Musings from the self-employed | Slowing down can be as difficult a task as speeding up.

Does anyone else find it really hard to leave the house this time of year? Things are starting to feel a lot more like home around here lately with the completion of our bathroom remodel, lots of furniture deliveries, and our stair install and I hardly ever want to leave! I like to cozy up on the couch with my laptop, open the shutters so I can watch the world go by outside, and work with a blanket strewn over my lap and a cup of tea in my hand. It can be easy to blame the hermit inside of me on the weather but occasionally I need someone to give me that little push that gets shoes on my feet and sends me out the door. This morning my mom sent me a quick email that simply said, "It's a beautiful morning. Go take a walk."

I sometimes associate movement like a "walk" with exercise a little too much and I think I end up putting pressure on myself to have a "good run" and I forget that I can just put my shoes on and walk when I feel like it, run when I feel like it, stop and look at things when I want.... There is no pressure for something to always be monumental or a success- sometimes the true pleasure really just lies in the journey. Often I think we get going so fast that we lose track of the why. In a world where so many things in our life are immediate, slowing down can be as difficult a task as speeding up. But, guys, I realized this morning that there is no drill Sargent barking order at my heels to "get MOVING!".. no one blowing a whistle at some arbitrary finish line ..

So, I took my mom's advice, shut my computer off, laced up my shoes, grabbed my iphone, pressed play on the latest episode of This American Life and hit the pavement. It really was a beautiful morning... rain is rolling in and the leaves have officially changed into bright reds and oranges and I couldn't help but wish I had done this sooner. More winter walks (with no pressure to run!) will definitely be in my future.

From my walk by the Rose Garden on the left and, of course, home isn't all bad either- the fall-scape view from my desk.

I post a lot of these kinds of iphone images daily here and on my instagram.. Username : MegPerotti

Bay Area Wedding Photographer | A wedding at Creekside in Los Gatos, CA |Erica and Derek

So many weddings to share with you .. so happy to be spending so much time in my office this past week or two. Playing catch up is serious therapy for me ... checking things off of my todo lists never felt better. I talk a lot about finding balance in life while being a business owner and as much as I know I need to practice what I preach it is really easy to just work. all. the. time. when it is you and only you who can create your income. It's important to know when to pull back and spend some time cultivating your craft rather than executing it. Since I shot my last wedding of 2011 last week I fully intend to spend time on some house projects, design lots and lots of albums, finally send images to patient vendors (more on this later), and enjoy decorating for the holiday season!

We are having new stairs installed today ... hopefully this:

will look more like this soon....What?! A girl can dream.. right? ;)

Lets talk wedding photography....

Erica and Derek had a lovely outdoor wedding at Creekside earlier this year surrounded by not only friends and family but beautiful towering redwoods. Weddings in the Santa Cruz Mountains always hold a special place in my heart .. I always pictured myself getting married surrounded by redwood trees .. there is nothing like that fresh smell of the woods. Alas, we tied the knot in November so redwoods would have meant freezing evening temperatures but in May the mountains were in beautiful form and the sun peeked through the tree boughs for perfect light on their big day.

Onward!