A New Addition to the Moser Family!!! ;)

Well, Matt and I have been waiting to share some big news until we knew a little bit more... and now it's time!

It's official... our little family of two will increase by one in March!!! And, we found out this week... through a very up close and personal ultrasound (it looked like baby was sitting on a photocopier spread eagle!)... that it's a BOY!!!

The one directly above... do you see it... these ultrasounds are kind of difficult to make out sometimes... picture it... little baby bottom in lower right hand corner with legs going out to opposite corners from there... with a little cover up for the boy "stuff." Trust daddy... it's there! ;)

We're so excited!!! I feel fantastic... no morning sickness or anything! And, no... we don't have a name yet! ;)

How will this affect my clients or clients to be... I hope not at all... there will just be more of me to love! ;) I'll be taking March and April off but I'll be available before and after that pretty much full time for weddings and lots of portrait sessions.

I'm back... and lots of things are on the horizon!

I'm back and have been super busy. Stay tuned for...

...Shane and Yvonne's wedding in Kauai and their fabulous day after session...
...Michelle and Emory's HB e-session and San Diego wedding...
...the Carameros family session shot at White Sands in New Mexico (what a GREAT bunch!)...
...a Senior session with the beautiful Mia Carameros in Texas (SO MUCH FUN!!!)...
...an EXCITING contest...
...Ryan and Cherstin's personal and lovely wedding...
...and maybe some other exciting news...
...PHEW!!!

I'm off to Disneyland this morning to shoot Tasha and Glenn's e-session at Disneyland (their wedding is this Friday at the Disneyland Hotel Rose Garden and their reception will be at the beautiful Grand Californian hotel). (Update... here's a shot from this morning's e-session!!!)



See you back here soon!

Off to Kauai for Shane and Yvonne's Wedding

Hi loyal readers and passers-by. Matt and I are off to Kauai bright and early tomorrow morning for the wedding of our dear friends Shane and Yvonne. We're really looking forward to the wedding and, yes, I might have a few pics to share when I get back. ;) I decided to leave the laptop at home... I don't think our condo has internet access (can you believe it?).

On that note, I will be out of the office beginning tomorrow (Sunday, 9/30) and returning Monday, 10/8. That means I'll return voice mails and emails shortly after my return.

To my clients who are eagerly awaiting online galleries other fun photo stuff (aka blog previews)... thanks for your patience... I'll be back in a jiffy and your fun stuff will be there shortly after that. ;)

Aloha!

PS- Shout out to Jenny and Dan... you're going to LOVE your e-session images. I'll blog them as soon as I get back. WOWSER!!! Too many to choose from!!! BTW- Thanks for the Sprinkles cupcakes... you really do know the way to my heart. ;)

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure: Walking for Wendy

This is "my" bride Wendy. She is a survivor... of breast cancer. I don't know that I've ever been more inspired than I have been by Wendy. From the moment when she fervently apologized to me for not getting back to me right away about booking me as her wedding photographer (because she had found out she had cancer)... I knew that Wendy was selfless and always thinking about everybody else... and that I HAD to be a part of her wedding.

I met Wendy for her engagement session (with her fantastic husband... then fiance... Daniel) when she still had her hair. She had just started chemotherapy the week before and she really wanted to have pictures taken before her beautiful hair was gone (temporarily). So, we shot their e-session down at the beach... Wendy and Daniel's love totally blew me away.



The next time I saw Wendy was on their wedding day. Once again, you couldn't wipe the smile from this girl's face. Now bald, but still full of energy and inspiration, Wendy made light of everything. She even posed with the mannequin head that held her wig, which she fondly referred to only as "head". Their wedding was beautiful and made me and everybody else there cry.





Recently, I was fortunate to get a call from Wendy inviting me to support her and other breast cancer survivors in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. When she said their team name I couldn't help but laugh... "Wendy's Walkers for Knockers." How great is that? She said that she thought of me as a friend and would be so happy if I could be there. How could I say no? She said that the only restriction was that I couldn't work on that day... no big camera!

So, this past Sunday, I joined Wendy and thousands of survivors and supporters as they walked and danced and grooved around the streets of Fashion Island... all to raise much needed donations for this very worthy cause. Per Wendy's request... no big camera... but I still brought my little point-n-shoot. ;) I couldn't resist.

Wendy and her Walkers for Knockers raised almost $5,000. Incredible!

Wendy- thanks so much for welcoming me into your supportive group of family and friends. You are truly an inspiration... love you... Natalie

PS- Natalie (Wendy's friend)- my phone ate it right after the race so I don't have your email address that you text'd (is that a word?) me... email me and I'll get you the pics! ;)





The survivors ceremony is below. It was very moving. All the survivors raised their roses as "Wind Beneath My Wings" was sung beautifully.
I climbed through a bunch of ivy and up a hill to get to Wendy to take a picture of her during the survivors ceremony.


Wendy's Walkers for Knockers... (I'm in the bottom left hand corner).



I had to get a picture of this bra... how fantastic!

And, finally... Wendy and the team crossed the finished line! ;)

Caroline's Kitchen Party: Move Over Martha... Here Comes Mimi!

A few weeks ago I attended and photographed one of the most fun and unique parties ever! The very sweet and adorable Caroline celebrated her birthday (I think she turned 13) by throwing a cute kitchen party for her closest friends. This culinary event was perfectly planned and the culinary instruction given by the uber talented Mimi Palmer of Enjoy Celebrations and Occasions. Move over Martha... Mimi is coming and she's sure to show you a few "good things." Getting married? Check out her blog for cool and modern design ideas and a few idea boards, as well.




