Birmingham Magazines

It seems January was a good month for both the Mr. and I. I was chosen as one of the top trendsetters & Tastemakers for the Birmingham area in Birmingham Home & Garden. I was humbled to be paired with my friends Marianne, Doug and Paige, Brooke, Jennifer, and Megan among a few others. (Click on the image to make larger)

We then got an email from one of our past brides and she let us know that her wedding was featured in the Birmingham Magazine. We could not have been any more excited. Loved seeing Kellen Jacob Photography in print. Ha! (click on the images to enlarge)

So Fun, right?

*oh, and don't worry I am still over on Mrs. French and sharing the images that inspired my choices from yesterdays post. Love being inspired.

Three Days

Not sure if you had heard, but Alabama had quite the winter fest. I have lived here for 14 years and have never seen this much snow here. The down fall of never having snow here is that the state is not prepared for such things so the whole state just shuts down. The first day was fabulous. We made make shift sleds out of plastic bin tops and had hours of fun outdoors. Well, the next two days turned to nothing but ice which makes it no fun to go outside. So we made forts, painted, and I just let the kiddos destroy the house. By day three I must say the kiddos in all their hyperness were driving up the wall, ha! Yesterday Ellie was back in school and I managed to do a few fun errands and clean the house. It's so funny how much the state of my home effects my mood. Messy = chaos / tidy = peace. I am so odd.

Merry Christmas!

Loved this cover from the Sundance catalog. It exudes pure holiday cheer. Ellie insists that this lady is me, she says we have the same smile, ha! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

BLISSFUL

Today I am over on Ingle Talk sharing a few tidbits for a blissful wedding day. I just adore weddings and the life that follows it. Hope you join me there. The post took me forever to do, ha!

{image via Kellen Jacob Photography}

Our Christmas Cards with Minted

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is sending out our Christmas cards. Last year we went with a photo with just kiddos that we adored, but this year I knew I wanted a family photo, which is much easier said than done with two small ones. While on vacation we decided to take a chance and see what we could come up with. Thankfully it went off without a hitch and we managed to capture quite a few winners.

A few tips on capturing a great family photo...

1) Dress in what you are comfortable in. You can wear complementing outfits without being too matchy matchy.
2) Keep it simple...especially when using a self timer like we did for the first image. If you try too hard it will show, and not necessarily in a good way.
3) Be yourself. Again this goes back to dressing in what you would normally wear and stay away from too many trends unless that is who you really are. People want to see the real you.
4) Have fun!!! So many people put too much pressure on having to get that perfect shot, but in the long run you will see the stress of it all on your faces. The in between moments are always our favorites anyways.
5) Using a self timer can be hard even for a photographer like my Mr. so asking a friend to help can be a life saver. It also gave us the chance to do something that comes completely natural to us...walking as a family.

Then comes the choosing of the card. We being the creative types like to be a bit different and try to choose something that not only represents our family, but our photography as well. Once we saw Minted we knew they would be the best choice for us. The quality is superb with thick paper and the designs are fresh and so very unique. We liked them so much we choose two different designs this and this one. Really it was too hard to choose just one...so we didn't!

Now to get addressing so I can have them ready to send out the week after Thanksgiving. Yes, I like to be on top of things.