Happy Thanksgiving!

Beautiful Roses from Ralphs Supermarket

Happy Thanksgiving to you!  Hope you are enjoying some delicious food today.  I am off to enjoy a good meal with my family.  We always have a potluck with all types of dishes like sushi rolls, tamales, veggie stew, guacamole and chips, fried chicken, macaroni salad, pickled cucumbers, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, marshmallow sweet potatoes, turkey, ham, apple cider, and fried rice.

How about you? What is your favorite dish? My favorite dish is definitely dessert.  I love pumpkin pie:)

In Memory of Franz

A couple of weeks ago, my photographer suddenly passed away.  His name was Franz Swantko, and he had been taking photos for my blog A Stylish Love Story over the past two years.  I was heartbroken to hear this news. At only 28 years old, he had built countless friendships, was embraced by the community, and had created some of the most captivating photographs on Instagram.  What I remember most about Franz was his smile. His upbeat demeanor was infectious and was always happy to see me when he greeted me for our photo sessions. He had the kind of personality that could light up an entire restaurant.  Franz worked at a local restaurant called Bake-N-Broil for many years, and I remember we went there one day to have lunch in between one of our photo shoots.  We always had awesome lunches together on those days.  Well, I remember one day we went to eat lunch there and he insisted that he personally make me "the best" cappuccino.  We ordered the blueberry lemon pancakes with raspberry sauce and he quickly ran over to whip up "the best" cappuccino for me.  It really was "the best".  Franz was always doing sweet things like that, not just for me, but for all of his friends.  

"The best" cappuccino made by Franz :) Photo By: Joanna Joy 

 He was thoughtful, he was kind, and he took those little extra shots just to make me happy, like this one of my little cat....

Photo By: Franz Swantko

Photo By: Franz Swantko

Photo By: Franz Swantko

Photo By: Franz Swantko

The next time I see a gorgeous sunset or beautiful clouds in the sky, I will think of Franz and how instead of photographing it from below, how he is somewhere up there helping to create it.  

Photo By: Joanna Joy



Franz was such a talented artist and friend.  I will miss him immensely.

You can see more of his work on Instagram @dr.fresh


"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou