Being apart of the CHAR TEAM is something special. I get to be apart of so many cool projects and endeavors. The best part is that I can do what I love and share it with others, I am free to be creative! This next endeavor is a Wedding Workshop! I am excited about this one!

We are going to have a mock miniature wedding for you to photograph and practice on. Karen and myself will be styling the models and set for the workshop so you have something great to capture. How fun! To get a closer look at the start to our inspiration you can find it HERE..

This workshop will be a place for your creative side to be refreshed and your photography skills to be enhanced. Team Char’s heartbeat is to enable and inspire you to accomplish what you love to do.CHAR will help guide you in the scary wedding process as a photographer and help inspire you for this next season of wedding photography.

If you are interested and want to learn more go HERE.

This is going to be a lot of fun and you don’t want to miss it!

WEDDING WORKSHOP JUNE 27TH 2013!

I have found some goodies that I must share with you! I get so excited when I actually find cosmetics that work and that I love. I hate going to Sephora and spending a lot of money on makeup and not being 100% satisfied. This time, I was satisfied! 100%! I love when I find a product that can be used multiple ways as well. These two new favs of mine can be used in a couple different ways, which cuts down on cost and also time. Love that! Also, these products are legit, they support a good cause and are eco friendly (read more HERE).

Both products are by JOSIE MARAN COSMETICS . I am in love with this line already. Almost every product contains Argan oil which is really good for your skin. These product are working for you not just to bring some color into your life but also to moisturize!

First fav: Argan Color Stick- This is a perfect shade for everyone. Gives just the right amount of color and also a great shine to make you look more alive. This stick can be used like a blush or a lip color.

Second Fav: Argan Oil- I only got a sample so far to see if I liked it… and I do! It can be used as a face moisturizer or you can put some on your hair to eliminate frizz. Love it. It doesn’t make me break out, which most moisturizers do. It gives me a glow. This also helps the rest of my makeup routine go on a lot better.

You can find a full line of Josie Maran at your local Sephora. I am sure it is all worth buying.

I am so excited for this one! We are hosting a reveal party for our 2014 Senior Models and everyone is invited! We are calling this the AFTER PARTY, a time for us to celebrate the photo shoot and our team. A time to PARTY! You will be some of the first to see what we have been working on for the past couple of months. This will be a time for you to hang out and meet the whole 2014 TEAM!

Live music by the very talented LETICIA JOY!

Yummy food and drink from the TOMATO PIE CAFE HARRISBURG!

We will be auctioning off some of the clothing and accessories from the photo shoot benefiting THE A21 CAMPAIGN.

Did I mention we are giving away a lot of really rad prizes! Things like a free photo session with CHAR! A very personal Style Consult with me! A mentor session! T-shirts! Some gift cards! And a lot of other cool prizes!

I would love to see you there and get to know you! Bring a friend or two!!

Happy Friday!

For the past couple of days I haven’t been able to stop thinking. Non-stop thinking. Thinking about our home or home to be… the weather… our days in California… was I more happy in California… my health and eating healthy… friends and their struggles… my struggles… cleaning my house that never seems to be clean… money… what I want and need… is it okay to want things…what is important… my relationships… who I am… why I am who I am (he-he)… what next… what should we do… am I listening… do I need more faith… where does faith come from…peace… I can’t live without peace… I am sure that you didn’t even enjoy reading what has been going through my head non-stop. The thoughts never end.

  I find that in the middle of the times of deep thought I find small revelations about all kinds of things. Usually the revelation is never the answer to my problems or thought, but it is the peace that helps me through them. God is always faithful. God is always true. He always comes through. I believe He knows what is best for me.

SMALL REVELATIONS

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny… -C.S.LEWIS

If it is supposed to happen, it will happen.

God loves me to the moon and back! He wants the best for me. He has the best for me.

Positivity makes things happen. It might not be what you expected, but is always good because when you are positive it can’t be bad.

Waiting never gets any easier, but waiting keeps me safe.

Eating healthy makes me happier.

Trusting that all things do happen for the good.

Helping ME makes me happy. Accepting ME makes me love others more.

I am taken care of.

No matter what, everything will be okay.

I  am loving my jean vest right now. It is so versatile. I can pair it with something casual or something a bit dressy. As we are slowly headed into warmer weather it is a great in-between layer. Accessorizing with a vest gives just the right amount of style but not getting too cluttered. I must say, my jean vest has moved to one of my essential pieces this season!

images via: Pinterest

p.s. I just cut off the sleeves to my old denim jacket to get a great jean vest. Throw it in the wash and your good to go!

I am so proud to introduce one of the newest members to the CHAR team, my intern, KAREN!

