Under the weather....

Ok, so what exactly does that mean? "Under the weather"... what a weird term and yet I just used it to describe being sick right now. Oh well, when I'm feeling a bit better, maybe I'll google it and find out why. Bruce and I were just talking about colds and germs and stuff on our way up to Hartford the other day, we went to this great presentation by 2 awesome photographers, Mike Colon and Bob Davis (Bob did Eva Longoria's wedding!) Anyhow, we had a good time, got some great information and are working with some of the techniques they described so we will have some new and fresh stuff for your weddings, and to be honest, we can't wait to start the season now! Oh, where was I? Am I rambling? Germaphobic? Maybe, but does it help? Um... no. So I'm on the couch watching mindless TV on a Sunday, which is quite a change for me...and by the way, did you ever watch "Dirty Jobs"? It's too funny! Time to find that other box of Kleenex, agh.

We Have a Winner!

Thanks everyone, we have our winner for the free portrait session! Stephanie S. (aka Quick Draw) was first, within just a few minutes of the post last night :)

Thank you!

-Bruce

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

So I was in a hurry for lunch today and I ran to Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee and a bagel. Ok not the most nutritious choice for lunch, but it was a wheat bagel ;) Just ham and egg, no cheese so not too awful bad. Anyway, I got to the window and the manager handed me my coffee and my bag with the food in it.

He said, "I threw a flatbread sandwich in there for you to try, no charge."

Me: "Really? Thanks very much! Why?"

"A lot of people come for lunch and they order a bagel sandwich not realizing we have these new flatbread sandwiches. Just thought you might like to try one!"

Ok, ok I know it was a simple marketing ploy, but hey you know what? I thought it was a cool idea and it sorta made my day! And here I am telling all of you about it ;) so I guess it worked.

But it also inspired me! So...I'm returning the favor. I want to give the first person that emails me (bruce AT thesweetestdays DOT com) a FREE portrait session. Yep, remember that Valentine's Day post about the new portrait sessions we're doing? One of those. For you. Or you and your family. Or you and your dog Guido. Free. Zip, zero, nada. No strings attached.

Just send me an email and tell me you want it. First person I hear from wins! We'll figure the rest out from there. I'll come to your house. Maybe this weekend. Or we can wait for summer and go to the beach. That way you'll have time to get your hair done. You can get Guido's hair done, too. Whatever you want. And hey maybe you can bring a flatbread sandwich for me, those are good!

Ready, set, go.

-Bruce

Thursday Links

And it looks like they're almost all either wedding or photography related links, too! For a change ;)

Here's a weird one: If you happen to have a digital picture frame and it came from Best Buy, you may want to take a closer look. Apparently a bunch of them came from the  manufacturer with computer viruses on them. Not a major deal and easy to fix, but still. Might wanna check yours out. Effected brand was "Insignia" and the model number is NS-DPF10A. Original Washington Post mention is here.

Ok first off, I'm no prude. (Can a guy even be  a prude??) And I get the whole fashion thing, I mean we kind of have to to even be in this business. But check out this NY Times article about wedding dress trends. Is this what's coming? Seems a bit over the top to me, but I'll let you make up your own minds ;)

How 'bout this: a wedding ring with the point sticking out! OUCH! Designer Tobias Wong has come up with this killer (literally) wedding ring design that can "cut skin down to the bone". Hey nothing says romance like a terrorist weapon on your ring finger ;) Only one article linked to this and I couldn't verify independently so who knows if it's real or not, but man I would not want to be on the business end of this thing!

The most bizarre wedding cake I've ever seen. And then there's Mario.

Ok last one, if you haven't heard about this yet you need to check it out and see what you think. Lindsay Lohan recreates the "Last Sitting" photo shoot of Marilyn Monroe. Totally NOT SAFE FOR  WORK. Or home for that matter. Go to a library. You'll feel better if you do this anonymously ;) Very bizarre. I mean, given all of Lohan's antics of late, and considering Marilyn was basically drunk at the time of the shoot and died six weeks after of an overdose...WEIRD. But I suppose WEIRD sells magazines these days.

