almost 4 summers ago, i traveled with my dad and sister to Peru with the Southern Cross Humanitarian to serve the natives there. despite a few tragedies (accidentally got my photos from the first 3 days completely erased, and i forgot my personal journal i had since age14 in one of our hotel rooms the last day) i had an amazing experience. i learned to be humble, be grateful for all i have and am blessed with, and most of all to serve God's children no matter where they live in this world. i am forever thankful for such an opportunity.

this video is of El Bichito where we served the children and helped construct the roof of the second story. some of the children i recognize and i can't believe how big they are now! it's amazing how much this little orphanage drop in center has grown and changed and i am so thankful that i can say i was a part of building this wonderful place. 

1. me and a couple little girls that were adorable. i didn't want to leave them!
2. El Bichito (translated, Little Bug) my group building the roof of the second story.

countdown for warm southern weather: 11 days

in just 11 days, i will be soaking in some serious sunshine. i will be able to wear warm clothes like so, and shop to buy cute summer-y clothes like so and feel totally awesome like so. i mean, look how happy she is wearing those sunglasses and totally cute spring outfits? i want to feel like that and will soon. oh the joy i will feel! (rexburg, you disappointed me yesterday. please bring back my sunshine and happiness...)
















looking at the j.crew catalog made me so excited to try some new spring looks! and it doesn't help that i see such cute ideas all over pinterest every day but don't have the gorgeous weather to try them out! i'll just keep brainstorming and share my ideas with you. i love this color palette with mixing and matching shades of coral pink and patterns. what do you think?

 I really wanted to take photos at sunset of aspin trees, so kev and I set out to explore and find them. We were rushing to catch the sunset, but didn't make it in time. Naturally, we went exploring instead and drove on streets we didn't know existed. I snapped some photos along the way, and when editing them, I thought I'd take up my challenge of editing photos in B&W.

 Saturday we had our M date. We went to this Mandarin restaurant and got it to-go to eat at the park. It was such a gorgeous day outside! All the people who have been hibernating this winter came out of their houses like the munchkins in munchkin land.
the picnic idea didn't last too long.. we sat down and started eating, but the wind ruined it I got tired of eating my hair rather than my chow mein.

AAAND of course, we went to the movies to see THE HUNGER GAMES! okay, [gasp!] I haven't read the books, but after seeing this movie, I definitely will start! I was in suspense mode the whole time and I was impressed with everything about the movie. Loved it!

happy hunger games! and may the odds be ever in your favor... :)

I want to do a little exercise... think to yourself when reading the following questions:

How do you feel when you look at this room?


 How do you feel when you look at this room?


 There's a big difference in emotions. You feel peace, calm, relaxed, clean, bright and happy when you see the first photo. The second one, you instantly feel unorganized, stressed, unclean, upset, and discouraged.


Your home is place where you can allow others to feel these same ways when they visit.
Life catches up to us and sometimes we think our home is a happy place to be until we realize it's become like the messy bedroom. So what are some daily little things you can do to improve your home and keep it a happy, comforting place to be? 
 
It only takes a second:
Live by the mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place. 

• If you take it out, put it back.
• If you open it, close it.
• If you throw it down, pick it up.
• If you take it off, hang it up. 

 Make a simple list of things to declutter and pick one per day:

• Day 1: Declutter Magazines
• Day 2: Declutter DVD’s
• Day 3: Declutter books
• Day 4: Declutter kitchen appliances 
• etc....

I hope this helps someone out there who may be stressed about their home. It takes those simple daily things to instanty improve your home and how you feel when you're there.

Enjoy your day! We have lots of warm sunshine here and I can't wait to play outside this weekend. (well if i have the time- finals are stressing me out! eekk...)  

 it's been very strange... i've felt that the seattle weather has moved over to rexburg the past week to visit me and it's making me homesick.

i miss that drizzly rain
i miss looking out my bedroom window and seeing miles of trees
i miss living near malls and being able to really shop
i miss going downtown and exploring new places
i miss the feeling and people of seattle- so down-to-earth and so.. hipster (i swear hipster was born in seattle, right next to the first original Starbucks) speaking of which...
although i am not a coffee drinker, i miss the smell of walking into Starbucks

i miss you seattle, and i'm coming home in month!
and i can't wait.

i'm always looking for new fonts and i love inspiring quotes, so why not combine them?

i created this print using two fonts found on this website.
20 // Code [bold & light]
13 // fontleroy brown

to download these fonts, click on the links.

i hope this quote inspires you to keep striving for what you are wanting to achieve; you can't become skillful in something until you've faced the rough seas. keep moving and through your trials you can succeed and become the best in that skill.

