I’m sure many of you know the joys of living with little boys! Legos, green army men, cars and blocks are definitely part of our lives around here. By far, the most favorite of Grant’s toys are his Superhero costumes. He absolutely LOVES dressing up and creating little adventures and to be honest, I love it too. I love watching and listening to him when he’s wearing his Thor, Superman and Captain America get-ups. But when he puts on his Batman costume it makes my day. I just swoon over the little six-pack. I find myself giggling at him because it’s too big and when he runs, it’s a slight dilemma because the crotch is down to his knees. LOL!!

Do any of you all have little ones that are dead-set on wearing their costumes out on the town? I have finally broke down and let him because I pick my battles with this strong-willed child of mine. So one day, we were heading to Target to get our weekly grocery shopping done, when he came out sporting Batman. It was so funny and incredibly cute because he was stopped by so many people in the store that played along. One man told him “Thank you for watching over the citizens and putting the bad guys away” in which Grant just turned to him and gave him a thumbs up. The woman in the bakery called him over and gave him a couple cookies and a Batman ring. We got quite a few “Alright Batman” and I can’t even begin to tell you how many smiles and laughs that came our way. I even overheard one girl and her mother in the aisle we were previously in telling her daughter that “no that wasn’t Minnie Mouse, it’s Batman!”

I decided to bring my camera with What _____ Looks Like in mind. I figured I needed to document this special time in his life because I have no doubt he’s going to grow out of this stage. So with that said, I present to you What being a Superhero Looks Like.” We started off the day as Batman (who apparently has wonderful oral hygiene) and ended it as Captain America which is pretty much the norm for my little guy.

When you come to the end, please don’t forget to continue the circle with the lovely and crazy talented Lindsey Bergstrom | Boulder Family Lifestyle Photographer. I love the way even her everyday images look like fine art.

So my very good friend Shannon Harrison started a fun thread inside the forum about goals and things to do before the end of 2013. A sort of visual goal board if you will. I of course did my own and I wanted to share it with you all as well. I think visually seeing it and the beautiful photos will push me to go for them rather than just reading them. I totally encourage you all to do the same, get it printed and place it in an area that you will see it like 50 times a day.

1. Bake more or go home
2. (image Jamie Lackey) Plan more special dates with Gracie. She is getting older and although we have our moments where I want to bang my head against a wall because of her, I want her to know how special she is too me and how proud I am of her. I want to create moments that she’ll look back on in 20 years and remember them like they happened yesterday.
3. Check off going to Australia (or at least book the tickets)
4. Purge and clean up my fonts folder. Is there a show out there called font hoarders?
5. Really take to heart all of those inspiring quotes and sayings that I’ve pinned from Pinterest.
6. Make something this cool for Gracie’s 12th birthday. Plus it would look super cute in her room after the big day!
7. Stop being scared of Adobe Illustrator and start using it. Were you like me when you first got PS and totally overwhelmed by it? We buckled down and made ourselves learn it so I can do it with AI and make fun stuff and share here!
8. This one is a tough one. We have set a timeframe for us…we either move to Portland by the Summer of 2013 or we stay in the area we live now and move into a bigger house where mama finally gets an office of her own. Either way, I can’t wait to decorate.
9. Get those instagram photos printed and get those puppies up on my walls!
10. West Coast Bloom Meet-up! Enough said!
11. Get my DYI on.
12. Take a stab at learning calligraphy. And not the old kind but something that is more modern. Now if I do this and team up with #7, I could have some fun!
13. Perhaps a new addition to the family? I just thought how funny it would have been if I had a newborn photo there…you all would freak! I would freak. LOL!!

We decided to make a super quick trip to one of our most favorite little towns, Fredericksburg, TX. We’ve been several times before and it seems each time we go, we discover and stumble upon new things. This time we were lucky enough to snag a cabin out in the hills stocked full of free roaming cattle and deer galore! This series isn’t so much about photographing my kiddos (although I did snap a few), it was more about documenting the easy-go-lucky surroundings that we were a part of.

So here is What Fredericksburg Looks Like:

So there you have it, the first installment of What ______ Looks Like for 2013. Please continue the circle and head to Stephanie Moore | Tucson Family Photographer. Make sure you keep going because we have some amazing new ladies in the group this year.

All week, we’ve been talking about The Bloom Forum’s 12 Days of Christmas like it’s the cat’s pajamas and let me just say “MEOW”. Many of you were forum members last year and so this celebration of our members is nothing new to you! For those of you that joined as new members to us in 2012, let me get you up to speed!

