Posts in LIFE WITH ASHLEIGH
i heart this: artichokes

Artichokes have always been one of my fave treats ever! I seriously think eating a whole artichoke, petal by petal, is one of life's greatest pleasures! So I couldn't be more thrilled that it is artichoke season! YUM and HOORAY!I have a pretty easy, fool proof artichoke recipe I'd love to share! I made it just the other night! It's heaven!Ingredients

  • 4 whole artichokes, cleaned and trimmed
  • 2 lemon
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • dried thyme
  • mayo

Instructions:Bring a large pot of water to boil! Once boiling add 2 garlic cloves, a teaspoon of dried thyme, a handful of kosher salt, and half a lemon to the water along with your artichokes. Let boil for 45 minutesMeanwhile, take the other half of your lemon and zest and juice it into a bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of mayo. In a small saute pan, sweat 2 finely chopped garlic cloves with some EVOO, and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. When the garlic is translucent, add it to the mayo/lemon mixture. Stir to combine and refrigerate.After the 45 minutes, check your artichokes. The center should be fork tender. Take them out and drain. Drizzle with more EVOO and some fresh lemon juice. Serve with the garlic-lemon-mayo dipping sauce and enjoy!Hope you love that recipe as much as I do!

Inspired Ideas, LIFE WITH ASHLEIGH, Things I LOVEashleightaylorphotography Comment
i heart this: vieta pink zamora sunset bag

I absolutely adore this Vieta Pink Zamora Sunset Bag! The color and patterns make my little heart go pitter patter! That great thing is because it has so many colors in it, the bag actually would match tons of outfits and bring a lot of boho chic to the party! La La Love!What's your favorite bag of the moment?

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i heart this: olio pizzeria santa barbara

If  you know me, you know I love food. Well, let me clarify... I love GOOD food. And I am rather snobbish about what is and isn't "good food." Well, my friends, Olio Pizzeria here in Santa Barbara is good food. Like, really really really good! Olio Pizzeria is the more casual side of Olio + Limone and very much reminds me of LA's Mozza/Pizzeria Mozza. The food at Olio Pizzeria is LEGIT Italian with many cheeses and cured meats imported from Italy! They have a woodfire oven that fires up the pizzas and makes them extra crisp on the bottom and chewy in the crust! LOVE! AJ and I went there with my in-laws and feasted like kings. Here is the run down of what we had:

Apps

  • Trio of Olives - OMG YUM! The olives varied from mild to spicy marinated. They had their pits which meant they had tons of flavor! I loved nibbling on these and they are a great way to whet your appetite!
  • Fried Artichoke Hearts - Need I say more? They came out fresh from the fryer and perfectly golden and crunchy! Oh and they were very very hot! I had fried artichokes in Rome and these were just as good! I adored the aioli that came with! I popped these in my mouth like popcorn. They were seriously that good! Sweet, crunchy, rich. Yum
  • Shrimp in a Spicy Garlic Sauce - By far my favorite appetizer! The shrimp were huge and succulent! The spicy tomato sauce they were cooked in added just the right amount of garlic and acidity to the dish! It was well balanced and oh so delish!

Pizzas

  • Mare Chiaro - This is the pizza I ate! It was covered in shrimp, clams and calamari! It was SO GOOD! The seafood was very delicate but not overpowered by the marinara sauce or mild mozzarella cheese! The dough was crisp but chewy, just how I like it! I added some of their chili oil to the pizza which made the whole thing pop! It was like eating a Fra Diavolo pasta...but as a pizza instead!
  • Parma- AJ got the Parma which is covered with arugula, mozzarella and prosciutto. I don't eat meat so I tasted a bite from a piece with no prosciutto on it! I really liked the taste of arugula on pizza! Very refreshing! Who knew? AJ loved this pizza!

Desserts

  • Apple Tarte Tatin - Tarte Tatin (besides bananas foster) is my fave dessert of all time! This one is just as good as I expect from a Tarte Tatin! Caramely apple goodness!
  • Butterscotch Pudding - This was heavenly but oh so rich! It was like eating caramel and butter and fat with a spoon! Nothing wrong with that! But glad it was shared with three other people or I probably would've died right there!
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Pannacotta - This tasted to me more like a pudding than a true pannacotta. No matter, though, it was divine! It tasted like nutella but as a pudding! Can't go wrong with that!

