i like the way you think.

mister warhol's got the right idea.

how much better would the world be if we all liked each other a little bit more?

i think i'm going to try a little bit harder to make this happen, at least in my own life.

*image via alysonnoel.com

there's really nothing better than being home.

there's just something about being woken up by your mother for the day, not some silly alarm clock.

and lounging around with the family, watching a basketball game (even if the end result didn't turn out to be so great).

and eating dinner at the best neighborhood pizza place (some of the best gluten-free pizza there is!), while chatting with your parents.

and enjoying a delightful browse in the sports authority with your mom while your father falls asleep in the camping chairs.

and watching the office with your cute little brother.

and catching up with your best friend after watching a terrible 80s movie,

and realizing that robert downey jr.'s looks really improved with age-- see here (plus a nice gappy smile) vs. here.

and somehow "forgetting" to do homework in the midst of it all.

happy to be home.

so after an extremely difficult month, i decided to head home for the weekend.

and i don't think i could've made a better decision.

though i was running off of little-to-no sleep for most of the day,

the incredible seventy degree weather (in january!) and blue skies put a smile on my face.

i got some really, really great news at my doctor's appointment, and thus, we celebrated with a visit to our favorite little restaurant!

we came home to watch a movie and just relax... it reminded me of the good old days with my parents.

and why i love my colorado and my home oh so much.

chaos.

do you know what went down in the marriott center on byu campus last night?

well, as mister kevin durant puts it, "jimmer fredette is the best scorer in the world!"

and my whole family was there to witness it.

so, so good.

details to come soon.

vanderhorst wedding.

so i am finally posting bekah & grant vanderhorst's wedding photos from november.

the wedding day was absolutely perfect...

from their afternoon sealing at the denver LDS temple to their luncheon at marie calendars to their evening reception, all of the details came through without a hitch.

bekah is one of my dear friends from high school (remember her gorgeous engagements?), so i was really excited when she found grant and asked me to shoot her wedding!

bekah and grant were so easygoing and such a pleasure to work with, as were their families and wedding party!

and their reception was so gorgeous... they had a soup bar and hot cocoa bar to warm everyone up from the cold, and their colors (red, black, and champagne) really shone through in the decor.

i reallly had a lovely time with this november 20, 2010 wedding. enjoy!

dress: celestial bride, allure
shoes: like.com
tux and groomsmen ties: men's warehouse
hair: amy veer
cake: lynette bash
decor at reception: exquisite designs by cherice

flowers: debbie christopherson
luncheon: marie calendars
bridesmaid's dresses: shabbyapple.com

congratulations, bekah & grant!

www.annagleavephotography.com

[denver engagement & wedding photography]

fredette fever.

so here in provo, winters would be unbearably bleak, if it weren't for one thing...

BYU BASKETBALL.

mr. jimmer fredette is the new (okay, not so new) campus craze, so much so that it now takes hours to get a guaranteed seat in the student section... and that's the day before the game.

the student section is always jam packed and reminiscent of a duke-type scenario, and the campouts to get good seats are really common occurrences these days.

some boys even brave the utah cold to camp out every night through the season to ensure perfect seats for each home game!

so why does byu deserve this fan base? wellll, they're ranked #9.

and they've got a chance to move up tomorrow when they play #4 sdsu... big game!

i love going to the games with the crew because a) the environment is so much fun and b) they hand out free xl tees!

huzzah for basketball season!

fiesta, forever.

so tonight we mixed things up a bit and had a little fiesta of sorts.

i called up the hermano and his bff, they grabbed some friends, and we collaborated for a dinner party!

and i must say, era padre (look that up on google translate, si quieres).

we made lauren's mom's famous cafe rio chicken and paired it with all of those good mexican-type toppings.

annnnd we devoured it preetty nicely.

then, we were provided with some decadent (or so i heard) spice cake with cream cheese frosting and gluten-free brownies (for me!) for dessert by the lovely curtis sisters.

we chatted, made new friends, and watched the BYU vs. CSU game.

we even pulled out amanda's swedish bubbly for the occasion!

unfortunately, i pulled out my camera long after the festivities (and feasting) had begun, but i still ended up with a few decent shots from the evening...

