Rachel Kate Photography Blog »

Morning friends.  Brain dead. Right now I am quite possibly, officially, brain dead.  The synapses are not, in any way, firing. I know that to be the truth because it just took me 6 tries to type the word synapses and I still had to look it up on google (my first attempt at typing google=ggole, btw) to see if I spelled it correctly. It may or may not have something to do with the wine I drank last night while sitting in my hot tub with my husband. SO worth a few thousand lackadaisical synapses this morning. You KNOW I just looked that word up. Actually, until right now, even on a good day with synapses firing at full speed, I always thought that word was lackSAdasical.  Anyway, the hot tub was a what some people may consider to be a frivioulus (4 attempts at that word, I thought I would leave the last attempt there for you to see just HOW severely I am struggling with word and spelling retreval this morning) purchase. It wasn’t. I have had not one ounce of buyers remorse. I love it and it loves me and for a little while, once or twice a week, Eric and I sit across from each other and look at each other and actually talk to each other instead of sitting side by side on our couch, not talking and watching Real Housewives (which Eric complains about but I can’t in any way believe that he doesn’t see the absolute value in the show so I force him to watch) and Shipping Wars. Occasionally, one of us gets up to get a snack (when Eric does I pray that it will be something soft and mushy because the sound of someone else chewing just brings me way, way down) and we ask each other, and by we I mean HE asks me, if we need anything while we’re up. And that is pretty much the extent of our conversation until we mutually agree that we should go to bed. But in the hot tub we visit with each other. We are relaxed and conversation is easy. We enjoy each other’s company and remember that we are actually people who like to talk about things.  We get along and we aren’t allowed to fight or get defensive or irritate each other in the hot tub. We call it our “safe place” where no fighting is allowed. Who can be annoyed in a hot tub? No one. It is perfection. And it is usually accompanied by 2 (read: 3) glasses of wine and then a lower IQ  for me the next morning. All worth it.

I am surprised I got that much out. Who the hell knows if I just made any sense or not but right now I want a cheeseburger for breakfast and it is all I can think about and consequently clouding my proof reading reason.

Before I embarrasses myself further I will share with you a couple of really cute kids. Owen and Mia came for a visit with the parents not long ago. They were both so, so adorable..Mia is my dream subject. A little girl who loves to have her picture taken and aims her beautiful, shiny smile right at my camera with out me even having to ask. Owen is a boy. ‘Nuff said:)

Pretty little family. Their mom Sip is a complete doll..so glad I got the chance to meet her.

I love the styling. Pretty little Mia. Aren’t they just gorgeous kids? Love it. LOVE her expression in this one. This reminds me of me when I was little. Soo cte. Made up for how busy he was. Annnnnd the end…. Thanks guys! So nice to meet you!

xo, Rachel

Hi there. Here’s a question. Why, do you think, could you possibly even imagine,  do I become afflicted with reverse body dysmorphic disorder while  perusing the internet in search of bathing suits for my upcoming trip to Puerto Rico? Why? Because every other minute of every other day I live in the comfort of body self loathing which I have been living in since I can remember. I  realize that I am not a big person. My rational sense of self knows this. But my only way of thinking is to liken myself to a small farm animal..baby cow, a giant pig..something like that and this is just how it goes for me.  If I happen to catch a glimpse of my bare ass in my bedroom mirror I have to mentally talk myself down off of my 2nd story window sill and then go and find something sugary to eat. I know I am not alone with this thought process. Unfortunately, most every woman I know feels this way. Mainly because most every woman I know is not a Victoria’s Secret model and really, unless you are an actual swimsuit model, most of you know that looking at your bare ass in a mirror is tragic and more than a little frightening.  I am well aware that inside a bathing suit is NOT my happy place and that as a rule cellulite should be covered at all times. Actually, ALL bums should be covered at all times. It should be a law. One that is punishable by a life sentence for violating. A really strict, enforced law that makes it highly illegal for all the people that look good bareassed out in public to bare their ass.

Sounds perfectly logical to me. I would even happily sport some sort of turtle neck to the ground type uniform and join that agency that enforced that law. Happily.

So, the question that I have raised is one that baffles me time and time again. I will sit at my computer desk, more likely than not eating something, while I shop the virtual swimsuit aisles of Victoria’s Secret or Water, Water Everywhere and after a few minutes really, truly start believing that if I bought the swimsuit I am looking at that I will LOOK like that criminal that is wearing it and baring her ass. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that if I just buy that suit that I will grow 5 inches, sprout three cups sizes, lose 10 pounds and if I JUST hold my arms over my head in JUST that particular way, I will 100% look like that girl. So I buy the suit. And then I buy another one. And another one.  And then I buy three sexy little coverups so that when, not IF mind you but WHEN, I go frolicking down the beach, laughing with my mouth wide open and my teeth really white and straight and my hair 6 inches longer than it is and curly, I will look just like that girl in the picture. It is a sure thing.

And then I get my package.

And then I try the things on.

And then I go eat sugary stuff while laying in the middle of my street hoping that one of the landscaping trucks that hauls down my road at 95 miles an hour on a daily basis will run me and my fat ass over.

