Connecticut Wedding Photographer : Alissa Dinneen Photography

Bristol house for Sale (not mine)

Anyone looking for a super cute home in Bristol, this is a great one! Good neighborhood, open floor plan, hardwood floors, two car garage, I could go on, check out the link for more details. Side note, I want to steal that blue for my bedroom, love it!

  



 

  
 

Chelsea Lately (Chelsea Handler)

I am a big fan of Chelsea Handler, if anyone doesn't know who she is, you should watch her show, Chelsea Lately, on E! at 11pm EST on weekdays. I've also enjoyed her two books (that I believe I've previously blogged about), and would easily read them again and again just to laugh. She just puts it all out there and says it like she sees it. I didn't say it, she did.

Every show she has three comedians at her round table where they gossip about all the celebrity garbage news and it wraps up with a celebrity interview. Every now and then she'll have a skit, I've included one of my favorites below--but you'd really have to watch the show to get it (Guy is on staff and regularly participates at the round table--he's one of my favorites).

Anyways, if you want to laugh daily, tune in and enjoy!

The Big 3-0

Today I turn the big 3-0. I'm a little nervous to be leaving my twenties and moving into my thirties (to be honest). 

When I first started my business I was 25 years old, and people would ask a typical question, how long have you been "doing this?" It was sometimes followed up with, "How old are you?" I never knew how to take that question, and then I wondered what I would feel like when they stopped asking me that?! The answer to that question is always as follows:

My mother was a school teacher (she's retired now) who took a lot of pictures for friends and family. People started asking her to take their wedding pictures, and she eventually said yes to someone. At the age of ten (twenty years ago, whoa) my mother started taking me to the weddings with her. I helped carry bags, fix the bride's train and veil, and eventually I started taking pictures--and have been ever since.

Thankfully, people don't ask me how old I am anymore-I always made me feel awkward--what IF i'm not the right age for the job??! I do know that age has nothing to do with taking pictures, neither does gender. Expect the unexpected. 

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Roscoe: The Olde English Bulldogge

Recently John and I had the opportunity to watch a wonderful dog for ten days. The dog's name is Roscoe, and he's a fantastic Olde English Bulldogge. His priorities include relaxing, chewing, and being around people--ahh the life of a dog. Roscoe went to the driving range with John and I, John hit golf balls while Roscoe and I watched. He also was a hit at our 4th of July party, making lots of new friends.

Here are a few pics of the dog from John and my 4th party. Enjoy!!

     As a side note, this is Eme with Tony. Eme is my Godchild and Tony is John's best friend. Eme just LOVED Tony (as you can see). This is the first time she met him too!! 

John and I had such a great time watching this dog, that we decided to get our own!! We think we're going to get a girl (and name her Daisy). We picked her out, but we haven't met yet (so if we meet one that likes us better we'll go with another dog). If it's a boy, the dog's name will be Bubba.

Here are a few pics of Daisy (taken by the breeder).

    

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he's just not that into you (the movie)

I've been so busy lately, when I'm home relaxing I don't feel like leaving the house. I thought Netflix would be a good idea, home delivery of movies sounds ideal to me. 

My first movie that I watched was he's just not that into you. I'm a HUGE  SATC fan, and I read the book, he's just not that into you when it came out. The book was sparked by a SATC episode where Miranda was told when making excuses for a guy, that "he's just not that into you." Then, there was the movie. To be honest, I liked the book, but it could have  been shorter, by the middle it just seemed repetitive to me. Long story short, don't make excuses for men, when they're into you, you'll know it.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the movie (and the reviews weren't fantastic). As I was watching it, and John was on his laptop probably looking at sports scores, but he eventually put it down and joined me. There were several characters (Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Bradly Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Connolly, and Justin Long--seriously loved them all in this movie) and story lines to keep me in intrigued. I say, watch it! It is cute, enjoyable, honest, funny, and real. 

Happy 2nd Birthday Emersyn Grace

Quickest Blog ever, since I'm off to a wedding after this. I couldn't help myself, I needed to post this cute family picture of some of my favorite people.

