it's complicated.

{Montrose bridge over the 59 South; Manual f/22 @ 6 sec; ISO 800}

I'm pulling the Starbucks cup to my lips and feeling the warmth of the steam on my cheeks.mmm. toffee nut steamer. yummers!

but when it came to writing this post today i was torn between writing something that is changing my life and just the go lucky post. i didn't feel i could change out of my pajamas till I've gotten it off my shoulders. its a quarter to ten.

so the truth is that if i didn't write what I'm feeling I was going to burst...mainly because the anxiety of not saying anything has made me chew all my nails to bits.


7 months ago. i moved out of my home with the kids. its been the worse year I've ever known. i cried daily for weeks straight and i lost 20-25 almost instantly when i moved back in to my dads house. i wanted nothing more to have the life and marriage i had always been hoping for.

I now have the chance to have the marriage and family atmosphere that I've always wanted with the person I've wanted it with all along. The divorce initiated change in my life and also in my ex husbands. So as crazy as it all may seem...and probably sounds to you...it only makes logical sense to me: be with the one you love...only if the love is the right kind of love.

I'm very happy with my decision. i know that it will cause a lot of conflict for my family, sadly. it may make my friends rethink my credibility. i do understand this. And for any friendships that haven't judged me or the situation i appreciate very much and wish to maintain my relationship with you. i do hope that most of my family can try to understand.

{Montrose; same settings}

its natural, with all that has occurred in the last several months, that our 'new' relationship is raw and fragile. there are tears from remembering the pain we both had to endure. but new techniques have been implemented to help us communicate so that we can move past it healthily.

whew. i do feel a little better.

you may call me crazy, i think i could be okay with it.

p.s. it's complicated. watch this movie trailer that i can't wait to see. meryl streep is ace!

WHAM Perfect Saturday!

it all went down at Winter Studios

a hidden old warehouse with a fresh stark white paint job. room after room filled with wonderful art of every kind. artist chatting about in the corners on their latest work and small personal studios. and it was so colorful and beautiful. and i loved it.



Check out my top favorite vendors shoppes:


b.bags makes bags crafted from upcycled materials
stoppin nickel free necklace art
lucky bug whimsical message boxes
apt 3305 artist-illustrator
...

we had to stop by target ...and as we were leaving we saw a huge head and found this huge studio...look, you'll see why they needed a huge studio. these were done by artisit David Adickes. i found info on him here.


is bush really this cock eyed?

p.s. this day i decided i wanted to be something big one day. xo.

drum roll please

photo of winter taken by me

the winner of the free portrait session is Tiffany & Matt Theobald

to show my thanks for all that participated in this give away

you don't walk away empty handed.

get your session at a WAY reduced rate. Coupon below.

Call or email me to schedule your session!

Now I'm out the door with the kids to check out Houston's Art Festivals and Christmas Markets in town today!

xoxo

have a happy weekend

sidewalk art by julian

what are ya'lls plans for this weekend?

we're going to make it a festive downtown weekend for us.

first the christmas art market. then a sidewalk art festival at Sam Houston park.

be merry happy!

secrets to a happy marriage

photo from here. aren't vintage photos just the best! no what sort of car is this????

i was at the mall sitting and watching couples pass. just watching. and i had this feeling in my gut that i had had some months ago when i was going through my divorce. this feeling says to me "don't you wish you could help save all unhappy marriages in the whole wide world?"

obviously, i do not hold the key to open the door to answers on how to have and maintain happy marriage...but maybe you can share a secret.

what's your secret to a happy marriage?

xoxo

{one day left to enter the family portrait session give away!}

she's got a ticket to ride.

{photo off google somewhere...haven't been myself yet}

seeing egypt. its on my bucket list.

i've always been an adventurous girl. a born military brat.i have an itch for wanting to get out of town this instant.and when i was just a little girl i wanted badly to be a egyptologist and a symphony conductor.

life has happened and goals have changed. i still enjoy playing music and but i still haven't been to egypt. i think i'll save my pennies and buy a ticket to egypt and see the pyramids like i've always wanted to.

strange things happen on the road of life...but shouldn't your big goals always be the highlights of your life in the end?

xoxo

p.s. don't miss the chance to capture family moments this season. a family portrait session by me...WIN IT!

senior graffiti

Laura has been doing really well at her mini shoots.

she's picking up things i try to teach her about taken photos of people. and i really enjoy directing and talking about the technical stuff and the posing...ah, the posing is my favorite!

This is a senior session she took today at my favorite park downtown and the very interesting art garden law office of Tim Hootman.

p.s. enter to win the family christmas portrait give away!

Family Portrait Give Away!

{the Rodger's family...Jodi of Modest Maven makes the cutest things}

follow my blog and comment to win a

free family portrait giveaway!

{cd of all edited images included, retail value, only the Houston area}

ends this friday 11.20.09 and announced saturday!

bon chance, xoxo!

view a recent family portrait session here.

eye of eden

i'll give her my little point and shoot when she's bored. we are driving through downtown for a mini shoot for the girl i photography mentor.

photo by Winter Eden Sherrard, age 4.

i had no idea till i saw this photos that Winter had such an artistic eye. I didn't tell her what to shoot. I did tell her about the yellow building.

she's four.

My Suitcase Heart

Lovely Janis from My Suitcase Heart takes such magical photos! She's darling and her photos give me feelings of warmth. Janis is studying to become a teacher, but she passes the time away working at a little bistro and an elementary school. I think she's a natural born eye of a great photograph and I was so glad she agreed to do a interview with little old me!

photos from her blog

What is you camera of choice? And what editing programs do you use?

