Father's Day

Grateful for the boy I met as a seventeen year old girl, who has managed to turn into the best dad I could ever imagine. Hope you all had a fun Father's day!  

Hot Mamas: Amanda+Diana+Wendi

We had another great Hot Mama shoot a few weeks ago. It's always fun to meet everyone, and hear the reasons why they're doing this. Whether it's weight loss, or for father's day, or just to have a cute Facebook headshot, it's always a great day. Once again Robyn did all the makeup, AND I'm super excited to announce that she is FINALLY going to be offering up her services on a regular basis. We're going to work together on getting her website up, complete with before/after shots. But for now, you can see some of her previous work here, here, or here. And you can reach her at robyncchappell@yahoo.com. She does makeup for weddings, proms, girls night in (or out) parties...you name it! We also had the fabulous Jaime from ME Salon do all the hairstyles. She did a great job, and was really fun to work with too. I just love our little team! :)

Now, the beauties. First, Amanda. Oooh lala! Her first set reminds me of a magazine ad.

 Diana has been our eye doctor for about five years. So it was fun to visit with her outside of the office, for a change. She's great to work with, and I highly recommend her if you're looking for someone. 

And cutie pattootie Wendi. Loved working with her too! She'd put so much thought into every detail. I'm sure her hubbie's going to love love love them!

The studio is in a really great, old building in downtown New Braunfels. And this is the bathroom down the hall. It was actually my friend Tara's idea to shoot in there, and I love how it turned out. Feels vintag-y. I think someone in a ball gown would be cool there, too.

 There are lots more to post, so I think I'll break it up into a couple of days. I think I might do one more of these sessions before the end of the year. They always book up fast, so email me if you want to get on the First-To-Know list for next time. Also, all the Summer Special spots are gone! Thanks everyone!

Have a fab weekend! xo

catch up.

Had a shoot this morning, and it started raining. Right at the end though, so it was okay. Now it's just dreary and overcast. Seems fitting because we lost our bunny yesterday. And this is how I know that I've been behind on blogging for a LONG time, because I never even had a chance to take or post pictures of him! Shoot. We got Cheetoh at Easter for the kids. And I'm not really an animal person (don't hate, I have enough crap to clean up after). But I'm sad that he's gone, pellets and all. Jason had been letting him out in the evenings to play in the backyard because his cage was getting small. He'd fly up into the air, and spin in circles. It was fun to watch him play and stretch. But we went into the house for too long yesterday evening, and he must have found a way to wiggle under the fence. I'm bummed. The kids cried last night. And Annie drew all kinds of pictures about how much she missed him. Sad.

On a lighter note. The photo sessions have been stacking up, so it's time to post pix! 

This is my good friend Erika. She was the first friend I made in San Antonio when we moved here 6 years ago. I was hormonal, and homesick, and 8 months along with Annie. She happened to be pregnant too, and helped me with referrals for everything. It was such an overwhelming time to be up-rooting; I don't know what I would've done without her. Our babies ended up being born 2 weeks apart, so it was extra special for me to get to photograph her next pregnancy. 

I also think she has a way with the camera. There's a lack of self consciousness and an ease about her. This one's my favorite.

Love the ones with Derrik, too. He's a ham!
And I know I've mentioned this before, and she's on my links page. But Erika is The MAVEN when it comes to home loans. She did ours (which is how we met). And I think it says a lot when you become lasting friends with your mortgage person. She rocks. And not just because I like her. She is truly sharp as a tack, a straight-shooter, and head and shoulders above her competition. Even with the recent down turn of the real estate industry, she stays crazy busy. And she's like a savant when it comes to numbers, and remembering facts. *Sidenote related to that: One time I went to a huge bead show with her. If you've ever been to one, you know that there are literally THOUSANDS of beads stacked upon acres of tables. She was going down each row, asking for SPECIFIC stones. Like, "Do you have an African, Azrolite Topaz Tiger Striped Clam Claw?" (I'm totally making that name up). While I was going, "Wow, that pretty shiny bead is so pretty and shiny!" I mean seriously...who knew they even had names, let alone remembered what they were?! She is TOTALLY the girl you want on your side when you need financing. enaegelin@primelending.com And she can also do out of state loans, too.  

Okay, next up. SHUTTER SISTERS stuff. I posted over there today, come visit! More importantly, ALL the Shutter Sisters (including me too!) will be in Chicago next month for BlogHer. I've never been, so I'm super excited to see what it's all about, and to meet the people behind so many of the blogs I've been reading over the years. And Tracey has put together a killer Shutter Sisters suite at the Sheraton, complete with fabulous sponsors like Blurb, Aurora, HP and Lensbaby. We hope all of you will come by to visit! Also, we'd be so honored, if you'd help us spread the word on your blogs/Facebook/Twitter! If you're inclined, you can copy and paste it, or find a button right here. Tracey also started a Shutter Suite blog, which you can find by clicking this icon. Hope to see you there!

