Michelle and her family get family portraits every year which is pretty cool to see how fast her little munchkin grows. Ian kept everyone smiling and even managed to “tickle me” to keep me on my toes. Enjoy some of the photos from the family portrait session in the park, on a gorgeous day, with a really fun family!

And of course we had to get some just by himself…

I can’t wait to see how much he has grown next year and will have to learn to run faster to escape the “tickles”.

Ben is a cute little munchkin that I had the pleasure of meeting at 5 days old. He has the most adorable faces and I can’t believe I didn’t wake him up with my giggling. Don’t believe me, here are some of the photos from the newborn photography session.

This looks sums up what every child thinks of their parents kissing.

Ben loved the little suitcase I posed him in. He just kicked back and added his own flare to the photo.

But like all little munchkins, at the end of the session it was time to go back to sleep. One last yawn and off to dreamland he went.I can’t wait to see how much you grow in the coming year and hope those cute little faces you make stick around for a while.

I met Tarla and Mark at a wedding last year. He was the Man of Honor for his sister Stacy and Tarla was a bridesmaid. As I mentioned before, the wedding was a lot of fun to photograph and that was due to the people who were part of the wedding, including Tarla and Mark. So I was so excited when I heard that they got engaged and that I got the privilege of photographing their wedding!

When we discussed engagement session ideas, they mentioned that they love going to the park with their little munchkin Leah as well as riding on their motorcycle. You can imagine how excited I was when Mark arrived on the motorcycle and little Leah was in tow! Here are some of the highlights from the engagement session.

I can’t wait until the wedding! It’s going to be a blast and maybe I’ll get to ride the motorcycle.

The French Quarter was fabulous with amazing architecture and vibrant colors. I couldn’t resist taking photos of the places that we saw as we strolled around.

In addition, there were some amazing doorways to photograph. I love doors (as shown by my Pinterest obsession).

As I mentioned the colors were amazing and I found myself admiring the shutters on this building.

And then of course there were the photos I had to take of my honey.

And lastly, I snagged a couple of pictures of the horse which is part of the horse drawn carriage. I couldn’t quite fit these cuties into my checked luggage, so a picture of them will have to do.

Stay tuned for the last photos of New Orleans, coming on Friday. We had a really great time in this gorgeous city!

So there are many wonderful touristy things to do in New Orleans, one being taking a swamp tour. The guides take you out on a swamp, drive around in a boat, and look for alligators. We did see any gators on our tour, apparently it was cold and they were hibernating, but we did see lots of other amazing things…and animals on the tour.

First, we were told that the boat tour would be cold and that Robert needed to put on a jacket. He was reluctant at first but on the boat mentioned how happy he was that he listened to the guides. I had to snap a photo of him in is jacket because my family is going to love this hunting clothing tribute.

We then climbed into a boat and headed out to the swamp.

There were lots of homes on the swamp. Some were a miracle that they were still standing.

Some were left from Katrina.

Others were taking a chance to start over.

And others were as grand as could be.

But this one summed up the life and thoughts of New Orleans best.

While floating through the swamp, everyone was mezmerized by the trees growing in the water, the moss hanging from the trees, and the relaxing ride through a beautiful piece of America.

Plus some people live here full time, instead of using the homes for a weekend get away. Their fishing boats were quite impressive.

And as I mentioned, we didn’t see gators but we did see some turtles and birds who were more than happy to pose for the camera.

Plus we even got a history lesson on the trees in the swamp. Apparently the roots grow down into the soil and then “turn around” and start growing little “knees” around the trunk of the trees. All of the trees do this and therefore the root system is very stable and solid throughout the swamp.

Overall I am very glad that we did the swamp tour. It was fun, our guide was very knowledgeable, and it was nice being on the water. If you are ever down in New Orleans, take a tour, sit back, and relax.

I mentioned that New Orleans started off amazingly well with the fabulous dinner at the Chophouse. Did I mention how amazing the room we stayed in was? Well, my friend Kim hooked us up with a timeshare room at the Wyhdam La Bella Masion. It was gorgeous and absolutely breathtaking. If you ever get a chance to stay here…do it. It was only a couple of blocks from the French Quarter and right near great restaurants. Take a look for yourself.

The bedroom had glass french doors to block it off from the rest of the room.

The living room and part of the dining room.

The cute dining room and kitchen combination that leads into the bedroom.

The attention to all of the details made this room amazing. This was a little chest sitting on the coffee table. The swirls matched the TV stand, design over the kitchen sink and the mirror in the bedroom.

The sign for the hotel was right outside our window. Which gave me lots of inspiration for photos.

Yes it is picture of the sink in the bathroom…but look closely. There is a little red lady bug on one of the branches in the sink. Great attention to detail!

And one last little detail…this is the top of the light that was hanging over the dinning table. I loved all of the thought that went into making this hotel feel like a home.

Thank you Kim for such an amazing room and experience!

I recently arrived back home from a week long trip to New Orleans. I love being able to travel to new places and while I’m there learning new photography techniques and meeting great photographers at a conference called Imaging USA. Each year, I look forward to what new cities and travels will bring me at this conference and this year didn’t disappoint. I had never been to New Orleans and was leery of going due to my deadly shellfish allergy. But armed with four epi-pens and a fabulous hubby we headed off to the South for an adventure.

Robert had done some research before we left and booked a reservation at a local steakhouse called Chophouse. If you are in New Orleans, or even a neighboring state, you need to go here to eat! It was absolutely amazing and the decor was as awesome as the food. The waiter had great southern charm, a local who grew up in NOLA and gave us tips on places to eat, shop, and see the area without being too touristy.

Robert and I both had steaks with a side of onion rings. The steaks melted like butter in your mouth and set the mood for a nice relaxing dinner to start our trip.

This was the tower, minus two onion rings that ended up on our plates. Glad we didn’t do the full order…it would have been two towers of onion ring heaven!

Those that know me know I’m not a dessert person, but sometimes you just have to jump in and join the peer pressure. This cheesecake is from New York at the only place in the world that I will actually go out of my way to eat dessert.

Robert had the keylime pie. He said it was better than mine, but considering we were at a high end restaurant, with amazing food, and a fabulous chef I let it slide. Plus getting a taste of it with a to die for crust make the comment totally justified!

With this being the start of our trip, I had high hopes for New Orleans and what was to come for the week. Check back on the next blog post to find out more about our trip.

My best friend Trisha is very crafty. When we were younger, she could make anything look amazing with the flick of her wrist. I always just stared in awe. Well over the holidays I decided to take on a DIY project of making a wreath out of wine corks. After consulting Pinterest for some directions, loading up on hot glue sticks and a glue gun, and a million wine corks I got to work. After about 5 hour, 23 glue sticks, and only burning myself once I am proud to display to you my wine cork wreath!

Thank you Trisha for being my inspiration! And not to sound cliche but if I can do it, so can you! So try making one of your own and I’d love to see the photos when you’re done!