Moving…again

Well folks, it’s that time again. I’m moving the blog, but this *should* be the final time. I probably should have waited until after the contest, but I just wanted to get it out of the way. (I’ll count comments from both sites in the contest, so don’t worry if your comment doesn’t make it over there.) Now my blog is self-hosted. Yippeee!

Check it out: www.nicolewelchphotography.com/blog So change your bookmarks, Google Reader, etc.

(And if anybody knows how to do a 301 redirect, shot me an email at nikkiwelch@mac.com. I’m totally stumped!

Thanks!

Nikki

I’m done… (St. Louis wedding photographer)

With Janine’s maternity shoot slideshow! Here’s the link: www.nicolewelchphotography.com/slideshows/BabyOrf. Maybe someday I’ll learn how to embed the slideshows in my blog. But for now, just click the link.

Don’t forget to enter the Free Starbucks contest in the post below!

Free Starbucks!

Seriously – is anything better than free Starbucks? I don’t think so. A few months ago, I was in line at Starbucks. The guy in front of me was taking his sweet time. I pull up there, go to hand the barista my money, and she won’t take it. She said, the person in front of you paid for the coffee of everyone in line. There were probably at least 6 cars in line. I love “pay it forward stories,” although I’d never experienced it myself. It made my day….So that’s my Starbucks story for the day.

I wanted to do a little something special for all my wonderful blog readers. Even though you guys are NOT so great about commenting, I know your reading because I check my stats. So thank you. And here’s a little treat for the holidays. Everybody needs a Gingerbread Latte once in a while – am I right? With Christmas just around the corner and Aidan at such a fun age (nearly 2!), I’m always looking for fun things that we can do this holiday season that will be new and exciting for him and our little family. My question for you is, what are your family Christmas traditions? Tell me, and you can win a $20 gift card to Starbucks!!!

The rules:

-Everyone may enter, but you can only enter once.

-You must submit your favorite holiday tradition in your family in the form of a blog comment.

-Your entry must be submitted by 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, next Thursday, December 11.

I will put each entry on a piece of paper, and on Friday morning when Aidan wakes up, hopefully NOT at 4 a.m., I’ll have him pick a winner. I’ll be sending that person a $20 gift card to Starbucks. That’s 5 venti caramel lattes!

So, email your friends, tell your family – but most importantly, enter and tell me your stories! I can’t wait to hear them. I’m sure everyone will have some fabulous ideas.

Thanks for reading and entering.

-Nikki

My fave: iced caramel lattes. Mmmmmm.

My little angel – or not so much

Aidan loves to go outside, so we brave the freezing cold weather and go to the park, even if just for 20 minutes. The child needs his fresh air or he gets CRANKY! I captured this photo at the park and when I brought it up on my computer, I thought he looked like a little angel. Only, lately, he hasn’t been much of an angel. He’s getting better about sleeping in his new toddler bed, but he’s getting much less sleep, and he is a crab. He is a fussbucket. I won’t get into all the awful details, but this is not my favorite Aidan. I want my old Aidan back soon please.

I’ve finished up all my album designing and ordering, and I’m almost completely caught up on my work. Woo Hoo! Then it’ll be time to focus on getting ready for next year. I’m going to design some really yummy marketing materials, perhaps give my website a facelift. Hopefully I can get everything done by Jan. 1. We’ll see! (It may depend on when Janine has her baby!!!)

Also, stay tuned for tonights post because it’ll be my FIRST blog contest! And you can win one of my favorite things on earth – STARBUCKS! So come back tonight and get all the yummy details.

Product time!

So, you’ve read about my wedding collections, but you want to see the goods. Am I right? Well, then this post is for you. This post is about the proofbook/box of prints. With Collection III for weddings, my clients have the option to get either a proofbook or a box of prints. (Either one also can be purchased ala carte with the other 2 collections.) With the box of prints, all final prints (whether your total is 400 or 800) will be included in this gorgeous black leather box. That’s right. All the final prints. These are NOT proofs. They do not say proofs on the front of them. There is no marking on them. They’re yours to use how you wish! You can also have the image of your choice as the front cameo.

The other option is a proofbook. These come spiral bound, though the one I’m showing is with the delicious optional leather cover. You can have an image of your choice and text on the cover, as well as a clear or frosted protective sheet. They’re beautiful! you will have 12 images on each side, and again, all your final images will be included. If you’re like me, you like something tangible in your hand, and these products offer that – as opposed to your images on CD. So there ya have it. Email nikkiwelch@mac.com if you have questions about any of my products! The new flushmount albums I’ll be offering 2009 clients should be here in mid-January, and I’ll post photos/info about those as soon as it comes in. I can’t WAIT to see it. Can you tell I’m a little bit excited about albums?!

Just because

His little crazy face cracks me up! I had to share this. Meanwhile, I’m doing album revisions, ordering prints, and I still am planning to blog about new products, Aidan’s first batch of cookies, and…..Yes, Janine, I should have your maternity shoot done this week. Stay tuned for the slideshow in a couple days.

Rosey cheeks

Mr. Aidan and I had a little mini photo shoot on Friday, despite the cold. The child loves to be outside – he doesn’t care how hot or cold it is, it doesn’t bother him. So we bundled up, and I let him run around for about 30 minutes. Isn’t he cute in all his winter apparel? Love me some Baby Gap hats! They’re a weakness.