delicious, and so easy to make, especially for a larger crowd... here's lauren's recipe!

i'd say it was certainly a successful saturday night... what do you think?

i simply remember my favorite things...

anna's favorite things, winter edition.

so, here's the thing. i really, really hate winter.

i'm a summer sunshine kind of girl, 99.93827% of the time.

but growing up in colorado (and currently residing in utah) has forced me to cope with the long, frigid winters.

and over the years, i've picked up a few friends along the way. hence, anna's favorite things (or maybe more appropriately, what keeps me sane during the wintertime):

1. nestle hot cocoa: now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing like homemade cocoa, or 7 eleven hot cocoa for that matter... but really, who has the time (or the funds) for that every day? in the winter, cocoa is my staple sweet treat; it always warms me up, and it makes my belly reaaallly happy. the folks at nestle make it right... mini marshmallows provided, and a whole box is only a little over a dollar. mmmmm, delish!

2. cetaphil moisturizing cream: i use this stuff year round, but it is particularly lovely in the winter time, when dry skin can become unbearable (especially up high in the rocky mountains...) it's so thick and smooth-- just what my skin needs after a nice long shower.

3. basa body stick: again, i use this year round, but i find myself reaching for it more often in the winter time. it's incredibly functional, smells delicious (like coconuts!), and doesn't leave your hands greasy. plus, part of the money earned from the product goes to women in africa who farm the coconuts... cool, no?

4. aquaphor: another year-round best friend becomes even closer of a friend to me in the winter time, again due to the whole dryness situation. this is the best lip gloss any girl could ever use, and it keeps your lips smiling and crack-free!

5. scottish scarves: all right, so my scarves are infinitely more attractive than this one (mine are cool and woven), but you get the picture. those scots really know what they're doing when it comes to lamb's wool. i'm a little bit obsessed with one of my scarves in particular, but it keeps me 58 times warmer, and i always get loads of compliments on it! plus, it reminds me of my excellent adventures in edinburgh (my favorite place in the uk, in case you were wondering...)

6. bionaire humidifier: this cool-mist humidifier runs in my bedroom day and night; i can't tell you how much it helps with the dryness of the air. with all of my past sinus and throat problems, i automatically notice when i've forgotten to fill up my humidifier the night before. let's just say, it's not pretty. if you get sick often, try a humidifier... it will make your body happy.

welll, there you have it! some of my favorite winter things, or the things that are currently keeping me sane, at least...

maybe i should go into advertising? or just become oprah.

what makes you happy in the winter time?

back at it.

wellll, i am back on my feet! out and about, working up a storm... however you want to put it, i've slowly reintroduced myself to the real world. huzzah!

i survived my first real(-ish, thank you mlk jr. day) week of school, and i'm finally finishing up a huuge job from thanksgiving that i'll be posting early next week.

but just to get you a little excited,

a little sneak peek at beautiful bekah's wedding:

mis padres.

so i've reached that time of life where a lot of my friends are getting married or are in serious relationships.

and thus, i've found that so many of their blog posts are dedicated to "how wonderful their husbands/boyfriends/lovers are"...

not to discredit this (i'm sure i'll do the same when i get married), but currently, i probably have closer to the mentality of a third grader, not a fifteenth-grader.

what i'm trying to say is, that i'm reallly attached to my parents.

especially lately, as they've helped nurse me back to health and have helped me through some recent challenges.

i really think that my parents are the best parents for me and my brothers.

they both flew to utah at separate times to take care of me after my tonsillectomy, and they put up with all of my silent whining and four a.m. pain med schedules.

they watched lots of crazy movies and shows with me to distract me from the pain, bought me whatever soft/liquid food i was craving at the moment, and were always so encouraging and supportive.

i feel so lucky to have them as my best friends.

i don't know where i'd be without such great padres.

questions, questions...

so, i've been getting a lot of questions about my work lately.

and thus, i've opened up one of these:

http://www.formspring.me/agleave

a bit trendy, i know, but i feel like it'll give my clients, friends, readers, whoever... a better opportunity to get to know me!

just one request, please be nice.

ask away!

i hope that you all had a relaxing monday.

the pursuit.