Karen just started interning this past month and I CAN NOT imagine my life without her! She has already brought a new dynamic of creativity and design to the studio. She is becoming my right hand gal and I am loving it. We spend our time collaborating about clothing, decor, art, and all things beauty. Whatever Karen puts her hands too she makes it lovely and interesting. She is GREAT at what she does! Did I mention she has an eye for style, yep, she’s got it! I am so excited about this coming year with Karen and all the creative goodness that will come forth from her.

Before I let Karen take over and tell a little more about herself, make sure you check out her blog HERE. You will love it!

A few important things you should know about me…

-I grew up on an orchard which really helped me to see beauty in what God creates

-I have a dashing husband named Kyle and an adorable baby girl named Elsa

-I love books and good writing

-I enjoy early morning runs

-I have loved fashion and style for as long as I can remember. Decorating my house and picking out outfits are two of my favorite past times!

-I was never ever the cool kid in high school.

Background…
God has always changed the direction where I thought my life was heading. In my teens and early 20′s I figured I would marry a musician with long hair, and we’d be missionaries livin’ on love in some exotic country overseas. Then I thought I would teach high school English for two years, get married, and have children before I was 25. But I ended up teaching for 9 years, marrying an engineer with a buzzed head and a cute little bald spot, having our first child at the age of 31, livin’ in the exotic land of Myerstown.

One idea of mine God did bring to pass was to be a stay-at-home mom. This past year, I resigned from my teaching job, welcomed our little pumpkin Elsa into the world, and have loved playing with her and watching her smile every day. However, I also began to notice Char Photography, follow her blog, and appreciate whoever this Char is behind such a creative business. Long story short, my husband encouraged me to take a workshop, I met Char and the team and immediately clicked. Grace posted her job description for an intern and everything she posted was what I loved. Style, fashion, decorating. The internship was a perfect fit. I could be a stay-at-home mom and spend some time assisting Grace.

So what do I do? Everything that I love. I give suggestions for studio decor. I help Grace create displays and find outfits for the senior model shoot. I create pinterest boards for inspiration for upcoming projects. Grace and I brainstorm a lot together at the studio, and I love how she thinks. I also have some take-home assignments like scouring the internet and my closet for 50s inspired attire that will meet the vision for the upcoming photo shoot.

As for goals that I have, I have some pretty significant life goals that would be daunting apart from Philippians 4:13. One is to be a good steward of each day and each gift God has given to me. Another is  to learn more about my husband and how I can best help him be the man he was created to be. And now as a mom, my heart longs to help Elsa develop into a young girl who is secure in who she is in Christ and who learns how to use the talents God has given her to use to make Him look very great. My short term goals? Read a new book each month. Run a half-marathon with Kyle in September with a time of under 1:40. Stop eating so much cereal. Take a daily walk with Elsa. Make one day a week computer free. Cease comparing myself or my life with others.

Goals for the internship?  I can’t say I know where this internship is headed. I’m just enjoying my attempt at being a styling intern, and each day at the studio with the Char team is a little treat. As for styling related goals…
1. Love the Creator, not the creation. This one is huge for me. 2. Help Grace and the Char team with excellence. Join them in their mission statement to affirm others, notice details, and honor God. 3. Be able to stick to a budget but still have good style. I enjoy when Grace tells me the max of what we can spend and finding pieces that will keep us under budget. 4. Learn how to work with others to help them develop their personal style instead of trying to thrust my style upon them. 5. Be an assistant Grace trusts and do what I can to inspire her styling creativity.

This has been such a refreshing time in my life, and I am deeply excited for all I will learn in my styling internship with Grace!

Back in February we held an On the Shoot Workshop at the Char Photography studio. It turned out to be a blast and the images turned out superbly! I loved styling this shoot and working with our lovely model Aubrey. The attendees were all so kind and open minded. They had so much to take in from what we taught and demonstrated , they were all troopers!

I had the privilege to share a bit about how I styled the shoot and photo shoots in general. The biggest part for me in styling anything is being inspired. To get to that point I have found that there are certain things that trigger my inspiration. I gave three of my styling secrets that I have learned over the past year that help me get to that inspiration point. This applies in my personal life and also my professional life!

The first secret: Have Style Icons! Having people that you are constantly following for inspiration stretches you and helps guide you to what you really like. My top three, (I have about 20 or so!) Ashley Olsen, Sienna Miller, and Miranda Kerr. I am drawn to all these ladies for their unique free vibes, elegance, simple tones, and their eye for style. I encourage you to find people that you like to draw inspiration from.

