Monday, February 06, 2012

weekends & my declaration of love for instagram


{shopping with sweet em who told me, "we had a great weekend together didn't we?". priceless}

 for the majority of my adult life
i've worked weekends & holidays.

i know...cry me a river right?
i had a job , a good job & for years the schedule i worked actually worked for us...
but i was so tired of being gone almost every saturday or sunday.

since making a major career move
i have loved being home & available for just whatever arises on the weekends.
if savannah pulls in to town unannounced...i'm good
if i find out jessica the founder of noonday is in town....i'm good
if my girls want to head out shopping...i'm good
if my handsome man wants a breakfast date...i'm good.

while i often have a photo session on the weekends, they only take a few hours
& are a big difference from leaving between 5-6 in the morning & pulling in sometime between 4-5pm.

this was one of those weekends were i was able to spend a little quality time with most of my family.
(smk will be home saturday!)

several months ago my phone broke.
i hated to pony up the money for a new phone but 
let me tell...i love my new phone. love it!
the whole instagram thing has revolutionized my ability to capture
even more moments!
as if...


a few things i realized as i worked on this post
1.  this will not be fascinating to the vast majority of you
 2. i have definitely violated the arbitrary number of images
allowed per blog post. 
again.
3. i actually liked madonna's like a prayer
& the drum line from last night's halftime. but that's all.
the whole tony basil-esque/highschool musical cheer thing was awful.
unrelated. i know.
4. i wear black leggings & boots way too much
& maybe even my "feed 1" shirt too!
5. i hopefully will never eat another thanksgiving meal
alone
in the breakroom at work!

 {breakfast date. the piedmont for him, the hollywood & a mimosa for me}

{west elm bliss at atlantic station? where have i been?}

{sprite zeros cute new blue can}

{trying to replace my usual lunch 4-5x week with juiced goodness}

{ love my nora flemming from carol & company}

{the tiny dancer}

{proving to savannah that i still cook}

{cute shoes are the best}

{passion city church with my favorite 10 year old}

{ she learns to drive, like the 2 before her....with dad!}


{the day my new site launches & there's the shirt. again}


{heading to ballet. wearing the shirt again. good grief!}


{reading Heaven is for Real on her nook}


{first place in her first DECA competition!}

{twins}


{makes my kindle wish it were a nook}


{fashion statement}

{things are a tad out of control in my little world}

{he walks in the door & starts washing dishes. no lie}

{in the kitchen}

{chickfila love}

{she's a rockstar #presidential scholar}

{first day on her new job}

{first day with her own checking account}


{her nails match her shoes. & yes, she drives in those}

{good grief, do i ever wear anything else?}
 {it's here!!!}

 {wrist adornment over achiever}

~~~
"Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name"
matt redman

Friday, February 03, 2012

Noonday Collection wonderfulness


have you ever noticed that when something exciting is going on
there seems to be a load of exciting things occurring
simultaneously?
so much so that taking a moment to absorb it all
has to be pushed back just a bit?
well, i'm almost to the point of being able to absorb,
as the last week has been a whirlwind!

thank ya'll for all the words of support
for my new adventure with Noonday!!

i love everything about this company
& love that while wearing beautiful handmade items
i'm helping to support another person in another country!

 praying i can figure out a way to head to Guatemala with them
later in the summer & meet some of the artisans!


the goodies i purchased for my trunk shows arrived last week
the girls & i had a blast playing dress up!

i wanted to share a few of the goodies with you
& let you know, if you wanted to order anything for a Valentines gift,
all orders placed by 2/5 guarantee shipping by that date.

ps, there seems to be a little confusion,
you can order directly from my site,
you do not need to wait until there is a trunk show to place orders.

i hope i don't overwhelm ya'll with all my noonday talk ;)

inca steps necklace is beautiful!
& it's their top seller.
made from tagua seeds by artisans in Ecuador.
here's a little love from
my very first customer ( i love saying that..& thank you carissa!)



the hand warmers  pictured above are super soft &
hand knitted from alpaca


the belts are my favorite!
Each belt is embroidered using ancient, heirloom quality techniques. The artisans are women in poverty stricken rural areas with very few opportunities for employment. They usually work at home with their children playing nearby .

the bull horn cuff above~
A unique take on the trend for richly textured, chunky jewelry, these cuffs are hand crafted out of bull horn. These one of a kind cuffs are a classic and timeless. The horn material is recycled and supports a small, family business located in the slums of Lima.
( fyi, the small is tiny, fits carolines. medium is shown above & fits me perfect)




i have two favorite necklaces
one is shown above
& the other should arrive monday!!












tagua seed bracelets look great worn together
in multiple!










i'll be hosting my launch party & open house at our home
Wednesday,  February 15th
10-noon
7-9pm
if you're local, i'd love for you to come!!
email me & i'll send you my address
paigeknudsenimages {at}comcast {dot} net

~~~

if you satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday
isaiah 58.10

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

being in the middle and being stretched




i climbed in the bed last night,
exhausted.
not physically exhausated neceassarily
but mentally exhausted.

the last week to 10 days have been full of so much excitment,
so much newness.
& even more "big" things ahead in the next month..."big" for me anyway.

i looked back over my goals for 2011
& found so much of what i prayed for has come to fruition.
almost all within a relatively super short period of time.
my mind is whirling around with all my to-do's.
thankfully i'm not planning a graduation party
or a wedding!

within 48 hours i had the privilege of photographing
2 beautiful people.
one is miss ruby.
miss ruby is 81 years old.

i also photographed audrey claire
in all her 7 day newness & deliciousness.
(each one i'll share about on their own little feature)
 
pictured right in the middle is me.
almost exactly in the middle of their ages.
right in the middle of two vastly different stages of life 
is me.

i thought it a sweet little ironic reminder to me
that all of our days are so important.
i read the status of one of my daughter's friends on fb the other day
& honestly i made me a little sad.
it was something to the effect of enjoying the happy because it doesn't last forever
but don't worry about the sad because that doesn't last forever either.

now, maybe i was being a little too introspective
but i thought that was so sad.
so temporary,
because our happy moments & how we respond during even the simple
everyday
makes an impact in those around us
forever.
even when we're gone from this earth, a forever imprint on those we love
& those that simply watch us from afar....

i looked at the glorious smile on the face of a woman
who has lived a life of joy for almost a decade
& doubted that she thought the happy things didn't last
or that the hard things didn't weave together with the good
to make her journey a beautiful story that
her great grandchildren she's pictured with
will most certainly always remember
& be inspired with...

anyway...
i'm trying to soak in all that's going on right now.
trying to be thankful for the adventures that i feel were basically dropped in my lap 
from the lord,
trying to push & stretch myself to try new things.

i've never done a session of a senior citizen
& i technically haven't done a newborn session
( not since really learning about my camera).
i didn't want the irony to be lost in the business 
but i'd rather see the two as opportunities for me to grow,
grow in my new skin as a photographer
grow as i bravely sink in to my passion of photography
grow & expand my comfort zone as the lord brings more opportunity into my little world
remember that the happy does weave together with the sad
& form our beautiful tapestry
that does last longer than just the moment...