ashley & dave were such a TEAM in planning their wedding – I remember the majority of calls/emails at the beginning came from dave which is atypical in most cases since i generally talk with brides.  it showed me that this day would be a reflection of them both.  several weeks before the wedding, i send a worksheet out to brides that helps me get all my ducks in a row (it asks questions about various parts of the day, schedule, wedding party, etc) and there’s a section at the end for notes…ashley’s were hilarious.  i won’t divulge them to all the blog readers but she had me in stitches with general advice on what her preferences where photo-wise…and i love knowing your priorities. 

it was sweet to read how much she loved her parents and that she definitely wanted lots of photos of them :)    

their gorgeous day began in the same church that ashley’s parents were married in and ended on the fantastic resort-like lawn of family friends.  frankly, they were the perfect bride and groom – they spent the whole night chatting and hugging all their guests, set aside a good chunk of time for photos of them alone timed so we had great light (thank you!), and seemed to have the best time because they were surrounded by the people they adored most.   

this photo of ashley as a bride is easily in my top 3 favorite photos of this year…she is incredibly beautiful so to match that in a photograph isn’t easy!  she’d just gotten ready & we were in a choir practice room with robes hanging most everywhere and she stepped over to a spot by the door…simple but it’s a nice reminder that you don’t have to create moments on your wedding day because they are full of them already.   dave and ashley – can’t wait to see you this afternoon!  -m-

so i can make pajama pants from this french cloud fabric at reprodepot :)  -m-

i love cities – but i prefer to really get to know them by exploring neighborhoods.  guess it makes the adventure seem more fun and less like i’m skimming the surface of a great place.  in the last post i mentioned our trip to chicago so in case you’ll be headed there soon too, here are a few favorite spots:

we stayed at the palmer house hilton – it’s undergoing reno’s so request a recently renovated room…comfy beds/linens, great bathroom, cool design.  we had *wonderful* service while we were there – there’s a corner bakery just outside for breakfast, ‘El’ platform super close-by for getting to lincoln park (one of my favorite neighborhoods in the world)…very close to millineum park, art institute of chicago, etc.  and it looks very well, how do i put this…stuffy from the photos on-line but i promise it was low-key.  we got our reservation via priceline.com for a great nightly rate. 
17 east monroe

minnies – oh to lunch at minnies once a week!  i especially appreciate the stroller valet! 1969 north halsted

sweet mandy b’s: now, typically, I’m not a scone girl…they’ve always seem like dry muffins BUT here, they are wonder-full!  1208 west webster ave

paper source – stepping through these doors, was like dying and going to melanie-land.  i’ve shopped here for YEARS via their catalog but to see everything in person made me weak in the knees.  and jason, who is *not* a shopper (actually, neither am i unless i’m on vacation), exhibited the ultimate devotion by not even asking how long i’d be inside.  girls, it’s good to time these things on your birthday!!  919 west armitage

art effect - so many great things…but i breezed in and out with just a couple books

1154 lill – posted about here but really loved the actual boutique. 904 west armitage

okay, so ALL of these are in lincoln park (minus the hotel) – we also went to the zoo (which was great) – so plan to spend a whole day there!   to the left is ‘art appreciation with audrey’ at the art institute.  seriously, such a simple quick trip but we made incredible memories and had the BEST time there.  thank you, chicago!  -m-

thought i’d share my favorite thoughts from a little book i picked up whilst in chicago (windy city that i love) when jason & audrey brought me there several weeks ago for a quick birthday trip:

- get your car professionally cleaned
- when you put your children to bed, don’t ask them how their day was.  instead, ask them what the best part of their day was.
- send flowers to a good friend for no special reason.
- pour yourself some tea, coffee, hot chocolate, wine (melanie insert: lemonade!!!) – whatever you like – and enjoy what you’re about to read
- think of ways to celebrate christmas, passover, birthdays, kwanzaa that leave you and your family feeling renewed.
- buy a pretty, small notebook; over the course of the year, make a note of the times your significant other does something to remind you of why you got together in the first place.  by the end of the year the notebook will make the perfect valentines day gift.
- put your television in a closet for a month
-buy more than one of the things you always need.
- it’s easier to handle hot cupcake/muffin tins if you leave one of the corners empty (melanie insert: how simple and useful – the only thing that can abate my sadness over one less cupcake would be that the others get extra icing!)

simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! i say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand. -henry david thoreau

i love dan & susannah (parents of the darling girl to the left)!  they are favorite clients…and part of why i have a mantra of ‘mix business with pleasure as often as possible’ because they’re literally my shamans in all things movie & food related.  for this session, susannah had noticed a particular spot during a drive – picture abandoned warehouses, piles of tires, railroad tracks and well – HEAT :)  i loved it!!  it’s sweet to look through the camera and see a loving family that you adore.  i could ramble on about the adventures from the past two years (and actually i did and then deleted them – it was getting so long!) but suffice it to say, these are such incredibly loving and generous people and i’m so so better for my time spent with them.  -m-