If you are in need of a good laugh, this is the book for you. I just started Tina Fey’s Bossypants last night and can’t wait to crawl in bed tonight to pick up where I left off. After only reading the first 30 pages or so I am hooked. Not only is it witty, well written and laugh out loud funny, but the photos she includes of herself through adolescence are the icing on the cake. My mother-in-law gave me the book for Mother’s Day. As she said, she thinks about “Tina-isms” through out the day and still finds herself laughting out loud. She finished the book over a week ago. Today I chuckled to myself when thinking about how she passed out during her first trip to the GYN or how she described the white denim suit she sported as a teenager. The photo is beyond words. My husband asked, “When did she have the time to write a book?” as I was reading him numerous excerpts last night. I’m not sure, but I’m sure glad she did.

That is the question. In this case, both. I recently bought these wonderful books, both of which have such great inspiration for those who love to decorate. Several of the pages include homes seen before in Lonny or other shelter magazines. It’s nice to have so many of my favorite rooms bound together, in two places.

My week has been made.

Most of you who read this blog, know I love Jay-Z. In my bio on my website I mention I plan to come back in my next life as my favorite rapper.  I find his creativity, success and poise in an industry that can get a bad rap (no pun intended) so inspiring and fascinating. I love anyone who takes their success to the next level, or in Jay-Z’s case, to the next millionth level. He thinks out of the box, turning everything he touches to gold and now he has a website, a blog if you will, Life and Times to highlight what helps him to do so. He covers all worlds including fashion, food, art, technology and of course music.

While you’re there check out his duet with Sade, another favorite artist of mine. Oh and read the comments, they are very entertaining. I will never be one who can “talk jive” but get a kick out of anyone who does. One.

Something has changed my life and it is called Pinterest. I’m obsessed. I’m sure you all know what it is, as I’m usually the last to find out about these things. Pinterest is basically your own virtual bulletin board. You can create as many “boards” as you like. Call them whatever you like. And pin whatever you like to them. What is a pin you might ask? A link to something fabulous you found online OR something you found on someone else’s Pinterest board. For example, I have a collection of photo display ideas I’ve come across in magazines, torn out and kept in vinyl sleeves which are stored in a binder. Now I no longer need that thanks to Pinterest. I no longer need to save links to things I’ve found online either. I love that I can pull up my Pinterest account and show my board of “photo display ideas” to clients at order meetings or pull up my “recipe collection board” when I’m looking for something to make for dinner. Very cool.

I think the best way for you to understand my lousy description is to check out my boards for yourself. You will find a variety of things there, including a couple interior design projects I’m working on, recipes, ideas for my own home, etc. You can follow me if you feel so inclined. Enjoy!

The latest Urban Outfitters catalog arrived in my mailbox on Saturday. I opened it up hoping to find something for my home, as I think they have some very cool and reasonably priced items (quilts, side tables, etc.). I spotted a few cool home accessories, but what I was more impressed by was the photography. I love how quite a few retailers these days are breaking all the rules – no more boring look-book type catalogs. Boden, J. Crew and even Anthropologie (so I’m told, thank you Michele) are all creating fresh new catalogs. I’m always looking for inspiration for my own shoots, which often come from some of the most unexpected places. I’ve ripped out the below UO pages and tacked them up on my bulletin board. Bring on the summer shoots!

P.S. Does anyone know who shot this?

P.P.S. I’ve decided to start another new category: inspiration.

My friend Elizabeth over at Pretty Pink Tulips recently recommend Bartaco in Port Chester. We share an admiration for a good margarita and some guacamole so she knew this would be my kind of spot. Last night Brendan and I and headed over with 4 of our favorite people. From the moment we pulled up to this taqueria we were all pleasantly surprised.

I loved the food which included casual tacos, ordered by checking off your preferred filling on a small golf score-type of sheet. The drinks didn’t disappoint either but what I was really inspired by was the photography and the way everything was framed. Some of the photos were printed on watercolor paper and highlighted in wooden fabric-lined shadow boxes, others were printed on larger than life size canvases. The beachy vibe and decor have been stuck in my head all day. I hadn’t been to a place (especially not a restaurant) where I was so inspired in quite awhile.

Our dinner got me looking forward to my Hamptons shoots this summer and also got me thinking about new ideas for some of the photo galleries I’m working on. We all drove home together singing loudly to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, filled to the brim with tacos, guacamole, margs and churros. Thank you Bartaco.

comes to me (and I’m sure most of you) in all forms. Some are very literal, some not so much but all are very relevant regardless of their shape or size. Lately I think alot about my photography, my brand, loyalty, client relations and growing my business. I struggle daily with how I’m going to create images that stand out, that show depth, that are beautiful and meaningful to my clients, that are what they are looking for and are for what I’m looking for, all at the same time. Over the summer while shooting in the Hamptons I really challenged myself to find new and creative ways to approach each shoot and in the end provide something new and fresh for my clients, most of which were return clients. I was so paranoid of coming up with the same results I had last summer so I relied on a variety of things to guide me in this never ending quest to hopefully create magic. I bought the biggest bulletin board that would fit in my office and started pinning up photos I loved. I consumed magazines, perused through stock images and surfed the internet to cram my mind with photography before I left for the shores of the Atlantic.

The bulletin board and my office.

That being said, lately I draw inspiration from pretty much everything but here are a few things that have recently stood out. And let me point out, the list below includes inspiration on all levels, many of which are not visually inspiring but are “successfully”inspiring.

The Bruce Springsteen Darkness from the Edge of Town documentary I watched a few nights ago. It was amazing to see how he pushed himself to create his follow-up album to Born To Run.

Ben Affleck’s creation of his latest movie The Town. He went back to his roots (Boston) and wrote, starred in and directed in the best movie he has done since Good Will Hunting.

Everything about Tory Burch’s brand, especially her blog.

Eminem and his success as a minority in the rap world. His latest album Recovery is one of his best, now that he’s sober. They way he uses the english language is pretty impressive. Here is his recent 60 minutes interview. Pay attention to his note taking.

Lonny Magazine because I love all things interior design related and they’ve done a darn good job at the digital magazine thing.

Vogue Magazine because it’s got a little of everything, not just fashion.

The transformation of J.Crew led by Mickey Drexler.

101cookbooks.com which has beautiful photography and simple recipes using all natural ingredients.

W Magazine because the photography is always awesome.

I’ve always been slightly obsessed with makeovers or transformations of all kinds. Home, beauty and even company transformations are interesting to me. How to pull the best out of someone or something, put their strengths on a pedestal or even create them in some instances gets me all excited. Most ideas are so simple, obvious and genuine (hopefully) you almost think to yourself, “duh” once they are presented in front of you. Often we don’t even realize the transformation until later. In a way, that’s what I try to do in my shoots, with my subjects and what I try to do with my “brand.” To keep things simple and do what comes naturally while highlighting something special. To enhance what is already there and avoid getting caught up in creating something that is not, all of which is easier said than done. To me that’s what guarantees success.

Anyways, that’s my rant for now. What inspires you?