I shot Caitlin this past weekend…fresh blossoms and a pretty girl – I’m in heaven…

Thought I’d update you on my Instagram perspective over the month! Currently en route to Jamaica right now ~ I can almost taste the sunscreen that always ends up in my mouth. Can’t wait! Onto the past month so I can keep you up to date with my adventures of this WEEK! :)

1 } Just as much as I love that magic hour in a sunny, serene meadow… I equally love it when the sun firssst touches an absolutely beautiful building. :)

2 } MUCHO EXCITED FOR ICE CREAM DATES real soon. Some on summer, let’s get crackalackin.

3 } I’ve been having some serious sleeping issues recently. I end up being up allllll night tossing and turning… It’s been really hard actually! Anybody have any suggestions?

4 } It’s been so fun watching Jerrica bake for her blog…. I know I already posted her gluten free scones, but this was a snap from our hilarious morning of baking and playing. :)

5 } In mad love with my mint watch. Everyone should have one. NO one is exempt.

6 } A late post from Boston. Trying not to blow away in the heart of the city!

7 } Jerrica and I decided to go to the movies. But sometimes, when we’re feeling like rockin the boat’ (goin REAL nuts), …one of us chooses the movie, and the other person keeps their head down all the way to their movie seat so they don’t know what movie their seeing until the film starts. :) Adding a little surprise to the regular. :) Just our stupid way of making something fun… funner? I was the keep-your-head-downer of the other night.

8 } Bit of an addiction to good cappuccinos right now.

9 } Collecting more and more silver jewelry to go with this new bling I have on my left area, second finger in from the left. Love my love!

10 } A quick snap from my shoot with Cole + Parker. Bryce, the Video Game Producer, can officially add “model” to the resume.

11 } Shooting the otha’ brotha’ for a fun campaign!

12 } Oh ya, I WENT WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME! Way more emotional and wonderful than I expected! So fun! I highly recommend it. :)

Next time you hear from me, you won’t know it, but I’ll be in flip flops.
xo R

Heading off to Toronto for the weekend for a campaign shoot for Cole + Parker. Can’t wait to show you some sneak peeks!

♥

Thank you guys so much for pushing me to blog and continuously caring about what I’m up to! I no longer can go unnoticed when I decide I don’t want to put my blogging pants on. So seriously, thank you for the emails and encouragement! Lots of shoots coming your way very soon!

Guys! It’s a leap year! Didn’t you know?! Lol

Day 29, the final day of the Love Chapters. :) And introducing the Wedding Chapters.

Planning a Wedding.

I wish I could tell you more. But I’ve surprised myself with my indecision. LOL. My ENTIRE family would say otherwise, “What!? YOU!? Indecisive!?!?!?” Sarcasm is a fan favourite around here, much at my expense. My sweet mama and my sisters read my blog post last night promising wedding details… and they sarcastically said, “I’m sUPER excited to read about this wedding you haven’t planned yet, Richelle!” LOL. Support.

And big sister Joy keeps telling me to limit myself from describing the wedding in feelings and hand gestures. You know, guys…I want it to look kinda effortless… but on-purpose. And pretty… but not typical pretty. Different… but not weird. It’s enough to give a bunch of inherently organizational women a stress ulcer.

It’s not that I’m not OVER THE MOON excited…it’s just that, um,…did you know there is a LOT TO PLAN. Newsflash, RH. If this was ANYONE else’s wedding, I could whip it up in three weeks…and have ideas spewing out my ears. But my own? HANG ON…I gotta pick ONE DRESS!?

While we don’t know TOO much, we do know a couple of things….

 ♣

Eric and I are getting married on JUNE 28th, 2014. We have a DATE!!!!

SO FAR AWAY, right!? Lol, we’d wanted to try and get married this summer, but being in this industry, your weekends are often filled with OTHER people’s weddings! I am nearly booked up for this summer, so onto the next one it goes. :) And honestly, I am happy to “eek” out being a bride for a little bit longer than expected. :) Also, between now and this summer…there is NO way I would be able to plan a wedding with the amount of busy the next few months hold for me. Lol, Eric was being RIDICULOUS and said he didn’t want me to try and shoot a 12 hour wedding the day before ours… SO weird.

