My friends Richard & Courtney held a naming day recently for their gorgeous little girl Lily. Friends and family gathered to celebrate Lily coming into the world, and to bestow upon Lily their wishes for her as a person, and her future. Lily wasn’t phased with all the attention, and talked the entire way through the ceremony, and even managed to throw up a little!

Courtney had the awesome Sarah-Jane from Cake That! make Lily’s first official cake…

I caught up with Andrew & Jo who I still see from time to time as we’re mutual friends of Courtney & Richard’s. They’ve since added the adorable Toby to their family…

Last weekend, my boyfriend Tony had his 30th birthday. Now I’ll clear up the obligatory questions that this statement ultimately raises. Yes we have the same name, no it’s not weird at all, and technically to be a cougar I believe you have to be a minimum of 10 years older than your partner.

Anyway, Tony being very much a boy, came up with the idea that he wanted a “car cake” for his 30th. So I enlisted the help of Brisbane’s best cake baker, decorator and candle stick maker - Sarah Jane from Cake That! to whip up an awesome creation. SJ told me she hadn’t done a car in many many years, but I had the upmost faith in her abilities. I see the brilliant creations she makes for my clients week in, week out, so I knew she’d do an amazing job!

She certainly delivered with this little number. It was a big hit, with even strangers making comments on their way past the table! Best of all, Tony loved his cake - and it tasted absolutely devine.

And yes, as is tradition with me and mudcake, “chocolate teeth” got a good workout. Thanks Sarah-Jane!!

I went over to see Courtney & Lily on Friday, to mark Lily turning 8 weeks old. I brought a camera with me this time, to get some casual photos to add to Lily’s first year album.

Apparently, this is Lily in a cranky mood. Who’d of thought? I think she still looks pretty damn cute. But still not enough to make me want one of my own. We all know how I feel about that!

Lily looks as though she’s about to throw a punch at me…

Very recently, Poo fulfilled a little dream he’d had of getting himself a Peugeot. I made a throw-away comment that he should get “Poo” on his number plates. His little face lit up like it was Christmas, and after a few simple keystrokes he’d joined the ranks of the rest of the pretentious wankers (myself included), with his own set of personalised number plates.

Keep an eye out for “The Poo” as you’re driving around - and feel free to give my Daddy-Poo a wave. Unless my mother is driving. Then just give her a wide berth.

I went over to see my dear friend Courtney, and my newest honorary neice Lily who was officially 3 weeks old on Friday. Courtney is already back to her pre-pregnancy weight (and no doubt envied by new mothers everywhere). This actually has nothing to do with hitting the excercise hard since Lily’s birth, but more a testament to looking after herself so well throughout her pregnancy.

We decided to grab some quick random photos of Lily while she slept and threw on a pink tutu we found amongst the GAZILLION items of pink clothing Lily has just waiting for her to wear! TOO CUTE!!

P.S. For kids portraiture that is light years better than mine, go see my good friend Kym Berry. She’s the best!

I woke up this morning, and things were a little hazy. Trust me, it had absolutely nothing to do with turning another year older, but more from the kick-ass party I had on Saturday night!!

I had decided long ago I was not going to let 30 quietly roll around. There ain’t a whole lot you can do about it, so why not celebrate it in style! On Saturday evening, about 85 off my closest friends, family, clients and industry peeps gathered at The Fox for what was one of the most memorable evenings of my life to date.

Some big thankyou’s go out to firstly Matt & Nikki from The Photobooth People for getting the awesome photobooth up to the rooftop. It was a HUGE hit and really made the night what it was. Extra thankyou’s to Debbie Thomas for being the “keeper of the booth” (aka “booth bitch”) and trying to flog everyones second strip to give to me to keep! The good news (or in some cases, not so good news) is I’ll be receiving a lovely disc of all the hijinks that went on inside the booth. And yes, I will accept bribes for the images to not go public!!!

Sarah-Jane from Cake That truly went above and beyond to provide the birthday cake that completely knocked everyones socks off. The ENTIRE bottom tier was completely devoured on the night, and the general consensus was that it was the best cake they have ever tasted. I would be inclined to agree. If you didn’t get yourself a piece, you really did miss out. There’s a very good reason why Sarah-Jane is the only cake maker I recommend!

My heartfelt thanks goes to my friends Melissa and Ema for providing my hair and makeup, and to my best friend in the world Kelly for manning the door and greeting the guests with grace and style!

I also need to thank the one and only Mr Alex Kennison from Savvy Studios for being the official photographer for the night. As well as being a guest, Alex worked tirelessly to capture images that I will treasure always. Thank you Alex xxx.

Finally to everyone who came out and celebrated with me under instructions to “Drink Snelly Dry”, thankyou for helping make it a night I will not forget. xxx

Here are some of Alex’s images (that are rated G and fit for public consumption!!)…

Todd & Alyda hanging out with Chris & Sonia…

My sister Constable Plod (centre) with her entourage…

Me and Poo…

And with my Mum…

My best friend in life, Kelly…

 Ben & Jussy together with Tony & Cathy…

George & Mira with Kim & Dusan…

The awesome Alex & Alicia…

Former next-door neighbour, travel buddy, landlord, and good friend Karen Devereux, and her partner Tony…

The always entertaining Kym Berry… 

My old Telstra crew…

Juanita & Clarky…

The person who has been taking up a lot of my time lately, my boyfriend Tony…

Lisa shares a laugh with Jan & Anne…

Laydes & Jussy…

The most awesomest 30th birthday cake ever by Sarah-Jane…

I just love how well Sarah-Jane knows me. “Little Toni” on the top of the cake was me all over!!…

It was really a shame to cut it….

