Coffee Talk!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!! Go ahead and get your green beer coffee and let's start the gossip!!

5 Random Thoughts:

1 - Ok, first how the HELLLLLLoooo is it St. Patty's Day already??!!! Half way thru March, that is seriously NUTS!! It's always a bittersweet day because we ALWAYS celebrated with our peeps in AZ and I miss that terribly! It will be another low key one for us...what are you all doing?!!

2 - Last weekend was my very FIRST outdoor session of 2016 and it was LOVELY!!! I am soooo at home doing outdoor shoots and the models...well they couldn't get more perfect if they tried! ;) Ok, maybe I am slightly bias....#proudauntieoverhere #thosegirlscompleteme

3 - This week I have dealt with a lot of judgement and negativity and all I can say about all of that is LET IT GO!!!!!!!!!!! (to the tune of Frozen!) I'm not going to waste anymore of my good energy and time letting that take up space in my mind and heart! I'll just leave it at everyone is different, everyone likes different things, don't judge others, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. :)  Hell I don't LOVE all of the political hoopla but I keep my mouth shut. That's what you enjoy talking about....have at it. End Rant.

4 - Deodorant update and other fashion info. Week 2 of the natural deodorant and I'm happy to report no issues, still smelling my armpits (think Saturday Night Live skit here) and surprisingly I don't smell!!! Weird! So I'm trudging on it using it! The family went on a date to the eye doctor last week and I FINALLY upgraded my glasses so now I have some new fabulous specs for when I want to give my eyeballs a break!!! I am ordering my Birthday outfit...fingers crossed that it's rocking and super cute in person!!!!! ;)

5 - Speaking of photoshoots....um, I literally am COMPLETELY booked for Spring! If you are interested in booking for summer shoot me a message and I will get you on the calendar. Word of advice, do NOT wait until the last minute! I hate having to turn peeps away but I am defintely doing a limited number of sessions this year for 2 reasons. 1 - my sanity so I don't burn out and lose my passion for what I LOVE and 2 - because my family/personal time is OOBER important to me and it's soooo much more work then just snapping photos at a shoot. It takes up a lot more time away from my family.  That being said I am BLOWN away by the inquiries!!! Muahhhh!!!

Ok that's it! Go to pub tonight! Drink green beer and enjoy time with family and friends, but BE SAFE!!! Life is short...enjoy it!!!!

Hudson is ONE!!!!

Get ready for some SUPER uber duber CUTENESS!!! So I was lucky enough to meet Hudson's mom just a few months before he was turning the big ONE and I was over the moon ECSTATIC when she contacted me to do his one year shoot!!!! My first time getting to actually meet the little guy was the morning of his shoot and he did NOT disappoint!!!

OMG....I can't even put into words what a happy little DOLL this little guy was!!!! He completely ROCKED his session and just WAIT until you see the cake smash! Cake smashes are funny because they can go soooo many different ways:

- they LOVE it

- they HATE it

- they CRY

- they are AFRAID

Those are just a few examples of the different reactions that are possible.....well Hudson, you definitely LOVED it!!!! I want to thank Hudson and his beautiful Mom for some serious cuteness and BELLY laughs on that shoot! It was an absolute BLAST and I can NOT wait to do your family session this fall!!!!! XO

Here are some of my favs from the session:

 Yep, this was a FIRST for me...no baby has EVER stuck their whole face in the cake!!! LOL

The Woolard Family!

I was lucky enough to spend an evening with this beautiful family at a picturesque location. They were referred to me by a very sweet client and I couldn't be more grateful! Each boy had such a different and fun personality and Mom & Dad.....well look at them. The bond and love they share just radiates and I couldn't have asked for a better shoot. (okay, well maybe LESS bugs!) LOL! We were able to capture some great shots even with teenage boys, who I KNOW could think of a MILLION other places they would have rather been! ;) That little guy though...he was ready to HAM it up! Thank you Woolard Family for trusting me and letting me capture these memories.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all the referrals. It melts my heart and is by far the biggest compliment! July is completely booked and August is close behind so message me if you are interested in a shoot so we can get you scheduled before your date disappears. :)

Here are some of my favs from this session! XO

Reflecting

Soooo we were no longer able to dodge the "sick bug" in our house! BOOOOO!!! It hit me for a few days and it was horrible! I really dislike being sick. Not only did it hit me but it delayed me from getting to start my 21 day fix which I am SUPER stoked to start. I am FINALLY starting to feel human again so as long as I stay good I will definitely be doing that first thing in the AM!!! Now we will sit and wait to see who it strikes next in our house. :( 

Anywhoooooo, so I've been doing some reflecting about all of the good things that have happened since we have been here. (um, yeah I don't do that quite enough because let's face it, it's sooo much more rational easy to be negative! LOL) Seriously, there are some really great things and one started in Arizona and by some weird universe thing ended unbelievably awesome!

