I walked a little bit faster to make my way down Michigan Avenue towards Annika & Ray's apartment as storm clouds loomed over the skyline behind me. Chicago is infamous for it's craaaazy storms, and I was hoping that I wouldn't be caught in the middle of yet another one. It made me think of all the times getting stuck on the bus or in traffic when a storm was brewing. Hot, humid, with nowhere to go. As I stopped at an intersection to wait for traffic to pass, I saw little dots gathering at my feet, clueing me in to what was about to come. I ducked under the bus stop waiting for the storm to pass - and it was from there I could see Annika & Ray across the street in the bus shelter there on Randolph. Once the storm passed, I hip hopped my way around the puddles to where they were. You know that part of the relationship when you're so happy the smile can't seem to disappear from you face? This, is where Annika & Ray are. And I hope it never goes away. Their connection and deep sense of home in each others arms is something you can't fake.

This weekend they're getting married, and their new home is an apartment high above Grant Park with a view of the city they love. Annika & Ray, I'm praying (like you asked!) that it doesn't rain this weekend, but know that if it does - it'll just be like the day we did your City Session together, and it'll close out with you wrapped up in each others arms like everyday should.

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A few months ago, Andrew and I went on our 'last childless vacation' and we chose to do the Amazing Life Together Getaway in Maine! I could go on and on and on about how much that week refreshed our marriage, refreshed my soul before baby, and how much fun we had with all the other couples who were there. But even months after, there is still one part of the getaway that I think about DAILY - and that's the Rules to Escape Life Together.

Rules to Live By, Alicia Sturdy Photography | Amazing Life Together | Rules to Escape By | www.amazinglifetogether.com

You can read all about Liz & Ryan's Rules to Escape by on their blog, but my favorite is 'say YES'. So many times Andrew asks me to do something for him, and my first inclination is to say "in just a minute" and then 20 minutes later actually do it. But thank sweet Jesus that Andrew does not give me the same treatment in return - almost every time I am feeding Stella I have a million requests for Andrew (i.e. I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, bring me the cheezits, can you get me the remote, can you hand me that book, can you put my slippers on my feet). I may sound like a super needy person in all those examples, but he ALWAYS says yes and never complains, never hesitates. People, he even will hold my cup with a straw in it down to me so I can get a drink (ok I'm about to get real honest and REAL LIFE with the explanation for this, feeding a baby and pumping at the same time leaves NO extra hands - I'm not just a princess who needs my husband to hold a cup of water for me!).

I was amazed by these simple rules payback when you actually put them into practice (imagine that!). And I would LOVE to hear about you trying them out as well! Put one or two into practice this next week as a little experiment oh my you will see a harvest of love in return!

I'll be choosing "Share Positivity" and "Kiss Each Other" because a) we're traveling next week and sometimes positivity and traveling DO NOT happen organically, and b) sometimes I am over sensitive about making people uncomfortable with public displays of affection, and then I never really get kissy in general! I'm going to be reporting back on Instagram next week - follow me at @aliciasturdy to get in on the love and exclusive Instagram only surprises for the new brand launch!

A question I get asked all the time is, what is it about the city you and Andrew love so much?

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Well, for starters - I am a very nostalgic hearted person, so the fact that Andrew and I lived the first 6 years of our life together there - it's comfortable for us. It just seems like the background our life should be lived on.

We both love the diversity that a city brings - the fact that you can find food, businesses and people from all walks of life within a few blocks of our house brings excitement to us. We love that we can enjoy city life at any time day or night - whether it's stopping by our favorite coffee shop that opens up at 6am when we head out for a morning stroll, or heading out for a late night dessert at our favorite restaurant (and we still have been known to do that with Miss Stella since she's quite the night owl and loves to sleep in!).

Boil it down, we just love to spend time together. And city living provides a million bajillion things we can do together, whether we're participating as part of our community life, or feeling completely anonymous on a walk together in a place we've never been before.

But seriously - I just love to know what other people love about living together in the city. Is it dinner alfresco at your favorite restaurant, an afternoon in any of our parks that become a mini oasis' in between skyscrapers and traffic jams, or the community that IS your apartment building - what is your city love?

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Share with us what your favorite thing to do together in the city with your partner , write it in the comments below, and we'll throw your name in a hat for a $10 Starbucks giftcard to enjoy a drink with your city love! GO!

