Shelly won!

Good Morning Monday! How was your weekend? Mine started Friday afternoon shopping for a dress with Katy and DD.

Me: I'm fat. I need something below the knee. My arms are lamb chops. I'm not trying anything on that isn't a 3/4 sleeve wrap-style.

Me in the dressing room trying on the wrap-style dress.

Katy: If it makes you feel comfortable, then get it.

Me: But what do you think?

DD: You look skinny from the side, but your hips look big from the front. And we're not tall enough for a dress below the knee. 

Katy: I think you need something more modern. (code for, "gross and boring") 

So I stepped out on a limb.

Then.

Me: I don't need another pair of black shoes, but...

DD: Yes, get shoes!

Me: I want something slinky and strappy?

DD: What are you, stuck in the 90s?

Me: Really?

So I stepped out on a limb again (in black). Well, it wasn't that much of a limb, because I might have a few similar-yet TOTALLY DIFFERENT pairs in the closet. And despite apperances, they were relatively comfortable. Even when shorty got low low low low low low low low.   :)

So here's the reason for all the limb-stepping.

Shelly won Queen of the Vine! Here she is with the other candidates and last year's Queen. I can't remember their names, but they are all amazing. Shelly raised $40,000, and collectively I think they raised over $80,000 for The Brighton School. Very cool. Although I have to say that my favorite part of this picture is little Addy in the corner eating her hair. She was the highlight of dinner, as she made her rounds to each table putting blush on everyone, including the men. I loved it! I would show more photos if I had any. But I didn't bring my camera. I thought the iPhone would suffice. But two glasses of wine in, I forgot about it. Probably best that way. After the coronation, we took a limo to Crazytown and didn't get home until almost 3.

So, I spent the better part of Saturday popping Advil so I could watch Chance's first game. Sometimes when I see a bunch of kids all together, it makes me want to cry. I'm not sure if that's normal, or if I should admit it on the www, but it happens to me all the time. Kids, especially mine, make me choke up at seemingly mundane moments. Like the other day when Chance was running down the street to catch the ice cream truck. I think I might need to sit in the back row at their weddings. 

Anyway, this one is for Nana and Papa because they are baseball FANATICS. And also for Grammy, because she was sad the other day that she hasn't seen him play a game yet. 

  

Two more things. The first is that I'm so jealous. Tracey got to see Anne Lamott AND Elizabeth Gilbert speak the other night, and she wrote the best post about it. Even to get to see ONE of those amazing authors, would make my life, okay I'll play it cool, year.

The second is a thank you to Cathy who sent me a sweet email this morning. Checking in to see what's the haps with my neglected blog. Thank you! :)

I'm still here. And honestly, I've been preaching on about changing things up and drawing lines, and blah blah. Well, hallelujah peeps! Because I looked at my calendar for April and there is lots of Sanity on the agenda. I might be a s--l--o--w learner. BUT, I am here to tell you that YOU CAN CHANGE THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MAKING YOU MENTAL.

WOOT. I'll be back tomorrow. Promise. 

Shellybelly

I finally remembered to ask Shelly which ones I could post of her, from when she did the first Hot Mama shoot.

I can't even stress how fun these shoots are...at least for me :)  ...because honestly, they're also a TON of work. And if it weren't for how gratifying it is to get to hang with such amazing women, and see all the fun transformations, I probably wouldn't go through all the planning and details that it takes to organize them. I'd originally intended on booking one per month, but April got away. Now weekends are almost booked through the summer. But I've had a few requests for doing one around Mother's Day. So, if there's enough interest, I'll try to pull one together for that time frame. That way, you'll at least have your CD back in time for a Father's Day gift. OR, JUST TREAT YOURSELF. If you're interested, shoot me an email. I've got 4 people on a waiting list, and I think I need to limit the total number to 8 or 9. admin@relishportraitstudio.com

Hope everyone's having a good day. If you're in the mood to be distracted from work (like I was), and you're a sucker for a personality test (like I am), Go here: www.personaldna.com ...I found out that I'm an "Attentive Designer"...(whatever that means). If you take it, come back and tell me what you are! I'm curious about the other possible results.  

Brooke Burke's Nursery Shoot

Katy's nursery design came out in this weeks issue of In Touch!  So here are a few shots of the ones I took of Brooke Burke. There will be more when the Pregnancy and Newborn article comes out in a couple of weeks.

Until then, here are a few snapshots of everyone putting it together. This is the fabulous Tracy from Petite Suites. You have to check out her amazing portfolio of children's paintings and murals. She's so talented, and also really easy-going, and fun. And FAST. She busted out this whole wall in a DAY! 

She is also Michael Jordan with a paint roller.   :)

I just think this is funny. Fancy sushi on the paint protector. And it was so good too...especially those tuna rolls. Not that it was shocking to find great sushi in Malibu. :) But if you're there, it was from a place called Bui. I'm getting hungry just typing about it.

While we were there, Brooke surprised everyone by having her friend, who owns a jewelry business, come and let us pick something out. Very sweet. I love my necklace and wear it all the time. I wish I could remember the name of her business so I could link to it. So if anyone does, please leave it in the comments. 

Their house was still under construction when we were there. And when we went to leave the first night, we realized that the construction crew had mistakenly locked us onto the property. 

