Bleeding hearts

Today would have been my Momaw's birthday. She never forgot mine.  Or Chris's.  Or any of the kids.  She and Popaw always mailed a card (with money tucked inside), and it was a guarantee that it would arrive either before or on our actual birthday.  Her last week here on the earth, we were lucky enough to FaceTime with her in the hospital, and as sick as she was, she said, "Oh no, I haven't forgotten a lost tooth or a birthday, have I?"  Bless her sweet heart.  Always thinking of us.

She passed away on Valentine's Day of this year.  I find myself dreaming of her today, remembering her kind voice and her positive attitude.  I am thinking of her tiny flower garden, and the stories she would tell me about the plants in it.  Buttercups, red roses, and pink and red bleeding hearts spilling over the broken sidewalk.

I wish I could grow bleeding hearts here.  (And peonies.  And clematis.)  Unfortunately, it's a bit too hot and humid for these pretties to thrive down here, but they will remain in my memory as the most poetically beautiful flowers in the world.

I also remember her shenanigans.  Once she "baked" a sponge cake for someone (I can't remember who, just now) when I was just a girl.  She put this big round piece of sponge on a plate, and covered it in chocolate icing.  After we sang Happy Birthday, she handed the knife to the guest of honor, and urged him to cut the first slice.  We got the biggest laugh out of that sponge on a plate.  My mom was afraid to cut into Momaw's birthday cakes for years after that.

I don't remember if she ever tried this in my presence, but she used to giggle about putting a tiny inflated balloon down the center of an angel food cake, and then frosting over the whole thing to hide the balloon.  When the knife popped that balloon, there would be an awful mess to clean up... but goodness I can just see her slapping her knee now.

If Momaw were still alive today, I'd bring her over a sponge cake and a card, and we'd eat cake and drink 7-up, and I'd bottle up her pretty laugh to listen to on days when I miss her too much.  Like today.

The First-Ever Spring Mini-Session Event

Spring is HERE in Florida!  The skies are bright and sunny, Spring Breakers are lining the beaches, flowers are blooming everywhere, and temperatures are in the 70s again. Let's celebrate, shall we?

Spring Minis.  Saturday evening, May 4th.  For this event, I've selected a beautiful patch of sunlight amongst great, grand live oak trees with Spanish moss dripping from their branches... and it's just a few steps away from one of the Gulf's prettiest white sand beaches.  I can't imagine a more perfect Spring setting!  So whether you prefer the foliage or the coast (or a little bit of both!), we've got you covered.

Call me at 727.698.0344 or use the contact form in the sidebar, to reserve your 20-minute session and accompanying prints.  Exclusive Mini-Collections are available as well.

Hint: these would make amazing Mother's Day or Father's Day gifts!  Sessions will take place just prior to Mother's Day, and final prints will be back in time for Father's Day gift-giving.

Can't wait -- see you soon!

xo, Stacey

My Birthday Boy

Today is my love's birthday. (Well, yesterday, by the time you read this.)

That's us, circa July 2000.  It was our first wedding anniversary, and we'd gone back to the beach where we'd said our vows the year before.

Chris deserves a bit of attention today, because without him, I probably wouldn't be here at all. His quiet encouragement for the past 14 years, his dry sense of humor when things are chaotic, his sensible perspective despite all of The Crazy I bring... these traits are beautiful to me. I am so proud, and so glad, that this man is mine.

That baby girl isn't Charlotte... it's baby Lila.  ;)

I am the mushy one who can stretch out a compliment a mile long. / Chris quickly gets to the point about what he likes. But he is sweet and sincere, and his "All my love, Chris" card signature is every bit as beautiful to me as a poem.

I love to try new things. / My husband is as predictable as the hands on a clock.  He will deny it outright, but truly, his routine = solace.

I am creative and so messy. I love pens and notebooks and flowers and frames and images and anything lovely to inspire me while I work. / His most-used tools are spreadsheets and calculators, and he has nary a photograph on his desk.  (Especially shocking to me, considering my profession and the abundance of photographs we have in our home. But I digress.)

I am forgetful and flighty despite my very best intentions. / Chris is dependable, true to his word every time. If he says he'll be there at 7pm, he pretty much guarantees it.

A lot of times my introverted-ness comes out, and I tend to shy away from crowds, or at the very least hold back, smile and just people-watch until it's over. / Chris is most definitely Mr. Life of the Party.

We are opposite in so many ways, but the things we have in common far outweigh our differences.

Together, we helped God create the three most beautiful children on the planet.

We both enjoy a delicious steak.  He's even coming around to my way of grilling cooking them, I think. Maybe. Possibly?

Music is essential to our lives, every single day. We have so many songs that we connect to.

