My chocolate cravings Banished!

October 17, 2008

Cookies

I love sweets. Always have. Apparently a tad more than others. Ok, so it’s more like an obsession I guess. I’ve always loved sugary treats-donuts, brownies, candy, ice cream, cake, cupcakes, frosting right out of the can even. I’m not particularly discriminating when it comes to sugar. Anyone who spends time with me has quickly learned that bribes involved baked goods are about 100% effective with me. Geoff can get me to agree to pretty much anything with the promise of a trip to the land of “hot, fresh, now” (that’s when the Krispy Kreme glazed donuts are just out of the oven, a sign lights up announcing the donuts are hot & fresh, right now!).

Recently, my mom wanted to try some kind of fat belly diet, which seemed like a good idea since I was starting to feel a bit frumpy. We did the diet together for a week, and then just kind of kept going, eating healthy for the first time (ever, to be perfectly honest). My one concern was dealing with the chocolate & sweets cravings, which has always been my downfall. I’d been doing ok but knew that sooner or later, I’d have a breakdown (usually near the bakery section at the grocery store, where the donuts are usually stale but I eat them anyways). I’d read on Yelp about someone addressing their chocolate cravings with acupuncture, so I thought I’d give it a try. I was already off to a great start, having had only 4 desserts in the span of 4 weeks (typically I’d need at least 1 sugary treat per day, minimum). However, this was due to extreme will power on my part, I was still experiencing daily cravings.

This was my first experience with acupuncture. The accupuncturist talked with me about the cravings for at least 30 minutes. I admitted to her & later my family, that my cravings are usually more like fantasies that can last for an hour or several. These fantasies are actually quite disruptive to my ability to focus & concentrate, as I might image various types of pie, and how delicious each different flavor might be, or going to Mrs Fields to get a frosted cookie (the cookie itself isn’t enough sugar, I really prefer it to be covered in butter cream frosting) and then a dozen nibblers to go with it. Unfortunately, the nearest Mrs Fields is at a mall about 20 minutes away, and so I have to have a fairly good reason to go there.

There more I began talking about the issue, I began to realize that it’s really quite a problem that I’ve been covering up & hiding for years. For example, when I worked in non-profits, I used to stop at a donut store every morning on my way to work & get 2 donut bars. However, in order to “save calories” I’d only eat the tops with the frosting. This is actually how I justified having a second donut. Whenever I’d go to any sort of a receptionist office with a candy bowl out, my entire focus became creating some sort of a diversion so I could take more candy than was appropriate. Geoff & I belong to a local photography group, and we often have our meetings at Kevin Chin’s loft. When his wife Nancy gets home, she usually bakes some cookies for the group & leaves the plate in the kitchen after passing it around. Most people don’t even have 1 cookie, but I’d usually grab 2 during the initial round. The rest of the evening I would spend strategizing more trips to the kitchen area-needing to refill my water, trips to the restroom, etc. & grab another cookie each time, well past the point of feeling sick. When I told Kevin about this, he laughed and said that on one occasion he & Nancy had noticed that while we were talking in the kitchen, that I stared at the plate of cookies the entire time, unable to really hear what they were saying.

As I began thinking about the issue more and more, I’ve been able to see patterns of behavior such as these examples, that I actually didn’t really realize weren’t “normal.” I’ve just always assumed that sugary treats are so delicious, it was right to spend hours each day desiring them. Hmm.

THE RESULTS: I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the acupuncture. It didn’t hurt at all, and after putting assorted needles into me, she left me alone for 20 minutes with soft music, candles and low lighting. It was very relaxing actually. But the results have been amazing. It’s like a switch has been flipped off. The cravings and thought patterns were totally gone, and I went into a bakery & few days later & saw all the various baked goods with no concern or urgent need to get something, very different from my past. After about a week, it started to wear off and the cravings came back, but with another treatment, the cravings have not yet returned. It has been been like night & day, I had no idea accunpuncture could be so powerful! Anyways, I thought I’d share my story. Let me know if you would like to get a referral, I’d be happy to pass along.

 sweets table brown pink

Cookies 2

 

 

 




Cristy & Charles featured on the Wedding Channel!

October 15, 2008

Cristy & Charles  had an elegant seaside wedding at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, and their awe-inspiring wedding has been selected as a feature story for the weddingchannel.com in their “Real Weddings” section. You can see it here:

weddingchannel.com

Copy of Copy of wedding ceremony Ritz Carlton




Rachel & Michael are Married!

