WHAT should we wear??

What should we wear?  I get this question A LOT.  It is usually followed by should we all wear white?  To which I always answer - no, please don't wear white.  Not that all white, (white shirt, blue jeans) doesn't look good it's just not my taste.  I think white should be reserved only for the BRIDE. 

I recommend monochromatic colors, like shades of blue, green, or tan.  What color do you look good in?  Does your family also look good in that color?  Odds are they do.  If not, you could also go with complimentary colors.  The same shade of different colors, like fall colors with similar hue (light or dark).

When looking at a color wheel, complimentary colors are opposite each other.

The closer into the circle the darker the colors get (more black is added).  I like the mid section!

This color wheel has the hue I like the best!

The colors are more muted like a watercolor. 

For the Bonnie & Clyde shoot I also had shots taken of my family.  I set the pose and camera settings and asked my sweet neighbor Val to snap away.  Not her fault that the pictures weren't dynamo, I had trouble getting the kiddos to cooperate.  I thought about telling them to do it for me for my birthday - AFTER the shoot.  Oh well, will use that line next time.  Although the expressions aren't the best I love how the outfits blend together.  Mark and I are in black.  Moving from left to right, Rach has some yellow and black in her outfit, Mark has black and yellow, I have black and blue, and Adam has Blue.  It isn't monochromatic, but all of the colors compliment each other and we each have the same color on going left to right.  I think it makes a more cohesive picture.  Now if I can just get my kids to smile.

Happy Halloween, More Treats than Tricks!

"Bonnie & Clyde" What a FUN Day!

When Phyllis asked me to take her and Dick's picture my heart literally leaped.  I have always admired her.  She's one of those women who doesn't talk about what she would like to do with her life.  She does it.  The Balcones Women's Association has held numerous fund raisers for Scholarship's for Westwood Seniors.  Phyllis is the woman in charge of "Market Days", their largest fundraiser.  These women aren't looking to raise hundred's of dollars - they are after the thousand's.  Last year they gave $17,500 in scholarship money!  That's what I call doing it!

"Bonnie & Clyde" was the perfect theme for Phyllis and Dick.  She was gorgeous and he was handsome.  What a lovely couple - inside and out.  Here are a few sneak peeks!

I think this image is one of my best!

Can't decide if I like it better in black and white punch!

They are both huggers. 

Here I am in action, of course on my ladder.  My friend Art took this picture.  He's the cool chap that let me borrow his beautiful 1928 Ford Model A.   The next picture is the one I captured.

CRAZY about this image.  Doesn't he look dashing? Cary Grant kinda dashing? I Think SO!























If you see him at Balcones Country Club he might give you an autograph!

Getting the Kid's Ready for pictures? UGH!

Although I take alot of pictures of my family - rarely are they together.  So I thought I would get all of us together for our Christmas Card picture early this year.  UGH!  Can I just say I feel your pain?  I thought about what we would wear for days, then tried to coordinate colors and styles.  Double UGH!   I understand why Mom's ask "Can't we just all wear white?".  It is easier, yes.  But the final product is usually better when you wear colors you love, and everyone's colors coordinate.  Think shades of blues, brown, or a little of one color in everyone's outfit.  If that is too complicated, just try not to clash with each other!  I haven't finished editing the session from this weekend, but I can post some pic's of the awesome vehicle we had for the "Bonnie & Clyde" shoot.   My friend Art brought his vehicle, he even had some bullet holes!

"The Night Before...Christmas" Limited Edition

Most of my sets begin as just an idea.   But just like designing for any room in your house there is going to be a focal point.  One item that you build the room or "scene" around.   The excitement of Christmas for me isn't the actual morning.  It's the night before.  The excitement, the anticipation, the sweet family time.  So excited to see the joy in someone's face that you have shopped for.

This year's Christmas card set is just that - "The Night Before Christmas".   The settling in, the smell of baked goods mixed with cinnamon candles.  It's the hot cocoa for the kids and a pretty champagne cocktail for the adults. (ok eggnog for some, just not me).  It's reading the bestest nightime story.  It's snuggling in an old iron bed. 

I'm still working on the linen's, and will post the design drawings in a few days, but I found the bed!
So GLAD I found it.  Isn't it perfect?

I found this jewel at one of my new favorite shops in Gonzales:  Discovery Architectural Antiques, 409 St. Francis St, Gonzales, Texas.  You can check them out line at: http://www.discoverys.com/
Sweet!  I CAN'T WAIT!!

Collin Welsh! Original! Is MINE!!!

Do you remember when you were a kid and wanted something really really bad?  For me it was the easy bake oven.  They were expensive in 19xx, to much even for Santa Claus.  So I never got one.  My best friend Carol Lewis got one though for Christmas in 2nd grade.  We would make cookies when I went to her house.  It was the coolest thing ever!
Well today I feel the excitement of finally getting something you really really really want!  I have admired Collin Welsh's artwork for years.  I LOVE her trees, and appreciated the "day of the dead" people.  But when she posted a sneak peak of one of her dead people paintings on facebook for the Pecan Street festival I fell in love.  It reminded me of friendship - and my friend Stacie. 
I went to the festival to purchase an original of the trees.  But there was the original I had seen on facebook.  I knew it was suppose to be mine.  I haven't decided where to hang the "Margarita Ladies" (as I've named them).  But they are the coolest thing ever!



Westwood Senior Shoot - Elizabeth

When I first met Elizabeth I thought she was real quite.  I still thought she was quite the second and third time I saw her.   The fourth time?  She started talking.  Maybe it's because I'm the adult in the room.  (WHEN did that happen?).  She's not that quite, just shy.  One of those people who listens and thinks more than talk.  I wish I was more like her!   Certainly in the legs department!

Forget Man UP! Granny UP at my house...

I didn't get alot of her things when she passed, Granny didn't have alot of material things.  She had everything else in spades.   The few things I do have of hers is spreadout through our house.  No one would ever notice them, their not special to look at.  A worn yellow towel I should have thrown out years ago.  I keep it in the back of our towel closet.  I remember her every time the laundry gets low. 
An old 9x13 baking pan, that she probably paid $5 dollars for in 1978.  But it has her name on the back where she scratched it into the pan with a knife.  I love that baking pan, I swear my kitchen smells like Granny whenever I use it!
Granny was a force.  She was stronger than just about any man in the neighborhood.  She would work all day, and come home to rake her entire yard.  Front and back, at 60+ years of age. If you weren't raised in the South, we raked our yard every week, no twigs, no limbs, and no pine needles.
When I decided to pursue photography and had doubts about my ability I would think about Granny. 
I read magazines ALOT for posing ideas and trends.  An advertisement the other day had "Man UP" on the caption.  I laughed out loud.  "Granny UP" is more like it!
I thought about that tonight.  A recipe I had tucked into one of my cookbooks fell out as I was starting dinner.  It was Granny's recipe for Peanut Butter Balls.  Yum!  These are great and you can easily make ahead.
Granny Tallent's Peanut Butter Balls
 2 cups confectioner sugar
3/4 cup graham crackers  (crushed)
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter (melted)
1 cup Peanut butter.

Mix all together, form balls (size of quarter), refrigerate 2 hours.
Melt chocolate bark, dip balls into chocolate with toothpicks.

So when you think your down and can't slay anymore dragons, just think to yourself "Granny UP"...if not fix these peanut butter balls - you'll feel better in NO time!   Promise!

I can't remember who's birthday it was.  But Granny was always in the spirit!