elliot: part time supermodel

Lately I have come to terms with the possibility of me becoming a "cat lady" when I grow old. Not the kind who makes creepy screen printed t-shirts of her kitties' faces, or who owns more than fifteen cats at a time, but more like the kind that sings to her felines and talks to them like they're babies.

Okay, okay. So I do those things already (the singing stuff, not the t shirt stuff) and with very little shame. And when I'm bored or taking a break from editing, I like to pick up my camera and follow Elliot and Bob around the house until they do something adorable. Bob is usually unamused by my attempts to capture his personality on camera and typically just falls asleep, but Elliot looooves to ham it up. He lives to have his picture taken. Wouldn't you if you were this handsome?

I swear he poses for me. Look at the paw placement.

My little supermodel..

sea cows and industrial parks

Two posts in a row? This is unheard of! I decided I should stop being so irresponsible when it comes to blogging. I have a serious case of the procrastinations, and I want to take control of my problem. I am taking back my life this week. I even worked out and started a book yesterday! It feels good to be good to myself.

A few days ago, Ryan and I took advantage of our day off together and went for a long bike ride, stopped in at IKEA to purchase a Gustav Klimt painting for our living room (LOVE IT!), and went to the hydro plant in Apollo Beach to see the manatees. I have lived in Florida my entire life, and I never knew this free spot existed. And there weren't just a few manatees- there were at least 50 hanging out in the warm water next to the plant. Mommas and babies everywhere. Plus, there were sharks and huge fish jumping out of the water. It was way cool. If you have some free time, I definitely suggest taking your kiddos.

I love industrial parks.

Also enjoying their view of the manatees were two adorable twin boys with the most fire red hair I've ever seen. Not wanting to be a total creep, I waited til they walked further down the board walk to take a photo. Sigh- I wish I could master the art of telling moms how cute their children are- and how badly I want to photograph them!- without coming off like a weirdo.

I love these smoke stacks.

Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

a totally different kind of blue..

A couple weeks ago, Ryan and I went on a fantastic cruise to the Bahamas where I shot a wedding (more on that great occasion to come!). Being my first cruise, I had some anxiety going into it. I am a humungous baby when it comes to nausea, and it was difficult to accept the notion that I'd have zero control if the seas got rough, so I was nervous about any slight possibility of something going wrong while on ship.

I am eternally grateful for Ryan bringing dramamine, because the first night was a DOOZIE! Unless you've experienced this for yourself, it's difficult to properly explain the feeling of sitting down and finding your upper body being slowly and uncontrollably pulled to the left, and then to the right, and then... well I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Anti-emetic absorbed, all I could do was enjoy the ride.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing (I've never been able to use that as a pun before! Ha!), and we enjoyed lots of karaoke, a fabulously accommodating family (like I said, more to come on that topic soon!), hundreds of spring breakers, and the most beautiful water I've ever seen. Our first stop was Freeport. Ryan and I took a taxi to the beach, walked way, way, WAY beyond where the college crowd gathered, and found ourselves climbing across some large rocks to a more secluded area where the water shone crystal clear and a totally different kind of blue. It was truly turquoise. And as we looked around at the coral hugging the rocks in the shallows, we saw brightly colored fishies swimming all around. I have never seen salt water aquarium fish in the wild before! It was like Diet Discovery Channel.

I mean really. Look at this place.

I really, really, really want to travel. It's time to start saving my pennies!

World, say hello to...

Natalie :]

..so itty bitty, and utterly perfect.

dad's expression makes my heart melt..

as a side note, this session literally brought tears to my eyes. seeing mom and dad so proud and excited, capturing the expressions on natalie's face.. being there with my camera felt like an absolute privilege.. and i loved every second of it.

p.s. thank you, monica, for all your love and support. you are the best sister ever. period.