As you can tell I LOVED Olio and can't wait to go back! Who's with me?

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How To Refresh Tacky Closet Doors! {DIY for the home}

I've shared with you how I DIY'd chevron curtains and made a Linear Chandelier! And now I have one more home improvement project to share, which is really cool! It's a step by step how to for a DIY closet door update! If you have any chintzy mirrored closet doors in your place you will love this easy chic project!I wasn't a fan of the mirrored closet doors that came with all the bedrooms in our place. They have no charm and they have a horrible brass trim which to me looks so very 90's. But I assumed (incorrectly) a fix or new door would be expensive. The ladies of Madison Modern Home suggested I cover the mirrored doors in my office with grasscloth and repaint the trim for a fresh look! I was smitten with the idea and kinda amazed it was doable! They sent me this link on how to do it-- http://blog.californialivinhome.com/2012/02/our-little-remodel-mirrored-closet.html --which was very inspirational, though we did end up doing things a bit differently.Here's a hint of how the doors looked before:Materials

  • Grasscloth Wallpaper (we used THIS)
  • wall paper primer
  • heavy duty wall paper paste
  • wallpaper squeegee
  • Xacto knife
  • spray paint for metal

First ... We took the mirrored doors off the track and took them outside. We taped off/covered the mirror area and just spray painted the brass trim a white color. We also spray painted the top of the track for the doors in my office!Second... We went down to our local Wallpaper store, Goleta Valley Paint, and they didn't have any vinyl on vinyl paste like my instructions suggested. Instead they suggested using a wallpaper primer to paint over the mirror to make it more textured/rough so the paste has something to grip. They also suggested a heavy duty wall paper paste. So that's what we ended up using!Third... We painted the primer on the mirrors just as if it were paint. It went on easy and dried quickly!!!Fourth... Once the primer dried, it was time to apply the wallpaper! Cut the wallpaper to be a few inches longer than the length of your door. This is the piece you will work with! We used a paint roller to roll the heavy duty wall paper paste onto the BACK of the grasscloth as well as onto the mirror directly. We then laid down the paper and pressed (with the squeegee) from the center to the edges to make sure it was smooth and flat. On grasscloth always go side to side, never top to bottom!!!Fifth... The Wallpaper was about 4 inches wider than our door, which means the excess paper had to be trimmed! We went around the edges with a ruler and an Xacto knife to trim straight edges! The great thing about the texture of the grasscloth is it hides mess ups and imperfections quite well!Once you're done, give it a few minutes to dry (I found that it dried VERY quickly) and then hang them back up! Here's my finished project!Ta-da! The project cost me about $125 for the two doors! I plan on doing this to all the other closet doors in our condo! It's such an easy, cheap fix and adds so much WOW factor!Hope you found this post helpful and inspiring! xo, Ash

Inspired Ideas, LIFE WITH ASHLEIGH, Things I LOVE, Up Close & Personalashleightaylorphotography Comments
How To: DIY Chevron Curtains

Thanks everyone for your sweet comments, facebook messages and emails about our new place! I've heard from a lot of people that they want to know how I made the Chevron Curtains and I am happy to share! Below is my How To post on my Chevron DIY!I really can't take much credit for this project, as it was inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. I then googled "DIY Chevron Curtains" and found a bunch of helpful links which inspired and instructed me on the entire project. The links are as follows:http://craftiliciousness.blogspot.com/2011/06/panels-part-ii.htmlhttp://thehuntedinterior.blogspot.com/2011/12/hot-trend-of-2011-chevron.htmlhttp://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/how-to/how-to-make-perfect-chevron-stripes-every-time-139609http://kfddesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/chevron-curtain-diy.html (this link was the one I found the MOST helpful)http://www.greenyourdecor.com/8209/chevron-curtain-tutorial/Materials Needed

  • Curtains in Cotton or Linen
  • Latex Wall Paint
  • Small Paint roller and tray
  • Blue Painter's Tape

