The Sneaks

Okay so lately, I've been having this problem. It's called a cuteness problem. There's this cute little furry fuzz ball that runs around my house that's incredibly cuddly since Andrew went out of town. Like, super super cuddly. Since she's been so cuddly, I'm finding myself becoming completely distracted and curling up on the couch with the furry cuteness and watching Veronica Mars till one of us decides to move.

So, while I down oh say ten cups of coffee {yeah, that sounds about right} I wanted to post a few sneak peaks of what I'm working on right now. And then hopefully, Garland and her cuddly self will hide her cute little face until I can kick my to-do lists in the face.

Isnt she a little cutie pie! This little one and her mom and dad were part of a family shoot recently that I'll be posting shortly. But isnt this just the sweetest little face!

This is Hannah. Hannah loves to pose. Like, seriously, she could rock out the next Zoolander movie all on her own. I had the pleasure of shooting her senior portraits recently with two of her closest friends. They should be coming up here on the blog soon!

And this is Ashley, one of the trio of seniors shoots. Aparently we were the only ones quoting commedians...our own little world Ashley, our own little world.



And this is Laura. Laura's confidence blew me away when she shrugged and said she forgot makeup that morning. Forgot makeup?! You will never catch me dead in front of the camera with no makeup! I was jealous...just a tad.



And last but not least on the sneaks, this is the Fields wedding. I'm pretty sure I've drawn out the suspense for these two in getting their blog post up so I will just put it out there, you may want to check out the blog this weekend...just sayin.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Most Horrible Sister Award

So, I definitely have just secured my place in the hall of fame in the category of worlds worst sister. My little brother’s 20 birthday was last week and I had prepped this cute little blog post…and then I went and told it to post on the wrong date. Yes, right there ladies and gentlemen deserves the noble prize of pathetic. So, instead of this posting on the 5^th of November like it should have, it was set to post on the 15^th. And to top it off internet, I didnt realize it until this morning. Fail.

November the 5th was my brother’s 20^th birthday. As I sat down looking through photos on my hard drive attempting to pull together and good representation of our relationship, I took a trip down memory lane. My brother and I never really did get along very much growing up. I look at families that have these amazing sibling bonds and I just think of how often Ryan and I fought like crazy. He and his friends would break my favorite horse, I would manipulate my way and get him in trouble for pinching me. I would pinch him till I left a mark and he would make me so angry I would nearly explode. But while the majority of our history together revolves around some sort of argument or severe dislike...he's still my little brother. He's the little brother that I made kiss the next door neighbor, promising that I wouldnt peak - and then I proceeded to make fun of him for the rest of the day. He's the little brother that rolled down muddy castle hills in England with me till we couldnt see straight. He slid down snowy slopes in Washington resembling a mini Michelin man rather than a little boy. We splashed around in buckets in the tub together until we realized that it's just gross to take baths with your siblings.

Now he's 20....sounds so weird to say that because honestly, it feels like I was just turning 20. So, while it's super super late and I'm officially the worst sister ever, Happy Birthday Ryan. And that Christmas tree incident...yeah, that was totally all your fault.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Men Are From Mars

I play a lot of Halo. Now, to preface, Andrew likes to play Halo and therefore, I began to learn to play Halo so I could participate instead of sit next to him with a book for a few hours. So, it's safe to say that I play a lot of Halo with my husband. One of the funny things about being in that world for a few hours every night or so is that I get a really funny glimpse into the world of my husbands friends. Since they all play online together, I get to know a little more about them on a fairly regular basis. They talk smack, they give each other weird names, and they make fun of each other non-stop. Literally...NON-STOP.

As I laughed hysterically along with a few of Andrew's friends from work and watched my score dwindle down into single digits, I started to realize one of the things Andrew gets picked on the most for. At first I pouted and wanted to defend him until I realized that this is like some strange twisted version of guy bonding and they love it. Two things I learned create a target on my husbands back:

1. Smallville - apparently in my husbands world, the fact that Andrew enjoys watching this with me warrants losing a man card or means that your wife is in charge of your manhood.
2. Fixing a Toilet - in my mind, this would kinda make you "me man, you woman" type manly in the guy realm...not the case. It seems that declaring you fixed your first toilet would mean that you use it way to much in the first place if you broke it.

Guys are strange. They enjoy making fun of each other and they enjoy getting made fun of. All I know, my husband loves me. He loves me and he loves getting made fun of for that fact. He loves me enough to sit around for hours watching Smallville marathons when really, he should be sleeping. He loves me enough to come home from work and fix a toilet instead of eat dinner. My husband loves me...Smallville marathons, float wands and all.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Our Favorite Things: Candy Corn

I've been a pretty lame person these past few days. Seriously, if I didn't know any better, I think I was kin to a slug, or a sloth, or something equally as slow. I don't want to do anything. It takes a great deal just to convince myself to put on anything other than work out clothing, because really, spandex stretchy pants are just so darn comfortable! In part, I'd like to blame the weather. It's not quite cold, it's not quite stormy, it's not quite hot and not quite, well...pleasant in the slightest. And as much as I'd like to say I'm above weather induced moodiness - I'm totally not. I'm also going to blame the Halloween candy that's taunting me. Really, how can you come out of a gym only to see leftover candy corn in a bucket in the pantry and not be a little irked!

So, today's favorite thing is an ode to all things Halloween. Candy corn! Once a year, I buy one bag of candy corn in October. Usually it'll last me till early December but it makes me feel like I'm five again wearing my Dorothy dress and glittery shoes. There's just something about eating candy shaped as a tri-colored corn that makes me just a tiny bit sentimental.

