Florida | Treasure Island | May 2022

Headed south for some beach time and a surprise trip to Disney. I found a cute little motel called The Molloy on Treasure Island, Florida. The motel was hidden between a row of towering vacation stays but even being short The Molloy stands out because somehow once in the premise its a cute little white space with private beach access and a pool. It served our needs perfectly although I will warn parking is limited and I can image would be tricky in peak season.

We also did a day trip to Disney which was really special because none of the kids had been before. We went with Magic kingdom and I totally splurged and hired a Florida photographer to spend the day with us and document. This ended up being a great idea, if you find yourself busy on your phone trying to capture everything, or in my case on my camera, and end up loosing out on actually enjoying the moment OR never ended up in photos yourself. I can’t recommend Brittany The Photographer enough for spending a hot May Day with us at Disney.

Halloween Family Photos 21'

Anyone else have a weird love for everything weird and spooky? Well I do, and I know my girl Nicole does too. Thats why she had to be the one to photograph my little family for a masked halloween photo shoot in her beautiful old (and kind of spooky) manor. One thing I found to be really nice from a parents view, you didn’t have to worry about where they are looking, what faces they are making. In a mask anywhere they look turns out ok, and maybe even spookier than expected. I don’t need much persuasion but I encourage anyone to take the time to do the photo sessions, of all kinds. The formal, the silly and the spooky.

Photographer- Nicole Leoné Miller

Venue- Miller Manor

Masks- Curious Fair

Family Photos with Sara Nicole Photography

There are a few things I had in mind when booking this years family photos. I wanted an amazing family photographer, rolling hills scenery, fingers crossed for a sunset and a late summer/early fall timeframe. And the Gods heard my cry because thats exactly what we got. Sara of Sara Nicole Photography completely blew me away with her ability to delivery an amazing gallery. Not to mention her beautiful editing. We met outside of Danville, Ohio on private property of someone she knew and had the perfect weather, a beautiful sunset and only cranky kids for the last half.

I encourage you as a client thinking about when and where to do photos to consider…

What time of day will it be sunset, is it way past kids bedtime?

What’s the weather like-will you be sweaty in 5 minutes?

Does your wardrobe match the scenery?

Does your photographer help guide you in all those questions?

Photographer- Sara Nicole Photography

Summer inside with my Girls

If you follow along, you may have seen last year I did a photo session with just. my girls. You can see that here- Picnic with my Girls

This year, my girls are 5 and I thought, how fun if we just make some forts out of sheets and play for a while. I always go into photo sessions, and reality for that matter, knowing these girls move and groove. They are not the type to sit with barbies for hours. They are too wired for that kind of intentionality. So I knew they may like the forts or they might have just as much fun destroying them. We went to Nicoles beautiful home for the photos and set up shop. As anticipated they were into for a few minutes but quickly moved on and wanted to explore her house, which in return made for just as beautiful of photos.

I have come to look forward to these annual photo shoots with my girls, always trying to come up with a theme they may enjoy and if nothing else, will have to look back on fondly when grown, with their mother in front of the frame with them.

Photographer- Nicole Leoné Miller

Venue- Miller Manor

Spring Break 2021- Captiva Island, Florida

We moved back in with my parents at the end of the year last year after selling our home in Columbus. Ryan starts grad school in May and our income with be split in half. Also we have been warned the program he will be attending is very time demandind and I can count on him not being around often to help, so we also moved in hoping for some extra help with the kids. One of the best parts of moving “back home” was the girls started in a pre-school that is five days a week. They are picked up and dropped off by a school bus and its just all of our favorite adjustment since moving from the city. Since we now were following a school schedule, that meant we had a Spring Break to plan for. We decided to head to Captiva Island in Florida. I have been there years ago with my bestie and her family but really didn’t remember much about it other than the famous restaurant, The Bubble Room. The location is also not far from where my dad lives in Florida so we were also able to meet up with him and spend an afternoon together.

Captiva is honestly a dream. Its beautifully nestled on the gulf side of Florida. We booked an apartment/villa on Airbnb and it was by no means the prettiest place on the island but it served its purpose just fine. IT was a one bedroom- (where me and Ryan slept and set up a pack-n-play for Knox) and the living room couch was a pull out sofa (where the kids slept). We were in walking distance to a Starbucks, a public beach access and one of the many community pools. It just so happened we had friends who overlapped our stay by a couple days so we were able to hang out at the pools, do some photos at the beach and eat at the whimsical Bubble Room. It was the first vacation with all the kids that I thought to myself, “man, I could stay another day or two.” Usually we are all ready to get home and back to our normal routines, but this trip will forever be remembered as the one we could have stayed.

Family Photos Spring 2021

Is it possible to have too many family photos? I definitely don’t think so. I had originally signed up for a mini with Grace E Jones, which she almost never does but was spiraling into a realization I really wanted a full session with her, time to really relax and enjoy the process. I actually can’t stress enough to parents who want a a good variety for their family photos, just do the full session. Minis have their place but they almost always have a feeling of stress, pushed and forced to try and get all the photos one might want from a photo session. So lucky for me, Grace was fine with switching to a full session and im so glad we did. I already want more.. like sign me up again.

Boho Box with the Family

Last minute the Boho Box down in Hocking Hills had a cancellation and this is a big deal because its booked out for a year and half. I checked our calendars and quickly made the arrangements when I realized it worked out for our schedules. Ryan and myself stayed here back in February and had taken Knox with us, which was pretty easy to accommodate. This time we brought all the kids and wondered if we would regret it. There is one king size bed in the upstairs container and enough of a landing to set up a pack & play for the baby to sleep… the other option for sleeping is a sofa bed on the first floor hidden inside the banquet seating. We weren’t sure how the girls would do but honestly it was perfect. We all started out on the sofa bed winding down watching some TV, after enjoying the hot tub. The next morning everyone was up at their usual early time so I was able to take the twins outside to try and grab some sunrise photos of the boho container and let the girls play in the woods and try out the hammock right off the back porch.

Lake Michigan | 2020

In a surprisingly good turn of events amidst these stay home/quarantine times during covid-19, Ryan and myself found we had a long weekend off together after his scheduled drill weekend was canceled. Originally, we had plans to go stay at my favorite interior designer/nursing school bestie’s lake house in Michigan a few weeks ago and had to cancel due to Michigans strict rules of no travel at the time. Now with this new time off together, I checked with her if the lake house was open; AND IT WAS, cue the happy dance. With Michigan lifting their strict travel ban, we headed north to go spend some quality isolation/stay home time but with a change of scenery…(one with a view). Brittanys lake house sits right on Lake Michigan in an area called Lake Leelanau on Michigans famous Highway 22. We really enjoyed lounging around and cozying up by the wood burning fire while also supporting locally and ordering some of the areas best take out food. For two days in a row we went about 30 minutes north just past Northport and hiked a really easy 1 mile hike to the shoreline to go play on the sand dunes. The first day was pretty foggy with little visibility and the next day was bright sun, which made for two completely different experiences despite “doing” the same thing. We are home now and so glad we took the leap to take the long drive north.

We can’t express how thankful we are to have had the opportunity to get away while still feeling safely socially distanced. If the house catches your attention, check out Brittanys interior design services over at Will+Blu, she has always been my go to inspiration on styling my home and can’t recommend her enough.

Knox | Newborn Photos

We were graced by Naida at Milk Shop Photography with her talents and sweet spirit. She came to our home and did newborn pictures of Knox and got some family photos while at it. She captured the twins holding their brother for the first time, little fingers and toes and the whole family in one frame. I couldn’t be happier and more grateful for her work.