For me, step one was picking out the curtains. I agonized at Ikea for seriously 30 minutes! There are a lot of similar options at Ikea that will all work well for the project with different price points. I couldn't really understand what the difference truly was or which one would look better. I ended up choosing the Merete Pair of Curtains in Bleached White and they worked PERFECTLY! I am really glad I chose them! They are so affordable too, at $25 for a pair. I needed 6 panels for my room, so I bought 3 packs. $75 for 6 curtain panels is not bad at all considering that the West Elm panels I bought for my office were nearly $75 PER PANEL! I also love that the Ikea curtains are extra long, because I wanted to hang them at ceiling height to make the room look taller and the windows look even bigger. My mother in law was able to hem the panels, before we painted, so they were the exact right length!Step two is buying the paint! My mother in law and I went back and forth on what would be the best way to paint these. She was thinking a fabric paint would be best because she worried regular wall paint would make the curtains look crunchy. BUT all the DIY instructions I read had suggested wall paint. So that's what I decided we should do. I am happy to report that the curtains really aren't crunchy or too stiff, even with wall paint on them! We bought the black latex wall paint at a home improvement store on sale, $25 for a gallon. With 6 panels, we nearly used the full gallon!Step three is the hard part. DOING THE MATH! Yep it turns out chevrons are very mathematical and to make each panel the same you are going to need to figure out some measurements. Unfortunately so much of the measurements are dependent upon the width and length of your panels, and your personal taste... so any measurements we found online didn't work! The basics that I remember of what we decided on was that each Chevron would be 14" wide and that from the high point to the low point of the chevron was 18".  The measuring and taping was a real pain in the butt. There is pretty much no way to sugar coat it. That is the point in the project where you may want to quit, or kill yourself or go pay one million dollars for a designer curtain in a fancy store! But don't give up! You will get through it... or rope someone else in to help you. Like I did. Thanks to Sharon, my mother in law, for crawling on the floor taping and measuring! I would have gone insane without her!diy chevron curtainStep four is the fun part! Painting! Once we had the chevrons all taped off we got to work on painting! One tip is to press hard on all your tape lines to make sure you will get a clean and even edge. Secondly, I did two coats of paint because I thought it looked better more even. Make sure to pull the tape off the panels when they are still a wee bit damp! And then hang them up!And then you're done! Woohoo!!Here are some additional tips/thoughts on the project:

  • Enlist help! This project is fairly easy, but it is a whole lot easier and quicker if you have help! Try to do this with some one and you will enjoy it so much more!
  • Unless you are only doing 2 panels, don't expect to be done in one day. With 6 panels to do, the project took us about 4 or 5 days from taping to painting!
  • Expect to play around with the measurements and placement of your first chevron on your first panel. It took us 3 tries to get it how we liked it. But once we figured it out we were able to apply the same measurements to each panel!

Hope this post has been helpful and inspirational!!!! Xoxoxoxo

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Unveiling Our New Home!!!

