…this is how this one goes…

Collin and I went to high school together.  We both struggled through Spanish class.  No bueno.

Collin went to college and met his beautiful wife Megan.

Collin and Megan had their adorable children Maycie and Miles.

Collin and Megan schedule a session with their two adorable children, a kite, and musical instruments.

The wind does not cooperate.

…until the last five minutes…in which these shots were taken.

I fall head over for their two children.

The end.

Not really. I have more to share, but these together made me wish summer was still here…

Much Love,

Krysta

Serrriiooussllyy…how gorgeous is Miss Emily?  I can’t get over it.  I knew Emily was my kind of girl when she said was looking for something different and stylized for her senior session.  We met at Starbucks (…also how I knew she was my kind of girl) and she blew  me away.  I couldn’t believe she was still in high school.  She carries herself with so much poise and grace and I had another one of those moments where I look at someone and know they have that extra something special.  She proved it to me again when she stepped in front of my camera.  We spent three hours sipping our Starbucks, chatting, and walking around downtown Milwaukee…so much so we had to re-schedule the field portion of her session.  …and let me tell you, I was nervous that the sun would not show itself or would be blocked by the concrete jungle that is downtown, but looky looky who showed up.  I saw the haze peeking in between the building and did a happy dance!  I have a lot of blurred, hazed, artistic images of Miss Emily too.  When I can breathe again, I’ll post.  :)   But for now…I am so.in.love with her session!

Emily – thank you thank you thank you for being so humble and so gorgeous.  You are truly one that I will never forget…

Much Love,

Krysta xo

The boys and I just got back from a mini trip to Chicago. The great part about it?  We still relaxed. It was so nice to be out of the house for awhile and yet still have some down time. Michael was in all his glory as our hotel was right across from the Lego store and he could see it from our window.   Per Michael, “I wish I lived at this hotel so I could go to that store every single day of my life.”   Brady’s favorite part of the trip was eating the juiciest Philly steak sandwich I’ve ever seen at Banderas.  I was smitten with my red velvets from Sprinkles.  So, between the three of us we were all happy and satisfied.  …I’m also not sure who Mikey is hanging out with after school.  I’m pretty sure it’s not the kindergarten crowd as he talks like he is 34 years old.  Tonight when we got home I said, “Michael, thank you so much for being such a good boy this weekend.  I had so much fun with you and Daddy in Chicago. I wish I could go back right now.” His reply, “Yeah, wouldn’t that be delightful, but you gotta stick with the “fam” Darlin’.”  Seriously.

The shots above are nothing special. Well, they’re special to me because they’re Mikey and because they look like fall to me, but they’re just some happy snaps taken when he was doing his “homework” assignment  – picking up leaves and sticks for his nature lesson.  He gets an A + if you ask me.

Hope you all had a Happy weekend!

Much Love,

Krysta

…sweet snippets from a session for a family that’s very dear to me. Their whole session was a dream and, per my usual routine, I had a hard time dwindling down what images to post.   I know the girls love to explore so I brought old mason jars for us to go bug collecting.  We lucked out though and there were shrieks and shrills (from the two littles…I’m not so much an admirer of four legged amphibians) over a the little green friend you see in the jar.  I’m not so sure he was as thrilled as they were, but we were nice and let him go at the end of the session.  :)  …and who would’ve thought marshmallows could turn the world upside down?  That bag was $1.98 worth of magic I tell you!  Avery and Ally were all smiles when I brought the white fluffy goodness out.  I also love that the girls required outfit and hair changes because, well, that’s what girls do.   I had such a wonderful evening with their whole family and left again feeling like I could take them home with me.   The girls have an older brother, Tylan, who is thirteen. He was such a good sport, but was not so excited about the mason jars or marshmallows so more to come… :)

I’m really trying to figure out where I should start with this session. I guess I could start off by saying that Kirra was the winner of the free session giveaway earlier this year.  I put my trust in a random number generator and I have to say I’m so grateful for the outcome.  I will forever cherish the fact that the number 26 turned out to be these two amazing human beings. 

Maybe I should also tell you the day of the session I wanted to cry.    A drive that would normally take me a little over an hour ended up taking me a little over four.   The session was supposed to start at 4:00 pm. I left my house at 2:00 pm. I arrived at 6:30 pm.  I thought I was going to be extra early and instead  I was 2.5 hours late thanks to Chicago traffic.  I was texting Kirra every 15 minutes telling her I was only seven miles away…and then three…and then one…but those last miles are what took the longest. I don’t ever think it’s taken me an hour and a half to move seven miles.  I arrived to their (absolutely and insanely perfect and adorably shabby) apartment in the heart of the city and was greeted by one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  I think I loved her even more as she was wearing the Anthro dress I had just tried and on and decided I didn’t need ( I now have it because seeing her in it sold me on it.) I was flustered and worried about the light.   She shrugged her shoulders and said everything would be just fine.  …and she was right.

We walked together up to their apartment where I met her husband Taylor.  I will just say right now that if I had to give a “Cutest Couple Award” they would be the recipients.  They are so calm and gentle with one another and so sweetly in love.  Their home was such a reflection of that too.  The first shot above was taken in their bedroom. It was adorned with shabby goodness and I could’ve walked out of there with every single piece. I found myself walking around saying, “Oh I LOVE!! I have this too! This is coming home with me!”  Not to mention she had gathered the perfect things for their session…everything down to the Sprinkles cupcakes and the book “The Californians” as they are both from California.  :)  We rushed up to their rooftop to take advantage of the hazed skyline before the light left.  I love the rooftop pictures because they’re unexpected and so very Chicago.  …and the urban pictures were taken right in their neighborhood. We walked and shot for two blocks as the Chicago night settled in…

I processed these images so they would fit in with Kirra’s love of shabby and because it fits who the two of them are together – soft, delicate, and warm.  I couldn’t imagine it any other way…

As I have said before I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  I’m so blessed that my number 26 turned out to be two amazing people I now consider friends.  My life is so much sweeter with them in it and if you ask me this world could use a few more Taylor and Kirra’s…

A big THANK YOU to Taylor and Kirra for being the beautiful and giving people that you are.  These are for you, from me, with so much love.

Krysta xo