Yes, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared a wedding or engagement session, so I thought I better change that TODAY!!  We shot Melissa & Tim’s engagement session this past fall at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. Melissa grew up near here and spent time here riding her horses and knew the area well. We had never shot there before so of course we were excited to see how pretty it was!  We spent a few hours before sunset walking the paths, taking photos, and talking about good TV shows. Don’t they look like J. Crew models? I think so!

We’re looking forward to their Memorial Day weekend at the James J. Hill Library in St. Paul, one of our favorite wedding venues!

Last month, my sister and brother-in-law and their three handsome boys came down and stayed with us for a weekend. They drove from Bismarck, ND to attend a Vikings game and we had such a great time going out to eat, hanging out and playing Xbox, drinking lots of wine, and just generally having a good time. We’ve been trying to get some updated family photos for them for awhile now, and on this trip the stars aligned and we had all of the family members (minus their two dogs) and carved out a half an hour from our jam-packed weekend to do these photos.  We were lucky to get some snow that weekend so everything was pretty!

And I even did some custom designed Holiday Cards for them, I thought they turned out super cute! Here is the front:

And the back:

It’s amazing what you can do with 20 minutes, a camera, a fun wintery setting, and five very photogenic people!  I am working on ordering a custom wall collage for them, I’ll share pics when it arrives!

Whenever I go home to Spring Green, WI I try to do a couple of photo sessions while I’m there.  My friend Christi and I were trying to set up a family session for awhile, but either our schedules didn’t match or weather was bad. Well, a few weeks ago when I went home for my class reunion the stars aligned and our schedules matched AND we had wonderful warm weather. The last time I photographed their family, Austin was only two and was a little camera shy, and it was a cold and windy day.  But wow, what a difference a couple years makes! He hammed it up for the camera and had me wishing I could take him home with me! Within the first few minutes of photographing him I knew I had a good variety of great photos, so for the rest of the session I could “play” and get some different looks. Here are some of my favorites:

Thank you Christi, John & Austin for inviting me to photograph your family! Can’t wait to do it again!

I am SO excited to share this engagement/family session with you!  For many reasons, actually. First, because Kyle, the groom, is my first cousin. Second, because their daughter, little miss Nora Megan Thering, is about as adorable as they come. Third, because we took these photos at some fun locations around in Baraboo, WI (think, Circus World Museum). And finally, because Aron, the bride, is also a photographer and planning an uber creative Off-Beat New Years Eve wedding (at which we get to do a photobooth, yay!). So you can see the combination of those reasons has me excited beyond belief for their wedding–which also happens to be on our second wedding anniversary

So, anybody who grew up in South-central Wisconsin went to Circus World Museum at least once or twice as a kid. I remember going there for school field trips and a few times with my family. What I remember most was a big scary mechanical gorilla in a cage that you could go into and get your photo taken with. Traumatic if you ask me. Since Kyle & Aron are getting married in Baraboo at the Ringling Theater, we thought starting the session at Circus World would be appropriate. 

I could not dig up any photos of me with the gorilla (maybe because I was too scared to actually do it, who knows). But I did dig up these beauties. I’m on the left and my sister is on the right. Why my poor sister got stuck in the big man cut out I don’t know, I just remember being happy that I got the pretty girl with the snake! The photos below are circa 1987 or 1988ish (I think).

And look! They still have the cut outs! We didn’t find the lady with the snake but look at the photo in the top right, they have a modern version of the big man! We also found a bunch of others and couldn’t resist putting Nora in them for photo-ops.

Then, we proceeded to do a bunch of family photos because Nora was in such a wonderful mood and her dress couldn’t have been any cuter. See?

But since this was an engagement session, we were sure to do some of Kyle & Aron alone, too…

Then we quickly switched gears because we were loosing light and wanted to head over to Devil’s Lake for some photos as well. That is where we met this handsome fella, their “other child” Weston. Freshly groomed and sporting a coordinating collar, he was ready for photos!

