This past summer, I had the privilege of working with Lindsey and her family. It was then that I first heard of aerial yoga and I was totally intrigued. I got to see Lindsey and her girls in action when I went to her Yogapeutics studio and take a few promo photographs for her (you DON’T want to miss those pics because Lindsey and her girls are MUCH more graceful and talented than I am with this thing ;-). Today, it was finally our turn and I got to spend a WONDERFUL hour and fifteen minutes hanging out with my baby girl! In fact, I loved it so much, I’ve purchased my own hammock and signed up for the mother/daughter workshop with Lindsey in January ;-). Very, very excited to continue this journey and I thank Lindsey for inspiring me to do so.

We had the most GLORIOUS sunrise session in downtown! I’m telling you, in the summer months, you just cannot beat beating the sunrise in Austin, Texas and I always encourage my clients to choose to brave getting up early, early, EARLY in the morning instead of waiting until the hottest part of the day (the evening) for an outdoor photo shoot. These little girlie Q’s were so much fun and I’m so glad we waited just a little bit longer for the fountains to start running so we could cool off properly when we were done. [And oh yes…still my fav from the session].

I’m sure you noticed the beautiful yoga form mommy + daughter struck up there. Lindsey is the owner of Yogapeutics and let me tell you, I was in for quite the treat when I visited her at her studio a few weeks ago…

Amazing, isn’t she???? And then there’s this one, too. Yes…I think I need to sign up for her class. Wow!

I had been seeing these really neat pics of displays overlooking various cities pop up all over my Instagram feed and I thought they were so clever and creative. I just about passed out when, on my morning run in downtown Austin, Texas, I stumbled upon one of those displays…just sitting there…waiting to be photographed. It was only up for a short amount of time, so I had to find the perfect family to “frame” and fast. I think Gillian from my Modo Yoga family in Austin and her family have the PERFECT vibe for such a photo shoot, wouldn’t you agree? And thanks to HomeGoods #GOFINDING for thinking outside the box in your advertising and creativity. You all knocked this one outta the park for sure!

This family seriously requires no posing. They just do. They just are. They are so comfortable with one another and who they are as a family. I love that more than words can say.

Once again, cute couple alert!

Cute face alert times two!

Love that we can see some missing teeth up there :-).

And of course…gotta do a little yoga, too. Another fav from this set HERE.

She really, really wanted me to take pics of her by the water, which I did, but I couldn’t help but to be captivated by her gorgeous eyes and those perfect freckles!

Sweet, sweet boy.

And I LOVE that they all wanted to show off his awesome blue nails!

——

Oh! WAIT! Before I forget, I’m doing something pretty cool at Modo Yoga THIS Saturday, if you want some cool pics of YOU doing yoga AND to help out the Jeremiah Program in the process! Learn more HERE!

{Post 3 of #40B440}

Things you should know about this photo session:
1. These may be the most down-to-earth and laid back people I’ve ever met in my life and it is SO good for me to work with people like that. Their calm draws me in and makes me lighten up and see things that I might not have seen otherwise. I’m not sure mama realizes it, but it’s true.

2. The same thing happens when I’m lucky enough to have her as my yoga instructor at Modo ;-). And that’s why I love that place so much!

3. The breakfast tacos were a bit of afterthought, but it was perfect! During session planning, I asked her what they liked to do as a family and she half-jokingly replied, “Eat breakfast tacos.” Well, the early start to catch the sunrise began to take its toll on little man, so we decided to just give in and head over to grab breakfast tacos. I had no idea how CUTE and photographically awesome that place was. WIN!

4. I LOVE big sis’s freckles.

5. I also LOVE this pic totally improvised between mom & dad ;-).

6. That adorable fence where the kiddos are holding hands up there is now gone!!! It was a reminder of how quickly beautiful things come and go and how fast Austin seems to change sometimes.

[All images in this post by the amazing Jody Mack Photography in Charleston, SC. Thank you, Jody!!!!]

Oh wait. *I* said that. Seriously, WHAT was I thinking?!

