Halloween

If you know me personally or have been to my home- you know that  I dig decorating for the holidays.... 

ALL  OF THEM..... as a matter of fact.

Halloween is my number one favorite,  followed closely by Christmas and then Easter-

The other 3-4 decor looks are default because I can't NOT decorate.....{pardon the double negative}  but Halloween has a special place in my heart- and holds as many bin spaces in my garage as my Christmas decorations!

My birthday narrowly missed Halloween by just a few minutes - so pretty much every birthday of mine has had a Halloween theme- and I'm totally fine with that- because ever since childhood- my birthday is actually two days of celebrating and who doesn't like to have a two day party???

Seriously- oodles of candy followed by birthday cake and yummy fall comfort foods...

Uhmmmm.... hell yeah!

I am crazy late in posting these- and I really scaled down my decorations this year

{YES- this is the scaled down version} just because I'm trying to crank out everyone's fall images.

But I did want to share a few shots with you all. 

I'm anxiously awaiting next weekend so that I can re-create my home and put up the Winter Wonderland....

Stay tuned!

xoxo Didi V

My daughter Onika giving me her best 40's babe look

My youngest daughter Gabbi strutting her peacock princess look

Even the powder room and kitchen get some spooky love....

 And if it stands still long enough- it gets draped in something.....

 

H-Fam fun

The H-fam is crazy in love with their boy Jax and it's easy to see why.

My gorgeous friend Lucy and her handsome boys came to hang out with me on two different occasions recently and we had such fun and dynamic color both days- one in the early morning fog and one in the last slivers of daylight.  I love that my client families trust my crazy visions for location 

{read here... ratty old abandoned buildings and empty lots) 

and can still bring their own brand of beauty to each session.... even if it means missing some prime NFL action on a Sunday morning.

I love hanging with the H-fam because we live such crazy  parallel sports fueled lives.  

We catch each other's games when we can and our wine and dinner conversations are always sports dominated.... and it's such a comfortable fit.  I'm sure that many of our family friends think that we are obsessive about the sports talk- for that I'm sorry... but there's no apologies needed in this group!

Love you guys!

xoxo

Didi V.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland....

Walking in a Winter Wonderland....

Clearly not written for those afraid of a little snow....and the plan was to play in the snow....

but we never got any!!! 

 The beautiful Murphy family were rock-star brave as we decided to make a go of an incredibly cold and frosty morning out in Machias {a great roadside find of those cool trees and the Christmas tree farm were perfectly frosty}.....baby girl Randie {who we would shoot for 90 seconds and then bundle for several minutes} was so sweet and so patient- even their pup Kodiak fell in line for a photo!

We had to work quickly but we sure had fun!

Thanks for playing with me guys!

xoxo Didi V.

*****

Special Thanks to Chad at Coast Cabins &  tree farm for letting us invade the u-cut section of the tree farm! 

http://www.coastcabins.net/#

Merry Christmas Darlings....

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

I am finally getting my house decorated and prepped for the holidays and did manage to put together our Christmas card photos (thanks to my girl Dr. Nicky for coming along to help me get a snap of all four of us in one place at one time... {NOT an easy task at all with this family....}

I hope that you are all reveling in the hustle and bustle of this crazy season- remember to stop and breathe... step back and enjoy the view- squeeze your dear ones and do a good deed for someone else... after all- 'tis the season.

xoxo Didi V.

{this year's theme is Winter Wonderland.... bring on some of that fluffy white stuff Santa!}

       



Halloween

Take a "stab" at what my favorite holiday is..... LOL!

I tend to go a bit overboard when it comes to Halloween....

I love to decorate both the interior and the exterior of our happy little suburban home... and at the end of the decorating day- if it hasn't run away on it's own- it's been decorated. 

My house this year was once again dripping in Halloween and  the creep-tastic!

I'm sure it's because I'm and All Saints baby- so pretty much every birthday I've ever had has been Halloween based... and I love it!  I've been collecting decor for years... and now that my kids are getting older- I can start to bring the dramatic rather than just the "cute"...   And this year, they were really able to help, create and cook and it is making the holidays just that much sweeter.

**********

Gabbi is and always has been a horse nut- so when Onika found several components of an equestrian outfit at our favorite 2nd hand haunt- it was as if the costume Gods were trying to tailor the perfect costume for my girl this year.

Not surprising that Onika wanted to be a Vampiress- again.... {for the umpteenth year in a row...} just with better accessories.... LOL-  Oh well- she rocked it.

We had a fun little get together with friends and neighbors and rocked the pre-trick-or-treat snack and the post-frozen children dinner.... witch's fingers, chocolate chip cookies, home-made chili bar, spiced apple cider and a jack-o-lantern pizza.... goodness on a plate!

I even got in on the action as a sugar skull pulled from el Dia de la Muerto lore.  I had fun with it- but felt bad- I scared the pants off of several little ones who came to "twik o tweet" my house.... they were definitely NOT ok with whatever I was and where the heck was Mrs. Miles at?????

Hope you all had a fab Halloween!!!

{and now... back to work for me}

xoxo Didi V.

Move over Martha...

That's right- I said it.... Move over Martha. 

Ok- I'm not really that crafty anymore- altho- I did turn out some pretty darned cute hair pretties for some darling girls for portrait sessions this spring, and I cooked up a storm this weekend...and not just my easy go to basics... I actually- wait for it...... used a recipe this weekend!  I know,... I know- my family was stunned... and rewarded... the braised beef short ribs in a garlic-red wine-balsamic reduction over heavily garlic-buttered smashed potatoes was dare I say- criminal... it was ridiculously good.

Tonight I turned out stuffed pork chops and pan fried zucchini w/ buttered bread crumbs, sprinkled w/ parm s&p, and a dollop of ranch sour cream dip... comfort food to the inth degree on this cold cruddy wet day.

I spent some needed down-time resting and relaxing with my family this weekend- we were sad that Oni's basketball tourney was canceled for her age bracket but happy to have some rest.  We've snuggled, laughed, watched movies, hung out with friends and took a deep breath.. and it was a very good thing.*wink*

And this photo montage- really is my house- inside and out- if you've missed it somewhere in all of my ramblings... I L.O.V.E to decorate for the holidays.....ALL of them actually....  My friend Alicia laughed at me yesterday on a quick visit and told me that she no longer needs to buy a calendar- she just needs to drive past my house to tell what month it is... (I think this is a good thing...)

Anyhoo........I hope you take a big breath and hang out with your family- really listen to your kids and kiss your spouses this week. Keep checking back- I promise to be bringing you all sorts of new photos to oogle and hopefully write something that will make you smile.  Till next time Cio! xoox Didi V.