I am SO excited to finally share pics of my new home! The decorating process as been a long one! And one I could NOT have done without the help of my talented friend Rachel, and her mother Robin, the fabulous designers of Madison Modern Home ...and also the help of my in-laws!I hired Rachel and her mom to design and style my living room/dining room and home office. I knew I wanted to be really involved in the process and DIY a bunch of stuff, but at the same time I needed guidance and some help reigning in my ideas! Rachel did just that! She looked at my pinterest and evaluated my space and helped pull together a moodboard for me, complete with paint colors and items to buy/diy! Then the hard labor came in... me + my in-laws took on a bunch of projects from painting the walls and cabinets, to switching out light fixtures, DIYing a linear chandelier, repainting some furniture, sewing new slipcovers for our tired dining chairs (that was all my mother-in-law), DIYing new closet doors, and DIYing Chevron curtains (more on that later)! The shopping was clearly the easy part! ;) But honestly, it felt so good to put in the work to our home. It really makes it your own when you put your sweat in it! ;)With our projects and shopping complete, it was time for Rachel and Robin to come back to our place and style/decorate everything! This is the part that amazes me! It's all about the little details and the arranging of pieces. I am working on getting better at styling but honestly it can be frustrating for me. I am a person who seems to create clutter wherever I go in my home, so to really step back, streamline and rearrange is a challenge! I was VERY thankful to be able to leave the finishing touches to the experts!The other great thing is that Rachel was able to take a lot of the antique and vintage pieces that I inherited from my grandparents and put them throughout our home. It is because of my grandparents that we had the down payment for the home, for which I will always be so thankful. It feels very special to have their cherished antiques and decorative items in our own home. I know my grandma would love it!Having a home I could be proud of has been a LONG time coming. It is literally a dream come true. I have always envied other photographers who met clients in their homes, and were able to show their clients beautiful  walls of canvas and print displays. I wished, hoped, and prayed that one day I could have a space that not only I'd be proud to show clients, but that my clients would find comfy, helpful and educational! I am excited to begin taking meetings in my home, and thankful I have a comfy, cozy, stylish atmosphere to really show my potential clients who I am and what I have to offer them. Having a office with a gallery wall allows me to show clients the different print options, and exactly why having your pictures live beyond the digital realm is so important! So... that was a long fancy way of explaining that from now forth all client meetings will take place in my home/home studio in Santa Barbara, CA!And now without further ado..PICTURES!I LOVE the plate wall, which mixes plates my grandparents had collected from around the world with a few vintage pieces that Rachel brought! :) Oh, and that is also my grandparents antique banjo barometer!There are no words to describe how in love I am with my DIY crystal chandelier and DIY chevron curtains!On the left - our adorable sitting area with painted side table! And on the right - a detail of our bookshelves, which are from Ikea. Rachel added a faux bois wallpaper backing to give them a little more personality and add a masculine touch to the room!I am obsessed with our chair (the Cute as a Button Erin from World Market) and the chevron pillow made by Little House Frau. Rachel added an organic touch with this real bird's nest and decorative eggs inside this glass dome!LOVE this vignette on the coffee table (which is from World Market by the way).The living room!Without a doubt my favorite area of the room is my silhouette wall! My grandma had silhouettes of herself, my dad and me as a kid. I love the family tradition. I added to it by ordering some from Esty, and had one made of me, AJ and our 2 cats! It's a little family tree. Hopefully we can add to this wall some day! I also adore the lamp which is from Urban Home...and the decanter, which is vintage Baccarat, inherited from my grandparents.The antique desk and chair were also from my grandparents...antique finds which they brought home from a trip to England! The table and chair are so meaningful to me because I remember it being in their home and the stories they'd tell me about bringing it back from London. My mother-in-law recovered the cushion though since the old fabric was worn out. Voila, so antique and so modern all at once!Cute vignettes...The living room couch and pillows on the couch are courtesy of my favorite store EVER... West Elm! The throws are from Ikea.And now for my home studio!!!!! I adore the gallery wall of my work... a nice mix of matted + framed prints and canvas gallery wraps! The desk is from Target, the chair is Ikea and the lamp is an antique (again, from my grandparents)!I LOVE this little window bench... but my cats love it even more! The curtains are West Elm!We DIY'd those closet doors (more on that in another post) and the other wall houses all my work stuff! The best thing is that there is enough room in here to set up a back drop for shoots if need be! It truly is my mini home studio!I totally underestimated how inspiring it is to work surrounded by my favorite photos and magazine features! It pushes me to take it to the next level!Voila! My home! We still need to decorate the master bedroom, the guest bath and the third bedroom, but this is quite the start! I can't wait for you to come see it! :)Credits:Design - Madison Modern Home http://madisonmodernhome.com/Furniture and Accessories - Ikea, West Elm, World Market, Urban Home, Target, Pampa, Little House FrauSilhouettes - Aeryck De SadePaint Colors: Dunn Edwards: "Foil" (gray for living room), "Citron" (accent wall in living room), "Prime Pink" (home studio)Everything Else - DIY'd by me or Antique/Vintage

ANNOUNCEMENTS, Inspired Ideas, LIFE WITH ASHLEIGH, Things I LOVEashleightaylorphotography Comments
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Tangerine is THE color for 2012. And I have to say I adore it. It's so me. I've always leaned toward the red, pinky, orangey bright hues. And tangerine is so hot and joyful how could you not love it? This Kate Spade necklace is TO DIE FOR. It is a statement piece and a great way to add a pop of tangerine to any outfit. In fact...I would LOVE to see this necklace paired with the ultimate outfit. A wedding gown. Yep, brides, think of how stunning you'd be in your white strapless or V-necked gown with this collar on...maybe even paint your nails to match and pair with these tangerine Kate Spade shoes?? KILLER. Seriously, one of y'all has to take me up on this styling advice because it's HOT. ;)