NOTE: There’s a long-winded post following, but as part of my Pinkle Toes 10 Year celebration, I want to invite all of my friends and clients to join me in the 5th Annual Fight Like a Girl 5K on October 16th, 2016. I have team (Pinkle Toes Photography) AND from now through 9/14, you can get $5 off your registration. If you join my team, I don’t think you need to use the offer code, but if it asks for one, try EARLYBIRD. I would be more than honored if you and even your family would come run or walk this race with me. I know it’s a short window for that discount code, but it’s my hope that you’ll just impulse sign up with me and you won’t have time to talk yourself out of it. If you’ve never done one before, what a great time to start! I promise I’m going to be taking it easy, by the way, as this run is fresh off the heels of the Brooklyn Half Marathon the week before ;-).

Mkay, now for the post (oh, if you’re looking to update your running playlist, I’ve shared mine below!)…

So I’ve been talking off and on here about some big changes that I’ve made in my life over the last 1.5 years (barre and yoga) and I will admit to you on here I made those changes with the hopes of NOT having to run. But as I progressed in barre, I realized I was still missing something and once again inspired by my friend Leah, I decided to try to take up running. I guess that was Feb/March of 2015? I used to (half-heartedly) run cross country track in high school so I thought this would not be a problem for me. I guess I forgot how LONG ago that was, because just starting out trying to go one mile was a HUGE challenge for me. I was totally crushed to realize how difficult this was going to be for me.

After the first week or so of trying to run 1-2 miles a couple of days, I was pretty much done. But blast it if my friend Kate didn’t somehow convince me that it would be a wonderful idea for me to sign up to run a flippin’ HALF MARATHON (3M in January of this year). I really don’t remember what she said to sway me, but I did and *then* I used peer pressure to convince some other pals AND my sister (who has just done AMAZING things with her running) and even my 60-year-old super woman MOTHER to run it with me.

But this post is not about the half marathon. And it’s not about how wonderful running is because honestly this summer, it hasn’t been very wonderful for me *at all*. Instead, this post is about a few of the lessons running (or trying to run) has taught me over the course of 19 months:

1. Know your limits and work up to your miles gradually. I really didn’t think I would have to “learn” to run…human beings all know how to run, right? It’s like walking, but faster. Duh. And my super Type A (read: competitive) personality simply would not let this go and so I tried to push myself too far and too fast resulting in…
2. Injuries (they suck). So, on day one, I went out and bought the cutest running shoes I could find. Turns out, they weren’t actually designed for running, nor were they the correct size (too small), and I wound up with a stress fracture almost immediately. I did what everyone says NOT to do on an injury and tried to simply “run through” the pain and sure enough, that just made the stress fracture take even longer to heal. I went through two other pairs of shoes before I finally found ones that worked for me, but unfortunately, because I continued to push myself much too hard, thinking I needed to make up for lost time, I spent literally month after month (up until just this summer) painfully injured in one way or another. Which leads me to…
3. Foam rolling saves lives! Okay, maybe not literally, but close enough to me. Honestly, foam rolling looked pretty stupid to me and I didn’t see how that was supposed to be helpful with injury prevention until I (yet again) broke rule #1 and jumped from 8 miles to 12 miles with nothing in-between and completely messed up my IT band on both sides. Folks, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemies. And it takes *forever* to heal. I ended up having to run my very first half marathon knowing that at any moment, that pain was going to come back, and sure enough, around mile 7-8, it pretty much brought me to my knees. I truly didn’t think I would be able to finish that race. I truly don’t know how I did. I truly wish that I hadn’t because it wasn’t until probably 4 months after where I could run even 2 miles pain-free. I finally broke down and bought a foam roller and let me tell you that it is my best friend and I spend time with it religiously. Also let me tell you that it was NO picnic when I first started foam rolling. It was incredibly painful and only just now after using it at least once a day (about 5 min.) consistently for 8 months do I not feel pain that makes tears well in my eyes. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But it truly is worth it. I was pretty much convinced that my very short running career was totally over and I would never be able to run without pain, but I’ll have you know, I did a 10K Sunday and I was totally pain free!
4. You will PR quickly and frequently when you first start and that feels amazing…until you stop PRing. Some of you may have read about my recent blah runs on my Instagram feed (here and here). I was really tempted to not post those things because I don’t like to be negative and whiney and really, who wants to show their dirty laundry online? But let’s keep it real: I’ve put in hundreds of miles on my feet and not every run is going to be exhilarating. A fast run isn’t necessarily a successful run. A challenging run isn’t necessarily a failed run. And something else–and this is not meant to be discouraging in any way–but it never gets easier. The first 3 miles of any run are always super tough to me and that was tough for me to accept at first…I thought after doing this for a few months, I would just leap through all of my runs like a graceful gazelle. Sadly, that is not so, lol. This week, I’m pretty sure I reached the peak of running geek-dom when I started listening to running podcasts *while* running, but it’s been a wonderful, refreshing change and very so inspiring to hear that ALL runners, no matter how long they’ve been running or how far they’ve run, have had the same ups and downs as I’ve experienced. Knowing this encourages me to seek new motivations to run even after I’ve met certain goals. And to be kinder to myself, leading to…
5. After each run, take time to be grateful in your running and to yourself. As shallow as it sounds, I started out running merely to lose weight, but now, I’m *this* close to just getting rid of the scale in our house because being skinny just doesn’t mean that much to me any more. I want to be strong. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I want to be challenged. I want to be persistent. I want to win all the things. I want to fail and be forced to learn from those mistakes and try again. I want to properly appreciate this ability I have to run at this point in my life and I plan to take advantage of it as long as I am physically able. We end barre class by thanking our bodies and yoga with thanking ourselves and one another, so why shouldn’t we do the same when running? A new habit I am incorporating into each of my runs is to spend at least a couple of minutes at the end on these thoughts:
   1. This run is done and I’m glad I did it!
   2. I’m grateful for the opportunity to run. It is a privilege.
   3. Thanks to my body for working so hard and to my mind for supporting the journey.

