I first met Becky in a Broadcast Journalism class at Jacksonville University. Our first assignment was to make a how-to video. I can't remember precisely what mine was, but I think it may have involved cooking something...in the microwave. Becky's was about how to change a tire. I was intrigued. The girl looked like a walking Barbie doll, but she knew how to change a tire. Why? If she ever got a flat there would be men lined up for miles wanting to help her. I learned that day that she is very independent and I liked her immediately. She's one of my favorite friends. Always loyal and dependable, and LOTS of fun!

I wish I had time to write about all my "fun with Becky" stories. But I have to tell this one: We were in the airport on our way to Vegas. We'd made unusually good time, so we stopped for essentials in the gift shop: fashion magazines. When Becky reached in her purse to pay for her mags she gasped and then quickly collected herself like nothing was wrong. I was clueless until she pulled me to the side and said, "I have a gun". Um, what?! "In my purse. I forgot to leave it in the car." (Yes, we both have guns. Just one of the many reasons we are friends!) We had been dropped off, so there was no where to take it. We quickly went through our options, and they were not good. Leave it in a planter, ask if they have lockers and stash it in one, put it in one of the suitcases for sale in the gift shop, and my favorite-just try to make it through security.

Things got really interesting when we went and told the security officers, "We have a gun."
We missed our flight.
Best trip ever. :)

Becky has a birthday this month, so we met up for a FUN birthday photoshoot!

Happy Friday, everyone!
Check back soon for all the details about my soon-to-launch Mentoring Program...and a giveaway-whoo hoo!

Last month Anderson's family was visiting all the way from Brazil and spent some time with us during Christmas! Do you have any idea how much fun it is to have a house full of people speaking different languages? It's chaos, and I love it! Anderson had to work during the day, so I got to hang out with his Aunt, Uncle and cousins. What fun people! They love to laugh and have a good time, so I really enjoyed being with them.

One of his (our) cousins is thirteen-year-old Karla. She loves music, photography and American culture, so she and I clicked from the start. One afternoon the two of us decided to roam around the neighborhood and take some pictures. We both had a camera in hand and had a great time snapping pictures and making each other pose! Thankfully she's much smarter than me and can speak English really well, because I'm ignorant in the language department. (I think I know a grand total of 10 Portuguese words). I was amazed at Karla's natural talent. The way she composed shots was impressive-most people have to be taught to have "an eye", but she's a natural. She's also a really fast learner. She shot all the pictures of me below in Manual mode...and it was her first time!

**I know we're well into January now and this is a little shameful, but I JUST finished my 2010 Pricing Guide and Information Packet. So...if you have the 2009 Packet and are thinking about booking a session this year, do it before January 31st, and I'll give you the '09 prices!**

Hope you're all having a good week-we're half way there! I'm headed to a belated birthday lunch with two of my girlfriends. :) Be back later this week with a fun necklace tutorial.

Meredith is turning the big 1-6 and is celebrating with a stylish birthday bash. The party decor includes all-things-pink-and-black, party masks and pictures of the birthday girl. When her party planner contacted me and said they wanted some fun pictures of Meredith to use as part of the decorations, I loved the idea! So, we met up one afternoon in San Marco for a girly (high heels and party dresses) session.

Happy Birthday, Meredith!!!

All this birthday excitement brought back memories of my own 16th birthday party. It wasn't exactly a princess party. In fact, the highlight of that night was a scavenger hunt. Obviously this was a big deal, because we were all just starting to drive. (Hmm maybe it wasn't such a great idea after all.) I'll never forget the winning team pulling into my parents' driveway and proudly pulling a toilet from their trunk. :)

Okay, on a totally unrelated note: Any clients planning on placing print orders in time for Christmas MUST have the orders submitted by November 30th. I'm sorry, but I will not be accepting any orders after that. I refuse to run around like a crazy women this December. It makes me sad, and December is supposed to be a happy month!

You've all seen her work. Maybe you didn't realize it was her jewelry, but you've seen it. Sparkly heart necklaces, flower earrings and Lucite beads are just a few of Tarina Tarantino's signature pieces. I love everything she designs, so when my friend Becky invited me to tag along with her and meet Tarina I calmly agreed to go. Yeah right! There was nothing calm about my response. I was so excited! Last week the pink-haired designer visited several boutique stores around Jacksonville that carry her jewelry. She's promoting her new line, "My Pretty", inspired by the Wizard of Oz. We met her at Rosie True (one of my favorite stores in J-ville), and I tried really hard not to drool on the jewelry. Tarina was so sweet and approachable and her adorable husband, Alfonso, reminded me and Becky of my hubby. :)

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the afternoon:

Great. Now I want pink hair!

Keep up with the latest from Tarina Tarantino here.

I don't like admitting when I'm nervous.

Mainly because if I pretend to have it all together I can fool myself (and everyone else) into believing it...most of the time! But when I was prepping for this shoot, I realized I was pretty nervous about it. Excited, but nervous. I've never worked with a band before, and I wasn't sure how my "style" would translate into band pictures. I wondered if I should I change things up with darker images and textures even though that's not really what I do. In the end I decided to stick with my style. I've worked with these guys before, and they hired me knowing what my work looks like. I was still nervous though, so Anderson came with me to help set up shots and tell me if I was shooting crappy images. He's honest like that. :) It ended up being a really cool shoot. The guys are super-nice, easy to work with and have a strong sense of style. They brought reinforcements too-Ryan's wife, Marie, is a killer stylist and made sure the guys looked GOOD even when it started raining on us! I'd like to take her with me on every shoot.

The guys are working on an album-I'll have to keep you updated when they release it! For now, here's a little preview: