Can’t Take Him Anywhere!
» Posted on February 1, 2012
I was snapping a few pictures of my dear friend Tamara and her family that just grew by one, when I saw something dart into my frame that didn’t belong. Well, I will say the same thing we say about our four year old when she exclaims loudly and in public that she needs to poop, “At least he’s pretty..”
Love you Mike!
More Talent in Her Little Pinky…
» Posted on January 24, 2012
I have one artistic skill alone, and that is seeing life through a lens. If it already exists, then I can photograph it. That’s all I can do. I have very little expertise in the area of decorating and designing and that is why I hired Kalie Graves. I needed help revamping our living space, which was slowly but surely becoming a source of irritation in my daily life, it was not an area I was proud of, and trying to make it that way only resulted in more frustration. Kalie came in and much to my relief, took over and transformed it into something I feel extremely proud of, a place where I now meet clients, do edits and lay around reading books. I LOVE this new space, I feel comfortable here, confident, and I LOVE Kalie for creating it for us. So I decided to continue the momentum and have her do the girls rooms too. Paige is a funny little lady, very specific in her tastes and ideas. She told Kalie she wanted a room that was red and turquoise. Red and turquoise? I would have quit the job right then and there, how do you make those colors go together? Actually that is the main reason her room has been so plain for so long, I had no idea how to make her room a space that she loved and didn’t leave me with an enormous headache every time i came in. Enter Kalie. I gave her a fairly low budget and wasn’t expecting much, maybe a few wall decorations and some curtains or lamps or something, but last night we came home to an absolutely stunning sight. I was literally speechless and Paige was jumping around shouting! After much digging, I discovered that most of the decor was either created or redone by her, including the artwork on the walls, the curtains, and the repainted chair (yes it is painted, even the fabric, it is awesome..) We love it, so I am going to share some pictures with you readers here today. I will follow up next week with Mia’s gorgeous room. And potentially an announcement about a workshop I am trying to talk her into putting on to teach all of us less visioned folks how to think bigger. Any of you readers interested in that?
First, a preview of what it did look like, please excuse the mess…
If you would like to contact Kalie yourself, here is her number, 1-801-633-2132, and ladies, I think she travels…
January
» Posted on January 23, 2012
Happy New Year (three weeks late)!! I realize that it has been quite some time since I posted any pictures of anything on here, and I have to apologize, it has been such a busy time and I kind of inadvertently took a break. But I’m back baby! And I am here to tell you that 2012 is a new year, and is going to be filled with lots of amazing new things, things like going back to St Lucia to photograph an epic wedding celebration, getting back into school to finish the yet unfinished degree, starting into film, and, perhaps the biggest new thing of all, shaving my arms. I am not sure how long this arm shaving trend is going to last but I finally gave in to peer pressure, (y0u know who you are, arm shaving peers that pressured me) and although I went in hesitantly and kind of hated the hairlessness at first, I gotta say that now I am hooked. Like my friend Erica says, it takes almost no time at all so why not just try it out. Smooth arm city is where its at in 2012.
In other new things in January news… have you seen the abc show Once Upon a Time? Its great, reminds me a little of Lost with the flashbacks, and although there is no Sawyer in it to spice it up, it is still kind of watchable even if it is about fairy tales.
Also, my friend Tessa turned me on to The 17 Day Diet which I did for 5 days before we left for vacation last week and I lost a bunch of weight, then promptly ate it all back on during our cruise. Needless to say I will be back on the wagon starting tomorrow. It is easy to follow and very very effective so let me know if you decide to check it out!
Finally, here are a handful of photos I took while on the Disney Cruise this last week. I only brought out my big camera a few times and got far fewer cool scenery pictures then I ordinarily would, but I made a decision to be more present for my kids this trip and it paid off big time in the way of hugs and kisses and “I love you, Mommy” over the course of the week. Not to mention, my little point and shoot camera is really pretty great for being so small and did a great job of capturing our together time to put into our family album. These photos were all taken with my 5d though.
Anyway, welcome, 2012! And best of luck to all of you who are embarking on something new this year!
The Gift
» Posted on November 11, 2011
One year ago tomorrow. That is when we witnessed Brett marry his sweet Laura on a Coronado Beach as the sun sank down into the ocean, when we raised our glasses to living, cherishing each and every day we have together, when we celebrated their love for each other. One year since she became his wife, our sister. They were married for six beautiful weeks before he passed on, just six, and while there is no way I would ever try to articulate what she meant to Brett, I would like to take a moment to express what she means to me. Because truly, if Brett had to leave us so early, there doesn’t exist a more exquisitely perfect gift he could have given us then Laura.
Laura is a remarkable person. I have observed her putting other peoples feelings far before her own, I have seen her feel deeply, worrying that she may have caused another pain or sadness. I have seen her give up personal comforts to help a friend in need. She is stronger then anyone I have met. She suffers deeply, and despite the suffering, she is still managing to create a life of meaning. She tries hard, she is encouraging, she makes others around her want to try harder. She has a unique ability to make you feel like you are worth something.
Last year was hard, sad, dark. But not as dark as it should have been, we had Laura. On most nights, when we would have been moping, feeling down, Laura smiled, told us we were going to learn all the moves to a Soulja Boy song on dance central, or do a Jillian Michaels workout video, or make raviolis by hand. Despite her pain, she has a twinkle in her eye, she makes things fun. She is loyal, she is confident, she is lovely, she is strong. I am so proud to have her as my sister, as my friend. So happy anniversary, Brett and Laura, we love you, thank you thank you for all that you are to us and to everyone around you!
(sometimes Laura comes with me and drags around my gear for me, and poses when I need to test the light while the family is in wardrobe change!)
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Carrie Butler
"I love what I do, I love weddings, I love dancing and I love cake. Check out my blog for recent work. You can also see some of my articles at Photography Course.
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