so for everyone out there wondering where the heck we’ve been for the last few weeks, let me tell you. it involves a trip to delaware, the sound of music, a sinus infection, 9 hours in the philadelphia airport, a stomach flu, the tossers, 24 packages of chicken ramen noodles, and lots of puppies and kitties. not necessarily in that order.

march was a crazy month of traveling, visiting family, and volunteering. at the beginning of the month we went out to delaware to see my little brother play capt. georg von trapp in the sound of music. the whole cast did a smashing job, and it was so fun to see our delaware friends.

in between bouts of illness, lots of ramen, and 2 trips to see the tossers perform live, we’ve been doing some volunteering at some local animal shelters. and this crosses off #50 off my list - “donate our services to a good cause.”

everyone that knows me, knows i love anything small, cuddly and furry. so in our slow season, we decided to pop by some local animal shelters and take photos of all their puppies and kitties up for adoption. here are some of our favorites.

we have met the cutest and cuddliest animals, and heard some sad, sad stories. if you’re in the market for a new dog or cat - please, please, please check out our friends at the du page county animal care and the naperville humane society. they are awesome at what they do! and if you’re looking for a good place to do some volunteer work, give them a call!

now that spring is in the air, we are back in full swing! so expect some awesome sessions and weddings coming your way soon!

now i’m off to sit in the sunshine and have some iced coffee. enjoy the green.

-gina

gina&tony

 
 

Date Posted: March 29, 2010
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: animal adoption, chicago engagement photographers, chicago pet photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, dupage county animal care and control, just for fun, kitties, naperville humane society, puppies, volunteer
1 Person Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »

i know i’m way behind the times with this list, but i thought it would be fun to post something totally personal up here. 101 in 1001 is a list of 101 goals that you hope to complete in the next 1001 days. that’s a little less than three years. it’s kind of a fun alternative to new year’s resolutions.

here’s probably WAY too much information on what i hope to accomplish in the next three years. i wrote things that i can prove i accomplished (for the most part), so expect lots of fun updates on what actually gets done!

so without further ado:

101 in 1001

1. return my library books. (seriously, i’ve had them for an embarrassingly long time. they’ve sent me very threatening letters.)
2. get a dog.
3. start playing piano again.
4. double the number of people that i have listed in my family tree.
5. lose 10 pounds.
6. host a christmas party for our friends.
7. visit asia.
8. find a church we love.
9. join a book club.
10. do something completely spontaneous.
11. go to a midnight showing of a movie, and actually STAY AWAKE.
12. go to a wine tasting.
13. design and order our wedding album.
14. cook tony a dinner all by myself.
15. drive a stick shift by myself.
16. become fluent in italian.
17. get an illinois driver’s license.
18. go to a bears/eagles football game.
19. go on a road trip with my mom and sisters.
20. have a photo session with all my siblings and cousins for my grandparents.
21. double our website traffic.
22. have a portrait session for tony and i with a photographer who inspires us.
23. reconnect with someone i was good friends with in high school.
24. write someone a letter.
25. volunteer.
26. buy a pair of shoes that are entirely too expensive.
27. interview all of our grandparents and videotape it.
28. drive down the pacific coast highway.
29. get published in a photography magazine.
30. get published in a wedding magazine.
31. ride a horse.
32. spend a day being a tourist in chicago.
33. spend a night stargazing.
34. wear a bathing suit in front of more people than my family.
35. read a book someone recommended that i wouldn’t normally read.
36. buy tony a present for no apparent reason.
37. spend a week with extended family in puerto rico.
38. find the greatest oatmeal raisin cookie recipe of all time.
39. double our income from 2009.
40. bake a birthday cake for a friend.
41. visit mexico.
42. buy furniture from a respectable furniture store and not ikea.
43. join the wpja.
44. go to comicon in san diego.
45. pay off a credit card.
46. invent my own signature cocktail.
47. have a girl’s vacation with my two best buds from college.
48. take my parents on a cruise.
49. do something nice for a total stranger.
50. donate our services to a good cause.
51. learn how to use our espresso machine.
52. visit 5 states i haven’t been to before.
53. visit canada.
54. play in a real poker tournament.
55. get two spanking new d700’s.
56. host a sold-out boudoir marathon.
57. get a huge canvas print of one of our photos to hang in our house.
58. go to a cubs game at wrigley field.
59. take a yoga class.
60. visit the caribbean.
61. read a book in a foreign language.
62. buy something from etsy.
63. finish a crossword puzzle without cheating.
64. spend a whole weekend unplugged - no phone, internet, or tv.
65. plant an herb garden.
66. go apple picking.
67. buy a wine rack and fill it.
68. brew our own beer.
69. watch 26 movies, each starting with a different letter.
70. have a snowball fight.
71. read all of jane austen’s novels.
72. buy a star.
73. see wicked.
74. visit washington d.c.
75. completely rebrand our business.
76. go to cedar point and ride the biggest rollercoaster there.
77. play in the rain.
78. have a picnic.
79. go to a concert.
80. watch the sunrise.
81. solve a rubik’s cube in under 2 minutes.
82. have an un-birthday party.
83. take pictures of me and tony in a photobooth.
84. complete a jigsaw puzzle.
85. visit all the major chicago museums.
86. eat at a traditional middle eastern restaurant.
87. learn to make pasta sauce from scratch.
88. be accepted to modern photographers.
89. shoot a wedding for free for a deserving couple.
90. buy an ipad.
91. write a thank you note to everyone that has helped us in the past year.
92. buy a point and shoot so we can take photos of us!
93. do something crazy with my hair.
94. make a blog and/or site for hello gorgeous | boudoir.
95. foster kitties in need.
96. start submitting photos to stock sites.
97. start a retirement plan.
98. shoot more personal work.
99. overcome my fear of deep water enough to take pictures of PRETTY fish. no sharks. or lake monsters.
100. visit friends in new york city.
101. buy a house.