My God Child and best friend's daughter Emersyn Grace's second birthday was May 16. This past Monday, we celebrated the big day. I've only looked at this one pic, and had to post, I think it's sooo cute!

Happy Birthday Eme!!

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E-M-E spells Eme!!

Last night John and I had the pleasure to watch Eme, my almost two year old Godchild, for the first time ever! Sarah and Barry (and family) had a wedding to attend, and since I had the night off, I had the opportunity to play for a change.

Eme, John, and I accomplished  a lot in a small amount of time; we made tons of bubbles, played with Play Doh, had some chicken nuggets, played on Eme's swingset, and watched Sarah and Barry's wedding video.

Here are a few pics from our play date . Enjoy!

            

Location, Location, Location: Litchfield, Connecticut

I have not been a good blogger these days. As some of you know that I'm in the process of buying a house with my boyfriend John (who is now John Dipollina, PGA Golf Professional as of Tuesday--congrats John!). Here is a small update on the house situation; we're currently under contract and deposit on a home in Bristol, Connecticut, and had our inspection last week. I have pictures of the house, and I'm excited to share it with everyone. However, the house is not ours yet, so I'm not ready to share as of yet.

Recently, I've really been itching to get outside and take some personal pictures. For my first stop I am thinking of Northfield, Connecticut to the Laurel Ridge Foundation Daffodil Plantings. 

Description from website:  "Laurel Ridge is a 700 acre estate located in the Northfield sector of the Town of Litchfield. It is protected by the surrounding Waterbury Reservoir property. The natural beauty is enhanced by lakes, ponds, fields, woods, wetlands and a daffodil planting. Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and bridal paths open the woods up for walks and rides."

Updates on the locations flowers, click here.

One of my favorite stops in Litchfield, Connecticut is Haight Brown Vineyard. It's a super cute vineyard, where you can do a tasting, grab a glass of wine (my favorite is their Covertside White), and sit outside on their deck and enjoy the day. On the weekends, at noon, they do sangria and mimosas.

If anyone else is excited about spring, as I know I am, the Litchfield area is a great place to visit.

It's a Hard-Knock Life (for Vinny)

About Vinny: Vinny is a rescue dog originally from North Carolina. He's an adorable mutt, believed to be part hound and possibly some lab too. Katie and Steven (Vinny's parents), were chosen by Vinny at theConnecticut Humane Society (Newington, CT) in February 2008.

Likes: Vinny enjoys chewing ropes and sticks, doggie treats, running around with other dogs, and enjoys chasing his tail.

Dislikes: Vinny does not like it when you're laying on his part of the couch at night, he will lay on your if you are in his spot.

About the Song Choice: My sister Alison and I use to always watch the movie Annie growing up, and we loved listening to the soundtrack on record (on our Fisher Price Record player of course--that also bumped Thriller, Cyndi Lauper, and Madonna). I now tell my dog Lobo that I wish I had her life, sunning herself, eating treats, taking naps--it's hard-knock! 

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My Vacation in the Southern Caribbean

The past two weeks I was lucky enough to travel the Southern Caribbean (with my boyfriend John) on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship. I was at sea for two full weeks, visiting San Juan, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Virgin Gorda, and St. Johns. 

My favorite part of the trip was The Baths at Virgin Gorda, the cruise stopped at Tortola however I had heard so many wonderful things about visiting The Baths that I had to take the ferry over to check it out. The Baths are huge boulders that form a maze, from one beach to the next. In the maze there are grottos, ladders, and ropes along the way. 

  

My favorite travel items that I could not live without were; my Canon SD950IS PowerShot point and shoot camera (I do not care to lug around my gear on vacation), the dedicated underwater camera case for my PowerShot, and  Frommers Ports of Call book. The underwater case was wonderful, my favorite picture from the cruise wouldn't have been possible without this handy gadget.

CLICK HERE to view a slideshow from my vacation.

To view last year's cruise slideshow, click here.

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