And there you go, my thoughts on my running journey thus far. These may not apply to everyone, but I wanted to share them just in case it might be the push needed to inspire someone to keep moving even when they feel frustrated (“Forward is forward,” right, Kate?). Feel free to share any words of wisdom you have in the comments or if you can relate to anything I’ve written here, let me know! If you want to follow along with my ups and downs, visit #runpinklerun on Instagram.

I’m starting to get more excited about my next half marathon in Brooklyn in October! It’s so out of character for me to go out of town *just* for that, but I am so blessed to get to see and run it with my friend and inspiration, Lena! Oh, while I’m on that topic, I know I already mentioned a few people who have been super inspiring to me and there are a few more that come to mind: Regan, Pete, Laura G., Minnette (or should I say, Marathon Manet?), Elicia, Melonie & Zeke, and oh, my word, so many more that I just know I’m leaving out. They honestly may not even know how much they affected me, but they have and I just want to say thank you!

Again, I would LOVE to get to run the FLAG 5K with you next month, so please, please, please consider signing up. I was drawn to this particular race because of Lindsay’s story — melanoma devastated our family and the families of several other people I know. I very much appreciate what the H.O.P.E fund does for the families of cancer patients.

And finally, some of my favorite running songs! Be warned that I tend to get a bit angry while running (sometimes, you just have to) so many of these are NSFK!!! Any more I should add to this list?

So, I always swore I would never be one of *those* people who does yoga. I was never going to be one to chant, “Ommmmmmm…” doused in patchouli while standing on my head in some contorted pose in a room full of other people with peaceful minds and who are already connected with their inner selves and only dine on lettuce cultivated in their own back yards.

Well guess what? Lo’ and behold, I am more like one of *those* people now than I ever have been (well, except for the patchouli…I don’t think I’ll ever like that scent ;-)) and surprisingly, I am totally cool with that. I’ve discovered yoga to be a very necessary part of this movement to become a better me. I think it was about a year ago when I had my first real big-girl yoga class at Modo Yoga in Austin and I was absolutely terrified walking into it. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to do most of that crazy stuff, I already knew I was terribly inflexible, and I thought for sure I’d burst into giggles when it came to the part where we were supposed to hold hands and chant. It turns out that there was nothing crazy in that class at all and while it was definitely challenging and got my heart rate up, I was so thrilled to see that I could at least try everything in a comfortable and safe and encouraging environment. In fact, I was so invigorated, I may have been slightly disappointed there was no chanting ;-).