Friends from Arizona were visiting their family in New Jersey last year and wanted us to come see them. To make it even better she set up a few different shoots for me to do while we were visiting them. We had such a great day meeting their family and I of course had a blast getting my photography on, but never in a million years could I have predicted what would follow. Our friends flew back to Arizona and I did my editing as I normally would, sent out my discs and then followed up to make sure everyone received them.

When I sent a message to Tina (the sister of our friend in AZ) to make sure she got her pictures and liked them, she immediately responded and asked me if I got her email. Hmmm, email, no I didn't. Thankfully she told me where she sent it because I had just got my new phone and did not have everything transferred over, which made me completely BLANK on checking that email. I immediately found her email and it gave me the BIGGEST smile. She was soooo sweet and basically told me how she knows we only just met but she has a "feeling we'll get to be good friends". It was in that email she invited my family to come spend the weekend at their house to BBQ, drink wine and do some beach pictures!!!!!! WHAT!!!????? Are you serious?!

Now my family is VERY shy. I am the ONLY. LOUD. OUTSPOKEN. person in my house. It was going to take some work to convince them to go spend the weekend with what were basically COMPLETE STRANGERS!!! They all agreed, but were extremely nervous the whole ride there. I was soooo ready for a weekend of fun and not nervous, one little bit. That was by far one of the BEST weekends EVER. We all meshed so well. The kids got along and Tina and I....well we are definitely long lost sisters. We ate, we drank, we went to the beach, we relaxed and we did family pics on the BEACH! From one little shoot came AH-MAZING new friends!!!!!

Since then they have come and spent a weekend with us and now we are already scheduled for another weekend with them. There are no words for how lucky I feel to have got to meet Tina & Bob and their sweet, sweet girls, but then again I adored her brother and sister in law so I shouldn't be so shocked.  It's crazy how sometimes things just work out and in this case they totally worked out. My only low to this story is I wished they lived closer but then again it makes our time with them that much more meaningful. To Ken & Lisa, thank you for introducing us to your fabulously sweet sister and her lovely family. To Tina & Bob, muahhhhh!!! Love you guys so much! Can't wait to see you for our next weekend of memories! XO

And this is WAY WAY WAY over due, but here are some of my favs from their Beach Session!!! Enjoy! XO

Mom & Her Boys!!

Life is funny, sometimes you seem to come full circle! In this case I actually went to high school with Mom. She is just as sweet now as she was back then and her boys....there are no words. I fell completely head over heels for them. Shannon is AHHH-MAZING with them and the love they have for her is so apparent, you can just see the way they look at her and it touches your heart. For any family who has a child/children with Autism, I'm sure there are challenges, but watching these three together you would never know it.  Shannon, thank you so much for the opportunity to capture such wonderful images of you and your amazing boys. You are an inspiration to mothers everywhere and I can't wait to work with you all again!!! XO

Please visit the Liv with Autism Foundation page on Facebook for more information on different fundraisers and benefits to help raise money and awareness.

Fall is HERE and the Badman Family FINALLY get their session!

Yippee!!! Fall is here and with it comes everything I heart soooo much! Pumpkin Spice Lattes (ok who am I kidding, pumpkin E. V. E. R. Y. T. H. I. N. G.!!), hoodies, boots, cool weather, the beautiful changing fall leaves, Halloween, yummy soups....oh this list could go ON and ON! We have been trying to juggle enjoying the Fall Season with me and my shoots! No easy task but we are doing our best. I am LOVING all the new clients/friends I am meeting and the locations have been fabulous. Now, if we could find a way to freeze this time and NOT let winter come, um I would be a happy little lady! ;)  On the agenda this weekend is a trip out to Jim Thorpe and then our much anticipated trip to a new pumpkin patch (Apple Annie's we will definitely MISS you!). 

First up, finishing some editing and getting this crazy little family's session up on the blog. Ok, so when I lived out in AZ I would get messages from Mom 'you know one day you will do our family pics for us'. In my head 'um, yeah right, not unless you can wait for about a year' (we usually did a visit to see my family every other year). Not just once did she feed me these 'lines' that she was waiting on pics from me, but NUMEROUS times. Fast forward to almost 8 months ago when we uprooted our lives from AZ and landed here in PA. Yep, you guessed it, she messaged me ALL excited because I was only going to be about an hour away from her and she was FINALLY going to get her pictures!!! She's a persistent one! ;)  However, she's not only persistent, she's one of my biggest fans and supporters and I'm so grateful she found her way back into my life. (she may or may not have known me 19 years ago!)  We had a really fun session and her family is just as fun loving and crazy as her. Thanks for an absolute blast and for just being your crazy selves! I look forward to many more sessions with you all in the future! ;)  XO

Many more sessions to get on here! Stay tuned for LOTS more beautiful images! If you are interested in a session for this holiday season please message me. I am booking thru November 30th and am doing VERY limited December sessions. (newborns are excluded, I will fit the new bundles in when they arrive! ;)