A professional photographer sharing sessions and life in New Jersey
Welcome to the new blog!
Pardon the dust as I'm working on changing the blog up a bit. There may be times that it will be under construction and you won't be able to access it. I will try to only do that later in the evenings. Thanks for understanding!!
I did a little work while in Oklahoma for one of my bridesmaids and good friend Allison and her family. This year her older brother and sister-in-law welcomed Maggie to the family and what better way to honor that than a holiday family portrait!! The weather was warm, though a tad windy (but when is it not windy in Oklahoma?!?!?!), and everyone was dressed to perfection! I loved the brown and red accents. I didn’t know what they were actually wearing and I came dressed in my new red peacoat, I could have fit right into the family!!
Henry is 3.5 years old and was awesome at having his photo taken! At least nothing a bribery of a mini M&M or two couldn’t change!
Maggie really is the perfect addition to their already adorable family!
Uncle Andrew and Aunt Allison are stellar and shower their niece and nephew with so much love! This photo makes me chuckle because Maggie thinks we are all crazy and Henry thinks we are funny!
Happy 2012!!! I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday! Anthony + I are fortunate enough to get close to two weeks away during Christmas and we take full advantage every year (though a photographer friend of mine spent two weeks in the French Polynesian with her husbands family – that would have be glorious!!!). We loaded up the suitcases, drove our tails to Philly to hop on a plane, got off in Oklahoma City to rush to the annual family sing-along! You know the Mitch Miller Christmas album? Yep, that’s the one we sing along with, we even have the old-style song sheet, album, and sleigh bells. It’s the perfect holiday tradition started back when my dad was a youngster.
We got to celebrate Randon’s 5th birthday on the 18th. As luck would have it, I was charging my camera batteries before we left for the bowling alley, I grabbed my camera and it was dead by the time I got it out. Luckily the iPhone 4S saved the day and I was still able to capture the moment! And of course we only had a #4 from Randon’s birthday last year. It didn’t matter one bit to him (though it may give him a complex later on in life!), he blew it out and little Rylan thought it was his turn. He has to wait another few weeks (January 14th) before it’s all about him!!
We spent Christmas morning with my family and got to share in the excitement with the boys. Randon started per-kindergarten this year and is really into coloring and art. My parents got him the famous IKEA art easel. Can you tell what his favorite color is? I think they are going to need to invest in more blue paint, chalk and markers. He won’t have anything to do with any other color.
We have been very fortunate the past three years to see the OKC Thunder play during the holidays! This year we really lucked out!!! We went Christmas day, opening night!! The atmosphere was electric, we were half court 7 rows up, really the perfect seats to see Kevin Durant throw down on the Orlando Magic. THUNDER UP!
I will get a post up very soon with the rest of the photos I took, including a family session with a good friend of mine!
I feel this is fairly fitting for the topic at hand – I’m not sure I’ve laughed this hard!
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything regarding living a more green life here on the blog. Today’s topic is hand-washing your delicates/sweaters/etc. Below you can find some tips on what temperature the water should be and more for different fabrics.
I start out with this aluminum bucket in our kitchen skin. For some it may seem a little redundant, but I do need a place to rinse. Enter in bucket/sink combo (I dream of having a double sink – or even better a laundry room with a sink!!!). I fill the bucket with a small bit of Dr. Bonner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap and water. I place the item(s) into the bucket, dunk a few times, using my hands to swirl a little and work the material in places that may need some love (armpits for examples!)
Castile Soap can be found in many places (I typically buy ours at Whole Foods or Wegmans) with lots of different varieties in bar soap and liquid form. This is concentrated stuff, you only need a teaspoon or less. Your water will not bubble but it is working I promise!
You can see that my bucket isn’t even half full of water. I will put in all my delicates or one sweater at a time. Put in enough water to cover your garment.
Pat dry between a towel or two and hang dry (I lay ours on an Ikea Drying Rack).
I’m not sure what my fear of hand-washing my clothes was about, but this is so easy and simple. The castile soap is super mild and won’t irritate your skin or destroy your clothing.
Silk: Wash by hand in warm or cool water with a gentle soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap). Swirl, swish and rinse (never squeeze or twist). Press between two towels to dry and never use bleach. Hang dry and place in a steamy bathroom to remove the winkles.
Rayon: Hand wash in cool water with castile soap. Swirl, swish and rinse then hang dry.
Wool & Cashmere: Hand wash in cool water w/a mild castile soap. Gently squeeze to wash. Rinse and squeeze gently. Blot dry between two towels and dry flat on a towel.
I’ve been talking about hiring a professional photographer to capture and celebrate this blissful time in our lives since right after we got married. It’s been over 6 years, each fall I think this is the year! 2011 was definitely the year of photos of Anthony and I!
I’m not sure I talked much about it, but this summer (end of June/beginning of July) Anthony got a nasty case of e.coli (and unfortunately we still don’t know where he got it from!). He was very miserable (which in turned made this wife miserable), didn’t eat much, and lost a little over 15 pounds in two weeks. It wasn’t an ideal way to lose weight but it didn’t hurt either! Right around the same time, I picked up my Zumba class load and started seeing my weight drop too. Enter in the perfect time for photographs when we are both feeling great!
I contacted a good friend of mine, Bernadette of BUPhotography out of Philadelphia, about doing a session with the idea of a Mad Men inspired photo shoot. I have loved her shooting style since the day I met her and I knew she’d be on board with just about anything I suggested. Anthony has once or twice thought of himself as Don Draper from Mad Men, so I knew he’d do whatever I asked too! Win win!
We met up in Northern Liberties in Philadelphia (and wouldn’t ya know the location once was the Schmidt’s Brewery – it was destiny!) on a perfect Thursday morning. Being the beginning of November I worried about it being too cold for the dress I picked out but the sun was shining and I had my honey by my side!
I believe most everyone has received our Christmas card by now (hence why I was waiting to share a few with you all!) and if not, here it is! I’m in love with every single photo Bernadette captured of the two of us. Picking a few to share was tough stuff!!!
A bit of causal photos first (and we had no idea that our outfits would match that wall below!)
these are really great kim!! so glad you finally had your own done. you do such good work for others, you guys deserve some fabulous shots of your own! merry christmas!!
As I sit here finally listening to Christmas music this holiday season and finishing packing up this awesome family’s order, I remembered I hadn’t had a chance to blog it yet! Janel and Nate are neighbors of ours (we even have an Oklahoma connection) and they haven’t had a family photo taken since their oldest was a toddler. It was beyond time! I went over to help Janel put together their outfits – and they had everything in their closets already!! Love when that happens. The perfect amount color and complimentary colors without everyone matching!
We were blessed with a gorgeous fall-like Saturday morning right after Thanksgiving. And look at those two kiddos – they held that position for longer than I have seen two siblings hug! This was the perfect session and family to end the crazy busy holiday season!
They sure thought I was funny – or maybe it was just Isaac loved to laugh/scream!
I love the opportunity to spend a quiet Sunday morning with a family at their home! JD and Ryan had me smitten the minute I walked in the door, with trucks and cars in hand. We went out in search of a deer (no luck finding it again!), picked up many sticks, had a few races and then headed back in to read a few stories. Handsome little guys they are!
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These are beautiful, Kim! Great work!
Thanks Kim! They are so cute, love ‘em! Can’t wait to see the rest. Happy New Year!
So cute! Beautiful family!
I love seeing your beautiful family.