i am so inspired by black and white photos. i was thinking about what makes a beautiful black and white photo? because not just any photo can be black and white. the answer: contrast between darks and highlights in photos.
so then i thought, someday i want to go out and snap a ton of photos and edit them all to be black and white and see how i do. someday i'll do that... and i'll most likely blog about it and share with you all.

but for now, here's a recent B+W photo of myself as i was experimenting with darks and highlights in photos. 

it was friday night, a rainy dreary day, and just one of those times where you feel like being lazy. what good timing for an L date! we were first going to get take out at a yummy place Costa Vida, but the line was super long. so being lazy we ordered Dominoes Pizza...


and rented a few movies at Redbox... (thank goodness for redbox and coupon codes to get free movies!)
 okay, sure, i'll share those promo codes with you :) >> DVDONME and BREAKROOM (both work only once per credit/debit card.


sometimes you just need a lazy date to relax, talk and embrace feeling fat after eating lots of pizza and breadsticks.

happy st. patricks day! i loved this day as a kid to pinch those who aren't wearing green. i would be pinched a million since i don't even own anything green! shame on me...

so to start off my improve yourself series, i decided to write about something that i know we all struggle with- wanting to be healthier! i'm no expert on this. i have taken a nutrition class and really enjoyed it, but these are tips that i've found that i've tried myself and have noticed a difference!

The best and healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off is to watch your calorie intake. Watching what you eat is the number one way to keep the weight off, and exercise is what helps us stay fit, keep your body and heart healthy and it makes you feel great! releasing those endorphins makes you happy (and happy people just don't shoot their husbands! -gotta love legally blonde)




 Keeping track of calories can be so hard! here's a very simple way to help you- MY FITNESS PAL. It's the best way that I've found that is the easiest and convenient! I'm sure a lot of you may have iPhones, or iTouches or any cell phone that can download apps. Search My Fitness pal and the right app will have this blue icon photo (above). You can tell how many lbs you want to lose (up to 2 lbs a week) and it will give you how many calories you should eat daily to reach that goal.

If don't have a device that downloads apps, no fear! Just go online HERE to sign up for free and start keeping track of those calories!

I did this religiously during last Spring and lost about 6 lbs and kept it off during the summer and I barely had worked out (shame on me!) Monitoring your food intake DOES work. So if you're needing a gradual way to kick off your new years resolution, don't give up and try this out!

I hope this first series of improve yourself has helped at least one person out there to want to change a little daily everything in your life to get better health :)

i want my blog to become a place where both you and I can find ways to improve ourselves. the desire for improving yourself and wanting to become someone better in all aspects of life is just human nature! we encounter it daily. improvement only comes when we make it a habit and incorporate it in our daily lives.

so i finally decided what i want my blog to be focused on- simple ways to improve yourself! it's the daily everythings that counts!   did you catch that? the daily everythings blog? clever huh :) 


pinterest is a place where everyone pins things on what they want to improve on (health, style, decorating the home, doing crafts yourself, recipes and cooking, wedding planning/event planning, arts, design and the list goes on!) have you ever thought of pinterest in that way?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Improve series will include:

health
relationships
fitness
style
characteristics in yourself
communication
design
home improvement
creativity
and the list will go on!

if you have any suggestions on what you'd like to read about, definitely include it in your comment!
also- if anyone has a particular subject that they've been working on, share with others by doing a guest post! just email me at abriphotography@gmail.com or comment below and i'll contact you.

There are 3 different giveaways from her sponsors (awesome stuff) and i'm one of them- giving away 25% off a portrait session with Andrea Brionne Photography!

To enter, venture over HERE.

See you there! :)

knows how to do really neat hair styles. i don't know how she did it, but this braid is awesome and super cute.meet my sister stephanie.

saturday night we had our K date! this time it was kevin's turn to plan (we switch off every letter). the night started with driving to R mountain and watching the sunset. unfortunately it was a little cloudy so we didn't get to see the full effects, but seriously, rexburg has the prettiest sunsets. spring semester was the best ever.


since the "kabobs for dinner idea" didn't work out, we stopped at the grocery store to grab a few ingredients to make homemade macaroni and cheese. we called his mom to get her amazing recipe and went to my apt for our Kitchen date :)

(kev got an awkward sunburn line on his face from snowboarding over the weekend, so he didn't want to be in any photos)
neither of us had made homemade mac before, but it turned out sooo good. (i totally forgot to take a photo!) but this one from pinterest looks like ours, but not as fancy...

my sister and i took a walk to the park today to soak up the sunshine and gorgeous weather. it made me crave for spring...

okay first of all, i apologize for my blog layout being indecisive lately. i just couldn't make up my mind for what kind of look i wanted, and find a good minimalist layout that fits my style. i love clean, simple + white space. so i've finally found the layout i want and i'm sticking with it!