Here’s when things get a little more fun. :) And when Pinterest becomes a lifeline.

These are not my wedding “pins”, don’t panic!

The fun stuff:
E and I are getting married to each other under a willow tree. A beautiful, big, extra-special willow tree. A willow tree that Eric had mentioned getting married under THREE years ago…wow. I just can’t believe his off-handed comment he made on a summer’s day walk…. could years later, play such an integral part in the most important day of our lives. We have the property picked out, and we are so smitten. Smitten because it’s a place that is not only perfect for what’s becoming our “vision”… but because it’s a place that E and I have been super drawn to for years.

The idea of using a non-venue has been something that we’ve wanted for some time. Before we knew anything… we knew we wanted a place that we hadn’t shot a wedding in before. Simply to have something fresh! A ‘blank canvas‘ of sorts… so we can create our own look, our own feeling, our very own story.

A small glimpse into the “feel” of our day…
♣ black tie | willow trees | soft, soft colours | classic | natural greens ♣

Guys! Look at me! Making loosely-concrete decisions!

Black tie and the softness of willow trees might not sound like a natural combination, but I swear, it my head, it looks great. Lol. A lotttt of people have been asking WHO we are having as our photographer. Well, needless to say it’s been a bIG decision to make! To us, it’s the most important thing. BUT if we told you who our photographer is right now, there wouldn’t be much to tell over the next year would there? ;)

I’ll be filling you in on other tidbits over the next um, year!? And I hope you don’t get sick of it. :) I so hope you don’t!

LOTS of love and if anyone that has any brilliant suggestions for us, (Grey’s Anatomy themed wedding is not off the table) they are always welcome. :)  We’ll be calling the occasional wedding-related posts… The Wedding Chapters. (surprise!)

xo R (& E!)

I’m sitting here exhausted. Lol. Feeling like a little robot as I type this. Robot Richelle = present. I just finished a four hour tax session with my Dad…yes, my Dad helps me with my taxes and I would be lost without him… I’d be a sad little crumbling mess of a girl, swimming in receipts. Lol. But I’m learning. My brain is currently saying, FOR PETE’S SAKE, JUST LET ME DO WHAT I KNOW BEST AND WATCH ‘NEW GIRL’. Must carry on, soldier. Putting the work in now will save the Tornado of Psycho that would be me if I choose to keep my accounting on the pretty little proverbial shelf I love keeping it on. Ah, measly artists…they’re all the same. But after a really intense day, there is a light at the end of the T4 & expense sheet tunnel…

But the fun sequel to my deathbed Day of Accounting…is that tomorrow I will be posting the bare basics of our Wedding Plans. WEDDING PLANS. Just crazybonanza to be able to say. So if you want a tiny glimpse into our day,…. as promised, I’ll be ending the Love Chapters with a bit of richelle-and-eric-wedding-ocity. Ya, I extended February by a day. I’ll make it a leap year if I darn well please. I DO WHAT I WANT. Wedding is worth it, right?

Ps: Totally going to marry him. ^

Can’t wait to tell you a little!

xo R

SO HAPPY to officially announce the winners of the Love Chapter Contest. KRISTEN & ANTHONY, I can’t WAIT for our shoot together! You guys are absolutely adorable!!!! So happy ~ I can finally BREATHE after two weeks. :) This contest was honest-to-goodness making me nuts! I was so excited that I was about to burst, lol!

To all the amazing Facebook contestants…. holy rockstars…. I’d be honoured to photograph you all someday soon. :)

xo R

If you’re looking for a healthy dip for your night tonight…I got you covered. :) I photographed some Avocado and Garlic dip {andddd some uhmazing sweet potato chips} for the Peach Diaries. Jerrica popped this up on her blog right here if you’re looking for the recipe! SOGOODJUSTSAYING.

Ps: I know I’ve missed blogging the past two days. *shameful grimace* And I will be making up for it over the next few days. :) Promise!

