A little internet love....

I have 9 photo sessions (YES...NINE!) to edit and share, but instead I am procrastinating. I love browsing the internet and blogs and finding creative and inspiring ideas....especially for my house. I thought I'd share a few of my recent favorites....

LOVE this camera bag that looks like a purse. I think I'll be saving my money for this!!


I am in LOVE with this perpetual calendar. I think I may have to work on this the next time I go to NYC. You can learn more about it here.

YUMMY! Caramel apple cider (recipe here)

What a fun idea! A chalkboard for your refrigerator as a place to write down leftovers so everyone knows what's hiding in the frig!

I absolutely need a big blank wall so I can do this at my house! I already have a lot of cameras...and love this method of displaying them.

AND...a few fun Christmas ideas....

I think these ornament wreaths are so pretty - especially the brown and blue!

www.eddieross.com

www.canadianliving.com

Or a topiary made from ornaments (LOVE the fun colors on this one)...

I would love a bunch of lanterns like this on my patio or on my front step...

Thankful....

As a kid, Thanksgiving used to be one of my least favorite holidays. There were no gifts and all you did was eat. It is now one of my favorite holidays....and this year seemed extra good.

• Thanksgiving dinner yesterday at Grandma L's - which meant lots of yummy food and time to visit with my family
• We only had to travel 45 min. this year, so we got home in time to do some Christmas decorating. LOVE listening to Christmas music and decorating our house.
• Jacob and I had a "date" and went to see New Moon. LOVED it...and Jacob is officially hooked
• This morning I got to sleep in while it was cold and yucky outside.
• I had 2 photo shoots today!
• Thanksgiving dinner with Chris' family today - more yummy food and more visiting with family
• I got to see CHERYL and LONDON and NATE this afternoon. We met for a quick photo session in the cold and then went to eat Chinese (more food!!). So excited to see them again.
• We all came back to our house to hang out and play a game - loved spending family time with the Ametewee's.
• More Christmas decorating.....love having all four of us decorate the tree. I love the memories behind every single ornament.
• Excited that I still have 2 more days of holiday weekend!!

Jenna's turn...

Jenna tagged along when I went with Jodi to take silhouette photos. She heard "cheerleaders" and was ready to go ! Afterwards, I snapped a few of her just for fun.

showing off her extension...

my favorite....this is so her right now and I love how I was able to capture what she is like at age 8....

Learning from the pro....

I am so fortunate to have a couple photographer friends who don't mind when I pick their brains and want to learn from them. Jodi is one of those photographer friends. I have been a huge fan of her silhouette photos for a long time and have been experiencing major sihouette envy. Seriously, no one can take a silhouette photo like Jodi. A few weeks ago she was doing a silhouette shoot for a senior and a couple of her friends and invited me to tag along. My photos can't even touch hers...but I had so much fun taking them. I can't wait until warmer weather so I can try some again.

{Miller Family}

I am not sure how I missed sharing these photos. I remember sitting down at the computer and typing a blog post about their session....but then what happened to it? Anyhow....this is the second year Alison asked me to take photos of her family. Brandon, Alison , Carter, and Rylan are part of our "basketball family" and we spend LOTS of time together during basketball season. Last year I took photos of the 2 boys. They were FULL of energy that evening and the session was a little challenging, but the photo she ended up using for their Christmas cards was 100% them. This year she asked me to take photos of the whole family. The weather was not overly cooperative that day, but thankfully we were able to use our connections and take photos at the PAC.

{Kemler Family}

The Kemlers added a new member to their family this summer, so Marla asked me to take some updated family photos along with photos of their new baby Zavier. I met them at their house so we could take their photos in their country setting. Of course we had to include the tractor in some too!

Taking photos of this family was almost too easy! We became friends pre-kids (in fact....I'm pretty sure it was Dave's lasagna that put me into labor with Jacob!) and have stayed in touch over the years . Zavier is too cute for words and a huge blessing to this family! They waited a long time for him to join their family and he is so loved by all of them !

My favorite from the session....

THANKS Kemlers for asking me to take family photos for you.

Baby Jayden

I was so excited when Sarah contacted me to take photos of their new baby boy, Jayden! I spent the evening at Scott and Sarah's house just capturing photos of their new family together....and of course of Jayden. He was such an easy going baby and really made my job too easy. I love doing newborn photos ....it allows me to capture the memories of those first few brand new weeks.

THANKS Scott and Sarah for allowing me to take photos of your brand new family!

Shay and Riley

Shay and Riley definitely win the award for the most cooperative kids I have photographed. We had tried several times to get together and when we finally did, it was a cold, drizzly morning. After a little shivering and teeth chattering (no kidding!), they really got into the picture taking and forgot all about the weather! Riley was on the go the whole time...but with a little creativity, we were able to get him to sit still long enough to capture some great photos of him. His sister, Shay, was the PERFECT model. She was very into the whole photo session and helped me come up with some great ideas. I think she would have stayed with me all day taking photos if she could.

THANKS Tabitha for asking me to take photos of Shay and Riley. I hope you are able to quickly fill up all those Hobby Lobby frames!! :)

3+2 = Happy

The day I took Abbie's senior photos I basically had a photo mini-marathon with her family. Not only did I take photos of Abbie, but also of Ava, and some of their blended family as well.....Deb and her kids Alex and Abbie plus Howie and his daughter Ava. So excited that Deb finally found the person that makes her this happy....and that I got to photograph some of that happiness!!