We love Dallas.  Not the city, the TV show.  (We used to watch old episodes of the original Dallas together, on the Soap Network years ago.  Rest in peace, Larry Hagman.)  I rarely watch anything on TV, but I have to admit that I look so forward to Monday nights, snuggled up next to Chris on the couch.

We can't imagine living any distance away from the beach.  We've both experienced snow, sleet, and "iiiice storms" enough to know what we like. That sweet, salty air in our lungs is necessary for us to breathe, now.

We try and trump each other by rattling off funny movie quotes at the most well-timed (or ill-timed) moments. Usually something from a corny slapstick movie.

A little Johnny Cash, some comfy chairs on the patio, a bottle for him and a glass for me, always make for the best date nights ever.

And he is never more attractive to me than when he's being a good daddy. Which is pretty much all the time.

We are yin and yang. Peanut butter and jelly. Oreos and milk. Tarzan and Jane.  :)

Happy 44th Birthday, my sweet southern boy.  I'm yours forever.

xo, Stacey Jo

Small reminders

My favorite style of portraiture is the sort that happens naturally. I have photographed this beautiful family twice before, and I love that they "get" why and how I do what I do.

We don't pose, really.  We hang out and I photograph them.  I ask them where they spend time and how they normally sit and what they like to do.  And they do that.  And I shoot it.  Simple.

I believe with all of my heart that it's not the big things in life that we will wish we could remember.  Rather, it's the littlest things that we try to recollect.  Nuances and expressions can so easily be forgotten, if we aren't careful.  As we get used to life with a newborn in the house, those first few days and weeks of their lives soon become a blur in our memory.

Daily routines and couch-snuggling and sippy-cup refilling and hugging your husband goodbye for work... while some may see these activities as mundane, I view them as beautiful.  I see the meaning, the significance, and the importance in those small things, and I purpose in my heart to always photograph reminders of them.

Just one...

Because I love it.  That is all.

Before we Spring forward... a Winter newborn session

I've been going back through hard drives to purge and organize for Spring.  I came across images of this beautiful new family that I recently photographed, but forgot to come here and share on the blog.  We held their Winter newborn session just before Christmas.  Some of my favorites were photographs taken by their gorgeous tree. My photography clients always seem to have such great style, and more importantly, such sweet love.  Take a peek...

 And of course, her nursery was styled so thoughtfully.

Loved this family to pieces.  Their session resulted in some of my favorite images from the Winter.  Happy Friday... and don't forget to set your clocks back this weekend!  Spring is almost here!  I'm looking so forward to it... how about you?

What "Charlotte's Favorites" Look Like

Oh my Charlotte.

Char Char.  Char-latte.  Punkin.  Our last baby.  Funny girl.  She's so petite, she hasn't yet broken the 20-pound mark even at 18 months of age.  She still has only her super fine baby hair, and while it's finally getting a little bit thicker, there still isn't very much of it.  Except... this one tiny curl in the back.  It's so much longer than the rest of her hair.  Parker had the same single lock when he was her age!  We called it his "duck tail" because it was just a little feather of a thing.

Her favorite things are...

• mirrors
• her pacifier!!
• soft textures
• bananas
• emptying and refilling any container, with anything at all
• raiding Lila's jewelry box and Parker's lego drawer
• her own bed at nap time and bed time (thank you, God)
• putting on her shoes and socks
• taking off her shoes and socks
• her "bubba" (brother) Parker
• hugging our lazy, geriatric cat
• pushing the cart at Target
• being held and swayed back and forth when she's a little sleepy
• the sound of Dadda coming through the door each evening
• standing straight up in her highchair and scaring me to death
• squeezing into small spaces
• my iPhone: hmm, let's see... Instagram (she takes and posts photos all by herself. I have to watch her!), Bad Piggies, and White Noise are her most favorite apps and she can find and open them (and use them!) easily, even if they're hidden in folders

She greatly dislikes...

• doctor visits
• being held when she wants to get down
• diaper changes
• the bathtub (we literally have 30-second baths. She stands up against the side of our tub, screaming and keeping her arms tightly wrapped around my neck as I wash and rinse her as fast as I possibly can.  I am so upset that she hates bath time!)
• squishy gel-filled toys
• when Parker and Lila eat her goldfish
• headbands and hairbows
• giving me back my iPhone

It is such a treat to watch Charlotte discover something new.  To see her fascinated and engrossed in something that is just so magical to her.  The tiny dancer inside Lila's jewelry box is hard to resist.

