happy easter!!

five on friday

1. This is probably one of the most painful Five on Fridays I've ever had to type so it's going to be short  a FoF. 

2. Since I've been a sewing whore lately I had a hobby-related "incident" yesterday. I was cutting some thread and didn't get my middle finger out of the way in time. Needless to say 36 hours later my middle finger near the nail is still bleeding. And it hurts to type the "E", "D", and "C." (Ouch, that hurt to type those three letters.) Oh, and I've had to flip the hubby off a few times to get some sympathy!

3. The family and I are starting to make summer plans and this summer might turn out to be a 180 from last year. We're thinking of driving to Oregon from California. I can't WAIT to see that part of the country and I can't WAIT to take a crapton of pictures along the way!!

4.  Easter is two days away and we bought Early Bird's Easter dress yesterday. This year I was brazen enough to let her pick it out... gasp! And not surprising to me she picked out a pick fluffy gown with tulle. (why does this not surprise me!!) Oh, and it looks like it's suppose to rain on Saturday, the day of our church egg hunt, and Sunday... dang California weather!

5.  Random photo of the day:

sunset and the skateboarders {san jose, california, family photographer}

For the past few months we've had a few skateboarders showing up on our street to practice. They've always been very polite and are always fun to watch. They also happen to come at the perfect time of day, for me at least, around sunset. A few days ago I finally decided to ask them if they wouldn't mind if I took some pictures of them while they did their thang! They didn't mind at all and seemed really excited.

I had a great time and loved capturing them in the beautiful light we had that night. I totally forgot to ask them their names so hopefully they'll see this and chime in!

Thanks again guys and hope to see you around the streets soon! You were great models!!

five on friday {san jose, california, family photographer}

1. Can We Bring the Holidays Down a Notch?! Seriously! It's a good read!! If you haven't read this yet you need to. Whether you agree or not it's still a good read. And for me personally, since Early Bird is getting older, Christmas wore me down this past year. I can't possibly imagine trying to have every. stinkin. holiday an over-the-top celebration all year around (and don't forget about the birthdays sprinkled in between). For those of you that do, more power to ya! You've got way more creativity and energy than I ever had or will have. (And you know who you are Austin Jenn ;) Oh, and I blame Pinterest for half the problem ;)

2. As for the latest holiday, St. Patty's Day. Here's how it went down: Early Bird and I woke up Saturday morning (the day BEFORE St. Patty's Day. This will be important in a minute.) We head to the kitchen and I realize it's St. Patty's Day (remember, it's really the following day.) I told her that we can color her oatmeal green and then wear green the rest of the day so we won't get pitched. She was PUMPED about adding food coloring in her oatmeal. So, we eat our green oatmeal and (I think) we wear green the rest of the day! (By this point I'm excited that 1. I didn't forget St. Patty's Day, 2. We celebrated it doing something lo-key and 3. Early Bird had a healthy breakfast AND it was fun!). So, the next day we go to church and on the way in we were greeted by another church member asking us where our green was? Doh! You mean TODAY is St. Patty's Day?! Oh well, we celebrated early the day before and you know what?! Early Bird didn't care! Which means I didn't care either ;) It was a win-win.

3. I think I'm a tad late to the party but I'm obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Downton Abbey! I just finished season two (I think the fourth season has started. Right?!) I'm not sure what I enjoy more, the costumes, the beautiful lighting they use (mainly on the exterior shots) or the story lines? Oh, the gorgeous sets play just as much a part as the story lines!! It's such a good combination of actors, setting and story lines. If you haven't caught the bug it's not too late. I think you can see it on Hulu or do like me and watch it on Netflix, on the iPad, in bed, under the covers, the first three episodes, all at one time.

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantam, played by Maggie Smith, is by FAR my favorite character!! Quick witted and talks straight from the hip! Oh, and I love her family loyalty. 

 check out that set and her costume (oh, and she wore PANTS! Can you believe it?! The nerve of her!!).

unfortunately I wasn't able to track down all image sources. However, I think most come from here, PBS' Web site.

4. Mother's Day is coming... fast! If you need a good gift to give (even to yourself) try a spring/mother's day mini-session! check HERE for details!

5. Random photo of the day:

Grandma, Grandpa & their Harley

If you had asked me a year ago if I would be taking pictures of my, yes MY parents on a Harley I would have said forgetaboutit! 

For those of you that don't know my mom, she has been in education for forty bajillion years. Which means a teacher can wear a leather jacket, boots and a helmet if she wants! 

I guess grandmas and grandpas don't have to grow old sitting in rockers, they can grow old riding on a hog!

spring/mother's day mini-sessions {san jose, california, family photographer}

They're BACK! Spring/Mother's Day mini-sessions! If you're ALWAYS the one to take pictures this is a great excuse to get in front of the camera!! Limited spots.

~ Two dates, April 27 & 28

~ $100 

~ 20 minute sessions, includes 10 hi-res edited images (up to 5x7)

~ up to 4 people ($25 for each additional member)
~ park location around Los Gatos, California

~ additional images and prints available for purchase

~ limited availability

a little something different {san jose, california, family photographer}

Working on a little something different and outside my usual box.

This woman, S, and I met in our yoga class. She's in her 40's and beeeeautiful! AND she has an awesome figure to go with it! This was her first time modeling boudoir and this was my first time doing something completely different than taking family and children's pictures. We were both a little nervous, to say the least.  I'm not sure how often I'll do this type of photography but it was nice to stretch my creative muscle!