Charlotte, NC wedding photographer, senior portraits photographer » Charlotte NC photography- weddings, senior portraits, headshots, family photography in NC

We adopted a lab mix from North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue in May. Kaya has become such an important part of our family! We decided recently that it would be nice if she had a companion to occupy her on the days that we sit in front of the computer for 12+ hours.

I browsed petfinder.com to see if there were any dogs we might be interested in adopting. I found the most adorable lab mix puppies. We drove to Greensboro to visit them last weekend. The two sisters were so playful and sweet. They had the cutest wrinkled faces and the prettiest green eyes I have ever seen.

In the pictures below, Chad is holding the one we chose to adopt. She will be delivered to our house on the 14th. We are all so excited. Jillian has already picked out a puppy Christmas stocking for our new addition. The other puppy is still available. Email me at kate@kateashbrook.com if you are interested in adopting her. The adoption fee is $150.

Here is a current picture of Jillian and Kaya that was taken on a camping trip. We expect the new pup to be about the same size (60 lbs).

A few days before Halloween a basket full of goodies was left on our doorstep. It was filled with stickers, candy, slime, lotion, spiders, and a squishy skull that Jillian loved!

We were excited to participate in the boo-ing. Jillian and I went shopping together to pick out Halloween treats for our neighbors. We filled plastic jack-o-lanterns with Bed Bug candy, gingerbread candles, and other treats. I think we will start the boo-ing early next year so more neighbors can participate. If you want to start the boo-ing in your neighborhood, you can find print-outs online at: http://www.beenbooed.com/

Every year, we have a small pumpkin-carving party. Chad always draws his own designs, but Jillian and I trace them from pumpkin-carving kits. This year we carved a bat. For the second year in a row, we woke up to find our pumpkins smashed in the middle of the road. I told Chad that we are going to stand watch next Halloween to catch the culprits! ;-)

Jen’s pumpkin was the best:

We moved to a bigger house in Birkdale in July. Since moving, we have made some major changes! My favorite has to be the guest room that we converted from lavender to dark orange. I fell in love with the Sherwin-Williams paint color Spicy Hue. Everyone told us it was too dark for a small room. They advised us not to paint the ceiling, but we went for it anyway and I love the results! The ceiling is dark gold to complement the walls and bedding. We still have to hang the mirror over the dresser and get new curtains. I would also like to exchange the ceiling fan for a bronze mini-chandelier at some point.

There are tiny elephants throughout the curtains in the living room so we were excited to find a matching tapestry at Ahlara in Cornelius over the weekend. The owner of Ahlara travels extensively; she brings back unique art, furniture, and fabric from her travels. Chad and I have an affinity for ethnic pieces. We just ordered Bangalore-inspired bedding for our bedroom. I can’t wait to pick out paint colors to match it!

This is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. Both of our parents raised their eyebrows when they saw this one. They wanted to know which one of us picked it out. lol

This is on the opposite wall next to the front door:

I’ll post pictures of the other guest room later. When we moved in, it was forest green with a baseball mural on one wall. We decided to go with a tropical theme. We painted it aqua and added a painting of a Charleston breakfast spot we frequent. We still need to add a few final touches. I’ll post a before and after when we finish it.

I started working on my new website months ago. I always put clients first, so finding the time to work on my own projects is not easy! Chad travels for work 3-4 days a week. On those days, I work from 830am- 1am, eating lunch and dinner at the computer, and I still can’t seem to get caught up on everything! I finally finished most of the website and uploaded it yesterday. I’ll be adding more wedding galleries when I find the time (it could be a while!)…Check it out and let me know what you think: http://www.kateashbrook.com

I added a new section of testimonials. These were taken from thank you cards and emails. I would love to add more! I will send you something special if you write a few sentences describing your photography experience with me. Oh wait, is that bribery?! LOL…I would appreciate only honest feedback. =) Some things to consider: Did you have fun during our shoots? Did your wedding day photography go smoothly? Were you happy with your pictures, albums, and service? If you had it to do all over again, would you choose me to document one of the most important days of your life?

While most professionals prefer to supplement ambient light with off-camera lighting at receptions, others believe
that an evenly lit room doesn’t capture the atmosphere. I typically use a combination of techniques at every reception.
Below are examples of 3 lighting scenarios; which do you prefer?

We finally got unpacked and settled into our new place and we love it! We actually have guest rooms now! In the other house, Jillian’s room doubled as a guest room. Jillian is an avid Webkinz collector. When friends or family were in town, they had to sleep in the pink room with 50 stuffed animals.

The new house has a small pool, a hot tub, and a big yard for Kaya. I have to admit that during the last half hour of my wedding last night, all I could think about was getting home to the hot tub! I had 3 cameras around my neck all day, plus a few lightstands to manage. My feet and back were aching by the end of the night!