Mimi is one of the most creative girls I know and she is great at coordinating everything from amazing and modern weddings to unique and intimate showers. And, as this post shows, she's also a very esteemed chef, as well. I think she'll be doing more of these culinary parties. And, why should kids be the only ones to "enjoy" these... I'm thinking these would be super fun for adults, too... add a few glasses of wine and you've got a very fun time.

Check out Caroline's party below. On the menu...Italian raspberry cream soda, bruschetta, chicken parmigiana with homemade sauce, and tiramisu... yummy!!!

How cute are these recipe card bundles that Mimi put together for all of the girls?

Caroline enjoying herself.

The girls were all intently listening to the next steps...

Mom getting involved in the mix...

And, finally a little ping pong... everybody needs a break from the kitchen! :)

Nat-aroni... the San Francisco Treat

Ok... ok... did you like that? (hehe)

I'm in San Francisco for a few days for a fabulous photography seminar. What better place to work on honing my skills for my wonderful clients? I'm fortunate to be staying and hanging with two great ladies and great photographers, Lauren Clark and Tana Huffman. I'll be posting some pics from our fun times here in SF in the next couple of days. Until then...

- Nat-aroni

4 Days in Napa for our Anniversary...

Matt and I are back!!! Napa and Sonoma were breathtaking. We made the short trip up north to celebrate our 3-year anniversary. We had such a nice and relaxing time. I thought I'd share some of the sites and our adventures with you. ;)

Perhaps the first image below is not the one you'd expect from our anniversary trip to Napa but alas... it took almost 2 hours of standing in line at the rental car pick up place to end up with "this". I tried to deal, I told myself ... "it's just a car"... "who cares if it looks like a khaki cop car?"... and then... just as I was about to give in... I told Matt... "nope, can't do it... we're getting a convertible!" So we did... you'll see Matt in our lovely convertible Sebring in the next pic... SO MUCH BETTER!!! Seriously, if you're heading up there... GET THE CONVERTIBLE! It made the trip (no offense "khaki cop car").

We were married at the Lodge at Sonoma so we thought we'd at least stop in there... and... get a great couples massage... ahhhhhh... you don't know how much we both needed that! It was phenomenal. Just like we remembered... (there's Matt in the "2nd" car.)
traversing the bridges on the way into Napa from SF/Oakland...
After our massages we headed back to our hotel, rested a bit more and then headed off to our favorite place in Old Town Napa... Celadon... also the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner... the one below is after we had eaten all sorts of good stuff... calamari, mushroom bisque, yummy meals, and my favorite... creme brule... ummmmmmm... Matt's dish seemed to inspire his best zoolander impression below....

Day 2... lots of wineries and lots of driving... beautiful skies... ahhh California... Did I mention that the car came with Sirius satellite radio... well, it did... awesome!
We headed to one of our favorite wineries for lunch... V. Sattui. If you're up there... you've got to stop here... it's busy but the wines, the beautiful grounds, and the picnic lunch are well worth it. As you can see, we had some red zin for lunch... and, of course, some chocolate... what a combination... my favorite!
Below... Matt looking very happy after his yummy lunch...
We headed off to Artesa Winery... I had heard that it not only had great wine but was a beautiful location with some incredible art installations. Take a look for yourself... not a bad view either...


We liked the light in this spot... so we thought why not do a little portrait with the point-n-shoot... I know people probably thought we were a little weird... oh well... :)




Now on to Day 3 highlights... There aren't any pics here but... we headed off to Domaine Carneros for some bubbly and then to Viansa for the chicken parmigiana that Matt has been dreaming and reminiscing about since we were here in 2004. Thankfully, for both of us, they had the chicken parmigiana. Next, we headed down to one of my favorite parts of the trip... this amazing spot... Cornerstone... gardens, modern outdoor art installations, architectural salvage, etc... and... home of the blue tree... you'll see. Check it out below. If you're thinking of getting married up in Sonoma/Napa... this is definitely a great place to consider for your celebration. Cool and beautiful.



We're always looking for "m's" (as in Moser) in architecture where ever we go... here's one (actually two) below

Check out the blue tree!!!
Doesn't it look like coral?






I don't want to bore you... so... that's the end of the highlight pics... but I can tell you that we ended day 3 at Bouchon's. I highly recommend it... it's owned by the same people that run French Laundry... make sure you get reservations!

Now I'm back to business... Desiree and Steve's 7-7-7 wedding, an engagement session, and a family session will be up shortly... stay tuned... (and thanks for obliging me by reading this whole thing... geez... ;).

I'm still alive!!!

It's been a while since I've blogged... and there's so much to share! I've been under the weather in a pretty big way but I'm on my way back to wellness. ;) So... be on the look out for not one, but two fabulous weddings soon!

Thanks for checking in! - Natalie

Sometimes I'm lucky...

and happen to have my camera at very opportune times! I was at the very happening Alegria Cocina Latina (located on Pine Street in Long Beach) and was fortunate to see Jose Tanaka and Soniquete Flamenco perform. They regularly perform in the area and are incredible. Their energy, intensity, and artistry must be seen to be appreciated. If you like flamenco (or think you might), check out their website to find upcoming performances around town- http://josetanaka.com/top.htm. In the meantime, please check out my action shots of them below. Most of the dancer shots are of Mizuho Sato, flamenco dancer, instructor and choreographer.







Jose and flamenco singer, Cristobal Osorio