We were supposed to be on vacation last week.  I set the time aside, decided on a variety of day trips, pull all my work on hold and waited with anticipation about spending an entire week doing fun things with my kids.  And then it rained.  Almost all week.  It was Friday before we saw any sun and we were so disappointed.  No beach, no train rides, no biking, nada.

But there was still the weekend and our plan to go to the Plainville Fire Company’s 26th Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. All I can say is, it did not disappoint.  There is nothing quite like being in a field surrounded by massive balloons inflating.   It makes you realize how small you really are.

I think they give rides if you book early, but you won’t see my feet leaving the ground, thankyouverymuch.   For a girl that avoids the second floor at the mall, the thought of flying over parts of CT in nothing more than a wicker basket, makes me want to bungee myself to my office chair.  But kudos to those of you that possess that type of bravery.

We were at both the sunrise launch and the evening launch and as much as I enjoyed having fewer crowds at sunrise, the evening sun was just glorious!

I used my 16 to 35mm 2.8, super wide lens to capture this beautiful site, because I love me a little distortion.  I took a couple hundred photos, but these are just a few of my favorites.

If you live near Hartford, CT and you have the chance to make it to the 27th annual hot air balloon festival, do yourself a favor and go.  You’ll thank me later.

I know, it’s been a while, so I guilted myself into posting something today, as I fondly remembered the days when I was a regular blogger.  Things have just gotten so busy and seemingly out of control, but it’s slowly coming around, one task at a time.

For those of you that don’t know, I have been working tirelessly, between juggling work and building an in-home studio.  It was just the right solution for me.  I am first and foremost a natural light photographer;  that’s where my heart is, but I want to be able to pull out my lights, when I need to, or get out of the rain.  Connecticut weather has been so dreadfully unpredictable.  So the journey to ‘pull-my-entire-house-apart-and-nearly-loose-my-mind-in-the-process’ began and thankfully, it should be nearing an end shortly.

I’m sure you can imagine how hard it is to work when your computer is not accessible; there are contractors in and out, and your living space is filled to the top with everything from the room you are remodeling.  For me, any kind of clutter results in a disorganized mind and inner chaos and also resulted in me turning down work, which is definitely not on my list of things to do.

On a lighter note, my oldest, lovely child she is, came over to entertain me.  She is one witty girl and keeps me laughing constantly.  Beyond the humor that comes so easily for her, she has the most beautiful, loving  heart.  She was the child always rooting for the underdog.  When she was growing up, she would bring home any stray she could find, be it animal or human.  She loved lots as a child.   She could see the hurt and sadness in people and always showed generous amounts of compassion.  I love this about her, but I digress.

Because I’m really here to show you a “stink eye.”

Whenever Elijah, my grandson, would get reprimanded, or told to do something he wasn’t really fond of, he would give this funny look by scrunching up one side of his face and his eye.  Kylie aptly named it “The Stink Eye.”

The last time Elijah was here, I asked him for a kiss and he refused.  I said, “You better get your buns over here and give grandma a kiss, or I’m gonna give you a tickle.”   He replied, “Oh yeah, well I’m going to give you a Stink Eye!”

So there you have it and of course there is his demonstration below.  Aren’t you glad I cleared that up for you!?

OK, I’m off to shut the windows; it’s cold in here.   Much to my dismay, I feel fall coming and I am not one bit happy about it.

Looking back at my last post, I can’t believe it was exactly two weeks ago since I have blogged!  Wow.  Time flies when you have a gazillion projects going on.   The tastiest of which, was the commercial photo shoot I did for Megpies!

The talented and super creative owner of Megpies, Megan Goodell, wanted me to do a photo shoot of her delicious pies for her menu and website.  Megan brought together all the beautiful elements to make her pies stand out and once the photo shoot was completed, she had a pie tasting, so not would bite would go to waste!  And not one did.

Megan has been marketing her business with pie tastings for some time now and I have always been super impressed with her creativity and ideas.  Her branding is just beautiful, right down to her menu, seen above on the mini easel.  The girl has lot’s of talent and you may be seeing more of Megan in the future, as we may be collaborating on some future projects.

You can click here to “like” Megpies and order one of Meg’s awesome pies here.

OK, all this pie talk has made me hungry.  Time for lunch!

Brent and his family met me for headshots at Wickham Park today and of course it started to rain, but I think we got what we wanted.  Brent is an actor and he has some really exciting stuff happening and needs to update his headshot by tomorrow.