 

And speaking of social media, I cracked and joined Twitter. Although I have yet to post one thing. Maybe I'll break the ice today. If you want to follow me, I'm here. :) 

Ah, posts get long when you've been neglecting your blog. I want to post some pix from Mexico. But we all made agreements that there would be no drunken, bathing suit or dancing-on-tables shots floating around the internet. So that's going to make it VERY hard. :) Just kidding...(sort of). I'll try to root through and find some that are tame enough to post. You know, Facebook takes all the fun out of life. And all I have to say is that I'm SO glad it wasn't around when I was 20. Our poor kids.

And I think that's it. It's still overcast, but I see a glimmer of sun peeking through. Maybe that will motivate me to get some makeup on for girls night out tonight. If you're reading this girls, I vote for someplace that I can wear a pony tail. 3.5 hours of sleep last night is getting to me. Tick Tock Tick Tock.

I hope to be back with a little more regularity. For now, peace out.

bueno

hi peeps. 

Going to Mexico for an impromptu girls trip. Thank you Swine Flu, and depressed economy for making the cheapest vacation of all time possible! I'll be back next week with pix, and hopefully a few stories. Until then, you might catch a few on facebook. 

Adios amigos! And bring on the margaritas!

xo

What's been up. :)

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might remember that last year I was lucky enough to get to do a session for Eva and Tony Parker, which they used for their Christmas card. It was such a thrill. Especially because they're both so down-to-earth. And it was the same way a couple weeks ago, at the shoot we did to update pix for the Eva's Heroe's website. When you're talking to her in person, she's so unassuming, you almost forget how famous she is. Well, until she says something like, "Thank you for fitting this in, because I'm leaving to go out of the country for a month". Then I say, "Oh how fun, where?" And then she non-chalantly lists a bunch of different countries, including France...you know, "for the Cannes Film Festival. "   "...Ooooh...yeah...I still have to find my dress".   :)

The other best part was watching her interact with the amazing kids. She really cares about each and every one of them. And it's easy to see why. What open hearts. And what TROOPERS, too! It had to be a thousand degrees that day, but they handled it like professionals!

Here's one of my favorites. You might be able to see more as they update the site.

 Yes, I was a total groupie and asked if I could take a picture with her too, even though (as DD would say) I looked like hammered dog crap, after the 100 degree shoot. How nice was she, to oblige the sweaty photographer? And how unfair is it that she still looks perfect?! :)

Oh, and thanks to my FAVORITE FAVORITE, Kate from KATE's FROSTING, who donated her amazing cupcakes to photograph for the shoot, and then for everyone to eat. If you haven't been to visit her yet, you are totally missing out. Besides the fact that her cupcakes are like crack, she DELIVERS. I literally have her on speed dial. And I can't tell you how many times I've sent spontaneous cupcakes to people on the fly. Willy nilly cupcakes! :) But seriously, she is the BEST!

In other news, we had another successful Hot Mama shoot over the weekend! Somehow managed to dodge the rain too, even though it was close. Thanks (again) to the fabulous makeup extraordinaire Robyn; and Jaime from ME Salon. They both did fabulous work, as usual! And all the women who joined us were so much fun. Each one had a unique story, or reason for the session. It's always amazing. Although, I do have to admit that they are also a ton of work. I always need at least a day to recover. Lucky for me, it was a long weekend. I'll try to have a few shots up within the next couple weeks. 

I also wanted to say Happy (belated) Birthday to my little cutiepie, Mimi-bean. She turned FOUR on the 13th, and her lame mother has still not gotten it together enough to throw her a party. Her awesome Auntie (among other family members) was on it though. How cute are these boxes?! Thank you Auntie Kelly! We love you! And speaking of belated birthdays, happy birthday Sari berry, too! We wish you guys were closer (always)! xo

While I'm being random, you may have read last week at Shutter Sisters that I've been feeling like I need to shake things up a bit, lately. I think it's mostly about finding the time to work on the projects that have been floating around in my head for a while. In the meantime, searching for some new inspiration, I stumbled on this the other day. The project is called "Lost Soles", photographs of shoes taken from the Salton Sea. What a compelling idea. I ended up reading through some of Chris' blog, and also found this great quote. Has nothing to do with what I've been talking about, but I loved it.

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you  from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and prade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life."   -Anne Morriss, Boston MA

Have a nice evening.  :)