Oh my goodness. What. A. Year. Amiright??? Every year seems like it flies by so fast, but then, when you look back on it, everything seems like it happened so long ago…
In my personal life, this was my first whole calendar year living as a San Diegan! We started the year in our Solana Beach apartment 5 minutes from the beach, and are ending the year in Poway among the hills in a townhouse my parents bought (for their hopeful future SD retirement). So it’s been fun painting walls and doing projects to make it our own in a way we couldn’t while renting from non-family members 😉 I totally miss the North County life and its salty air, but LOVE feeling like I live in a little mountain town every time I go to the grocery store and see those hill views… what a dream! I have to admit… at the end of last year, I wondered if my heart would always long for the Midwest, namely Chicago, and while I have my moments, I’ve been happy to feel more and more at home here.
It’s also been a thrilling year for Color&Cake Photography! I had the pleasure of photographing one Chicago couple and 6 San Diego weddings, plus engagements, a few families, and have already started an exciting line up for next year! I feel so lucky for those that have connected with me and asked me to photograph them this year. The compliment of being chosen and the emotion I feel when people react with total joy over the precious memories captured never ever gets old. It’s what keeps me going! What a gift I’ve been given (not in a braggy way, but a man-am-I-so-blessed way)!
Also, at the urging of my sweet and supportive husband, I started an Etsy shop called ColorAndCakeInvites selling digital files for customized watercolor wedding invitations! I have so many creative ideas on how to move forward in the new year, and I can’t wait to implement them!
Here, I have picked out a few of my favorite photos from each photo shoot I did this year… if you are in these photos, thank you for choosing me and letting me be a part of your life! If you are in the line-up for next year, thank YOU and hopefully these photos get you excited for what we might capture in the new year 🙂 If you are simply a friend, or family member that likes to follow my work, thank you. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. And if you aren’t in my 2017 calendar yet, but want to be, there’s still plenty of room for you and it would be an honor! Check out my website http://www.colorandcakeweddings.com and shoot me a line at calli@colorandcakeweddings.com 😉
Mark and I traveled to Napa to get our wine on and experience this beauty:
<–cool wine cave where we drank straight out of the barrels!
I had fun playing in the desert this year!
so. many. happy tears at this one!
yeah… I had to play with smoke again. HAD TO!

This is my big bro and his adorable family! AND the cutest nephew to roam the planet! 
If you ever wondered if it’s worth it to drag a fire pit to the beach for family photos, the answer is definitely yes!