So our choices were to scale the fence, with 8-months-prego Katy (who probably would have done it, considering she had already been teetering herself on ladders all day)...OR, hike through the bushes in someone's yard. We opted for trespassing. Here is DD traipsing through someone's meticulous garden. I wish I had a photograph of her screaming about the Killer Malibu Bullfrog, and almost dropping all of Brooke Burke's crib toole into the mud.  :)  good times.

Monday is my boyfriend.

I still have a bunch more Hot Mama shots to post. Next up is my pretty friend DeAnna. Her eyes are amazing. And she almost makes me want short hair. 

Next, a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to The Kalanadian who sent me a big ol' box of goodies about a week ago. My life has been residing on the outer edge of a hurricane, so it's taken me this long to say that. Shame on me. Even worse, I would not let the kids eat any of the candy until I PHOTOGRAPHED IT FOR THE BLOG. Because I really am that much of a geek. Anyway, some of you might remember The Great Smartie Debates of 2007. This is the follow up, and I have to admit...those feaux smarties were damn good! :)

Candynada

And look what else I got!! There's something about stamps that make me want to use it on every flat surface in my home.

And my favorite magnets ever. In all honesty, it's kind of surreal to be getting a package from The Kal, because I've admired her work for so long. Before I even knew what a blog was, I used to just go to her art site and swoon. Her work is so amazing, but what makes her my favorite is her way with words. She is totally one of a kind.

AND, she even sent a plantable calendar from Botanical Paperworks! It's her design, so of course they look great. But, when you're done, you can PLANT THE PAPER TO GROW FLOWERS. Man, I wish I would have thought of that! Isn't it cute? It comes in a little tin, and then folds out like this.

AND, speaking of CALENDARS! I totally forgot to post this when it came out! I had the privelege of doing family portraits last year for Brent Barry and his beautiful family. I can't show the rest of the shots, but here is the one they chose the Spurs calendar. Thanks Brent and Erin!

Last but not least, and totally changing the subject. I have to show you the cute little note my sister wrote to the kids. She is the cutest Auntie on the planet. But the reason I'm really showing it is because she always says that she's not an artist,  and not creative, and blah blah blah. I think it's time that she changes that stereotype of herself because someone who is not creative,  does not do cute things like this.

And while we're talking about it, I have to say that there's nothing I fidn more weird than when people say they "can't even draw a straight line". Who cares! Who ever saw a straight line that was even half way interesting anyway.

In other news, WE ARE TOTALLY BOOKED UP FOR THE FAMILY BRIGHTON SHOOT. I'm really sorry to all of you who could not get in. It was such a steal, the spots went really quickly. Also, I've gotten a bunch of questions about whether or not I will be doing another one. Unfortunately, the answer is no. This was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

What I will be doing on a regular basis, are the Hot Mama shoots. There are 5 openings left for the March 15th session. After that, I think the April one will be in San Francisco (that's still tentative). After that, we'll see about a possible May shoot. Also, don't forget to call Chic Mama at 545-7217 if you want to get in on the Kids' Valentine Shoot on February 9th. Phew! That was a lot of information!

bye!!

Haute Mamas

The Haute Mama shoot was awesome! I love it when ideas grow into results. It makes life feel full of possibility. It was a ton of work...the lugging, the organizing, the trying to stay on time. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. And it was SO worth it. These kinds of shoots are like breathing to me. Whether I was posing my (poor) friends on chicken coops, or doing makeup for prom, or working at glamour shots, this has always been a part of my life. And I didn't realize how much I missed it, until this weekend. So, I will definitely be scheduling another one...probably sometime in March. The next time, I will be limiting it to ten people. And there are already five on the waiting list. So if you're interested, email me soon! I'll be posting photos throughout the week. For now, here's a sneak peak from behind the scenes.

Shelly Miles getting her hair done, by my favorite Tonie...(and me as the stalker in the background). I know I've gone on about Tonie before. But Saturday made me love her even more. She is that RARE combination of stylist who can not only rock a cut and color, but she can actually STYLE hair. No more re-doing your hair in the rear view mirror ladies.

And she can bust out any style you throw at her too. Like, notice the magazine page on the table above? Melody brought that in as inspiration for her pin-up girl session. Look how well she interpreted it.

Ladies, if you haven't called her yet, you're missing out!

And I didn't get any pictures of her, but my new friend Robyn from Lancome did all the makeup. Having done makeup for 14 years, I'm really picky about it. I like it when shadow is blended well, and shows definition. Not when it looks dusty, as if someone just slapped up some color on your face. You know? But I was really impressed by her. She is a true artist and made everyone look amazing. She manages over 100 Lancome reps, and is extremely busy. So we were really priveleged to even get her for the day. Thank you Robyn! 

 Another shot of Shelly that we took on the roof.

And all the girls watching while we took the shot above. From left to right: my amazing friend Tina, who did all the catering. And who is too good not to do it professionally, so send her a note to tell her to just do it! Michelle, who helped bartend and set up, Katy, DeAnna, and another Michele.  

Thanks again to everyone who helped to make the day such a great success! Check back soon to see how the photos turned out. And if you want to see more behind the scenes shots, you can go here or here.

See you soon, baboons.