City Story Photography | Alicia Sturdy www.b87.b5d.myftpupload.com

Inspiration. Mine never comes when I want it to. It comes in the most inconvenient moments where I'm not sitting at my computer, or with a pen in my hand.

It comes though. And to stop and recognize that inspiration is an ingredient of joy has been a big lesson in my life.

So many pieces have played together to become the inspiration for my new niche in my art.

If you read my post from Monday you know that shooting weddings led me to realize I didn't want to shoot wedding days, but deeply loved documenting the relationship and connection between the bride and groom outside the wedding day.

My chapter of life in Chicago and my two years living in quaint Middletown brought me to the place to recognize I am a city soul - I live breath and eat city living with all it's flaws.

The love and support I feel from my husband, and the love that radiates from the marriages in my life have led me to a place where I want to celebrate relationships just as they are. 

My fundamental need to document everything (I must have spent a mint on disposable cameras in high school) led me to photography.

My talkative nature (can you say excessive talking marked on my report card every year of my life) has led me to focus that energy into blogging and telling stories.

And all this poured together creates this twirling, beautiful thing that when I stepped back I saw what I had to do. That in my bones I am a creative, and this is what I am meant to create in this season.

To be an artist. To speak through photographs. To embrace those who love city. To celebrate connection & relationship.

Here in that lies my beliefs.

I believe in the spark first ignited by love.

I believe in fanning the flame of love can make it brighter and stronger.

I believe in preserving this journey to draw back on as these moments get farther from us.

There is always a spark at the beginning of any journey, and it creates something more than just a flash of light, it created a flame of fire. That when coaxed, becomes brighter than in those first few moments of inception. The the fan to this flame is remembering the journey. And that each moment shapes who we are, and to preserve this sacred moment in the journey is worthy of our attention. Is worthy to be captured in a way that creates more than just a pretty photograph on the wall, but to create a marker in the journey. To look back on in any time after now and be reminded of the love that existed in the beginning, the existed in that moment, and that exists even now.

I believe that the power of a city can shape who you are.

I believe in the magnetism of a city, and the energy and peace that it can give.

I believe in the story that that the city creates between two people

I believe this because I know it to be true. I know how a place can create a story line in your life that becomes part of who you are, not just where you live. How alive I feel with miles of sidewalk and buildings are around me soaring up and away. And that my mind clears amongst the honking horns and flurry of people in a way that no silence or stillness can. That this is my place of stillness. This is my place of peace. That this love affair with the city, is one of the greatest storylines in my life.

This. Is City Story.

'Why' is one of my least favorite questions. I had a job once where almost weekly, I felt like I was being put on the spot to defend my decisions or explain my behaviors behind my actions. Not in a bad way, but just always being asked - why - was draining. Thinking on the spot and coming up with a solidified answer is hard for me. I'm an external processor (who is married to an internal processor....try that one on for size!). So for me, talking something out is the way I process. I can talk, and talk, and talk and talk. Until finally some little lightbulb in my head has talked it out enough to where it makes sense to me and I'm done.

Last October I sat across from Tiffany Farley. I had booked one of her mentoring sessions (which I highly recommend!), and while doing the prep work for my session I made a discovery.  At that time, I had eleven weddings under my belt. Three of my own, and eight with other photographers. I had an amazing year last year shooting with Maria, Mike, Alicia & Rachel, Erica, Carri, Ute, Justin & Mary - grateful doesn't even begin to describe how I feel to work with these fellow artists. But at the end of it, I sat across from Tiffany saying these words.

I don't want to photograph weddings right now.

That's not to say that I may never photograph another wedding in my life. There were things I absolutely loved about weddings, and things not so much. And the not so much, outweighed the things I loved about it in this season of my life. This, and honestly I have so many of my friends in this business shoot weddings. And they are doing so well at it. They are producing exciting, beautiful, iconic images. And I am thankful they are there to tell that part of someones story.

But really, that's not the the stories I want to tell.

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I want to tell the stories a year after the wedding. A time where you've started to settle down, nest, make a home. A time when the novelty of that new last name has worn off.

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I want to tell the story of the city you've grown to love, together - after the cake has been cut, and the bouquet has been tossed.

