Missy's pictures

As promised, here are some of Missy's pics! :) She is just such a cutie! Thanks for hanging out with me!

Busy, busy, busy

Well, it was a busy weekend in the world of Toute Ma Vie Photography. First, on Saturday, we shot the South Warren Fire Hall Honorary Chief Beauty Pageant. It was amazing to see the girls from this area so confidently representing themselves and their community. I was moved . . . definitely. What a great group. Congrats to all the winners!

Today, I went out with a very sweet girl to take some senior pics. We headed to Sherando Park and Old Town Winchester. Stay tuned for some great pics -- she is just such a cutie! So, now it is off to the editing board . . . anyone else do anything fun this weekend? :)

Inspiration

Who inspires you?

and who do you inspire?

My list of inspiration is pretty long . . .
just a few - my parents, my husband, my friends, the people I work with, my students, and lots of photographers: David Jay, Scarlett Williams, Me Ra Koh, Matt and Sarah Antonino, Gary Fong, Shelby Martin, Neal Jacob, Joy and Garrett Nudd (edit - had to add one more -- Robin Pesa from Bellissima) and so many others.

New York City!!!!!

So, Sunday through Tuesday, I took a group of my students to New York City to experience "Les Miserables" and the cultural experiences of a big city. We had such a good time. Here is the trip, in pictures . . .

First, in our town, the local paper will publish pictures of people who take it on vacation with them. So we took "The Daily" to NYC . . . (I'm in the WC hat)

Views from the top of the Empire State Building . . .


Self-portrait . . . he he he. I love mirrors.

The kiddos at the top of th ESB.

I always love the "up" pictures. I have a ton of these from travels in Europe. It makes me feel really short though (yeah, I know that I am).

I am not sure what church this is, but there were tons of beautiful churches in every part of town that we visited. Just walking along, and there would be this beautiful building amidst the sky scrapers. It was awesome.

Okay, this is the funniest sign in all of NYC. Seriously, can you feel the sarcastic tone? I just laughed and laughed.

I wish we had gone here . . . too bad I don't have that much money.

Lots of Times Square pics . . . I love how busy it is - and how bright it is at night. It just embodies the busy-ness of NYC. We spent a good amount of time here -- plus seeing a comedy show at the HA! comedy club. If you are ever there, and want to see a good show -- go there. Seriously, my stomach hurt from laughing so much. It is on the north side of Times Square, just keeping walking on Broadway uptown -- it's on a road to the right (I think right near the Hershey store).






Finally, a few pics of the World Trade Center site . . . as everyone says, the sheer size of it is amazing. I just cannot believe that there are people in the world that think something like crashing a plane into a building is a good idea. I will never understand hate.
Hope you enjoyed the trip! I know that I did. :)

Winners of the Spa Package

Well, we had a great time meeting you all at the Washington Bridal Showcase yesterday! To come will be pics of the booth. But until then, I know you are all dying to know if you won our Spa Day giveaway. We gave away a spa package for a manicure, pedicure, and massage!

So, here is our big winner --

Allison Robbins

If this you, get in touch with us! :) Don't worry, we will be emailing also.

Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday. Hope you got a lot done! :)

Bridal Show

Hey everyone!

We are all ready to go for tomorrow. I am pretty nervous about it, but I can't wait to meet some of you there. It is the first show for Toute Ma Vie, so we are pumped and anxious to go.

So, if you want, come out and see us at the Washington Bridal Showcase.

Patriot Center at GMU, 11-5. Everyone cool is going to be there (like us)!

No seriously, come out. We are auctioning off a day at the SPA!

Awesome!

Hey all!

Guess what? I was chosen to be featured on Awesome Photographs! This is a site that is run by some really great photographers, and they basically choose whether they think your photo is awesome or not.

Anyway, it was a fun session, and I feel really honored to have been chosen! :) Please check it out!

Maternity Session

Neal Jacob and I got together this weekend and did a maternity shoot for a young lady named Carina. I just went along with Neal to help out . . .

We shot in the Babies 'R Us that she worked at. It actually worked out okay -- even with warehouse lighting!

Here are a few shots . . .

Christmas with the Halsey family

First, a bit about the story . . . every year, my mom's family has a large Christmas party. Other than weddings, it is pretty much the only time all year that we get to see each other. Anyway, being in Virginia, Michael and I don't get to go anymore (we have to teach through the week right before Christmas and normally this is on the weekend in the teens). Anyway, this year, I found a really cheap flight and flew home to surprise everyone -- even my mom. My dad picked me up at the airport (my parents are divorced) and dropped me off at the mom's. It was so much fun . . . I walked through the front door and said, "is there room at this party for one more?" My mom was sooooo excited. Plus, my 93 year-old Grandma was there, and I felt like it was really important to see her. It felt so good to be there, and a fun surprise on top of that.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the day -- just random stuff.

My mom, my uncles and my grandma . . .


I have the cutest cousins . . .

Winter Wonderland

These are shots from our time in Colorado over Christmas. There was no playing with Photoshop done to any of these. I love them! :)