I'm presently using a Canon PowerShot SX200 IS. It gives great quality shots and has a great zoom (12x) without being to bulky. That being said, I just got a "lens error: restart camera" message today, and I can't get the lens to shut. Apparently this is a common problem with this model, so I maybe wouldn't recommend it!

I definitely have a little camera wish list which includes a Canon Rebel + a Holga. I hope to buy both in the next few months!

I typically use iphoto for my general editing. To get a more vintage look, I'll use effects from the rollip.com website.



Your photos are so whimsical and lighthearted. I think that I’d love to see them on a Hallmark card or something ;) I think I can feel the mood you were in when you took your Sweet Sweet Autumn gallery. What was your particular mood on that day? Do you feel your photos come out so much more amazing when you’re happy?

I was indeed pretty happy that day. It was so lovely outside and it's a quieter week in terms of school work. I remember thinking about how much I admired the leaves that were still hanging on despite the cold. An old Copeland song randomly popped into my head - "Testing the strong ones". These leaves were indeed the strong ones!

I've never really thought about how my mood affects my photographs. I think that I wouldn't typically take pictures if I was in a horrible, vile mood. It's hard to be inspired when you're in a crummy state of mind...


I fell in love with your Sweet Sweet Autumn gallery. Do you try to take your camera with you where every you go or just on occasions?

Well it's definitely something I'm trying to work on! Since starting my blog, I have been much more intentional about bringing my camera with me (almost) everywhere I go! It's a shame to miss out on a potentially great picture.

I was so happy with this picture that I took I was driving to my evening class and when I turned onto Dominion Street, the canopy of trees simply took my breath away. I pulled over right away and squatted down in the middle of the street to take the picture! I remember being so thankful that I had had my camera in the trunk!



I love your sense of style as I’ve seen from your fashion wish list posts but do you prefer landscape or fashion photography?
I would say I'm someone who likes fashion, but doesn't really know fashion. So anything I do fashion related is kind of a wild stab in the dark. However, I really do love photographing friends, family (especially the nephew and the niece, like in this post), and nature.


Also, I've realized I really like taking pictures of food. This is probably because I like to eat...a lot! I hadn't taken very many pictures of food/cooking before I started my blog, but I now find that taking pictures while my friends and I are cooking are almost as fun as the cooking itself!

i've never been so raw

got my computer back from geek squad.
boy, was that a mess! i have work overload here, but funny thing...my photoshop isn't working.


i've done a ton of jobs this past week and can't do anything to them.
so here is some raw work of a family session i did in league city.



it was already dusk so that sort of explains how they gradually got darkish. and it goes without saying that all these photos need level work.

there's this great photographer in Australia named Yervant...he talks about how a photo is just something by itself but when you edit your work it can be breathe taking. a great shot and the editing go hand and hand to be a successful photographer. i've adapted the same perspective and (apart from this occasion) never let clients see my work unedited. a great photo is only half the job done.

do you edit your photos or are you just the perfect photographer?

xoxo

bookface.

{photo from her blog}

using my sister's computer to send this message to those of you who read.

my computer is sick...and geek squad is fixing it.

be forwarned...never use limewire ever!

not even to download jason mraz scats...

sorry, jason. i'll me more honorable next time.

i can't work on photos or watch the latest OFFICE webisodes.

but errands are getting done around here.

boo whoo...

it's way past due...and everyone has already covered what their children look like in their costumes and festivities from Halloween...we'll i've had heavier things on my plate lately, but i have to show off how gorgeous my mermaid and how handsome musketeer looked!

sorry grandpa, mommy had to cut up your wizard costume to make me this slamming costume! but she knew that if you saw how cute i am it wouldn't matter!

i win something?

i never win anything...and I've been given a blog awarded!

Sylvia, from Eye of the Tiger Photography blog is a girl from New York who shares all her lovely photography from her travels. Some good stuff too!

Please be sure to check out her blog!

Thanks for this award, Sylvia.

In order to accept this award i must award 15 other blogs that i newly discovered.

i award...

1.http://mormoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/

2. http://wearethatfamily.com/

3. http://darlingdexter.com/

4. http://have-joy.blogspot.com/

5. http://carriagewit.blogspot.com/

6. http://theecklife.blogspot.com/

7. http://twoisapair.blogspot.com/

8. http://teamgiles.com/

9. http://luckygirlkouba.blogspot.com/

10. http://letmefeellikeadoll.blogspot.com/

11. http://jhwalden.blogspot.com/

12. http://externalxsunshine.blogspot.com/

13. http://earthfriendlywedding.blogspot.com/

14. http://designmom.com/

15. http://a-second-try.blogspot.com/

to accept your award: post it on your blog together with the name of the person that granted you the award and his or her link. pass the award to 15 other bloggers that you newly discovered and remember to contact them to tell them about it! xoxo

driven photos

houston, my city

a melting pot of culture and decades

i don't think i can ever grow old of it.

went for a little mosey in the car through downtown this morning.

photos of the city taken with out getting out of the car.

and the drive contined on...

i saw a large group of colorful costumes on some mexican dancers

and i just had to get out of the car and snap some photos.

i dont' know spanish very well or even at all...

but someone taught me to say "look here" once before

i twirled my finger in the air to motion them to turn around and i'd point to the dimples in my check to direct them to smile for the shot.

nevermind the language barrier, i love photos!

do you love your big city?

p.s. i'm pulling out the christmas decor.