A Matter of Choice

I noticed many people on Instagram sharing their #bestnine in the last week of 2018 and as I do love to jump on a bandwagon when I see one I thought I'd join in too.   I'm a bit later than most as the first app I found to do it was supposed to email me the image, which it didn't and then I forgot all about it.  When I remembered I found another one and it gave me an almost instant image to download! I joined Instagram several years ago, I'd been desperate to join for ages but didn't have a good enough phone at the time and couldn't download the app. My account was initially as @emsyjo  but a while after we started Klik Photo CY I changed to @klikphotoCY and it became our business account.  I mainly share work related pics, either photos from the booth, of the booth set up at different events, or random things that take my fancy at events such as sunsets, table plans and decor.  I also throw in a few family / day off pics as we are a family business an...

In 2014 Aaron and I started our photo booth business, Klik Photo CY.   We started with one photo booth, a retro style enclosed photo booth  (enclosed -  as in an actual booth you go inside, rather than the 'open style booths' you see advertised that aren't actually booths!)  a few months later we took over an existing company 'Wedding Booth Cyprus' and added a marquee style booth to our portfolio. I absolutely LOVE our work,  it's so much more than 'just a job' to us.  We take a huge amount of pride in our work, and always try to do the best we can.  Aaron of course is a total perfectionist so he has spent a lot of time making sure the prints the booth produces are studio quality, and every little detail is 110%.  As we always say,   if you are going to do something,  do it properly! Last year Aaron (king of the random suggestions - remember ' Do you want to move to Cyprus? )   came home one day and said 'I've had an idea'....

It's my favourite time of year here in Cyprus,  (well, it's one of them!)  the weather is warming up nicely, nearly everything is open again and summer is very nearly here.  Time seems to speed up as we hit this point every year, once Easter has been and gone, there is more going on, more places to go,  the beach becomes more fun (I'm never really a fan of wearing coats and welly boots to take the boys to play) and we start to spend most of the time outside. So far I've only paddled in the sea but the boys have both been in.  I have braved the pool though, only once so far - it was really cold and the boys were laughing the heads of at me as I screamed and shouted my way through my first few lengths.   It got better though and I happily stayed in for almost half an hour.  It's great now that Louka doesn't need me to be in right next to him as long as he has his armbands on he is ok with me sat on the sunbed watching.  Plans are ...

Saturday night was the eagerly awaited 4th Daxi Business Awards, I'd been looking forward to the evening since leaving the last one - and we were almost the very last to leave! The run up to the awards saw lots of planning, and chat - not so much about the nominees although of course that was debated on, but more about what to wear and who was going and how we were all looking forward to a big night out! Sam and I was discussing dress options way back, before we were even thinking about Christmas,  having worn the same dress two years running (oh the shame!) of course I HAD to have a new one this year.   It's not that easy to find the perfect dress of course,  especially here in Cyprus especially if you are on a tight budget but we were both very lucky and found great dresses and they were bargains as well. Next up for me was the whole shoe problem,   for those of you who follow on facebook you may have seen my dilemmas,  as well as a rather fetching phot...

I've been looking through piles of old photos for inspiration for a Flashback post, and between my Mum and I we have A LOT of them.  I love old photos and they provide an almost endless supply of blog inspiration when I get round to it. Scrolling through the photos (yes they are ALL scanned, backed up, dated and organised in folders) saving a few that caught my eye and I decided these were the most appropriate for today. The first photo was taken when I was 17, I was about to leave for the annual Black Tie Ball at the rugby club I played lacrosse at,   well, I say 'played'  it was more that I used to turn up and stand in a field holding a stick trying not to run anywhere but it was close enough! My friends and I were technically too young to attend the ball but for some daft reason they decided we would be sensible enough to go. Hmmm,  the stories from the evening are probably best left unsaid,  but it was a memorable night and the start of my love of...

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved anything and everything to do with weddings.  My earliest wedding memories would be from THE royal wedding of the decade,  Prince Charles and Lady Di,  I'm not sure I remember much from the day (I have photos of my Mum and I at a street party but don't actually remember it!)  but we videoed the wedding and I watched it several times afterwards. I remember seeing a wedding car in the road behind my house and I sat at my bedroom window peeking through the net curtains for ages hoping for a glimpse of the Bride leaving! There were very few weddings that I got to go to, at least that I was old enough to remember, by the time I got married myself in 2003 I think I'd been to a grand total of 5. So how impressed would my younger self have been if I could tell her what we would end up doing one day and the fact that I am lucky to be a small part of so many special days. Since we started our photo booth business in Cyprus I'v...

It's Sunday again and my second Sunday photo post in a row! I'm picking more random photos this week,   MY Sunday photo / photos posts have no rules,  accompanied by words, or not if I don't have anything to say  (ok, so that is quite unlikely!)  and not necessarily taken in the previous week,  or even by me, but it will be someone I know of course! Today is the last day of October and therefore the official Summer season comes to an end here in Cyprus.  It's been amazing,  our second full season of working and great fun.  With nearly 60 events this year we have had over 8000 photos taken in our photo booth and more laughs than you could shake a prop at. Aaron and I have travelled all over the island from Agia Napa to Paphos,  Limassol to Nicosia. We have been to so many different venues that I have now lost count,  and seen so many gorgeous views and simply stunning sunsets,  so I thought these would be great photos to sum ...

I've always been a party person, and looked forward to partying with my friends - although previously the main ingredients to the event would have been alcohol, and music.  If you spoke to the 20-something me I'd have been amazed that a 7 year old's birthday party would be just as entertaining. I've been to many of Sam's parties and Tiny Acorns events over the years and they are always brilliant  but this took it to a whole new level - it was a Super Party! In actual fact, it wasn't a party - it was a Superhero training academy.  The trainee superheroes took part in many activities,  from jumping through the ring of fire, defeating the baddies and learning to identify the other superheroes and more.  The games were played in teams so the older kids could assist the little ones and they all worked very well together.  There was a bit of adult assistance when it came to wrapping the baddies but mainly because we wanted to play too! ...

2015 was not a good year for blogging as for the second year in a row I managed to write less posts than the year before, despite all good intentions to set aside time to focus on keeping it up! Since Louka was born in 2012, and I started the Famagusta Parents Network in 2014 and the start of our photo booth business last year the frequency of posts on this blog had sadly dwindled but I was optimistic I'd be able to set aside at least a few hours a week to keep up to date, especially with Louka being at school. A combination of too many websites, kids who no longer nap, and the distraction of multiple social media accounts was just too much! It could have been worse I guess, 60 posts in a year still averages to more than one a week, and only 7 less than 2014 when I wasn't working too! The main reason I continue to blog is the record it provides of stuff we've been up too, I love to look back over the early days and read about things I'd have forgotten about ot...

After celebrating Halloween a day early with our party and trick or treating at home on Friday, we spent the weekend at what is probably the best family Halloween event in Cyprus. Cyherbia has been running Halloween events now for several years, each with a different theme and attracts families from all over the island for the spooky fun and games.  This year, they had Dr Frankinsect in her laboratory who needed the children to help her find the magic formula hidden in the maze to shrink all the creepy crawlies back to normal size.  Dr Frankinsect AKA Tiny Acorns Creativity For the older kids there was a CSI type game in the 'Freaky Forrest' where they could enjoy solving some unfortunate murders.   There was also apple bobbing, broomstick racing, I-Spy in the Haunted Herb Garden, a lucky dip and face-painting and the Klik Photo Cy 'Kids Kiosk' Photo booth was also there with a spooky makeover offering keepsake photos of the day.  ...