Elsa Joy

Welcome to the world our sweet girl!!!! 

You were due March 23rd, mama had a C-section scheduled for March 18th + you made a very unexpected (yet so welcomed) appearance on February 22nd, 2014.  You were 4 weeks + 1 day early. To say I was surprised when my water broke early that Saturday morning would be putting it mildly.  On paper, we were not ready for you, but in our hearts we couldn't have been more excited to meet you.  As the medical team rushed about to get you out via an emergency C-section your father leaned over to ask me if I could feel all the joy in the room.  I could.  And so my beautiful Elsa, that is how you got your middle name, by bringing immeasurable joy to us that cold, winter, February morning.

We love you so much + look forward to everyday spent with you. 

Oh Darling, Let's Be Adventurers

We happened to catch a perfect fall day yesterday.  The sun was shining brightly, the trees were still holding on to bits of color + the temperatures were tolerable enough to frolic in outside.  After taking a drive through the country + fueling up on some Intelligentsia coffee it was inevitable that my camera would find its way to my hands.  We went for a hike in a great southern Wisconsin park where I immediately starting taking pictures.  We unintentionally matched the scenery + also unintentionally matched each other. I wait all year for this season to return + 2013 did not disappoint me. 

When the bleak of winter starts to wear on me I will have to find these pictures + revel in them to remind myself that color will once again reign as king.  The forest was full of vivid shades of yellow-orange leaves, back lit with endless sunshine glowing through the trees upon which they were resting. It was breathtaking. 

Eugene had so much fun playing in the crunchy leaves + then attempting to eat them when we weren't looking.  I am quite certain he would have stayed all day if we would have let him.  

I hope you have gotten the chance to be out in nature to enjoy this lovely season.  I am going to try to hold on to autumn as long as I can.  The holidays will be upon us shortly, we will find ourselves ringing in the new year + before long there will be another baby joining this little family. There is so much to be grateful for!

Heat Wave In Wisco

 

Hello from Wisconsin, where it is so hot I can't even breathe if I step outside.  Who's with me in wishing for autumn?  Summer really takes a lot out of me physically so anytime the temperatures want to dip back into the 80's or 70's that would be great! I would even take 60's, gladly.  Anyway, I took some photos of the babe a few days ago & thought I would share them with you. Little Eugene is 7.5 months old already.  What a little gent. Hope today is a good one!
 

Xoxo,

Heather





 

A Eugene Photoshoot

 

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!  I wasn't feeling the best prior to the weekend, but forced myself out of the house on Saturday with Josh, Eugene & Cali in tow.  Our intent was to get a cheap lawnmower from a coworker who was selling 3 of them at his rummage sale.  En route to rummaging we got sidetracked by an estate sale.  We entered in a giddy manner & left a bit disappointed as it turned out to be more of a junk sale than anything.  As we were trying to find the "lawnmower sale" we passed under a rusty train bridge juxtaposed from an old salt factory.  I instantly felt inspired by all the architecture, the blue & brown paint splotches & the rusty exposed frames of the bridge.  All I could think about was going back to this street for a photoshoot while Josh was laughing & telling me to look at the huge lawnmower sale.  I looked & all that sat before us was a very empty driveway/garage/yard with not a sign, lawnmower or person for miles.  We doubled checked the address & the quiet looking lot for any sign of a sale.  How strange.  Well, we never did find a lawnmower, however we did have a successful photoshoot.  I hope you enjoy it!  I am off to find a grass-eating animal to help with our 2 foot tall grass issue. 

 

Xoxo,

Heather

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Nature

I love to be outside & especially when I have my camera in hand.  I was overly inspired the other brisk day here in Kansas so I grabbed Cali, my pup, my Canon with the larger lens, my stocking cap & some winter-like cheer.  I walked slowly & aimlessly, aimless only in the sense of oncoming cars & people, as I was captivated by just about everything.  It was one of those magical photo shoots- as they are not all this way!  My heart pounded as my fingers started to freeze.  I was in a race against the falling temperatures & the setting sun.  My dog was getting irritated at her very short leash, necessary so I could hold the camera (sort of) steady, long enough to get the shot. 

I was getting the feeling my neighbors thought I needed to be carefully observed with such a long lens- I did look a tad suspicious aiming the lens at stranger's windows.  This didn't stop me. . .it rarely does.  I remember one winter back in Milwaukee when I had stopped in my truck to snap a shot of a glorious, picturesque, winterized street & the owner of a house nearby followed me to my own house in his car where he sat, parking me in & waiting for me to emerge.  I was a little freaked so I stalled my exit- feeling less vulnerable on the inside my Land Rover.  Finally, I stepped out as the snow fell.  He proceeded to ask me what I was doing.  Me, I thought?  How about what are you doing, sir?  I live here, I informed the bloke.  He said he saw me taking pictures of his house & wondered if I was casing the joint. HA! Me?!  Casing him? I assured him I was not- that I was a photographer, simply taking pictures of 'his' street that was so beautifully blessed by nature. 

I returned home with a bushel full of photographs & a quieted spirit.  These are the results of that day:

A Heart Full of Art

If you have been wondering what I have been up to lately, other than consuming mass quantities of turkey & all the fixings, I have been trying to promote my artistic gifting by embarking on many creative endeavours.  My husband, Josh, & I have been upcycling (re-purposing) furniture that we've been finding on our town's inhabitant's curbs.  Josh does the more 'manly' parts of the process- sanding, fixing & rebuilding.  I get to do the more artistic side of things- chose paint colors, paint, find decorative nobs/pulls/handles & plan out all the design elements.  We are quite the match!  This has been a favorite pastime of ours- up next, we attempt to make a side table made out of an old tree stump.  Josh suggested we name this 'business' of ours, so on a drive home from Kansas City we brainstormed & came up with name, Last Evening Lark.  What do you think?  I love it! 


I have been so inspired lately & have been trying to channel that energy into something marketable (or at the very least helpful/inspiring).  So, when my sister-in-law, Marta, asked me to do a photo shoot of her adorable, growing family, I knew this was a chance to be creative & get my artistic hands dirty, once again.  We loaded up their van with the family, a camera & much cheer.  We went to an adorable tree farm as a backdrop for the shoot.  One small problem, it had finally gotten cold in Kansas & we were freezing!  That didn't stop us; on we went & at one point sweet little Adelaide wanted to take off her coat & run through rows of tiny, future Christmas trees.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to snap away, trying to get the ideal photograph.  She is so photogenic & beautiful, it wasn't too hard for me to succeed!  Here are a few of the results from that magical, frigid day.

Last Evening Lark (my new stage name) photo shoot, with my dear husband's family!



Photographs by: Last Evening Lark



Photographs by: Last Evening Lark

I have also been finding all sorts of fun online.  A cute shop I found out in CA, with an online catalog, is this whimsical shoppe, Henry Road.  It is a good one to make a Christmas wish list from!  You might know of this already but you can subscribe to magazines online for free! Check out the addicting site, Issuu.  You can view magazines such as this amazing copy of Anthology which happens to feature a favorite Swedish textile designer, mother & artist of mine, Lotta Jansdotter!!!  <---- Be sure to check her out...she is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.  In the online mag, she visits the lovely city of Stockholm & of course, shares neat finds along the way.  Here is an example of the gorgeous online magazine. 

From online Anthology Magazine issue #5
Photograph by: Giao Trac