2nd Secret: It is not just about Appearance and the Clothing! Styling is not just about clothing. For me I have to have a connection to who I am working with. I can defiantly see a difference in  my work when I am connected to my clients and not. I feel that it is my job to allow people to the best version of themselves, AFFIRM, and VALIDATE. Clothing is a great vehicle to relate who we are and showcase ourselves. The same goes for myself. If I am not connected to myself (sounds kind of silly, but so true) then what I wear doesn’t mean a whole lot.

3rd Secret: Stay Positive! This is a life secret as well. Negativity is the biggest killer to my creativity. When I am negative my mind can’t even think about being inspired. Nothing new will come out of me. When I am positive new inspiration always comes. Carrying someone else’s negativity and expectation is another big inspiration killer for me. Positivity is a source to all thing inspired. It enhanced the client experience as well as your own. Positivity transforms my world.

Stay inspired! Get Creative! Get Connected! Stay Positive!

images via inspiration board for the shoot!

This vision for the shoot came from a couple styles that I love. A lot Bohemian, a little Feminine, and a definite touch of Me! I wanted Aubrey to look youthful and carefree. I hadn’t met Aubrey in person until the day of the shoot, so I only had pictures to go by. I did want to be inspired by her as well. Her look definitely put me in the direction of the natural earth tones we used throughout the shoot. FREE PEOPLE always inspires me, so I flipped through the magazine a couple times before the shoot! We used a lot of soft muted tones so that the beautiful flower crown would pop!

To bring all the outfits together, Aubrey and myself collaborated with clothing that we both had. I made and inspiration board HERE to help aid the direction of the shoot and give us both ideas. Aubrey would send me pictures of what she had and we would go back and forth with what we thought. They day of the shoot I looked at everything we had and put together two outfits that were pretty cohesive.

The white room that we used was another inspiration for me. The simplicity of the white walls and the texture of the floor was all I really needed for a great backdrop. We wanted to spice it up a bit for the workshop, so i made the canvas backdrop and painted gold stripes on it. I found a stick in my back yard and the lovely Lori from Wild Flowers by Design provided the beautiful flowers that hung down from the branch. Lori also made the flower crown showcased in a lot of the images. Flowers add just the right touch to any shoot! Thanks Lori, you did a great job!

I am always drawn to natural hair and makeup for photo shoots. It gives a effortlessness to the vibe. Makeup was done by Trish from Makeup by Trish. She nailed the look I was going for. I did Aubrey hair. We enhanced her naturally great waves to make the a bit bigger than normal!

Here is the end result! What a fun day!

Credit for images: CHAR

If you want to see more images from the day you can go HERE

Today I heard someone say this statement and it went deep down into my soul! “VULNERABILITY is strength.” I can resonate with this because I have felt the very opposite of this statement for a long time now.

In the past I have thought that vulnerability was a negative thing. I am not sure where that came from or why I thought that. I though that I needed to protect myself from others. I didn’t want people to take from me. Being guarded gave me a place of security.

I am now realizing that the more I am open and vulnerable, the more I feel free. I feel a deeper sense of belonging because I am not hiding. I am realizing that I don’t have anything to protect. I can only be the best version of me and allow people into my world.

Allowing people into my world means allowing judgements to come in. The difference now is that I have the strength to know the truth. I am becoming easier on myself which allows me to be easier on others.

PHOTO CREDIT GOES TO CHAR!

It is SPRING as most of you know! It doesn’t feel like it yet but I know it will be here soon. Transitioning into clothing for Spring means your shoes change too. Normally!

I am loving all the short boots that are everywhere right now. The great thing about this look is that you can easily transition your wardrobe from Winter to Spring without changing your shoes completely. Short boots are great for shorts, skirts, and cropped pants. This is a great way to keep those boots in your wardrobe as long as you can.

Happy Spring!

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different”

-Coco Chanel

photo credit: Megan Perry, my soon to be sister-in-law!

This picture is from when we went to Florida for our Grandmas birthday. I am dreaming of the Florida weather because it still feels like winter here. This morning I looked out my front door to see the snow falling and the sun trying to shine. I really can’t wait for the weather to be a bit warmer.

Anyways, it’s Friday and it is going to be a lovely day!

I have been thinking a lot about how we are all so different and uniquely made and the purpose of that. We all bring something a little different to the environment and atmosphere that makes life LIFE! YOU were made perfectly to be YOU. I was made perfectly to be ME! It is time to accept that and thrive in WHO we are. The world tells us to all be the same, but I don’t think that is truth. If we are not ourselves than the world is missing a special piece.

This is all simple thinking that I forget almost every day.

Today lets be just ME and  just YOU!