She loves anything tactile.  If it's soft, smooth, rough, or shaggy, you can bet that Charlotte will lay her cheek down on it and touch it for herself.  Carpet at grandma's house, fluffy pillows on Lila's bed, her soft blankets, a basket of clean laundry, the furry CAT.  (Bless him for tolerating her.  She lays on him hugs him just like this every single day.)

Even the new bath mat.  She just wants to check this new thing out and feel its texture on her cheek.

She delights in her babies.  Baby Ariel is her chosen favorite (although Ariel's enormous eyes creep Mama out a little).  She flips them over and fiddles with the tag on their back.  I finally figured out why she takes all of her dolls' clothes off.... she's looking for a tag!  She puts herself to sleep with a pacifier in her mouth and a papery or silky tag between her fingers.  Were your babies like this with tags on blankets and toys?  My sister was this way as a child, and I've heard of several friends' little ones who were drawn to tags as well.

Every morning, Charlotte lines them all up side by side, wedged between the back crib rail and the wall.  Poor things.  I wonder if it's her way of tidying up her bed and not losing track of her beloved babies in the process?

So that's my littlest love.  I could eat her up on a minute-by-minute basis.  I love how warm and soft her cheeks are when she wakes from a nap.  Perfectly kissable.  I love the way she calls out, "Mah-muhh?" 1,428,539 times a day.  I love the curl of her top lip.  Her big blue eyes and her tiny button nose.

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I hope you'll continue the circle of "What ____ Looks Like" by clicking through to my new friend Lindsey.  She is truly an artist with her camera, and she bends light and uses it in a beautiful, magical way.

Lindsey Bergstrom Boulder Lifestyle Photographer

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I'm also writing over at The Creative Mama today.  We discovered a treasure trove of old photographs while I was in Kentucky for Momaw's funeral. Keeping with the theme of this What ___ Looks Like Project, I have a photograph from 1953 that would be inspiring to anyone searching for the true feel and purpose of Lifestyle Photography.  I hope you'll check it out!

A beautiful family showcase on this gorgeous Friday.

Happy Friday!!  I just wanted to share a sweet client session as we finish up their print order.  They had such great style, and I loved their laid-back, fun, vibe.

Whew.  So I had more than a few favorites.  They were such a lovely family though, and it was hard for me to resist posting them all.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend, friends!

Love-Day Giveaway and Lindsay Letters

How about a sweet giveaway since Love Day is almost upon us? I mentioned a few weeks ago that my Lila leaves me sweet love notes all over the place.  Sticky notes on the tables, scribbled messages in my calendar.  And you can bet your glittered ballet flats that she will draw at least one picture of her and I together, every day in preschool.  One of the highlights of my day is picking her up and seeing the stack of artwork she's created for us.

So when I saw these note cards in Lindsay's shop, I immediately thought of my sweet little cupid at home.

Lila and I want to share them with YOU this Valentine's Day!

We're giving away a beautiful set of eight gold-foil pressed "You're Pretty" note cards from the beautiful, tempt-me-to-buy-everything-you-create Lindsay Letters shop.  I don't know a single woman, mother, grandmother, friend, daughter or sister who wouldn't smile upon receiving one of these notes.  It might even be a wonderful affirmation to frame or pin up in your bedroom or bathroom.  Wouldn't that make getting ready for work, or a night out -- or even a day of housework and errands! -- infinitely more fun?

To enter the giveaway, simply tell me what makes YOU pretty -- on the inside or outside.  Comment below and I'll announce the winner on Wednesday!

Good luck, my pretty friends.

xo,

Stacey

Beautiful

{ You're beautiful.  You are made for so much more than all of this.

You're beautiful.  You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His. }

Isn't it wonderful when you hear a song that you feel must be meant just for your heart?  I love when that happens.

I heard this song by MercyMe in the car yesterday.  I'd heard it before, but never really listened to it.  This time, it reminded me of the toughest months of my life, and then it made me smile at the thought of my bright future ahead (I'm claiming it now).  I thought of my girls.  Oh the drama that they will face at some point in their lives.  I want to sing it to my girls day and night, so that they know how loved and BEAUTIFUL they are, no matter what they are going through at school, which friends like or dislike them in a given week, or the mistakes they have made.  I want to hold Parker's face in my hands and tell him that he is sacred and treasured, no matter what grade he made in science class, and even when he misbehaves.  He is beautiful.

And of course, being the reader that I am, I went home and looked up this song.  I discovered that the songwriter had his own daughters in mind when he wrote it, even though its message applies to anyone of any age.

So maybe it's what you need to read today too.  You're welcome to print the image above if you need the reminder.  Just double-click above and save it to your desktop.  I hope you print it and hang it at eye level, say it out loud to yourself, and your children, every single day.

Because you ARE beautiful.

xo,

Stacey