De' Javu

I have done it- experienced and fallen in love with my first "groupon"! And the timing of it could not have been any better.

My good friend and fellow photographer (Kate) and I have developed a fun routine where we meet for pedicures, have lunch and enjoy an afternoon together relaxing, talking about business, family, kids, books, and everything in between. I love our little business meetings :)

Over the months we have tried a different place each time, a different bottle of wine and of course a differnt color on our toesies. We were just about to schedule our next date when the groupon for De' Javu Salon in Jacksonville came up. After doing some research (though there was not a lot that we could find on official reviews for the mani/pedi) we decided that given the fact that over 300 specials had already sold and they had an appointment for the time and day we needed that we would go ahead and give it a try.

And I am glad we did! The salon was great- clean, bright, professional and the ladies were sooooo sweet. Christina and Trina did a wonderful job not only on our hands and feet (see below the gorgeous shade of purple I chose... trying something different with OPI's "Diva from Geneva" dark purple)...but also on service all together. We brought our own wine and one of the girls at the salon even poured it and refilled it for us which was completely not expected and very much appreciated.

I am sooo happy to share such a wonderful experience because they are a fantastic salon but there were not any reviews that we could find on the mani/pedis and also as a photographer I realize how very important word of mouth is to any business. So, Kate and I were very happy, very relaxed and had a phenominal time. Thanks ladies- see you again, soon!

...I saved the preview of the manicure (I upgraded to french tips!) for the next post on summer reading, you won't want to miss this one :)

Blessings of a Baby Sister

Within all the hurry and rush of everyday life we all balance the fine line between managing deadlines, family time and never ending to-do lists. Thankfully, among other things I have an awesome baby sister who insisted on me scheduling some time to take off with her in beautiful Amelia Island. Her birthday was coming up and I am expecting our third child (a baby girl) and she wanted to celebrate by us going to get pedicures together...

I had every excuse in the book on why I could not and was not particularly excited about a stranger touching my feet (well, the marshmallows that resembled what was once my feet).

However, no matter what my response was she would not take no for an answer. Persistence is something that runs pretty strong in our family and I finally gave in and blocked off the afternoon with her.

As we walked into the salon, I had just decided to relax and not over think it. Which did not work very well in the beginning... but once I realized that the chair I was sitting in was going to also give me a massage for the 40+ minutes I would be sitting there with my feet relaxing in warm bubbling water...AND I would also enjoy a foot and leg massage...well, everything just didn't seem all that bad!

I finally did relax and even upgraded to a manicure while there! I really enjoyed spending time with my little sis and the much needed massage. I am thankful that she was stubborn enough to not let me pass up a wonderful opportunity to take some time and enjoy a few moments without having to rush from shoot to appointment or be consumed with meetings, editing and errands.

Additionally, my outlook on pedicures has forever been changed and I am afraid to admit I may be finding excuses to go get more...just the other day I was meeting a friend for lunch and she suggested she needed one so, I had another :)

Here are some pics of us at the salon and our sassy little manicures...

Before heading home we had some fun at her house and with A...he is such a ham for the camera :) I love this series because it captures the distinctiveness of our personalities...I am pretty calm and conservative (though I have my moments) and she is such a prankster who can find humor in almost any situation!

Reflecting on the day, I realized that God places special people like her in our lives to step in and put a pause to the many things that we let become so important that really (in the big scheme of things) in no way trumps family, love, relationships and the simple moments in life that we spend with the ones we love. It is important to embrace those moments and have some quiet time to think, reconnect and simply relax.Thanks baby sis! I am so thankful for you and it makes me look forward to seeing the blessings that the boys will receive from their baby sister! Love ya :P