I found a little ray of sunshine the other day, shortly after I tried on my bathing suits and wiped away my tears in the form of someone else’s shopping list that was at the bottom of my cart at Target. Clearly, I went to Target for therapeutic reasons, right? What else is one to do after looking at their bum in a mirror? But I happened to pick this cart of all carts and I wanted to find the person who had it previously and give them a hug.  I am not the only one. There are many people like me out there. The fact that this person had to even make a list to remember these things is slightly concerning, but the fact that they were buying these items and these items only made up for it.

 

 The fact that this person also needed to write “beer and wine” is also a little concerning. As much as I would have liked to give them a squeeze, I don’t know how close of friends we could become if they need a reminder to buy alcohol. But anyone who writes a list for three fattening dairy products, BACON and booze can certainly come hang out with me any day.

xo, Rachel

Good morning! Right now I am chatting with my girl, Yvonne, writing this post, rating pics from a studio session, drinking a smoothie and adding things to my to do list all at once.  Things that are never going to be checked off because I can’t seem to focus on one thing at a time this morning. FOCUS, Rachel.

Ummm…it has been quite some time since I have shared a picture of Missy the World’s Best Wonder Dog with you.  Our perfect little fur baby needs some face time I think. I was going to share this with you last week but about 2 minutes after I blogged about Rachel and Chris I was struck down by the stomach bug that held my house hostage until about 9am yesterday.  Not complaining. No, not at all. I have been in the market for a nice appetite suppressing stomach bug since about January 2nd and my wish, finally, was granted. Today we are all recovered and if there were working batteries in my bathroom scale right now I would know whether or not that nasty little germ succeeded in the 5 pound weight loss that I am currently seeking. Anyway, I feel like it is due time to honor my girl and I thought you might like to see her on this sunny Monday morning. I mean, really. The dog is an angel from God and I can’t even stand her.  Eric got the stomach bug on Saturday and in response I quickly grabbed my boys and ran for dear life as far away from this house as I could possibly get. Care taking of my husband is not something I excel in and it was really better for all of us that we took off at 10am,left the man to his own retching, delirious devices and didn’t return until the next day.  Missy girl kept him company and if they didn’t already have themselves a tight little bond before the illness hit, he now has a renewed love for our girl and has taken to carrying her around the house on his hip like a real, live baby. Because you can do that with her. I do it often in fact. My favorite is when, after 15 hours spent during the day sleeping in my bed, on the couch, on the rug at my feet or on the giant Yogibo bean bag thing that takes up half of my livingroom,  she is SO exhausted at bedtime that she can barely drag herself upstairs. So I pick her up, all warm and sleepy like a real baby but with a lot of hair, and carry her like she was one of my own directly to our bed. Is that weird? Because as I am writing this I feel like it may be weird. Whatever. She is awesome and I love her and I don’t care if you guys think it is strange that Eric and I secretly want to dig out the baby bjorn so that we can put her in it and walk around the house with her.

Here are a couple of before and after pics of when she went to the beauty parlor the other day. Notice her trendy neck scarf that she was sporting after she was all spruced up.

And if you were questioning AT ALL the validity of her cuteness and maybe my sanity..LOOK at how she sat on me the whole way home from getting her hair did.

Happy monday everyone!

xo, Rachel

Morning. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that is is good right now…but it is definitely the morning so my greeting is fitting. It is before 7:30 and for those of you who know me I don’t really like exiting my bed BEFORE 7:30 at all. Ever.  But I have to take Missy the wonder dog to get her hair styled this morning and I have about 3 thousand other errands to run today (considering the fact that the first time I stepped foot outside of my house in 3 days was yesterday for 5 minutes and that was just to get my boy at school..I am like some weird, TLC show requiring hermit these days..) and I promised the beautiful Rachel that I would have her blogged this morning. So, for her..and no one else, certainly not my kids and without question NEVER for my husband, I am out of bed and at my computer before I have even gone down to get my coffee.

This says a lot.

I can’t lie.  I may or may not have ulterior motives.  I came across a pretty valuable, in my opinion,  piece of information shortly after I shot the pretty little wedding of Rachel and Chris.  I knew going into to this event that Rachel was the little sister of one of my favorite clients ever, Alysa. I shot Alysa’s family a couple of years ago and there isn’t a single time that I have talked to her that she doesn’t make me laugh out loud.  Rachel actually didn’t have much of a say when she decided that she would marry Chris in who would be there to photograph her big day. Alysa made that decision and that was all right by me.  I knew that this wedding was going to be held at the Black Rock Country Club in Hingham and I knew that I love it there.  I knew that in a few short weeks after the wedding that Rachel and Chris would be welcoming their new baby boy and I knew that I loved that, too. What I didn’t know until after I left there that night was that Rachel was my hero.  You know WHY she is my hero? It has something to do with her rocking a pair of 5 inch Louboutin’s while she was 8 months pregnant at her wedding but mostly, it is because that girl was savvy enough to marry her way into the family responsible for White’s Bakery. Brilliant.

