Lola and Mr. Fairbanks,

You are adorable…you just about need your own photo session.

-Kristin

This baby is a flirt.  The kind of flirt that’s flattering…that makes you feel like you’re the prettiest girl in the room.  And he’s been a flirt since birth.  I know because I was there when he was several weeks old, giving me that little sparkle…even when he could barely hold his head up!

Here’s an itty bitty Hudson…

And here’s big-boy Hudson, who now has ‘moves’ like grabbing his toes, rolling over and even more flirting.

He’s a little looker I tell ya, especially in a hoodie.

And I need to give a big thank you to Hudson’s entourage…that bounced, tickled, entertained and even moved furniture to make this shoot happen.

This cool graphic couch was envisioned for the photo shoot and even though we didn’t end up using it a ton, I’m so excited that Hudson’s aunt will be incorporating the couch into her upcoming photo session.  Woo-hoo!

Well, that’s all for now.  I hope this happy little flirt made you smile this Friday afternoon!

-Kristin

As promised, I’ve been brainstorming Christmas decorations that aren’t too cluttery.  I decided to hang ornaments from my chandelier.  They catch the light coming in the glass doors…gorgeous!  Plus, they don’t take up any table/shelf space.

My bargain-shopping self has to tell you that the chandelier was found over the summer on Craigslist for $30 and the ornaments were 60% off today ($1 each) at my local craft store.  I love a good deal!

And to my Castro Valley friends (and my mom!)…this serves as a sneak peek to my new house.  I am fervently cleaning today so I can take some pictures to show how it turned out.  My poor friends think that I’m homeless, because it’s been months…literally months since I promised to show pictures of where I moved to.

-Kristin

…didn’t you?  It’s only my third day of promising to blog every day and I’m already slacking.  But, I have a good reason.  I spent the day out at Fashion Island shopping with my friends.  Not only do I promise to blog every day, but I also promise to look cute every day with all the new clothes I got.  Laura gave me much needed advice of what to put with what.  That’s where I get stuck.  I know the pieces I like, but I never know how to wear them.  Now I know. 🙂

We went to get our Christmas tree last night.  It was quite an experience.  I wanted to save a little money and thought we’d go to a “lesser” lot for a good deal.  It turns out that at said lot, Santa directs traffic in his time off.

I should have known that this lot wasn’t a good idea, but we didn’t stop at the traffic-cop Santa.  We saw this sign.  Hmmm.

I think I should back up and tell you that I grew up (in Montana) driving into the forest and cutting our tree from the scraggly bunch that was growing not too far from our back yard.  So, this whole going to a lot business is still a little weird to me.

Brent made an executive decision to go to a nicer Christmas tree lot with rides and concessions.  I have to agree it was WAY better and the trees were actually cheaper than the ghetto lot.

OK, back to my issues with picking trees off a lot.  Flocked trees…that’s weird too.  Of course my kids were begging for a flocked tree.  They kind of do look pretty close up…but still weird.

Here’s my little bargain shopper.  Again, trees with price tags??

To finish all the documentation of our Christmas tree experience- a family picture taken by the train-ride operator.  I love the guy running out of the background. 🙂

There you have it…our first LA Christmas tree hunt.  By the way all these were taken without a flash…with my 50…all at 1.2.

-Kristin

Awhile ago, Shannon and I swapped taking pictures of each others’ families.  It was a huge treat for me…first because I never get in front of the camera and second because Shannon is sooooo talented!  The inspiration for the whole thing was a wall in our bedroom.  I put up the ledge shelfing and then wanted to arrange some mounted pictures (unframed) in various sizes all overlapping…a la Pottery Barn.  My room is all done in various shades of grey and olive, so I wanted to keep the coloring simple–and able to blend in with everything else.  I realized that I only had pictures of the kids and since it’s OUR room, I wanted pictures of US.  Enter Shannon…

Poor Shannon has been waiting for ages to see these (because we each editing our own pictures).  Sorry Shannon!  But, she was beyond amazing and I love the way she arranged us and interacted with the kids.  It’s hard to get a family of 5 all looking decent!

These are the only ones I have edited right now, but I’m so excited to go back through all the great pictures she took.  Now I’ll have so many choices for my wall ledge!

Shannon…thank you again SO much for giving us a little piece of history to look back on. 🙂

-Kristin

I was at spin class today and our instructor was talking about doing the right thing in the month of December, so that we wouldn’t have to make a new year’s resolution involving losing weight.  We can make another resolution instead.  So, it’s got me thinking and I want to make a few resolutions for the month of December…why wait until January!?

First I want to be really good with working out and eating right this month, next I want to post every single day.  I’ve been swamped with work for most of October and November, so it was feast or famine here on my blog!  Just like taking your multi-vitamins, you can also come visit my blog every day in December to see something new.

