closeThe Bright Side Project (see web site HERE) is my newest obsession. It is a wonderful tool for my creative juices and a great way to enter to WIN prizes. Forgive me this is WAAAY off the topic of photography, but it is a very fun site just to burn some time at, and refuel the creativity! Enjoy!
As I am looking at the weather, I am drawn to the almost 80 degree temps and the sunshine. I can not help but be outside on days like today! Thank goodness for coffee that keeps me up late working and wakes me up in the morning! Happy Wednesday!
I love girls weekends, especially with my girls from IOWA! The six of us roomed together our Sophomore year of college and since then we have all remained friends, which I am so grateful for. These girls are AMAZING. 10 years later we are still celebrating birthdays and taking road trips to see each other. Three of us live in MN and the other 3 live in IA. This time around we were celebrating Abbey’s 30th! She was so great and planned out the short weekend for us, which included a fun trip to one of our favorite spots, the farmer’s market, and then on to the wonderful sites of Des Monies.
We were also celebrating 3 new arrivals coming in the fall, and all 3 are boys!
I love girls weekends!
Throughout the past five years, I have been a part of an amazing ministry at Bethlehem Baptist church (Web-site HERE) which caters to Mom’s of all ages in making our mothering significant (thus MOMS). It is also a wonderful time to connect with women, and having a break to encourage and fellowship with one another. Every other Tuesday, a new speaker will come in and speak to us of all topics ranging from growing our marriages, raising our children, to serving one another.
At the end of the year, the entire group of mom’s puts on a tea. This year the theme was “Vintage.” Each woman used her gift to make the tea wonderful. This is just a taste of the end of the year event. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring. I was so blessed and soaked in every minute of the 2 hours!
There were so many details and ways the Vintage theme was played out.
Vintage aprons lined the exterior of the fellowship hall.
Old fashioned candy was our favor to take home, SO CUTE!!
Tables were decorated with flowers and fruit and even the dinnerware was from a woman’s grandmother.
We were encouraged to wear vintage aprons and the area where we met was fabulously decorated!
Our leaders for the year, Jen and Rachel, reading out of a 1950’s home ec book on how to treat our husbands. I seriously laughed; one of the “rules” was to always wear make up and to never let your husband catch you with bad breath… um that never happens at my house….
…and then how to properly pour tea.
The brains behind the decoration, Becky (middle) who was seriously amazing and obviously trying to run away from me as I was trying to take her photo because she was so busy.
If you are in need of any idea for a vintage themed shower, wedding, or any other event, she is a woman with immense creativity and skills and one to go to for ideas. Call her, and then call me, because I would LOVE to photograph it!
The wonderful ladies at my table who have encouraged me throughout the past 2 years. We have seen new babies come into the group and are now seeing mommies leave for the next stage of life that God is bringing them to. I have been truly blessed and am so thankful for their wisdom in mothering as well as the many other speakers and women who are truly trying to make their mothering significant. Thank you!
GREAT JOB Karen! Love the photos! The Colors AND the aprons!!!
Thanks for posting these pics! I am the proud sister of Becky! 🙂 She definitely has a gift for decorating and entertaining…I’ll be showing these to my mom…thanks again for posting!
Karen – what a great party!!! I LOVE this!
Yes, I know who blogs about at hotel!? And here I go. The last day in CA we stayed in LA at this super funky hotel called the Custom Hotel (see web site HERE, and their web-site photos are waaaay better than mine).
We walked into the lobby and I knew my husband had chosen this place for me. As soon as we entered our room, I snatched out my camera and told Kevin to huddle in the corner while I tried to capture the ambiance of the room. It reminded me of the Walker Art center in Minneapolis, it was just so funky; I mean, dog comforters?! So cool!
If you are flying out of LAX in the new future, consider this wonderfully modern hotel!
I want my shampoo bottles to look and smell like this!
Happy Friday!
From their engagement session, to their wedding, to the birth of their first daughter and now to their second, it’s been a joy and honor to be able to photograph couples like the Wargo’s as their life changes.
It’s what makes my job so meaningful and fulfilling! Congratulations Hannah and Jake, your family is beautiful!
Including siblings in your newborn session… yes or no?
My answer is always yes.
It might feel a little chaotic in the moment, but those are often the images you end up treasuring the most—the real connection, the tiny interactions, the beginning of a new family story.
I’ve loved watching the Luong family grow through all three of their children’s newborn sessions, and those sibling moments are always some of my favorites.
If you’re wondering how it all works (and how we make it easy), I wrote a full blog post about it! Check it out in my stories
#newbornphotography #minnesotaphotographer #familyphotography #siblinglove
NEW WEBSITE. SAME HEART.
After a long time behind the scenes… it’s finally here.
And I want YOU to be one of the first to experience it.
So I made it a little more fun 👇
✨ I’m giving away TWO mini sessions for 2026 ✨
How to enter:
• Visit the new website (link in bio)
• Look around
• Enter the giveaway
That’s it.
If you’ve been thinking about booking photos this is your sign!
Tag a friend who should enter with you below and add to your stories for another entry!! (Make sure to tag me!!)
No one said you had to do newborn photos inside! Taking lifestyle newborn photos outside and making them true to your style makes them even more meaningful and significant!!
Based in the Twin Cities area and available for travel worldwide.