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I want to tell the story of us, with the backdrop of city lights, the flurry of people, and the honking of horns.

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I want to tell the part of the story you'll look back on and say, 'this is the place where you and me became us'.

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I want to photograph the two of you. In the city you love.

The place where storylines meet skylines.

I'll meet you there.

City Story Chicago North Park University Vintage Photograph Sturdy

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like me. - Maya Angelou

Today in the car I was listening to NPR, and they quoted a remark that Ms. Angelou said about when people pass away. That when a person dies, a library of unwritten stories goes with them. I know this all too well as Andrew's Grandma Kathy passed away earlier this month. Andrews Aunt Sandy had created a slideshow of photographs from Kathy's life. The day after the burial and service, we all sat in Auntie Bonnie's living room, pausing each photograph on the slideshow to hear the story behind it. This photograph, taken while Andrew's grandparents were at North Park (where we both also attended university) - is stunning. My favorite. Pulls at so many heart strings for me - Chicago, soulmates, connection, love. I only wish I knew the story of this photograph, but for the mean time I will have to assume my own.

And while I wish I could have known Kathy longer, before her Alzheimers took her stories with her slowly, I know in my soul that our family will cherish all the photographs that we have of Kathy and and my husbands beloved grandpa, Dick. And now, it's our job to write the volumes of our families legacy alongside each image captured for our children to know and love us through when we're gone. And then I'm reminded.

This is the story I want to tell in every photograph I take - romance, nostalgia, and connection.

It's only fitting that Ms Angelou's words found me earlier this week, as she passed away yesterday. At times when I'm inspired by a verse I find, I often create a little piece of art to float out into the universe that is Instagram or use as my phone background. If you'd like to share in the art with me, give me a follow at @aliciasturdy.

photo by Erica Rose Photography

I love coffee. I love to get it in any way, shape, method, or form. Pour over, Nespresso, Slow Drip, Percolator, french press, VIA even!

I especially love going out for coffee (we even had a photoshoot AT Intelligensia with Erica Rose back in 2011...ya, that's coffee dedication)All the steps that go into making that perfect pot of coffee have to be done in order, and with some methods, even timed just right. You can't boil the water after you've mixed it with the grounds, and you can't put in the filter after you've turned on the machine.Now, is this post about coffee...or about something else?Ya, something else.I have been brewing something for the past SEVEN MONTHS with amazing people like Tiffany Farley and Lyndsay Rush - as well as my bounce team of wonderful folks like my friends Erica, Mabrie, and Carri Lyn. Now, I have yes talked about it here and there...but this time, all the steps have almost finished and I'm ready to push "ON".

I'll be sharing more in the coming weeks leading up to my big JULY launch!

We had nothing, we had not much. We had enough, we had everything. This was, our city story. - Rob Ryan

20. The year I met you. I had already fallen in love with those tall buildings, sparkling skyline, and had officially had my heart stolen by our city. It really hadn't taken that long (two years) for the city love to take hold. It seemed like every El stop, I had written my own little love story with that part of the city. Diversey. Chicago. Wabash. All mine with secrets and places where my heart could rest in the beat of the city.

That anonymous peace found at that crowded coffee shop on Madison. Miles of pavement walked to pound out ideas, thoughts, and dreams up Michigan. A sparkling skyline view between Armitage & Sedgwick that always swept me off my feet for the city.

But the stop you became my city story on was Western.

That first time, your hand in mine as the snow fell in the streetlight. We had nothing, just a couple of dollars for coffee & our el fare. But we had enough, we had everything.

And now you were my city story.

My darling little bird, Stella; Even though February is the shortest month, your arrival and all consuming love in our life have made it go by even faster. Every Tuesday evening as we've cuddled up in our cozy living room, each glance at the clock has brought back thoughts from the day you were born.  Although I knew you in a different way from 9 months of us sharing a body, your entire labor - all 37 hours - has given me even more of an understanding of you - before I even knew you were our Stella.

From those hours of pacing the halls at the hospital - 11pm, 2am, 4am, 6am. When would you come, why were you taking your time? Did you understand the doctors might make you come out before you were ready? But you kept your cool each time they checked you - a steady beat that only varied slightly at each check. You were fine. You were doing things in your own way. We've come to know even more, that's just who you are.

