Last week I got a very sweet email from the incredibly talented and oh so kind Jessica at Volume twenty five, asking if I would be interested in collaborating with her on a new project. When I clicked on the links she sent, I couldn't help but fall in love with her adorable style and the sweet, flirty artistic pieces she creates. I am officially a believer that everyone should have a little vol. 25 in their lives (especially during this very crafty holiday season).

This latest project is a series of Photoshop custom shapes she's designed to be used as overlays on images. I'm not typically big into overlays or textures on images, but these were too much fun to pass up. This series is called the whimsical-ness shapes and they'll be available for purchase on her Etsy shop by the end of the week. And even though whimsical-ness has just been released, I happen to know that Jessica is already back to work cooking up several other collections of shapes...and I've seen sneakpeeks and I can already tell you're going to love them.

Here are a few samples from our collaboration (my images, her art), and you can see even more on her blog:

These photographs just make me happy.

.....this one's for you!

I'm generally a pretty casual girl -- partly because I'm just more comfortable in hiking boots than in heels, and partly because it's increasingly tough to find fashionable AND functional items. So when I discovered this perfect pairing, I knew I had to share.

So here it is: my friend and fellow PhotoGirl, Maile Wilson, just announced the launch of her sweet new camera bags for women!

I can't wait to get my hot little hands on these bags! They're so colorful and cute. And best of all -- you don't even have to be the girl who lugs around 2 cameras and 18 different lenses to use one -- just remove the velcro compartment sides and voila, it's the perfect everyday bag!

The bags won't be available for another month or so, but if you're interested in learning more or signing up for some early discounts, you can click here.

And huge congrats to Miss Maile and her fabulous design skills! I'll do my best to post some more photos for you all to drool over once I get my bag. :)

I was recently asked who my hero is. And I had to stop. And think.

Did they mean hero? Or superhero?

Because there's a big difference.

Superheroes can turn an ordinary Tuesday into an exciting afternoon! filled with civilian-protecting adventures! and travel over rooftops by silken webs shot from their wrists!

Heroes are the real people behind it all.

If you look closely, our world is full of 'em. Sometimes they're just a little disguised.

Other times....they sit out at the counter at night, scarfing brownies with their brother and sister and showing off their full regalia.

And that's pretty fun, too.

A few months ago, the photo editor at Brides Philadelphia contacted me after seeing Marisa and Chris's wedding on our blog. Little did I know, their wedding would not only be featured in the Real Weddings section of Brides Philadelphia, but Brides South Jersey as well! What a treat. Here are a few shots of the spreads:

I was thrilled to see that they sprinkled a few other images of Chris and Marisa throughout the magazines -- here's a shot of them on the Contents page....

...And on the left side below, you'll see our swing shot landed the full cover page of the Real Weddings section, as well. Such a fun layout!