MATERNITY SESSION // NANETTE

I took a quick & fun shoot today for one of my gorgeous friends. Although it wasn't hard to capture her beauty, I absolutely love the way they turned out. My heart is excited for this mommy-to-be!

NEW JOB // NEW MERCIES

Back in July I decided to quit my job. I had been at a prestigious wealth management firm for about a year. It was a great paying job with an amazing view from the 36^th floor of a skyscraper in downtown Houston. It was the first job I landed after graduating college that required a bachelor’s degree, I got to dress up all fancy every day, and we even had a pantry and fridge fully stocked with every type of organic food and drink you could ask for. It was quite nice.

Fast forward almost a year later, June of this year to be exact, and I was just joyless. I knew certain aspects of the job were really stressing me out and discouraging me in so many areas. I had prayed but with none of the 16 companies I applied for calling me back, I was bummed. I knew I didn’t really have a plan if I just upped and quit. I vented to a couple of close friends and asked for advice, and all their responses were similar. Ask God and trust him. For the next few weeks I’d go back to work going in each morning with an attitude of dedication and a list of goals for each day. And each afternoon I’d walk three blocks to my parking garage with tears in my eyes ready to reach my car so I could sit there 10 more minutes and cry.

In early July I finally put in my two weeks. I didn’t have a job lined up but I trusted God had something better for me, even if it would take longer than I anticipated. To my surprise, my boss suggested I leave the next day and Drew, being the sweet man that he is, had accompanied me the night prior to gather all of my stuff from my office predicting that might happen. So, I was free, but a little worrisome.

For the next month I spent so much time at my parents’ house. I cooked and exercised with my mom, we read and studied the bible, we watched movies, and we just hung out together. I also went to North Carolina with a bunch of the most amazing teenagers ever for a Young Life camp called Windy Gap. I was there for a week as a leader and God really revealed himself to me like never before. All in all, July ended up being one of the sweetest months of my entire life.

During that week at Windy Gap I had some quiet time with another leader. We shared our hearts with each other and what God had been doing in our lives. I briefly shared my job situation with her and just how everything panned out. She said she’d pray for me and look out for any openings she might hear of. The Monday after coming home from camp she messages me that a lady from her church was looking for a godly, accounting friend to join her firm. She said she had referred me and I connected with her over the phone. The phone call led to a formal interview and I was hired the next week.

I have been at my new job now for almost a month and I am loving every aspect of it. It’s a small firm with only four of us but everyone is so sweet, helpful, and knowledgeable. The field is in accounting which I have a huge background and experience in, and also the field I was formerly applying in like crazy. My boss is a believer and it makes my days at work that much more comforting and encouraging. Every day is something new, but every day I am reminded at just how much God loves me and that he always has his hand over my life. Always.

MOE & MARTHA // 4TH OF JULY

Fourth of July has always been one of the funnest holidays for me. Fireworks, BBQ's, summer, and sun! Pair all that along with two amazing friends getting engaged on a yacht ride and it's probably the perfect day this year by far! Below are some of my favorite shots I captured during all of the fun! Congrats Moe & Martha! We love y'all!

VEGAN CHALLENGE // WEEK 3 & OTHER THINGS

1. I craved my first burger the other day. I met up with an old friend at Onion Creek in the Heights and that’s really all it was. They have the most tender, amazing, juiciest, can’t even take a bite without your hands being dripped all over burgers ever. No big deal. I resisted.

2. I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for chick peas. I mean, I’ve always loved them but never got creative with them. These days I’m having them as hummus, roasted, in sandwiches, in almost every salad. I never get tired of them!

3. I’ve lost another 4 lbs. Nuff’ said.

4. I am continuing to feel energetic and ready for the day. I don’t miss feeling sluggish and tired, at all.

5. I’m still eating dinner and lunch at Whole Foods, but not shopping there. $5 for a box of whole grain pasta that I can get at Trader Joe’s or HEB for $2. Same brand, same size. Come on guys, that’s a little ridiculous.

6. I’ve experimented with my La Croix addiction. My office only orders the pamplemousse, or for us less fancy folks, grapefruit. I absolutely LOVE it and so seeing them on sell at Target was enough to make my Monday, (I got coconut, mango & peach pear)!

7. I finally got an AC unit in my room. I know what you’re thinking but my house was built in like 1781 and the insulation job, actually there is no insulation job. In Houston it’s pretty much 100 degrees until January & February so, my freezing room made for a perfect night’s sleep last night. A big THANK YOU to Drew and his brother for an amazing installation job! You guys are the real MVPs!

