top ten reasons to hire benton park photography co. to photograph your st. louis ____________: (family, belly, baby, last year of high school, etc.)  and of course, wedding.  but you already know we do that.

10.  we will never make you say cheese.
9.  we love our clients and it shows in our pictures. 
8.  we dig being box outsiders.
7.  oh the places you'll go!
6.  we're fun and silly.
5.  we're green (not with envy or inexperience).
4.  we know how to shoot on manual mode and how to process our own film.
3.  we wait for the decisive moment.
2.  our creativity.
1.  our service.

not only does benton park photography co. shoot super cool, supafly, urban couples who get hitched, but we'd like to start ramping up our st. louis family photography, st. louis newborn photography, st. louis maternity photography, and st. louis senior photography efforts.  that's what this previous post so mysteriously refers to, but it's going to stay a mystery for a short time longer.  oh, the suspense!!!  can you handle it?  don't worry, i'm not good at keeping surprises to myself, so it won't be long.

in the mean time, if you or someone you love is on the hunt for family, maternity, baby or senior photography that doesn't look like that of the masses, check out our new portrait info and drop us a line.

and, just for kicks, here are a few of our family sessions over the last couple of years.

st. louis family photography- laumeier sculpture park
st. louis baby photography
st. louis family photography- lafayette square park
st. louis newborn photography
st. louis family photography | at home

today is my thirty-first birthday.  i am now officially in my 30s.  i wasn't last year.  being only thirty is a strange transition time where one is not yet "in" his or her thirties.  30 was a solid year.  i have no complaints.  thirty-one feels old to me.  i remember watching thirtysomething when i was younger and thinking that seemed so far away.  whopbamboom!  i am now a thirtysomething.

adam and i will celebrate two years of marriage in may, but six years together.  for most of that time, we were adamantly convinced that we would not have kids.  over the last few years as our friends and extended family members have had kids, though i was always incredibly happy for them, in the back of my mind played a never ending loop of queen's another one bites the dust.  duhduhduh du nuh duh duh da nah.  and another one gone and another one gone another one bites the dust. 

people always said, you'll change your minds one day.  yeahyeahyeah, ok, whatever, uhhuh, maybe.  we were open to the idea that that was possible, but still pretty convinced we would not budge.  and then, suddenly, it happened.  no, just kidding.  actually, we've been contemplating, envisioning, thinking, analyzing, fantasizing, fearing how our lives would change for the last seven months or so and i can wholeheartedly say with certainty that we are absolutely positive that we would probably be ok with the idea of getting pregnant sometime in the future.

duh duh duh...

we've got this life we want to lead...

this slow food, organic, local, community-centered, environmentally friendly, art-making, teaching, purposeful life.  in lots of ways, we're already there.

this weekend, i planted lots of seeds that will hopefully blossom into a thriving garden this summer.  and we had a date night that was 100% in our neighborhood and walkable.

life is good...

from the tower grove farmer's market website:

We Need Your Help

2009 is off to a rough economic start across the country and the St Louis region. We are seeing large non-profits scrambling to make ends meet as state funding dries up and donations dwindle. We realize we are in a long line of community-minded organizations asking for your help in this special time of need. With that in mind, we have come up with some easy ways for you to contribute to the farmers' market and help ensure our continued operation. Unfortunately, in 2008 we ended up raising only 2/3 of the finances we needed so we have started 2009 with no money. Please take a moment to read below to see how you can help us make it through 2009.

Give $10 - Click Here to Donate Now

This is a call for all of our shoppers/attendees to give a one-time donation of $10 to the farmers' market. If you shop at the market more than once during the season, we think it is worth giving a small amount to help with operation costs. If more than one person in your household shops at the market, please consider giving $10 each. If all of our shoppers were to make this pledge, we would meet our 2009 financial target through this alone. The Tower Grove Farmers' Market is your farmers' market and we need your help to make it work. You can give easily online by clicking on the Contribute to the Market button on our Friends page. Or checks can be mailed to:

Tower Grove Farmers' Market
3877 Connecticut
St Louis, MO 63116

from becca:

i know times are tough, but $10 to keep a fabulous local market is well worth it.  (i am in no way affiliated with this market other than being a patron, FYI.)

i heard a pretty awesome story this morning on npr about the really really free market.  the idea is that you bring whatever stuff or services you'd like to give away and you can leave with what you want.  this story had particularly appropriate timing b/c adam and i have been digging around the free section of craigslist lately out of curiosity.

we are thankful that we are not facing the financial troubles that many are, but that doesn't mean the state of the economy hasn't affected us.  it has absolutely changed how we think about spending money.

anyways, this story got me thinking about starting a really really free market here in st. louis.  what do you think?  would you come?  what would you get rid of?