Happy Thanksgiving!

Even though this holiday is not celebrated in UK, I think we all can take at least one day to pause and to think about all the things we are grateful for in our lives! I also have a lot of lovely American friends and clients I was lucky to meet here in UK. So to all of you who celebrate - Happy Thanksgiving!
This photograph makes me smile and sums up what I'm most grateful for in my life:

One year.

One of my favourites about photographing families is seeing the children grow and change. I had a lovely experience of being able to photograph this little girl three times in just over a year:

Click on the links to see the blog posts of the previous first and second sessions. And here is the latest one:

Your story.

Every family has a story that is unique to them. I love that I can help to record a tiny little part of it. This story is about a little boy who loves running around. A lot is happening in his life - he will soon become a big brother and this summer his grandma came for a visit. And these photos will help to remember that time in his life.

I love how big his eyes got when he was climbing the tree:

 

A hug for grandma!

Lovely summer light!

What is your family's story right now?

A lovely couple in Bristol

I don't photograph couples very often, mostly as a part of a family session, but I'm so glad I did this session. We went to Clifton Bridge on the evening of balloon fiesta hoping the balloons would go up and provide us with a beautiful backdrop but it didn't happen due to the rain. Looking at the bright side, all the crowds have disappeared once it has started raining. There was still enough people left who were cheering for Paul and giving him thumbs up because Vanessa looked just so beautiful!

We then drove to Bristol harbour and spend some time around SS Great Britain. Shall I mention it was pouring as we drove but thankfully the rain has stopped soon after we have arrived. It turned out that their 2nd date was there, so it's a special place for them.

This is just a selection of my favourites from the session, I have resisted the urge to share all of them!

Learning.

Being a mum has been a crazy learning curve, there is always something new to get better at... One of those things has been making cakes for me! Twice a year I have to make a cake that has two requirements - it has to be a chocolate cake and it has to look great. Last few birthdays I have started to get more specific requests - penguin cake and a triceratops cake were the hardest ones so far. But at least I was able to stay away from icing. Until now! After browsing Pinterest and watching a few You tube tutorials I felt brave enough to make this:

There are some amazing ones out there, including "how to", so if you are interested, here are some:
http://www.goodfoodshared.blogspot.ie/2014/03/how-to-make-merida-doll-cake.html
And of course Pinterest :) http://uk.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=doll%20cake&rs=ac&len=9
I am sure I will be coming back to those boards for some Frozen inspiration in just a few months!