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One day I wrote a comment on Jasmine Star's blog in response to a beautiful “Anytime” session she shot. I told her that I was so gaga over those cheerful, sassy shots, that maybe sometime I would be brave enough to do an Anytime shoot of my own! Well, seriously 3 seconds later, I received an excited email from Jasmine saying something like “Just got your blog comment. Let's do it! It'll be ultra fab!” Despite the fact that I usually feel awkward and stiff in front of the camera, I trusted Jasmine to make me look ultra fab.

I ran into JD and Polo (Jasmine's hubby and puppy) at the dog park one night, and I asked him where I should do the shoot. JD said I should choose somewhere that is meaningful to me. Right away I remembered my favorite place to hang out as a kid- my childhood friend Julie's backyard in Modjeska Canyon. Modjeska Canyon is a charming oasis in the middle of O.C. It is a small town and everyone knows each other. There are foothills, horses, creeks, trees and tire swings. There are hiking trails and old silver mines. This was my only taste of the great outdoors as a kid growing up in a manicured, gated community in Orange. We used to play in the treehouse and send messages in a bottle down the creek -all that idyllic kid stuff.

Julie's parents' eco-friendly garden was named best garden of 2008 by Roger's Garden and featured in the LA Times. When the wildfires hit the canyons last year, Julie's parents had to evacuate and weren't sure if their house would still be standing when they returned. They were more crushed by the idea of losing their garden than losing their house.

Here are some favorites from Jasmine's teaser:

Delphinium, garden roses, and ranunculus. Shoes from Target. Woot!

Lilacs, viburnum, anenomes.

Mums, leptospermum, parrot tulips, viburnum and lemons from the garden. I felt very Martha Stewart in this pic.

Sibling rivalry caught on film.

Jasmine is truly an artist. When she arrived, she did a quick sprint around the garden, and I could just see her wheels turning. She was imagining shots and planning how to best use our 1.5 hours of sunlight. She made me feel so comfortable in front of her lens, and she was always paying attention to the little details like my hair, the angle of my feet or showing off my earrings. She didn't just tell me how to pose; she actually showed me! At one point she even built a little dam in the creek so she could shoot me on a bridge from the water. I thought she might fall in (she was wearing those red cowboy boots of hers!) but she stood tall! Basically, Jasmine rules. The end!

By the way, I had the hardest time finding cute springy outfits that weren't mini skirts (I don't do mini skirts. Actually I prefer not to do skirts above my knee!) The first outfit came from The Gap (Thanks to Rachel for posting the skirt! You had the self-control not to buy it, but I didn't!). The white bedazzled dress is by Beth Bowley, and the maxidress is from the Modern Romance boutique at Fashion Island.

Thanks a million to my spunky friend Loann of Let's Get Beautified for doing my makeup. She was my wedding makeup artist, and I don't trust my face to anyone else!

If you had to do an Anytime shoot, what location would you pick?