Eclectic Images Blog » personal news http://eclecticimagesblog.com austin wedding and portrait photographer : austin wedding photography : wedding photographer in austin and worldwide Fri, 17 May 2013 23:09:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 palm springs and san diego | fun family vacation! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/04/palm-springs-and-san-diego-fun-family-vacation/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/04/palm-springs-and-san-diego-fun-family-vacation/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:13:37 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=10199 I wanted to share a few photos from the fun family vacation we took to Palm Springs and San Diego in February! Our daughter Zoey is 2 1/2 and finally old enough to really have fun going places and doing things with us, so we decided to take a family vacation (and one where I wasn’t photographing a wedding during the trip, which is usually the case). We decided on Palm Springs because Mike and I have always wanted to go there (we have a mild obsession with mid century architecture and Palm Springs is a mecca for that!) and San Diego was another place that we always wanted to go (and we knew Z would have fun there with Legoland and the zoo)! So, without further ado here are some of my favorite photos from the trip!

view of the desert near Palm Springs

while in palm springs we went hipster and stayed at the ace hotel, it was pretty great.

zoey had a dance party on the bed!

morning view from our hotel room, not too shabby!

palm springs visitors center. amazing architecture.

desert.

took the tram up to the top of the mountain in palm springs. whew that’s high!

it wouldn’t be a trip to palm springs without some house gawking :)

ace hotel parking lot.

oh how i wish we had orange trees growing everywhere.

the photo you have to take if you stay at the ace.

another required photo.

and joshua tree, of course.

near the salton sea, fascinating.

zoey cheesing it up!

deserted.

the salton sea.

san diego!

san diego zoo of course!

and a trip to the beach at sunset.

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/04/palm-springs-and-san-diego-fun-family-vacation/feed/ 0 Happy New Year! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/01/happy-new-year/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/01/happy-new-year/#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:31:06 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=9918 Hello! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted much on the personal front – but with a new year upon us I thought I would share a few of my favorite personal photos from the year! 2012 was quite the year – on the personal front lots of sad times (my dad passed away very suddenly in July). I cherish these photos I have of him with Zoey.

 

I can look back on so many fun moments with Zoey and our family for which I am so thankful. We adopted Louie in February and he has added some craziness to our household of (now) three dogs and a child (Zoey, 2 1/2)!

In the late spring, we took a trip to St. Louis (I was photographing a wedding there) and then we took the train to Chicago for the weekend. Love the architecture in Chicago – our trip was so short, we can’t wait to go back for a longer period of time!

Also this fall we sold our home that we lovingly called Brady Bunch Remodel that we had worked for years to completely renovate, and moved onto a new project – our cape cod home in Allandale. We love our new neighborhood so much, and the proximity to everything. The elementary school is right around the corner which will be amazing once Zoey is ready to start Kindergarten!

This summer Zoey celebrated her 2nd birthday! It’s hard to believe she is going on 2 1/2! She’s the sweetest, funniest, silliest, happiest girl I know.

We took a fun end of summer vacation to the Frio River in Concan, Texas. It was awesome and I’d highly recommend it!

There isn’t much cuter than a baby in a polka dot bikini eating watermelon!

This is me below – smores make me REALLY happy.

And here are a few more random photos from the year!

We are looking forward to some big things for 2013 – a complete remodel and addition to our new house (while I’ll be posting all about on the brady bunch blog), a new venture (stay tuned for new on that – and yes I’m still shooting weddings and loving them!), a trip to San Diego and Palm Springs next month, Zoey’s third birthday, and I’m sure many other fun things. Happy 2013 everyone!

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2013/01/happy-new-year/feed/ 0 Zoey is 2! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/08/zoey-is-2/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/08/zoey-is-2/#comments Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:04:26 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=8987  I just wanted to share a little pic of Zoey, she turned 2 last month! I am late in posting this because it has been a crazy summer, but we took Zoey to have her annual birthday cupcake at our favorite sweets place – Sugar Mamas! I love that she ate her cupcake exactly the same way as when she was 1. I hope that never changes!

 

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/08/zoey-is-2/feed/ 0 happy valentine’s day! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:52:28 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=7754 I hope everyone has a fabulous Valentine’s Day, whatever your plans may be. Mike and I are staying in, making dinner together (steak and lobster), drinking some wine, and relaxing. I’m really looking forward to it (especially drinking some dessert wine that I bought on a recent trip to Seattle!)

