I've been following Christi's photography journey for many years via social media, and I had firmly placed myself in the category of someone who could Never Do That ("that" being a photo shoot of any kind). I was in absolute awe of all the brave women who primped and posed and knocked it out of the park over and over again. I couldn't imagine ever looking sassy, sexy, polished, put together, and oh-so-lovely as the beauties who graced her studio. Then I went through a year of my entire life being turned upside down, and suddenly I started thinking about myself and who I am and could be in a completely different way. Christi put out a model call one day, and I dared to comment on the post... the rest is history. She invited me to join the Grinkie Boudoir Facebook group, and there I got to see the before and afters of so many women of all ages and shapes and sizes... real women who looked not unlike me... and were obviously having an amazing time being pampered and looking fabulous. I decided to take the plunge and become a Grinkie Girl at long last.
The days leading up to my shoot I vacillated between super excited and completely terrified. I kept going back to the Facebook group and looking through the photo shoots featured there to pump myself up. The day of my shoot finally arrived, and I fought through tons of nerves and seriously crappy driving conditions to make it to the studio. Christi met me with her signature smile, a big hug, and I immediately felt a boost of confidence. Her professional demeanor as I struggled in and out of outfits and needed her help, her incredibly positive attitude, her sense of humor all put me at ease and made me comfortable and so glad to be there. The time went by quickly, and before I knew it, I had selected a bunch of images for an album and was headed for home.
My journey didn't end there, however. About a week later, I got a message that my album was in, and we arranged for pickup. Coming back to the studio and seeing Christi again made me feel warm and fuzzy, and then she handed me a gift bag with my album and flash drive of digital images. When I sat down and paged through my album, I was absolutely stunned. There were tears. Hugs. So much gratitude. I've looked through the album a dozen times now and still cannot believe it's really me on those pages. Christi is magical. Truly, undoubtedly, genuinely magical... and I can't wait to do it all again someday!!