For the last month, I’ve been debating how I’m going to decorate the front entrance to the new studio.  The side that we drive up to used to have 2 giant garage doors, and now it’s just a sea of siding.  It needs something. We can put some planters out, and a bench or two.  But it needs a centerpiece…something to really make a statement.  Like a…wagon wheel.  There, I said it.   I’m waiting for the townsfolk to come over and pin a badge on my shirt that says, “Buffalo welcomes you to the dark side”. Seriously, when did this designing ‘no-no’ become acceptable in my mind?   Some people out here like to keep a minimum of 8 junker cars on cinder blocks displayed in their front yard…will I think a junkyard is aesthetically pleasing down the road too?  I need help.  I’ve already ordered my Martha Stewart Living magazine….hopefully she’ll have some better ideas than my ‘country cute wagon wheel’ travesty.

Meet Bruce.  Bruce is the baby in the tummy.  Momma may name him something else…but to me, he’ll always be Bruce.

We spent about 42 seconds outside…sooo cold & windy.

Ella and I went to college together, so we had a lovely time catching up during our session…it was frightening how quickly we slipped back into our old banter (complete with creepy lisps and talk of Bruce-cakes).

When you’re pregnant, sometimes you grow hair in strange places (all the hormones)…but if you’re really lucky, you grow a handlebar mustache…

Tiny stripes on clothing can sometimes do crazy things to computer screens…love this shot, but the stripes are making my eye twitch

My favorite shot from the day…you’re gorgeous Ella

I grew up in Crystal…my best friend grew up in Robbinsdale…and we lived on the same block. We used to call each other on our parent’s cordless phones (they were a fabulous new invention back in the day), and start walking towards each others houses until the receiver went dead…the service usually cut out before I passed old Wally’s house. We kept ourselves pretty busy…We would spend hours choreographing entire dance routines to Janet Jackson’s ‘nasty boys‘ and Paula Abdul’s ‘cold hearted snake’.  In the summer we would bike up to Crystal pool every day and try to perfect ‘the lift’ a la’ Dirty Dancing (what? That’s not normal?). In the winter we would roller-skate in my parents unfinished basement. We each had an imaginary boyfriend that looked an awful lot like a support post in the middle of the basement floor. My boyfriend’s name was Randy…he was a very good dancer/listener/kisser…for a pole.

Mandy came out to my studio for maternity pictures (good news-she’s a baby planner…so you’ll get to see the resulting baby in a few weeks!). We got to chatting…turns out, we grew up only blocks away from each other in Crystal! We could have been the best of friends…as long as she didn’t move in on my Randy.

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Working with studio lights…now that I have room in my studio, I plan on using them a little more often!

Their dog Kenny.  He’s a model.

Sorry the fan attacked your hair…you still rocked it!

It was f-f-f-freezing that day, you guys were troopers!