get very intense. When we finally found our way out of the mazes we got to go take a ride around the pumpkin patch on trailer pulled by a tractor.  It was actually really relaxing and a neat way to see what all the patch offered.


Once the tractor ride was over we finally got to go to the patch and pick out our pumpkins. It took a while but I finally found the perfect pumpkin now all I have need to do is figure out what I'm going to carve in it!  The pumpkin patch is one of my favorite things to do during the fall and I had a great time like always.  And the weather was beautiful!    

Halloween With Pets.

Jake wearing his new costume

Yes, I am that person that must buy my pets a halloween costume every year.  I currently have two cats, Sugar and Oliver and one dog, Jake.  This will be Jake's first halloween and he is so excited.  No for real I bought him a devil costume and he wants to wear it all the time.  However, he is the exact opposite of my cats, go figure. Oliver actually doesn't mind the costume and he is fairly easy to dress but Sugar on the other hand goes insane and refuses to walk once she is dressed.  I am not quite sure what my cats are going to be yet this year but I want to find them something that isn't too heavy so it will be easier for them to walk around and play in.

Oliver and Sugar last Halloween

Now, I am going to take a minute and complain about the way pet costumes are made because it makes me really mad.  First off, Jake's costume has a hood on it but they didn't make a strap or anything to go around his neck so that it would stay on so I now have to sew on some sort of strap myself.  Secondly, the only place you can find actual clothes that are made for a cat is online and I just don't have the time for that.  I want to be able to walk in the store and go to the cat isle and them have a section of cat clothes is that too much to ask for.  So I have to settle for buying my cats dog costumes which don't fit them the way the need to but I guess they work.  I mean I really only dress them up so I can take a few pictures of them to show everyone how crazy I am about my pets anyways.  It's just something I like to do and because Halloween is my most favorite holiday!