Miss me?

It's good to be back home. As much as I love the portability of a laptop, I think I've been spoiled by my 20" screen because now I find it impossible to look at images on anything smaller! The photography conference in Chicago was great with lots of great ideas and things to think about. I have a ton of notes to look back on when weddings start to slow down and a lot of ideas for the future. Here's a little overview of the week..

Saturday was a beautiful wedding in Livonia, MI just dripping with romantic florals and candlelight - it's a whole story in itself, so I'll save the details for another post. Sunday I had a great engagement session around Campus Martius and the Detroit Riverfront followed by a very long night of driving and stopping for construction on I-94 to Chicago.

On Monday, Jeff & Julia Woods gave me hope that there's room to grow in Terre Haute (they live in Peoria, IL). Monday night, Jules & Joy Bianchi joined me for a trip to the Chicago Pictage User Group meeting where David Jay stopped in to give one of his inspirational speeches about how we should stop killing ourselves in our work (AMEN!) Disclaimer: the following is a pretty horrible picture, but since it's really the only one of me this week, here ya' go..

(David Jay, Jules Bianchi, and me)

Tuesday we heard from Cliff Mautner about his philosophy on relationships as well as his use of light (he loves dramatic lighting as much as I do!) Wednesday, [b]ecker shared his workflow and branding strategies. Wednesday night I had a great engagement session on Navy Pier, but also learned that it takes 2 hours to get downtown from Arlington Heights during rush hour and that Navy Pier has it's own little rush hour after the fireworks. Thursday, Laura Novak gave us an opportunity to really evaluate our businesses and plan for the future. Overall it was a great week and I met a lot of really wonderful people from all over the globe.

The drive back last night was my first trip down U.S. 41 and let me just tell you right now, there isn't much to see between Chicago and Terre Haute, unless farmland really intrigues to you. There is, however, cheap gas along the way. ;-) In the city of Chicago, gas was around $3.30... but in the middle of the farming community, gas was only $2.89. Nice. The only food stop I made along the drive home was for an irresistible HOT, fresh, Krispy Kreme Doughnut. Doughnuts aren't something I crave, or even put on my plate when they are part of a breakfast selection, but when Krispy Kreme has that HOW NOW light on... I'm pulling over just for the melt-in-your-mouth experience. If you've only had Krispy Kreme out of a pre-packaged box at a grocery store, gas station, or 7-11, then you've never had a REAL Krispy Kreme.



Stay tuned for my regularly scheduled Wedding & Engagement blogging!