My Baby!
Posted on September 9, 2011
In honor of my youngest son’s 3rd birthday coinciding with the Great Reno Balloon Races, my poor toddler got suited up in warm clothing in the middle of a hot day so his crazy mommarazzi could take this picture. Happy Birthday to my sweet Lukey!!! Love you lots! (As his birthday treats, I made him some hot air balloon cupcakes!)
My Newly Remodeled Office!!!
Posted on July 3, 2011
After much whining and grumbling, my dear hubby finally caved and gave me my very own office. He moved all his stuff to one of our guest rooms, and told me I now had a blank canvas. I got soooo excited, and then overwhelmed, because I never had to decorate a room in MY very own style before. Finally, after spending some time doing online and magazine research, I found that I am drawn to a combo style I now call Victorian/French. Soo, that’s what I did to my office, and seriously, it is now officially my absolute favorite room in the whole house!!! 
BEFORE: Khaki brown walls. Oak furniture. Cluttered desk. THREE MONITORS??? What the heck! Black chair I got for $5 at a garage sale. Blech.
BEFORE: Oak bookshelf basically falling apart from the weight of the stuff on it. My beautiful artwork is perilously perched on top.
BEFORE: TWO stations, one for me and one for my husband. Very tight quarters and very distracting.
BEFORE: What a messy looking office. How could anyone possibly concentrate on creative work?!?!
AFTER: My newly installed IKEA shelves, complete with interior lights and glass doors. (I know, I haven’t completely populated it yet, but you get the point. It took a boatload of screws to install, but I am very pleased with the result.)
AFTER: My new client seating area. When I told people I was finally going to get a girly girl room in my house, they wondered why the heck I chose to paint it blue. This is why. I chose quite a lot of girly girl accents, enough to balance out a pretty nice looking hue of an otherwise masculine color (FYI, the color is called BEHR Arctic Ice, at 50% strength).
I painted some oval frames from Aaron Brothers (buy one get one for a penny!) red and tied black ribbon on them for my boys’ silhouettes. Very Victorian.
Not quite fully furnished bookshelves, but you see the tap-on, battery-operated LED lights I installed (from Home Depot).
My new desk!!! It’s white!!! And remember that horrendous looking black desk chair that I got at a garage sale for $5? I’ve reupholstered it velvety red! Now it’s all girly! Black ball curtain rods from Lowe’s, with 20% off coupon, and white curtains with metal clips, 90% off (yep, 90!) from JCPenney home store.
Hydrangea flower arrangement: A $4.99 thrift-store find. My middle name comes from the Spanish word for hydrangea.
Soon-to-be home of some of my photos, which haven’t been printed yet. (They are metal wire curtain rods with clips, from IKEA.)
The desk was inspired by Pottery Barn’s Bedford collection, which was too expensive for my budget, so I found a very similar looking one from JCPenney.com for a fraction of the price).
A $10 eBay find: vintage Kodak folding camera.
Another thrift-store find: $2.99 for all four!!! I love my friend, Will’s comment on our egg coloring project last Easter about the colors being CMYK (ok, technically, the K is for black, but green is definitely more colorful), so I put water and the same food colors in them for display. The light over them illuminates the colors beautifully, too!
Girly-girl decor from Pier One. 50% off! It’s not entirely useless, either! (It gets to hold my homemade lens bag, and maybe a purse and a coat.)
Thrift store find: $5 bird cage photo holder. Reminds me of that episode of FRIENDS where Rachel and Ross shared their love of Pottery Barn, and Ross knew the exact catalog page number of the “ornamental bird cage, large.”
The chairs were 50% off, and I had a coupon code for an extra 10% off plus free shipping! And the felt roses pillows were from Pier One, with a $20 coupon! (Never buy anything full price.)
While moving this little table, I accidentally dented it with a sharp object, and it was so annoying, I had to cover it up. Found these wooden flourishes from Michael’s, and they did the trick. (They also match my chair design!)