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I am IN LOVE, I mean INNNN LOVEEEEEEEEE with this Tory Burch bag!!! I adore it so much because it can be worn 3 ways! One way, as shown, crossbody. Another way it can be worn it with the fold straight up, more like a slouchy casual day bag. And finally it can be worn folded as shown but without the crossbody strap...so you'd hold it like a clutch!! Is that fabulous or is that fabulous?? I love this bag so much and if I achieve my 2012 business goals this year, it will be my reward!!!! I really hope I can make it work this year because... I need this bag! Man, I love Tory Burch. That classy, stylin' lady thinks of everything! <3

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I ADORE this tufted chair from World Market! It is beyyyyyyond adorable! I love tufted furniture in general...but this one is extra cute because it has little colorful buttons on it! Each button is different...and each chair has different buttons! How cute is that? I loved this chair so much I bought it for my new home! And it looks oh so perfect! I almost want another one so we would have a pair...but I don't think there is room. Boo. Still it's truly cute as button right? If you want one, you can get one here!

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My Love of Boudoir, Creative Live, Christa Meola and New Goals

photo via creativelive.com

To be quite honest, I never even heard of Christa Meola before last weekend. But because I really enjoy boudoir sessions and do a good amount of sexy b-shoots each year, I figured I should tune in when I got a notice from CreativeLive saying they had a special Boudoir Photography Workshop airing just in time for Valentine's Day. And Ohhhhh Mannnnnnn am I glad I did! Because it! was! amazing!

My first impression of Christa was that she was my kind of gal. Not too conservative. She has a vivacious, carefree attitude. She has colorful language (yep, the second she accidentally used a curse word I knew we could be homies)! But more importantly she's all about female empowerment. Hello, I'm hooked.

Then I checked out her work and I ADORE it. Very editorial. Very bold. Very saucy. Yes.

I ended up buying the download of the 3 day workshop because I had a few other things going on so I couldn't watch the whole thing live. But from what I've already seen...I was so impressed! She talked lighting, business, making boudoir the ultimate spa-like, pampering experience... which I SO agree with! And she also demo'd a LOT of shooting in all types of situations and body types. I loved watching her shoot and do her thang! And not to toot my own horn, but I was very pleased when she explained how she poses and directs her clients because that's exactly how I do it! And I never went to a boudoir workshop before or had seen anyone else shoot boudoir except during my own sesh with my boudoir photographer!I walked away from thee live online course with so much more knowledge about how to make my boudoir pictures better, but more so how to give my clients an even better boudoir experience......And I walked away INSPIRED.So just so you know, I am going to be starting a separate boudoir blog-site soon. And I'll  be having a HOT marathon session here in Santa Barbara for a HOT PRICE... in March... Details to be posted soon, but contact me now if you are interested :)

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Life Lately

Hi Interwebs! It's a been awhile... to be quite honest I have been enjoying slow season. Going to client meetings. Having engagement sessions. And working on the back end of my business.... mainly goals, business plan revisions, and outlining how to make 2012 even more awesome for my clients! It's been a lot of work...and a lot different from the fast pace of wedding season. But I've been digging it.I've also been...adjusting...Adjusting to what? Well, my new life here in Santa Barbara. Being a total LA girl for 26 years, living somewhere new has been very interesting. I've been up, down and all around. I do LOVE being here in SB. It is beautiful. It is very community oriented. It's kind of got a hippie vibe I dig. It has, as I am discovering, some yummy food. It's not fast paced like LA. And I can't get anything I want at anytime of day (say for example Korean food or food trucks or a romp around good ol' Target). I can't see my mom every Sunday for brunch.... But even though it ain't LA, it is nice. And the best thing about Santa Barbara is that it has my husband. And now my cats. And I'm enjoying us being together again like a family.I've also been adjusting to be a home owner and living in our new place! I never in a million years realized a) how much stuff we owned and b) how hard unpacking and organizing is! As a renter, I never cared much to decorate or have my space perfectly organized. But now that this place is OURS it is sooooo important to me to have it be nice, cutely decorated, organized and tidy. My goal is to have it be nice enough even to use as a home studio/meeting space...and even as a spot for some saucy boudoir shoots. More on that later... But needless to say when I haven't been working on my business, I have been working on my home.And...totally neglecting my blog! For which I apologize! So with that said I promise to blog more. To reinstate my weekly "i <3 this" and "inspired ideas" posts... and to blog more faqs and purty pictures! So let's begin now, shall we?Here is life lately...courtesy of my instagram!PS - follow me on instagram... i'm ashleightaylor!

