Senior Portraits -- MyLeah Krause

I have long since realized the value of family. I think, however, that when I was younger, I just took it more for granted...but I can honestly say that I am most thankful for the family I do have and most envious of others for the family-life I think they have. Over the weekend, my husband and I were fortunate enough to attend my BFF's wedding in California. As I'm well into my 7th month of pregnancy, this was interesting to say the least! But night after night with her wonderful family, we found ourselves eagerly anticipating the start of our own. Truly there can be nothing better than the love and friendship you have with your family...and for me, the more the merrier!

Which brings me to my next point: my cousin, MyLeah. I have known her since birth, but I see her only once a year. I remember when she was born, her and her sister, and how very excited I was to have girls in the family! Little did I realize then how heartbreaking it would be to have girl cousins who lived in TX when we lived in CO. I loved my brothers no doubt, but I couldn't paint their nails or curl their hair! Well I could, but they might have been upset. =) MyLeah was my refuge. Even at the age when most teens are "too cool for school" I was thrilled to be able to see my cousins when they came to town, riding in the car with a smile plastered to my face, red nail-polish in hand. I have always wanted a sister, but since that's really out of the question, I'll embrace the sister-cousin's I have...and keep my fingers crossed for a daughter someday in the future.

My prayer for you, MyLeah, is that your spirit soars and your dreams take you to the corner of your smile! Cherish those whom you call family and know how much you are loved. Thanks for always coming to visit me and for being the little sister I never had. Hugs and Love, Shanny.

Oh MyLeah...you are so gorgeous!

Sneak Peek: Whitney Schey

Be still my heart!

Coming Soon: More of beautiful Whitney and how I made a friend unknowingly through Jasmine Star.

MyLeah Krause -- Senior Portrait Preview

She lives in TX, which is far too far away...but her laugh and her warmth can be felt as far as Colorado.

More of gorgeous MyLeah's "mini" Senior Session soon.

Bridals: Holly Anderson

My entire idea behind doing "Bridals" is to shoot brides-to-be alone and without their lucky groom: to showcase who they really are in their own style, which, for me, is always perfection since it's so honest. I've been fortunate enough to have these types of brides in the past AND to have such amazing girls wanting to shoot their personal styles. Here's just another sampling of what a Bridal shoot might look like in it's rawest form...

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It's not often I meet someone who's so genuinely kind that I try super hard and aim to please. It makes it harder when she's named Holly too. I have a hard time imagining her angry or upset because her name is just so cheerful. She's sweet as honey. But this little bee is fierce! She's definitely a force to be reckoned with in her own modeling career. She's graced the cover of Denver's best fashion magazine, 303, not once, but FIVE times. As intimidating as she may seem, my wish is that her super-gorgeous-smile inspires all of my "non model" brides to just put on their best boots and grin. You gotta admit, Holly's boots are pretty awesome.

Much love and thanks also to Natosha Cooke from Aphrodite Affairs for the gorgeous makeup on Holly's face. It's flawless. Ridiculously flawless. =)

P.S. Her Flowers? Haha, I'm SO not a florist as you can tell, but I am proud to say that I picked these from the bushes at my tree nursery that day, so I should at least get a kudos for that. =) Kidding.

Randomly I found a patch of lawn weeds that looked like a heart. Holla!

Oh Holly, you are sweet as honey, but oh so fierce!!

Personal: Betty's Cake. Not Mine.

I knew I never liked her. Even when I was little...well except at that point I thought I could grow to like her, but the truth is, I grew up with a lot of amazing chefs in my family. No one was going to make a better cinnamon roll than my Grandma Crabbs or a better Boysenberry pie than my Grandma Krause. My mom could make the best, just best, desserts, ice-cream, and pumpkin pie, and my father was always a wiz with anything for breakfast. My problem wasn't with their home-made-totally-from-scratch-cooking. The problem was Betty. Betty Crocker. She claimed to make things all easy peasy. Still does actually and it's supposed to be getting easier and easier. There's so much crud floating around in that box that all you do is mix and bake now. Viola!!

It tastes like homemade! Blah. It does not. Last night, I started baking for our 4th of July BBQ...and after my second attempt at her Angel-Food-Cake-in-a-box (p.s. don't tell Grandma because she'd honestly disown me) I have realized that me and Betty can't be friends. I was tempted to breath into a paper bag when my cake overflowed all over my oven, but I gave up when I couldn't find one. Burning sugar and modified corn starch waifed through my house. I thought I could at least save what looked like the rest of the cake by cooling it. I huge it up-side down in true Master Chef style. Seconds later, the whole cake slid down the bottle of Riesling and out of the pan. A sticky mess of batter laid there steaming as much as I was. *scream*

As hard as cooking with scratch can be, it's been so much more reliable. And even though Betty says "Simply Add Water," written in her best cursive on the front of the box, I'm apparently the fool who will mess that up!

Sorry Betty. I really tried to like you, but you can hardly call this an Angel Food CAKE.