Kitty & Kevin

Little red riding hood brought her wolf to her 1 year session!

Dear Lorelai,

One year ago we finally met you in person. I don't even know where to begin thinking back on this last month and last year.

You are the happiest little girl I've ever met. You do get cranky, sometimes, but it is almost always due to a lack of sleep. You are curious, and quiet. I cannot say enough how much you love to "read" your books. You often will crawl away from us to another room, where we will find you sitting flipping through another of your books.


You have two little teeth and love to push your walker around in circles in the living room. You have somewhat taken a few steps, but nothing remotely steady. You hate using a sippy cup, and we are waiting for the day you decide you'll drink more than just a little out of one. We've bought just about every cup imaginable.

Lady Grey is still your most favorite toy, and you squeal whenever you see her. Of course she hates that, but has learned that we will pet her if she sits still and allows you…

There are great ways to save money, make money, and pay down debt....and then there are not so good ways to do it. Here are a few of my personal "Do's and Don'ts" of being a financially responsible person.


The Don'ts Skimp on tips- I'm not saying you need to be tipping 40% to your waitress, but you should be fair with your tips for services that are expecting to be tipped. 

Get others to pay for you- You're the one making the decision to cut back and be financially responsible, and that means making sacrifices at times. Don't find sneaky ways to get family or friends to pay for your out-to-eat splurges, sacrificing relationships isn't worth it. 

Make exceptions for loved ones- With a child, it is easy for me to say she NEEDS something, and so I NEED to spend money on that item. For example her hair is in her eyes, so she really needs 10 more bows (in addition to the 20 she already has) in different colors to keep her hair out of her eyes. This photo …

Our little girl turns one tomorrow, and in celebration we set up a cake smash session for her. Honestly, we think if we would have left her sitting in front of this cake, she would easily have eaten the entire thing. She loved it, although was relatively dainty at picking out her pieces! 
Her mom is not handling Lorelai turning one quite as gracefully as she is.....

I recently had reader ask why we chose a 30 year mortgage on our 2nd home, when we chose a 15 year on our first.

After blogging about our first house and choosing a home that you could afford the payments on a 15 year mortgage, we said one thing and did another. Here is our post on considering a 15 year mortgage when looking at how much you should spend on a home.

Let me start by saying, we did weigh the option of a 30 year or 15 year mortgage very seriously. Here is why we chose a 30 year mortgage this time. At the time of obtaining our mortgage, we were still figuring out what our long-term goal situation would look like. We had been a single income family for about 10 months, new parents, and we were (and are) still looking at what our long term plans are for photography which is meaningful income stream.

What are the benefits of a 15 year mortgage? Usually you get a lower rate with a 15 year compared to a 30 year. However, the primary benefit of a 15 year is that you will have your…

We celebrated Lorelai's birthday at the new house with friends and family last weekend. It was everything we hoped it would be. Our little diva picked (well her parents did) a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme and we had so much fun planning the ordeal. 


She is so loved. And we couldn't have chosen a better way to celebrate her life. Thank you to all who came to celebrate with our family! 

Today is the day of my MBA graduation, but this year I decided 3 graduation ceremonies is my limit. I walked at high school, college and law school (which I almost missed because flights were looking slightly cheaper to Europe for our elopement had I booked on graduation day rather than the day after)...but you could not have paid me to sit through yet another graduation ceremony for my Masters. 
I never though I would reach this point, but Lorelai is the reason I've "seen the light" and decided I will never again start another degree. I've spent 26 of my 30 years of life collecting degrees...and I'm done. It's been a great road, and I know I will never stop learning, but as far as my career aspirations go I cannot fathom a reason I would need to go back and get yet another formalized higher education degree. 
I've done a little bit of everything, from private college to community college, large in-state university to one with just about 2,500 students. …