Added wooden accents to my desk as well, because I accidentally dented it too! Sheez luiz, the clumsiness!
Future home of silhouettes of my four boys, who are at Grandma’s house on vacation right now, so I have to wait until they get back, unless Grandma does them for me… 
Super cute black and white ribbon, 50% off from Michael’s!
Beautifully displayed art. White accent table ($49) from Marshall’s, and pretty easel ($20) from Ross. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my gorgeous new office!!!
Fall Portrait Special | Reno, NV Family Portrait Photographer
Posted on September 26, 2010
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Card season in the Reno/Tahoe area. Book your Christmas Card Session now, and I will include one free 8×10 and 8 free wallet photos with your package!!!
Also, I have two PARTY FOR FIVE back-to-back mini sessions coming up. One on October 17th (all spaces are taken, but let me know if you’d like to be on the waiting list), and another on November 6th. Please email me for more details!!! HAPPY AUTUMN!
Best Friends Photo Shoot | Reno, NV High School Photographer
Posted on September 21, 2010
I recently did a photo shoot for my babysitter and her best friend, in exchange for babysitting, of course. We’re gonna miss her. She’s off to college. Best of luck, Rose!!!
Backyard Summer Wedding | Reno, NV Wedding Photographer
Posted on August 27, 2010
Well, hello blog! I haven’t seen you in a while. Phew! This summer has been absolutely crazy. I’ve been blessed with friends who love my work enough to tell their friends all about me, and without any form of advertising, I’ve somehow managed to book several portrait sessions a week! I will post some more photos whenever I find a few minutes here and there between editing… I am so excited to have done my first ever DESTINATION wedding — in Maui!!! — and I will most certainly post some of my favorite photos from that wonderful experience soon. But first things first…. catching up on posting from some of my local sessions
I was honored to have been part of a very intimate backyard summer wedding in early July, and here are just some of the photos from that marvelous event. Congratulations, Jen and Mark! This wedding is very special to me because not only is Jen one of my dear “Bunco” girlfriends, but her wedding was also almost exclusively planned and executed by all her (and my) friends, and everyone did an amazing job putting together Jen and Mark’s special day…
Feeling grateful…
Posted on June 23, 2010
… to have people who trust me enough to capture their precious family memories! It has been one amazing (and amazingly booked!) summer so far, and I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for your patronage of my little photography business. I’ve been so busy taking pictures and editing and delivering them, that I seem to have no time left for posting anything on the blog! So, please bear with me… I will post more pictures soon — maybe one favorite per session that I’ve done so far (I know, that wouldn’t do them justice by any means). At any rate, I really truly appreciate all the word-of-mouth advertising you’ve been doing for me. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you!
Spring Special!
Posted on April 16, 2010
I’m now booking for my ONE-DAY ONLY Lake Tahoe Special! The first family (or group of families) to book gets the date!
My First Ever Photography Workshop!!!
Posted on March 4, 2010
Are you interested in learning more about digital SLR photography but are too scared of the technical mumbo-jumbo? FEAR NOT, for I have put together the absolute beginner’s guide to digital SLR photography. Join me on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at the South Valleys Library as I present the “Cliff’s Notes” version of your camera’s manual. Get out of auto mode and venture into the creative zone. Digital SLR ownership is recommended, but not necessarily required (I will take those of you who have point-and-shoots, because, yes, they also have creative modes!). Space is limited to 15 students (there are only 7 spots left!), and the workshop will last for about two hours (from 9:30am to 11:30am). Fee is $25, which will cover materials and, of course, my time.
Welcome to THE BLOG! :-)
Posted on March 4, 2010
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to welcome you to my photo blog. I apologize for taking forever to add a blog to my site, but here it is!!! Finally, I can update you on my latest photography adventures and you no longer have to wonder about the new things I’ve been up to!
Take care,
Ari
