Edward & Michelle: Engaged!

After a long, refreshing week in Houston with the fam, I am back in Austin and getting ready to be back in our house TODAY! :) I cannot wait to move in!

While I was in Houston I had 3 awesome engagement sessions, starting with the lovely Edward and Michelle. I loved spending time with them!























I love this outtake. :)

Where you at, Cross???

My friend Tyler always calls me "Cross", which I think is funny and he says things like "Whatcha doin', Cross?" when he calls. :)

Just wanted to let you guys know I'm in Houston with my folks, hanging out for the holidays. Poor sweet little ole Stan had to work, so he's back in Austin, but he'll be joining us here tomorrow for Grandma's 95th Birthday!!!!!!! I am SO proud of my Grandma - she is so amazing and I cannot wait to celebrate her! :)

Today I'll be heading down to West U to shoot Michelle & Edward's engagement session and then over to my uncle's house for my grand-cousin's bithday party. I'm having so much fun here, but I also can't wait to get back to Austin because I'll get to return to a house that's FINISHED and looks awesome! :)

Last night I went out with some of my very best High School friends. I had not seen several of them since my wedding (4.5 years ago) and a few of them I hadn't seen since High School (8 years ago)! It was really fun!

Anyway, just wanted to give you the 411 on what's up with me. :) Hope you are having a fabulous week! I will have many pictures to share very soon so hang tight! :)

Much love,
Stacy

No more figgy pudding!!!

Okay, so I don't really know what figgy pudding is, but I know I don't want to eat it - and I don't want to eat about 90% of the stuff I've been putting in my mouth over the last month, but I can't stop myself!!! :)

It's usually about this time of the year when I go, "Gheeze, Stacy. You are so unfit and so sloppy!" And then I get all bummed out about how I could have been in awesome shape if I had worked out more or if I had just learned to control my eating, etc., etc. - I trust you all know the drill.

Anyway, I am officially announcing to you all on the World Wide Web that I am serious about "feeling great in '08!" (ugh, that is so cheesy!) Honestly, I HATE making New Year's resolutions, but this year I'm going to do it because January 1st also happens to coincide with a really convenient time in my life to make some discipline changes.

Here's my plan:

1) I'm not into crash-diets, so my goal will be to eat less and eat better. I want to be HEALTHY - I want to have a strong, healthy heart and I want to be able to run away if somebody were to chase me. :) Therefore, I am planning on limiting my intake of sweets/unhealthy fats and replacing those things with MORE VEGGIES!! I love vegetables - I really do! So why shouldn't I eat them instead of cake? ; )

2) I am joining a gym. I was a member of Gold's up until last January and I didn't renew because I was so busy with school. I'm thinking of joining 24 Hour Fitness so that I can work out with my buddies Tasha and Darcy. Accountability is KEY to getting me to work out consistently!

3) I am going to continue in my new healthy sleeping habbits. As of late, I am proud to report that I've been getting about 8 hours of sleep per night and not taking naps during the day. I have felt energized and awake all day until about 8pm when my body realizes that bedtime is around the corner. I am hoping that by adding exercise, I will be energized even more - all the way up until when my head hits the pillow!

4) More water! My sister-in-law Beth is a water champ! She has recently inspired me to get back to drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. I drink coffee in the morning with soy milk and I often have a glass of red wine in the evening with dinner, so my plan is to fill the rest of the day with water only. I am one of those people who loves to get a soda when eating at restaurants, so this is going to be a challenge for me when I'm out, but I will make it work. :)

They say that setting goals is a really imporant key to success so, while I don't want to reveal the amount of weight I'm hoping to lose, let's just say I'd like to go down two-three clothing sizes. I am hoping that by June, when we're in San Diego shooting Jeff and Rebecca's wedding, that I will have reached my goals. Jeff & Erin Youngren are going to take some pictures of Stan and I for our 5 year anniversary, so I am hoping to be in tip-top shape by then!

Why, might you ask, am I sharing all of this with you? The answer is simple: now you know what I'm doing, so I HAVE to do it! :) Seriously - accountability is such a big deal for me in every area of life! If I've told somebody I'm going to do something, it is so much more likely to be done.

So, starting January 1st, I am on a quest for true physical health and well-being. Will you join me? During my 5 month quest, I plan on telling you about my progress on the blog and also sharing tips for what's working and what's not working for me so that hopefully what I learn will help you out too! :)



My first tip: Get thyself to a Barnes and Noble ASAP and purchase "You: The Owner's Manual" by Dr. Oz. I bought this book for my dad for Christmas (don't tell!) and read over half of it in one night - I couldn't put it down! It has all kinds of great tips on things you can start doing now to increase your life-span. The book is really funny and it's full of really awesome pointers on getting healthy. I am about to graduate from Nursing school and I was surprised by how much this book taught me!

One of my favorite quotes in the book about flossing your teeth:

"If you find that you're in a hurry, remember: only floss the teeth that you want to keep."

Merry Christmas Eve!

