Happy Valentine's Day, Single Friends!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Today, I want to dedicate my blog to all of the single women out there. I spent way too many Valentine’s Days feeling marginalized and alone because of my singleness. This silly holiday has a way of stealing joy, and I’m here to say “NOT TODAY!” I’d be lying to you if I told you that I LOVED being single. I didn’t. I so admire women who embrace it with such beauty and confidence, but I was not one of those women. At a certain point, I deemed myself “perpetually single”. I spent years without a date and then I spent years with a whole lot of very bad dates. I’m not entirely sure which was better, but I came out of it all with a whole lot of stories (those are for another day…). Anyway, today I want to tell you why I’m so thankful for my single years. Because who wants to hear one more sappy love story today?!

1.Awesome Female Friendships: I knew almost no one when I moved to Pittsburgh. So I found a church and joined a women’s small group. Every week, we would all get together, drink a glass of wine, and talk about Jesus. We became best friends, and it was awesome.

2.Doing Stuff Alone: Have you ever plugged in your headphones and gone for a long walk by yourself? Or just a casual trip to Target? Or to the movies - whatever you wanna see? It’s so liberating!

3.Habits: You can really sink into (and enjoy) your habits that other people don’t appreciate. For example, I love drinking milk straight out of the carton! And I squeeze the toothpaste tube right near the nozzle instead of from the end.

4.Identity: If I had a boyfriend all those times I WISHED I had a boyfriend, I would not be the person I am today. Because no matter how much I would have denied it then, I was pretty moldable. I was still figuring things out, and I’m so glad I got to do that without the influence of a guy.

5.God’s Timing: If I could have written out my love story and then snapped my fingers and lived it right then…it wouldn’t have been as good as what actually happened. Because God’s better at writing love stories than I am. I know that now.

So remember, your value is not based on your relationship status. It’s hard to embrace singleness sometimes, especially on Valentine’s Day, but I’m here to cheer you on :)

Now here’s my favorite small-batch chocolate chip cookie recipe. Go have yourself a treat!

2 T Melted Butter

1 T Sugar

2 T Brown Sugar

1/4 t Vanilla

1 Egg Yolk

1 Pinch of Salt

1/4 t Baking Soda

1/4 C Flour

Chocolate Chips

Mix butter, sugars, and vanilla. Mix in the egg yolk. Mix in the salt, baking soda and flour. Mix in chocolate chips. Spoon into 2 balls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

(recipe courtesy of the HGTV Instagram page)

Baby Eliza & Her Lifestyle Newborn Session {Pittsburgh In-Home Newborn Photography}

I absolutely love lifestyle photography. And if you’re unfamiliar with what that means - you’ve come to the right place! Gone are the days of stiff posed shots with everyone (hopefully) looking at the camera and forcing a smile. Lifestyle photography is all about capturing authentic emotions and reactions - it’s story-telling. It’s about taking a snapshot of life as it is in that moment. It’s a guided process, typically. I offer prompts and some posing, but the photos feel candid and natural.

I visited Dan, Stella & baby Eliza on a Saturday afternoon at their home in Pittsburgh. Eliza had a full belly and was just starting to feel quite sleepy. While she was awake, I took pictures of her looking at Mommy & Daddy and even a couple of her looking at the camera (what luck!). Then we swaddled her and Daddy rocked her as he paced the nursery floor. Stella leaned over to tell me that this is his trick for getting her to sleep. And it worked like a charm! We then took pictures of her in her crib and in the basket she has become accustomed to sleeping in. We captured some mom & baby snuggles and some dad & baby snuggles as well as the whole family together.

The great thing about lifestyle photography is that it doesn’t matter if the baby is awake or asleep - both are great! We let the baby be who he or she is and capture those moments. When we removed Eliza’s swaddle at the end of the photo session, she posed herself (scroll to the bottom for the picture) - and it was so sweet! She then sort of sprawled out, and I think that was almost equally as adorable!

Not all newborn sessions are quite so seamless. And that’s okay! Bring your chaos. Bring your crazy. Bring you. I want you to look back on these photos and say - remember what life was like when we brought our sweet baby home? She loved sleeping on your shoulder and being rocked to sleep as you paced across the floor. Let’s capture life as it is in this moment. Let’s tell your story through photos.

40 Degrees and Smiling {Pittsburgh Family Photography}

I really love fall! And if it didn’t hint to an approaching winter, I would love it even more! But regardless, fall is such a beautiful time of year. The temperature dropped to 40 degrees for this photo session with the P family, but you wouldn’t have known from the smile on Charli’s face! What a sweet 5 month old! We had so much fun in our time together, and I think it shows in the photos. What a beautiful and kind family!