You know the drill, a small glimpse into my Instagram world over the past while. ♥ ❤ ♥ All iPhone images.

1} Grayson turned four. FOUR years old. Wowza. He has a new passionate passion for skating…So skating we went. :) ALL of us.
2} Determined to love coffee. Tea has always been my go to. I can handle it with sugar and all the sweetener I can find… but I am determined to be a big kid and drink black coffee. It. Will. Happen.
3} I surprised Eric on Valentine’s Day. With homemade cupcakes in hand. :) He is in a different city on a collaboration right now, so I decided I would bring the love to him. And it came in double chocolate form.
4} SO very grateful for this girl. My sweet, sweet soul sister Beth. I can’t say much more than that we were meant to meet and be in each other’s lives. Through the thick and the thin. Living in different cities, we try to see each other as much as we can… and cherish every minute we get to just be “us”.
5} That day that sister-in-law Sarah and I drank our cider that looked like beer. Or was it?
6} Gotta find one of those “long last” lipsticks…

7} I visited my Great Aunt last week. I knew I was in the right place when I saw that they protect puzzles like they’re your crack supply.
8} I got to shoot my big sister’s maternity session. I AM SO EXCITED FOR BABY HOGAN!!!!!!
9} Like I said, we cherish the time we actually get to spend together… lolzzzz Eeeeee I just love her.
10} Pretttty proud of Ivana and my sugarless-flourless baking adventures. You can find our recipe here. Boom shackalacka.
11} Got my skates sharpened this year for the first time in…perhaps 6 years? Lol. Needless to say, I felt like I could rock the World Championships when I felt the difference between rust-coated and “actually sharp”.
12} Nerding out hard recently. I’ve been doing a lot a lottttt of reading on space. Yep, space. HOLY-COW-THERE-IS-SO-MUCH-TO-KNOW.

My little life recently! I hope you’re SERIOUSLY enjoying this beautiful weekend. :)

xo R

These are just a few items I’ve had my eye on recently… :) Lovely little odds and sods that I am savings my pennies for. I’m perpetually on the own hunt of awesome-things.
I wanted to put together a little list of items I would actually purchase & that you might enjoy too!

ROW 1}

• Anthropology Winding Pointelle Cardigan – Just love this neutral wrap sweater…obsessed with “this-can-go-with-everything-you-own” purchases.
• De Buyer Mandoline – Trying to convince Eric that we NEED this for our future house. I hate choppin’.
  (…to which he said, “I’ll chop your peppers.”  And yet not as cool, Eric, not as cool.)
• Chunky Cream Scarf – Cause I’s get really cold and the warmer the better.

ROW 2}

• Madewell Silhouette Dress – I may have a small repertoire of silhouette dresses in my closet. One more can’t hurt?
• 31 Bits Cloud Nine Necklace – SUCH a worthy cause behind this amazing company – and it’s so pretty!
• Free People Maya Maxi – I’m already craving summer… and I can’t wait to hop into maxis all day, every day!

ROW 3}

• Blue Nile Lucky Wishbone Necklace – I love charms. And I have a CRAZY thing for wishbones and horseshoes.
• Gizmon iPhone Case – I don’t know if I am hipster enough for this; it’s for the hardcore-hipster and I’m not sure I have the thick rimmed glasses to match. But I think this is so fun!
• Anthropology You Are My Sunshine Pillow - Love love love! I would have a room full of pillows if I could! Who needs walking room.

Enjoy perusing! Let me know if you’d like me to keep up my wishlist compilations! :)

xo R

So grateful for good friends. Friends that didn’t even know today was a day that encouragement was needed. Trying to stay on top of shoots, and editing, and taxes, and all accounting, and client meetings, and emails, and marketing, and blogging….it all can seem like a never-ending list. Today I was feeling a little bogged down with a “To-Do” list that read miles long…a list that could and will keep me busy for weeks and weeks. Jake reminded me that I’m doing what I love. So I reminded myself that I best chin up…

I keep finding recently that it is so much better to be putting my effort into creative ways of making each day and each task a little more fun for myself. :) Because frankly,… shiz has gots to get done. So I figure, I have to be in charge of making it less daunting!

