Happy New Year! Where the heck did 2016 go? I mean, it really flew by! I find myself feeling like the new year is a blank slate and I need to take charge of all the things I’ve wanted to do but haven’t gotten around to!

One of my goals for the year is to get a little better about documenting and sharing what goes on in our lives outside of work. Sometimes, I feel like sharing on social media is like pulling teeth. This has been one of my greatest challenges and usually makes its’ way to the back burner but hey, I’m working on it!

Anyways, what better way to end wedding season than by taking a little trip? Over Thanksgiving, Raven and I joined our friends Hannah and Andrew and headed down to Smith Rock State Park in Oregon. It was a 4-5 hour drive to central Oregon through forests, snowy mountains and even a desert. There really is nothing like road trips through the Pacific North West and I find the drives are usually just as enjoyable as the destination. When we got to Smith Rock, we braved the cold and did a little outdoor rock climbing. This was my first time climbing outdoors and I have to admit that I’m excited to give it a second go when it’s a little warmer out. Climbing in the cold didn’t really turn out to be my thing but experiencing the beauty of the park was absolutely worth while. After our adventure, we stayed in an AirBNB about 20 minutes south in Bend, Oregon. This little town is my new favorite and kind of reminds me of a less touristy mountainous version of Savannah. There are so many amazing local coffee shops and restaurants with delicious food and craft beers.  We may or may not have eaten our way around town. 😉

So here’s a little sneak peak into our trip. We are so lucky to have had amazing friends to adventure to new places with!

The blurry picture to the right is me climbing….still working on teaching all my friends how to use my camera. 😉



Love this photo of my hubs. He has really worked up a passion for climbing and I’m so happy we live in an awesome area where he can take advantage of it!


Hannah just got certified as a yoga instructor…I might have to take advantage and forever be her test subject 😉


So Goofy!!








We headed to Mcmenamins Pub on Thanksgiving night. It was hard to find somewhere that was open and we probably would have eaten anything at that point! This place was really good and is actually connected to an old theater.

The next morning, we started off our food tour in Bend at Good Life Brewery. I think this was my favorite place we ate at. They sold me on their beer cheese and brei and anyone that knows me, knows this is the way to my heart haha.







We ended our food tour with a little Settlers of Catan. This is quickly becoming a routine in our evenings because it’s the Best. Game. Ever.


Bend is full of local and unique coffee shops. I can’t wait until we visit again because there definitely wasn’t enough time to try them all! We decided to try out Thump Coffee and were pretty happy with our choice.



We stopped in the Columbia River Gorge area while heading home. From desert to lush rainforest, what better way to end the trip?

Want to have your adventure, wedding or elopement photographed in Oregon? Contact HERE.