So would you mind telling me which is your favorite?  I say #1  and second choice is #3.  What do you think?

I haven’t had a chance to post my beach photos yet.  This is as far as I’ve gotten and honestly, it makes me want to load up the car and go right now.  Throwing all responsibility to the wind to just have fun.  Gee, that actually reminds me that I used to be spontaneous at one time, but such is life.  It will come around again, I hope.

I posted this today to remind myself that this is the week I am supposed to slow down.  Relax and smell the roses.  And yet this insatiable urge to just-get-one-more-thing-done-while-I-can, bites me in the rear and off I go.  So tomorrow is the day.  The last session will be done tomorrow and I will stop for the week, well, at least until Thursday.  And then, back to the hamster wheel.  But we won’t talk about that yet.  For now, I’ll just stick to pretending that life is just one big lazy day in the sun – with sunscreen of course.

As usual, I had an amazing time at Brimfield this July. Yes, it was hot and it can make people a lotta miserable, but it did nothing to dampen my spirits, cuz I love me some Brimfield!

Every year I go armed with a list, and every year, I don’t stick to it.   This year was no different.   But I tracked down a french glass door for my studio, a vintage baby scale, a blue suitcase, vintage glasses, a parasol and a cow hide.   And still was under budget.    That’s a good prop day.

In a seemingly unrelated story, I want to tell you a little diddy about my deceased grandmother on my father’s side.   What does this have to do with Brimfield you ask?   Well, lots actually, but you’ll have to be patient if you want to make the connection.

My grandmother on my father’s side was very old.  When I say very old, I’m talking, old as dirt.   She actually lived to be 108 and hooray for her and me, because maybe that means I inherited her longevity.  Frankly, I hope that’s where it ends, because she was not a very nice woman.   And if I have to inherit anything at all, age would be all I would like, thankyouverymuch.

She appeared, to everyone else, to be very a very nice woman.  She was doted on by many, honored, because of her age, her birthday that fell on Valentine’s Day and because she lived to be the last immigrant to come through Ellis Island.   Big hoopla there.   However, to me, she was the mean old lady that put up both hands and pushed me away, at my ripe old age of four.  The infraction?   I put both hands on her lap to ask her a question, but that’s a story for another day.

Every year, the newspaper would do a story about my grandma and ask her, to what she attributed her old age and every year she would reply, “I never smoke or drank and I always lived a clean life.”  Secretly I believed it was God giving her additional years to repent for her bad behavior, but I digress.

One year, the one I remember with a small, but intentional smirk, is the year a young reporter knocked on the door of my grandma’s apartment to get her annual birthday story.   I guess my grandma was not in the mood to give out her story that day and she was downright rude and nasty to that poor reporter.   She left such a bad impression, that the reporter went right to her typewriter and wrote up an article about my grandma and her mean temperament!  How would you like to see that about yourself on page four?

Honestly, for me, it was justice served up fresh on a big plate with all the trimmings and parsley to chew, because I believe that eventually our bad behavior smacks us down in one way or another and I guess it was just her day for a heaping helping of “what comes around, goes around.”

And believe me, I’ve had my share of smack downs and there’s many more to come I’m sure.

OK Hallie, I have read the story and I have been patient, but now please tell me what this has to do with Brimfield?

Well, since you asked so nicely! WORD OF MOUTH IS EVERYTHING!!!!!

What!?  I don’t get it.  Well, think of it this way….it is approximately thirty years later and you have just heard the story of my mean grandma and her bad behavior.    Thirty years people! That is a long time to be remembered for something bad.  Think of every president that has ever done something stupid…ehem…Bill…cough…Clinton.  OK, we won’t go there, but where I will go is to a booth at Brimfield today.   And thankfully, I am not vindictive like the reporter.

You see, I always take pictures at Brimfield, it is eye candy.  Let’s face it, it is a hodge podge of beautiful treasures that goes on forever.  But today, I was standing at the edge one of my favorite booths taking a picture of the beautiful items and merchandising, when the owner of the booth came along and barked at me, “NO PICTURES!”  “Wha?” I said. “NO PICTURES!” I just stood there, completely taken by surprise.

I then said, “I’m sorry. Why do you not want pictures taken?”   Her very snippy reply was something along the lines of, “This is my booth and I don’t want you benefiting from it by taking pictures.”   She then emphatically barked at me that I am supposed to ask first.   Then went on to say that I could take pictures to put on my blog as long as I give her credit, while handing me her card.   Her rude behavior went on for a minute longer and I complied, but was truly disgusted at her tone and actions.  It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.

