Favorite Photo Friday - "Alys Beach-bound"

It has been a wild week here...
I did not intend to completely disappear, but life got a little crazy and I just have not had the time to really get online.
In addition to the normal every day life craziness, I am getting ready to leave town.

Some of you might remember the photography contest I entered a few months ago for the Savvy Sisterhood Workshop in Florida.
Well, the big weekend has finally arrived and I will be getting on that plane bright and early tomorrow morning.

Not only am I super excited to learn a lot and meet some extremely talented photographers while spending a few days in paradise, I am beside myself with giddiness(is that even a word?) that with a slight twist of the arm, I convinced my friend Marla to come along with me. It will be a super quick trip, but I am thankful that we will get to see each other for a few days and soak up all things photography related.

I have not picked up my camera since Saturday when I took pictures of the precious bundle of joy, but I have had this one sitting in my blog draft waiting to post since Chinese New Year.
I am in love with the look on her face and her messy hair.

Okay, sorry to post and run, but this girl has got to get to bed.
I have to be in the car headed for the airport by 4am.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I will be back on Tuesday.... hopefully with many photos to share!

Baby Love

Lucky me...
I got to spend a few hours of my Saturday with this precious bundle of joy!
Isn't she adorable?
I grew up with her Daddy and her Grandma and my Mom are very good friends.
It was so special to be the one to photograph her just a week after she was born.

There is nothing like holding a baby that is just days old.
They are so soft and smell so good.
She is such a beautiful little girl and I look forward to watching her grow up.
Needless to say, I left the house with a major case of baby fever...
Just thought I would spread the "fever" and share some of the baby love this morning as I finish up her gallery.

Winter Beauty

The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination.
~Terri Guillemets~

It is a bit frosty in our area this morning.
And since Spring is not arriving any time soon,
I figured I would embrace some of he beauty winter has to offer.
Happy Saturday...
Have a wonderful weekend!

Sugar Rush

The girls had a wonderful Valentine's Day.
Sarah got home from school much earlier than Reagan and could not wait to start making her chocolate covered marshmallows.

Can you tell she was totally in her element?

Two of her biggest loves are... Candy and Crafts.
Put them together and you have one VERY EXCITED LITTLE GIRL!
She had so much fun making these treats and was kind enough to save a few for her sister to enjoy when she finally came home.

Hope everyone had a special day yesterday filled with lots of love and a little chocolate too!
~TGIF~

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Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
The girls are up and ready to head out to school where they will be delivering their Valentine's to all of their friends.
Both of the girls have parties today and then tonight when they come home we have a special edible project to do thanks to a thoughtful friend who sent them a surprise in the mail.

Since Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day were in the same week, we sort of combined holidays for Reags.
The "Special Delivery" theme worked well with her Chinese take out box:)

Alright, time to get these giddy girls dressed in their pink and red and get them off to school.
Hope you all have a super sweet day!

iPhoneography

It's been quite a while since I have dumped my iPhone,
so I thought I would share some of my favorite moments caught by my most handy camera....my phone:)
We have seen lots of gray, foggy, and overcast skies here in PA the last few weeks,
so when the skies were blue with beautiful white puffy clouds, I just couldn't help myself.
I am longing for Spring in a bad way...... I feel like I am in a bit of a fog myself.
It is the time of year I guess. It is amazing how much the weather can affect your mood.

Sprinkled in between those pretty skies and rays of light are some sweets and "my sweets".
And whenever I am feeling a bit blue...."my sweets" are sure to bring a smile to my face.

~Happy Wednesday~

Bubbles, Bubbles... Everywhere!

After cleaning up the mess in the kitchen yesterday, due to the serious damage we did making the delicious Asian Dumplings...
A few of our helpers needed to be cleaned up too!!

I was not planning to take pictures of them, but when I saw the bubbles starting to fly everywhere,
including up the big window.... I ran down for the camera.

The light was perfect and their expressions/reactions.....real and priceless.

