With Mac at a portrait session on Mother’s Day, I had the girls all to myself. It was such a beautiful day that I decided to spend some quality time with them in the great New Jersey outdoors. (I don’t know about you, but it seems there are so many things to do around the house that my “quality time” with the girls seems to slip away.)

We drove up the Palisades Parkway to the State Line Lookout (exit 2) which has a scenic overlook of the Hudson River and a little café. We took the short hike through woods along the cliff side of the river, past a waterfall and ended at the waters edge. The best part of this trip was our little picnic and the makeshift swing that no one could resist!

For more information:
www.njpalisades.org

Hoboken’s Kidville invited us to their annual Spring Fling on Thursday, May 3rd. The theme was Luau this year. Kids enjoyed singing, dancing, and art projects.
What a place — it wish it had been around when my kids were young.
The staff has great energy and interact so well with the children. Guests were treated to pizza and Italian ice around lunchtime — the place was packed.

Big thanks to Erica Vitanza, “The Mayor of Kidville”, for inviting us to be part of this fun filled morning.

Kidville
1202 Shipyard Lane  Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 377‑5495

www.kidville.com/hoboken

Always eager to experience something new, the girls and I joined in the fun. The party was held at the in-laws magnificent home which backs onto a bass filled pond. The highlight of the day for the girls was fishing… And with a little patience both were successful!
We enjoyed delicious southern food –corn bread, fried chicken, collard green, and ham! Washed down with mint juleps, it was divine.

While the race only lasted a few minutes, we enjoyed several hours of good company and beautiful sky.
This is a yearly event that I would not mind getting used to!

In the image above, we’ve pulled together a few ideas that allow girls to be comfortable while still looking put together. We are seeing a lot of adorable rompers this spring.

Boys need cloth­ing that they can move in. Climbing, run­ning and jump­ing are all things Mac may incor­po­rate into your fam­ily por­trait ses­sion. Soft greys, blues and creams are neu­tral and will go well with the rest of the family’s picks.

We wanted to give a big thank you to our friends at Hoboken Mommies for another wonderful evening! We hosted the first ‘Expectant Mom’s Group’ on Wednesday night, and the  turn out exceeded our expectations!

Dr. Baker from Riverside Pediatrics shared his insight and expertise with the group and answered questions. The mommies-to-be received nursery styling tips from Chavy Abelesz, who owns Designers Nursery.

Our Mini Shoot Raffle Winner is Alyssa Kessler and we are looking forward to having her family come to the studio for their session!

The evening was catered with a delicious dinner from Marghertia’s Café, a local Hoboken Italian establishment. Everyone was going crazy for Hoboken’s new cookie company, Christopher Street Cookies, who shared their amazing yummies!

We had a great night, and are looking forward hosting the  ‘Working Moms Social’ for  Hoboken Mommies again next Thursday, May 10th at 7:00 pm.

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It’s almost here, one of my favorite days of the year…what day is this, you may ask.? The first Saturday of May, The Running of the Roses, or otherwise known as the Kentucky Derby.
This Saturday May 5th is the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby. I have my hat ready to go, a few dress options pulled, doing some reading on race contenders, and of course gathering all the ingredients to make the one, the only…Mint Julep! I am partial to Woodford Reserve Bourbon, but please feel free to use your desired brand of bourbon.

Woodford Reserve ® Mint Julep Recipe, The “Classic” Mint Julep From Master Distiller Chris Morris

• 3–5 mint leaves
• 1t Powdered Sugar
• 2t Water
• 2 — 2 1/2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
• Crushed Ice

Muddle (stir/gentle crush) four mint springs and sugar in the bottom of a julep glass. Add water and continue to muddle. Add Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Pack the julep glass with crushed ice. Add a mint spring for decoration and sipping straw.
If a metal julep cup is used, be sure to use a wooden muddler (bottom of a wooden spoon) instead of metal spoon. This will eliminate the possibility of any metal shavings getting into the drink or scratching the julep cup.

Can’t you picture us now? The sun shining, hats and juleps galore, the only thing that can possibly make this day more glorious is the most exciting two minutes in sports. The race will go off at approximately 6:24pm. Wish us luck in the party pool!

Don’t you adore the hat?

The Polychronpolous family was the winner of a portrait package that we donated to the Hoboken Homeless shelter’s recent fundraising auction.
This family is simply stunning and we had a blast shooting their family portraits

View photographs from this portrait session on Facebook.

The Vitanza’s, owners of Kidville located uptown in Hoboken, visited the studio this spring for their family portraits.
As you can see in these photos, those are two gorgeous little girls!

And what a precious family is this?! It was such a pleasure having the Parks family visit our Hoboken Studio for their photo session.

View more photographs from this session on Facebook