Thursday Thoughts

Well hello there! Can you believe its October already?!?! Eeeep!!! Im so excited and yet so overwhelmed. This is by far my favorite, but busiest season. Which I enjoy, I just wish there were more weekends in October!  I thought this week that I would share some of my favorite fall traditions, fall clothing and also a few tips on what to wear for your family portraits.

Family Portraits

Do you have a fall portrait session coming up?  Deciding what to wear is always so stressful for me.  It is easy for me to help others, but when it comes to choosing outfits for my family I really struggle.  I try to remember a few things that make it easier and try to keep in mind family portraits are suppose to be fun not stressful.  Here are a few tips below.  If you are one of my clients and have any questions or went to send me pictures of outfits your thinking about I can certainly help you out.

Be Yourself
It is completely natural to want to look your best for your portrait session and find something that is wow, but don’t loose sit of who you are and who your family is.  If you are not in your comfort zone then it will show.  Be you, but feel free to step it up a notch maybe adding something that isn’t you, but you may like in your portraits.  Whatever you choose to wear make sure you feel confidant and comfortable.

Momma’s Choose First
I follow this for our sessions each year.  I find that it is the absolute hardest for me to find something that I feel comfortable in.  I am a leggings and top knot kinda girl almost everyday of the week.  So choose your outfit first and choose complimentary outfits for your family to wear. I am always torn between dressy and casual. We have done both and I love both. This year I have yet to decide. Maybe we will do something in the middle.

Pinterest
Pinterest is a great place for inspiration.  Try not to copy exactly what you see, but rather gain inspiration and create your own version.  Here is my Pinterest page. Feel free to take a look at the styles I love.

Layer it up & Accesories
Layers create visual interest and will keep you warm and cozy while we’re outside. Think tights, cardigans, blazers, Jewelry, flower crowns, hair accessories, hat (not ball caps) and scarves.

Color Scheme 
Choose two main colors and build around them.  Use the brightest color — also known as the accent color — sparingly. You don’t want to all match exactly, but you want to compliment each other and coordinate.

Where Are These Being Displayed
Take a look around your home. Do you have bold hues, soft pastels or neutrals?  Think about that when choosing your outfits. Typically these portraits will be hanging in your home.  Also, consider the location you are having your session. Most locations you can dress up or down. Say if its in a field…you could wear a casual dress with a cardigan or jeans and a sweater.  Your husband could wear dressier pants with a vest or jeans and a collar shirt or a sweater. However, say you are shooting at a rooftop bar in the city you may want to go for a little more dressy.

Some Don’ts
Don’t wear neon colors, crazy patterns, graphics or large words. Try to limit patterns. Pattern is ok, but do not put everyone in a pattern piece of clothing.

I hope these tips are helpful!  Can’t wait to see so many of you this year!

Moving on…anyone who knows me, knows I am such a little kid when it comes to holidays.  Especially Halloween and Christmas.  I go overboard every year. I can’t even help it..holidays make me so happy and giddy.  We usually start decorating for all the last week in September.  Through the month of October we will visit different farms. Farms around us have huge slides, which are my sons favorite. We usually go to them first.  Then we run through corn mazes and pumpkin patches and pick apples. We also bob for apples, bake halloween cookies and make hot apple cider. Then one day every year we plan breakfast and a day of pumpkin picking with friends and their children.  It is one of our favorite days. Just relaxing with friends enjoying the season watching the kids have fun.  Just before Halloween we get together at my parents home with all of my siblings and have a pumpkin carving party.  Typically my siblings, even though we are grown fight over who carved the best pumpkin.  After a bit of that we go outside and light them and all stand there looking at them together.  What is so wonderful about the holidays is it brings people together and there is so much for children to do.

Oh and Halloween crafts.  My son loves holiday crafts. You can find so many great ideas on Pinterest. We love painting pumpkins, but we also do other small crafts.  One of my favorite ones to do is this footprint ghosts.

Ghost Craft
Materials needed:
A small canvas or thick card stock
White and Black Acrylic Paint
White Sharpie Marker
2 to 3 feet of decorative ribbon for hanging

Directions:
Paint the canvas completely black and let it dry for several hours.

Put a light layer of white paint into a flat container like a paper plate

Slowly place the foot into the white paint, make sure it is not dripping and lightly place it on the black canvas. Or you can paint your child’s feet. My son prefers this method because he loves how it tickles.

Repeat step three for as many feet ghosts you wish to have. We typically do just one of each foot.

Once your Footprint Ghosts are dry, draw eyes and personalize however you desire! You can also use the same steps to make a spider using black paint and the hands.

On Halloween we get dressed up and head out for a night of trick-or-treating. This year will be our daughters first Halloween, I am beyond excited. I mean what is cuter then a baby dressed in a ridiculous costume, right?! I really would love to buy mulitple costumes and just put them on here every weekend and take pictures, but I am pretty sure my husband would not be to happy with that idea.  What are some of your favorite fall traditions?  Comment below…id love to hear them!

Fall Clothing
Here are a few of staples in my closet.  Typically my style is very casual.  I do love dressing up and a great pair of heels, but I am usually always with my kiddos so I try to be comfortable.

First and formost is a great pair of leggings. I love White House Black Market leggings. Once upon a time I was a manager there. I love their clothes, but their leggings are my favorite. Currently they only have the cropped version in store or online.  Here is a tip though, call an outlet store and ask them to send you them. I just ask for their regular stretch leggings and they are usually on sale or a promotion. I just did that last week and my new ones will be here any day now.  I still don’t fit in my pre pregnancy pants yet, but Im getting there.

A long Cardigan is a must. Last fall I was in my third trimester and the only thing I found that worked for me were my long cardigans. They were cozy and stylish. I could wear them being pregnant and after pregnancy. One of my favorites is the Madewell one below. I had it in a carmel color before I was pregnant and then last year bought it in black and grey.  I typically am a size medium, but these are cut large so I actually purchased a small in one and an extra small in two others. It just depends how you like them to fit. Madewell also makes perfect tank tops, camis and tshirts to wear under cardigans.  I also usually find some great ones at Gap, Target, White House Black Market and Anthropology.

Jeans…I love White House Black Market and Anthropology Jeans.  They are so soft, comfortable and always have a bit of stretch in them which is something I look for.  Throw on a great pair of jeans or leggings with the perfect tee shirt or tank with a cardigan or jacket like this one here, some lip gloss and a scarf and you are ready to go with the perfect fall outfit.

Click the links below to see some of my Fall picks!  Hopefully we will get some fall weather soon.
I think that about wraps it up for this week!  I hope everyone has a wonderful week and a fun fall season. Happy Thursday!

Cream Sweater – Black Cardigan – Soft Pink Sweater

Pattern Dress – Black Dress – Moto Jacket

Tank – Bell Top – Long Sleeve – Tee


Plaid – Tote – Top – Bootie