October 13, 2008

Rachel & Michael are 2 of the most sweetest, beautiful & delightful couples you could ever hope to meet. Married at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, this couple is meant for one another. The ceremony took place  on the Gazebo Lawn, and the reception was held in the ballroom. Laura Little of Floramor designed the overall look and feel of the ceremony & ballroom based on Rachel’s love of a modern, fresh look & simple color palette. The couple used their date as part of their design theme, and I can already envision how the cover of their wedding album will look:

Half moon bay Ritz wedding invitation

Groom and parents

Groomsmen at the Ritz Carlton

Groomsmen celebrating

Bride in mirror

Rachel’s Vera Wang dress looked absolutely stunning on her. Here she is with none other than Mr. Tony White, the man who makes it all happen:

Tony White

Bride at HMB Ritz

Beautiful bride

Huppah Ritz Carlton Hlaf Moon Bay

Floral details

Groom coming down aisle

Bride coming down aisle

Groom seeing bride

Wedding ceremonies at Ritz Carlton

Ceremony Half Moon Bay

Bridesmaids Half Moon Bay Ritz Carlton

These two alternated between crying & giggling throughout their ceremony, it was very, very sweet:

Wedding celebration Ritz HMB

Bluffs Half Moon Bay

Laura transformed the ballroom into a dreamy setting filled with candle light:

Ballroom at the Ritz Carlton HMB

Ballroom decor candles

Godiva favors

Candle lit ballroom

Ballroom dancing

After the first dance Rachel changed into a dress made for dancing. cakes by Susan Morgan of Elegant Cheesecakes never fail to disappoint:

Cake cutting elegant cheesecakes

Garter toss

The couple took a moment to enjoy the sunset form the bluffs:

Sunset Ritz Carlton HMB




Featured in the latest issue of Bride & Bloom…

October 9, 2008

Congrats to Cyndie & Willie, their wedding is currently featured in the latest issue of Bride & Bloom. Their wedding was held at San Francisco’s City Hall, planned by Morgan Doan of Events by Morgan, who put together a fantastic design team!

Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-cover 

Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature1Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature2 Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature3Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature4 

Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature5 Bride-&-Bloom-winter08-feature6




Cute Favor Ideas

October 7, 2008

Always on the lookout for a clever favor idea, I’m posting some favorites to inspire you…the first ones are homemade jams and homemade lemon curd with homemade treats like this, it just doesn’t get any better.

Cute favors 3

This is a gift wrapped set of playing cards, which nicely ties into one of the themes of the wedding-the groom loves poker, and the wedding cake was done as hand of poker. Very clever!

Cute favors 4

People actually ate the apples, and the incense leaves were very unique.

Cute favors 5

This one here is from Omega & Tom’s wedding, they gave their guests a road trip play list, very cute.

Cute favors 6

The maple syrup is a nod to the groom’s Canadian heritage & the jelly beans were super cute in these little jars:

Cute favor ideas 2

The little blue box on the left looks innocent, but it held the most insanely delicious toffee I have ever tasted, and I could be easily bribed to do almost anything for some more of that toffee! The one on the right is rosemary salt, which is really simple but totally useful.

Cute favor ideas

more cute presentations:

Cute favors 7

Cute favors 8

This was like a gift table for the guests-they got take home honey & tea, a DIY candy buffet & some sort of baked treats in a box!

Cute favors 9




Back from Florida!

September 30, 2008

Geoff and I have been out of the office for the past week, attending a studio lighting conference. As most of you know, we are in the process of setting up a studio for portraits. We’ve been asked by clients and friends for years to do maternity sessions, newborns, kids, family portraits and so forth, and we are finally going to be able to offer this. We went to this conference in Florida specifically to get all the equipment needed for the studio, and we’ll be in the process of setting it up next month. I’m so excited, I can’t wait until it’s all set up! So if you’ve been holding off on getting family portraits or photographs of your kids, we’ll start scheduling appointments in November. If you would like something done in time for the holidays, give us a call & we’ll squeeze something in.




Celebrity Weddings Part 3: Dessert Buffet

September 25, 2008

This is the final installment on the personal wedding style of Tarah & Eric, and it features their delicious dessert buffet & foodie details. Here are a few more images for you, and you can read the entire entry here:

http://www.celebrityweddingbuzz.com/celebrity_weddings/celebrity_wedding_series/

Foodie details

Foodie passed tray

And from the dessert buffet:

Dessert buffet 2

Dessert buffet 3

Dessert buffet 4

 




Holiday Specials-Prints, Parent albums & Wall Art

September 23, 2008

Geoff White Photographers Header


Take care of all your parents’ gifts for the holidays!

Order a parent album and receive a second duplicate album for half off, now through October 5th. Special applies to Matted Parent Albums and new Magazine Style Parent Albums. New orders only.


New Product: Magazine-Style Parent Albums

Order a condensed version of your main album for your parents. We’ll take exact copies of your choice of pages from your main album, and create a 7×10 magazine parent album. Additional pages are $40 each; custom pages are $125 each. Custom covers are available.

Traditional Matted Parent Albums

Leather-bound, traditionally-matted albums are perfect for a clean and simple design to hold the memories of your wedding.

  • 8×8 Parent Album with 20 5×7 prints: $850
  • 12×12 Parent Album with 20-40 prints: $1250

Order two identical Parent Albums and receive the second at half price now through October 5th. New orders only.

 

Gift Prints

Get 2 for 1 on prints 8×10 or smaller now through November 15th. Wedding prints and family portraits make timeless holiday gifts. New orders only.

 

Wall Art

Save 15% when you place an order for Wall Art and Gallery Wraps 11×14 and larger now until the end of the year. Place print orders by November 15th to ensure delivery by December 21st. New orders only.

Custom Holiday Cards - $3.50 each

Personalized holiday cards designed with your wedding or portrait images will delight friends and family from far and wide. Cards are 4.5×5″, full color, and include front and back design. Envelopes included.


brittainie's winter image




 




Joann & Dennis are Married on Treasure Island

September 21, 2008

Joann & Dennis decided to host a destination wedding in San Francisco last month, and Kelvin photographed all the festivities. Joann & Dennis both have great personal style, and that is reflected throughout their celebration. They chose the color combo of hot pink and chocolate, and the colors look vibrant, fresh and fun. Since the couple lives in San Diego, they decided to hire a wedding planner to help them manage the details, and we were delighted to finally have a chance to work with Michelle B. from MB Wedding Designs. Makeup was done by the very talented Taylor Pham, of  Faces By Taylor. And those super cute flowers were done by Poppy’s Petalworks. Here’s one of my very favorite images of the day, I think shots of a kiss just about to happen are so incredibly sexy…

Hot moment

Look at those cute little slippers, Joann can manage style & comfort at the same time:

Cute pink slippers

Pink peonies bouquet

After getting ready at the hotel in Union Square, the bridal party headed over to the Palace of Fine Arts for some pre ceremony group shots, which is a great way to break up the portraits and make them more fun. Kelvin had to stealthily coordinate with the ladies and the guys, as they arrived in separate limos and were not to see each other prior to the ceremony:

Palace of fine arts wedding

Groomsmen casual

The decor started at the church and was carried through to the reception:

Simple alter decor

Treasure Island Chapel

Treasure Island San Francisco

Ceremony moment

Happy couple wedding

Here’s another shot from that series at the beginning of the post, I love how her hair has that windswept look to it. We got to work with Andrew Hsu from Studio MSV a videographer that we’ve been wanting to work with again since Cynthia & Wayne’s wedding a few years back.

Sexy portraits

On to the reception:

Table cards hot pink chocolate

Look at how the chair covers really make the room pop. I LOVE color at receptions, and it makes such a visual impact upon entering the room. These chair covers & bows are by Especially Yours Chair Covers

Especially yours chair covers

Look at the desserts!!! Joann used a combination of favorite cookies, candies and baked treats in her theme colors, to the delight of her guests. The presentation of everything is what really sets it off and makes it look so inviting:

 sweets table brown pink

Candy table pink and chocolate

Cake and brownies wedding

Finally, here’s the couple’s first dance:

First dance dip

 

 




Trend: Incorporating your personal monogram into your wedding style

September 19, 2008

Celebrity Weddings Blog has done a 3 part feature on Tarah & Eric’s wedding style. Part 2 focuses on how you can incorporate you monogram into your wedding. Here’s a few images that show how Tarah & Eric did it, and you can click the link below to get the full story:

http://www.celebrityweddingbuzz.com/celebrity_weddings/2008/09/working-your-mo.html

Set the tone right from the beginning by incorporating your monogram into the invitation:

Monogram wedding invite

The mongram was also featured on the wedding program, and as guests entered the ballroom, it was one of the first things they saw:

Monogram lighting accent

Here it is at the top of the menu, a simple way to tie all the elements together:

Mongramed menu card

and on the cake:

Monogram on cake

finally, the mongram was used as a gift tag on the favors, and for their wedding album set:

Multi volume album set




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