I have 17 diaries spanning from the first grade to high school – I guess I had a lot to say about growing up. My parents named me after Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth, which very well explains my obsession with the royals. At 17, I left my hometown by the lake, a sweet suburbia known as Granite Bay, in Northern California to attend The University of Arizona without ever having seen a cactus in person. My heels cracked and I had sporadic nosebleeds adjusting to the dry heat, but to this day, because of the people I met and experiences I had (including being a pageant titleholder and participating in local community service), I swear they were some of the best years of my life – I have diary entries to prove it.

After receiving my B.A. in journalism at 21 focusing on broadcast, I moved to Hollywood to begin my career in entertainment television. As a red-carpet reporter and ghostwriter for E!, in the midst of a seemingly glamorous life of interviewing along red carpets, I began to miss life in Arizona. A pros and cons list told me moving to Phoenix was worth taking a chance, and so I moved accepting a job with The Arizona Republic. Shortly after, I left the journalism field for a switch in careers, specializing in corporate marketing and branding.

On the side, I started my graphic design boutique in 2006 and a few short years later, became a shutterbug in 2010, launching Diana Elizabeth Photography.