Let's Roll...."Blog Catch Up from June"

My husband hates being the center of attention, hates it.... so of course when he told me not to make a big deal out of his 30th Birthday....I kept it quiet and small....ha ha ha, umm yeah right!!  Turning the big 3-0 is a big deal~and we are luckily enough to have some amazing friends who wanted

to celebrate with us!

One of Justin's favorite movies of all time is... The Big Lebowski, and so for one night I pretended it was one of my favorite movies too...for the sake of a good theme!

We had such an fun night..... a little too much fun for some of us....

The very talented Dani Wheeler made Justin a personalized Bowling Ball Birthday Cake.

I love my Starr Boys...we have a great time together (and they EVEN wore the themed robes I bought for them)~Trevor  flew all the way from Berkeley, California to party with us!

Cheers to a better year ahead my love.......

Can we do this again next week???

xoxoxxo  Happy 30th Birthday to my favorite guy....even if he hates being the center of attention... we can't help but love all over him xoxoxox

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Happy Bday My Love..(Blog Catch Up from June)

So, the night before Justin turned the Big Three-O....I decided I better have my last date out with my handsome twenty-something.  So Sushi and Cocktails it was, this random little place right across the lake from our condo that we frequent from time to time. 

The next morning the little wieners had surprised Justin by wrapping up their gifts, blowing up balloons, and setting  the "birthday" sign....all to make the birthday boy feel extra special on the morning of his birthday.  

  Of course I had to snap a few photos of our morning celebration...I wonder how long it will take Justin to notice I've posted these oh so masculine photos of him on the internet??  Hmm....

P.S. Yes, in case you were wondering the pups are wearing lil sombreros from Mexico 

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Mexico.....(Blog Catch Up from June)

...Sailing the Mexican Rivera with My Family was Quite an Adventure.....

....So much so that I think I'll let the Photos do Most of the Story Telling.....

(view of L.A. from Ship) 

Early Morning~Plane Ride~Delayed Luggage Arrival~Starbucks~Long Lines~Excitement~Embarkation Day~....boarding our first cruise ship...Carnival Splendor

(Our Room)

Cute Little Room~Private Balcony~Pure Exhaustion~Formal Dinner~Getting Lost on the Boat

("Fun Day at Sea Day One")

Couples Massage~ Bingo with Mom~Dad and Mom Enjoying Cocktails on the deck~

(Night Life "Cruise Style")

Formal Dinner~meeting new people~going "clubin"~singing all night at the piano bar

(Puerto Vallarta by Day)

Speed Boats~Bloody Marys~Dancing~Amazing Mexican Coffee~Mom Snorkling~Seashells

(Puerto Vallarta by Night)

(Puerto Vallarta Night Life)

Senior Frogs~Chase is Legal~Random People~No More Sambuca~Almost Missing the Boat

(View of Boat from Mazatlan)

(Mazatlan)

Humidity~Bright Sun~Cliff Divers~Shopping~Touring

(Mazatlan)

Live Music~Beautiful Scenery~Chase getting stung by a jelly fish and collapsing in the middle of the restaurant and having to be carried out and rushed back to the ship~Us Being Terrified

(Nightlife Back on the Ship)

Chase has recovered~fancy dinner~live entertainment

(Cabo San Lucas~Lover's Beach)

(Cabo San Lucas)

Bumpy Speed Boats~Snorkling in the Freezing Waters EARLY in the Morning~Great Views

(Cabo San Lucas)

Loving the White Sands of Cabo~Walking, Shopping~Day Drinking~Fiesta

(More Night Life on the Ship)

Formal Dinners, Dancing, Loving My Husband & My Family, Laughing, Cruising

(Time to Sail Home)

Emotional Journey~Laughs~Tears~Love~Life .......

Thank you Mom & Dad.... for encouraging us to go on this trip~it was a time we'll never forget

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Our Wedding Album...at Last!

After 4 plus years, I finally received my Wedding Album!

 At the time of our wedding I didn't purchase our album up front because we were WAY over budget.....and I knew that I would purchase our album at a later date.

Well, about a year later I paid for my album, put I took FOREVER selecting my images and album design style.  Finally with the amazing talent and encouragement of my friends at Still Life Studios.....our album is complete and in my hands~and I LOVE it!  Such cherished memories of an amazing day!