I decided to do the same things but with a twist to push myself.

• Today, amongst my regular work, I colour-coordinated my files, & then I put a purple star on Personal tasks… green on Business.
• I laid out packaging and postage to be ready for the next shoots I finish. My cat did not help when the ribbon was pulled out. That thing would chase ribbon off a cliff.
• I emailed back a few potential second shooters… I can feel a couple wingman in my future. And new Starbucks buddiez.
• I read for about half and hour on the legitimate first steps towards becoming an astronaut. Hold up, kay that wasn’t “productive”… but I feel closer to space already.
• I prioritized all the shoots I have to finish editing; by way of stickers obviously; naturally… gold kittens for Urgent, St. Patricks Day leprechauns for Secondary and hologram ponies for Third Priority.
• Cleared out my endless email inbox… which I had to finish before I let myself edit, which I do enjoy…
• Finished editing two photoshoots and after I fist pumped the air, I let myself open up the airmail package I received this morning. >> Which was seriously KILLING me, so it really motivated me ~ triple yay for new equipment accessories!

Blamo. My “To-Do” list is looking less scary and a few more gold kittens are getting crossed off.

*He called me Ricki…fyi, many of my close friends call me that. :) NO, I wasn’t hacking into someone else’s Facebook.

xo R

“Choco-coco Cupcakes”, “Coconut Cupcakey Goodness”,…”Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Coconut-Sugarless-Flourless-but-Still-Delicious Cupcakes”. As you can see, we still workin’ on the name… banging our heads on the drawing board with that one…lol.

My girl Ivana and I got super brave yesterday and decided we wanted to make some sugarless…flourless treats. Now… HOW do you make something taste GOOD without SUGAR, FOR PETE’S SAKE. ARE YOU INSANE.

We settled on this recipe…Keep in mind that you will not be nomming on an Double-chocolate-triple-chunk-140%-sugar-triple-decker-dessert from LA Sprinkles cupcakes. It’s a guilt-free cupcake made from nuts, cocoa, and peanut butter that is not only not bad for you….it’s good for you. :)

CHOCO-COCO CUPCAKES

• 2 cup ground almonds (can buy at bulk store or pulse almonds in food processor)
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2-3/4 cup natural peanut butter (the more the better – I’d even do a full cup! – just depends on how much you like PB!!!)
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water (or almond milk)
• Liquid stevia to taste (this will create a bit of a sweet/bitter taste – careful with this stuff!) :)

All of these can be put into a food processor and mixed that way. Dry ingredients… and then add all the wet ingredients. There’s no method to it, just mix it all together. The consistency should be like a loose cake batter. If it’s too watery, add coconut, if it’s too thick, add a little more water/milk.
Bake at 350F for 18-20 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Stevia: if you’ve never had it will leave a bitter taste, but we found it’s minimized with the peanut butter. For those who don’t know, Stevia is a natural sweetener that comes from the Stevia plant, which grows in Paraguay and Brazil primarily… it’s an all-natural, zero-calorie extract for health-conscious individuals, offering an alternative to improve the flavour of foods.

NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER & COCONUT ICING

• 4 oz cream cheese (half a square package)
• 1/2 cup liquid whipping cream
• 2-4 tbs natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder (or to taste, depends how chocolatey you want it)
• 1/2 c shredded coconut
• Stevia to taste

The icing was completely made up past the first two ingredients. You can really add to it whatever you want.
Whip cream cheese, vanilla and whip cream until it forms soft peaks or looks like icing. Add in peanut butter.
With a spatula, mix in sifted cocoa powder and shredded coconut.

