{ I've fallen in love with a sleepy little Southern town...sigh...}

I've lived in the South for about a year and a half and I finally ventured about 25 miles to Hartsville. OMG!! I fell in love! Hartsville is a quaint little town with fun little boutiques, eclectic restaurants, gorgeous tree lined streets, beautiful gardens (Kalmia Gardens), and beautiful Southern architecture. I have been meaning to go there forever and I finally popped the kids in the car and we went on a little adventure. The kids enjoyed it as much as I did - surprisingly. I couldn't resist bringing a prop or two and testing out a spot or two. Tyler wasn't feeling well, so he rested (but I did manage to get a shot of him that I'll share later). But Brielle was so in love with this 1930's vintage baby buggy I brought! Tears flowed when I told her it was time to go. She even walked further ahead of me hoping that I would just give in and she could push her baby more.

Here are just a few of the images captured from our quick jaunt to Hartsville.

I did some a slight cross processing on the image below - thought it gave it a little zig ;-)

Zig working?

A little antique coloring and texturizing to give this image a vintage feel.

Oh a different note - Aimee if you're reading this, your gallery is almost ready for me to publish. Thanks for holding tight :)

{Railroad ties, a couple of adorable kids, and a furry friend}

This makes for a fun photo session! Today was gorgeous - the weather couldn't have been better for the first week of March (thankfully, since we had to post-pone this session once due to weather). These kids brought along one of their best friends - a cute dog named Riley. Riley is so special to this family and sadly suffers from severe epileptic seizures - so this was a very special photo session. I have a soft spot for dogs too so I was very excited about this opportunity. Hannah Grace was so good with the dog, hugging him and gently holding onto his leash, I couldn't resist sharing this photo of the two of them together.

And notice, we are on the railroad tracks. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I wasn't going to be shooting sessions on the track since I was warned by a police officer that it was 'illegal' to be on the tracks. Well, lucky for us, Hannah Grace & Ethan's father was there and he works for CSX and was even getting phone calls from the train yard warning us when a train would be coming. How cool is that?! While we were there 2 trains came by - I was in awe since I love trains and we were fairly close to them. And as one train passed us, I got an adorable shot of Ethan with a little prop I brought along. Can you guess what it is? No cheating by scrolling down.... ha, yep, vintage luggage - perfect with the little corduroy blazer he was strutting.

Watching the train go by...

Oh and what's says 'boy' more than paper airplanes? My son is so into making these right now I couldn't resist bringing one along today. And Ethan was in his own little world soaring it high and low, even making some killer sound effects.

Here's an image of Hannah Grace showing me some of her dance moves on the tracks. Too cute! I did an old film effect on this image...gives it a vintage, old time flair.

And I'll leave you with this close up of Hannah Grace - her eyes are such a beautiful contrast with her gorgeous long blonde hair. Luckly little girl...

{Is Starbucks a possible cure for the flu?}

Hmmm...I thought I'd give it a try. I don't think it cured the nasty flu bug I have but my yummy soy, no water, no foam, sugar free vanilla (with an extra pump), 170 degree chai tea latte did warm my up my insides and soothe my throat. I've been missing my daily dose of this and going more than 3 days without it put me through withdraws. I've been trying to nurse myself back to good health before my sessions resume this weekend since returning from my nice little vacation. I was hoping to get out there and go crazy experimenting and having fun, but no such luck since this bug seems to drain any and all of my energy. From what I've heard, this was going around in the Bahamas - my first little foreign bug, a special souvenir - I should be so lucky! Ha!

Anyway, hope you all are healthy. From what I hear in this part of the state there are quite a few horrible flu strains going around - hope you all are spared. :)

{Couple More...}

On a black and white kick and these were calling for classic black and white. I couldn't resist playing with some borders too. Again, my children in town at Puerto Vallarta. I'm still not fully clear headed or back into my groove - so I'm hoping to play this week before my sessions this weekend and next week. I so missed being creative on my vacation but I was trying to truly make it a vacation from my life, work, etc(photography included) - now I'm just hungering for some creative outlets, experimentation, play, you name it! Hopefully I can release that energy this week in between catching up on client e-mails, orders, etc.

So many ideas, so little time... ;-)

{I'm Back!}

Yeah, I'm back! We had a blast on our vacation but it's so nice to be home again and sleeping in our own beds and no longer living out of our suitcases. What an adventure! This was one of the best vacations I've had. We got to play with the kids in Mexico and be with my mom and dad. Then we got to have alone time in the Bahamas. What a treat! I took very few pictures on our vacation since I didn't want to have to worry about my camera when we were at the pool, on excursions, and at the beach. Also I brought my old camera that's not full frame so that was really hard to go back to. Note to self: Just bring my good camera on trips - it's worth it. But I did take a few pictures on the first stint of our trip (in Mexico).

