things I'm loving :)

Another month has gone by in this busy little life of ours! Tomorrow officially marks the start of our wedding month . . . in 26 days, Joe and I will say "Hell, yes, we do!" in front of our closest family and friends, celebrate with amazing food, wine and music, and be so thankful it's over when we lay our heads down to sleep . . . I'm learning to balance more and more, and summer is always the tricky time of year to achieve this. The girls go to daycare three days a week so I have uninterrupted work time, but those days are also filled with errands, housework, and a leisurely long lunch al fresco with Joe or a girlfriend or two. I am everything to everyone, and while it is so easy to sit at the computer and get lost in photography world, I'm rediscovering my love for a few certain things I thought I'd share with you on this lovely Tuesday morning . . . 1. Shopping! I am not a big spender on myself because I always talk myself out of things I love and want. But two new recent websites have my love for all things beautiful sparked again. Vestique and Ruche. Vestique is a little boutique based in North Carolina that sells gorgeous clothes that are exactly my style, beautiful jewelry, and everything is under $100 - and most things are under $50. Ruche is very similar to Anthropologie without the mongo bongo price tag. It doesn't get much better than that! 2. Food blogging. My food blog is up and active again! I have missed writing, sharing recipes, and blogging in a way that doesn't have any sort of impact whatsoever on my business. It's my pleasure blog, but I promise it's filled with yummy recipes that you MUST try. 3. Reading. Oh, how I have missed reading. It seems since I've had the girls, my only reading has been a few select parenting books, and when I am traveling alone for shoots. I was even ballsy enough to bust out Fifty Shades of Grey, paperback edition, on a flight from New York last month, much to the horror of my kindle-owning friends. :) Here is a shortlist of my favorite recent reads: The Happiness Project is my most recent start, which I picked up over a year ago and never finished. I was craving something inspiring and have recently been reminded of how much I love reading in the bathtub and in bed every night, and the way the author writes will honestly make you want to re-invent your life, make a list of all the ways you want to live, and fly out of bed every morning with determination to make it the best day of your life. It even makes Monday not so bad. :) So simply put, get out there and do things that make you nothing but happy, for nobody but yourself. A happy mother and a happy wife make nothing but a happy home. Cheers!