she can't always hide from me...

toni asked

"what does your daughter do while acting as your assistant on a photo shoot"

and

since I have a gazillion photos still unedited

I can actually show a little bit of what she does

and

then tell you about the rest

~~

shooting on a sunny day is almost impossible without her help

as there is always a sliver of sun that wants to sneak in

and

land perfectly on the face looking back at me

so

she uses a sun deflector to keep the sun away

which means she has to figure out where the sun is coming from

~which sounds easy but can be really difficult~

and

then positions herself perfectly as to not end up in the photo

too

~~

in the photo above if I determine it's a keeper

I will either crop my subject in or photoshop my daughter out

here

in the barn

she did so many things for me

~~

while I was shooting in one area

she was climbing on hay and boards and piles of things in other areas

to make sure they were safe for me to use for the next set of shots

~~

along

with making sure we weren't walking in what I think was raccoon poop

~totally gross~

~~

when noses needed tissues

she got them

when I needed my car moved

she moved it

~~

she was the one who climbed in the truck bed first, looked around and said

"you have to shoot her up here, mom"

and

she was also the one who talked to the neighbor across the street to let her know what we were doing on the property in the first place

~~

and

in return

I treated her to lunch

and

then she went through all the raw photos with me at home and picked out her favorites

~~

it's a sweet deal and I love her for how she helps me

*

come to find out

the property belongs to the brother of the woman who lives across the street that my daughter talked to

and

we've worked out a little deal

where with a little bit of money that I just sent him today

I can shoot there anytime I want

~sweet~

so remember

it never hurts to ask

*

*crazy...I've got two stories today and the other on is over here*

I hope you don't mind...

but

I have to share

~~

once again

I was blessed with another senior who went along with all that I asked of her

and

was a doll the entire time

~~

because this was a new setting for me

there were so many angles to try out

so many lighting options that threw me off

so many great backdrops to use as a base

that I didn't know when to stop

~~

the heat finally got the best of us

and

now I sit here editing 400 plus photos down into a manageable number

like

200

because

when you have a beauty like the sweetheart above

how do you say

"eww, not that one"

and

toss it aside

?

you just can't

*

{and a huge thank you to my daughter who was my assistant and did an amazing job}

when you see something you love...

get a closer look

and

see if it loves you back

~~

this past weekend we had to take a detour on our way home

which ended up being a blessing

as

we came across an old home

obviously abandoned

with a tiny aging "for sale" sign in the front yard

and

lots of outbuildings

that all pulled at my heartstrings

but

for some reason

~maybe because we're idiots~

we just kept on driving

~~

on monday

~after dreaming about this little piece of heaven sunday night~

I jumped in the car and went exploring

and

my instincts were right

it was love at first sight

~~

so

today

I have another senior photo shoot

and

guess where we're going

?

and

another house I'm in love with

is over here

my turn...

sometimes

I

jump

too

in a rain soaked blow up jumping gym

I laughed and jumped and laughed some more

but

it was the laughter I heard coming from my hubby

that made me feel

like I could fly

~~

sometimes

you just have to let it out

~~

care to join me

?

in circles...

my weekend

~~

I could tell you how we played like kids

and

didn't sleep enough

and

laughed until our faces hurt

and

ate too much

and

walked on the beach

and

took an enormous amount of photos

and

got caught in the rain

twice

~~

but

I need a few moments of quiet to put it all together

so

for now

I'm just thrilled that all of that time was spent with my hubby

and

not this guy

today...

take a ride

and

join me over here

*

because of toni...

my sweet toni is looking for kitchen photos to play with

so

I decided to grab one for her out of my cottage file

and

then I grabbed a few more

non-kitchen

photos

only because

I haven't shared that many cottage photos with all of you

so

this is the main floor of our sweet little get-away in the woods

that houses many of our favorite antiques

mixed with flea market finds

chairs from t.j. maxx

a love seat from ikea

pier one import kitchen chairs

a world market end table

and

a kitchen table from target

~~

and

remember it's open for visitors anytime

*

{click on the photos if you want to feel like you're inside with me}