Monte Cristo Bookshop | Shopping local

For the past couple years, I see things being shared on Facebook like, "Shop local this holiday season" or "Buying from your local small business helps a little girl take dance lessons". While I totally agree with these, I don't think they do enough. Why? Because they don't show you who your local businesses are. You can't see the family that is relying on YOUR business. It's easy to share these posts on social media, but it's also important to know the local businesses and to know why it's so important to support them. 

Over the next 2 months, I'm going to show you some local businesses that would love to meet you. 

I started in New London, at the Monte Cristo Bookshop. I sat with the owners, Christopher and Gina Jones, for a couple of hours and talked with them about why they think shopping locally is so important.

"To help us and people like us" was the immediate response from Chris. This couple started out with an idea. They loved books and talking about books. They wanted to work in a bookstore, but eventually decided to open their own. Opening a retail store is not something that happens overnight. This took planning, funding, phone calls, and lots of hard work. Owning a business becomes your baby. You start to live and breathe your business and you soon realize everything you do is to work towards your goal of making this a success.

Chris and Gina now have an adorable little boy (who was also in the store) to support as well and they take their business very seriously. When I asked them why shopping at the Monte Cristo Bookshop is different than visiting a national retailer or buying books online, the answer is pretty simple: the experience. When you walk into a big, chain retailer, you can't talk to them like you can here. You can't pick their brains about different topics, ranging from the New London vibe to local bands. You're also not going to be able to talk to the manager of one of those big stores about how you think their store could improve. Chris and Gina welcome this. They want to know what you think. They want to know if there is a book you would like to see on their shelves. They want you to know that they are there for you. Sometimes their prices are even lower than that online retailer as well. Not to mention a large used book section and what they're calling the "retro book" section, full of great used classics.

What else will you get at Monte Cristo Bookshop? Events! A ton of FREE events. They now have 13 events listed just for November alone. You get to meet authors of both local and national best-selling books. This store is the real deal. They are truly passionate about what they do and what they have to offer.

Monte Cristo Bookshop even supports local charities, non profits, and schools in their community. And of course, they personally shop local. While I was there, they got take-out from Mangetout Organic Cafe and coffee from Washington Street Coffee House, both within walking distance of their shop.

So, while you're out looking for gifts this holiday season, head over to Monte Cristo Bookshop at 38 Green St. and pick up some a few great reads for everyone on your list. They have gift cards too for those that are hard to shop for. Chris and Gina will happily give you recommendations too!

Our Fantastic Fall | A personal post

This time of year is really my favorite. I love the foliage and the crisp air. I love grabbing a sweater before walking out of the house. Hearing the crunch of the leaves under my feet is a wonderful sound. I try to enjoy this season as much as possible before winter digs its heels in. I'm not a fan of winter. When you're a kid, winter is great! Sledding, snowball fights, no school......the novelty wears off when you realize you need to shovel all of that and probably still have to drive in it at some point. It also gets dark far too early and I feel like we're trapped by 5:00. But back to fall....
Although you won't see me eating any apples right off the tree (I'm allergic to raw apples. Super lame), you will find me at the orchard at least a couple times. I love to make apple crisp and my kids will snack on apples.
Walking around pretty much anywhere is just more beautiful in the fall. Over the last week, we've visited the aquarium, the orchard and the arboretum. Here are some of the memories we've made.

You'll notice my daughter has a fantastic fashion sense, like matching zebra with zebra. I also love that my dad joined us for this trip.

I'm just a big fan of the colors going on here. Yellow bees, red apples, green grass.....good stuff.

I don't often get a chance to be in a picture with my kids. This was pretty cool for me. I think it's extra special that our dog made it into our family portrait too. Thanks to my mom, who was also holding onto her dog, for being able to get this for me.

Huge smile on mama's face about this one. There is nothing more amazing than kids just being kids.

Alright, there's nothing that screams "fall" about petting a shark inside, but this was still really fun for my kids.

Where have I been?? Seriously ignored blog

Whoa....I knew it had been a long time, but I didn't know it had been this long! What a terrible blogger I've been. So, what have I been up to? So much! I've been photographing some awesome people and spending some quality time with my kids. I now have a first grader too, which has apparently sidetracked me greatly from this here blog.
Let's start with a wedding I did this summer. This wedding was unlike any wedding I had ever attended, let alone photographed. I will admit that I was nervous about this one. This wedding was aboard the Mystic Whaler, a tall ship that set sail out of New London. I'm not prone to sea-sickness, but what I was most fearful of was the size. This ship is on the smaller side and they had as many guests as they could fit. I imagined fighting through a crowd to be able to get to where I needed to be during the ceremony. Luckily, that was not that case and by the end of the wedding I was nearly in tears at the beauty of it. It was, quite honestly, one of the most gorgeous weddings I had ever have the privilege of photographing. A sunset on the water, what could be better than that?!

 And check out this bouquet! The bride made this using the extra pieces of her mother's wedding gown, which she had completely remade so she could wear it.