Into the sunset

A preview of what is to come tomorrow...

I am a country girl at heart, living life in the city. A trip Mom & Dad's house is always a great way to wind down and relax.

Meet, Becky, she's a gorgeous horse.

Tegan turns 1 !

In January my sweet niece, Teagan, turned one! Baby's first birthday is always so fun and special and it has been such a fun 1st year watching Teagan grow into her own cute little self!

It was so neat watching her grow from a newborn to baby to learning how to crawl, very slowly and then almost overnight into a little crawling machine, to suddenly walking when she was just shy of 10 months old. Now she runs...every where! My sister in law, Amanda and I were looking back on her photos from her first year and talking about how she is now becoming a toddler, not so much a baby anymore, and her little personality is shining through now.

She is a character, loves to play, dance, sing, hang out with daddy on the couch, give hugs and blow kisses, snuggle with mommy, she is very daring and is a girly-girl too. She loves jewelry and all things girly, it's so adorable.

I photographed Teagan at home one afternoon because we were designing her birthday invitation and Amanda wanted a few prints that she could use to decorate Teagan's big girl room.

Of course, photographing babies and toddlers is fun and we worked hard to get the images we did, but it was so much fun! Teagan was like a little bullet, running all over the livingroom, me chasing her with my camera and mom trying to keep her outfit looking nice, it was great!

Enjoy my favorites, can't wait to share more from her 2nd year as the months go on!

Family generations and a baby

Photographing the love in this family was such a sweet moment for me. It was even more meaningful to do this mini-shoot on Valentine's Day, the day dedicated to all things "LOVE". We did a 4 generational session and it was so great! Cynthia Flesher (in red) is a dear business friend of mine (and an excellent massage therapist!), she asked if I would come to her sister's home and photograph her, her mother, daughter and granddaughter while her mother was visiting from out of town.

It was such an honor to photograph and meet such a wonderful family. And how cute is little Josslyn?? She was 5 months at the time of our shoot and was as sweet as can be! She is absolutely adored and cherished in this wonderful family.

I am thrilled to share my favorites from our session, family is what life is all about. Enjoy!
 (Left) Josslyn & mom, Jackie(Right) Josslyn & grandma, Cynthia
 Grandmother, Vickie & granddaughter, Jackie   Mom & Daughter, Vickie & Cynthia

Food, Wine & Photography

This shoot kicked off this year into high gear!

It all started with a phone call from Scott Smith, catering director for Chartwell's at CSU Stanislaus. He was interested in doing a creative collaboration with me and his extremely talented Executive Chef, Connie Bearden.  He asked me if I do food photography and I said absolutely!

We had a blast on this shoot! Chef Connie created their popular dishes and a few of her specialties for the shoot and we got to sample every dish, let me tell you, not only does her food look beautiful it tasted incredible too!!

I highly recommend Chartwell's for your dining and catering needs (small or large functions), they go above and beyond the call of duty for their clients.

Bon Appetit!

  Crab Salad with Avocado & Mango Vinaigrette    Mixed greens with Roasted Grapes, Almonds & Chevre  Cured Salmon with Creme Fraiche on Potato Blini with Capers  Tri-tip with Red Wine reduction & Chicken Marsala with Mashed Potatoes  (Left)Stuffed Chicken with Sun-dried tomatoes & Spinach & Goat Cheese with blood orange Beurre Blanc & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes(Right)Filet Mignon with Cabernet Reduction
 (Left) English Trifle with custard, berries & sponge cake(Right) Strawberry Shortcake
 Strawberry Shortcake   Popular wine offerings at Chartwell's: Louis M. Martini, Cabernet Sauvignon;         William Hill, Chardonnay; Apothic Red, Winemaker's Blend