Maternity
Newborn
Children
Family
Today I turn one year older! I’ve never been one of those people who obsesses over my age, my wrinkles, or my sagging whatever – It’s just another day in life… And today, just so you know – has been one of the BEST days! My children surprised me with breakfast in bed (cereal and turkey bacon – my favorite!), and then we had a fun day of football, birthday celebrating, presents, and my all time favorite dessert – carrot cake. OH, and I won for the first time ever at corn-hole! (if you don’t know what that is, I promise it’s clean – just google it.)
So – I share an image I took on Valentine’s day of this year – it’s of my girls, and it’s completely 100% out of focus, technically imperfect, and even with all of that, it’s my favorite picture of them. Every time I look at it, I smile at the thought of just how happy they were in that moment. Sort of how I feel today…
Quote for the day:
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
~Janet Lane
Do you believe in signs? Fate? Kharma? I do… immensely, actually. I am of a strong faith, regularly try to fix my problems and maintain my stride with prayer, and I believe that there are moments in life that are meant to make you stop and think. We had one of those moments today.
It’s been insanely busy around here lately – we’re getting the keys to the new studio on Monday and the final renovations will begin! With fingers and toes crossed, we should be in there full time within just a few weeks. We’re also entering our busiest season of the year. Sessions are booking quickly and within those same few weeks, our fall calendar will most likely be completely full. With all of the business around here, it’s nice to hear my husband scream “Jess! Come look!”
I walked out the door to find this:
It’s certainly not the rainbow straight out of the west, or the caribbean – but it’s a sight we don’t see very often here, and it managed to stop me, and our 6 year old, in my tracks. Listening to her tell me how the care bears must be sliding down the rainbow “right now mommy!”, and then having her ask me to frame this picture so that she can remember this moment forever…. well, that’s what dreams are made of, right?
Take a moment today, this weekend, this week – to reflect and be thankful for all of those little moments we so frequently overlook.
Quote for the Day:
A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.
~Jean de La Fontaine
I can’t believe I never shared this session on here! I adore this family – mom is totally energetic, and a super savvy business woman – gotta love that!! this little one gave me the challenge of my life because he didn’t want to sleep unless mommy was holding him – but we survived! HE survived!! 
~Introducing Dewey~
Quote for the day:
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
~Mother Teresa
Day 4: Since I’m on this little blogging kick, I thought it would be only fitting for you to get to know me a little bit better. I could sit here and post picture after picture of baby and maternity and family and kids… but I’m a “boutique” photographer – I shoot a small number of sessions a month – so I will run out of pictures quickly! So, instead – you get to see a glimpse of me! Allow me to share with you one of my very favorite past times… SHOPPING. I go through cycles with this little addiction – sometimes I love to shop, and other times it’s my worst enemy.
I will share with you a little tidbit I tell my husband when he rolls his eyes at me regarding this matter – it’s cheaper than a psychiatrist! I heard this quote once that stuck with me about shopping… “if men liked to shop, they’d call it research.” So true.
Okay, so it’s really no secret that I like grungy, rocker type clothing. I dress myself fairly sophisticated, but when it comes to my kids, I’m all about GRUNGE. My absolute – 100% favorite store for this purpose is Lucky Brand – at the King of Prussia Mall they have a “Lucky Kid” store – and OMG is it heaven on Earth. Not so much for my checkbook, but seriously, I was on overload.
Some of the things I found? You’ll see those below – but I have to say that I threw in some of the most adorable boys stuff that I saw too. All of these boy moms that I have for clients say the same thing “it’s so much easier to dress little girls! there are so many choices!” My response? That’s crap. There are limited choices for boys if you stay at the same stores – ie: children’s place, gap kids and old navy. Branch out boy moms!!! And as a mother to two girls – let me just say that dressing little girls isn’t exactly simple – there are TOO many choices, and it makes it hard if you don’t have a fashion savvy bone in your body. Ever wonder why this photographer wears so much black? Because it goes with EVERYTHING.
Here’s my bundle of goodies – minus the boy stuff.
And of course… who could resist the part of the store that was for ME??? Some of my favorites:
how cute are these jeans? (disclaimer: this is not me!)
Quote for the day:
It’s all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.
~Mick Jagger
Well, sort of… Later this week we are unveiling a whole new site dedicated entirely to BABIES! We’re splitting up the websites into two so that we can better cater to our clients in a more specialized manner.
So, let the fun begin!! Late this week you’ll see two sites – a Jessica Barnak Baby site, and a whole new Jessica Barnak Signature site. This is the part I love so much – designing and recreating things that are getting stale…
Here’s a sneak peek!
On a side note.. have you noticed? three days of blogging IN A ROW!! That has to be some kind of record for me…
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
~Jessica
All signs are pointing to a new studio space for us!! the old space that suffered a fire won’t be ready for at least another 3/4 of a year, so unfortunately, I just can’t wait. SO – big news! The new space is still in Historic New Castle – I just love it down there so much, and there isn’t a better location for what I do. It’s twice as big, twice as nice, and it comes complete with it’s own backyard courtyard for quaint (but private) outdoor shooting. Add on to that the never ending appeal of the streets of Historic New Castle, and a photographer will never grow bored..
The wheels of red tape and renovation are turning, and if all goes according to plan (and who are we kidding? it never does..) – we’ll be in there by October! Pictures to come as soon as we can complete some major renovations. The “before” just might scare you, but I promise, the “after” will blow your mind!
Keep your fingers crossed, toes pointed, and if you are so inclined – say a little prayer that all runs smoothly… if for nothing else, than for the sake of your photographer’s sanity.
I’ve been challenged to blog every day for the month of September by my good friend Lisa Dillon, and reluctantly, I’ve accepted the challenge! I’m not exactly the most reliable blogger, so I’m hoping that the empty threat of someone actually checking up on me will provide adequate motivation to make this blog a habit!
So, to kick off September, I’m sharing an image from today. I had the BEST family in my studio today – a mom, having her 4th child – already a mother to 3 stunning daughters, and a wife to an uber sweet husband. I had a lot of fun with this one – and I promise to share more once I’ve completed editing them. This is one that jumped out at me tonight though…
~Beautiful Anticipation~
Quote for the Day:
“Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.”
~Oliver Wendell Holmes