ONE SWEET GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the launch of our brand new web site, we've decided to give away this "Sweet" frame.  We've been working hard to bring you some fantastic new product options at A&R, and these frames are one of them.  They really make a statement on the wall!  To enter the contest, all you have to do is comment on this post.  Tell us why you love A&R.  One of our lucky clients will take home this 16X20 frame ($159 Value!).  Your comment must be posted by February 17. Keep your eye on our blog to see if you're the winner. Not a luck winner, but still love the frames?  Purchase one from A&R.  They come in 4 different colors, and range from $79 - $159.

Update on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:42AM by [Your Name Here]

AND THE WINNER IS:  TERESA DEFRENN!  Thank you all so much for your great comments.  We have fantasic clients who make it possible for Robert and I to have the best jobs in the world.

Itty-Bitty Emails

If you're anything like me, your kid's baby books are updated right up until about 4 months old. And I'm sure you are. After all, it's totally acceptable for me to put together a scrap book at my desk, but do I do it? No. So I stole an idea from some technology commercial, and started an email account for each of them. I sit at my desk all day long emailing clients and updating facebook, and now when I'm missing my little ones I can email them. I can keep them up to date about what they like to do right now. (Not sharing, and running around with their pants down. Basic boy stuff) So when they have kids of their own and are pulling their hair out and drinking 8 cups of coffee a day, you can give them the password. Maybe they'll read it and realize that it's all worth it.

Adventures in Reupholstery

I thought I was going to be all Martha Stewart and teach people how to reupholster a chair as I remade this one for the studio. What I ended up with is basically a huge advertisement for professional reupholster-ers everywhere. I do have a few words of advise though.

1: When in doubt, use hot glue. (Seriously, this thing has so much hot glue in it)
2: Get a tetanus shot. (There are so many pokey weird metal things holding that chair together)
3: Don't count on finding anything cool in there. (All I found were some really old peanuts)
4: Invest in some Scotch Guard. (The first child to get chocolate on this thing faces certain death)

Now that this mammoth chair is finished, there is no way it is leaving my living room. It will be there forever. Or at least until it doesn't look pretty anymore. Then I will put it by the curb and laugh as the next Martha Stewart loads it into the back of their truck saying "I could reupholster that." Good luck lady, I used a pneumatic staple gun.

Not The Way I Pictured It

We had our day all planned. A trip to the zoo with two groups of friends, and their boys. We had our giant picnic lunch packed and ready to go. Bert was excited to go to the zoo with his friends, and I was excited to bring my camera along and get some great photos of the boys. Phone call number one, "Eli is having an off morning, and we're just not up for taking him out." Ok, we can deal with that. Phone call number two, "Ummmm.... Lucas is still sleeping." Now being a mom that doesn't believe in arguing with a three year old when you don't have to, or waking them up when you don't have to, I was Ok with this. We broke the news to Bert, who's reply was. "Yeah, but I'm still gonna go ride my bike at the zoo." Crisis averted. So off we go to the zoo. A half hour in to our super fun zoo trip, and here comes the rain. Pouring rain. And we're at the back of the zoo. So we end up at Grandma's house having our "picnic" lunch on the living room floor in soaking wet clothes. The rain eventually passed by, and with clothes fresh out of Grandma's dryer, we decided to take Bert's bike out on the river trail. He had a great time splashing through the puddles. We still had the camera with us, so we propped it up on the edge of the stroller and set the timer. Nothing went as planned, but it was the best zoo day ever, with a great family picture to go with it.

Senior Stunner Contest

OK, so we are starting our very first "Senior Stunner" Contest. Each of our seniors can enter their favorite picture from their session, and all of our clients get a chance to vote for their favorite image. The winning image will be used for all kinds of promotional materials for A&R Portraits. You will be the face of our studio for 2012. So, I just need our seniors to let me know their fav image #, and I'll get this show on the road!