A very good reason

There's a very good reason that I've been woefully absent from this blog.  I've been working on a special project... I'm pregnant!

Click here to visit my Baby Blog.

I'll be going on maternity leave spring of 2010 and will be scheduling photo shoots until then.  If you've been wanting to book, now is the time!  November is completely booked.  We have two appointments in December.  Two in January.  And one left in February.

While I'm on maternity leave I'll be doing some much needed work updating my website.  (As well as learning to be a mom!)  I have so many new pin-up girls to show you!  I've met the most amazing beauties and can't wait to tell their stories.  I'll also have more time to update this blog and the new blog.  The new blog (linked above) will be a place for photography of our baby and my growing family photography.

I told you it was a very good reason!

The Not Good Enough Disease

How many times a day do you compare two things and find one lacking?  How often is it YOU that you’re comparing to someone else?  If you’re anything like me (and nearly every woman I know) it happens far too often.

When did it become stylish to focus on what’s not good enough?  When did my brain click into a mode that encouraged me to ignore the positive and focus on the negative?  My studio rule of not saying anything negative about ourselves goes out the door when I’m thinking about myself.  (Thanks, Kristen, for pointing this out!)

I have so much to be grateful for, so much I take for granted.  I am a happier person when I focus on what I have, versus what I don’t have. It’s insidious, this not good enough disease. It affects my appearance, my home, my job, and almost every other aspect of my life. 

My business gets this too!  

I get asked all the time, “Why don’t you have any before and afters on your website?”  I understand why people would want to see them.  It’s hard to visualize what we might look like with hair, makeup, vintage outfits, and a killer smile.  But I am dead set against them.

There is no way that I can take a before and after picture of someone and put them up next to each other without your mind choosing one as “not good enough”.  It’s the same person before and after, so why would I want to show their day to day beauty as lacking?  I think these type of photos are visually effective to give someone who wasn’t there a peek into a pin-up day.  However the person in the pictures doesn’t need to see a before and after.  They’ll know how beautiful they felt, and that’s the whole point of what I do.

The only cure for this disease to be aware of it and fight it with gratefulness for what you do have.  Whether it’s your family, your job, your hair, your lips, counting what you have will always be a more worthwhile list than dreaming about greener grass.  

So find ONE thing today that you’re grateful for, and brush aside that niggling little list of don’t-haves.  

A Love Affair with Apple

Image from fabuloussavers.com

Being in the customer service industry, I take note when the companies I deal with give great or poor customer service.  Recently, Apple rocked my world with fantabulous customer service!

I'd had some time consuming problems with my computer and hadn't gotten great service from two local stores.  When Apple found out that I wasn't satisfied they went above and beyond to make sure that I was once again in love with their products.

Matthew from the Flatiron Apple Store took a bad situation and turned it into the kind of service that makes me want to scream, "I love Apple!" from the rooftops.  He had my computer replaced, and Rex stayed late (!) to make sure all of my info was transferred.  Please reread that sentance for emphasis.  Rex also showed me all the new goodies in Snow Leopard.  I highly recommend heading over there for a class on making the most of your Mac.

My computer is now fixed and I'm able to get back to working and feeling productive.  You forget how much you depend on something until it isn't working.  That's a stressful situation that Matthew and the Flatiron Apple Store alleviated.  So here it is, my version of shouting from the rooftops, in blog form:

"Apple rocks."

The Magic Power of Makeup

There’s something magical about spending a few minutes to yourself and using lotions, creams, and colors to enhance your beauty. It’s an art that has evolved with us over generations of women. It’s also decidedly selfish and I think we need a bit of selfishness in this busy world.

Women have more on their shoulders and minds than they ever have. We are raising families, careers, communities and all of that can take a toll on how we perceive ourselves.

Over the last few months my life had gotten crazy with a capitol “C” and I rarely took time to focus on something like makeup. I was so busy with work and life that I didn’t feel I looked my best.

I decided I wanted to take some extra time to make my colors ‘pop’.

Kristen, our talented makeup artist, helped me develop a 10-15 minute routine of fun makeup application. She had her work cut out for her because I’m against anything that feels heavy or is difficult to wash off. I also have sensitive skin that breaks out at the blink of an eyelid.

She recommended the new Bare Minerals, a natural Korres mascara (which smells great), a delicious coral lipstick, and some beautiful eye shadows. I’m already a huge Posie Tint fan. She showed me quick and effective techniques to balance my skin tone, play up my eyes, and draw attention to my mouth. The whole routine honestly takes about ten minutes to help me look and feel more polished. Now I look forward to those few minutes spent entirely on boosting my confidence and helps me face my day.

And that, my fabulous friends, is magic!

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If you’re interested in learning more about your own makeup or hair you can contact Kristen and Amy here: info@imanwoods.com. They will help you polish your fabulous look. It's time well spent, because you're worth the time!

We’re also looking into to starting seminars where we teach you how to do your own hair and makeup, as well as how to pull off vintage pinup styles! Let us know if you’re interested and we’ll email you with more info.

Red Hot Mama Jennifer featured in Boulder Women's Magazine!

Boulder Women's Magazine just published a feature about our Red Hot Mama maternity pin-up art.

Visit their website and read the whole article here.

They included one of our favorite images and I'm attaching a few more. We also brought her daughter, Ellie, in for some sweet photographs with her new sibling. :)

There is nothing more beautiful than a glowing belly growing a new life. This is such a special and fleeting time in a woman's life and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it. Thank you, Jennifer, for coming on this journey with us and sharing your beautiful belly!

I love bellies!

(Could you tell?)

Pin-up Perfect Every Day

This is the first of a new series of posts about how to feel pin-up perfect every day. I'll be scouting out lingerie, clothing, accessories, and styles that you can use to celebrate the pin-up girl in you.

A wise friend told me once that if I didn't feel sexy on the outside I should buy some sexy lingerie to help boost how I felt about my body. And it works! There's something thrilling about a bra that fits perfectly paired with cute undies. So this first post is dedicated to finding pin-up inspired lingerie.

I was at JCPenney's and my cousin pointed out the most adorable ruffled panties. And they're on sale! These have the authentic look of the ruffled bloomers that famous artists were fond of including in their pin-up art.

They also had some darling bra and panty sets that I would love to add to my collection! This flirty set reminds me of what pin-up girls might wear to the beach.

This sultry pink set reminds me of a few corsets from my collection. It's a flattering pearly shade of pink and you can never have too much pink! I love the contrasting embroidered details.

So if you're thinking about how to feel like a sexy pin-up every day, grab yourself some fun lingerie!

Buddha Bellies are Beautiful!

Here is a bit of what I've been working on. Buddha bellies are so beautiful.