I used to hate meetings

And this is one of the reasons I started my own business. Now, if we have a meeting, there's a reason for it!

These are cupcakes

I am a cupcake connoisseur (more on my new favorite cupcake later this week), so I loved seeing these finalists and prize winners of Martha Stewart's Cutest Cupcake Contest.




I find the sushi cupcakes to be clever, but unappetizing. And though the bacon and eggs cake combines two of my favorite things (breakfast and dessert), it's unnerving. WDYT?

Rotten day for a bike ride

Today was a really rotten day for a bike ride. Trust me! I got caught in the pouring rain, in 20 mph winds which were going exactly the wrong way. The good news is I went really fast (for me) and I missed the hail by 10 minutes!

I hit 100 miles today, in less than two weeks. I think I'm on track to meet my goal.

Meet Freckles!

Freckles is a particularly pitiful pooch. On his last day at the pound, a rescue worker "pulled" him and brought him to my sister, who kept him overnight. I picked him up in Detroit and brought him to the vet in Maumee. After some healing, he'll be going to Columbus, where his new foster parents live.

You can't meet this dog without falling in love - even the hardest of hearts will melt when he gives you those sad dog eyes. Freckles has had a really rough run lately, but he's actually a really lucky dog, because the right people were in the right place to save him.

If you're a praying person, please put in a word for this fellow. And consider volunteering your time to transport or foster good dogs like Freckles. If you're interested, email me and I can give you some groups to contact in your area! Or just make it a point to rescue your next pet.

Photos by Brenna

All up in my business

So I'm loving the new Mariah Carey single Touch My Body.

Especially the lines:

'Cause they be all up in my business/ Like a Wendy interview

It makes me laugh every time. This week, I am going to try to work "all up in my business" into a regular conversation. I will definitely report back.

60 miles down!

Those are bike gears - sorry, I'm running out of bike-related pics.

I haven't been blogging much, because when I'm not working, I'm on my bike! I've gone 60 miles in 6 days, and my new goal is 1000 miles by August 18 (4 months).

Anybody else have a fitness goal, or in training for an event? I thought if I blogged about it, y'all would hold me accountable. If you haven't set a goal yet, what are you waiting for? It's gorgeous out there! Get moving!

Liz and David's Wedding

Finally, I was able to get Liz and David's album online! Click here to see! This was designed a while back, but I think it still looks pretty fresh.

Held at one of our favorite venues, Inverness Country Club (with the best chef in town), which was decked out by our favorite florist, Glendale Flowers and Gifts, the wedding was gorgeous and unique. Nice work, everyone! Ooh, and check out those Louboutins! (for my male readers, those are very snazzy shoes)

Gryson bags at Target

I'm becoming a purse girl, but I'm too hard on my things to spend a bundle on a statussy bag. Target has a new line of Gryson bags that are very cute, and just as cheap. I got the cross-body white one, and I fear I can't resist the black satchel. You could bring a whole picnic to the movie theater! (Not that I condone bringing your own food to the movies, but until National Amusements steps it up in the popcorn department, it's gonna happen.)

The satchel, in particular, looks better IRL. $20-45.

The bike came in!

I got my new bike and promptly rode it 12 miles. Best ride of my life (so far). I'm shooting for 60 miles a week, if my butt allows. I hope that doesn't sound rude - if you've ridden more than 10 miles on one of those narrow saddles, you'll know what I mean.

I want to get married again

...when I see stuff like this! My first wedding was awesome, but I'd like to have another. Cocktail-length dress, Vegas, maybe a vintage suitcase instead of a bouquet... and a veil like this. Same groom, of course.

Custom-made and reasonably priced here.

(Photo by Paul Rich Studio in Oregon)

They love me in Europe!

I just found out, via my daily reports, that I have readers in Europe! How cool is that? Mostly in Spain, which I attribute to my fantastic high-school Spanish.

¡Hola! ¿Cómo están ustedes? I love you guys so much, I figured out how to type the accent marks for that!

I also have some fans in Greece. I would say hello to you, but my Greek is worse than my Spanish.

