A few days before my 33rd birthday, my friend Katherine and I took to the mountains for a quick girlfriend’s getway weekend to a super cozy cabin near Mt. Rainier. When the owners reached out for new listing photos I jumped at the chance to get out into the fresh air and get in some quality time with my friend (which can be so hard when you have a young family at home!). Along with photos, I like to offer lifestyle photos of short term rental properties. It really helps to bring the space to life and the creative opportunities are endless. It ends up being a ton of work (thinking of making each moment a beautiful photo) but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s rare that I can stay in that level of artistic flow for such an amount of time. Luckily, my friend Katherine is a producer and enjoyed helping and generously doing more than just keeping me company!

I loved having a few different outdoor “zones” to hang out and work in. The grill/picnic area is on one side of the house, and the fire pit and chairs are on another. Behind the chairs is just… wilderness! We even had a little family of curious raccoons peep their heads out of the bushes, but quickly lost interest when they found no chance of being fed s’mores from our stash.

Katherine and I also relaxed and caught up a ton during this trip which I really treasure. After I put my camera gear away we sat in the chairs and talked for HOURS until the mosquitoes made feast of us. You know those great late night looooong conversations with a good friend? GOLDEN — especially in my 30s when life is super busy with family and work. It was a great reminder that your friends see you through so much life and so many changes, and that they’re worth their weight in gold and more.

If you’d like to take a trip yourself you can find the Airbnb listing here!