All my life, if I couldn’t be THE best or perfect at something, I didn’t want any part of it. Same with yoga: I’ve always been so afraid of failure, I never gave myself a chance to try. I’m learning that yoga is a practice, and there is no measure of success or failure…your practice is *your* practice and it changes each day. After practicing yoga for a year, I *still* fall out of tree pose every now and then, I still am scared of crow pose, and my hips still require a great deal of attention to help them open more. But, oh, I’ve had SO many wins throughout this practice, I could never go back to life before yoga:

• I can sit cross-legged on the floor now. I’m sure most people take this for granted, but seriously, I haven’t been able to sit on the floor comfortably since I was child and this is a huge deal to me.
• My HUSBAND actually comes with me to class!!! You all…this is unreal for me to even type this out. Our hot yoga dates have been so good for him and for us as a couple. Never in a million years did I think he would ever attend a yoga class and it’s an even bigger miracle that we get to go together.
• I can do a wheel, what????
• I can do camel pose (most of the time) without feeling like I’m going to pass out (what’s up with that sensation?). I can’t quite reach my feet in camel yet, but I’m working on it.
• I have so much more awareness of where I’m carrying tension and can apply techniques I’m learning in yoga class at any time to help release that tension.
• I can turn my head to the right AND to the left now. Finally, I’ve worked out the strain that I’ve had in my neck forever it seems.
• Combined with barre, yoga has helped cure my once debilitating shoulder pain.
• It’s made me a better runner: building up a tolerance to lactic acid, stretching gently and effectively, and getting my mind to support my body and my goals.

My greatest win with yoga has been with calming my anxiety. I can arrive at class so worked up about the challenges I expect to face during that day, I pretty much want to crumble. But then, just a few minutes into class, I’m already less tense. And after an hour of sweating it out, I leave class with a tremendous sense of calm. No, it’s more than that…it’s acceptance with where I am as a human being, forgiveness, gratitude, and filled with love and excitement for life.

As another birthday present to my Pinkle Toes clients in celebration of 10 years, I want to share this yoga experience with you. I’m very excited to announce we are teaming up with Modo Yoga to host a Pinkle Toes-only class on June 17th! If you are a past or upcoming client, I invite you to join in this class. New and experienced yogis alike will find Modo Yoga to be fun and challenging and accessible to all abilities. Bring your significant other and have your own hot yoga date. Maybe we’ll make some bicycle blender concoctions after class 😉

First priority will be given to past/current Pinkle Toes Clients. About a week before the event, we’ll open it up to anyone else who wants to attend. I am soooooooooooo excited to get to practice yoga with you and maybe even introduce you to something that can change your life for the better just as much as it has mine. Namaste!

I want to send out a huge thank you to my friend Jody with Jody Mack Photography for taking these beautiful pics when we were visiting Charleston, South Carolina this spring. I wanted so badly to document these changes in my life and she did a phenomenal job! Thank you, my friend!

[This is a follow up post to the blog series about changes I’ve made to improve my overall quality of life. Part 1 is HERE.]

I’ve been working with this family for so many years, but when I arrived for this particular photo session, I was totally like one of those Aunties who just couldn’t stop saying things like, “Oh, my! You are so grown up!!” or “The last time I saw you, you were only this tall!” or “I just can’t believe how grown up you look!” and other completely annoying, but absolutely true things like that. I’m pretty sure I embarrassed the kids (kids? more like young adults) like crazy, but I can only hope that they will forgive me and one day, when they are my age and experience this for themselves, they will understand why my jaw fell to the floor when I saw them.

As always, Joy (the pupster), brought us all plenty of smiles and giggles and made me want a doggie just like her. When the time came for the paddle boards, I didn’t believe it when they told me Joy absolutely has to join them or she gets upset. Sure enough, she walked right out there onto the paddle boards and loved every second of it! I was completely amazed! Fav paddle board image HERE. I also got to get a glimpse into the talents of these two kids…er…young adults. I could have listened to them play music all afternoon long! And, the best surprise was when I got to meet their bird, Angel, who absolutely adores Dad. It was hilarious to see how protective she was over him.

I have to say, I’ve loved each time I’ve gotten to play with this family, but this was probably one of my most favorite sessions with them to date. It was just so relaxed and personal and I was beaming for the Mom, who has so much to be proud of (yes, I know it’s a dangling preposition, but I don’t want to sound pretentious ;-).

From Mom:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… Two kids, 16 year old Michael and 13 year old Grace.My Mom, Jana, aka Mema. Super awesome kids except for the fact that Michael looks like he is in front of a firing squad when asked to put his arm around ANY family member for the photo shoot! And lets not forget sweet Joy, our favorite Westie and Angel(our not so favorite old fart bird who has an attitude)
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? Try to do it every two years. Moved into a new house!
3) Where was your session held and why? At our house. Thought it was appropriate as we had our last photo session at our old house.
4) What was your favorite part of your session? watching the kids on the paddle boards
5) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? Always worried about the clothes and if Michael will smile and not look like we are killing him!!
6) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? Michael almost fell off the board trying to do a yoga pose on the paddle board.
7) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Drink a HUGE margarita!!!
8) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Love Michelle!! She does awesome work!!
9) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? We had a lot of fun even though Mom made us do it!!

