2011

a recap of our 2011

{this is a REAL post so don't say i didn't warn you}

in january | i lost my graphic design job. i was laid off which at the time was terrifying but a blessing in disguise-- as i had big plans for my year.
in february | i started this blog & slowly started milliemorganmedia. wow, i had no idea how fast it would take off in a year. i thank you all for the support not only with my blog but my business. milliemorganmedia had so many wonderful clients in 2011.
in march | i started a new job taking school photos. i loved this job. i adored this job. i never realized how important photography was to me, until this experience. interstate studio- i thank you for this experience.
in april | i planned my first baby shower, madison had her first dentist appointment, and i got to take prom pictures--which was my most fun day on the job
in may | madison had her very first dance recital & we went to the beach
in june | madison started soccer
in july | we celebrated matt's birthday, my birthday, & our anniversary by taking a trip into the city of charlotte for a long weekend. it was perfect. we also decided it was time to for another baby so on july 12th- we got mirena taken out in hopes of adding to our family.
in august | madison turned 4 & went to bible school. we had a huge superhero themed pool party for her & i must say, it was a great. we also found out we were pregnant. 
in september | i photographed my very first wedding and madison started pre-school. the doctor also confirmed our pregnancy with the due date of may 26th and we got to see our baby.
in october | we were busy-- traveled to nc, friends got married, photographed more weddings, had more sessions, pregnancy appointments, etc. nothing too exciting happened in october just a lot of morning sickness.
in november | i got offered a job. i turned down the job. we lost our baby. 
in december | we mourned, we celebrated, but most importantly we remember how truly blessed we are to have such caring & wonderful family & friends. 2011 had plenty of ups and downs but we're ready for a fresh start in 2012 with a lot of resolutions and plans. thank you for your support friends & family--- bring it on 2012! 

{for a photographer, you'd think i'd have more photos to share but here are just a few of my favorites from 2011---ALSO i watch and listen to this song every new year so i thought i'd share it with you} 

happy new year | see you 2012

our christmas morning

if you know my daughter madison, this is how our christmas morning was. a little chaotic, hilarious, and a whole lot of joy as she opened her presents from santa. so many photos to edit and share but for now, i will leave you this one. just a typical madison reaction. and just a sweet photo of the kids christmas eve. so many to share. still out of town and will be traveling over the new year's holiday so i guess i will see you next year :) happy new year & it's time to bring in 2012. 

mason | newborn session

wow, what a joy this little boy is. just in time for the holidays. yesterday i had the pleasure of photographing a 5 day old newborn named mason. here are just some of my favorites from the session. you can view the entire session at milliemorganmedia.com!

no butter chocolate chip cookies

do you ever get the craving for warm chocolate chip cookies and milk?? husband and i did last night. do you ever want to bake something but realize your missing important ingredients? we do ALL the time. i feel like we're always missing baking essentials but last night we found an amazing recipe if your ever in the mood for chocolate chip cookies but do not have butter. we followed this recipe from stephanie cooks but modified it a bit because we didn't have quite enough brown sugar or chocolate chips-- so we added m & m's. they came out super tasty and i suggest you try them out :) madison enjoyed them too--i also found her an adorable milk/hot chocolate mug for the holidays at a thrift store for only $.44 cents! it just makes drinking during the month of december that much more fun <3

diy: learning letter box

madison has been learning to spell new words and writing more so i was trying to find a fun way to make letters to use on the floor or table. melissa and doug makes adorable wooden letters that go on a chalkboard- but they are $20.00. so for under $8- we made our own learning letter box. here is what you will need: 1 bag of wooden letters, 1 wooden box, 1 big initial wooden letter, paint & paint brushes. so simple & fun. let your child paint however he/she wants her special box to be and you can help her paint the letters :) madison cannot wait to spell new words-- i love making learning fun. so run to the craft store & make one with your kid! 

