Seahorse Designs

I just wanted to give a shout-out to another local artist + mom, JJ Hogan, who does awesome personalized designs on elegant Crane's paper for gifts and special occasions. I just bought one of her pieces for my son's first communion later this month. She can incorporate just about any design with the name of a child, date of a birthday, baptism and then embellishes it with watercolor! Please take a look at her site to get a better idea of what I'm trying to explain! And not doing a very good job of it! Here's the one I had her make for Jackson. Click here to see her website:


(be sure to click on this image below to see it larger)

Heather & Sairam

I did it again. I cried at another wedding. I don't even think Heather and Sairam know I'm admitting this! Last year when I met with them during the interview process, I was so excited to learn of their Hindu+Christian wedding and distinctly remember telling my husband as soon as they left, "I want this one". I don't normally vocalize that for fear of disappointment but I was so excited at the prospect of photographing their day, I couldn't contain it. So needless to say I was thrilled to have been their chosen photographer. Their event was at the beautiful, historic White Hall Manor in tiny Bluemont, VA -- near the mountains, out past Leesburg, VA. It was a chilly spring day but no rain! Their families were so much fun and it was a great day for me.

Heather wore a Saree for the Hindu ceremony, which was first, replete with all the fruit, incense, and ceremonial aspects of the traditional Hindu ceremony. An hour later, she changed into her grandmother's 1951 wedding gown for the christian wedding ceremony. And believe it or not, an hour after that, she changed again into another saree that was a gift from her husband given to her DURING the Hindu ceremony. It was so exciting to shoot and be a part of their day. I am grateful to have become friends with Heather and Sairam too. They are a fabulous couple, very loving, relaxed, and fun to be around.

Here is a slideshow that I created for their overseas relatives who could not be there for the event along with some photos.

ENJOY!

Of course it is.....

What, you ask? Well, I apparently live in one of the top 5 most expensive (or as the article states, OVERPRICED) suburbs in the US! I knew Alexandria was pricey -- and real estate is ridiculously over the top here, but to have it confirmed by trusty FORBES magazine, then again on the Today Show is too much. I am grateful for having been here my entire life and having started my own foray into real estate here when I turned 24 because otherwise I couldn't afford it here myself!

Click here to see the clip from the Today Show!

Huge move (update on 4/9: this was an April Fool's joke)

I am writing this note with mixed emotions -- we have huge news -- and no, we are not pregnant, but most everyone knows that Jack works for XM Radio which was just given the 'okay' to merge with Sirius last week. It's been a long time coming and in so doing, a lot of uncertainty loomed for Jack and our family wondering the future of his job there as well as our financial future. While he had a dreamy job there, the merge was just not something we are confident of. Consequently, he has just accepted a position north of San Fran near Sonoma at Skywalker Ranch, which is where Lucas Films is located. He will be the Director of Film Scoring studio at Skywalker Sound. Jack has dreamt of doing this and while I am a bit nervous about moving to the WRONG coast, we couldn't turn this down. My work can be done just about anywhere. We've already sold the house and will most likely rent when we first move out there. My mom has even agreed to come at some point! Jackson and Harry already have their tye-die wardrobe and I have my birkenstock's ready to go!




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APRIL FOOLS! You believed me, didn't you? Just for 2 seconds!!! COME ON, admit it!

Glorious, Glorious!

Just when I feel frustrated living in this town -- the politics, the changes, the weather, the politics (did I already say that?), I find something that renews my love for my hometown -- the beautiful downtown area.

Yesterday I spent a good hour or more with one of my hottie May couples, Thomas and Stephanie, up by the Capitol. I was lucky to not have been kicked off the grounds for snapping photos -- one of the reasons I rarely accept doing 'monument' shoots. Unfortunately, the Park Service requires permits for professional photography OR we can just push our luck and hope for the best, which is what I did yesterday and I'm thankful I did this. Aside from an overcast sky, the cherry blossoms were in full force this weekend and of course that meant insane traffic and crowds. But it also meant wonderful imagery. My wonderful husband was gracious enough to drive me and the boys downtown, dropped me off near the Capitol, then killed an hour or so of time with the boys so I could do this before coming back to get me.

I had a hard time narrowing down these shots b/c I rarely get downtown so I'm just excited to have a variety!

My cousin's McDonald's commercial in Australia

This cracks me up -- my beautiful cousin, who lives in Australia, is in a McCafe commercial -- which is McDonald's new boutique coffee shop (I guess?). She's the one drinking the coffee with a very happy expression on her face! She certainly makes it look yummy!

Ben & Cameron

Ben and Cameron are getting hitched in early May -- one week after graduating from James Madison University! How ambitious are they?! I love it. Their wedding will be at the fantabulous Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, VA -- gorgeous setting and I'm happy it'll be in full bloom then. What joy for photos!

We did their engagement session during their spring break in early March -- luckily we had a good day as there were many cold, snowy, gray days that week. We were at the historic Grist Mill in Alexandria - one of my favorite historic spots around here. I love Alexandria for all the great locales for shoots! They are cutie-patooties and I look forward to their big day.