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Kristie Serra Photography Blog bio picture

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I'm Kristie. Wife of my best friend from high school. Mom of two decidedly silly twin boys who are the center of our world. Dog mom to one floppy-eared Quigley Adams, rescued bloodhound mix and also decidedly silly. Lover of every possible variety of cookie. Target shopper. And--oh yes--photographer to what simply must be Seattle's loveliest (and fun-loving!) children and families. Here on the blog you'll find sneak peeks of my client's sessions, glimpses into the life I feel so blessed to lead, and features on my latest favorites (from artists to music to local shops). Sit back and enjoy--I'm so thrilled to have you here!

seattle family photographer • snow day

It seems like we’re having a mild winter here in Seattle (so I’ve been told), so a big “thank you” to mother nature for breaking this Florida family in nice and easy. Other than just a few flurries one Sunday morning, we haven’t seen snow here at the house, but only an hours drive away, there is SNOW and LOTS of it. We LOVE the snow! Well, playing in it, that is, not so sure about driving in it or living in it day in and day out for months on end. But, the snow is truly magical. We’ve been making it a point to have at least one fun day in the snow every month. Oh, and the BEST money that we’ve spent in a looooooong time (other than the banana walnut bread that I’m obsessed with at Tulley’s) was the $5 we spent at Target for some fun super snow saucers! FUN! FUN! FUN!

I looooooove the wonderment in A’s eyes. He was watching his first snowball fight in person (we had one of our own today–it was so much FUN!!).

I like to turn the camera on my hubby every once in awhile. I want the boys to have lots of images of their mommy and daddy to look back on (so they can make fun of our clothes and hair twenty years down the road. Ha!).

Whether you’re in shorts or a snow suit, I hope you’re enjoying the Winter!

xo,
Kristie

February 8, 2010 - 4:29 am Amanda Waltman - These are great photos! Glad to hear your family is enjoying the snow here in WA. :)

February 8, 2010 - 6:29 am Leslie - so fun and breathtakingly beautiful!!! WOW!!

February 8, 2010 - 9:06 am Jsizzle - Woweee! All awesome! A & A look GREAT!

the kelly moore bag, savvy photographer giveaway

Hello fellow photographers out there! If you haven’t stopped by the Savvy Photographer in awhile, today is a great day to visit! They’re doing a giveaway for a fabulous Kelly Moore bag. The Grey one makes my heart skip a beat (swoon)! It’s easy to enter, so hop on over and good luck to all those who enter!! My fingers are crossed (my eyes are too, I’ve been looking at these bags too long).

Images from the Kelly Moore bag website.

seattle family photographer • family iphone favorites, january

My favorite: my snuggle bugs (bottom right corner)

Hubby’s favorite: the robot

A.’s favorite: him modeling on the bike rack (hahahaha – top middle)

M.’s favorite: his daddy’s head (middle), a very close second, the smiley and peace :  )

Quigley’s favorite: the fire hydrant

February 1, 2010 - 11:01 pm Jessica - Okay, why do my Iphone pictures never turn out this good? Do you do lessons? Love you. Miss you.

February 2, 2010 - 9:23 am Lucy - My favorite - the galoshes...a close 2nd - ali and the boys' alley shadows. I could use some lessons too.

February 2, 2010 - 1:41 pm jaime - SO amazing! It just goes to show that it is the person behind the lens not the camera itself. Not everyone can do this it takes a whole lot of talent! Go Kristie Go!!!!

seattle family photographer • my other camera is an iphone

That’s definitely the bumper sticker that I would proudly display on my car! I HEART that iphone of mine and especially since discovering two of my favorite new apps, Hipstamatic and ShakeItPhoto! Goodbye boring old cell phone images, HELLO fun and fabulous images! And, the icing on the cake? An inspiration challenge to leave the DSLR at home from Two Photogs (for photographers by photographers). The Two Photogs blog, which is a recent find for me, is such a great place to learn and grow as a photographer. I love that there are challenges and that I am able to connect with other photographers. So, fellow photographers, if you haven’t stopped by their blog, you should check it out! You’ll definitely be glad that you did!

Okay, so now, the challenge. I wasn’t allowed to touch my professional camera for this one and funny enough, my camera battery was completely out of juice, so I didn’t feel like I was neglecting it by using the iphone, just giving it time to rest and recharge (we all need that, right?)! We had such a blast exploring our new city and I have to say, I enjoyed not lugging the Nikon around! All the images below were taken with the Hipstamatic app on my iphone, no editing done, just pure fun straight out of the phone!

