Make-up

I enjoy experimenting with different formula's and different shades of make-up, I love, LOVE it. The issue is that I kinda really like the good (expensive) stuff. One of my favorite make-up artists was at the wedding I photographed yesterday and I took a picture of her paraphernalia.


I am currently in need of the Studio Tech foundation from MAC, unfortunately, I can't remember my shade. I also love anything from Sephora, and have a propensity for lip gloss (and I wonder where Ella gets it from).

On an entirely different note, my birthday is coming up on September 11th. I'm just sayin'.

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Christmas!

Every year I try to find a way to do Christmas cards for my friends and family, and I think I've found a solution that should work for everyone.

Here is what I am thinking...

On September 20th and 21st, I will have a small, studio set-up in my home. I will be shooting from 10am - 4pm. Appointments will be scheduled every hour to get a few, simple shots for your Christmas cards. Cost is $50 and will include the digital file. I will also offer the ability to purchase cards at cost, see designs below.

Wouldn't it be nice to get your picture and your cards done with in advance of the Holiday rush? If you are interested, and did not receive an email about scheduling an appointment, let me know.



FYI, designs 18-22 contain images that were not taken by me.

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Portraits

I wanted to take some nice portraits of my big girl the other day before her party.

In an effort to get her to smile naturally, I told her to close her eyes and give me her serious look.

And every time I said it, she would crack up and this is what I would get. (You gotta watch me, I'm tricky like that).

If you haven't noticed already, she is missing her two front teeth!

She found a stick in the yard and she said that it looked like an 'f' and that reminded her that we are bff's. Ahhh, she is so sweet, I'm gonna remind her of this when she is 16. (bff = best friend forever).

She likes to lay on the ground and pose like my brides.



I love my sweet, angel girl, she is so special!

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Cookies!!

The cookie table at Saturday's wedding was amazing. AND, as luck would have it, there were peach cookies!

Anyway, my friend (and former bride), Maria was a bridesmaid in the wedding (the groom is her brother). I love Maria, so we hopped into the photobooth to get some pictures. Check out Maria's wedding here.

Anyway, Maria frequents my blog and knows of my peach cookie obsession... but you won't believe what she did. About mid-way through the reception, she grabbed a cookie bag and took almost all of the peach cookies and gave them to me!! Happy birthday, she says! How could you not love her! And these Italian families make the best cookies, long live the cookie table!

I even got a shot of Stefanie's ring on a peach cookie, because as near as I can tell, it doesn't get any better than this.

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First day of school!

Ya know, it's true what the say, time goes by too quickly. I cannot believe that Goosie started first grade. Me? With a first grader? Aren't I still like 24 or something?

This is her good friend Rachel.

Ahh, look at Miss Rose, I swear she looks more grown up every day.

There are a thousand kids at this bus stop, which is conveniently located directly in front of our home.

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Birthday party!

The girls had a blast on the ginormous water slide at Ella's birthday!





And when going down in the usual manner gets boring, go backwards!


Baby John made an appearance, he was smiling at his daddy.

Boy boy watched on, once again hopeful that one day he can run around with the ladies.


Everything Hannah Montana was a huge hit.

Pinata action.

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Boy Boy Licious eats food!

A couple of weeks ago we started giving boy boy puffs, even though it is taking a while for him to catch on to the whole use-your-teeth-to-chew concept.

I guess this just demonstrates how much he lacks the aforementioned concept since he attempts to chew on the container.

And somehow, every time he gets the container, he manages to get the lid off and dump the puffs everywhere.

"You got a problem with that?" (said with a mob boss accent).

He did not receive the black eye from Vinnie for not delivering the goods, he received it from his grandma and the cause is still under investigation.


And then he thinks it's real funny when we have to get on the floor to pick up his mess. This kid is a piece of work.

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Happy Birthday Ella!

Ella received a bounce around water slide so that she would no longer have to suffer with the container-pool. She was so excited!

Yep, it's huge. Nope, I have no idea where we are going to store it.

Your eyes do not deceive you, boy boy is standing!! He isn't quite able to pull himself up yet, but he sure is trying.

I felt bad that Ella didn't have any friends to play with, so I put on my bathing suit, went down the slide, and then played with them in the pool.

Miss Rose joined us after a while, which put me in the clear.

That monstrosity came in this box, can you believe it?

I just baked her a little cake so that we could have a family party, her big party is on Sunday. Oh and she lost one of her top teeth the other day, I can't wait until the other one falls out cause she looks kinda silly right now.

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Jewelry Holder

Well, isn't this ironic. We just got Pottery Barn Teen magazine in the mail yesterday and I came across this jewelery holder. I like it, I think it is pretty and appears to be functional. Here is the link to PBteen. My birthday is coming up on September 11th, I'm just sayin'.

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Yum

After I finished my lunch the other day I realized I had lots of Coke left in the can. Craig cannot stand it when I waste Coke, so I had to find something to do with what was left. I decided to make a delicious Coke float with Neapolitan ice cream. Now here's the trick... you have to use a small spoon to scoop the ice cream into the glass giving the Coke more surface area to cover. And you have to give the ice cream time to soften. You follow?

And what happens is that it generates this wonderful foam with an amalgamation of flavor.


Oh. my. It is soooo good. But I must confess that typically when I make one of these, I use the biggest, widest glass I can find... I just used the skinny glass for this demonstration so that I wouldn't look like a pig. Which reminds me, when I was little and someone would burp, my grandma (dad's mom) would say, "excuse the pig, the hog is out walking." Huh?

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Help

This is the current status of the drawer that holds my jewelry. It's an enormous tangled up mess. Most of my necklaces are unusable.


But here's the thing, I gently put them away, it's not like I grab them all at once, tie them in knots and then put them back. So how do they get that way? When I shut the drawer do they all start giggling and say, "hey, she's gone, it's time to party!"?

I don't know, but I'm tired of it. I would love to find a jewelry organizer that really works. Not a standard jewelry box, and not some cheesy, hanging thing... something stylish and functional. Is that asking too much? Hello, inventors, are you out there?

My birthday is coming up on September 11th. I'm just sayin'.

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Book Recommendations

I'm often asked about business books that I read, which are my favorite, what would I recommend, etc. Below is a list of many of my favorite books, both business and other. I wish Library Thing would organize them by genre, but what can ya do.

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Peach Cookies

I was browsing through one of my Lightroom catalogs the other day when I came across this photo that I took of the cookies at my friend Rachel's bridal shower years ago. These peach cookies are absolutely my favorite thing on the planet. Ever had one? They are sooooo delicious, filled with some delightful peach filling. I believe that some recipes even call for peach schnapps. Anyway, I tried making them once and I'm not sure that I even had the right recipe, but they just didn't turn out well. I must have some of these cookies. Soon.

(whistling, looking around innocently)
My birthday is coming up on September 11th. I'm just sayin'.

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Speaking of Birthdays

Boy Boy is 8 months old today! Could he get any cuter??


He is holding his favorite toy, he loves that thing.




He has been trying to talk lately, and you'll never guess what he's saying. (rolling eyes) Dadadadada, and something that sounds like hi da, hi da, hi da.

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Birthday!

I'm a little behind, but I finally ordered Ella's birthday invitation. She will be 6 on August 20th.

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