Did you all know that May 9 is Europe Day? I did not. And that gas prices in most of Europe this week are $8-9.50 per gallon? So it looks like we should quit whining, Americans!

Tax day

If you're a business owner, you don't like tax day. Unless maybe you're a self-employed accountant, and you like tax day because it's the end of your busy season?

So we've been working hard, night and day on all the "books" and still putting together albums. I am looking forward to a bit of a break!

I need this!

I'll admit it, my dogs are desk-sitters. I spend a LOT of time at my desk, and I like the company! Chihuahuas are part cat, anyway.

I thought this might be nice for some of my readers (who shall remain nameless) whose dogs "work" with them. *cough* TwoPretzels *cough*?

Wedding photos at the library

Andrea and Joe decided to pose for some photos at the downtown library. We love to work with our clients and come up with creative, unique ideas for the "traditional" posed photos. I particularly like the "notable" sign above the wedding party.

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Rainbow at Kroger

Yesterday, NW Ohio was treated to some seriously weird weather. Here is the rainbow I made Joe pull over for - it lasted about two minutes, so I was lucky to get these photos (click to enlarge).

I wholeheartedly approve of rainbows.

Ten things I would love for my birthday, the ninth

I want a week off. Normally, we're busy from May-December, and slow from January-April. Not this year. This year, we've been busy all winter and we'll likely be twice as busy in the spring, summer, and fall. In business, busy is good, but it is exhausting.

I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to stay at home and clean and repair stuff. Maybe finish organizing the kitchen cabinets, and clean out the garage. Take the dogs for walks, and have a picnic. Yeah, that'd do it.

Hey, Joe, are you listening? If you can magically arrange this, you can give me a very nice, free present! And get the garage clean!

What would you guys do with a week off? Please comment!

Mother's Day Portrait Party!

I have been convinced to sneak in another Portrait Party before our busybusy wedding season.

For those just joining us, we will photograph families, pets, babies, couples, kids, artwork, headshots... anything you've got - just bring it and we'll shoot it. This is the last time the price will be $99, which includes a 20-30 minute mini-session, online proofing for a month, and a $50 gift card toward prints.

This one will be just before Mother's Day, which is... on my work calendar... I'm thinking May 11.

If you're able to come in for a session, please let me know which day works best for you!

On which day should we hold our second Portrait Party?
	Sunday, April 27
	Saturday, May 3
	I can't come to this one, but I'd love to come sometime in the future
	I'm out of town but when you take the show on the road, I'm there!
	Meh, I prefer Glamour Shots
pollcode.com free polls

Office hours

Hey, just so everyone knows, I am now working in my new office (I used to work from home). I love being downtown, but my efforts and my equipment are split up a bit. From home, I can blog, but I need to be at the office to access work email, wedding photos, web stuff, and albums.

So if you see me blogging, I'm often not at the office. I didn't want anyone to stop by and be unpleasantly surprised. If you call our main number (419.243.2111) you can always check to see when we're in.

Right now, I'm on a couch with many dogs, waiting for Joe to drive us to the office.

Rave for piperlime

I got my new shoes from piperlime, 23 hours after I ordered them. I don't know how they do it! If only my proof and album vendors worked that fast! Check out their packaging, too. I think we can learn something from these guys.

I love both pairs, and think the rhinestone ones have upped my cool quotient by a couple points.

C'mon and comment!

I know you're out there - I get daily reports that lots of people are reading... Please consider this your invitation to comment.

I looove comments and I really want to hear what you have to say! (I know you have things to say because many of you email me about my entries. Maybe you're just shy.)

So give it a try. Comment! It's free and it doesn't hurt a bit.

If the shoe fits...

I know I never mentioned shoes in the blog description, but I am a girl. I heard that girls love shoes because you always wear the same size and they can look as good on any woman as they do on a model. I know I've never had a "bad shoe day"!

I just got these two pairs on sale at piperlime, so I can stop wearing my silver sparkly shoes every minute of every day. I think the second pair might be suitable for more casual weddings.

Those are real rhinestones on the buckle, btw, and the flower is made of metal zippers.