cosimo hasn’t made an appearance on the blog for awhile, so i thought it was due time!

hello little treat. i’m going to eat you now. k?

wasssssssuuuuuuuppppppp!

-gina

gina&tony

Date Posted: February 9, 2010
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: 101 in 1001, chicago engagement photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, cosimo, just for fun, kitties, total randomness
7 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »

not to be those weird people who obsessively post pictures of their cats… but here are some pictures of our cats!!

this is really long overdue. cosimo is like 10 times the size he was when we got him in august. they grow up so quick! *sniffle* so without further ado!

cosimo just chilling in my mom’s christmas tree.

finally! a picture of martini! she’s in her awkward teenager stage and refuses to look at the camera…

this is cosimo’s cute face…

and this is cosimo’s “what do you mean i can’t rip down the curtains/climb on the countertops/attack your feet/paw at the turtle/eat human food” face.

approximately 5 milliseconds after this photo was taken, cosimo attacked…

hope you enjoyed! more real posts coming soon!

-gina

gina&tony

 
 

Date Posted: February 3, 2009
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: christmas, just for fun, kitties, new jersey pet photographers, south orange, total randomness
3 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »

I can’t believe that we’ve waited so long to put this on here, but we got a new kitty!  His name is Cosimo, with an I.  Not Cosmo, like everyone thinks.  (Maybe everyone else just assumes we’re alcoholics because we have another cat named Martini).

Isn’t he insanely adorable?  One of our awesome brides, Marjorie, (whose wedding photos will be up very soon!) found this little dude hanging out outside her house.  I convinced Tony in about 30 seconds that it was absolutely imperative we must have him. Sadly, Martini was not as convinced. She’s coming around though.

Here he is in one of the 2 seconds during the day he’s actually still.

We’re training him to be a super stealth attack kitty. Bottle caps and flip flops beware!

Keep checking in, because not only do we have 2 totally awesome weddings to blog, Tony and I are getting married in exactly 18 days! We will be posting approximately 7 billion photos of our awesome Italy adventure. Trust me - you’ll love it.

-Gina

gina&tony

Date Posted: September 21, 2008
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: kitties, new jersey pet photography, south orange, total randomness
2 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »