Meeting Martha

Along the way, a stop at Rock Center, over 200 flag poles decorated with 
United Nations member countries 
and U.S. state flags, so beautiful in the wind and sunshine.

Down 5th Avenue, an ahhhhhmazing ivory sculpture, so intricate and detailed.
The complete piece was about 4ft long by 3ft high - wow!

And finallyTime Warner Center, Williams Sonoma flagship store in NYC.  
This is my sanctuary, I walked in and 
had to stop and take a few deep breaths,  
I think my hands were actually trembling. 

Allegedly, you can purchase everything in the Williams Sonoma catalog in this store - 
over 50,000 items, oh my!  The perfect gift (hint hint - idk - mother's day, birthday, just because!) 
and it's already wrapped.

They have a kitchen in the store, can you imagine cooking and saying -
"you know I think I want to use this All-Clad pot or that Le Creuset cookware
or bring me a box of Maldon salt"?!!!

Martha had some rules! Having done this maybe a few times,
she's got the system down for signing her name 500 times
and getting it done in 2 1/2 hours!

It was so hard to get a good shot of Martha, she had quite an entourage. I could tell the way in which her staff operated that Martha runs a very organized, tight, regimented, professional ship from the guy in the dark suit who was not up for any nonsense, to the four women surrounding her that were in charge of making sure everyone had the proper page flagged for Martha's autograph, grabbing cameras and iphones for photographs, and keeping the line moving by not allowing you loiter more than the amount of time it took Martha to scrawl out of few words.  Although I was expecting her to be somewhat brusque, she was actually very kind and lovely, the whole encounter leaving me tongue-tied and goofy - ugh!!  Martha is the embodiment of a strong, powerful, smart, successful woman, so glad to have met her!

Edgewater's T-Ball Opening Day

We are sooooo excited about playing T-ball for the first time.  The City of Edgewater put together an amazing opening day for these little ones.  They started with a parade from the old Borough Hall.  Aren't they so adorable with their little gloves?!

Sixty 5&6 year olds spread out over red, green, blue and orange.
Three cheers for the Red Team!!  
They practiced throwing, catching and batting until they all worked up a big appetite 
and then we were all treated to a bar-b-que - hotdogs and hamburgers - perfect!!

Little boys in white pants and red dirt.....hmmmm

When you tell this kid not to take his eyes of the ball.....

There was some really awesome face painting,

 a few bouncy houses,

 a perfect spring day

make for some very happy little kiddos!

Spring in the Park

The last day of spring break, we decided to make it a day in the City.  These two decided on Central Park since that's where "Jessie" hangs out (Disney comedy about a young girl that moves from Texas to NYC).  

They had a blast climbing on the big rocks for literally HOURS!  I'm so thankful that my kids get to experience the City like this,  enjoying the outdoors yet only steps away from the likes of 5th Avenue, the Guggenheim, Prada, the Trump Tower.

Afterwards, we ate the most scrumptious hot dogs (they are THE best evah!) from a street vendor while taking in the tulips and street scenes.

I have so many pics of St. Patrick's, but it's so magnificent that's it's impossible to walk past and not take a few more.

A great way to close out spring break 2012!

Ready, Set, Spring!

Beautiful blue skies, 75 degrees, light breeze blowing - a perfect spring day.  I grabbed my camera and took a quick walk around the neighborhood to catch the delicate flowers adorned in their finest and take in some much needed sunshine.  Here's a little peak at what spring looks like on my street.

Joy and Michael - why their special day was so very special for me.

Joy and I have known each other for several years, she was always front and center in my Spinning class and would keep me up-to-date on the latest and hottest club mixes to use in class. So imagine my thrill and surprise when she called me up and said, "Hey, I really like the photos of your kids on facebook, maybe you will shoot my wedding?" WHOA!! REALLY?!

My first instinct was to run, really fast in the opposite direction - something that would resemble Tom Cruise in the movie "The Firm". When I was finally able to breath, I said "Of course, I would be honored to shoot your wedding." WHAT?! Did that really just come out of my mouth? Yes it did. Oh. Emm. Gee.

I knew that at some point I had to put myself out there and grab this photography "bull" by the horns, just jump in head first and hope I didn't sink. I read and read and studied and stressed. I bought a new flash, and read and read and studied and stressed. I poured over my favorite wedding photographers website, studying hundreds and hundreds of pictures and poses and stressed. By the time for Joy's wedding, I was a ball of nerves, my stomach was a mess and realized I had nothing to wear! I spend 90% of my time in athletic wear, (insert frantic phone call to best friend and beg her to dress me!)

Well.....I didn't sink, and most importantly, Joy was happy! Her approval (of course, Michael's too) was like getting a gold star in grade school, like coming in first place and winning the blue ribbon, like standing on the podium with a gold medal around your neck (oooh-KAY, so I don't know what that feels like, but you get my drift). Joy validated me as a photographer, and it was so sweet and rewarding, it made all the studying and stress worthwhile. Thank you Joy!

It certainly made my job easy that Joy was incredibly stunning and Michael so handsome. Their three girls are beautiful, they make a gorgeous family! Here is a little peak into Joy and Michael's day.

Tiny love notes

Yesterday, Hallie-Claire got a tiny notepad as a Valentine from one of her classmates. This morning when the kids came downstairs for breakfast, the notepad was laying on the table. Hal went to the bathroom and Benjamin grabbed a pencil and the tiny notepad and started writing in it. Of course, when Hal came out of the bathroom and saw him, she yelled "Ben, that's mine, don't write in it!" and snatched it from him.

He put his little pencil down and lowered his head.

This is what he had written in the tiny notepad.......

Resolutions: Learn to see the light to illicit the emotion and tell the story better.

IMG_4706, originally uploaded by Shannon's Shutter.