Fornear Photo Friday | Nicole & Eric’s Winter Decatur, IL Wedding

I thought I would kick off the first (Fornear) Photo Friday with our most recent and season appropriate wedding we shot in January! Nicole & Eric, our very awesome and laid back clients, had a beautiful evening Holiday themed wedding in Decatur, IL. A church ceremony was held at the First LutheranChurch, reception being at the Decatur Club and even making a stop at the Power’s Mansion, a local landmark.

In our neck of the woods we do have a few Winter weddings from time to time but 95% of the weddings we shoot are from May through October, it’s just the nature of the beast in the Midwest. When a Winter wedding does come a long they make for some really unique and amazing photos… just look at that bokeh from all those little twinkle lights!

Though there was a bit of snow on the ground (which is normal for Central Illinois this time of year) the day after Nicole & Eric’s wedding they got blasted with a huge snowstorm dumping almost a foot of fresh powder…. We were pretty relieved this didn’t happen the day of the wedding but it made for some interesting driving on the way back to the Northwoods from South of the border!

Credits | Author: Krista & Photography: Fornear Photo

Thirsty Thursday | How I Came to Love Craft Beer

Do you like beer? I love beer! In fact, let me be more specific, I love CRAFT BEER! My love of craft beer like many others journey through the malty, hoppy delightfulness, I too have my own story that I thought I would share to introduce you to a feature I am going to be calling Thirsty Thursday. I hope to share anything and everything about craft beer, from breweries, beers I love, beer festivals and more!

Lets begin at the beginning… like most other Northwoods girls, a big keg of beer (normally Miller High Life) was just a given at all of the bond fire parties in the woods or the parents that would turn a blind eye to the activates of their basement of our younger days. Also, like most girls beer wasn’t really my thing but after chocking a few back it wasn’t sooooo bad. Over time it was OK. Onto college in Arizona brought lots of Corona which was an improvement (a lime in a beer can do that!) Fun fact, a Corona on draft was actually my first legal beer… at a Hooter’s no less, classy don’t remind me, I know. After moving back to Wisconsin I became the rebel drinking the blue label light beer brought to us by the clydesdales rather than the home town favorite in the state that has a Major League baseball team named after them but after countless work trips to Milwaukee my coworkers started rubing off on me when we would visit the closest watering hole to the office which happened to be a brew pub where I slowly started trying new brews. They didn’t even serve that ugly blue label so I really didn’t have a choice... boy am I glad now!

Cut to a few years later the Husband Man (before he was the Husband Man) and I lived in Chicagoland and drank many, MANY imports of the English, Belgian and German persuasions. This then led us to seek out what was being created locally which hasn’t stopped since! I love everything from a rich imperial stout to a hoppy double IPA and many in between. Having now worked for a local Wisconsin craft brewery for over 6+ years, to say I am passionate about craft beer and the movement behind it is an understatement. When I sample beer for people I love encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone and try something new because there really is something for everyone in the craft beer realm! Cheers!

Credits | Author: Krista & Photography: Fornear Photo

Turntable Tuesday | George Harrison, All Things Must Pass

In celebrating what would have been George Harrison's birthday yesterday it would be an easy statement for me to say that he is my favorite Beatle. Don’t get me wrong, John, Paul and Ringo are pretty cool guys but George is the one that has always done it for me. Maybe it’s was his 80’s hit Got My Mind Set On You, his time with The Traveling Wilburys, his general enlightened persona or simply that he shied away from the media a bit more than John or Paul.  A snowy day in Madison, Wisconsin driving to the state Department of Tourism office for scenic stock image files is one I will never forget when it came across the radio that George had finally succumb to cancer, the day was November 29, 2001.

The album All Things Must Pass is certainly the shining gem of our vinyl collection. We acquired this original album ultimately saving it from water damage in my Husband Man’s parent’s basement and we couldn’t have been happier to protect it. All Things Must Pass was released in the Fall of 1970 containing the hit single and haunting melody My Sweet Lord. On December 4, 2013 All Things Must Pass was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. If you ever have a chance to spin this classic please let me know if you love it as much as I do!

Credits | Author: Krista & Photography: Fornear Photo

Hello There!

Hey there! Do you LOVE craft beer, spinning records and adventure?? Me too!  I am so very excited to be able to share with you this new chapter in our lives… My Northwoods Life. So pour yourself your favorite brew and coffee is fine too! (While I pour mine that will be hoppy and awesome)…. And let’s chat!

A bit about me… I am Krista, a Northwoods girl at heart. Born and raised till the age of 18 when I made the trek 2000 miles away to the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, Arizona) as a fresh faced, wide eyed college kid not looking back. Upon graduating with a BA in Visual Communications a few years later I have since lived and in worked in Chicago, Illinois (where I met my husband) and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Just over a year ago my Husband Man and I thought it was time to be closer to family and live a simpler life among the pine of Northern Wisconsin. This decision has brought many great changes into our life including our first home, our perpetually growing photography business Fornear Photo, as well as getting to spend more time with all of the new smalls in our family.

My passions include…. Family- I am the oldest of 4 sisters, 2 of which are twins! Craft Beer- a glass full of an immensely hoppy beer wait I  told you that already! Records- hunting and listening to vinyl (80’s classics anyone?!) Creativity- whether its behind the camera lens, from my computer or doing something DIY around the house, I love it. Vintage- Retro or Mid-Century Modern is right up my alley. Travel - The great state of Wisconsin as well as the rest of the Midwest and beyond! Oh and a not-so secret of mine is that we hope to own an Airstream one day!

The Northwoods is such a special place to live and work, filled with nature, friendly people, things to do and continual inspiration without the hustle of fast paced city living that I have had an overwhelming urge to share this place with the rest of the world. I also look forward to inviting you into my life as a craft beer sales rep, photographer and creator of many things design related as well as finding my own voice as a blogger.

I continually have sought out a local Wisconsin blog to only be disappointed that I could never find something to read about my own neck of the woods I began to daydream about writing my own blog, and that is how My Northwoods Life was conceived… 

Feel free to check out my different social media outlets too... I am an old pro on Instagram and Pintrest but still getting my feet wet on Untapped, Twitter, Facebook and Bloglovin so feel free to give me a follow if you are so inclined!

I can’t wait to share my journeys with you!

Credits | Author: Krista & Photography: Fornear Photo