White’s Bakery just happens to be the world’s best bakery, ever. That’s all. And Rachel is now  a WHITE. Which means that at any given moment, of any given day, she has access to the chocolate covered macaroons that they make and sell there (which, I am not completely convinced, aren’t laced with some sort of addictive substance). I think it really was for the best that I didn’t know this going into the wedding. There is a solid possibility that I would have sidled up to Mr. White at some point, either during the ceremony itself or shortly after the salads were served and asked for his autograph. I would have asked just what it is that makes the fruit tart pie things so very shiny and pretty, so pretty in fact, that I would like to hang a couple on my walls and replace baby pictures of my boys. I would also ask the question that runs through my head each and every time that I enter that sweet smelling place where good things happen and that is “Does it all get eaten?? Can it possibly??” Because there is just so much. And it baffles me to think that all of the confectionery goodness is consumed by consumers. It is something that I can’t understand. And if it doesn’t (which I imagine it does because people with food stores like that tend to know how much to make in order to stay in business and all of that) WHERE does it go???

Most of you readers are North Shore peeps who may not know this White’s of which I speak. Do yourself a favor and go to the Derby Shops and get yourself a macaroon. You will be glad you did.

Anyway, now you know why Rachel is my hero. She is also very enjoyable and I was so happy to spend a few hours with her on her wedding day.  It was one of those crazy 60 degree days in the beginning of January and Rachel (re: Alysa) agreed to let me come early enough so that we could do pictures outside while we still had some light.

Rachel is just beautiful.

There are three awesome sisters in Rachel’s family. Between them they have 7  kids and two on the way. There is my Alysa. And her little Ava who I would like to borrow every now and then. Oh. Hello Chirs. Chris WHITEyou say? Soooo nice to meet you…He looked awesome and I was IN LOVE with his suit. Ohhh…Rachel..you looked stunning. I sense just the tinyest bit of scarcasm in Chris’ reaction. Just the tinyest bit. Gorgeous. Love it. I mean…REALLY? One of my favorites. All of the girls.  So sweet. Thank you so much for inviting me to be with you that day. I can’t wait to hear about the baby’s arrival. Congratulations! You know, for the wedding of course and also for becoming a White;)

xo, Rachel

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Hello there. Good afternoon to you. It is 1:23pm and although I had good intentions of beginning this blog at about 9 am I got whatever the photographer editing equivalent is of getting stuck in the mud and I couldn’t get out. Which I suppose is good news for you because that means that you don’t have to wait another week for a post.  It isn’t as fun here as it was like a month ago, is it?A post a day to help aid and abet in your computer ADD which I know that you, like me, suffer from.  I just happened to go back and look at a post from the beginning of January last year. First of all, I have to say that I am pretty friggin funny when I want to be. And I also have to say that I need to step it up a bit when it comes to communicating with you.  I was thrown WAY the hell off of my blogging high horse in the last week by the discovery (I say this as if it were me that “discovered” this particular blog that has changed my life while simultaneously making me very well aware of just how crappy a blogger I really am) of momestary.com/blog/  Oh. My. God. Glennon, the author, has changed my life and I not only want to BE her I REALLY want to be her best friend. FOREVER.  One of her posts, Don’t Carpe Diem, has reduced me to tears on THREE separate occasions and I promote it with all of the promoting powers that I possess.  She is sheer genius coupled with hysterical hilarity and I am not sure if I mentioned or not that I would like to be her.  Not only do her posts make me laugh out loud every single time I log on but she is insightful and spiritual and she makes me stop and think for awhile every time I log off.  She has made me think about quite a few things. Mostly in the wee hours of the morning while reading my kid’s Kindle Fire that I swiped from under his pillow earlier in the evening. And also while I am practicing for the Insomnia Olympics which I feel I have a real shot at winning this year. One thought is that I really do like to blog  just to blog.  I feel like recently I got away from writing to you about the everyday nonsense in my life, like JUST how irritating it is when I have to listen to Eric drink his coffee in the morning, and instead focused solely on the photographs that I am presenting you with. Which I understand is the reason you may come here, but I do like just writing and I want to try to get back to that a little bit. I will always pale in comparison to my weird, bordering Single White Female, crush that I have recently developed,  Glennon, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t at least try to write more. So I will. OK?

And now for the part that may in fact be the real reason you visited me today, my little boyfriend Jake. Not quite sure how it happened but the little guy went and turned two on us. I love my visits to his house. I very much enjoy Jake mom, Alison and her house is where I would like to live. I have talked about this before. It is all clean, and bright and painted with Silver Sage. Just perfection, really.

Shooting Jake at 2 wasn’t like the good old days when he would just sit still and look right up at me with his big blue eyes and make my job easy. Nope. Because he is two. And a boy. And somewhere, sometime, they all signed a two year old boy pact to avoid me at all costs.  Despite this, I am smart and anticipatory and I get them anyway.

Oh Jake. You kill me.

Ruuunnnningggggg. That is what he spent the better part of the morning doing. Mostly away from me. He is too much. He is really very cute. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss the days when he would lie down on his parents bed and eat his toes and look directly into my lens. And in a few months a baby will make this a perfect family of four:)  

Always a pleasure guys. Hope to see you when the new addition arrives!

xo, Rachel