Cassie and Brad | Engaged!

Cassie and Brad chose to shoot their session in Northfield and I couldn't be more happy with the results! We had so much fun and the perfect warm autumn evening.







Cassie has the best smile ever!





What better way to end the night than a cold beer?
Thanks guys! Can't wait for your wedding next summer!

Heather, Travis, Emily and Lucas | Family

This is a bit of a special post... Travis has completed his training and is being deployed to Afghanistan next week. They have never taken any lifestyle type portraits so I was so happy to capture these for their family during his short visit home. The last time he was home he saw Lucas being born and the next time he will see him won't be until next year some time. :( I know Heather didn't think the session went well so I wanted to get these up to show her my captures.
Best of luck to your family and a BIG thank you to Travis for serving our country!

October is booked.

October has been booked yet I keep taking that "one more session" and the requests keep rolling in so I am putting it out there that I AM OFFICIALLY BOOKED. Hopefully this will stop me now.

Now I need to schedule myself two months of vacation to recover from all of these sessions.

What should Oliver be for Halloween?

Leave a comment below if you have a suggestion! Check out all of the options here.

Haley | Mankato West Senior Photographer

A beautiful senior on the blog for this week.

I am currently working on August weddings, and sessions from the 2nd and 3rd weeks of September... so yes, I am very behind! :( It doesn't help that I am shooting almost every day/night so I don't have many full days in the office and it also doesn't help that Oliver is now CRAWLING! :P I haven't fully baby proofed the house yet and I am constantly sweeping and cleaning the floors scanning for Legos and other little things he could eat. To say I am busy is an understatement that's for sure.

I am loving the weather though and am so glad for all my clients that are scheduled this time of year. Thanks for hanging in there and being so patient!

Happy Monday!

Just a couple of announcements, my all-day sessions on Saturday, October 16th are officially booked. I am taking names for the waiting list in case there is a cancellation. If you haven't already sent your deposit, please do so to hold your time slot. If it is not received one week prior to the session I will be in the position to open up your slot to someone on the waiting list. In all fairness, I need to be able to book the slot if you should decide at the last minute not to do photos.

The end of August and first two weeks of September were jam packed with back to back sessions so if you are still waiting, I am still plugging through those and it won't be much longer. Just an FYI!

Here's a little cutie to brighten up your Monday:

I've got another business that I'm working on that I CAN'T WAIT to share with you... I worked on it a bit this weekend and it's got me all pumped.

Oli-lion | 7 months

oh. my. goodness.
I need to get him into modeling. It's not just that I think he's cute but he really loves this! When we do these shoots, I don't even need to say anything, I put the camera up to my face and he starts beaming and "performing." He loves it!

Sarah's House | HGTV

When I'm not watching Felicity while editing, I'm watching DVR'd episodes of Sarah's House on HGTV. I'm not even sure when the show is on, but I came across it one day and fell in love! Sarah is so great and Tommy is hilarious and their style is impeccable. I love how she uses a mix of old and new when she designs her rooms and almost always uses wood treatments on the walls like wainscoting or barn board ceilings. The show has two seasons based on two different houses she bought and renovated room by room. The first, a 60's back split and the second, an old farmhouse. Of course she has a huge budget when decorating but my favorite are the antique yard finds that she either reupholsters or turns into functional pieces, like bathroom vanities for instance.

Here's just a few of the rooms from the old farmhouse. That is my dream someday, to buy an old farmhouse and fix it up!

BabyLegs | 50% off sale!

My current obsession... BabyLegs! I've been buying them like crazy for Oliver and after today's sale, he will now own 13 pairs. :) I didn't have to talk myself into them because I also get to use them at the studio for my baby sessions! I fell in love with them when they first came out and clients would bring them along. Now I have my own baby old enough to wear them so wear them he will!

I had to share this awesome sale with you in case you want to add to your collection (or start a new one!). BabyLegs is offering 50% off when you spend $50 or more + free shipping. This is too good to pass up, especially since they are regularly $12/pair. Stock up now! I think the sale ends today...

Use code FALL50 at the checkout.

Alissa & Adam | Engaged!

Alissa and Adam met in the grandstand of the Jordan baseball field where Adam plays. We had the perfect late summer night for photos and I can't wait for their wedding a year from now!







This one's for you Adam. :)

Jessi and Family | Anniversary Photos

Jessi is a photographer and booked me to shoot some family photos for her since she is always behind the camera (sounds too familiar!). It was Jessi's 12 year anniversary and after 4 kids she popped back into her wedding dress for some fun photos. It was such a fun session and I cannot stress enough how good her kids were! We were getting eating alive by mosquitoes but the kids didn't even break out of their smiles. Their mommy has them trained so well, they were a photographer's dream!





This was so fun and I have a similar goal to fit back into my wedding dress for my 10 year anniversary next May. I think it's a great goal since I didn't like my wedding pictures and would love to re-do them!!

Hey look, it's Oliver!

I sent this photo to the shop owner who makes these onesies but forgot about it. I was surprised to see his photo while doing a onesie search on Etsy.

Awwww, that's my sweetie pie!

Friends reunited | Oliver and Noah

Oliver saw his friend Noah this weekend and I just had to post this. Oliver was born in February and Noah was born just a month later in March. Now look at the two of them in September!

And it happens just like that.
I seriously have a zillion sessions I want to post from the past few weeks of shooting but that also means I have a zillion galleries to put up too!

I had a great weekend! Shooting was minimal and I had some relaxing time with family during New Prague's Dozinky festival. I took mostly mental photos as I am not one of those moms to lug my big camera everywhere and my point and shoot battery wasn't charged. Sometimes it's just nice to take a break from the responsibilities of feeling like I need to capture every moment and just enjoy myself.

It's that time of year again...

I'm editing like crazy, glued to my computer and on my laptop next to me I've got a Felicity marathon going. If you're new to my blog, Felicity is my favorite show of all time. I have the series on DVD and watched all four seasons twice last year during the busy season. Of course I religiously watched it when it first aired on television years ago.

I don't know what it is about it that I love so much... the cuteness of Keri Russell, the Ben vs. Noel love triangle, or just the fabulous writing. Even though I've seen each episode over and over I don't mind being glued to my computer with my favorite show running by my side. :)

Allie and Thor | Engaged!

Allie booked me for her 2011 wedding via email purely from a recommendation. That is always so flattering when that happens! As we began to "talk" and figure things out, we discovered that we both live in the same lil' town! I am so excited for their spring wedding!

Although you can't tell in the photos, we were getting EATEN ALIVE by mosquitos! I am so excited for them to die already!