Ok, so this was NOT what I had planned for my holiday photo post this year. I had it all planned out, but 2 key elements were not on my side. The first being 6 days of straight rain. If you aren't from Southern California and maybe haven't seen or read about it.....it rained for 6 days straight here. Many roads were flooded, one of our sports stadiums looked like a swimming pool, cars were swept away, people were rescued, etc. So yeah, that was literally the RAIN on my parade ;) The second was that my awesome husband ordered my Christmas present last month and I was beyond excited for it to arrive.........

I had my eye on one of these couches for quite some time now (not only as a prop, but to actually use in our house as well)....but didn't want to be a copycat and get the same color as anyone I knew. When my friend Carey let me borrow her green one for mini sessions, I knew I had to have one. It was the perfect size (and fit perfectly into our SUV), wasn't too heavy, etc. When I dropped Carey's back off to her, we chit chatted for a while and I told her that I wished they made a yellow/gold/mustard colored one. I contacted the manufacturer and to my surprise, it was in the works!! So anyway, my amazing husband told me that it was my Christmas present and I had my whole holiday shoot envisioned, I just needed the sofa to arrive. During day 4-5 of the rainstorm, I was up at my sister's house and tracked the package via UPS...and the date changed to THAT DAY. I rushed home (keep in mind it was POURING out and I didn't want it to be left out in the rain) to make sure I was there for the delivery. Of course I was the last delivery of the day......and guess what.....only the ARMS of the sofa arrived.....and in the WRONG COLOR!! So there you have it. The main prop of the shoot didn't arrive as planned.....and honestly, due to all of the rain, it wouldn't have mattered because the field I had planned to take it to looked like Shrek's swamp.

As if the story couldn't be more of a fail, my last and final plan (plan B), I envisioned PJ standing in the POURING rain with an umbrella.  It was going to say "Hope you are showered with love this holiday season!". It was going to be perfect (or at least good enough)....so I thought. Well my niece and I quickly grabbed PJ an outfit, searched for that damn umbrella, grabbed the camera, etc....and I kid you not.....THE RAIN STOPPED. Not just drizzled or something....completely stopped. Yeah, it rained for 6 frickin' days STRAIGHT. Torrential downpour for days.....and of course the minute I WANT/need the rain.....it stopped. 

So there you have it. Lot116 holiday card post = FAIL!

Anyway, I hope you all have an amazing holiday! 

XOXO, 

Julie 

I'm honored and thrilled to be a part of the Clickin Moms Inspire book! 

For those of you who don't know about Clickin Moms, it's an awesome site for women who love taking pictures, want to learn more about photography, run their own photography businesses, etc. Everyone there is awesome, sweet and helpful. Whether you're a mom who just wants to take better pictures of your kids, or someone who wants to learn more about the business, editing, etc side of it....Clickin Moms is the place to be!  Click on the banner below to join! :) My user name is julieoflot116 and I hope to see you over there! 

Thank you!

If you have already "liked" Lot116 Photography on Facebook, then you probably already know about this holiday giveaway.  If not, here is your chance to *WIN a FREE SESSION with LOT116* if I can hit 2,000 "Likes" by December 23rd, 2010 at midnight! :) 

 

HOW TO ENTER TO WIN:

(1) "Like" Lot116 Photography on Facebook (if you already have, perfect...and thank you!) - link above.

(2) Suggest (by clicking on the "Suggest to Friends" link at the top left of the page - by the profile photo) Lot116's Facebook page to your friends and family.

(3) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: Tell your friends/family/etc to POST ON THE LOT116 Facebook page and let me know that YOU sent them!  :) All you need is FIVE referrals to get your name entered into the drawing. If you want to up your chances,  for every 10 people who give me your name, your name will be tossed into the "hat" for every 10 people!.....so the more you send, the more chances you have. For instance, if you 30 people say you referred them, your name will go in FOUR times (once for the 5 people and then 3 more times for hitting 30).

Also, even if YOU are the one posting that someone else sent you.....all you have to do to get in the running is suggest your own friends/family/etc to "like" and do the same! :)  

*ENTRIES* (Lot116 Facebook wall posts) must be posted no later than 12/23/10 so that I can announce the winner on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! :)  If I hit 2,000 likes BEFORE the 23rd, then I will announce the winner sooner (which would be an awesome gift, especially if you are planning to gift/donate the session!), so the faster we hit 2,000, the faster I can announce the winner :) All of the names will go into a hat and I will let PJ pick the winner on video and post the video :) 

 

 

WHAT YOU WILL WIN:

A *FREE* 1 hour photo shoot (in the San Diego area) for up to 4 people *AND* a DVD with all of the hi-res photos (valued at $950)!!

What if you aren't from San Diego? You can always gift the session to a friend/relative/charity/etc in San Diego (or anyone in Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc who is willing to come down to San Diego) OR you can *pay my travel expenses* (anywhere in the US) and I will come to you and do the shoot! Maybe you know a family who needs/deserves this? Maybe you want to give this as a gift to someone who has done a lot for you? If we can hit 2,000 a week or so before Christmas, I can even get a gift certificate to you in time for you to give it to them if you gift it :) 

 

 

Oh and since I cheated and used an old photo of PJ from last year, here is an awesome video that my brother in law made from his trip to New York during Thanksgiving break. Videos of your Lot116 shoot just might be something that is offered in 2011 ;) We'll see..........

Also posted here on You Tube (a bit more clear), but the original that I saw at his house is crisp and perfect. I love this video....especially the parts with kids interacting with their parents...and of course the rad old guy dancing his ass off. He is awesome! :) 

......and this year i'm excited to actually enjoy it more! I still can't believe it's December already. I swear the years fly by faster and faster every year! I LOVE this time of year though, and as usual, I couldn't wait to start decorating! We always decorate the day after Thanksgiving. We crank up the Christmas music, have a fire going and decorate in our pajamas. That's just how we roll in the Cruz household ;)  Each year I usually try and pick a theme for our tree. We've done robots, carousel animals, cameras/polaroids, etc. This year we did one that I actually wanted to do last year, but ran out of time and couldn't find the ornaments. I planned ahead this year and got exactly what I needed/wanted. So what is it? Alice in Wonderland! Nothing over the top or crazy, but still fun and cute. I was able to find a set of characters, cute little mushroom ornaments, spade/diamond/heart/club ornaments, etc and then bought a stack of cards (to represent the Queen's soldiers) and had showed my niece and PJ how to make them. Ideally we should have found a Mad Hatter hat for the top of the tree and maybe some red roses ("We're painting the roses red...."), but this will have to do for now :)  Anyway, here are some of our decorations (all UNedited pics - sorry....trying to really get a break here ;) haha).........

 

.....and I have to post PJ's cute wish list for Santa :) .......