All Into Fall

Hi everyone!  I first want to give a warm welcome to those who have found my lil blog via BYW.
And a giant thank you for all your sweet comments I've received this week.  It has truly inspired me to keep posting everyday this week (so far), yippee!! Today I wanted to share a small table top duo I shot around this time last year.  Along with them I wanted to share a few tricks to compose a shot like this, without emptying your wallet.

  I'm always looking for fun and interesting surfaces to photograph on and this one I used cost only 99 cents at my local Michael's  craft store.  It looks pretty close to the worn surface look I was seeking.  Another source for inspiration is taking a trip to your local farm stand, farmers market, or orchard.  They tend to have the freshest in session produce you can find.  Plus they make for great holiday decor around your home after you've photographed them.  And finally try going on a walk in your neighborhood. It's fun to collect fallen leaves from the trees and inspect all the different varieties that surround you.  After your done with them put each leaf in between pages of a heavy book and come Thanksgiving you'll have a festive and creative element to add to your festive table!  Have fun!

Engagement Session- Annie & Steve

I finished my editing late last night and couldn't wait to share my favorites with you this morning!  Yippee! Here they are!  Joe and I had so much fun running around the Old Town neighborhood to capture these shots.  Love and Fall were both in the air, mixed in with some great light!  What more could we have asked for? Thanks Annie & Steve for a great afternoon!

Photography: Coach House Pictures

Flowers: A New Leaf

Loving: Ruche Fall Look Book

Happy mid weekday to you!!  Phew, this week has flown by, hasn't it for you too? Today I'm crushing on the Ruche Professional Fall Wardrobe look book.  Since I work in a photo studio jeans and tees are a staple in my wardrobe.  But lately however I've been dressing things up by wearing skirts and dresses.  Below is one of my fav work wear outfits. I can't wait to transition some of my summer staples into the fall. Pairing my skirts and dresses with tights and boots, I'll be able to extend there mileage for sure!  What pieces do you own that you're planning on wearing into the Fall season?

Photo by Zoe Tyler.  Waiting to take the train home after a hard days work!

Cozy Comfort

The weather in the Chicago has begun to show its true colors this week. Meaning up until this week the temperature has remained somewhere between the mid to high 60's. Which for the Midwest, at this time of year, is almost unheard of. Add daylight savings time on top of the chilliness and I've got good reason to find comforts in the little things, one of them being a classic childhood favorite- mac & cheese. I'm warming up to a bowl tonight as I write this post and it's such a small but significant comfort to me. My choice in mac is the Trader Joe's variety made with Wisconsin cheddar. So warm and cheesy, it's hard for me to stop at just one bowl! What are some of your cozy comfort foods? Ones that just make you all warm and cozy inside.

Exploring Chicago in the Fall

Earlier this week I had one of those days where I kept saying to myself (in my head of course) "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this!" And the assignment for work was taking dramatic angled photos of buildings downtown and textures of the city as well. I first started out by walking around my hood (Bucktown) and then I hopped on the blue line and headed towards downtown. I walked all afternoon to scout my shots and in the end I feel really good about what I'm bringing back to the work table next week. I've posted just some of my findings to share with you. I've also just posted more of my photos over on my flickr stream too. Enjoy :)

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday to everyone! Excuse me for being mia this week. Although we are heading into our slow period at work we (all the photographers) just got handed a major photo assignment from the marketing and sales department. It entails exploring the city for me and capturing its architecture in an interesting way. I'm excited to check out some of our studios awesome equipment and lenses to make this happen. On another note, I've started making my Christmas list this morning! I'm starting early this year to make sure I put enough time and love into creating all my homemade goodies for the ones I love. I'm so excited to start and will be happy to share my creations along the way. The lovely magazine Gifted definetly got my creative wheels spinning earlier this week. If your looking for a beautifully inspiring digital mag to cozy up to this weekend please do check this one out! You will keep coming back to this one for ideas, for sure!

Happy Friday

Hello and happy Friday to you on this beautiful fall afternoon. We've experienced some crazy winds (up to 60 mpr) this week so I thought this paper art work would be appropriate to share with you. Created and constructed by artist and illustrator Jayme McGowan. It's really cool to see her process on how she creates such intricate cutouts. Have a joyous holiday weekend!