Ten things I would love for my birthday, VIII

(I've been watching The Tudors so I had to represent Henry VIII)

This is my favorite champagne. A lot of it. I have no idea how many people this would serve, but I guarantee the bottle would impress all of them.

A wedding photo from the very cool Jessica Claire.

I love me a graph

This is just way too fun. I must admit I frequently consider going up the down escalator and down the up.

Lots more here.

For the dog owners

This has got to be the coolest crate I've ever seen. I hate how ugly traditional crates are, but for puppies and untrained dogs, they're lifesavers.

It's not too crazy-spendy, at $320. A decent option if you can't hide your crate away anywhere. Oh yeah, and for those with money to burn, you can get a gold-leafed version for $11K. That would be after you buy a couple of big wedding albums, of course.

Happy Birthday, April!

April (she's on the right) is a DMP bride who became our good friend. I hope everyone has someone as kind and thoughtful as April in their lives. She's also very photogenic!

Need invitations? Save the Dates?

What better time than your wedding to use beautiful and unique stationery? If you need invitations, save the date cards, thank you notes, programs, or menus, I must recommend the wonderful staff at La-Di-Da. They're creative, fun to work with, affordable, and local. As in, right next door to us at DMP!

La-Di-Da made the move from Maumee to downtown Toledo and we're so happy to have them. Give them a call for all your custom stationery needs.

Three projects today

1. Andrea and Joe's album is going online - stay tuned!

2. We're getting a new foster chihuahua who has a bit of an attitude problem.

3. We're going to NYC sometime in April. Anybody want an engagement session in the Big Apple?

I got the bike

Well, it's on order. If anyone is looking for a fantastic bike shop, look no further. Two Wheel Tango, with two locations in Ann Arbor, is the place. I love a saleswoman who tells me that I can try the large-frame bike, but that she will not sell it to me (because I needed the medium frame).

(Reminds me of my alterations person who gives it to me straight and won't let me leave looking like an idiot.)

Two Wheel Tango offers a lifetime warranty on frames, and free tune-ups for life ($45 and up at other stores).

Ten things I would love for my birthday, the Seventh

And this is what I am actually getting for my birthday.

I started cycling a year ago and had no idea I was going to love it so much. Everyone kept telling me I needed a different bike for the mileage I was doing, and I didn't really understand until I hopped on this beauty today. Wow.

It doesn't hurt that it's so beautiful. I might just hang it in the window at home.

Ten things I would love for my birthday, part six

Did you know six is the same in English and French? There's your fun fact for the day.

I really want a SmartCar. I suspect my Toyota gets similar mileage, but it's not as cute at the Smart.

This one kinda matches our logo...

New blog readers!

A big, fat welcome to all of my new blog readers! I seem to have quadrupled my readership overnight. :)

Please comment here if you'd like me to add you to our mailing list. I just need your email address. We keep all addresses private, and send blog updates, special offers, and reminders about 1-2 times a month.

Also, feel free to check out our snazzy new website at dmoment.com!

Oh yeah

Is this not the coolest lamp you've ever seen? By Transparent House, via Apartment Therapy.

(Yes, that is a camera!)

Newman, Rocky, and their people

These are some of the biggest dogs I've ever met! Rocky (yellow lab) is a ball of well-trained energy, and Newman (newfie mix) is the sweetest senior ever, except for my own 15-yr old.

I just love the family pics at the end - the first shows everyone laughing as we're trying to get posed, and the second is perfect.

Fergie

Fergie lives in Mexico with K. and C. of the famous blog Two Pretzels. The Ferg's really smart and funny, and she can't stand to be too far from her people (as you can see in the last photo).

Fergie, stay

Violet

Here is Violet, a darling former pound puppy who adopted Stephanie and Jeff.

She does this cute spinning thing for treats and it makes her look like she's got airplane ears.

We're doing another Portrait Party in April, and pound puppies (or any pet adopted from a rescue organization or shelter) will get a discount!




(Sirus is Violet's big brother, who wants a little blog love for himself! He has the sweetest face and a tail that never stops swinging.)