And, in honor of the iphone, I’ve decided to do a monthly post of our favorite iphone images. We took a vote as a family tonight, even Quigley got in on the action, and I’ve got some favorites ready to share tomorrow. I just thought it would be a fun and different way share my nutty little family on the blog!

Thank you Brandy and Danna for this fun challenge!!

February 1, 2010 - 9:00 am Leslie - I think you guys are "hip"stamatic!!! :)

February 1, 2010 - 12:46 pm stacey woods - These are such fun, Kristie! Looking so forward to your monthly iPhone posts. I have and looove both of those 2 apps! (And I love my new iPhone, except for the times when I get complete, full text messages instead of "owwwwlll" on my former dino-phone. heehee)

February 1, 2010 - 3:41 pm Johanna - You took these with your iphone?? Impressed I am :)

February 1, 2010 - 5:44 pm Brandy - These are AWESOME! Love!

February 3, 2010 - 11:45 am katherinemarie - Really amazing--- IPHONE or not--- the vibe rocks!

seattle family photographer • chronicle books – relief efforts for Haiti

Blogging about Chronicle Books has been on my list of things to do, but then I just realized that from now until January 31st, they will donate 20% of the sales earned on every single book sold on ChronicleBooks.com, Irreference.com, and KnockKnockStuff.com to the American Red Cross to aid the Haiti relief efforts, so I had to get crackin’. This is such a great opportunity to help those affected by the earthquake!

At the end of last year, I made a promise to myself and to my kiddos that I would journal more about their childhood. These days, my brain seems to be limited on space and I was afraid that I’d forget the little (and BIG) things that happen in our day-to-day life. So, in an effort to keep that promise, I purchased these super easy and fun to use books from Chronicle Books:

My Quotable Kid: a parent’s journal of unforgettable quotes
School Years: a family keepsake of school memories
Happy Birthday to Me: a keepsake album of celebrations

They have so many more wonderful journals and albums like these on their website as well as books for grown-ups and kiddos and lots of cool gifts too! No need to feel guilty for doing a little shopping when any purchases made by January 31st will help in the Haiti recovery effort! So, hop on over: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ and start shopping!

January 27, 2010 - 9:29 pm Laurel - Kristie, thank you for sharing those great books. I journal everyday what my kids do and say from the minute they were born. What a cute little book! And the school years book! My mom had one of those for me! I will be getting these for my kids for sure!

January 27, 2010 - 9:41 pm Rachel Clare - These look fantastic!

January 28, 2010 - 8:21 am Johanna - I need that Quotable kid one! The Boy is quite the sarcastic one in everything that comes out of his mouth :) I wonder where he gets it???

January 29, 2010 - 1:14 pm Mara - Thanks for the post! I love it when you recommend things - some of my favorite kid music is music that you recommended awhile back in one of your posts! You have great taste and ideas :)

January 29, 2010 - 3:14 pm Natasha - I love this quote book and the fact that they are donating to such a worthy cause makes it even better!! The brownie hunter made me chuckle!!

January 30, 2010 - 8:30 pm Amanda Waltman - how fun! :)

January 31, 2010 - 9:49 am Vanessa - This is a great idea Kristie! I am excited about your recommendation! I Will definitely get myself one of these to capture all the great toddler wisdom! I hope you are settling in well in Seattle!

give, love, help. georgia grace designs.

My dear fabulous friend, who is the amazing designer behind these fabulous clothes and this crafty creation has just opened up her Etsy store, Georgia Grace Designs, to raise money for Haiti. Her Spring Collection, i HEART you, is beyond ADORABLE and 15% of her sales will be donated to the Heartline Ministries to aid in the recovery from the Earthquake in Haiti.

Please help to spread the word and when you have a moment, stop by the Georgia Grace Design Shop to fall in love with some lovely Spring goodies!

seattle family photographer • a mouthful

I should WARN EVERYONE first that this just might GROSS YOU OUT (especially if you are a germaphobe at heart), but if you can get past the gross factor, you just might laugh or appreciate a new side of art that you’ve never seen before or would have never considered as art. So, “what is it?” you ask, well, it’s a wall of gum that surrounds the Market Theater in Seattle. As you can imagine, it’s Pike Place Market’s more unusual attractions. We stumbled upon it while playing tourist recently. The gum graffiti began in the early 1990s, when theater patrons waiting in line for a show discovered this odd way to pass the time.

It’s truly mesmerizing and yes, gross too! We spent at least thirty minutes finding images, messages and symbols on the wall. Before we left, we each added a little extra color to it and then we sanitized ourselves from head to toe. Ha!