1. If you could only eat savory or sweet things for the rest of your life, which would you choose- and why?
I would choose savory. I love sweets (seriously love treats), but I can get tired of them easily.

2. Would you rather live in the ocean (underwater), in the sky (on a cloud), or in space?
I would choose the sky. Living in the sky I think of this Disney Pixar short and think its adorable.



3. Desert, Mountains, Plains, or Tropics?
I've lived in places of the first three, and I pick Tropics. I love the sunshine and feel of the tropics.

4. Would you rather live with chronic pain or the worst pain you can imagine for 24 hours?
I would much rather suffer for 24 hours than for a long time. It's like ripping the bandaid, slowly or real fast.

5. If you had to repeat one of these again, which would it be? Preschool, Elementary, Jr High/ Middle School, High School, College.
Well I'm in College and so far I'm still loving it. Thinking back on Jr High/High school, those weren't the best years... I think I'd pick elementary school and be more involved and outgoing with more friends (I was really shy growing up). Plus I love looking back on those easy days, who doesn't want recess again? :)

6. Tribal, Floral, Stripes, or Polka Dots?
I'm totally a stripes girl. funny thing, I'm wearing one of the many striped shirts I own as type this up!

7. Are you right handed or left handed? 
i'm a righty. i have a sister who's a lefty though! 


and for the funny photo.. on a cruise with my fam and my sister got a grrrreat candid photo of me. very close up... too close for comfort.



p.s. a squirrel walked up to me today and touched my boot. epic moment. #keririch

ya know, i don't have any complaints. i'm getting used to the new layout for fan pages and i seriously love the cover photo to really promote your business/shop/blog/etc. i did an amazing engagement shoot tonight and couldn't have asked for a better lighting. snowed yesterday, sunny clear skies today with a beautiful sunset. i'm geekin over these photos and you can too when you "like" my photography fan page. (: don't be shy to share with your friends! 

this semester i am taking a digital imaging class for my communication major. i'm a photographer already and know how take photos, BUT what i didn't know before was all about printing. for one of our major project, we had to take a photo, size it correctly in photoshop, edit accordingly and print it 24x36in to put on display in the Spori building of the BYU-Idaho campus. i chose to print my photo on a canvas. i've always wanted to do that, but didn't know exactly how and it is expensive! luckily for my class, we got a great deal for canvas prints and i am so happy with how it turned out!

it's a great feeling having your hard work and talents up for display to let others enjoy and take a look at. p.s. hip-hip-hooray! only 4 weeks left of the semester and new adventures will begin (:

i am currently taking an Interpersonal Communications class for my Communication major and i seriously love this class! every time i go i always learn so much and we discuss things that we deal with on a daily basis- communicating! our world is FULL of several communication channels- self-talk, face to face, blogging, facebook, texting, interpersonal, mass communication, its everywhere.

yesterday we talked about Listening. it's something that i feel everyone thinks they are a good listener, but are we really? i had a news flash about a month ago when my sister (who i share an apartment with) told me that i wasn't a good listener. at first i was taken back. i thought that was one of my strengths! not a weakness... but i decided to take her advice in becoming a better listener. i can totally see a big difference in my relationships with family, friends and those i communicate with by taking the time to really listen to what they have to say.

i decided to create a motivational poster from my notes i took in class. Listening is an act of service- it changes everything. i just love that! i don't think you really realize that when you take the time to listen to others, it is an act of service. i'm sure you love it when someone takes the time to listen to you, so why not listen to others as well?

1. Talk less > stop talking about yourself and focus on the person you are with
2. Get rid of distractions > put your cell phone in your pocket, close your laptop, drop everything and really listen
3. Don't judge prematurely > listen first, process what they are saying to understand it, then evaluate before responding
4. Look for key ideas > focus on the key idea of what is being said to retain the information

i know that if you really take the time to listen to your friend, spouse, roommate, boyfriend, family member, etc. then your relationship with that person will become stronger and deeper.

happy tuesday!

this song: Some Nights- fun.


and basically all of the new fun. cd. this song just instantly makes you happy! its upbeat and a great song to work out with. speaking of work out playlists, i'm in desperate need for some new songs! anyone have suggestions of their favorite bands/songs that you work out to?

hello blogger friends!
i am excited to share with you the blogs that i am sponsoring through my photography business! if you see this button, you'll know it's me (: