Colorado Boudoir Photographer – Things I Love Summer 2015

Yep, it’s here. Okay, not officially, but technically, since school is out, in our home summer is here. The season of swimming, camping, and cookouts! Secret: Summer is not my favorite season of the year. It is hot, and I really hate feeling sticky all of the time. Between sweat, sunscreen, and just being HOT and dirty, I feel like I stick to everything.

Truth: Men will never understand the struggle of wearing a shorter skirt or shorts and sticking to HOT leather seats in the summer.

While it may not be my favorite season, it is a lot of fun to have my kiddo home. We swim. A LOT. As a Colorado boudoir photographer, I trim my work schedule back quite a bit to spend time with the kiddos, and my clients are busy enjoying the weather too! I do still add a few weddings in here and there, but for the most part, my Denver boudoir studio clients are enjoying the weather and booking for the crazy busy fall season.

I wanted to start a new series on the blog, of things that I love. They come up frequently on my Facebook page, and we have LOTS of discussions about them during sessions, but I figured that I would post them here! So the first, the inaugural post if you will, will be Things I Love, Summer edition!

1. Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen. We do use other types for other body parts, but this is seriously the only sunscreen that doesn’t make my face break out into a million little blemishes! It is the only sunscreen I will use on my face unless I’m desperate. As a Denver boudoir photographer, one of the things that I edit the MOST is sun damage. I have always been one of those people that was like “sunscreen, whatever…” until I started working with more and more women in boudoir. I see the sun damage every day when I’m zoomed in to edit, and I can tell you with 100% certainty – sunscreen matters! Yep, I used to baby oil my legs too, trying to get a tan – it isn’t worth it! Cover up and protect that skin, you only have one set!
Image source: www.neutrogena.com

2. FAIR FOOD. Some of you will know what I’m talking about, and some of you are thinking that I’m giving you some sort of code word for food that isn’t awesome but isn’t bad, it’s fair. I’m talking about the kind of food that you find at fairs, and carnivals, and festivals! I love love love festivals in the summer, sitting and watching people, listening to live music, AND EATING FAIR FOOD. Deep fried EVERYTHING. BBQ with God only knows what piled on top of it. Corn dogs hand dipped by people that don’t have teeth to eat them. (Carnival workers are always a little… odd) Seriously, fair food is one of my favorite parts about summer. Last year because I was so hot and miserable while pregnant, I didn’t get any fair food. NONE. WHATSOEVER. I told Tom that I need to go to like four fairs this year to make up for it. And my favorite will be when we’re out of town – boo! So I have been frantically looking for other opportunities to indulge in fair food. Cotton candy, corn dogs, oh man, even just writing this makes me excited!
Image source: www.foodnetwork.com

3. My Kindle! Yes, I have a ton of tablets. Five, to be exact. I think. Wait, maybe more? The point is, tablets are expensive. And hard to read in direct sunlight. I have a Kindle touch that I love love love, and I have learned how to finagle it to put all sorts of things onto it. There is a special app that will allow you to send articles and blog posts directly to your Kindle to read later. I also utilize the email function a lot to put PDF books and things that I’m working on onto the Kindle. The Kindle is a little less expensive, and easier to read in the sunlight. If it gets trashed at the pool, it will be frustrating, but a little less than a $500 tablet, know what I mean? I bring my Kindle to the pool and keep it in the pool bag, with the waterproof camera!
Image source: www.amazon.com

4. Champagne Mangoes. What the heck are these, you ask? Honestly, I don’t know. I just found them at the store one day in a massive box and wanted to try them, and have been hooked ever since. I eat like three or four in one setting, they are super delicious and so easy to cut! If you can find them in a store near you, check them out, they make great pool snacks. I might try freezing them this year for a frozen snack too!
Image source: www.champagnemango.com

5. S’MORES – is there really any pairing of random foods that tastes as fabulous? First of all, marshmallows are a win all by themselves. REALLY. But paired with chocolate and graham crackers? And let’s be honest here – while there are other ways to make S’mores, none tastes as fabulous as over a fire. The kind of fire that sticks in your hair so that you smell it the next day and you’re REMINDED THAT YOU WANT MORE S’MORES. I may or may not have a problem with an addiction here. I love s’mores, love them! Especially when we try different kinds. Ghirardhelli caramel squares are a favorite, and there are so many options! THE CANDY AISLE IS YOUR OYSTER, PEOPLE. Well that sounds weird, candy oysters? But seriously, try different things! And while the image in the collage is the perfect stack of s’mores, the truth is that sometimes the best s’mores are the ooey gooey ones that smoosh out the sides. Like mine, from last night.
Image source in collage: www.people.com

6. Number five leads us naturally to my current addiction: S’mores Frappuccinos from Starbucks. O. M. G. I don’t even want to look up the nutrition information on these bad boys because I’m sure it’s something I don’t want to know, but WOW they are yummy. Starbucks needs to offer these in a Trenta size… just sayin’.
Image source: www.starbucks.com

7. Last but not least, did you know that your eyes can get sunburned? I had no idea. One of my beautiful Denver boudoir clients recently brought her partner to her reveal, who is in the Air Force. We were talking about vision and the pilots, and he said that you would never see a pilot out without shades on because they are protecting their vision. I had NO idea how important it is to protect your eyeballs! Why not add a little bling while doing it, right? He didn’t say that part, that was my own thought, but ya know, it totally fits. I have a TON of sunglasses. It isn’t intentional, it isn’t like shoes or some weird hoarding situation. What inevitably happens is when I travel, I forget a pair, so I have to buy a pair. Then when I get home, I add another to the collection. They almost all have rhinestones on them! Protect your eyes, ladies!
Image source: www.buckle.com

One thing that I love to do in late April or early May, is to create a Summer Bucket List. We started doing this years ago, because summer always seems to fly by too quickly, and we get to September and go what the hell just happened, where did it go? So we create a list of things that we want to do during the summer, so that we can look at it and start planning things NOW. Tom used to think I was being a little OCD about planning summer months in advance, but he was grateful when things weren’t forgotten. The season gets busy so quickly, having a plan or at least a list of things we want to do means that we can get things on the calendar as soon as possible, and not miss out! Life is too short, I don’t want to miss out on any summers with my kiddos, or with my husband. I want to enjoy it!

A few things on our Summer Bucket List this year:
Stand up paddleboarding (guys’ idea, Princess P and I might have to bow out of this one)
Hangar Dance
Red Rocks concert
Air show – done!
Taste of Colorado
Fireworks! (done, but I want more!)
Rapids game

Knowing these things in advance allows us to look at our schedules to see when we’re traveling, and what we need to get tickets for in advance.

SO – two questions for you:

What summer things do you love?

And:

What is on YOUR Summer Bucket List this year? I know that a lot of my clients have said that boudoir is on their bucket list! What session would you do in the summer that might not be an option in other seasons?

Let me know in the comments! If you like what you’ve read, please feel free to share or PIN the images. Summer Bucket Lists really are so important to us, it is something that we really want to continue with our family in the future. I even have one for my Denver boudoir photography, of sessions that I want to do, things I want to try, and fun things I want to do with my clients! What’s on yours?

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