Love
Stacy

Drew & Amanda: Engaged!

WOW - 2 picture posts in one day?!?!?!?! :) Yes! I just wanted to leave us with some fun stuff to look at over the holidays, since we'll be outta here from tomorrow Dec 22nd through Jan 2nd. We have a couple of portrait sessions and a wedding during that time, so we can all look forward to checking those out after Jan 2nd! :)

Here are Drew & Amanda's fabulous engagement portraits from today. They were obviously very good to my camera. :) These two will be married in May and it will be here before we know it! Drew and Amanda - thanks for such a fun time today - you guys are the bomb! (Oh, and hi Melissa - thanks for coming along! :) )























Happy Holidays to all of you and we wish you lots of joy and great times with your family and friends! Stan and I remember YOU amongst our many blessings this Christmas. :)

Much love,
Stacy

Shanan's Bridals

One word for Shanan: Wow. She is SO beautiful! The awesome thing is, she also has a heart of gold to go along with her looks! :) I had a blast hanging out with Shanan, her mom and her sister Shelly yesterday during Shanan's bridal portraits. We literally dragged her dress through dirt and glass and trash and the girl never once complained. As a result of her trusting me (thanks, Shan!), we got some awesome shots! Here's a few of my favorites . . .

Quick announcement

Hey guys -

Just FYI - Today we are moving out of the place we've been staying while our house has been completely renovated and back into our house - yay! I will be "out of the office" - no phone or email access for the next 24 hours, so please bear with me in returning your emails and calls. Thanks a ton!

Next time you hear from me I'll be at home! :)

Love
Stace

PS - Scroll down and check out Jen's senior portraits - you'll love her!

Jen's Senior Portraits!

Yesterday was the perfect day for pictures and I got to take full advantage of it with my new friend Jen who will be graduating from high school this year and needed some fun, funky, and fresh senior portraits! Well, she came to the right gal! :)

Jen is interested in possibly attending OU (we'll forgive her!) and majoring in Communication. She's been thinking of doing event planning, so I made sure she wouldn't forget me when she's planning all her fabulous events! :)

Here are a few pictures from our time together . . .

Lindel & Melissa: Engaged!

Last Sunday was a chilly one, which worked out to my advantage, since it only meant that Lindel and Melissa held each other closer the whole time we were shooting their engagement pictures! I loved getting to know these two. Lindel is the "Stacy" of the relationship - he's bold, outspoken, and is not afraid to tell you how it is - I love that about him! ; ) Melissa is just as beautiful, sweet, and intelligent as you could want a gal to be. These two really compliment each other. We were able to take a few relaxed portraits at their house before moving down to Zilker park for some fun times. :) Our time together is exactly why I want an engagement session with every couple - it gives us a chance to really get to know each other and to get excited about one another! I cannot wait to shoot their wedding and I think they're pretty excited about me being there, too. ;)

Here are a few favorites . . .











Note to self: get some sassy-butt jeans ASAP! :)

Photographer friends!

Man, it is such a blessing to have these guys! I love getting together with my Photographer friends for the same reason that scrap bookers like getting together. They can be like "Ugh, it makes me so mad when my tape-runner doesn't secure the die cuts to the page, which causes the page protector to not slip on properly!" And everyone else can be like "Yeah, I hate that, too." Same thing with us photographers. And it's both therapeutic and hilarious when we all get together.

Normally we get together for no special reason, but this time we had some very special guests with us, who graciously hosted a lovely dinner for us at the ever fabulous Guerro's on South Congress. Mr. Jason Groupp and Mr. Fred Egan came to town on a model search for their upcoming Revolution (or is it "redemption"? ;)) Workshop that will take place here in Austin next February.

Here's a pic of all of us at Guerro's and I have a couple of questions for you . . .



1) Does anyone know the scientific reason why *I* ALWAYS have insanely more red-eye than everyone else in pictures??? (I have very blue eyes and I've been told before that it might have to do with the lightness?!) If you know the answer, please leave it in the comments!

2) What do you think of my new haircut? Please be honest! Do I look like a boy or just a really really hip girl? :) haha.

3) How darn good lookin' is this group?!

Oh, I almost forgot the free plugs for my girls . . .

In order of appearance: back row - Amy DeYoung (and then Fred and Jason)and Sarah Quiara; front row - me,Courtney Sprague, Kellie Finch, and Jennifer Nichols

Now go hire them to shoot your wedding! :) Haha!

Love
Stacy

Justin and Hannah's Wedding!

I love December weddings! It was such fun to be a part of Justin and Hannah's wedding on Saturday. Hannah is a friend from my old Hope Group and I was so honored when she asked me to be her wedding photographer. I knew it would be an amazing ceremony and it truly was. Hannah's dad married them and Justin's dad gave a beautiful blessing from the front. My dear friends Clark and Natalie lead worship. I was flying solo at this wedding, so I realized how much I LOVE having Stan with me to shoot weddings, but it was still really great. :)

Here are a few of my favorites from the day . . .









This was my favorite moment during the ceremony. The way that Hannah was looking at Justin took my breath away - just beautiful.




Natalie on piano

Merry Christmas from the Cross Fam!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Ah, holiday party time is back! Don't you love this time of year - where you're hoping from party to party all weekend long and regretting everything you ate come Monday? It's just wonderful! :)

The other night Stan and I went to a gingerbread house-building party at our friends Dennis & Amy's house and it was so much fun! Stan was very instrumental in building the gingerbread land that the group put together. I really didn't have anything to do with building it, but I did come up with the plan of how to destroy it! :) I decided that we should all eat the house as fast as we could and time ourselves. Somehow in my mind it played out a lot differently than this! Luckily it was captured on video! If you watch this video, notice how people seem somewhat enthusiastic at the beginning, but be sure to watch it till the end. ; )

Of course, if you don't know what I look like, I've the gal who's bossing everyone around about eating the house. I have on a black shirt and jeans. I'm standing next to Mrs. Claus (Amy). Also, Stan is the one who begs me to let him stop eating because he's hurting. :) He's on the far right as you're watching the video and he has a brown shirt and glasses.


* Click here to see the video *

Oh, and by the way, I still think we could have done it! The problem was that about 75% of the people ate one piece of candy and then quit - they should be ashamed! :)

Beach Pictures - Charleston, SC

On our first day in South Carolina for Thanksgiving, my fabulous sis-in-law Elizabeth and I went down to the beach at sunset for a bit of a photography field trip. We just walked around and captured what we saw, completely for the fun of it. I always tell people that I really love shooting weddings and portraits because I'm a "people photographer", but this trip stirred something up in me that I didn't know was there: a desire to shoot "things" - and to shoot just for me. I had so much fun just walking around with Beth and capturing the beauty of the beach in the fall. Here are a few of my shots. Oh, and I left my watermark off of them so that you could use them as your screensaver if any of them catch your eye. :)

The Bachelor Review (finally)

With all the busyness of the end of the year, I have not had a chance to sit down and address the issues regarding the ending of ABC's "The Bachelor". You all know that I shamefully love watching "The Bachelor", so I hope that you thought of me during the shocking season-ending episode. :)

Several folks have asked me how I felt about the way it ended and I decided it was about time I address that question right here on the blog!

Before I give my opinion, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, let me give a quick re-cap:

- This season's Bachelor was from Austin, Texas and he seemed like a really nice guy.
- When he narrowed the ladies down to the final two, we had NO idea which one he would pick since he was clearly deeply in love with both of them, based on his own words during the show.
- In the last episode, he was supposed to pick one of the girls and instead he chose neither girl. Not only did he not chose one of them, he also decided that he did not want to continue either relationship (as in, continue dating), leaving both girls confused and broken-hearted.

Okay, now that we have the summary out of the way, here are my thoughts . . .

If Brad had just simply decided that he was not in love with either of these girls, and thus could not chose either of them at the end, I would have respected that.

HOWEVER, he COMPLETELY led BOTH of these ladies to believe that he was ready to marry them! WHY did he lead them on like that?! Stan says is is because the producers told him to do that. If so, he's an even bigger dog than I give him credit for!

I have no problem with the fact that he did not end up choosing either girl. I think that, considering that he now says he couldn't see a future with either one, it was the right decision. Of course, I would not want him moving forward with a woman he wasn't interested in. But to very seriously convey to both women that he COULD see a future with them, and then to break both of their hearts, that was just so wrong!

So, that is my opinion. I would love to know what you other Bachelor fans thought. I am over it now, but I felt completely cheated at the end of the show. How did you feel?

(Shallow ramblings over.) :)

James and Nicole's Wedding

November 24th was one cold, dark, rainy day but for all Nicole and James knew, we could have been in the middle of the biggest storm of the century. All these two thought about was that this day was the day they had planned for and dreamed of for over a year - the day that they would become husband and wife. Every moment of this day was beautiful, from their gorgeous St. Austin's wedding to their fabulous reception at Mercury Hall. We truly enjoyed capturing all of the moments that made their day so wonderful! Here's a few of my personal favorite parts of the day. :)



I love the perspective that Stan had during the wedding


A sweet moment during the ceremony








The father-daughter dance was one of the sweetest I've ever seen!


James' dad gave a very touching toast that included a toilet paper roll as a prop :)


I LOVE THIS


If you are not already familiar with the "Superman" dance, you will be soon!:)




The lovely flowers were done by my friend Terri at Fiori del Sole and the amazing Resha from 36th Street Events kept things running so smoothly all night! Way to go, ladies!

I never knew

that Buddy snores at night like a big old lady. :) I couldn't get to sleep last night because I drank a cup of caffeinated coffee at 8pm, so I laid in bed, listening to the many noises of the night, which included Buddy's awful snoring problem. He also apparently has vivid dreams because he moves his paws and barks in his sleep. It was really amazing to witness! :)