Jillian and Kaya are excited about the new place too. Jilly had friends over for a swim date before we even had a chance to unpack everything. We had to keep Kaya on a leash 24/7 at the old house because our yard consisted of a deck…! For those of you who are familiar with the houses in Birkdale Village, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We absolutely love the Huntersville/Cornelius area so we moved only 2 miles away to a larger house on the other side of Birkdale.

Kaya has really come out of her shell since the move. Our dog trainer told us that she seemed much more relaxed and happy during his last visit. She is so timid and submissive. We do everything we can to make her feel more secure. She is scared to death of shadows and umbrellas. At night, the ceiling fan in the living room throws shadows on the ceiling…she hides behind the couch and growls at the fan! Our trainer told us not to baby her when she gets scared because it encourages her nervous state, but we can’t help it! =)

Since moving, she hasn’t eaten any of my shoes or made any huge messes. I haven’t had a chance to take pictures of the new house yet, but I’ll post a few later. For now, below are some updated pics of Kaya, along with the mess she made at the old house a week before we moved. I wanted to kill her when I saw the overturned plant!

We’re heading out to pick out paint colors for the guest rooms today. I’ll post a before and after of each room. When we have a weekend off, we like to head to the mountains or the beach so we decided to go with a mountain cabin theme for one room and a beach theme for the other. I’m thinking of going with a dark terracotta shade for the mountain room and a tranquil blue shade for the beach room.  I found the perfect comforter at JCPenney’s for the terracotta room. This comforter is so soft and cozy! It was also on sale! I love getting a good deal!

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Thanks to Lauren for suggesting rescuing a pup verses getting one from a dog breeder! Chad and I spent a few hours at the North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue on Saturday. There were so many dogs in need of a home, we had a hard time choosing just one to take home with us! I browsed the listings online before we went.

The rescue has a fenced in area where you can interact with the dogs you’re interested in adopting. We played with an 8-week-old Beagle puppy and a Boxer mix (Furman). The puppy was so energetic and playful! I wasn’t sure that we could give her the attention she needed. Furman was absolutely adorable! We were between him and Sampson, a 6-month-old black lab mix. Sampson won us over. He was so friendly, playful, and easygoing. Some of the dogs barked nonstop while we were there, but not Sampson. He would be a wonderful addition to the family!

Beth told us that someone abandoned Sampson and his siblings in the woods and left them to die. They were so pitiful when they were found. Their hair had fallen out due to stress and malnutrition. Everyone at the Rescue did such a good job of nursing them back to health!

Just when we thought we had our minds made up, we were told that Sampson’s sister was recovering from surgery in a crate nearby. We went over to take a peek. She was born with inverted eyelashes, so she had to undergo surgery to prevent corneal damage. She looked absolutely pathetic! She had a plastic satellite around her head to keep her from scratching the incisions under her eyes. She has been through so much! We ended up adopting her and naming her Kaya, after a Bob Marley song. We were so torn between the two; we would have adopted both if we had enough room!

I would love to help find a home for her brother! Please pass on information about the North Meck Animal Rescue to friends and family who might be interested in adding to their family! To view available dogs click here. The day we were there, the cutest black lab mix pups were just being delivered. The shelter could always use donations for medical expenses, food, etc. The cost to adopt a dog is $175. That includes spay/neuter and shots.

I will subtract donations up to $500 from the price of wedding packages for new clients. Donations are also tax-deductible.

I had to add a few snapshots…she stays at my feet so it’s hard to get a good picture of her! She is too close to my camera in the first one so her head and body look a little distorted…but you get the idea! She’s a cutie!

We’re heading to Cancun in the morning!  I’m sure I’ll return with a mad sunburn!  Last time we went to the Caribbean, I got burned on our first day.  People at the pool cringed as I walked by because I was soo RED!  I couldn’t sit down for a week!  I’m going to try to be more careful this time!  We’ll be back next Thursday.  For reading material, I’m bringing The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand-  I hope it’s a good one!  I’m only a 100 pages in now…so far so good!  I’ll post some vacation pics when I get back!

A huge crowd got soaked today while waiting to hear Hillary Clinton speak in Concord. Some came prepared with umbrellas and raincoats, but others (like my sister and I) were not prepared at all. The crowd definitely thinned out as a result of the nasty weather. A few people welcomed us to join them under their umbrellas. We all huddled together for about an hour in the downpour. The sun came out and the rain stopped about 5 minutes before Clinton’s arrival. Clinton spoke about gas prices, renewable energy, SCHIP, and strengthening the local economy.  The NC primary will be held on May 6th.