the story of the poor frog. :)

once upon a time, there lived a frog.
and there also lived a beastly man.
a man who found great pleasure in scaring the snot out of his beautiful sister-in-law. :|
but the beautiful sister-in-law had a camera.
so, she took pictures of the frog.
oh, how the frog lasted on the windsheild of that car.
and lasted...
and lasted.
the frog stuck to the windsheild of that car until finally meeting his demise
taking a great heroic leap off the windshield onto the harsh reality of route 64.
poor frog. :)

have a great weekend! :)

candy apple red :)

it's not a secret that I like antique stores...
wait..you didn't know that?!
well, then yes...I most definitely DO!

but not simply for the sake of having an entire house full of antiques...
although that might be kinda cool.

no, my love affair with antiques began when I started working at liberty market.
my friends dave & kiersten, who happen to be owners of LM :)
are amazing at taking something old (an antique) and putting a modern spin on it.
their restaurant and house are full of these amazing details...

an old gasoline price stand in bright yellow is the house marker for their home...
they use single strung edison light bulbs hung from the rafters...
old steel packing crates are re-crafted to be bar stools throughout the restaurant...
in my office upstairs at LM, my desk is an old lit drafting table that even works!
and early in our friendship, they gifted me an old (working) maytag washer that has
now become my outside drink cooler!

needless to say, I LOVE walking through antique stores now...looking with the intent to make something really old, look really new with a funky, modern twist!
I have an antique claw foot loveseat that I originally loved...but it's kinda too heavy to lug to shoots...
so I'll be selling that one...($100 if you're interested...just email me!)
and a dream of mine is to someday find an antique fainting couch and re-cover it in a zebra print.
yes.  I know I'm crazy. :)

but the other day I did find a really cool antique wood carved chair...for $5 BUCKS!
I know!!! *insert craig fergusen accent*
I simply love the hand carved flower details...just a really cool chair! :)
and it was cool in with the kinda dark wood detail but it seemed kinda of tired - the chair, that is. :)
plus, I've been on a red kick lately...so WHALLA!  instant personality for the chair! :)

five bucks + a four dollar can of candy apple red spray paint = super happy jen!

you just might find it's first appearance in my shoot with a very pretty young lady this friday! :)

but. :)

I am home.
and trying to get back into the flow of my life.
you know, the
"Ijustgotbackfromvacationandhavehowmanyloadsoflaundry?gottacleanthehouse
getthroughthemassiveinboxatwork.dangIforgottoreturnthatlibrarybookbeforeweleft.
don'tforgettosmilecauseyoujustgotbackfromvacation."
kind-of a flow. :)

but. :)  (I love "but's".) :)
I can pause tonight remember and smile at these beautiful,
fun-loving kids that I simply loved getting to know!
mckenna is the daughter of one of my school age friends.
strange to think of him as a parent now.  but he is...I guess that makes us grown-ups?! :)
he has raised a seriously cool little girl so far and I loved the hugs she so freely gave during this shoot!
her cousins aren't bad to look at or hang with either!
kirsten is a future m.i.t.m. (model in the making)...gorgeous and fun-loving!
and ben reminded me of my own boy - all boy and "tolerating" me throughout the shoot very nicely ;)

thanks again karen and jill for making this such an amazing shoot!

worth the wait. :)

I love my family.
I love being a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a sister, a sister-in-law...and lately an aunt.
I love being an aunt to all my neices & nephews...but this week is focused on one on one time with
my hayden.

I have been waiting for this boy since this session in new hampshire...
and oh, was it worth the wait!
his blue eyes that crinkle when he smiles...
his little mouth that wants to put e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. into it... :)
his curiosity that seems to fill him with wonder at everything...
he seems smarter than his five months to me...
yes.
yes, I love this boy...and he was most definitely worth waiting for to meet :)

silence to grow.

shhhhhhh.

do you hear it?

quiet.  pure. quiet.  rest. :)

that's what I felt when I was taking these shots...
well, that and a little creepy for the moon shot...it was about two in the morning (illinois time).
but it my defense it was only midnight arizona time - which I declare to still be on!
(especially since I've been waking up at 10:30a.m. every day in IL...I can almost hear my in-laws thinking how super lazy I am and how I must be a major diva.) :)

but I like this quote...
"...see how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence;  see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to grow...”

I'm learning that I need chunks of silence and alone time.  strange thought considering that at home I am almost constantly on the go and almost always around people.  but I think that is why my soul is restored when I come here.  there are large chunks of silence. albeit at two in the morning. :)