Stuck in the mud....but not literally....

So the last week (12 days to be exact) have been very... blah.  Between doctors appointments and "resting"...."make sure to get plenty of rest" is what the doctors said...I have felt so stuck, a little empty, and for the most part...just blah.  I don't think blah is defined in the dictionary as an adjective, but for me....blah is an adjective.  Yes I love to climb in bed, snuggle with my dog, and watch tv...but that can only be fun or "relaxing" for so long.  After several days of sweatpants, reruns of Real Housewives of New Jersey, flat hair, and no make-up....I decided to plug in the curlers, open the make-up drawer, and put on my favorite black leather boots (yes I know it's not Fall yet but whatever) and got out of the house.  I decided that in order to get out of this funk, I needed a little retail therapy.  On Saturday, my mom and I ventured out into shopping land in order to get me out of the house and in hopes of feeling better.  Cute hair, cute shoes, iced green tea from Starbucks in hand.......and yet I did not buy a single piece of clothing.  Not one.  For me that is pretty bad....  Instead I resorted to a few pieces of chunky jewelry and some new eye shadow.  I have a handful of eye shadows and I still only wear maybe 3 of those....  And jewelry, ya I could open my very own store.  I know it will take some time to get "back to normal" but I am running out of patience.  I hate feeling bored, stuck, and blah.  In the past 2 days I have been thinking of ways to get rid of the blah and have come up with everything from baking and decorating christmas cookies to painting my dining room lime green.  I have not done either one....but serioulsy....this funk needs to go far far away...like now.  I always try to stay as positive as I can, but there's this thing called Life....and no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just feel blah.  GO AWAY BLAH!  GO AWAY.... 

And PS:  Thank you SO much Mr. and Mrs. Klein for sending me flowers!  That honestly put pep in my step Saturday morning and led to me getting dressed and leaving my house for a bit.  THANK YOU so much for the gorgeous floral arrangement!  That was VERY sweet of you both! :)  And to the Kleiners...THANK YOU so much for the sweet note and the gift cards!  After a long day in the Doctor's office, that REALLY put a huge smile on my face.  Thank you so much!  :)

Hope you are having a non-blah day! :)

Home Sweet Home ♥

Hi there!  It's been a while since my last post, and not by choice.  Last week I was not feeling well, then Thursday everything went into a downward spiral and I ended up in the emergency room.  I won't go into too much detail...but I basically got very sick and ended up having a blood transfusion.  Saying the words blood transfusion still doesn't seem real to me.  The transfusion took 7 hours and I had to spend a few days in the hospital.  I never slept longer than 2 hours at a time and am now covered in bruises thanks to all the needles, but I'm not complaining.  My husband was absolutely AH-MAZING!  I already knew he was pretty amazing, but he was AH-MAZING.  He stayed by my side the entire time, changed the channel on the television a million times for me, held my IV bag every time I had to go to the bathroom, slept in the bed right next to mine, woke up every time I did and kept me company even though he was a zombie and was exhausted, and he made me laugh...a lot.  Even though I was so sick and in so much pain, my husband still made me laugh.  When it came time to order food my husband decided to read the menu to me....and as he opened the menu he yelled the words "HEEEEY OOOOHHHHH!"...which always makes me laugh.  The menu was like 3 pages long and full of goodies, so we were both pretty excited.  Then my husband said "HELL YEAH!  THEY HAVE STIR FRY!"....again....I laughed out loud.  My husband loves Stir Fry....we never really make it at home so I guess that's why he gets so excited when they have it on the menu.  Who knows.  We cracked jokes about the nurses (Tamara was the best nurse ever), laughed at how squeaky his bed was, joked about how cold the room was and how it was probably haunted (it was 55 degrees the first night), and I giggled when I woke up in the middle of the night and he looked like a mummy....wrapped in a white blanket in the fetal position with his hoodie on.  He cracks me up....

My parents were also AH-MAZING!  My mom brought me all the things that make me feel better....a brush, my Marc Jacobs perfume, chocolate chip cookies, Victoria Secret comfy sweatpants, as well as several other items including underwear.  For those of you who have been in the hospital, they give you mesh underwear....when the nurse handed them to me I seriously thought it was a sweat band that you wear on your head.  Oh no....mesh underwear.  My dad brought me several get well cards to display in my room including one that was a coloring book.  I like to color.... :)  But it wasn't about the cookies, or the cards, or fixing my pillow a million times....it was their company.  Their presence made me feel so much better.  I am SO THANKFUL to have such an AH-MAZING family and AH-MAZING friends.  I love them very much and am very lucky. :)

Sorry that was so long, and maybe a little bit "TMI"...too much information....but this blog, although mainly about photography is also a little journal for me.  I don't like to get too personal, but this kind of event is something that really affected me.....  I'm still not 100% and there are still some challenges waiting for me in the next few weeks, but with the support of my family and friends I know I will be okay.  :)

Have a fabulous day!  AND live life to the fullest... :)

Baby Lila ♥

Happy Monday everyone!  How was your weekend?  I know the beginning of the week is not too exciting....so I just wanted to share some baby fever from my newborn session yesterday.  Babies make everything better!  At least I think so... :)  Have a fabulous week!

