I Really love......

Through out the year I will be doing post's on things that I really love. They will be on anything and everything.  From clothing, to music, to my new favorite obsession's. Anything!!

My first post will be on......

Muskoka Bear Wear!!!!!

I LOVE MUSKOKA BEAR WEAR!!

I can't say it enough. If you are a big fan of being comfy, and I mean... who isn't right? Then you will love this clothing line as well. They have sweaters, t-shirts, sweat pants, mitts, gloves. They carry a large selection of sizes, from infant and kids to adults. I currently have 3 sweaters in my arsenal. I also bought a sweater for my husband, and a t-shirt for my daughter. My sister owns a sweater and some of their oh-so-cute pants with bear paws on the butt (hehe). I also bought a onesie and a t-shirt for some of my friends kids.

Muskoka Bear wear is a local vendor and I always enjoy finding and buying unique local items. It always gives me joy to buy locally, AND you can even purchase their clothing online!! Pure awesome-ness!
They have 3 stores throughout the muskoka region. Bracebridge, Huntsville, and Port Carling. Each store is just as cute as the other, and the people working in the stores are always friendly and helpful.

I will be making another trip to one of these stores as soon as I can, in the meantime I highly recommend you checking them out. They are excellent quality and made in Canada! Another dose of awesome-ness right there!!

Sunny Snowy Trash the Dress-Parry Sound Wedding Photographer

Winter months in Ontario can be pretty long and cold. Every time winter comes around I go into hibernation mode. You know, the I-am-not-going-out-unless-it's-an-emergency attitude? People always ask me why I live where I do because Parry Sound is notorious for getting huge amounts of snow before January, and then after January we get freezing cold temperature's. Our winter's usually last until at least April (beginning of or mid), no matter what that precious groundhog says on February 2nd. So being a photographer in Muskoka can be somewhat slow from about January until April, it's a great down time to catch up on all things business wise. It gives me time to mull over certain projects and to think things through and research (a lot) before I go ahead with something. I have so many things that I am going to be getting into doing over the next year, it makes me excited to get going. I am one of those people who likes something done immediately, not later or some other time, NOW. I get a little anxious and excited.... what can I say?

So what does a photographer do in the winter months other then think about and research business? We get back to the root of our entire business.... shooting. Every photographer loves shooting(obviously ;)) but unfortunately shooting only accounts for about 20% of our business. The rest is filled with editing, bookings, fulfilling client orders, meetings, etc, etc. Last week I was starting to get the itch, you know to shoot something or someone. Particularly I wanted to do a TTD session. TTD is code for trash the dress... hehe. Facebook is an awesome form of free advertising. I often think to myself, what did I ever do before Facebook?? So I had many former brides offering to be my model, but many were going out of town. Then came along my friend Kristie. She is just all sorts of cute-ness. We made a date and out-a-shooting we went! Thankfully it wasn't freezing cold and it turned into a beautiful day!  Here are some of those images from yesterday's shoot.

This was spray-painted on the building, I thought it was so appropriate!

The WINNER IS!!!

Lisa Tait!!!

Congratulations Lisa!!! I can't wait to shoot this adorable little family! I took pictures of Blair (Lisa's daughter) about a year ago, and it will be great to see how much she has changed in front of the camera. Lisa's number was lucky number 12, the website www.random.org picked her number at random, based on the total number of entries.

So excited for Lisa, but don't worry folks, I have a little prezzy for you just because you took the time to enter! So here it is......
In honour of Family day in Canada and because today is the 15th, I am giving all of the entries 15% off a family package! This will expire on Family Day 2011, so everyone has one year to use this promotion!

Contest are fun don't cha' think???

I am thinking about doing another one sometime soon..... Stay tuned!!! This next one will be for all of the ladies out there that have a certain something sitting in their closets.......

Family Day Contest!!

Yep, you read it right!! In honour of Family Day here in Canada I am putting up for grabs a Family portrait session!! All you need to do is e-mail me with your name & info(mailing address & phone number) and it will be put into a draw. What this includes is a 1-2 hour session(up to 5 family members), digital negatives with 25 of the best images, and a dvd slideshow! This is a $350.00 value!!!

So, C'mon folks what have you got to lose?? So, spread the word and get your entries in!!!
e-mail: info@cassiejacklinimages.com

Fine print: One entry per family, contest closes February, 14th, 2010 at 11:59pm. Limit of 5 family members for the shoot. Contest will be drawn on February, 15th, 2010. Winning contestant will be called or e-mailed notifying them of their win.
Winning contestant will be required to sign a standard portrait contract, if you are not willing to sign the contract then please do not submit your name & info. That's it! That's all! 

Arizona

As much as I loved Arizona, the 2 hour time difference has been weighing down on this family. Needless to say, this past week we have been losing sleep and trying to catch up on it. Mostly in part, because of my daughter. She had a hard time in Arizona adjusting to the time difference, and now that we are home, it's the same ordeal just back at home. Oh well, that's part of the deal when you become a parent right?

So, on with my first post on Arizona. The first day we got there was beautiful. The sun was out, the air was warm and comforting, and my in-laws could not be happier to see my daughter again (they have a very large sweet spot in their hearts for her). We spent the day just settling in and unpacking. The weekend was spent by doing some shopping and some eating. Yes, eating. One of the big differences between the States and Canada is the food!! Portions are completely different, price points for the entree's is unreal. I swear if I lived in the states I would probably be 20-30lbs heavier.

Then came Monday, I was excited for Monday. Monday was the day to go for my mentoring session with Melissa Jill! I first became familiar with Melissa when I started following her blog. Her work is AH-mazing! Then came PartnerCon and I e-mailed Melissa with hopes to meet up in New Orleans for dinner. She obliged and we ended up having a great dinner with many other Photogs and great friendships blossomed from there. So, knowing I would be in Arizona, I once again e-mailed Melissa hoping that she could meet me for one of her mentoring sessions. She once again obliged and I met at her studio/home for the session. It was awesome. I recommend this to anyone starting up, and even if you have been around for a while it's a great opportunity to learn. I also must say her dog Dixie, is just all sorts of cute-ness.

I have more to blog about, and I will continue on in the next few days!!