Happy Friday :)

Sometimes in life, one needs to stop and take a look at themselves...  who they want to be, if they are going down the path they envisioned, if they have anything they need to let go of, if they are being risk takers, goal seekers, and motivators. The message below stopped my mom and I as we were in route on a relaxing friday walk. 

My mom has decided to start walking around this beautiful path everyday. Today I decided it would be fun to go along...

This little guy seemed to be following us around while on our walk. 

Thanks, Mom, for keeping me motivated and spiritually sound. You instill so much in me and I appreciate it! Love you.

A New Chapter

Last week I had the pleasure of celebrating Greg's retirement with him and his family. They are such a riot and I had a great time hanging with everyone!! 

Greg is blessed to begin his retirement early and spend quality time with his amazing wife, Lori, his kids, golfing, and traveling. 

His wife, Lori, spoke at the party later on in the evening and thanked Greg for retiring early to begin new adventures with her... how sweet!
This is their son TJ, who just was recently engaged and will be married next year.
They wanted to do something a little more casual... loosen the tie... barefoot..the looks they give each other are so endearing. 
This is Cassie, their daughter, and her fiance... they were ALSO just recently engaged. Greg and Lori will have a big year coming up as two of their four kids will be getting married a month a part! I loved this shot of them.. Cassie looks very classic.

This was how much fun they were the entire shoot... :)
They threw an extremely entertaining retirement party that will be very hard to top. His colleagues will all miss him in the office.. but wished him well.  Well.... not before giving him a little bit of a hard time. The night consisted of a variety of very entertaining skits, songs and even a "Barbara Walters" interview!!! It was hilarious to say the least.

This shot was during one of these many skits playing throughout the night. Lori had a smile on her face all night!

Thank you for letting me be a part of such an entertaining evening!

Nick & Victoria- Happily Ever After

What an amazing day I was able to share with Nick & Victoria.  They are a great couple who are so natural in front of the camera. 

Victoria's dress was stunning.

Everyone in the room teared up as she put on her veil.. she looked gorgeous.
I love the feel of this image... 
Is she just rockin' it or what??
I love relaxed bridal party photos... this was one of many!

She glanced at me for just a second as Nick took her hand down the stairs.
This had to be one of my favorite moments of the day. Victoria is Romanian (so am I by the way) and her mother and brother came all the way here from Romania for her wedding. Her mother was the cutest thing ever!
They had a Romanian ceremony.. very cool. Who doesn't want to be crowned on their day?! The whole ceremony is very detailed and quite interesting.
A great shot by my assistant!
Victoria... you are great... she climbed up on these big boulders in heels.. while holding her dress up... she was up for anything.

Thank you sooo much for letting me be a part of this day. I cannot wait for you to see the rest of the images!!!!

Quinton's Second Appearance

Quinton is a part of my baby steps program... so I get to watch him grow through out his first year. I just love his big blue eyes, chubby cheeks, big belly, and perfect lips. 

Mom gets him to smile with ease.
At three months, fingers are in the mouth very frequently. I love this shot though... it shows where he is at right now.


"Tummy Time" has not been the best for him.. but he must have wanted to show off that day.. 

This is one of my favorites from the day.
This shot just cracks me up.. this was right at the end of the session.. and he threw up a peace sign.. like..."Umm yea I think I am about done:)". 
For clients who are interested in the baby steps program, please email me at jstoia@mac.com for more information.

A Quick Stop

My friend Amy and I just took a little shopping trip to The Fun Sisters Boutique here in Minneapolis. It is the cutest little boutique with all kinds of fun purses, jewlery, wallets, shoes and sunglasses... and it's only open one weekend a month. In route to the boutique, we ran into some detours and had to make a quick stop to ask for directions.... as we rounded the corner, Amy says... "Why don't you just pull into this...... Pump n' Munch....lolololl...and ask for directions?!" I am not sure who comes up with these gas station names.. but this was a new one for both of us. I made her take a picture on her phone so I could share :) Notice the bars on the doors!!

Make a Wish...

Don't you remember being 3,4,5, or even 6 years old (hey maybe even 26!) and making a wish while blowing one of these? (Props to you if you can remember what they are called lol!!) Sometimes I wish I could go back to those simple days when you REALLY believed that if you made a wish you would get that new big wheel, barbie van, cabbage patch kid, or kitty. Ahhh yes I am an 80's baby.. can you tell!? :)  I think next time I take a walk in the park, I am going to pick up one of these and wish for my 85 1.2 lens to come in the mail.... think it can happen??? 

This is an image from my session today. She is such a cutie pie.... more to come tomorrow!