what a month!  i’m writing from the Paris in Las Vegas and it’s been such an amazing week…i knew i’d see things i liked at the tradeshow and i did!  i’ve got a new album (*perfect* for children/family sessions) and a great new image box on order so those will be in the product offerings soon.  plus, there were great new people to meet (especially James & Jenny @ Visio in Marion, NC) and favorite people to visit with again like  Shannon & Steve Ho from Norman, OK.  las vegas is fun to visit but visually, after almost a month away from home, i’m wanting to see some of those gorgeous rolling hills and fences!  so excited for all the great sessions lined up in april!  can’t wait!!!  -melanie-

p.s. aren’t these invitations by ceci great?  loads of personality for that fabulous day!

got home from our family vacation in san juan yesterday and leave tomorrow (boy, am i starting to miss ky!) for a photographer’s conference in las vegas.  but since fun wedding stuff is never far from my mind, here are a couple links for you :)!! 

i love the effect special lighting has in reception photos! 
bulk paper lanterns
hanging candleholders

p.s. the photo to the left is audrey and i *almost* at el morro (a fort with a great view!) – we stopped to sit and watch the crowds of children on field trips flying kites on the big lawn just ahead. -m-

wow – nyc has blown me away with it’s wonderful-ness.  new yorkers are g-r-e-a-t!  dan, susannah (of dragonfly children’s clothing) and sofia (audrey’s 22 month old buddy) have been perfect tour guides *and* lined up the absolute yummiest meals (i could go on and on about these!). 

i have been naive, friends.  very naive.  i truly thought london was the coolest city in the world but i’m smitten with this place!  dare i say london’s cupcakes could *never* compare to the ones at magnolias (and yes, we also went to billy’s but magnolia’s won hands down…seriously, no question…regardless of what the folks at martha stewart say.  wait in line at least once for one of those little pieces of heaven!))

please please share your favorite nyc stuff (so excited to be headed back in september for catherine’s wedding!)! signing off from the hotel, -melanie-

the time to be happy is now.  the place to be happy is here.  the way to be happy is to make others so. -robert ingersoll

I read this quote and had to share something that has made me super-happy lately!  I posted a while ago about Claudia Engle (cengle@insightbb.com) and I’ve been pining for one of her beauties for a long long while!  So, finally, I commissioned her to make a custom monogram and here it is…now, I’m not typically one to get worked up over things but LOVELY things & YUMMY things are exempt ;)  I cannot stop gushing…so, may I please share with you my new too-cute monogram?

i have tons of adventures in store for march…this month is chock-full of fun stuff!  sooooo, email/voicemail will be checked once a week but blogging will slow while i’m gone.

a day away acts as a spring tonic.  -maya angelou

don’t you agree?  I find I always come back BURSTING with energy and new ideas after travel…most of this travel is photography related but I am slipping in a bit of r&r with warm sand, too. 

life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. -grandma moses

so on that note, I’m determined that life will be full of the things i love most!  thanks for being patient while i take some time away to explore new cities, do some sessions away from home, test out new gear and look for too-cute albums at a photography convention! 

to find out what one is fitted to do and secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. -john dewey

i’ll be back April 4th! brides, take a look at your calendars for engagement sessions – april/may will be perfect!  -m-

i love to live – henry david thoreau