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise man grows it under his feet."

-James Oppenheim

even though things are still looking a little bleak, there's nothing more i can do than to just chin up and carry on. i've got some pretty great memories to look back on... and many more to look forward to.

happy sunday, to you all.

anna gets reintroduced to the public!

so my lovely friends got me out of the apartment last night, and it felt reallly good (no, i'm not talking about the human-popsicle inducing utah weather-- just the experience overall).

we went to our favorite, secret little family-owned mexican joint and celebrated youth and those consequent healthy metabolisms that will someday no longer grace us with their presence.

oh yeah, and we celebrated my re-introduction to society AND the fact that my doctor has lifted the solid food ban! huzzah for real meals!

it really was a party.

but we missed our fifth roommate, lauren!

though the whole "coming out into society" thing was cool for a sec, i think i'll stick with the good friends and mexican food idea... no debutant balls or fancy dresses for me!

what can i say? i've always been a jeans and tee shirt (and that's if you're lucky!) kind of girl.

so grateful for good friends and good food in my life.

an update.

so, i've been pretty absent, as of late.

i know, i know, you're probably thinking to yourselves, "what else is new?"

welll... this time, i've got a pretty legit excuse.

this surgery has left me a little bit messed up... the recovery process is a lot more difficult than i had expected, physically and emotionally speaking.

i'm trying to start a new semester of school (after missing the first two weeks of it), finish up some long-overdo work, while getting enough hours of sleep in (literally twelve at minimum) and resting enough. i'm not trying to make this a pity party at all, merely an explanation of where i've been.

i know i'd be far worse off without the constant encouraging texts from my parents and the support from my friends and family, so... thank you.

i'll be back... soon... with cool stuff to share with you all! i promise.

until then, here's proof that i'm alive

[and trying to smile through it...]

cutest couple contest winners!

so i am back home in provo-- still in a lot of pain, but improving overall.

and since i've finally turned the corner and am starting to feel a bit better, i'm able to get some more work done.

so i think it's about time to announce anna gleave photography and bethany campbell films' winter 2010 cutest couple contest winners!

scott & kaylee

scotty was one of my best friends in high school, so i was thrilled when he asked his darling high school sweetheart to marry him! these two come from large families and a supportive community, and they worked hard to get the votes to win.

scotty and kaylee chose jack johnson's "better together". i was a little nervous with this selection because this is one of my favorite songs of all time.. they had a lot to live up to. but after beth and i spent the afternoon with these two, it was clear that life with scott & kaylee really is better together. such a sweet little film, no?

Scott + Kaylee Engagement from Bethany Campbell [BC.film] on Vimeo.

thanks for all who participated! check back for another contest coming up this spring!

anna gleave photography [denver engagement, wedding photography] www.annagleavephotography.com

winter weddings.

did i tell you that i shot a wedding in a blizzard the other day?!

december weddings in logan are a dangerous thing, my friends.

i've been lucky enough to shoot several weddings this winter, all of which have been beautiful and completely unique.

one thing that has (pleasantly) surprised me about these weddings is the variety in color schemes the brides chose. i was expecting a lot of reds and golds, but i reaaally lucked out with some gorgeous color schemes (and gorgeous bouquets, at that!)

so here's a little preview to the weddings i've been working on & a little pretty shot of the bridal bouquet.

forrest & katie: plum and chartreuse... the combination was totally unique, but it was pulled together perfectly through their modern decor and bridesmaids attire! i loved how katie's bouquet had some bright pinks in it, too, to distract from the bleak december weather!

christopher & brianne: dark purple and cream... yet again, so different, but so lovely. the combination was strong and striking with the snowy logan day. the deep purple looked stunning with the 1800s reception hall, and it was all so fitting for the couple!

grant & rebekah: red, black, and champagne... a classic combination of red and black was given a perfect "november" zest with the champagne. i loved the champagne-colored lights at the reception and the red flowers in the bride and bridesmaid's hair!

planning a wedding (or just dreaming)? what colors do you want your wedding to be?

this blog is entirely dedicated to wedding color combinations. those creative ladies come up with some pretty startling combinations that end up looking amazing... check it out!

and check back for full posts from my winter weddings!

besos.