Stay Tuned for Danny and Keoanna's engagement session!

Erin & Aaron- Sneak Peek

Last weekend I got to spend a lovely weekend with some lovely friends of mine.  I first met Aaron and Erin last year, and they were kind of on a blind date.  They had met each other on a christian dating website.  Aaron was living in Kentucky and Erin in Missouri.  One weekend they decided to meet half way in St. Louis and this is when I came into the picture.  My husband and I were engaged and my husband had asked Aaron to be a groomsman in our wedding.  I had never met Aaron before and since he was going to be in town, we all decided to go to dinner.  "Oh by the way, Aaron is bringing a date...."  A DATE????  Ooooohhhh who is she?  "I don't know....they met online and are meeting for the first time this weekend"  WHAT???  Men are not great with details, at all.  I kept pumping DH for information and of course he knew nothing.  Boys!  So we were going to dinner with a couple who had never met, and I was meeting both of them for the first time.  Normally this kind of situation could be very awkward....but it so wasn't.  We met for dinner at PF Changs and talked for hours.  They were SOOOOO cute!  After dinner we all walked to the parking garage and said our goodbyes.  I'm a hugger, so I gave each of them a hug.  As we were walking away I turned around a bit to watch them (because I'm nosey like that) and both Aaron and Erin reached for each others hands and held hands back to their car.  At that exact moment I said to DH, "Ooooooooohh, they are going to get married!  Yup!..."  And look at them now, happily married.  I SO called it! ;)  It was a GORGEOUS wedding and I am so glad to call Aaron and Erin friends of mine.  They both have a heart of gold and I'm so happy they found each other.  True love at it's finest. 

Here is a little "Sneak Peek" of their special day!  Enjoy!

Their First Look...before the ceremony... :)

1940's Hollywood right there!!!  UHHHHH!  LOVE IT! :)

Have a fabulous day! :)

I'd also like to give a shout out to my girl Megan!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Megan! :)

St. Louis Bridal Portrait/Wedding Photographer - Erin

I just want to start off by congratulating Erin and Aaron!!!  They were married this past weekend in Amarillo Texas and it was a FABULOUS day!  I'm so happy for you both and thank you SOOOOO much for letting me be a part of your special day. :)  Now that they are married, I get to share Erin's Bridal Session!  We shot her Bridal Session back in June, so I have been holding on to these little beauties for a bit.  It's like having a chocolate cake in the fridge and not being able to eat it....hehe... :)  Here are a few from Erin's Bridal Session.  Enjoy!

I LOVE this chandelier...want one in every room...hehe... :)

Lafayette Park....also love...

Workin the sexy face....yup... ;)

Just chillaxin....check out her adorable shoes!  Their wedding colors/color was orange....awesome!

Erin's mom made her bouquet for her session.  Mom has some mad skills! :)

"Meet me at the Muuuuunyyyyyy"...Love the Muny

GOOOOOGEOUS!

Aaron you are one lucky guy....but of course you already knew that..... ;)

Very 1940's Old Hollywood....love..... :)

And finally we found some lovely fields.....

And Erin broke out her cowboy boots!  Amarillo Texas represent! ;)

"YEEEEEEEE HAAAAAW!".....  :)

Thank you SO much Erin!  You are such a ROCKSTAR!

You two enjoy your honeymoon in the Riviera Maya!  Long naps and fruity drinks in paradise... :)

Texas Bound!

Today DH and I are headed to Amarillo Texas to shoot Erin and Aaron's wedding!  I'm SOOOO excited!  It seems like yesterday that we all met (dinner at PF Chang's), they got engaged, I shot their engagement session and now their wedding is here!  WOOT WOOT!  I'm also excited because I love road trips....feet in the dashboard, stereo blasting, waving at strangers, stopping on the side of the road to take a pic next to the welcome to Texas sign....love it.  Last weekend I found this little gem and will be singing all the way to Amarillo.  DH is SO excited....... ;) 

If you don't have this soundtrack already you NEED to get it!  Go get....right now.... :)

Have a fabulous day! :)

Keoanna & Danny- Sneak Peek

This past Sunday I met with Keoanna and Danny for their Engagement Session.  The heat and humidity have been ridiculous, but we actually got pretty lucky because the humidity wasn't that bad.  We strolled around Tower Grove Park for a bit (love this park) and I really enjoyed their company.  They were fun, easy going, and Danny made me laugh so hard I had a difficult time holding my camera still.....I like that.  Today Danny resumed his deployment and returned to Afghanistan, so I wanted to post a little sneak peek.  As a military brat, I know how hard it is to have a loved one deployed.  Hang in there you little love birds!  Thoughts and prayers going out to Danny and his family.  Please stay safe and come home soon! :)

I heart Crepe Myrtles....so pretty....

So happy in love.... :)

This is one of my FAVS...so cute....LOVE me some Weeping Willows and sun flare...yup...

Hehe...AH-dorable.... :)

Have a fabulous day!