Bon Voyage Elena!

Elena is one busy baby. She's teething, recently had Grandma in town for a visit and getting psyched for a big move with her family to New England! I am so glad I got one more fun photo session in with this little cutie before the big move. (And you know what a sucker I am for including grandparents whenever we can! Love it!) Good luck to you, Melanie and Rob! We'll miss you here in Chicago.

Shades of gray

When I told Mike I was going shopping this week with a friend, he laughed and said, "Maybe you'll bring home some color this time!" He knew full well that I wouldn't...that's the old joke between us. It's not that I don't like color. I'm not exactly a neutral kind of girl. I just love gray. It's my hands down, go-to favorite color. (This is when Mike would jump in with his "gray's a shade, not a color" argument. The old art teacher's son suck-up. I'll just continue to ignore his theory, as I am convinced, more than ever, that gray is perfection.) Think about it. It's classic. Timeless. Never out of season. It coordinates with nearly any other color imaginable and is perfect for every event. Going to a college football game? Throw on a light gray hoodie! Dressing up for an evening out? Can't go wrong with a nice shade of charcoal. And what is silver but a fun and flashy metallic version of, yep, you guessed it...gray. I couldn't have been more thrilled when the fashion world recently recognized the color for what it was and made gray the new black. That all said, I guess it's no surprise that my closet looks like the picture below. And that's not even half of it, folks. You should see my gray handbag collection. Perhaps I've overdone it just a tad.

Gold stars this week go to:
*President's Day Sales: I love shopping with my friend Vanessa. She finds the greatest deals and pulls things off the rack for me that I would never otherwise venture to try on but always end up adoring. Although, I'm still finding it hard to believe she talked me into my first pair of leggings. That adventure is probably an entirely different blog post (and hopefully won't be a big black dot!)

*Our First Dinner Party: That's right. You read correctly. The unthinkable is happening in t-minus 9 hours. Mike and I are hosting a few of our new, wonderfully welcoming neighbors for dinner. I actually cooked. Like, for real. You won't find any Lean Cuisines at this shin-dig.

*Meat Pie: Can I get a collective "YUM" for this old family favorite recipe? This week was the first time I've tried making it on my own. In theory, it's not hard. It basically entails boiling pork for 7 hours before stuffing it in a crust of buttery deliciousness and baking the whole thing for a few minutes. However, I just really didn't want to screw it up. If how many times I called my mom to make sure "what it was doing was normal" at every stage is any indication of it's goodness, then it should be a big hit!

Introducing Sean

This shoot embodied exactly why I love doing newborn sessions: a tiny and perfect baby and parents who are just radiating happiness and love. I'm always so honored to be part of such close family intimate moments. I couldn't get enough of little Sean and his sweet family. They were beautiful, inside and out. Linda and Steve, thank you for having me over to meet Sean and share in your happiness. A shout out to all of your family in Kenya...enjoy the photos and I am excited to hopefully meet them this summer!

Linden turns two

I had the greatest time with little Linden, Lynsey and Peter last Thursday morning. We decided to beat the Winter blues by faking an early Spring at The Garfield Park Conservatory. What an amazing backdrop for this adorable two-year-old. The show garden was one of the prettiest I've ever seen and Linden and I had a blast exploring it together. Thanks for a great time, Lynsey and Peter! Now, more then ever, I am ready for Spring!

A note to other clients: Garfield Park Conservatory requires a permit to shoot there, so if you are interested, please let me know 3 weeks before your session so we can submit the paperwork!

Love

Mike and I aren't Valentine's Day people. In the nearly five years we've been married and the 15 we've known each other (whoa...we are getting old), we've never adequately celebrated. Every time we've been pressured into trying, by 1-800-Flowers or Hallmark or the rest of our well-meaning but media-susceptible society, it's been far from the picture-perfect night of romance that all of the Kay commercials idealize. Like that one year we ended up at an Indian restaurant because it was the only place within a three mile walking radius from our downtown apartment that wasn't turning people like us...Valentine's Day slackers...away. We'd actually been there before. We had loved the food and the atmosphere was cozy. But that night, that very special night, was different. They had a massively overpriced Valentine's Day three-course meal on the menu...and no other options. Once we made peace with the exorbitant bill that we had just been Shanghaied into paying, the meal was amazing. The hostess even gave me a red rose on the way out the door. Memorable, but definitely funnier with four years separating Mike and that bill. This year, we decided to try again. We played it safe: Italian comfort food at a place we know well and love. Our night started with Cesar salad and ended with cannoli. It was a great date and we left vowing to do that more often. But I have to admit, it was a smaller gesture later in our chaotic week that truly hit the meaning of Valentine's Day home to me. It had been a tough day. Mike went straight from work to class until 9:30. He was beat. I was moody. It was a recipe for disaster...until Mike walked in the door with two burritos and a side of chips and guac. Chipotle. It can make even the crappiest of days...weeks even!...all better with two 1,000+ calorie rolls of goodness. I definitely remembered why I married my good man. So next Valentine's Day, just remember: every kiss beings with...burritos.

Gold Stars this week go to:
*Mid-week, late night takeout: Need I say more?

*Pooch of the week: Every week, Urban Pooch bestows this great honor on one of their fuzzy clients. Not only does the pup get his or her photo in the company's weekly email newsletter, but their pet parents get four free hours of daycare. This week, Dorey delivered. I was pumped to a degree that I am actually embarrassed to admit to all of you.

*My two sweethearts: A boy and his dog. It doesn't get much cuter than that.