We tried to get a bunch of full family shots like this:

But we ended up with a lot of these:

Nevertheless, we carried on and we were on a time crunch! The sun was fading fast and we still needed to climb the hill they hiked on their first date to take some sunset photos. So we quickly took some photos of Nora and mom:

And Nora & dad:

And Kyle & Aron alone before handing Nora and Weston off to the babysitters so we could make the hike.

It took us awhile and it was a steep, sweaty hike to the top (as evidenced by Gene’o, below), but we made it just in time to catch a few colors in the sky before the light completely faded!

And since we had our lights out already, we played around and got a few dramatic night shots as well.

At the end, we were tired and sweaty but it was worth it! We climbed back down the hill (or small mountain if you ask me!), found Nora & Weston, and had our group photos taken. The end of a successful session!

If you can’t already tell, we are greatly looking forward to the Meudt-Thering wedding!!

I am going to take a little break from my regular posts to share something that makes me really happy, vintage dishware! I bought my first set of vintage dishes at Goodwill on Fairview & University about four years ago. When I saw them, I didn’t know why but I just had to have them so in the cart they went, and shortly after they went up on the wall in my old dining room. Those same four plates now hang above the window in my kitchen in our new house and I still love them to this day. 

For the past four months I have been hitting up thrift stores (mostly with my friend Brooke but sometimes on my own, too) on a very regular basis on the hunt for cool and unique mid-century items for our new house. And now that I have the space, my love for vintage dishes has blossomed into a pretty nice collection if I do say so myself. At first, I just bought things that I thought were pretty and looked mid-century in style. Now, I’ve started researching the various designs so I know more about the manufacturers and what they’re worth. And while none of the items in my collection will make me rich, they are all worth far more than I paid for them. 

My basic rules for buying dishes are as follows:
1) I have to love the design & colors

2) They must be a really good price (i.e. $1 or less for a plate is a good price)

3) They must be in good vintage condition without chips, etc.

4) I am ok buying only one of a pattern or an odd number because I can always add items as I find them.

So, with that, here are the pieces/styles that have fit all of my criteria. **please note, I am NOT a product photographer, I am a people photographer, so these photos are just for fun and are not perfect Thanks for understanding!

First up, my original set of four dinner plates. These are made by International Ironstone in Salem, England. They are the “Whimsy” pattern. I have only had these four plates until last week, when three small bowls joined my collection!

Next, we have Taylor-Smith-Taylor’s Versatile TST 117 pattern. I first discovered a coffee pot/teapot in this style while at a Goodwill in Rochester. It was in mint condition and I was immediately in love (the pink and turquoise combo got me). Then, I hit up Savers right down the street and found SIX matching teacups with saucers in great shape!!  I was so excited to buy these babies. Now, last week when I was at Savers in Bloomington, I found eight dinner plates, three small bowls, and a gorgeous serving platter in this pattern! I was SO excited. Finding these items one by one at different stores is such a high!

Next, I have another set of Taylor-Smith-Taylor plates in “Modern Star”. I love anything and everything starburst and so does Gene’o (these are his favorite). So far I have five of these dinner plates but I’m sure I’ll find more pieces to add to this line.

This pattern is the Taylor-Smith-Taylor Fortune design. I found my first set of dessert plates in this pattern at Goodwill a few months ago and fell in love with the color combo.  I added to my collection last week when I stumbled across three small bowls with this same pattern.

Here is another Taylor-Smith-Taylor design, this one is called Windmere.  I bought these from the Mall of St. Paul Antique Store earlier this summer before I got smart and realized that I could find these at thrift stores for a much better price, so I broke my rule number 2 above (but in fairness, I didn’t have that rule yet!). In general, I never buy things from Antique stores anymore. Way too expensive for this thrifty girl! (Plus I like the thrill of the hunt).