You'll learn soon that I love to tell stories. And I love to tell them though photographs. I love to relive the stories of our family almost every day, flipping through the photos on my phone. And the past month all I can consume beyond just being with you is photos of you. Even when you're in the room (which I know is so weird). This is the language that I speak - a way I can begin to grasp at a tangible way to be able to tell you how much I love you, your dad, our life together. And someday I hope you'll be able to understand a deeper part of how I love you when you look at images like this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

I love you sweet girl. One month of every second of every day has already been not enough time with you. Here is to one thousand more.

 Photos by my amazingly sweet friend (who yes, stayed up all night with us) Alicia Ann Photographers - http://aliciaannphotographers.com/

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I was thinking the other day - I haven't talked much about the photo above. In fact, I've been on quite a hiatus from the blogging world.

I'll talk more about all the other things I've been doing with Alicia Sturdy, getting is ready for a new skin and the progress I've made this year. But in terms of 'non photo related blog breaks' - this one takes the cake.

The weekend before this photo I had just second shot a gorgeous wedding with the fab Justin & Mary, moved into our dream apartment, and was on my way to shoot another beautiful wedding in New Haven when it was almost like my brain stopped dead in it's tracks. You know how the story goes - a missed date on the calendar, excuses that it could be XY or Z - and that box collecting dust under your bathroom sink. All seems innocent enough until two little lines show up instead of one and it's like the sound of an atom bomb going off.

I immediately ran into the living room where Andrew was sitting in the one chair we had set up in front of the TV (and for subsequent weeks, due to morning sickness - our living room looked like we were living in a storage unit).

"Oh I'm sure it's a false positive" he reassured me, Mr. Half-Glass-Full. "Just take another one in the morning, I'm sure it'll be fine".

Ya. Right. I marched to the back of the house to seem like I was distracting myself 'unpacking' when really I was tearing open another one of those little sticks, sitting, and praying. 'God - whatever you have laid before me I'm ready to walk' - 'No seriously, God, this can't be right, right?' My little brain argued back and forth as it came out from it's daze.

20 minutes later I emerged from the bathroom in tears with the second test. Positive. Andrew hugged me and could have, I think, flown to the moon and back he was so happy. I'm pretty sure we have a photo of us somewhere - mascara dripped cheeks on me and the goofiest happiest smile on him.

Don't get me wrong. Please hear me. I feel like one of those yellow "ATTENTION" cones should be posted before you get all 'shame on you - a baby is a blessing' on me.

I was thrilled, somewhere inside. Elated. Wide eyed in anticipation, excitement, and butterflies from the first second.

But also truly terrified. And here is why.

My mind first went to my friends. For some reason, I have many friends walking the infertility path right now. I immediately imagined daggers beaming from each of their innocent subconscious. I was immediately grieving with them in advance of them ever knowing I was expecting.

Second, my mind went to my work. It was like I was screaming 'I don't want to quit my jobs!'. My business. I already had a little baby - kind of. I had just done my first Showit Live on 'starting a business', was picking up for wedding season, had just booked my first wedding on my own. My plan was to have a business at the 'right place' so when the flesh and blood Baby Sturdy came along I could be at a place where it would 'make sense'.

I had it all planned. I was in control. And with two little lines. I wasn't.

It's been 8 months of a diet of Popsicles, Italian food, nothing at all, and pizza non stop, getting sick from a couple sips of water, the smell of Degree deodorant making me want to hurl, chiropractor visits, rib pain, and a steadily built relationship with Buy Buy Baby. But that's just the small stuff. What these past 8 months have given me is not more of a reason to panic, or a 'get out of jail free card' to close my business before it even began. No.

It gave me the gift of slowing down.It gave me the gift of humility towards the capacity of my body, life and schedule. It gave me the gift of true anticipation.

I wish I could come out with pomp and circumstance in 2014. I wish I had confetti canons and a huge marketing plan, and 365 giveaways and surprises.

But I'm being led on a different path. A quieter one. And I invite you to shuffle along with me. Don't worry, I still make good time. But my walk, has slowed more to a stroll. Too fast and I'm in pain, too slow and I'm going backwards. But I'm telling you that 2014 will be a year of two births....one of my own flesh and blood...and one of my own sweat and tears. Stay with me on the journey.