After the New Year I shared with you that one of my goals was to start capturing more random everyday moments.
And honestly, along with that, I had made some other personal goals surrounding photography.
I spend so much of my time helping and teaching others, which I love and would not change for the world,
but this year I also want to spend a little time focusing on my own work...
Ya know, time to kick it up a notch or try to anyway.

Between now and then, I have been fortunate enough to join the ranks of the Clickin Moms Pros
and have started to participate in the CMPro Daily Project.
WOW, I am completely humbled by the talent that surrounds me over there.
Talk about an inspiring and talented group of women.

It is tough for me to take photos every single day because of my full time job, but I am trying to do it as frequently as possible.
Just thought I would prepare you.....as you will be seeing more random moments around here and
probably more frequent posts of whatever catches my eye on a daily(or almost daily)basis.

Happy Year of the Snake

We are getting ready to make our favorite dumplings here...
and a certain someone can't wait to dig in.
She has her beloved pair of chopsticks out and ready to go!
Hope you all enjoy this special day with your family and friends.
~Gong Xi Fa Cai~

Fruit and Flowers

Last Saturday after I finished up Sarah's Vday photos, I decided to play with the props and capture a few still life shots.
As I mentioned before, that burlap box really grabbed me when I saw it and not only was it useful for my little beauty to sit on,
it turned out to be a great backdrop for close up shots.



Child lifestyle photography is really what brings me the most joy,
but it is fun to change things up once in a while and focus on non moving subjects too.
In fact, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to do more of this.
Some of these shots are printed and sold in our "2 Hip Chics" boutique...
and some of them find their way to the walls in our home too:)

Have a wonderful weekend and to all of our China friends...
Happy Chinese New Year!
Let the celebrations begin!

Valentines

It has been another busy week, but a very productive one on many levels.
After wrapping up Sarah's little vday photoshoot, I was able to order both of the girls their cards.
Wednesday after school, Sarah was super excited to see they had been delivered.
She grabbed her class list from her backpack and started addressing them.

Those of you that follow me on facebook and instagram got a little preview of this series on Wednesday evening.
She was too cute for words!!


We had a moment where she was not sure if she wanted to write her valentines or eat them...
So I made a deal.... As soon as she was done writing her classmates names, there were a few extra "kisses" just for her:)


She made her way through that class list like grease lightning!

Reags is still too little to do her own, so while Sarah did hers, I filled out Reagan's.
I can't wait to share them... they both turned out super cute!

It is looking as though more snow is on the way here in the northeast, so another blast from old man winter!
Stay Warm and Be Safe out there!
~Happy Weekend Everyone~

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Art Inspired

It began with a burlap box that caught my eye.....

I often see things when I am out and about that inspire me in some way.

When I do, I am never quite sure where it will lead me....

or what the end result will look like, but it is a starting point.

I have stared at this burlap box for about 10 days...and finally it all came together in my head.

The pink dress for contrast, the fresh fruit and flowers, and one natural beauty.

Hard to believe she is 6 years old when you look at these photos.
She looks so much older and more mature....
I think it is the long straight hair free or any clips of headbands.
Whatever it is, I hope she stops growing up so quickly.
Looking at these makes me want to freeze time....
she is definitely giving us a glimpse of the years to come.

The winter months are the most difficult for me....photographically speaking.
I find it difficult to keep my photography mojo because for the most part, it is too cold to shoot outdoors.
These are the months I really need to give myself an extra push to stay creative, so I look wherever I can to find inspiration.
The burlap box did not end with Sarah. You will see a little more of it this week:)
The neutral color and texture are fantastic...
just wait until you see it close up{hint hint}!

Chopsticks

Just in case you were wondering what I had in the white take out box...
I filled it with fortune cookies. She loves them...
After a few failed attempts with the chopsticks,
she decided to just use her hands instead:)

I still have a few more cute ones from this series, but I am going to save the rest for Chinese New Year!

Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday!
~Let the weekend begin~

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