What’s a better gift than the gift of memories? Contact me at meg@megperotti.com if you are interested in gifting photography this year!

Being home for the holidays is sometimes hard because I struggle with the want to spend time with my family and the want to see old friends and catch up- but time is usually tight and being with my family usually ends up winning. But, last night Aubrey and I mustered up energy we often have a hard time finding and headed down to a bar on Lincoln Ave. where we knew countless faces from our middle school and high school days would be making appearances. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming! It’s wonderful to reconnect (lets all admit, facebook is still not as good a the real thing) and it really makes me thankful for all of the people of my past who have played a part in my present- however small that part may be.

There was a time when all I wanted to do was move to New York, or Los Angeles, or London- just to get away from this place, to see the world, to be something and someone big. But I am happy now, ridiculously happy and I am someone big to someone and that is all I could ever want. Willow Glen is a strange place- it feels a lot like a small town in Kansas or a Pleasant-ville of sorts sometimes- There is a gravitational pull that I just can’t ignore anymore. I couldn’t imagine raising my family anywhere but here.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Hope your day is full of blessings. Love to all!

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings

-Bing Crosby

This post is near and dear to my heart and I know a lot of other people who are near and dear to me will be reading this one too. <3 all you!

Rosemary and Chris are great friends of mine- Rosemary and I commiserated over cubicle life at Architectural Digest for a couple years and when she and her fiance Chris moved literally down the street from Tim and I we struck up a most lovely friendship outside of work too! In fact, Tim and I shed tears last year in their apartment when Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States so now we share a “Remember when?” moment together and those are for a lifetime.

These images did not happen overnight- ooooh no, we’ve been emailing about them long before there was a ring. Which is tooootally okay in my book- we both shared a lot of ideas as to what would be the best way to show something about them and at the same time be editorial and creative. Books and music were natural places to land on for them. Chris works in a library and is a musician and Rosemary is a writer/editor (She also writes a blog called Booking It Bus Style about her book adventures while taking Los Angeles Public Transportation!). They were troopers- rented a U-Haul van and hauled some of their furniture and lots and lots of books out to our location where we set up a mock living room and started shooting away!

Thank you guys so much for giving me the honor of being your wedding photographer- your love is so great and I am so so thankful that I can play a part in your story! Love you!

Without further ado- I give you: “My darling, My Hamburger”

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Wait- seriously! It’s the week of Thanksgiving already????? How did this happen? The darkness has been slowly creeping into our long summer evenings, the slight crack in the window is enough to need an additional quilt on the bed, and the tea kettle’s whistle has been blowing a lot more often these days. This is my favorite time of year. I love to cuddle up on the couch, under blankets, with a cup of tea and a good book- I love cool winter light and the way my cheeks flush after a run from the bite in the air. I also love how even though my calendar has not cleared itself something in my mind has. I am ready for a break, ready to clear my mind of I do’s, and meetings, and clients, and shoots, and card loading, and editing, and album designing, and print order fulfilling so that I am refreshed and totally ready to take on my growing 2010 client roster.

What we do is creative- it needs inspiration to not fall flat. So, it’s important in our industry to really take some time to breathe every once and awhile- you get going on this momentum of nonstop work… shoot a wedding, edit a wedding, shoot a wedding, edit a wedding all spring and summer long. We don’t have vacation days, we don’t put in requests for time off- I answer client emails at 2AM if I am awake .. (perhaps I should rethink that? )That said, despite a few engagement sessions and two end of season weddings I am not taking on anymore shoots for 2009. December is officially mine to play catch up both in the business sense and the personal sense.

I’ll still see you on the blog, of course, but my professional camera will be hanging out in it’s suitcase for a bit- if you are thinking of scheduling a shoot let me know and we can get you on the books for January!

Onward!

Jackie and David tied the knot in a lovely church ceremony in Cerritos – it was a absolutely gorgeous day! They had a morning ceremony and an evening dinner so Heather, who came out to assist me with her awesome-ness, and I were able to grab Alcove salads and watch some bad/good TV in between work. That was cool! I think Jackie had the brightest color palette I saw all year… we did their portraits at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden ..check it out!

Shot of David on the left taken by the best, Heather Kincaid!