Bloom’s 12 Days of Christmas was designed as a forum member appreciation celebration that you guessed it, lasts 12 long, merry days! Each day, a gift is available to little ol’ you to download just for being a fabulous member of our photography forum. This year, our sincerely awesome vendors got together and designed and created some pretty spectacular gifts just for us Bloomies! Many of these treats are exclusives and are unavailable anywhere else! We cannot thank our awesome vendor participants enough for helping us express our gratitude for the sense of support and community that our members as a whole create.

To grab your goodies, make sure to check the forum everyday until Christmas Eve at approximately 8am PST beginning TODAY! I know you’re a little antsy to find out exactly who is putting a little somethin’ “under the tree” this year…drum roll please…

Hats are off to our vendors for creating such a super gratitude package for our members to enjoy over the holiday season! You guys are the best in the business!

EW Couture // Birdesign // Child’s Play Actions // From the Treetop Actions // Brenda Acuncius Actions // Nichole Van’s Flourish // LCH Design // Hazy Skies Designs // Patti Brown’s Kaleidescope // Lilyblue Actions & Presets // Totally Rad Actions // Miss Modern // My 4 Hens // Define School

What are you waiting for??? Head here to download Day 1′s gorgeous gift from Patti Brown of Kaleidoscope!
Not a member yet? START HERE! We’d love to see you!

A little late but wanted to share her sporting her super cute Halloween costume!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Turkey Day in which you get to spend time with family and friends! Those are the best holidays EVER!

xoxo,
Bren

From our home to yours…..have a wonderful Halloween!
xoxo,
Bren

I’m not sure if any of you know but I’m a bag hoarder! Just to paint you a picture, after I found out I was pregnant with Grant, the second thing I thought of after we were so happy to have another one to make our family a family of 4, I thought about all the cool diaper bags I could get and tote around. NO JOKE….I’m an admitted bag junkie. So when I looked for a bag to carry my camera and my gear in, I didn’t want just any bag…I wanted something stylish and functional and most importantly last a very very long time. I did the whole Crumpler thing and some other camera bags that were gear toward ladies which lasted all but 2 seconds (poorly made). I ran across Ketti Phillips when I was stalking visiting Tara Whitney’s Blog. She mentioned and raved about Ketti Bags and so of course I headed to her site and instantly fell head over heels in love with her camera bags. Fast forward 3 years later, and 3 Ketti bags later, I’m still madly in love with them. I will never carry anything other than one of her creations. They are so functional and so well made that I have not had one single issue with any of them. Then throw in the cool patterns that she picks out for them and they fact that they hold so much gear…well need I say more?

We teamed up with Ketti a few months back to create a Bloom Bag with her and we have just a few left that we are releasing for sale. If you all know about Ketti, you know that her bags sell out just about as fast as she releases they are in stock. So quantities are limited and now is your chance to pick one up and be the talk of the town!

The Suzani Print in a modern yet neutral color palette. It’s paired with a cream and taupe tweed and a beautiful plum lining.

It features one inside zippered pocket, 2 changeable dividers, an adjustable cross body strap, a metal zipper closure, antique brass o-rings and brass feet. The bag is fully padded with a durable, rigid bottom.

16″W x 11″H x 5″D
9″ strap drop
Removable cross body strap to 46″

Perfect for toting around your camera and a few of your favorite lenses. Adjust the pads and you can also slip in your beloved iPad.

Just click here to purchase and before you know it, you’ll have one of the most desired camera bags around. Just promise us you won’t kiss the UPS person when they deliver it. .

xoxo,
Bren

PS: Images courtesy of Jen Foster from Z’s The Day Photography.

I’m not sure if any of my readers are still with me….I have neglected my blog in a bad way and I’m sorry for that. But if for the graces of God I still have a few readers left, I wanted to share this great opportunity for you and for an amazing woman and her son.

Over at Bloom we are hosting a Joy For Jules Donation Drive. I won’t get into all the sad details as you can just head to THIS POST and read all about it. But in short if you make a minimum donation of just $20.00 you will instantly get a downloadable link with photography products totally over $300.00. PLUS if you donate by Monday, October 29th, you get your name entered into a drawing for a BIG MAC DADDY grand prize package totaling over $1600.00! How cool is that? So just head to the blog and learn what the Joy for Jules Donation Drive is all about.

Thanks all!
Bren

Which reminds me…I don’t think I shared any of the shots I took from Face2Face. We had some AMAZING models…so I’ll definitely have to share next week.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Bren