Yum just about sums it up for this graduation! Wednesday night my sister, Marissa, finished her in school courses. Now all that’s left is her externship which she is going to do here. Um, can we go and eat there now please? I am so happy for Marissa because she is so happy and finally after years of boring HR work for numerous financial institutions she is getting out from behind that desk and into a kitchen. I mean she will start off at the bottom but still it beats a 9-5 job any day when you get to create something & go off to work knowing you are doing something that you love. It really doesn’t seem like work then does it? I should know:) I cannot wait until I can move into photography full time-doing something that I love. I am patiently waiting for that day to come.
First we got to sample the sangria- which was fantastic and a bonus because we didn’t know there was going to be alcohol there:)
Then we got to sample all the different appetizers and desserts that the students made. How delish do these look- that is such Rachel Ray phrase! Ha. And see those brownies on the bottom left, well we got to take some home. However Chris ate them ALL. Didn’t even leave 1 for me! He is such a thief but I still love him:)
This is what my sister made- crab salad with avocado and heirloom tomatoes. So good I had to have 2.
All the chef hats waiting to be put on.
Ta-da. Now you are official and the go-to chef in the family.
Kiss the cook or er chef!
My mom was able to make the trip up which was a surprise for my sister! We didn’t think she could make it since she had a doctor appointment and treatment that day. Good news though! She found out this same day the chemo is working! All of our prayers are being answered. Thanks for all your thoughts and concerns- she is doing really well and now with this news even better. It was a long 3 months to wait and see if all of this chemo was going to help but it is and the doctors are very pleased with her progress. She was so glad to come and see Marissa on her special day:) We were all crying at one point.
My dad took this one of us.
I kinda wish Marissa was also in focus here but I was shooting wide open at 1.4 so the focus was on Mike and I love his expression. He can be grill master but not head chef:) Sorry Mike.
Congratulations again Marissa! May all your culinary dreams come true. Best of luck and when can we come for some food?
This past weekend Chris and I had the fun time of being guests at the wedding of his friend from college, Jared. Just when we thought we didn’t have any more weddings to attend for a while, we now have 2 this year! The 2nd one I am shooting in October- my first ever wedding that I am going to document for the Bride and Groom!! I am super excited yet nervous for that so taking photos at this wedding was good practice for me. I have always loved taking photos at our friends weddings- such good times.
It was so much fun catching up with friends, eating, signing Journey at the top of our lungs (because honestly who doesn’t love Journey? And singing it really loud after a couple drinks?) and eating some more. I have never been to a wedding that had more food than this one- yum. Cheryl was telling me last month how the first wedding that her and Jared went to as a couple was Chris and mine:) So not quite 4 years later here are are celebrating with them. First off I was not the wedding photographer, just a guest who as the night worn on her photos got a bit out of focus with the more wine I drank:) But I did capture a lot of good photos! So here they are- oh and I also left my flash at the hotel so all of these were shot without flash using my 50mm. A good test for me and my new camera! And I have to say the low lighting was not a problem with the 5DMii. Hardly any noise at ISO 3200- amazing. Love it.
The ceremony and reception were held at The Merion in south NJ. I didn’t get an aisle seat at the ceremony, which I usually like to do, so I didn’t get many good shots in there. But this is part of the lobby and was taken right after the ceremony.
The Flower Girl was so cute in her matching dress.
So much food- even a raw bar. Chris was in heaven!
There was this amazing domed sky-lighted ceiling- I’m sure their professional photos are beautiful.
The college crew- I couldn’t decide which photo I liked more. Check out Jude’s photography website here. He is the 2nd from right. We were discussing all things photography all night long.
Don’t stop believing…….Haha. It was a blast! Thanks Cheryl & Jared. Hope you are relaxing the days away on your honeymoon.
First of all I have to say how much I LOVE, Love, Love my 5D Mii! The picture quality, resolution and clarity are amazing- such a step up from my old camera. I am so glad I traded in and upgraded. This camera will just enhance my artistic ability and creativity. I can shoot in much lower lighting conditions without a flash and not get much noise or graininess. Yay I am so excited. My first session with my new camera was this past Saturday in a beautiful park. We got some amazing shots:)
You may remember Cameron from his 6 month session here. He has grown so much! And I didn’t think it was possible but he has even thicker hair than last time- I am still so jealous. It was such a gorgeous day outside and the lighting was perfect. Just filtering through the trees in an amazing way. I took wayyyy to many photos and now I cannot decide which ones to post here much less which ones to put into the gallery. I loved seeing Cameron again and it’s always fun to watch all my clients grown over the months:) Enjoy the photos S & M. He is too cute!
He was just hanging out modeling for us:) We had to sneak him some snacks in between.
He was very interested in my camera(all the babies are!) and kept crawling right towards me! Made for some great photos.
This is one of my favorites from the day.
I really like this one too with the back lighting and mom and dad looking at each other, with Cameron just day dreaming away:)
My other 2 favorites are next:) Sarah you need to order an large print of one of these!
Look at that face! Don’t you just want to pinch his cheeks?
S & M- lots more to come in your gallery- stay tuned. It was such a pleasure photographing your family hope to see you again soon.
Last weekend my sister, her bridesmaids, my mom and I all went out for lunch in Jersey City then onto picking out the bridesmaid dress. We actually ALL agreed on the same dress- pretty amazing for 6 girls + bride + mother of the bride to all agree. We even had to change up the color scheme a bit but it will all look so beautiful on their big day. Can’t wait to celebrate!
