A Day for Moms

Happy Mother's Day! I'm thankful for my own mom, first of all, for letting me be whatever I wanted to be and for always being there for me. While getting this post together, I realized that I don't have any recent photos of the two of us so here she is below with her beloved grand babies. Love you Mom!

My own two sisters are also moms now and I watch them in awe as they go down the path of motherhood. My nieces are being molded by two of the strongest women I know and I see so much of my sisters in all of them. Girl power in this family, all the way! Happy Mother's Day Lindsey & Hilary!

Here are some of my favorite client mom and mom-to-be moments from over the years. I truly adore snuggle moments and the times you think I'm not clicking the shutter. Nothing makes my heart sing louder than moments between moms and their children and I love that I get to document such amazing women in my world. 

I hope this post will help some moms avoid saying no to being in photos with their children. So often I hear moms say they only want their children photographed and I die a little inside each time I hear it. You're beautiful exactly as you are and you deserve to be in photos with your children! Your children will appreciate it SO much when they're older and they won't even notice how sleepy you think you look. They'll just be looking at you laughing/snuggling/smiling with them and seeing just how much you love them!

Although I'm not a mom to tiny humans, I am a mom to a four-legged geriatric pooch whom I love and adore as if she were a human child. 

Emmie Lou - age 10

Here's to all the moms (in every sense) in the world, including my fellow dog moms! 

Flowers for Dreams

If you know me, you know how much I LOVE fresh flowers. And pretty packaging. Put them together and I'm sold. Flowers filling the bed of a vintage pickup truck? Are you kidding me?! So when I photographed the Vintage Garage show last weekend and there were Flowers for Dreams mini bouquets there from the EBTH booth, I felt like I myself was in a dream! Of course, I had to go home with a sweet, tiny bouquet to make my home a bit more cheerful.

I have seen Flowers for Dreams around the city a few times and have seen some Instagram photos but otherwise I'm not all that familiar with them. I did a little digging and am impressed with their story. Check them out; I'm thinking a subscription of flowers would be a marvelous gift for someone lovely in my life. And it's almost Mother's Day! 

Sunshine & Relaxation

Last month I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Ft. Lauderdale with some incredible girlfriends. While packing for the trip, I made sure I threw my camera in my suitcase or knew I'd regret it otherwise. I limited myself to one lens and left the speedlights behind. Less was more because I knew myself and knew that I wouldn't use it all. And creatively, it forces me to take a minimalist approach and work with what I've got. It's a challenge! 

However, I took a lot of photos but aside from my phone, I only took my pro camera out one time because I was too busy enjoying my relaxation time! It was a good reminder for me to just live in the moment and not worry about getting a photo of every beautiful thing I observed. I was able to be present, take it all in and just enjoy what was happening around me with the great company I was with. Sometimes it's nice to just take a real break from everything, including my camera.

The few images I did take were on the beach before all of the spring-breakers bombarded the sandy gloriousness with their fraternity flags and plastic jugs full of Kool-Aid-looking liquid.