Ok that's it for today! Enjoy the snow tomorrow!!

-Bruce

Freeze, Nobody Move

207 people freeze in place in Grand Central Station at exactly the same time and stay that way for 5 minutes. My questions are:

1. Was blinking allowed?
2. Was anyone, um, accosted? Hmm, no I suppose not, it is after all a kinder, gentler NYC now ;)

Wicked cool, check it out:

MILK Desk

Quite possibly one of the coolest desk ideas (and websites) I've seen in a long time. I can only imagine how much they cost!

And what chair would you get for a desk this cool??

-Bruce

Gone Fishin'

I'm baaaack! What a crazy week it's been, I haven't even had a chance to post the pics from "Me and Roland's Excellent Adventure" in Florida last weekend! So here we go...

The view out the window of our kitchen last Friday as we were leaving for the airport. Feet don't fail me now!

Roland in front of the marina. No he's not named after Roland Martin, he's actually named after his grandfather (my Dad) but hey, if you're gonna visit Roland Martin's marina in Florida and your name is Roland, people remember you!

When we arrived, it was late Friday night and we were greeted by this notice in the hotel room. Lovely ;) Off to Wal-Mart to get bottled water!

The streetlights on the road where the marina is located are bass! I'm home!!

 

The marina is on one of the canals outside of the lake itself. Normally you have to go through a set of locks (you can see the entrance in the back of this pic) to get out to the main lake but with the terrible drought they've been having, the lake is so low that the locks are just kept open full time.

Roland was a little anxious to wet a line ;)

Here's the entrance to the locks as we head out to the main lake.

 

Our guide, Boyd. He lives on Lake Superior in Michigan and owns a charter fishing operation there, but comes down to Lake Okechobee for the winter to guide for bass. The three of us had a great time!

And here's the video of Roland's very first bass! He's a had a few on before on trips we've taken here in Connecticut, but never landed one. This is what we came for!

My number 1 with his Number 1.

And one for Dad ;)

Lake Okechobee is paradise. Well if you like bass fishing. For everyone else, not so much. Why? These guys:

No water skiers, no jet-skis, no pleasure boats. Nothing but bass fisherman, for the most part. I think we need some 'gators in Connecticut!!

Sunrise on day 2. Gorgeous!

Roland was tearin' it up!

 

Ok, ok I was having fun too!

Ok that's enough fish stories for now, hopefully we haven't bored you too much!

Peace!

-Bruce and Roland

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! Of course, it is so very cool to have a worldwide holiday named just for Me! Okay, so maybe I have that backwards and I was named for St. Valentine, also my great grand father's name... but I think I'll keep it as 'my' holiday!! :)

So whatever you're doing to celebrate L O V E.... do it with style and enjoy the day! Of course, if you know someone who got engaged or maybe you got that ring you were hoping for, drop us a line and say hi! We'd love to hear your story!

Keep it sweet!

Love this photo!

A friend in Colorado sent this photo to us and I just love it so I thought I'd share with you!

Bridal Show & Chinese New Year too!

This weekend I went to the bridal show at the Mohegan Sun. I haven't been to a show in a while and it was a fun change of pace. My friend's daughter is getting married in October, so I got to see what's some new and cool things for weddings, there was a great band performing ... but I can't remember their name! Agh!! But I got to see some of my friends there too! So if you need a Justice of the Peace or a DJ, maybe some Professional Bagpipers or a beautiful and yummy cake, let me know and I'll give you some great referrals. I only make referrals for business professionals that I've worked with and really like because I want you to be happy with them too!



We didn't know it, but there was also a celebration for the Chinese New Year too! There was a parade through the casino that included Paper Dragons and drums and cymbals (yes, it was LOUD!) and lots and lots of people, I tell ya, it was wild! I saw people clutching red envelopes and found out later that they were given out with money in them as a tradition, more things I need to go read about, I think! :-)

Hey, Bruce should be back from vacation today, so I'm waiting for the big fish story too!!