We built sand castles on the beach and chilled on the shore.

Some of the pools were dedicated to kids with jungle gyms in the water and wave pools.

Tyler getting ready to jump off the waterfall into the water (horrible shot, but a memory was captured).

We ventured into town to check out the area and buy some yummy Mexican Vanilla (something I never leave Mexico without purchasing - it's the best Pure Vanilla for baking!).

While we were in town, we visited a beautiful Catholic Church

Where Brielle kneeled and prayed (not liking the camera on her but I snuck this shot).

And we played around

Poor Briella, we were looking for bracelets for her and tried on a few at several stores. By the time we left the third shop after taking off the bracelets we tried on her - her patience had run out. She didn't understand why we were letting her put on bracelets and then making her take them off without buying them. She was heartbroken and frustrated which let to a big'ole 2 year old temper tantrum. We couldn't help but laugh at her drama (bad mom and dad...) - she plopped herself in the middle of the sidewalk on a busy street, folder her arms, stuck her lower lip out and began to cry. Here she is in the midst of it all. Daddy shopped quickly to find her a bracelet to fit and soon she was calm and content again. Oh my... is this a sign of things to come?

{On Vacation!}

That's right! I'm leaving in 5 hours headed to the airport with my husband and kids! Woo hoo! We're spending a week in Mexico, Nuevo Vallarta, where we're meeting my parents. Tyler couldn't be more excited. He woke Jeff and I up this morning saying 'Let's chit-chat about Mexico' (he was there 2 years ago and remembers so he can't wait). And he packed his bag unbeknownst to me. I discovered it when I was starting to pack the kids' belongings. Too cute. After our time in Mexico Jeff and I are headed to the Bahamas for 5 days while the kids stay with their other grandparents in Arizona. We'll need a vacation after our vacation - don't you feel that way after traveling? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know so if you didn't see posts for a little bit or if I don't respond to your e-mails right away, this is why? I will be sure to get respond to any inquiries, or e-mails as soon as I return. :)

{Balloons, Giggles, Cupcakes & a Tea Party}

What more could a girl want? It was little Kendall's first birthday and we wanted to capture this special milestone right! I can't believe how happy this little girl was. Kellie, you are blessed to have such a happy, loving, cuddly little girl! Kendall has two older sisters who I'm sure are just as sweet as this little one. Anyway, the weather was great, such a relief after all the cold and rain we had the day before and the weeks leading up to this session. And it wasn’t windy so I could bring balloons that actually stayed put!I love doing one year birthdays because that means I get to bake!! I was up to my ears in cake batter and homemade frosting! My kids were thrilled since they knew this meant there would be extras for them. Anyway, I love baking so this was fun for me. Here are just a few of the images captured at yesterday’s session.

{Bubbles, bubbles...}

I wanted to play today with some indoor shots. My daughter had other things in mind and wasn't feeling very well, tummy ache - so this is all I got. Then I resorted to photographing some antique cameras I've collected. I love these old antique leather & metal cameras!! So many images captured on these cameras before they were considered unusable. Most of them still work - suprisingly. Anyway, it's crazy to think of what images could've been photographed using these classic old cameras. I'll never know...

{Timeless Black & White - Love them!}

I'm on a black & white kick these days {couldn't resist changing my blog banner AGAIN, I know - I'm ridiculously indecisive :) }. Maybe it's the cold weather, mist, fog, bare trees, and all the stillness that comes with the winter season that's drawing me to B&W images... who knows. Anyway, since it was too cold to go outside today, I took a couple photographs of Brielle indoors {I casually asked Tyler if I could get a few of him, but he politely said 'Not today mom'. So I didn't ask again}. But he told me during dinner that I can photograph him tomorrow - woo hoo! And since I've had to post-pone all my recent sessions because it's been so cold, I'm thrilled to be able to experiment, play and photograph my own children. I'm also working on a canvas wall display in our foyer, so I'm hoping to have more images to choose from with these quick moments that my kids are allowing me to snap away with my camera. Anyway, I miss photographing my clients but I'm thankful for these quick snippets of being able to photograph my kids, their life and who they are at this very moment. I'm sure you all will grow tired of seeing my children but there will be more variety to come...I promise!
Thank you for viewing my blog :)

Oh and I wanted to say hi to some photographers and aspiring photographers who've contacted me recently from London {Lone}, Canada {Katrina}, Germany {Niki}, and Ireland {Anne}. Thank you for your great e-mails - I love them!

{My Little Girl...}

I can't believe how grown up she looks (and she's only 2 and a 1/2)! Anyway, I finally have time to sift through the few pics I snapped of Brielle today and I a few more that caught my eye. She's not fond of this cold weather and you can tell by her seriousness. :) Anyway, I wanted to post these two before I went to bed!