Just thought I'd share a link for you all to see, CLICK BELOW:

http://www.stilllifestudios.com/ClientWork/JenniferAlbum/

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Dear Blog,

I'm so sorry I've been neglecting you lately.... we do have a lot of fun together...
I've just been super busy lately: Spending tons of time with Justin, before he starts his FINAL year of the DPT Program!  Lots of sushi dates, shopping, movie watching, re-organizing the home.  Plus, I've just taken a new role in my professional life that will be requiring a lot of time in the near future.....

But please don't give up on me blog~you and I will continue our relationship again real soon...after all I still need to catch you up on a lot of our fun summer adventures....especially our Cruise and our recent Vegas trip....

We will be in touch soon.......

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Site Under Construction....

  Hello My Loyal Blog Readers,

                 As you can see my blog has many fun changes.....however please excuse the construction zone as it is not completed just yet...I thought about staying up all night to finish it, but I have a warm bed complete with a handsome husband to two little weenie dogs all waiting to cuddle. 

Good Night, please come back for a visit to blog later this week to see the completion of my re-design!

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Wine Tasting (Blog Catch Up from June)

One hot summer night.... we were invited to the Sandoval's (Juan and Stephanie in the top left corner) home for a Wine Tasting Party.  I've known Juan and Stephanie for a long time now... they own

 AZ Celebrity DJ . In the event industry it's rare that you get to hang out with your collegues (and actually not be "working")..because we're always the ones putting on the parties for others~so it's always a ton of fun, we can be the "guests" at the event!

A great time was had by all (Matt and Dani pictured in top right corner and Melissa and Kyle pictured in the bottom right corner).  I was so impressed by the FOOD ~as it turns out Juan is not only an awesome DJ..he's also quite the Chef!  And I always LOVE seeing other peoples homes... and Stephanie and Juan have a big beautiful home out in the Queen Creek~their backyard is amazing... and a great place for an event!   Thanks again Juan and Stephanie for having us over~we must do this again soon:)

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SATC w/my NYC Girl! (Blog Catch up from June)

“I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it.”

Night out with Miss Addie Young!  Addie is my true New York Girl~although she lives here now (yeah)... she was the first person to introduce me to NYC!!

 So, I've always had this special SATC bond with Addie and Aimee~probably because we were all so different and when we're together we never hold back telling each other much of anything.  A lot of times we tell each other things that our "nicer, more polite, kind friends" most likely would never say to each other.  We've known each other way too long not to tell the scary truth. 

A few years ago and I had the pleasure of experiencing the "City"  with Aimee and we stayed with Addie Jo.  It was one of the most scariest times of my life......but we had a blast!!! 

We even ended up on "Carrie's doorsteps"

(perhaps I'll blog about this trip in the future~stay tuned....for an upcoming "Flashback Friday" section of my blog)

So when the first SATC movie came out, I was SO BUMMED that Addie was in New York and Aimee was in Georgia...it just didn't feel right to go with anyone else...so, when SATC 2 rolled around... and Addie had moved back to AZ~a date for sushi, drinks, and the movie were a must~and did we miss our Aimee???? "Absouf***kinglutley"!!!!

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Can I Just Tell You...(Blog Catch Up from June)

...How Much I Love this Family?  The Keegans.....Noah, Andrea, and little Liam.....

Liam if officially a one year old...so a photo shoot was in order!

We've now had the privilege of shooting Andrea's Maternity Session, Liam's Newborn Session, Liam's 6 Month Session...and his one year session ~such a joy to see him grow!!

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Saturday Snapshot of the Starrs (Blog Catch Up from June)

This was just a random Saturday at the Starr Bungalow....and I thought these photos were funny.  Can I tell you again, just how much I LOVE HAVING SATURDAYS OFF?  Knowing me and my hectic lifesytle I'm sure this will be short lived... but I'm not taking one Saturday for granted!

These photos were snapped one morning ( I think I was on my way to Mr. Liam Keegan's 1st Birthday Party)... when Justin was showing me how to use my new G11 Canon Camera... being around all these professional photos all the time makes it hard for me to look at "normal/regular" photos anymore... so I told Justin that I might as well start to learn how to use professional gear.  So, by no means is my G11 considered "professional" but it's a stepping stone for me to start learning.. a surprise gift from my hubby~thank you love.   

Don't I just have the cutest lil family???

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Prom Night (Blog Catch Up from May)

So, we decided it would fun to hit up the WEN (Wedding & Event Networking) Prom....we were a little hesitant to go full force with the prom wear because we knew there were a few other industry events going on that same evening... and we were not sure how many vendors would be dressing up ~so we "semi" dressed up.  We double dated with one of my favorite couples: Matt and Dani Wheeler.....

Here are a few of our "awkward prom photos"...............

I adore this couple, they are not only amazing artists and photographers.....they are also really amazing friends, and we are so happy to have them in our lives.

Dani created the shirts and is also responsible for our awesome prom hair!  And let me tell you... Justin LOVES dressing up in costumes (that would be a TON of sarcasm in my voice)...so I decided not to push the envelope too much and my only requirement was that he sport a tie. 

And the two love birds... all cuddled up... I think they were more excited to be prom dates with each other than with their wives...hmmm...

We actually had so much fun we closed the event down and headed out for dinner Pita Jungle Style.  Industry Networking Nights are the best...I need to start going to more!

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Happy Birthday....(Blog Catch Up from May)

......to My Favorite Girls!!!

The end of May is always a really busy time..... there's many special days to be celebrated!

Mom's Birthday~ this year we had a nice dinner at Bandanas in Casa Grande.... it's kind of a "different" place, well actually Casa Grande is kind of a "different place".  But Bandana's is a restaurant that's within walking distance from my parents home.  It's a historic home that was recently turned into a restaurant, but the wild part is that the home was once lived in by one of dad's closest friends... very random.  

We had a great evening, and the meal was truly superb! (See the super cute photo of my dad and mom...  Is it not just the cutest photo ever!)

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And just a few days later was my sweet Granny's Birthday!  So we spent the afternoon celebrating with her!  We took her out to lunch and just spent the afternoon hanging out.....Granny just LOVED her Fruit Tart Pie... not only yummy but so pretty!

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And a few days later....let's not forgot about my favorite Asian Persian: Miss Aimee Sloan...

Since Aimee moved to Georgia we don't get to celebrate her birthday in person... makes me sad ;(

But... I have a feeling, we may live in the same state again someday~I hope! 

Anyways...Aimee's had an amazing year and has accomplished so many wonderful things... I thought it was only fitting the she get an extra special bday gift this year... from Tiff & Co~the tradition continues!

Happy Birthday to my Favorite Girls!! 

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Celebration of a Beautiful Life....(Blog Catch Up from May)

Another hard blog to write, but important to share...this is the day we held the Celebration of Life for my Mother- In-Law: Barbara Starr.  Although of course, it was a very sad and heartbreaking day....it was also a day of true beauty and joy.  It was really important to us that Barbara was honored for the wonderful person she was and a true celebration of all the amazing things that defined the life she led.  When making the arrangements I kept trying to think to myself....how would Barbara want this to be? what would she like? what would be important to her?  And this was really difficult because Barbara just always wanted everyone else to be happy, comfortable and cared for~she was most happy when her loved ones were happy. 

We held the Celebration at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, we wanted to choose a place that was intimate, beautiful, and peaceful.  The Memorial Ceremony took place in one room, while the Celebration Reception took place in the room right next door ~filled with large windows that overlooked the Golf Course.  

At the Memorial Ceremony we had a live harpist play some of Barbara's favorite songs as guests entered.... followed by prayers and speeches from Barb's loved ones sharing many beautiful memories, thoughts, experiences and love stories. 

After the speeches we shared a Celebration Montage Tribute complete with photos of Barbara as a little girl, through her teen years into young adulthood, and mommyhood... up until our most recent family photos.  The montage ended with a video clip of Barbara last Christmas telling her kids what "great kids they are".. and how "she has the best kids in the world and she loves them so much".  It was truly such an amazing montage that really captured Barbara's loving spirit and enormous amount of love she gave to her family.  

Following the Memorial Ceremony all the guests were invited outside on the patio overlooking the course to participate in a Butterfly Release in Barbara's Honor (following the Native American Indian Butterfly Legend).... it was quite beautiful....

Afterwards everyone was invited inside to celebrate in some of Barbara's most favorite things:

Spritzers, Jazz, and Burried Treasure Pie

The room was filled with flowers everywhere~all white including orchids and roses. There was actually 59 roses placed all throughout the room symbolizing each beautiful year of Barbara's life....

We also displayed many framed favorite photos of Barbara and her loved ones and included other little special touches that represented so much to us.  A "Sweet Memory" display was set up asking guests to write down their special stories or funny moments they shared with Barb~so that her children could share those stories with her future grandbabies....

The family was so incredibly touched by all the guests who attended that day and it was so wonderful to know and see first hand how many people loved Barb.

Mere words cannot express the heartfelt gratitude we have for those who attended this celebration and the love you showed for Barbara and our family.

We will forever have Barbara in our hearts, we will forever have a guardian angel.

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