First stop Hamilton Inn for some fabulous food and a few bloody marys thrown in the mix. I really love this restaurant- casual with great food and they have outdoor seating as well. Great for football watching too.
There were so many dresses at this store! Why are so many bridesmaid dresses ugly- I mean really not pretty at all. Who wants to wear a peach organza gown with a cheap looking flower on your waist? Not me!
My sister took the photos of us trying on all the different ones we picked off the racks. We chose the navy v-neck dress with side ruching. It’s so gorgeous and is very flattering on everyone. Plus you can wear a regular bra- yay no strapless bras!
Pam took this one of my mom, Marissa and myself. My mom looks really amazing after 9 rounds of chemo. She is not going to like that I posted this but I’m so glad we have this photo:)
Stay tuned for Marissa and Mike’s engagement photos which I am shooting this September in NYC. I am so excited for that session! It will be so fun- plus I secretly want to have dinner at Ulysses afterwords:) Hint hint!
We choose the navy v-neck one with the side ruching- it looks really gorgeous on everyone and is very flattering.
Well it only took me 3 years, 10 months and 11 days to take my wedding china out of the boxes and actually put it all away. That’s what I did this past Sunday. What took so long you ask? Well living in the apartment in Hoboken had it’s limits storage wise- I mean we had winter hats and gloves in our kitchen cabinets! So no room for a nice hutch or china cabinet. Now that we are in our house and I have been gifted a lovely hutch from my Great Aunt I can put all those wedding gifts and lots of other things I had stored in my parents basement away in our own home. I can also actually use them now too-ha! The thought of using them makes we want to have a dinner party. Also we want to host Thanksgiving at our house this year! Then I can really use all of the china:) Although I don’t have any matching serving platters or bowls for our wedding china I do have some from another set of china I had gotten from my Great Aunt as well. I actually have 3 sets of china but none of them have all the pieces to them or some have chips, etc. What 32 year old has 3 sets of china? I really love dishes and kitchen stuff:)
Here are the boxes at my parents house- 4 sets are missing because I took those home a couple weeks ago.
Here it is in the hutch with our toasting flutes from the wedding- which I just realized are the same pattern as the china.
The pattern is Opal Innocense by Lenox in white. I originally wanted something with more color but didn’t really like any of the options at the time so I figure I can add color to these with other accents and of course food!
A few photos from the Christening last weekend. The ceremony was held at Saint Michael’s Church. This church has the most beautiful stained glass windows all around. The priest made everything so personal for their family which was such a nice touch.
There was barely a peep out of Ava in the church. Look how cute she looks in her dress and headband.
The luncheon was at Mike and his partners new restaurant, Satis, in downtown Jersey City. I can’t even tell you how much I loved everything- the decor, the food the atmosphere. It is totally my style and I can’t wait to eat here all the time because I have a feeling with Chris now working around the corner we will:) Here is just a sampling. Don’t worry because once the restaurant is finished I am taking photos for their website soooo stay tuned for more pics up on the blog. I can’t wait to share all the amazing details with you.
The food was so yummy!
Little Miss S- running up and down the stairs- having a great time!
Congratulations Kimberly and Mike on your daughters Christening and the new restaurant. I can’t wait to eat here with you again soon!
I don’t like spiders and boy do we have a lot of them in our new house. I mean A LOT. I have Chris killing them all the time- ha! I don’ t think he likes to kill them- sometimes he will bring them outside & set them free(where I’m almost sure they find their way in again). The other night we spotted this huge web on our front porch and the GIANT spider that made it. It was so big- I think the biggest one I have seen here yet. So the next morning the sunlight was shining into the porch just right to capture these images:
I have no idea where the spider was nor do I want to know. They really creep me out but it’s so amazing how they can make their webs! It reminds me of the animated movie Charlotte’s Web: ) I loved that movie as a kid.
August 1, 2010 Posted in Infant
We’re off today to the Christening of this little one. How precious:) Remember her newborn photos here?
July 30, 2010 Posted in Food
It’s back! Summer!!!! Thank you Mother Nature for the blue sky and low humidity and 80ish degree weather because I was getting sick of 100+ degrees and not being able to breathe outside! It’s too much for too long and I got sick from being inside too much- no fun. Tonight we are going to grill outside, eat Jersey tomatoes and sleep with the windows open because that is what summer is about. Yum:)
Tomato salad: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, fresh basil and tomatoes- red onion optional ~ Enjoy.
As most of you know we moved into a house in the beginning of this year. Well we have a lot of flowers and things growing around the yard. We have this flowering vine growing in one of our front flower beds and we have no idea what it is. I wasn’t even sure it was going to get any flowers but this past week it started to. They are a real beautiful orange color. Does anyone know what these are?
It was starting to take over our porch railing so I had to do some trimming this past Sunday. Then Chris was mad that I cut it back!
I also love these long purple flowers because they attract the most beautiful butterflies. Of course when I had my camera outside there were none to be seen. Hopefully next summer we won’t have a water ban so we can actually water these flowers and not watch them die in the heat.
Also just a reminder that I am already booking into fall and GULP holiday season! Yikes! Better start my Christmas shopping- and yes I usually have started it and/or at least gathered ideas before now. I guess it really is Christmas in July:) Please contact me for available dates as I have a limited number of weekend dates available for the remainder of the year.
by Meridith
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