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DIY Crystal Linear Chandelier {for the home}

I have to admit, this past January I have been having SO much fun buying things for and decorating my new condo! Maybe a little too much fun! We are nowhere near finished... who knew it took so much work just to pull one room together?! Well, maybe it's because the first room we decided to tackle is our biggest-- the open concept living/dining room and sorta the kitchen too!One thing I've always dreamed of having was a gorgeous chandelier. In the past we've rented and it's kinda like "whatever ugly lighting comes with the place is what you get." So I have never had a really nice light fixture before. And when we first moved in one of the FIRST things that had to change was the ridiculously ugly, apartment-rental-esque ceiling light in the dining area. I wished I had taken a photo to show you how truly yuck it was... but I was too focused on getting rid of it!Anywho... so I really LOVE the look of a Crystal Linear Chandelier. Modern. Yet Blingy. But after having just dropped most of our life's savings on a down payment, we really needed to be budget conscious on the decorating. Luckily I found this amazing DIY tutorial on how to make a linear chandelier on Teal + Lime.So off I went to make my own rad chandy! And I think I really succeeded. There were a few blanks I had to figure out from the DIY instructions I read..so I am gonna walk you through how I did it. It's such a posh and affordable way to jazz up your dining area!Here's what you need:

  • Tidig Chandelier from Ikea (I used the one with 6 lamps)
  • Crystals!!! (I bought mine here + here from Etsy)
  • 26 gauge jewelry wire
  • Flat nosed pliers with wire cutters
  • Crimping Beads
  • Clear Packing Tape

Project Cost: $215Step one is to install the light. My father-in-law did it, but you may need an electrician depending on your knowledge of these things!The Tidig hangs SUPER LOW! The height is fairly adjustable but we adjusted it as far up as it would go. It's still pretty low but it's about 26-28" above our table so it works great!Here's a before picture of the light just installed which I snapped with my iPhone. And yep... that's my father-in-law painting our accent wall in the background (we make him work hard)!One thing you notice as you shorten the length of the chandelier is there is A LOT of extra, lose wire hanging about...and it is anything but clean and modern looking! So we had to carefully and neatly fold the wires to make it look like one piece and used clear packing tape to hold it together! Now it looks super clean and you don't even notice it!Next step is the crystals!Needless to say,  you have to buy the crystals first! That's the funnest + easiest part of the whole project! Watch your budget as it is VERY easy to get carried away. I spent $150 on crystals, which is $40 more than Teal + Lime spent. However, I really like the look of the extra crystals... our final result is one lush and luxe looking chandy! And still the whole chandelier came under $225 which is much less than any one  you can buy a brand spankin' new  in ANY store I've seen.When buying the crystals look for different shapes + sizes! Varying lengths is so important too! I chose a mix of pendalogues of varying shapes and sizes, rectangular prisms, teardrop prisms, and octagon crystals!Hanging the crystals was another challenge that took some time to figure out. Luckily I have a smart + crafty mother-in-law to help me when it comes to projects like this!  We decided to use 26 gauge jewelry wire and crimping beads. First we looped the wire through the hole on each crystal. Then we used a crimping bead to hold and just wrapped the excess wire around the hanging piece of wire. Once we had all the crystals attached to wires, we then looped the other end of the wire around the chandelier. Again using a crimping bead to hold and wrapping the excess wire. ...Hope I explained that well!Here's a visual on how we fastened the crystals...it should make more sense after seeing these details...We made sure to balance out the shapes and sizes of the crystals and also to hang them at varying lengths! That is super key. A big tip is to stop every handful of crystals you hang, and step wayyyy back. Then evaluate where it needs more of what.The final result...I'm so in LOVE with how it turned out! And my hubby is too! He compliments it almost daily, how about that?! With the paint up and my chandelier in place our room is really starting to take shape and becpming the place I dream of it being!I'll update more as things progress!xoAshleigh