I also have a set of bone china made by Johnson Brothers in England. The pattern is a blue wheat “Snow White”.  This has a different feel to it than the TST plates. It is more delicate and very pretty. I have a TON of this (probably 12 or more dinner plates, salad plates, and dessert plates). I was lucky to find this entire set at Goodwill and you won’t even believe what a deal I got.

I bought this little baby at Arc’s Value village in St. Paul last week. The shape and colors drew me to it and I was pretty certain it was mid-century, but the brand was not marked so I wasn’t sure.  When I got home, I researched it and it is in fact mid-century, from the early 1960s, made by, you guessed it, Taylor-Smith-Taylor. No wonder I gravitated towards it. At .50 it was a steal and I’m very happy it’s mine!

I picked up this “lonely only” dinner plate in the North Star pattern. From what I’ve gathered, this is a fairly common pattern so I will be looking for more items to join him!

I must have not been feeling well because I almost passed on buying these four vintage teacups in mint condition! I haven’t found the pattern name or maker yet, but they could be TST, I’m not sure. I love the pattern and the shape of the handles!

I also have a full set of dishes in the Blue Heaven pattern by Royal China. I love this classic mid-century design. I initially found four salad plates in this pattern a few weeks ago, but then I scored a full set of dinner plates, tea cups & saucers, and some small bowls yesterday during Valu Village’s Columbus Day Sale. I got a major deal on these!

As for glasses, I have been collecting these blue goblets. I don’t know anything about them but I just liked them. I have 12 of them now in mint condition. They look so good with all of the plate sets and will look wonderful when I set my Thanksgiving table this year. (and yes, that Is a tail of a cat in the background, my fluffy black cat named Renzie to be exact).

I also picked up these fun coral and gold starburst juice cups/cocktail glasses at Goodwill in Hastings. The paint was a little worn but they were still cute and the price was right!

And here is probably the best for last. This entire Mid-Centruy starburst pattern coffee/teapot collection complete with pot, sugar dish, creamer, two cups and two saucers/plates in an amoeba shape. LOVE these!! I scored this entire set at Arc’s Value Village in Richfield.  They are made in Japan by Arita. I have not found out much about them but I think these could actually be worth something!

So there you have it. My vintage dishware collection that I could stare at for hours. I love the fact that all of my sets are interchangeable and will add a lot of interest and character to my dining room table during dinner parties. And, while I LOVE all of these patterns, I have a list of others that I am keeping my eye out for. Someday, I will share my mid-century hutch that I store and display all of these in! Also stay tuned for an update on more of my thrifting adventures and photos of my other vintage love: Pyrex!

How about you? What is your favorite thing to hunt for when you’re thrifting? What is the best treasure you’ve found? What places around the cities (or greater MN) do you like to hit up? Please, do tell!!

Earlier this week, my uncle and godfather Joseph passed away after a long battle with cancer.  I was honored last year when my Aunt Susan asked me to take some photos of them at their home in Plain, WI.  I am so glad our family will always have these photos!

I will be out of the office for the rest of the week to attend his funeral and will return calls and emails when I return. Thank you for thinking of my family during this difficult time!

Happy Fall, everyone! I am so happy as this is my absolute favorite time of year! I love the crisp, cool mornings followed by warm afternoons. I am not a fan of heat and I’ve finally realized that being in the sun isn’t kind to your skin so I am always glad when summer is over and I can wear my favorite sweats, jeans, and boots again!

We haven’t been updating the progress on our house like we intended, but that’s because we have been SO busy actually working on things that we haven’t sat down and documented things like we should. We have a list of projects a mile long and being the impatient person that I am it’s hard to step back and take on one project at a time. But on a positive note, our new windows are going in on Monday and I’ve been out thrifting every chance I can get (more on that later) out looking for fun and unique mid-century items for out new house!

So, now on to the photos! It’s been awhile since I shared our work on the blog so when I went through my list of posts I’ve been working on, I knew right away this one had to go up today! We photographed this engagement session last year at this time and tomorrow is their wedding day! We met up with them in downtown Minneapolis for some fun urban type shots. We thought it would be a fun contrast from their wedding photos since they are getting married at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  Seriously, how cute are these two?