Meet Joe

EVPhotography & pumpkin print

Hi everyone! Today I want to introduce the special person in my life that gets me going, calms me down and puts a smile on my face every time we are together (which just happens to be a lot these days). The funny thing about our relationship is that we went to college together, took the same classes, yet never even glanced in each others direction. It wasn't until he started freelancing as a photographer that our lives crossed paths again. We were work friends for close to 2 years until we started hanging out outside of work. Our relationship grew and developed over our love for tennis (that's what we did on our first date), and since then it has grown to include the outdoors, camping, cooking, and music. The thing I love the most about him, is that he just gets me, in all my silly and goofy ways. I don't have to cover up any parts of who I am when we are together. I get to be me, for good, bad or sad.

We've been living together now for 5 months (and dating for over a year) and although there have been some adjustments and compromises, I still can't believe that he hasn't gotten sick of me. I know that may sound like an odd thing to say, but it's true. Don't you find it fascinating to know of people that have shared there lives together for years or even decades? It's something that sounds so out of reach these days, but I look up to those who can work through issues and come out stronger in the end. Here's hoping :)

hello sunshine

Happy start to your week everyone! How was your weekend? Did you do something adventurous, fun or scary? I did something all of the above this weekend- Joe and I hosted our very first dinner party on Saturday night. Besides having to run out and buy more chairs so that we could all sit in the same space, we roasted our first beef tenderloin, which came out pretty tasty and we indulged on apple pie with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream from TJ's. All in all I'd say it was a success and I can't wait to host again :)

Happy Friday

fall harvest no.2

And a good Friday to you too! I have been bursting at the seams for the work week to be over...and it almost is! Tonight my friend Alise is hosting craft night at her new home. She lives about an hours drive from me in the city so I've made plans to spend the night. hehe...I can't remember the last time I had a sleepover, but I'm excited just the same. All of the talented ladies that are coming are so sweet and the best part is we all get along. I'm planning on making some paper crafts and gifts tags for the holidays, which I will happily share with you once we get closer to December. Geez, can you believe it, Christmas is almost (almost) here!? I guess I'm starting early in part because I'm happy to be finally getting a REAL tree this year. I know, I know..but yes I'm really that excited :) Happy Friday to you and thank you to all you lovely ladies for your kindness and encouragement this week. It always means the most!

Pssst...

Hop on over to on the brink of something beautiful today to see what I created from all this crafty goodness! Thanks again Kel for inviting me to create this DIY post for you and your readers :) I had a blast putting it all together and hope you enjoy it too.

Orchard weekend

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend?My family and I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather this weekend and enjoyed some time apple picking, corn a-mazing, cider drinking, and pumpkin picking, phew! Here are a few of my favorite picks from this weekend.

Hello October

I'm just catching up on things from this weekend. It was so great to ease into the season this past weekend by spending Friday all by myself. I spent the day running errands, taking a cardio bootcamp class, and sprucing the outside with pumpkins, gourds, and purple mums! I even had time to carve my very first pumpkin while the seeds toasted up all yummy in the oven :)
For those of you who are just as head over heels for this glorious season as I am , I'd love to hear how your spending it!

For those of you who are looking for a seasonal lift, stop by That's Happy blog, and download a cute owl desktop wallpaper calender by illustrator Lisa Rupp. I have it on my work desktop, and love the hint of autumn it brings to my 9-5. Thanks Lisa for sharing!

Loving: Vintage Collections

How fun is it to receive email updates from your favorite shops! Even if (for lack of funds) you can only imagine yourself wearing something new. Free People is announcing their Fall vintage collection today and it's photos and styling are worth taking a look at, in my opinion! The collection is handpicked by Free People buyers, for truly one of a kind vintage pieces. I love all the lace, denim, and black velvet showcased in this collection. I'll take one of each, please!

Sunday Afternoon

On Sunday my family and I gathered together to celebrate my dad's 62nd Birthday!

My mom catered from yummy Portillos and we all shared in conversation and company

for the afternoon. But there always seems to be times when I start feeling antsy just sitting around eating and talking for more than 2 hours, that photography was my perfect excuse to escape and see what my favorite little people were doing outside. Here were some of my findings.