as a photographer, your first clients are some of your most memorable. revisiting these families year after year gives me such a warm, full heart. i photographed James just days old, and his sister Sophia was my very first “official” little girl subject 3 years ago.

Sophia is such an amazing big sister…..and silly too!

daily mantra (in the holiday spirit of giving….):

let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. let us always give something.

Daisaku.Ikeda

the people i’m thankful for….

i will be out of the office until Monday, the 29th of November while i give my whole attention to the family and friends who have supported me infinitely through this year.

all  business related emails, phone calls, orders, etc. will be processed/returned/mailed out on that day.

daily mantra: from an amazing woman…..

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

{maya.angelou}

best.day.ever….

when i kiss these amazing images boxes filled to the top with wedding proofs goodbye and send them in the mail to my blissfully in love couples. every single one of my wedding clients, no matter what package…the smallest or the biggest….walks away with an image box. after months to a year of planning, doesn’t everyone deserve luxurious memories at their fingertips?

p.s. this is my new desk. i got it on craigslist for $50!

there is really nothing i enjoy more than going over wedding pictures from a client’s big day, and recalling all of the special moments, and just all of  FUN that was had. i knew from the moment i met Danielle and Dana that their wedding would be so full of life and so full of laughter.

LOVED these little girls so much!

the church and the entire ceremony was so gorgeous. the way the light came in through the exquisite stained glass windows was spiritual all by itself. the last shot i captured was the one of Dana and Danielle going down the isle and the stream of light just flooded in from the door… sigh…so beautiful.

i had my work cut out for me with this group…they were so ready to relax after the serious wedding business of the last few days. it made for great photos though!

Dana and Danielle were my  ONLY couple all season long to smash the cake in each other’s faces. i just LOVE IT when people do that.

Dana is a seriously good dancer…

….loved this photo of Danielle and her dad…and the little girl looking on.

daily mantra: i’ll let you be in my dreams if i can be in yours….bob.dylan

daily mantra:

i struggle with enormous discrepancies: between the reality of motherhood and the image of it, between my love for my home and the need to travel, between the varied and seductive paths of the heart. the lessons of impermanance, the occasional despair and the muse, so tenuously moored, all visit their needs upon me and i dig deeply for the spiritual utilities that restore me: my love for the place, for the one man left, for my children and friends and the great green pulse of spring…{sally.mann}

***

dear Mikki and Katie….

i have really been awful at this, huh? no excuses. just…..{picture me with my shoulders shrugged and a scrunched face and a look of ‘blah’ and i am wearing sweatpants and i am still in my flip flops even though its November because i think real shoes hold me back or something and i’m generally uninspired even though you both are cup overflow-ith with it as soon as the light of one eye opens and passes your long eyelashes in the morning}.

deep breath because that was a run on sentence, i am sure of it. {sorry Mrs. Mellor}

i am looking for full-on soul restoration of epic, Bob Villa “This Old House”, proportions. i go through this about once a year. where i feel the need to reinvent myself and become a different, a hopefully better, person. i don’t know if i ever do it or just decide whatever this is, might be good enough. perhaps this rebuilding is something that can be compared to the growth rings on a tree. i haven’t figured it all out yet. but i will though.

pinky-promice.

love always darlings,