August has always brought upon mixed feelings for me. The optimistic side of me always says, "We have a whole month left of summer!". The realistic side knows that summer is winding down. August has symbolized summer wrap up and getting ready for school, both as a student and a teacher.  When the beginning of August rolls around I know it's time to kick it into gear and finish up everything on my summer bucket list that I've yet to do. 

Now that I'm no longer teaching and I'm living in North Carolina, I get to enjoy the summer season a little longer. Summer doesn't have such an abrupt ending and the Fall weather down here is amazing. I know I still have lots more fun in store...Hello Fall beach and pool days! 

To me, August used to mean school shopping, classroom preparation, bucket list check offs, and sometimes tears. Now it means there's more outdoor fun ahead, football season is coming, it's time to prepare for photography mini-sessions, and I can enjoy the buzz of back to school happening around me. How about you? What does August mean to you?

PS Don't forget to book your Fall family photography session, it will be here before you know it!

I am 100% a summer girl at heart and one of things I love about this carefree season is fresh flowers! I have always lived in a place where fresh, local flowers are available to pick and purchase. 

Even though they symbolize late summer, I love sunflowers.  We had them in our backyard growing up. My mom planted them and I recall taking our first day of school pictures in front of sunflowers that were bigger than us.  I also planted a sunflower garden in our backyard. It was more work than I had expected it to be but it was worth it! I started the seedlings inside the house in Dixie cups and when they were strong enough, I transplanted them to a garden outside that I had created. It was work to keep up with watering them, but it was fun. I had planted different colors and types and everyone enjoyed them!

When I was living in Massachusetts, one of my August summer traditions was to buy farm fresh sunflowers. I would stop at a farm stand on my way home from the beach.  I loved decorating our home with them and they would last a long time. I got to enjoy them as summer wound down and I got ready to return to my classroom. 

Since moving to North Carolina, I've enjoyed lots of local produce and flowers at different times of the year. Here, sunflowers bloom in July and visiting one of the local sunflowers fields has been on my list of things to do. Recently, my mom was visiting from Massachusetts and we decided to take a short trip to a nearby farm with sunflower fields. Raised in a Barn Farm is located in Chocowinity, NC. It's a quaint little spot with produce for sale, animals to look at, and enormous sunflower fields. We enjoyed walking around, taking photos, picking sunflowers to take home, and chatting with the owners. If you live in Eastern NC, I definitely recommend checking it out. 

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. :)

I shot a family photo session in the most magical place last week! If you haven't been to the New Hanover County Arboretum in Wilmington, NC, add it to your list of places to visit. It is just stunning.  

I went to visit my dear friend over Memorial Day weekend and we made plans to take their family photos. When she told me she had the perfect spot picked out, I couldn't wait to see it. It was amazing!  From Zen garden, to flower gardens with adirondack chairs, to a full size playhouse, to the koi pond, the photo ops were endless.   It truly is somewhere you need to see to believe, describing it does it no justice. 

The park is so well tended to. Admission is free. It's a great place for adults, kids, pets.  There is just a calm, peaceful feeling that washes over you when you enter the gardens.  There were people there taking photos, walking dogs, painting, walking around...but it felt like we were the only ones there. 

This strong, beautiful, single Mom had a blast running around (in heels!) with her two adorable kiddos. You can see the happiness and carefree feelings on their faces. I love, love capturing these true, sweet moments during sessions. Of course you have your planned, posed photos but the ones that always come out the BEST are the spontaneous shots. 

 I'm always looking for new places to shoot and this will stay on the list for sure!