meet our elves | batman & robin

i finally introduce you to our elves on the shelf- batman & robin. madison named them-of course she is still obsessed with super hero's. i know it's halfway through december and i am just now introducing the world to batman & robin but the truth is batman & robin have just been so busy fighting crime. i love love LOVE these elves because they were my (& my sisters) elves that we had growing up- so i guess you can call them vintage. they are faded & have creepy faces but it might be my most favorite decoration/tradition of the christmas holiday. thank you to lana (my mom) for passing them down to me, sorry sisters. they have only made it to a few places throughout our home so i thought i'd share. nothing like katie's brilliant ideas of the their elf eating a popsicle or being super ralph- but i try. that's all you can do :) so with the said, meet batman & robin. 

candy cane lane | breakfast with santa

this morning we had breakfast with santa. it was so much fun. madison got to make a lot of ornaments and crafts. we ate pancakes and sausage with special christmas cookies :) madison got to see all the disney princesses, which she loves. my cousin was working the event because he is on student council so it was so fun seeing him and madison gave him a big hug {check out the photo below} i adore family moments like this. i wish we could have more but i guess its quality not quantity. peanut adores her daddy. enjoy some photos of madison with santa and out fun day together :) madison even received the letter from santa! 

felt ball ornament giveaway winner

thank you everyone who became a new follower and took the time to leave a nice comment on my giveaway. i loved reading all of your words :) the lucky winner of the giveaway is MEGS. please email me your address and information and i will send you all three balls. email me at mandiestarkey@gmail.com :) 

michelle & andy | mini session

last weekend, my bff michelle and andy wanted to do a mini session with their adorable pup sneezy. it was a lot of fun, even bringing madison along with us. please check the last photo just for fun. {it's not edited- but i thought i'd share} one reason why you don't bring your 4 year old to a photo shoot. she kept giving the dog chips :) love her anyways. here are some of photos from the session. 

and this photo just cracks me up. thanks madison for all of your help...

a big day

today was a big day for milliemorganmedia. today was my first time on one pretty thing, a diy blog full of projects. my christmas ball ornament tutorial was featured on the blog and you can check it out here. i am so thrilled. thank you to rachel of one pretty thing. 


next up, dondi from dondalee's blog also featured this diy christmas ornament on her blog. you can read it here. i am so lucky to have so much support from fellow bloggers. it's so rewarding them your tutorials are featured on various blogs, especially TWO in ONE day. thank you ladies, you made my day. also i just want to share an adorable photo from the other day. peanut's smile couldn't get any bigger and more gorgeous. love you buddy. 

{diy : chalkboard}

my latest obsession is finding an old frame to make a giant chalkboard for my entryway in my town home. yesterday- i found one at thrift king! on sale for 8.99 and such good quality. ever since i saw these gorgeous chalkboards on pinterest- i've been dying to make my own. thanks to my husbands help for getting the mirror out, we successfully made the most beautiful yellow chalkboard, which currently has various christmas words :) i cannot wait to use it for checklists & inspiration quotes. i sort of want to make more & smaller ones for photo sessions.  

christmas card giveaway : winner

and the winner is... Courtney. congrats! please email me a high resolution image and text of the card and I will email you the high res file back :) thanks for stopping by! 
email me at mandiestarkey@gmail.com

thank you soph {from babes & sages}

i got the most beautiful package last week which included the most well-wrote letter and handmade necklace from my good friend, sophie who runs the blog & shop babes & sages. i just had to share with everyone how beautiful creation she put time and effort into making for me in memory of our little baby angel and the symbolism of no 2. it's the people you surround yourself with that is so important and i couldn't be any more grateful that i walked into that art history class 4 years ago and met this remarkable woman. thank you soph.

{christmas decor: part 1} madison's tree

thanks to sister for the idea & bff michelle for giving us a tree to use. we put a tree up in mad's room and she loves it. it's been a great addition to the holidays and i think we may make it a tradition from now on. we bought a bunch of wooden ornaments from joann's and painted them together <3 mommy made one for the baby who is no longer with us. madison made a princess, snowman, bird, raindeer, etc. it was a really fun memory that i hope to do every year--or at least until she is a teenager and would rather be with her friends. i am not looking forward to that. more of our christmas decor coming--enjoy madison's very own tree in her room.