photo spot hunting - sacramento [DOCO]

last week we made a trip downtown to take some special photos for mother's day presents.  our friends Lisa & Geoff of The Goodness had just finished their art installation at the Downtown Commons area by the Golden One Center [DOCO] and I figured it was a good excuse to head down on a school night!

let's just say we were not let down with the ample photo walls that little area presented.  and, because it was a photoshoot with a purpose, I felt like everly was really on board.  sometimes, she isn't always thrilled that I have a camera with me most of the times of her life.

^the living walls are on the sides of the Golden One Center itself^

^popsicle display is across from the macy's entrance^

^and this fun mural was right at the top of the escalated from the parking garage^

I like this last one, even though slightly out of focus, it is really channeling her inner judgmental ballet teacher that I think she is rocking 24/7.

I'm here for the plants [moorten botanical garden]

if you love desert landscapes, you must visit this little gem while in palm springs!  we stopped by on our way out, and the cloud cover was really a double-edged sword.  yes, less blazing sun was great, but the humidity was close to 40%, and when the temp is in the triple digits, any humidity is not your friend. at one point I was pretty sure my face was literally melting off.  but it was still worth the hour long visit.  everly's favorite part was the lizard hunting [turns out deserts have huge lizards just hanging out, they looked like pets to me!].  the desert tortoises were pretty cool too. and I think the mr. liked that I was pretty into the experience, because after all, it was really hot, and we were looking at hundreds of cacti.  might not be everyone's cup of tea.  but it was mine, oh man, it was mine.

^these mexican bird of paradise were everywhere in palm springs - now I'm currently on the hunt to see if I can get these beauties to grow at my home^

[images edited with a color story]

details:

Moorten Botanical Garden & Cactarium

1701 South Palm Canyon Drive

Palm Springs, CA 

see their website here

$5 adults

$2 kids

*hours vary by season

just for fun & one [cute baby alert]

this past weekend we celebrated a first birthday in our group of littles.  whenever I get a chance to take photos of a cute baby with cute backdrops, I'm pretty much a happy camper.  and, my little lady got to play with one of her favorite people for hours with really no interruption from adults, so she was also on cloud nine.  the weather was a perfect 70 degrees, my kid ate nothing but two funfetti cupcakes, and the birthday girl just couldn't have been cuter.  she was such a trooper through her party, the only part she would have passed on was the singing, turns out it was a little too loud, and a little too much attention at once!

happy first birthday mccartney!

enjoy some cute baby...  

and my baby...

look at that smile, like I said, ev was having a good day