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, blue-eyed baby boy that grew up into a beautiful blue-eyed big boy and he let us celebrate this milestone with him one warm summer morning in a park overlooking downtown Austin.

After exploring the park, making adorably cute faces, and doing some baby yoga ;-), he was crowned a prince by his mommy ;-).

Speaking of his mommy, she had this to say about his one year photo session:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Alex and I met in Austin and have enjoyed starting our lives together and now our family here. Michele took newborn photos of Henry last year that turned out so well.

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

The photo shoot was for Henry’s first birthday. We know how fast they grow at this age and we wanted to get some photos while he is this age.

Where was your session held and why?

We did the photos at Butler park to get a nice view of the Austin skyline and to be outside. We did the newborn photos at home because it seemed too overwhelming to take him somewhere and too hot to be outside, but now that he is a little older and we are more comfortable as parents we felt like it would be fun to get more shots of him outside enjoying himself.

What did you like about your session location?

We loved the views of downtown Austin and the water. It was also really easy to get to and had ample close in parking.

What was your favorite part of your session?

When Henry started splashing in the water and when he was under the Magnolia tree in just his diaper.

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

I was worried that Henry would be upset and not take great photos.

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

A coworker of mine had used Pinkle Toes to shoot her family many times and I had seen the photos and she highly recommended Michele. After using Michele for the newborn photos we knew we wanted to use her again.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

Remember when Henry was that little?

When I asked if we could start their family photo session in a corn field and they willingly agreed, I knew it was going to be a dynamic and fun time! I really loved most that the boys got to be themselves (mom and dad let them play in the creek…in their outfits….and even brought wooden swords and soccer balls with which the boys could play). My personal favorite family pic is HERE.

 Oh….but I adore this one with the two of them peeking out of the corn stalks, too!

His faces. Sigh. Love.

 “Arghhhhhhhhh!” (He’s a pirate, in case you couldn’t tell.)

 Um. She’s stunning.

This look of fierce determination. He’s totally going to conquer this creek.

 They snuggled up like this all on their own!

They’re doing yoga here. Obvs.

From mom:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Family of four – two high energy boys, ages 4&6. Relish our time outdoors & love to be together when school/work allows.

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

The boys are changing so quickly & I really wanted to capture them in their current stage when they’re not overly concerned with being silly & having fun around strangers & out and about in public.

Where was your session held and why?

At the park – I really wanted a natural environment where we could capture the boys in their element

What did you like about your session location?

All of the natural elements & being in an environment where the boys could just play

What was your favorite part of your session?

Watching the boys play in the creek.

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

The boys melting down. The evenings are usually our witching hour & they already had an eventful day. Also, anything too staged or unnatural.

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

Leaving the park after the session & my oldest tripping & scraping his knee. Not exactly funny, but slightly comical the timing of it & par for the course.

Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?

Treat it as any other family outing or, in our case, trip to the park. We brought a soccer ball, etc – things the boys would normally carry along with them. Try to take a back seat & let the kids do their thing, so the pictures will hopefully convey a more natural quality

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

The natural, in stages feel of Michele’s photos.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

What awesome parents you are to have let us roll around in the creek fully dressed! Did you not consider bringing swimsuits?;-) {Oh, man! I think they were so excited when we let them get in the water in their clothes! That made it for them!–M}

The way the water was sparkling in the creek that day was incredible and while it was a wee bit humid that day, we were lucky enough to get a little breeze. This mommy said she used to do yoga classes at sunrise out here by this creek. Wow…what a great place to do yoga. If I lived closer to it, this would become one of my favorite hangouts for my own children. About the ducky…we had given it to little man to play with while we were taking pictures, but just like any normal toddler, the second he got hold of it, he chucked it right into the creek! Fortunately, a family friend was with us and spotted in the creek…this pic was her idea. Glad we got it! And oh yes…my personal fav from this session can be found HERE.

Note: Just 4 more openings left for the Back-t0-School mini sessions (Friday Aug 17th in the p.m. at my studio)!