summer's end | personal

i love summer, it's such a gorgeous season. but by the time school starts up again and daytimers fill up with assignments and meetings and football games, the girl inside me starts to ache for fall. when our fields are harvested, rolled up like a rug, to be put away for the winter, and the sharp wind pushes monotone clouds behind the trembling, fading leaves.
in our home, a sure-fire way to know that summer's end is upon us is to observe our dinner plates. this time of year, my mother is busy pulling the final ripe fruits and vegetables from our garden. you'll find us feasting on homegrown beets, frying up the last bundles of okra, or eating the best potato salad on this side of the mississippi river. but our favorite, hands down, are the deep red, juicy tomatoes! and our very favorite meal to make with these said red fruits? BLTs, of course!
so, from me to you, my favorite "end of summer" meal:
first, toast the bread— two slices per person, unless everyone is hungry, in which case you'll have to toast extra. (note: this is usually the case! ;)


cook the bacon, wash & tear slices of lettuce, and cut up ripe tomatoes in to thick slices.


pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk.


smear your choice of spread on the toast. good options include butter, mayonnaise, or my personal favorite, sweet mustard.


almost done! assemble your sandwich with the hot bacon and cut tomatoes & lettuce.


dig in! savor every bite, and maybe make another one. after all, those tomatoes might go bad if you let them sit on the counter for too long!

feel free to share a favorite start-of-school-time food or snack below in the comments!
love always,amelia renee:)

baby ellery | in-home session

there is something so amazing about babies! i don't know what it is. but they are so incredible. they are tiny little people! just like you and me, minus the talking and plus the diapers, pretty much. ;) i love just about everything about them (i may say differently when i have one or two of my own...but for now, nope! haha.)

baby ellery came in to our world just 4 weeks ago, and she's already got her own personality. (most of what she showed me was the "i don't like your big black box, so i'm going to wail for you" part of her personality...but she's not shy to share it! hah.) and it's no secret that she's daddy's little girl her and mama's sweetheart.

world, meet this darling girl. she'll be amazing you in 10, 15, 20 years...I can tell:)

i'll end with my favorite. every daughter should have a photo like this to cherish someday when she's old enough to realize how amazing mothers are!

love always,

amelia renee:)

First Friday Favorites | September

My sweet friend Alison has this rad theme on her blog on Fridays, and since I've been lagging in the area of blogging of late (especially fun & funky blog posts!), it has been decided that a new monthly theme is having its literal birth-day today! So grab some imaginary balloons and party hats, and let's get started!

How it works: The first friday of each month, I will be posting a few of my "favorites" of that month. Or just of my life in general! Because I adore comments & hearing from YOU, leave me a comment or two and let me know a few of your favorites about September:)

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are BACK! They're one of my favorite drinks that Starbucks carries, and I'm just waiting until I can wear a sweater to justify snagging one! 2. It's still hot like August here, but wearing a fall-ish scarf (my favorite is mustard yellow) helps me pretend it's cooled down. 3. Mumford & Sons new album is released this month. WIN! 4. Crunchy fall apples. yummmm. 5. Anthropologie's September catalog arrived in my mailbox today & it's gorgeous. Check it out! 6. Fall flowers are so bright & lovely. Our backyard is home to some gorgeous black eyed susans, and they always make me smile.
and I found this on pinterest & thought it was super cute! Wouldn't you love to hang this on your wall? I would!

(source)

What are your favorite September favs? I'd love to know!

Amelia Renee:)

the nav life | personal

if you know me, you proooooobably have heard of the Navigators. if you haven't...no. they are not a sail-boating group! (we do live in iowa, after all! landlocked iowa.) what they are is a campus ministry group that works towards a common goal of "Know[ing] Christ and mak[ing] Him known"—all over the world!

it's kinda a big deal. ;)

because, to me (and to so so so many others) Christ is our ALL. He knows my past, my dirty laundry and all, knows who i am because He created me, and holds the answers to my future. in Him i am secure. i do not need to worry or stress, He's holding me up and sustaining me. i can't depend on myself for my next breath, even! it's all God. all good things that i do, are only because of the strength he's given me.

so, basically...Navs wants everybody to know Jesus! because, He's the reason for every season. and so, we have this thing called Nav Night (haha! get it? ;) it's great!) every week on campus across the country.

a few weeks ago, when school started up, UNI had their first Nav Night...and asked me to photograph! uhh, yes, please! it was such a success, and we were all blown away by how many students attended! (needless to say, it's a good thing we are in a different room this year, because last year's room would not have held everyone!)

meeeeps. welp. enough talking. pictures now! :D

we kicked the night off with some great worship!



Kyle, the UNI campus director for Navs, gave a great message.



SO MANY PEOPLE! :):):)


and we ended with more wonderful worship! then everyone went outside to the commons area for free Scratch Cupcakes! The raddest way to start the school year if you ask me.


if you made it this far, i might be just a bit impressed! that's a lot of heavy thought-provoking kind of stuff i shared, and you may or may not agree with it. but it's my heart and i wanted to share...so thanks for reading, either way!
be on the lookout for more photo sessions coming your way ASAP!

Clarissa | "Because-she's-my-sister" Portraits

just think of them as "senior portrait practice." not like she needs it! ;)



















love always,amelia renee:)

Ann | Senior Portraits 2013 | Cedar Falls, IA

once, on this lovely green earth, there was born, raised & lived a girl named Ann. she was so cool that she played not only piano, and did percussion, but harp as well! and, it's definitely safe to say, she rocked her senior session. nbd.

























seriously. i don't think it's allowed to be this gorgeous. buuut i'll make an exception because then i get to take pictures of it. you're welcome.











if you liked Ann's session, like my facebook page! and think about booking me for your senior session;) or family session! Christmas cards will be in the mail before long!