Now, I tried to go on to make pleasant conversation to clear the air, but I never took another picture.   By that point, the bad taste was already in my mouth and I don’t care how nice her booth was, or if she had the best merchandising on the earth.   After stopping there many years in a row, this will be my last.

Now, I could go on and talk about copyright and asking permission, which is important if you are photographing people, or works of art, or plenty of other things.  As far as antiques go, at a public event, I’m not so sure.  I do know that I could spend an entire day trying to find the booth owner to ask permission, so I doubt that line of action is anywhere in my near future.  So I will continue to photograph and take my chances, knowing that most booth owners are very kind and appreciate the word of mouth, which I am all too happy to give…. to those who are kind, friendly, or just have great stuff, such as Melissa at Nesting On Main, or Jen at Morning Glorious Vintage.

But wow.

Now imagine this. What if, just what if I was somebody important from Better Homes and Gardens, or some other magazine that was looking for a top Brimfield vendor for a feature story?   Well, I’ll tell you what, she would have been screwed, that’s what.   Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Word of mouth goes two ways. It can benefit and it can damage. I probably won’t tell someone if I have had a mediocre experience where I do business. But I can say for sure, if someone goes out of their way for me, I am going to talk about it and likewise, if I have had a bad experience, I am going to tell everyone I know to watch out. And what I want my customers to know… I value each and every one of you and I know that you have lots of choices for photographers.  And thank you for choosing me.  I value the relationships that I make with you and that is top priority for me. When you take the time to recommend me to your friends and family, that means a lot. It means that you think I have served you well and you are happy with our relationship and the service you have received. I take that very seriously.

Now to lady at the booth, I wasn’t the only one you threw out.  Some got way worse treatment than I did, so I’m not complaining,  just making a point.   Fortunately for you, I’m not like the reporter that told my grandmother’s ugly secret to the town.   I hope tomorrow you have a better day and if you don’t ever get there,  maybe it’s time to retire.  Customer service, may not be your bag.

And to grandma, even though I still tell this story and many others, I do it with humor and well, I forgave you long ago.   I hope Jesus did too.

Now it’s time to go find some aloe for my sunburn.  Toodeloo!

Smelling the roses seems to be a thing of the past these days, at least in my life.   Even though I try to spend the time enjoying the simple things, the hours just roll by so quickly and at the end of the day, my to-do list seems like it’s twice as long as the day before.

I long for my children to experience the things I did when I was a child.  Like eating a fresh picked cucumber on the front steps, garden tomato sandwiches, catching fire flies and playing tag until long past dark.   Making a wood raft for the stream by our neighborhood railroad tracks and the sound of crickets just outside my bedroom window.  Where did the crickets go?  I don’t hear them anymore…maybe they’re too busy also.

I know I desperately need to find better balance, not only for my children, but for myself.  So in the spirit of true desperation I have planned some slow-down-to-smell-the-roses activities for next week and yes, I realize that attempting to slow down while planning activities sounds like I’m spinning my wheels in the wrong direction, but they are relaxing activities, meant to remind us of what life should be like.

What simple pleasures do you miss from your childhood?

I had a small impromptu session with family friends last night and was honored to meet little Winston Macgregor; possibly the most loved baby on the entire planet.  I sure can see why.

Thanks for letting me spend the evening with your beautiful family; I had a wonderful time!

Deanna and I met purely by accident through my (best…yes I know you’re reading this Jodie) neighbor and it just so happened she was looking for a CT newborn photographer to take pictures new baby girl.  So we put our heads together to figure out what we could do for a session….we had several things working against us, the first was,  Delaney was not a newborn any longer, but was reaching six weeks old.  The second, I am right in the middle of constructing a natural light studio, so our locations were very limited.

Deanna had absolutely no natural light in her home and neither do I, so we decided we would give it a shot outdoors.  If you live in New England, you know what a risky choice that is these days.  We rescheduled only three times..ehem….But we did it!  It took us a little longer than expected and the circumstances were WAY less than ideal, but since Deanna is THE MOST PATIENT WOMAN ON THE EARTH and I thrive on problem solving,  it was all good.

Thank you Deanna and Delaney!  You are the best.

I love this little man, and if you’re this cute, groupies just come with the territory.  If your real good acting, they won’t put you down.

Honestly, I think he’s practicing for the future because the ladies really dig him….especially me!