8. I have 6 days left of vegan eating and I’m going strong! I’m considering continuing this permanently with the exception of fish, but still not sure.

9. I need to blog more.

VEGAN CHALLENGE // WEEK 2

So week two of eating vegan was a breeze. Other than continuing to feel amazing physically and mentally, I've listed more things I've noticed below.

1. I drank coffee once last week. ONCE. And that's only because I was craving the taste, not because I needed it. This to me alone is ridiculous because I have been drinking coffee since college for lack of energy and sleep. In the last two weeks this hasn't been the case, and that's pretty freaking amazing.

2. My mornings are no longer a drag, even if I do stay up a little later than usual. I wake up feeling rested and ready for my day. I've never been a morning person and have always wanted to transition into one. This is definitely helping. To piggy back off of my mornings, my days are not wearing me down and by the time I hit the bed I'm tired and ready for sleep. I no longer stay up at night restless.

3. I am not a runner. Never have been. However, I've noticed I run a lot longer than I used to. I feel lighter and it's more enjoyable than it's ever been. I am not sure if this has to do with eating vegan, or the fact that I've been exercising more, either way it's worth throwing it in.

4. I've lost another 5 lbs. Again, worth throwing that in! ;)

5. I haven't craved any meat or cheese, still! And no I'm not just saying that to make it seem like this is just so easy. I didn't think it would be. I honestly thought I would be dreaming of melted cheese and ranch on everything and waiting on July 1st (end of my vegan challenge) with anticipation, but that's just not the case. It's pretty awesome.

5. I no longer feel stuffed or laggy-ish after eating. It's a great feeling.

6. I'm trying out new recipes and getting creative with my food. I made a spicy 3 bean + red quinoa soup the other day and it was delicious.

SPICY 3 BEAN + RED QUINOA SOUP

What you need:
1 cup red quinoa cooked
1 can of organic 3 bean (kidney, black bean, pinto)
2 cups of veggie stock or water
1/2 tspn cracked black pepper
kosher salt to taste
sriracha to taste

Bring water or veggie stock to a boil, throw in quinoa and beans then bring to a simmer. Throw in pepper, salt and sriracha to taste. That's it! :)

PHOTOSHOOT // BABY ROSE

Last week I took pictures for a friend's daughter for her 1 year birthday. She was the cutest thing ever.

30 DAY VEGAN CHALLENGE // WEEK 1

Yesterday marked my official one week of going vegan. What I originally wanted to do was blog everyday about it, but truth be told, life always happens and it’s busy. I knew I had to carve out some time to document what I’ve ate, felt, and learned though. It’s been pretty real.

My reasons for taking on this 30 day challenge are simple:

- I needed a kick starter to get back on my healthy track.
- I’ve always been intrigued by the vegan lifestyle, but always said I could "never” give up cheese.
- I needed something concrete in telling me what I CAN and CAN’T have.

So I challenged myself to the whole month of June and this is what I have discovered after my first week:

Whole Foods is a vegan’s dream! There’s so much vegan approved deliciousness going on that you forget about any kind of meat or cheese! It’s pretty amazing, but pretty expensive. Meal prepping is a must.

I stopped feeling bloated when I woke up in the morning. For the past month or so, even when eating healthy the night before, I was waking up feeling sort of gross. My stomach felt as though I had ate a heavy meal or tons of carbs, even when I hadn’t. That feeling went away all together.

I don’t crave or need coffee. Yes, crazy. I know.

The detox is real. Day 1 – 4 were great then day 5 hit me with an intense migraine. For someone who never gets headaches it was really bad. I was at work and mid-morning it just hit me. It didn’t register at first that it might have something to do with going vegan, but after doing a little bit of research I found my body was ridding itself from all the junk that had been living in it since I don’t know how long, 26 years? Not only that, but I developed a crazy sore throat as though I would come down with something soon. I never caught a cold though. I just have this weird cough that, from other people’s experiences, happened to them also in the beginning of their vegan lifestyle. Apparently my body is having withdrawals, and that is pretty scary. What was in the food I had been eating to make my body respond this way when giving it up?

I don’t crave meat or cheese the way I thought I would. In fact, I actually have ventured out to try new recipes and food that otherwise I wouldn’t have thought about. It’s pretty fun!

I’ve lost 8lbs. I haven’t had much time to work out and I am not starving myself either. So that’s a really good drop in body fat I believe. I weighed myself 3 times to make sure.

Those are the most significant changes I’ve seen and felt so far. I’ll try to do a better job of blogging daily, but no promises! (I really, really, really wanna get there though!)

Xo,
P