As Andrew and I stood in line, me clutching my bag of candied goodness, I sighed and stated that I loved candy corn. Andrew then shattered all fall cheer by stating that he hated candy corn. The corn and pumpkin shaped candy goodness hating scrooge! I then shielded my candy corn from him as if he had hurt the little bags feelings and added that to the list of things that Andrew will one day love. Number one: Monopoly. Number two: Candy Corn.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

When Pigs Fly!

It's been quite some time since we've given a freebie on our website. I havent forgotten about it, I've just been working out the kinks of what I wanted to give away. And if I'm being honest with myself, I was a tiny bit nervous that maybe, just maybe, I wouldnt get a response. So, here's to crossing my fingers.

We're giving away a wedding!! Yes, I'm serious. No, there's not a catch. Well, okay not exactly a catch but there are rules...do those count as catches?

You see, in Florida, it's insanely hot the majority of the year. And the months that arent blazing hot are usually from about October to March...depending on the year. So, this brought on the creation of the rules for the free wedding giveaway, because honestly, I dont want to do a free wedding in the middle of 100 degrees. Sorry, I'm just not that much of a supergirl. So, the rules:

- Tell us your love story. I absolutely love reading these! The more details the better!
- Your wedding must take place in 2011 in the months of January to March or October to December.
- Your wedding can take place anywhere! We're Floridians but we travel so dont let location scare you! All we ask is that you pay 50% of our travel costs. We love a good road trip or mini vacay so we wont ask you to cover it all.
- Your wedding must take place outside . Ah, yes, there's the kicker to why it has to be during good weather months! We want submissions for outdoor weddings. Backyards, parks, butterfly gardens, a jungle, atop an amazing cliff, anywhere outside of ceremony and reception.
- You must submit a photo of you and your fiance along with an inspiration board of your wedding plans. Again, the more details the better.
- And last but not least, your submissions must be in by December 1, 2010 and I'll be announcing the winner on Christmas Eve 2010!

How are we judging? Well, we're looking for creativity, for personality, for themes and decor and stories that are truly a reflection of the couple. We want to fall in love with you and be blown away by how you stand out from everyone else. The availability of your wedding date will come into play as well but we'll notify you via email if your date is not available and cross that bridge when we come to it. And sorry .OP. brides, if you've booked already or if you've sent me an inquiry prior to today, to be fair, you will not be allowed to submit your wedding.

Of course, there's the fine print to go along with the rules. And it's lookin mighty fine if I do say so myself! What does this free wedding giveaway include? Let me tell ya! First off, you get Andrew and myself on the day of your wedding for six continuous hours. Along with our fancy cameras and shiny lenses you'll get our creative eye throughout the wedding day sticking on you like glue from start to finish. You'll also receive a credit to use towards your wedding album and a canvas gallery wrap print. Did we mention we're also including an engagement session? Well we are!

And if you're asking yourself: what's my cost here? Well, here's what we're requiring of you. Most importantly: be you!! But down to the nitty gritty, you'll be responsible for 50% of our travel costs {gas, flights, hotels, etc...should there be any} as well as purchasing any DVDs, prints, albums, or gallery wraps from your engagement session and wedding day. But remember, we're giving you a credit to use to get you started.

And that's it! Dont get picked? Dont worry, there may just be prizes for the runners up...just sayin. So let's get started! Pretty please email us through our website and away we'll go!

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Kristi and Matthew: The Engagement

I watched as they both turned to yell at the TV screen and then nonchalantly turn back to us, chatting away as they picked up another slice of pizza. The four of us chatted over beer and pizza about four different football games {Kristi pretty much lives and breathes college football}, their love of country music, vacations they'd taken together and the Guthries Drive Thru Window. Kristi and Matt laughed a little and looked at one another when we asked how long they'd been engaged...because you see, three years is a long time. "we wanted to be sure there was no doubt that this is what we wanted, forever". The air was cool, the pizza was amazing, and our clients were, well, they were amazing.

Kristi and I met a few months ago - well, met if that's what you want to call countless emails and Facebook messages. When we finally got our schedules together to meet in person, I arrived like two hours early. Why? I was terrified. Through the coffee shop window, I quickly began to master my nerves and fears as I watched Kristi get out of her car. I struggled to put on my "I'm a strong independent woman" face because frankly, it's hard to do that when you have someone who thinks you're the sun and the moon. I was afraid. What if I didnt live up to this person she made me out to be? What if she really didnt like me that much once she met me in person? When she came through the door, her smile immediately set me at ease as she rushed to hug me. Over the course of our conversation about all her wedding plans and details, I realized something. She was giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for; Kristi gave me the gift to be incredible. She tore down any barriers I had about my limits or what I could be as Cassie Olimb photographer and gave me the permission to be amazing.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie

Julie and Thomas: The Engagement

The chimes of my alarm sounded and my eyelids slowly opened. For a moment, I was unaware...why was I awake this early on a Saturday? Oh yeah, that's right, cause I have the most amazing couple who are totally in love who were willing to wake up before the sun to have a sunrise shoot on the beach. As I rolled out of bed and began my morning ritual, complete with extra coffee, I couldnt help but dance about just a little. You see, I have an amazingly romantic job. Early morning, watching the sunrise, completely focused on someone's passion for another. How can you not be excited to look through a lens at two people as they laugh at one another, gaze knowingly into each other's eyes and make out. So yeah, spending the morning at the beach all cold and windy constantly being reminded of how much one person can truly love another...yeah, this job rocks.

Dwell in Possibility...
Cassie