But it was AMAZING to eat!! I keep getting comments about how good the cake was. Here I am with the cake’s creator….

I got my cake, and got to eat it too!!…..

If you’ve been around this blog long enough, you’ll know I have these two friends Richard & Courtney. A few years ago these two friends got together, fell in love, got engaged, got married (their outtakes are my favourite), and occasionally still model for me! So it may not come as any suprise that these two have gone on to have a baby. And her name is Lily Grace.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times - I am not a childrens photographer. I can’t do the things my good friend Kym Berry does with kids. I can’t do the naked on the sheepskin rug, with the gorgeous little bobble hats. I wouldn’t know where to start, and besides, it’s just not me. What I do love doing, is getting up there to that hospital in the first 24 hours or so, and just spending about a little time taking photos of whatever the hell is happening at that point in time. It’s no Anne Geddes, but it’s real, and it’s heartfelt, and its a record of what it was like when life began for this precious little person.

Lily’s very own slideshow….

I love this photo. It reminds me of a similar picture I saw on a billboard on Corro Drive of a screaming baby. It was an advert for a fertility clinic, and had the tagline of “for some parents this is the most beautiful face they’ve ever seen”. Only once I saw what Richard & Courtney had to go through to get Lily here, did I understand…

Aunty Toni brought Lily a special present she picked up in New York in November. This made Aunty Toni very popular……

Right now, as we speak, I’m sitting airside at the Brisbane International Airport with my beautiful friend Justine, awaiting our flight to New York City!!  

What began as a simple idea, has now become reality, as we head off for two weeks in the Big Apple. No plans, no agenda. Just two chicks, their cameras, and their dancing shoes!

Unlike previous adventures, I will not be blogging the trip whilst I am away. Reflecting on my last couple of holidays, far too much time was spent in a hotel room working on the computer so my mother could get her latest updates on what I was doing. I figure the odd mobile upload on Facebook or Twitter here or there should keep her happy.

See you in two weeks! In the meantime, the cool stylings of Mr Billy Joel are here to keep you company….

So my parents have fled the country again, this time to the North Pole. Why? Who the hell really knows. Maybe after their trip to Antarctica in February they just had this urge to conquor both the North & South Poles in the same year. Perhaps they wanted to go see Santa?  One thing is certain, they seem to have been having a fabulous time, and just might of fulfilled their dream of seeing Polar Bears on the tundra.

I miss them. I haven’t seen them in about six weeks since I left for Europe, as they flew out the day I flew back in. No welcome wagon, no home cooked meal, and no big hug from my Mum. I had this conversation with a friend of mine this morning, that no matter how old you get, you never stop needing your parents. And I don’t just mean needing them to do stuff for you, but to simply know that they’re there. I can’t wait to have them back.

You can see what they’ve been up to on my Mum’s blog. She’ll be glad you stopped by. 

Once again, following my sisters advice, I decided to spend my last two days on the Greek island of Santorini. Having seen so many beautiful images of this place, it was definately one of the places I was most looking forward to seeing. It was an early rise from Athens to get down to the port of Piraeus to board the high-speed ferry that would take me to Santorini. Much like Athens, Santorini was hot. I’m talking 38 degrees, in the shade. One things for sure, I was going to work off the last months over indulging in pure sweat.

I stayed at a delightful little family operated apartment style hotel, Reverie Traditional Apartments. Whilst it wasn’t directly on the caldera, it was only a 10 second walk away, and was not hugely overpriced especially considering it is high season. More importantly it had a pool, which was just what you needed to cool down in the middle of the scorching hot day!

First thing I set about doing was hiring a car. I thought skydiving was going to be the most dangerous thing I’d do on this trip - think again. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, but in hindsight, I was far better off in a car, than on a scooter or quadbike. The roads in Santorini are narrow, and road rules don’t really seem to apply. Add to that being on the wrong side of a vehicle, and on the road side of the road, and it’s a recipie for disaster. But Santorini is such a spread out island, and I really couldn’t be bothered waiting on public transport, so I just had to dive in.

It was here that I rediscovered my love of travelling alone. Sure, sometimes you miss having someone around, and you don’t go out as much, but I actually really enjoy my own company. I like not having plans or an agenda. I like not having to worry if someone else is having a good time. I can spend as long as I like fart-arsing around taking photos, and not be boring someone senseless. If I want to sit for a while and just take the world in, I can. And if I want to stop every 500 metres for a Street’s Calypo iceblock, then dammit I can do that too.

The first thing that I wanted to do, was to check out the famous Santorini sunset from the northen most point of the island, at Oia. I took the scenic (ie long) way round, found a park, and wandered through the alleyways before finally arriving at the tip of the island, and saw that big red ball slowly decending behind an island in the distance. The island really seems to come alive at night, with many people flocking to the caldera restuarants to enjoy dinner overlooking the ocean.

The rest of my time was spent exploring the island, and the villiages of Fira, Firostefani, and Imerovigli. Everywhere you turned it was like something straight out of a postcard. The beautiful white buildings dotted with colour, carved into the side of the cliff were all picture perfect. It would be hard for anyone not to take an amazing photo in Santorini. I really couldn’t think of a more perfect place to spend my final days before making the long and arduous journey home. 

Even if, like me, you despise cats, there’s still something you can’t help but find cute about this image…

Possibly my favourite slideshow of all…