It's official...

...you can now find me here...


I know what you're thinking... first this

and now this...


...what is going on with this girl?? It is true, technology has gotten the best of me. I'm a techie girl... at a time when I should be simplifying my life - not cluttering it - I go and get me a twitter account. ;-)

So, if you twitter, tweet or whatever the kids are calling it these days let's connect!

There is a light...

...at the end of this tunnel...I can see it now!

Oh blog, how I've missed you! You've been so good to me; always being there when I need you and never asking for anything in return. I've neglected you and for that I will give myself a much needed time-out! Wake me in a few hours... ;-)

For reals though, I've been extremely busy these last few weeks with shooting, editing, creating, brainstorming, oh and being a mom. My sweet family deserves the biggest gold medal for staying strong and letting me go off and do my thing when I need to... love you guys!

OK, so I wanted to pop in and updated ya'll on my summer schedule. Basically I am taking the month of June OFF... well, we'll see if I stick with it. I have a few personal shoots & projects that I'll be doing, but for the most part I'll be working and preparing for the re-launch in July. I will have limited openings in July & August and then, believe it or not September will kick off the beginning of the fall holiday photo craziness...ooooo, I can't wait!!!

Loves to my peeps!

xo

Monthly Design Freebie :: May

Better late than never, right??

This month's design freebie is so much fun...


What you are getting is a set of 3 photo overlays in a variety of sizes. These are .png files so they will go right on top of your photo file... pretty easy. As always, if you have any questions please ask away.

Go download HERE.

REMEMBER... these freebies are of my own creation so feel free to download and use for your own personal usage... just please don't sell these or pass them off as your own.

--Now for the fine print... please note the following before you download--
*All designs are created in either Photoshop CS3 or Illustrator CS3. I do not have access to test these files in older/newer versions of these programs or with Elements.
*It's helpful if you have some experience working with Photoshop (or other photo editing software) in order to use these freebie files.
*Since these are free I do not take requests for modifications or changes... what you see is what you get... why? because it's FREE! ;-)

And the winner is...

My kiddos wanted in on the fun so I let them pick the winners for the giveaway. Everyone's comment was printed out, cut up and added to the box. If you blogged, FB'd or tweeted the giveaway I added in additional copies of your comment.


And we're mixing, and mixing, and mixing...

WAIT FOR IT...WAIT FOR IT...


...the winner of the boys tie is...

Jenn Peterson... I'm serious girl, you won! Congrats!

...and...


...the winner of the girls headband is...

Sarah... congrats darlin'!

For reals though, THANK YOU to everyone who entered... this was a lot of fun. Just remember that My Sweet Sunshine is offering a discount on purchased items in her shop... $5 of any purchase of $15 or more with the mention of this blog.

LUCKY are they! | Mesa Family Photographer

Meet this very lucky family! The mama entered my contest to receive a free session over at the Full House blog and she WON! As soon as I checked out their family blog I was even more excited for this shoot. I am still floored by the overwhelming positive responses I received from that contest - a girl likes to hear nice things every once in awhile - and I really do wish I could offer everyone a free session.

I love it when my clients basically give me free reign with their shoot. No expectations. Just fun. Those are the best and most relaxed, as you can see from these AMAZING shots I got of this gorgeous family. You guys hang in there...the starving student life doesn't last forever...I'm living proof!

And see mama, I told you I got some fantastic shots...xo! Enjoy!








There is something so metaphorical about the shot above that I LOVE... Dad catching daughter... always being there when you fall... trust me... loving, guiding hands...!

Photography marathon | Mesa Family Photographer

What do you say to someone who emails you a week ago and says she wants to drive to you, from San Diego, for a family/newborn/kids photo session? You pretty much say 'you complete me!' And then you freak out!

Seriously though... this woman is top notch in my book. She and her hubby are both marines, however he is currently deployed to Afghanistan and is due home very soon. She, on the other hand, is running the house with their two kiddos and one just happens to be a 4 week old baby girl who's daddy is going to melt when he meets her. I have so much appreciation for her taking care of it all (not to mention giving birth without her man) ... I flip out when my hubs has to work 2 days in a row... I'm such a wimp!

Anywhoooo, so here is the fantastic trio! I'm beyond words at how flattered I am that she drove here to have ME photograph her sweet bunch! We first started off with the newborn session; her little angel was so good and peaceful and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Then we moved on to the session of the handsome big bro rockin' his dapper tux and barefeet - gotta love that! Then, we finished up the day trying to squeeze out of the kiddos every last ounce of patience they had to do ONE more shoot as a family. See, I told you it was a photography marathon! I'm exhausted just recapping it all.

Please enjoy the quickie sneak peek, mama!

You say it's your birthday... it's my birthday, too!!

OK, well it's not actually MY birthday, but to this little ole bligity-blog...


I was just looking through my blog archive and realized that this month is the blog's 2nd birthday... I've been posting here for 2 years - although not too consistently, I know.

It all started with this post HERE. I distinctly remember coming home from that shoot with Jamie and loading the photos onto my computer and thinking... 'hot damn I'm good!' ;-) Seriously though, it was a major turning point for me personally in building my confidence and technical skills.

So, now the question becomes... how do we celebrate this monumental occasion? Cake and ice cream? Streamers and balloons? Oh, I know... how about a giveaway??!! I've never hosted a giveaway here let's just give it a shot!

You may have remembered I won a snazzy little headband from a very talented gal a little while back and I literally want to wear it every single day - and I'm sure it was actually made to fit the head of one of my darling daughters... oh, well - it's absolutely the softest and sweetest headband EVER! Well, Ms Alexis of My Sweet Sunshine is ponying up the goods... fo sho!!

Here's the dealy-o... up for grabs are 2, YES TWO, items... a headband for the little gals AND this adorable (brand-spankin'-new) neck tie for the little fellows! And the tie can be made for ages 0 to 9yrs... awesome, right!



All you need to do to win one of these is to simply comment here on this blog letting me know which one you want... easy peasey, lemon squeezey! One entry per person, however you can get multiple entries by blogging the giveaway or posting on Facebook (but leave a link in your comment so I know you're too legit to quit... yeah, I went there!)

Remember, I gotta have a way to get a hold of you, so leave an e-mail address (if I don't know you or have it already) in case you win!

Alright my peeps far and wide...lurkers & stalkers come out, come out where ever you are... leave a comment telling me which one you gotta have... giveaway ends Thursday the 20th @ midnight; winners announced on Friday.

(And PS... Don't sweat the small stuff if you don't win because anyone who is interested in making a purchase can mention my blog and they receive $5 off a purchase of $15 or more in her shop. Nice.)

Oh me, oh my!

You ever have those days where your head will literally explode just thinking about your to-do list?? Well, I'm there! I have 3 photo sessions coming up this week, 2 more to finish editing and 1 much anticipated lunch with a gal I have a HUGE girl-crush on... should be fun!

So, I thought I'd pop in to let ya'll know that I haven't fallen off the earth... just yet! Oh, and be sure to stop by early next week for a little sumpthin-sumpthin I've got up my sleeve ;-)

Peace out.