M. and A.’s favorite find of the day! The are slightly obsessed with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles right now!


We skipped through the city (which is a great workout by the way or I’m just really out of shape – both could be true)!

And, we were on the hunt for S’s. It was a great day!

January 22, 2010 - 7:07 am Jsizzle - Ewwwwwwwwww, gross...I LOVE it!

January 22, 2010 - 8:44 am Leslie - so fun! Love the one of you and the boys!! HAPPINESS!!

January 22, 2010 - 10:39 am Johanna - Only you can make gross ABC gum cute :)

January 23, 2010 - 4:19 pm Shelby Humbert - LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the pics! We MISS MISS MISS you!! HUGS!

February 3, 2010 - 11:47 am katherinemarie - ohhhhh gee this is so making me miss SEATTLE and all it's unique-ness!

celebrating mom

Today she has declared it her forty-ninth birthday (and mentioned that all future birthdays will be her 49th as well)! Oh, how my heart aches that I am not there to celebrate her birthday. All I can say is thank heavens for Skype! There will definitely be some birthday wishes made over skype today!

If you can’t tell already, I am a total momma’s girl! And, if it were up to me, we’d go back to a Friday night in the 80’s to celebrate where we’d be watching Dallas (remember that show?), eating popcorn and taking turns scratching each others backs! It was my favorite night of the week and the only night I was allowed to stay up late. *Sigh*, the good old days!

I thought I’d leave you with some of my favorite images of the birthday girl… Wasn’t she the cutest? She actually still is though! Make sure you all hug your mom today if you can!

mom_birthday

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you to the moon and back! ♥

January 15, 2010 - 7:47 am Johanna - Happy Birthday mom :) She is soo stink'n cute! Holy blond Shirley Temple!! Head over to my blog& enter to win her a pair of earrings for her special day ;)

January 15, 2010 - 8:26 am Leslie GLass - Happy Birthday!!! I hope she has a wonderful day!!!! :)

January 15, 2010 - 10:02 am Ali - Hey dude, happy birthday to my favorite mother in law. Love ya dude!!!

January 15, 2010 - 10:14 am Lucy - Happy Birthday M Mom!!!

January 15, 2010 - 1:00 pm CootieBug's Mom - Thank you everyone! The only wish I have could have would to be with my family, but thank goodness for skype!

January 15, 2010 - 1:43 pm Sharita B. - Kristie in your absence I try to keep her grounded and supply her with as many hugs or kicks that she needs. Happy birthday to the best dang ole nurse in Leesburg VA!!! I love you girlfriend.....

January 15, 2010 - 2:55 pm carmen - What a beautiful post and how timely. Today's my birthday and I'm happy I can share it with your Mom. Ironically, my Mom flew in from Yorktown, Virginia to celebrate with me...Moms are the BEST!!

January 15, 2010 - 3:56 pm J Sizzle - Your family posts are always soo sweet! Happy Birthday to your mom. I think the boys look like her picture a little!

sharing a smile • drew loves lynette

I found this little tune on fellow photographer, Tara Whitney’s, blog a few months ago. She’s always so great about spreading joy! It was just after our move and I was having a sad moment. Listening to this happy tune, instantly put a smile on my face, so I’ve kept it in my back pocket for moments like those. It always does the trick too! I had it playing today and thought I needed to share it!

I hope it puts a smile on your face! Enjoy!

January 12, 2010 - 10:26 pm Johanna - love it! We all needed a smile today :)

January 13, 2010 - 6:56 am Jody - I love, love, love your taste in music! I bet you like the soundtrack to Juno. Thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for the wonderful Christmas cards. Everyone raved about them. Let me know when you'll be back in Tampa. I'll pass the word to everyone who was interested!

January 15, 2010 - 2:10 pm CootieBug's Mom - It sure does put a smile on your face!

seattle children’s photographer • there was a little boy…

…who had a lot of curls
All around his forehead;
When he was good, he was very, very good,
And when he was bad, WATCH OUT!!

dec_01

This is something I remember my mom saying to me a lot when I was little (the girl version, of course).  I love that we’ve let the boys’ hair grow, I love their curls and I love that I can now say the same thing to them!

January 11, 2010 - 10:15 pm Jeannie - Kristie I adore your work. It is amazing and so inspiring. I hope that some day my photgraphy is as good as yours...

January 12, 2010 - 10:05 am the inadvertent farmer - 3 out of 4 of our sons have curls and I like you adore their hair long...something about a child with curls, sigh. I love your site! Enjoy the rain...Kim