this & that (& availability update)

Happy Friday, blogstalkers!

Today’s post is a little of this & that. I wanted to share pictures of my new office (which I’ve been in since May, and just haven’t gotten around to showing you), as well as our new GORGEOUS couches. I’m also tossing in a few pictures of Jack with his cousin, because, well, my son’s super awesome.

If you can make it through all the pictures, there’s also really important info about McGowan Images availability.

First of all… my office! Oh my, it’s so beautiful. Mack did an absolutely amazing job building this for me. Wood laminate floors throughout, bright green walls in the main office, bright purple walls in the bathroom and closet. A sweet little IKEA-outfited area to meet with clients. Lots of my favorite McG images on the walls. This is the perfect creative environment for me.

I really encourage clients in the FW area to make the 45 minute drive out here to see us. I mean, I’m always willing to come to the Metroplex, sure. But out here, you can see every one of the sample albums, see canvases on the wall, and full weddings are available at the push of a button. Plus, I usually have snacks.

The first image is the view from the front door. As you can see, the office is very “lived in”. Yes, that’s a basket of laundry you see. I’ll take it in with me next time I go inside. Yes, that’s my daughter laying on the floor. She has a bouncer, a pack and play, and an exer-saucer thing, but far prefers the floor. Ignore all that, though, and you’ll see two 20×30 canvases on the wall, a bookshelf, two computer desks, and lots and lots of pictures.

Here’s a better view of the little meeting area where I sit and chat with clients.

See those purple rooms in the background? One of them is a closet, and one of them… oh yeah… is my bathroom! Purple! (I got myself in the mirror in this next shot… apologies.)

My favorite thing in the office right now? This goofy man:

And lastly, my space. Whenever I’m blogging or editing or ranting about something on Facebook, I’m most likely doing it from right here! It’s in our gameplan to build custom desks sometime next year that will look a lot better, but for right now, I love my little set-up with the old-as-dirt filing cabinets.

Next, Couches!

Some of you will remember that we’re in the middle of giving this little house of ours a considerable facelift. We had a huge project scheduled for last winter, but ended up getting screwed around by a contractor and deciding we did NOT want to live with my parents when we brought Dot home from the hospital. Don’t get me wrong… love my parents… but they weren’t really on board with a family of 4 moving into their spare room, either.

So we’re doing the work ourselves, a little at a time, room by room. We completely gutted and rebuilt the one bathroom in the house, which now looks about a million times bigger and is ORANGE! We also did Dot’s nursery, which you’ve seen, and is YELLOW! (Can you tell we’re all about the bright colors?)

Well, the living room isn’t a fun color, but I’ll tell you, new couches were a big deal for us. The couches we were using were about 25 years old, obvious hand-me-downs. They weren’t terrible, but not great either. It was time for something of our own.

Mack and I had different choices on the couch & loveseat, so we made a deal… we got his choice in furniture, then went to Pier 1 and got my choice of pillows and curtains. TOTALLY good trade.

We added in two 6-foot mirrors hanging on strategic walls to open up the space, and the result is dramatic. I love our little 100-year-old house more and more every day. It’s apparently impossible to remember to make time to take real live pictures of the house, so here… you get the cell phone picture of my new couches. Nice, huh?

Last little tidbit… Jack!

Summer is such a big deal when you’re seven. Jack has been swimming and trampoline jumping and fort-building and whatnot… running around like a crazy man! This month, my 12-year-old cousin who lives in Las Vegas is staying with my grandparents, so frankly, we’ve barely seen Jack. They play together really well, and I’m so glad they’re both having the same kind of good, dirty Texas summer that I had when I was a little girl.

I went out Monday evening and took some pictures of them “working” on my grandpa’s old Nova, and I’ll share a few here:

All the little colored things on Jack’s wrist are friendship-bracelet type things, I think. Whenever someone gives him one, he puts it on, and it takes just about limb removal to get it off. He’s a fiercely loyal little boy, and friends are very important to him.

And now… since you’ve sat through the pretty pictures… let’s talk about McGowan Images availability for the rest of 2010.

In a nutshell, we ain’t got much left.

***I need to point out that these dates specifically apply to stand-alone portrait sessions. If a bride books with us and needs portrait sessions before Christmas, we can fit those in.

Because of the response to the family/kids sessions I posted last week, I’ve decided that I’ll take family/kids sessions on any of my available dates for the rest of the year. Depending on how those go, we may add these sessions back into semi-regular rotation for 2011.

I have room for one wedding in September, either the 4th or the 11th. I know it’s short notice, but one of our favorite beautiful 2009 weddings booked us 7 weeks before the big day, so hey, it could still happen.

I have FALL portrait session availability on the following dates:

Aug. 15     Sept. 2        Sept. 9

(*you’ll notice the sessions in the cooler part of the year are gone. Smart people. )

I am working VERY sparingly during the month of December, so that I can focus on spending the season with my family (and prep for the rebranding launch in January).

I’ll be taking one wedding between Thanksgiving & Christmas. That wedding has not yet been booked. Available dates are Dec. 4, 11 or 18.

I’ll also be taking three weekday portrait sessions in December. Yep. Three. So if you want one of those, get to me fast!

Portrait sessions can be anything… well, ok, not anything. But families, kids, couples, engagements, boudoir, bridals, Bride & Groom playin’ paintball… you get the picture.

In 2011, you’ll be seeing a bright shiny new face to McGowan Images. We’ve been working all year long on our new brand, and we’re really excited for what the future has in store for this little boutique business of ours.

We’re already doing significant wedding booking for 2011, so don’t wait to book if you’re thinking about using us. We want 2011 to be even more incredible than 2010 has been, and let’s face it, 2010 has been a pretty awesome year.

So there ya go! That’s the scoop! I’ve got the ringer on the phone turned way up… hope to hear from you soon!