We even had a fun prop to incorporate into this shoot! This fabulous sign was made by William Dohman of Oh Dier. They make signs and other unique treasures out of reclaimed wood, I basically want one of everything in their shop!

At the end of the session we went down near the Stone Arch Bridge to catch a few fall colors (they were just starting!) and to get a few photos at sunset. These are some of my faves!

We couldn’t be more excited for tomorrow! We love fall weddings and tomorrow’s forecast sounds perfect

Kristin’s hair and makeup were done by the fabulous Brett Dorrian of Brett Dorrian Artistry!

At the end of June my friends Cassie & Towle welcomed their second baby, a little girl named Katie, into the family. Of course, I love her name and I was honored when they asked me to come do a lifestyle photo session in their backyard. I love when my clients incorporate their day-to-day lives into the photos!  We picked a gorgeous day at the end of July to do the photos. We took all of the photos in the back yard, even the ones of Katie on the blanket.

We started by getting some photos of baby Katie. She slept away while I photographed her, and even gave me a few smiles   She seemed to enjoy sleeping in the shade outside a lot, who can blame her? It’s one of my favorite things to do, too!

Now this handsome fella was on my old blog a few different times. I photographed him when he was two weeks old and again when he was one. He’s not a baby anymore, now he’s TWO and he loves riding his bike, playing t-ball, and eating raw basil right out of the garden. No joke!

Romeo is the world’s best behaved dog! Love him!And lots of fun family photos just hanging out in the backyard.

Of course, playing outside often results in an owie or two. Luckily, this one was a mild one and a kiss from mama made it all better.

Thanks again, Cassie, Towle, Lucas & Katie! As always, it was a pleasure to photograph you guys!

This is what my living room has looked like for a few weeks! A sea of boxes with no furniture

We’ve had a great first three weeks in our new home, despite finding out about a few more unforeseen issues and BOTH of our central air units breaking this week (yes, the week that it’s been in the 90’s every day!). But in general, it’s been great and we’ve been going full steam ahead with unpacking, organizing, and getting estimates for our various big projects. We even purchased a few fun furniture items which we’ll share with you soon! My cats are in heaven because they think these big empty rooms are all for them. They have never had so much space!

Oh, and see that 18 pane custom built curved window? That’s the reason we bought the house. And it’s going to cost some major coin to restore it due to lack of maintenance from the previous owners. But it is going to be STUNNING when it’s done! Can’t wait to blog about that process.

Not only have we been settling into the house, we’ve also had several fun shoots and a wedding that we will be sharing with you all soon! Hope you all are staying cool!

Well, we’re all moved in (almost—we have one more load of stuff and then it’s done!) so now the fun job of unpacking. Thankfully, my parents came up for a few days to help us start he unpacking process so we have some sense of normal daily life. We still have a long ways to go but we’re taking one day at a time We plan to start blogging about our various house projects after the 4th of July. So far, we’ve just done the not-so-fun things like get a new furnace and water heater and have our ducts cleaned. Necessary, but not really blog worthy!

Now, on to the subject of this post! We met up with Becka & Bryan earlier this month for their engagement photos. They are getting married in November because they aren’t fans of the heat, which is perfect because honestly, neither are we! We started their session at Como Park because they live just minutes away and spend a lot of time there. Coincidentally, so do I (at least I did before we moved). So it was fun to spend a Sunday evening here doing photos.

Then  we headed to another of their favorite places, downtown St. Paul. They did a quick outfit change between locations and I must say, Becka & Bryan both have great style!

And lastly, we went to O’Gara’s for a few quick photos before the sun went down. This was where they shared their first kiss so we definitely wanted to get a few photos there.

Love these faces, especially Becka & Bryan’s! GB & I need a little help.

And this one is perfect!

Thanks again, B&B! We had a blast hanging out with you and can’t wait for your November wedding!