Inspired Ideas, LIFE WITH ASHLEIGH, Things I LOVEashleightaylorphotographycrystal, diy, diy crystal chandelier, diy linear chandelier, for the home, linear crystal chandelier, modern home, modern interior design Comment
Behind The Scenes | Ashleigh Taylor Photography 2011

Well folks...its December! The LAST MONTH OF 2011!!! Can someone explain to me how that happened?? This year seemed to blur by! But what an amazing blur it has been! :)Every year, around December (and sometimes rolling a little into January) I like to do a series of blog posts that review and sum up the past year. It really helps me relive all the fun and awesomeness of the past year and see how far I've come!Last year, I debuted a Behind The Scenes post where I showcased all the photos I could find of me shooting weddings in 2010! To my complete surprise, it was a big huge hit, and I got so much feed back that people loved seeing me in action. So now that 2011 is coming to a close, I decided to spend an hour or two digging through all the photos from the weddings I shot this year...searching and searching for photos of me in action! It was kinda like playing Where's Waldo!Well... I found some doozies that I hope you will enjoy! ;) Without further ado, here is Behind The Scenes of Ashleigh Taylor Photography 2011!Here I am with Frances + Jared, shooting their First Look and romantics:

Getting a few portraits of the groom! Excuse the greasy hair please, it was over 100 degrees outside that day! YIKES!!!

What's better than shooting on the beach with toes in your sand? Shooting an adorable couple on the beach-- like Lauren + Drew! :)

I LOVE shooting romantics! I always have a dopey smile on my face when shooting them, no matter how hot or cold it is outside! ;)

I always make sure to line up everyone for family shots and angle them just right for the perfect photo!

I LOVE showing my clients pics on the back of the camera and seeing their reaction! I think they love it too because they can see right away that they look amazing!

I always tell my the bridal party how to lift up the bride's dress just enough so you can step in close to her without stepping on her dress! That's what I'm doing here. Serious business friends!

I LOVE this picture! The light was fading as we walked back from the beach to the reception... and we chatted about Boardwalk Empire! Being friends with your clients is rad!

Just explaining poses to get the shot!

Yep, I can handle a big old bridal party and get them to have fun!! :)

Just chatting with the groom as I take some portraits of him!

This is me at my destination wedding this year!! Which was in New England in November! It was a chilly, windy 40 degrees that day so I bundled appropriately but also pretty snazzy! My hat had sequins-- dressy and yet keeps the head warm and cozy! ;)

I always make sure to check the back of the camera to make sure I got the shot before we move on!!

I'm a shorty. A REAL shorty. So my secret to getting great angles and pics often involves standing on chairs, benches and whatever solid furniture I can find! ;)

We shot Skylar + AJ's romantics on a suspension bridge!! What daredevils we were! Not gonna lie there were a few moments I was a little nervous but SkyJ is so sexy, I quickly forgot where I was and rocked the shots out!

That's me showing a bridesmaid how to pose!! Sexy right? LOL

Just shooting a wedding in autumn, in New Hampshire, on the grounds of a Castle... that's all! ;)

This me showing a bride how I want her to pose. Aren't I adorable? ;)

Fun with my bride Carolyn in her ATP Phunky Booth!

I also LOVE getting fun shots in regular style photo booths too! Here are some great ones from 2011!

If you provide a pimp hat as a photobooth prop, I will pose with it on. Yeeeeah dawgz! I'm gangsta.

What a goofball I am!

Well folks, there you have at! A look at what goes on behind the scenes at one of my weddings! Hope you enjoyed! :)

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(image via the hungry house wife)

By now everyone who reads my blog knows that I LOVE me some Nutella... and I also LOVE me some hot cocoa. So NUTELLA HOT CHOCOLATE?!!!! Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! This is blowing my mind right here! I found The Hungry House Wife's recipe for Nutella Hot Chocolate on Pinterest and boy oh boy am I glad that I did! Anyone who wants to try this too should go check out the recipe here! Yippee! Nom nom to all! And happy fall!!