I wanted to share a few Valentine’s Day cards I made for Zoey to hand out to the other kiddos at daycare today. They were super easy to make – I just used some leftover paper from craft projects, cut out some hearts, and sewed them on the cardstock!

And to all of those couples who are getting engaged this V Day, congratulations!!!

I’ve got a really cool wedding and engagement session coming up soon on the blog, so stay tuned!

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day/feed/ 2 Jeremy and Lindsay | Della Terra Mountain Chateau | Estes Park, Colorado http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/09/jeremy-and-lindsay-della-terra-mountain-chateau-estes-park-colorado/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/09/jeremy-and-lindsay-della-terra-mountain-chateau-estes-park-colorado/#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:35:58 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=7264 I’ve been meaning to post photos from our trip to Colorado for months now (almost three months to be exact)! We went to Estes Park, Colorado for a week in July to participate in my brother’s wedding and to have a little family vacation. Unfortunately, Mike had major work obligations so he was only about to be with us for a couple days of the trip, but Zoey’s grandparents got to spend a lot of time with her which they loved. We flew into Denver where we stayed for a day (and drove down to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods, which you will see in the first set of photos). Then, we drove up to Estes Park, stopping in Boulder for lunch on the way. Estes Park was absolutely amazing, perfect weather (especially compared to Austin at the time), and just so pretty everywhere0 There is not a bad view any which way you look! We drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park a couple times and even got to see snow! In July! Jeremy and Lindsay’s wedding was beautiful and amazing and so much fun! So much fun in fact that my aunt Karen fell and broke her wrist! It was quite the fun and eventful reception. All in all, we were in Colorado for a week and loved every minute of it! It was so nice to spend some quality time with family. Here are some pics! (since it was my brother’s wedding and I was a bridesmaid, I didn’t take a ton of photos, but of course I couldn’t help but take some!). My good friends Diana M Lott and Stacy Sodolak were the official photographers, and I imagine they will be posting their favs online very soon!

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/09/jeremy-and-lindsay-della-terra-mountain-chateau-estes-park-colorado/feed/ 2 zoey is 1! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/07/zoey-is-1/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/07/zoey-is-1/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:05:14 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=7099 Sorry I’ve been MIA, July has been a busy, fun month! I’ve got a couple really cool weddings coming up on the blog (wait until you see Britney’s shoes!) as well as some super fun engagement sessions. During July we’ve been on a family vacation to the coast (Corpus Christi) as well as spent a week in Estes Park, Colorado for my brother’s wedding so many, many pics to come from that…

In the meantime, Zoey wanted to show you how to properly eat a cupcake! I can’t believe she is already one year old (today!), time flies…she is an amazing little girl (I cannot believe I am calling her a little girl and not a baby!). She is fun, spunky, silly, sweet, and overall awesomeness.


]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/07/zoey-is-1/feed/ 0 help me win a patio makeover! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/06/help-me-win-a-patio-makeover/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/06/help-me-win-a-patio-makeover/#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:29:22 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=6943 I am so honored and thrilled – I entered our neglected front porch in a “makeover your social space” contest on one of my favorite home design blogs, Making it Lovely, and we were SO LUCKY to be chosen as top 10 finalists out of the almost 300 entries!! PLEASE PLEASE vote for us! Click this link and scroll down to vote for “Heather.” If we win, we get 150,000 American Express points to makeover our space and a custom design plan from Nicole of Making it Lovely!

If you’d like to see more photos of our home remodel, you can see them on our personal blog here!

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/06/help-me-win-a-patio-makeover/feed/ 1 Zoey is 10 months old http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/05/zoey-is-10-months-old/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/05/zoey-is-10-months-old/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 21:00:02 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=6861 Zoey is 10 months old! She is better than I could ever have imagined and I love her so much it makes my heart hurt. She is the most easy going, happy, pleasant baby to be around. And I realize I am completely biased, but other people tell me the same thing :) She is my little mini best friend and I can’t wait to see her grow up (but not too fast!)