I’m also wanting to decorate my house this year for Christmas in a new way.  I’m normally a little bah-humbug when it comes to decorations.  I don’t want it to look like Christmas exploded in my house, so I’m pretty minimalistic, but this year I want to do a little extra, but in a tasteful way.  I’ll probably share pictures once I get it figured out!

I’ve got my job cut out for me as December is a pretty hectic month…so I’ll cut to the chase.  The pictures.  These were taken down in San Pedro where all the cruise ships come in.  The city is trying to restore this area, so they put in a dancing water fountain…like at the Bellagio!  It’s a great excuse for kids to get wet.  Oh and they have some amazing palm trees lining the whole thing.

And just because most people already have their Christmas pictures/cards taken care of by now…doesn’t mean it’s too late to book a session.  I’m a last-minute gal myself, so I have a special spot in my heart for other last-minute folks.  Shoot me an email and I’ll get you in and taken care of with plenty of time to be sending out your cards!

-Kristin

I think we’re all feeling a little bit of the comfort zone in the days after Thanksgiving.  I know I ate way more than I should have…thank goodness for spin class.  We’ve been enjoying a few days of chill around here and some of the highlights include the boys getting up on Brent’s long board (sorry no pictures…bad mom) and a day trip to Kidspace Museum.  That place is so much fun!  If you live in southern CA, you have to make a trip out there.

A few months ago, I moved out of my comfort zone when I agreed to photograph FOOD for The Abbey Co.  They are opening a restaurant that’s all about fresh food done right, plain and simple.  The focus of the shoot was straight up fruits and vegetables and there was a whole team of people to make them look beautiful!

These are some of the shots they picked to go up in the restaurant.  I love the simple nature of the pictures…it makes me want to eat more fruits and veggies!  By the way, some of the items that didn’t get chosen to go up on the wall…brussel sprouts, eggplant and cauliflower.  They don’t taste good AND they aren’t photogenic.

I mentioned there was a whole crew of people make the food look good.  You’d be surprised how many random things were behind the scenes…karo syrup, WD-40, toothpicks…you name it.  Anything that didn’t get primped for a photo shoot got taste-tested by us.  No complaining here!

So, in the midst of sampling all the yummy holiday treats, don’t forget to send some love to your fruits and veggies. 🙂

-Kristin

Do you ever wish life had a pause button?  I wish I could just pause everything happening around me so that I could catch up on all the things I’m way behind on.  Right now I’m sorta living off a priority list.  Sticky-noted to my iMac.

I get that pause every few days when all the kids are at school.  That’s when I scurry around trying to do all the things I can do faster without them…then refer to my sticky notes…and scurry around some more.

Yesterday while all the kids were at school, I got to photograph Baby Ella and her mom.  Ella was quite the little cutie, with definite preferences for how she wanted to be photographed.  I think even at this age she knows her best angle!

Ella did this cute little thing with her feet where she put them together and made a sort of heart shape.

And here she is with her mom…

Is that a real word?

Tim and the crew had me laughing so hard that I was getting scared my photos would be blurry, from the shaking.  Whenever you get 12 family members together, you know it’s going to be a little crazy.  But, add to the mix a couple of guys with junior high humor and you’ve got mayhem.

I’m exaggerating, but it truly was the most fun I’ve had at a photo session in awhile!  Tim and Jenn were in our small group back at home, so I was so excited to see them and their family.  I had never met the rest of the family, but as it turns out the guys (not blood related) are more alike than the women.  Again…junior high humor!

Here’s the bunch…

Even Grandma Carla has a great sense of humor.  Tim told them to smile like they were excited about having minor surgery.  The kids said, like what?  His response…a spleenectomy.  Is that the correct spelling, Tim? 🙂

Jenn and her sister Angie are twins…they both have such gorgeous families.  They have to, they’re twins!

And more cute kids…

I’m sure you guys will grow up to be just as hilarious as your parents!

-Kristin

Do I really get paid to sit here at my desk and play around with colors and textures…starting with a gorgeous picture and enhancing it into perfection?  Really, that’s work??

I’m pinching myself because I ALWAYS end up with beautiful clients….

OK…enough gushing.  I’m super lucky…I’ll leave it at that. 🙂  One of the objectives from this shoot was to get a shot of the kids in their cool kicks.  Shelly works for DC shoes, so she wanted to have a picture of her kids in the gear for her office instead of the photos the company provides.  What a great idea!!

And the kids were so cooperative…making sure the brand was showing correctly!!

Here are a few more from the day…

I love Ian’s expression in the last one.  He looks scared, but trust me…he was a little dare devil.  I kept telling them how impressed I was the kids could ride a skateboard.  I would be flat on my face in 2 seconds flat.  I guess that’s why I’m here at my computer…doing what I do best.

-Kristin