Put the icing in a little bag and spin the icing to a tip on your little cakes… we took a litttttle icing on a knife and spotted around the edge of the cupcake – just enough to have coconut stick to it. :)

ENJOY YOUR HEALTHY (and pretty darn adorable.) CUPCAKE!!!

xoxo R

xo R

Jerrica has started a cooking blog! { J is my sweet sister for those of you who don’t know! } I’m photographing her creations for her over on her brand new site! She will be sharing everything from homemade croissants, to broccoil soup, to uh-mazinggg desserts… I mean, it’s just a win all-round,…everything she makes is sew delicious and she is going to teach you all how to make these crazygood creations…spreading the love around. (#jamjoke.) And the biggest win is that I generally eat what photograph…

She has such a passion for food and doing creative things with it. She will literally cook Eric and I a three course meal… just-for-fun. Serious winning on my end.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this shameless plug for my sister’s blog. Go get your cooking pants on and scoot over to The Peach Diaries.
Here’s a taste of what’s to come! (Pun intended, thankyouverymuch.)

xo R

WIN A FREE PHOTOSHOOT. :)

Calling all sweethearts.

3 Steps.

1} Send a picture of you and your hunny to richelle@richellehunter.com…the “enterer” must submit the image with a maximum of 2-3 lines of what they love about “their person” so much. Be it their best quality, the way they make you feel, or the extra mile they go.

2} The photo you submit & your personal little love chapter will be uploaded to an album on the Richelle Hunter Photography Page as soon as you submit….

3} NOW SHARE IT!….Get your friends (& your friend’s friends) to Like your photo ♥ For your vote to count, they must first have Liked the Richelle Hunter Photography Page….

On March 1st, at midnight, the couple with the HIGHEST NUMBER OF LIKES on their pictures will be receiving a free 1-2 hour session with Richelle Hunter. This is typically a $350+ package including full disc of edited images. Styling assistance included. :)

The earlier you submit, the longer you have to get Likes. :)

xo R

Get on with yo’ loving selves. Tell Eric and I WHY you love them SO much. We can’t wait to photograph you!

Here is a fun little nail heart tutorial – SUPER simple and super cute. :) Just in time for v-day! Enjoy!
{instructions below!}

Here is a step-by-step go to!
You’ll need: an X-Acto knife, white labels (regular ol’ scotch tape works too!), pencil, clear polish, and 2 nail polish colours. I used “Got the Blues for Red” by OPI & “Silver Lining” by Covergirl…

1 ♥ Paint nails with base colour of your choice. :) Let DRY for a couple of hours for best results. If you can’t wait,… {you impatient Polly} take a blow dryer to them to make sure they are bone dry!
2 ♥ Draw with a pencil the heart/shape you would like onto the label.
3 ♥ With an X-Acto knife (or sharp pair of scissors), cut out the shape. You need to have a base to cut into – I used a rubber pad used to open cans. :) This is tricky! Due to the size of the shape, be very careful… :)
4 ♥ Keep on makin those little wee cuts and trimming! Soon you’ll have an empty outline!
5 ♥ Place the label on your nail in the area you would like!
6 ♥ Press the label down so it is very “stuck”… especially around the edging of your shape.
7 ♥ Take your heart colour and paint over top of the label. –Looks messy now, looks cute later.– Make sure you don’t have TOO much nail polish on your brush! You don’t want it to run when you remove the label.
8 ♥ Wait about 10 seconds and peel off the label!
9 ♥ Wait at least an hour to apply a top coat – otherwise the clear polish will pull your sweet little heart outta shape! Only apply a top coat if you really want to. :)
Oh ya…. And then don’t forget to do the other hand. ;)

xoxo R

A little personal post on my night last night. After a longgg day of driving after a shoot, I was eager to come home. I was eager because I was coming home to my nephew Grayson’s 4th birthday. :) That meant skating, hot chocolate & lattes, and my whole family together. Just what I needed.

Happy birthday to the sweetest, happiest 4 year old on the block.

Now for a little cake & latte action. Don’t mind if I do.

Do you think he’s excited? I don’t know if the veins in his neck show you his pure, unadulterated joy or not…

So happy to share Part 2 of Kristina’s maternity shoot. Cozy and comfortable; grab some tea, and maybe a couple of cookies to peruse through these. ♥

xo R