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(image via prudent baby)

When I was shooting Frances + Jared's wedding at Sherman Library and Gardens, I noticed there were many STUNNING succulent wreaths for sale at the Garden's gift shop. I had never seen succulents used in a wreath before but I was delighted by how lovely it looked... I couldn't help to peaksy at the price tag and was a little disappointed to see that the wreaths run from about $150-250. When I got home I kept thinking about the wreaths and was wondering if it was something I could DIY. I googled and yay! I found some excellent instructions for a DIY Succulent Wreath on Prudent Baby. I have been pretty overwhelmed with wedding season, but when the off-season arrives I definitely want to tackle this project!! How cute would this look on a front door.... and even better it lasts year round! I'll keep you posted on how this turns out when I get around to tackling it!

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I have been watching a lot of HGTV lately and one show I am simply loving is Home By Novogratz!! The designs that Rob and Courtney Novogratz do are simply STUNNING! They are so bold and fun and really quirky, which I love. I honestly wish I had the creativity and courage to try some of their color combos and ideas in my home decor! I honestly love their style so much and would just swoooon and die to live in a place designed by them! But it's very hard for me decorating on their own to try to envision how things would look their way. But I want to try. As I think about revamping some rooms over at Chez Henning, I definitely want to try to infuse a little Novogratz inspiration! Because seriously, they ROCK!!!

Do you watch Home By Novogratz? What do you think of their quirky design aesthetic?

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By now everyone who reads my blog should know I am a HUGE fan of HBO and Showtime original programming. More so the former, but every now and then Showtime really hits it out of the park with a show as good as anything on HBO. Homeland is one of these shows, and is quickly becoming my favorite TV show this fall! Full of espionage, mystery and intense moments, Homeland has me hanging on at the end of my seat with each and every episode. And the acting by Claire Danes and Damian Lewis is so convincing, and so good... even when they have scenes filled with silence they manage to be completely compelling. And is it just me or is Damian Lewis like SUPER SEXY? I usually can't get past crooked teeth, but for Damian I am willing to try! hehe!I am definitely a huge new fan of this show and can't wait to see where this premiere season will take us! Any thoughts? Any of my readers watching this amazingness?

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Oh man, oh man!!!! I have been watching AMC's Breaking Bad for several years now, and is it just me or does every season get more and more INTENSE?! The premise of the show is Walter White, a former high school chemistry teacher with terminal cancer, turning into a very bad drug dealer/meth cooker. The creators have said its watching "Mr. Chips turn into Scarface." And with this season... looks like our sweet old Walter has turned Scarface indeed!!! This season was full of twists and turns and painfully intense moments that had me holding onto AJ squealing "OMG! OMG!" The finale was unexpected and well written!! So I had to give a shout out to this show because it's truly awesome, and my Sunday nights will feel very empty during its off season....Do any of you watch Breaking Bad?? If so holla at me!!'

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(images via Nordstrom)

I have always envied gals with Tory Burch flats. Mainly because my feet are SOOOOO small (a size 4 in womens) and I had never seen them in my size before. Until one day I got a little email for Nordstrom saying new sizes 4's were in my size and lo! and behold! TORY BURCH SHOES! In MY size!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!! I feel in love with the Caroline flats. They are pretty comfy and I love the shape and that they are patent leather. At first I bought the black but then I had to get the nude color too! The nude ones are lovely!!! I have so much fun wearing these shoes and finding new outfits to pair them with. They are a major obsession! Love!!!

What's your current favorite shoe? Let me know below!

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(all images/outfits via Atlantic-Pacific)

I am SOOOO in love with the whole sailor stripes trend that's been going on. I have a cute dress with sailor stripes from Nordstrom as well as a short sleeve sailor striped shirt from Zara. But sometimes it can be hard to think of new creative combos for these beloved pieces of my wardrobe. Enter Atlantic-Pacific, my current obsession. I LOVEEE the way Blair pairs unexpected patterns. And I am totally using her sailor stripe looks as inspiration for my own outfits this fall! I mean I never ever would've though stripes could work with camo, checkers, leopard, or other types of stripes! Simply genius!!!

What is your favorite pattern to pair with stripes? Let me know in a comment below!

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