all girlie 'n stuff

Larissa is the personification of all things girlie.  She literally squeals in delight when putting on a dress.  She's always finding some random piece of jewelry to wear.

This wiggle worm sits as still as can be for her toes to be painted by Auntie Chelle.  Larissa doesn't walk, she prances.  If there ever were a born princess, this is her.

When digging out her cousin's old cheerleader costume, Larissa just about died.  Her eyes lit up like she was in love.  I know, you don't have to say it, I see trouble ahead.

Ohhhh, I don't know...who's ready for a trip to Florida?

little bit of love

Hope each of you enjoyed a weekend or evening full of LOOOOVE.  Ben and I had a surprising amount of time together considering the mayhem of our schedule these days.  I'm so in love with that guy.

There's something beautiful about new love, the butterflies, the freshness of a new relationship.  However, I wouldn't trade that for the world with what I have with Ben.  The fact that he "gets me" with just one glance.  He has me belly laughing harder than anyone I know.  He inspires, challenges, and loves me through all my craziness.  And yes, he can attest to my craziness.

Ben brought me home a beautiful bouquet and our fave Thai take-out.  Then, I came home from a client meeting to a spotless house.  He's amazing!

Specializing
Family is so important to me.  It's critical that I choose a work-life balance that is healthy for me.  Because of this, I recently chose to specialize in wedding photography.  Doing it all was becoming too much.  I'm still accepting the occasional lifestyle portrait session, but it will be very limited.  I'm so excited about this transition!  You can read more about it on my post.

valentine fun

Yesterday, I told the kids to get special clothes on and we would have a Valentines Day picture party.  Carter was very excited about this.  Probably because he only heard the word party.

Carter is learning about emotions these days.  He had fun practicing all the quirky faces in response to a feeling.  Love it!

Here's to love!

Carter is a tad dinosaur obsessed.  So, every pose he did, the dinosaurs had to pose as well.  There's no pretending because he checks my work.

visit from afar

Six years ago, the 28th of January 2006, I made *the best* decision.  I married my best friend and Mr. Amazing.  Unbelievable how quickly time is flying.

I would love this to be a long sappy post with accolades for my wonderful husband.  Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury this morning as I'm barely squeezing in this post.  Just know that he is the man I always dreamed of, and I wish I could marry him all over again.  {no really, I do...have you seen how fabulous weddings can be these days?}

One great thing {among many} about marrying Ben is that my dear friend, Veronica, became my sister.  I know, right?  The only problem is that she lives in CHINA!  That's right, halfway around the world.  The good news is that I get to see her about once a year.  The weekend was one of those times.

I adore seeing the little cousins playing together.  Baby Wes is the first cousin we have on this side.  So, it's very exciting to have a playmate now!

This little guy has you falling in love with him from the moment you see him.  His huge smile and little charmer personality makes you feel like you must be the most important person in the world.  This auntie is smitten.

Auntie Chelle Loves!

Kissin' cousins.  They were both pretty fascinated with each other.

...When Larissa wasn't upset that we were giving another baby attention.

Carter's new tie...totally stylin' all those textiles. {yeah, didn't go with the outfit}

Nica and I were both the mamarazzi

We celebrated another Christmas doing the last of the gift exchange.

Looove these guys. <3

film - roll 2

For my second roll of film, I chose color.  I'm also using a Nikon 35 mm film camera, that was gifted to me.  My Great Uncle Ray gave me his entire collection, it's gorgeous!

Carter and I went out on a winter walk in Doon Village so I could do some experimenting.  What I love best about film is the color and tone right out of camera.

This comparison shows my SOOC {straight out of camera, digital}, my digitally edited image, and the film image.  I only re-sized the film image, no other editing was done.

I'm still learning to use the focus correctly on the Nikon. I adore shooting wide open, so really calls me out on my focus. Something to work on. Occasionally though, it looks pretty that way. :)

making strides

So, I mentioned in the prior post about making advancements in the work/life balance area.  Huge changes are underway with my photography business to make that possible.

First, a new work-flow system cuts my editing time by more than half.  I am in love!

Second, I made the monumental decision to specialize.  Everything I read said to do it, but I couldn't think of what I wanted to give up.  Ultimately, however, wedding photography inspires me the most.

The artistry involved makes me swoon.  I adore capturing everything from boutonnieres to the kisses.  This decision makes me so happy...and a little nervous.

Here’s to being better at work and having quality + quantity time with my family.

Carter and I went on a winter walk together on Saturday.  I will likely post more pictures once my roll of film returns, do a little comparison fun.

dreams & goals

This year I set some business goals, 4 broad goals with specific steps of action within those objectives.

1. Book clients in target demographic
2. Find a better work/life balance {lots of advancement in this area!}
3. Save more money earned while still investing into equipment
4. Learn to Shoot Film {working on this!}

Entrepreneurial enterprises that are successful have a key similarity.  Uniqueness.  My quest last year was honing my artistic style and branding accordingly.  I don't want to attract "a lot" of clients.  I want to attract the right ones.  People who are thrilled with the service and products they receive.  I want to find "my match".  

A sub-goal of doing this was to get published by Style Me Pretty.  They are, by far, my favorite wedding blog.  I swoon over their features and the photographers they highlight.  If a bride is reading Style Me Pretty, she will likely enjoy my style of work.  

It's tricky though, you have to have the right wedding coupled with your photography for success.  Obviously, the purpose of these blogs is to help other brides in designing their weddings.  So, you need a killer design for the wedding.  

I knew one of my brides perfectly fit that description.  I was a new wedding photographer though...scary new.  So, the idea of submitting that wedding gave me all kinds of butterflies.  Fist part of working towards a goal is accepting the idea of failure.  It's okay to try and fail.  It's happened many times before and will continue.  

So, you can imagine my excitement when Style Me Pretty Canada accepted my submission.  Like I said, it takes a bride with a killer design along with a fabulous team of artists.  Giddy with excitement and humbled by the honor.  

Style Me Pretty Canada Feature