This is what happens when you try to take photos on the one day that Zoey is teething :)
undefined

And this little collage is 5 minutes in the life of Zoey, she is so entertaining!
undefined

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/05/zoey-is-10-months-old/feed/ 1 2010: Austin wedding photography year in review http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/01/2010-austin-wedding-photography-year-in-review/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/01/2010-austin-wedding-photography-year-in-review/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 19:10:04 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=5940 Wow. 2010 was a pretty amazing year both personally and professionally and I am one lucky, lucky girl. In 2010 on the personal front, we continued the remodel of our home, finally completing the upstairs part of our house (including the kitchen, yay!) and moving all of our belongings from our cramped downstairs and unpacking many, many boxes that were in the garage for over a year. All of this while I completed the second and third trimesters of my pregnancy. Almost two weeks past my original due date on July 22, 2010, the biggest miracle of the year for us took place – our beautiful daughter Zoey was born, and the next few months were followed by a little bit of sleep and a whole lot of love :)

Also during the first part of 2010, and all while pregnant, I supervised the finish out and construction in my studio/retail space in the East Village Lofts. It was completed in late March, right around the same time our kitchen was completed in our home. Needless to say, it was a busy, busy first part of the year. Well, to tell the truth it was a busy, busy entire year!

I shot a bunch of beautiful and amazing weddings in 2010 and I have to say that I feel so lucky to have wonderful clients who really understand and appreciate my work and who are fun, laid back, creative, and elegant. I was also able to do some traveling in 2010…in February my husband Mike and I took a “babymoon” – a pre-baby last hurrah cruise to the Caribbean. Then, in August when Zoey was just 6 weeks old we took her with us to Malibu, California while I photographed the wedding of Maeling and Dzuy. Just a week after that, I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for the beautiful wedding of Erica and Brian. And lastly, in October Mike and I traveled to Maui, Hawaii (while my mom watched Zoey, her first grandbaby) for the wedding of Anna Kate and Charles.

And now, here are my favorite images from 2010, one from each wedding :)

Carly and Stephen | January 16th 2010 | University United Methodist Church and The Austin Club

Ziem and Milan | February 20th 2010 | At their home

Melanie and Joe | February 27th 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Blessing and Allan | March 13th 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Lisa and Keith | April 10th 2010 | One World Theatre

Kristin and Matt | April 17th 2010 | St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and Riverhill Country Club, Kerrville, Texas

Jacqueline and Ryan | April 18th 2010 | Hotel St. Cecilia (getting ready and portraits) and Laguna Gloria

Alex and Dylan | May 1st 2010 | Horseshoe Bay Marriott

Ashley and Remmy | May 8th 2010 | Their estate

Evelyn and Collin | May 14th and 15th 2010 | Retreat at Balcones Springs

Amanda and Dave | May 22nd 2010 | Indian Summer Lodge

Tracey and Tanner | May 29th 2010 | Mercury Hall

Zoey Margaret Banks | July 22, 2010 | St. David’s Medical Center


Jake’s Bar Mitzvah | August 21, 2010 | The Four Seasons

Maeling and Dzuy | August 29th 2010 | Calamigos Ranch, Malibu, California

Erica and Brian | September 4th 2010 | destination wedding at Marquis Los Cabos, Mexico

Christy and Dave | October 1st 2010 | Laguna Gloria

Anna Kate and Charles | October 10th 2010 | destination wedding at The Grand Wailea, Maui, Hawaii

Anna Kate and Charles | September 23, 2010 | Wild Onion Ranch Celebration

Sarah and Gary | October 30, 2010 | Hotel Havana (getting ready) and Southwest School of Art and Craft, San Antonio

Leslye and Tom | November 6th 2010 | The Wild Onion Ranch

Aly and Rich | November 20th 2010 | Fleming Chapel and Bella Notte, Round Rock, Texas

And that’s the recap of 2010! I’m looking forward to everything that 2011 will bring, including two trips to the Cancun area of Mexico to shoot weddings, a trip to Colorado for my brother Jeremy’s wedding to Lindsay, Zoey’s first birthday which is sure to be fun (time flies!), and a ton of great local wedding and portrait shoots! So stay tuned to see what I am up to in 2011!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011! And I’ll leave you with a couple recent pics of Zoey at 5 months old :)

And lastly, a shot of our family (minus our pups Linus and Moo)

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2011/01/2010-austin-wedding-photography-year-in-review/feed/ 3 Happy Holidays from the Banks Family! http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2010/12/happy-holidays-from-the-banks-family/ http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2010/12/happy-holidays-from-the-banks-family/#comments Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:30:49 +0000 admin http://eclecticimagesblog.com/?p=5936 Myself, Mike, Zoey, Linus and Moo want to wish you all a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!!

]]> http://eclecticimagesblog.com/2010/12/happy-holidays-from-the-banks-family/feed/ 3