{James Family}

Hello all and a Happy Halloween to you too! This weekend I went to a pumpkin patch with a sweet family to take some pictures of their two girls. The weather was gorgeous and the girls were such a joy to interact with. The little one, Ellie, is about a year and a half. Aspen, her big sister, just turned seven! Here's a little peek at some of my favorites from the day.

Trendy Wednesday? White Pumpkins

I kind of go through spurts here on the blog. Last week I bombarded you with some long posts almost every single day of the week. And this week? Well, it's Wednesday and I haven't done anything until now. Bear with me oh ye readers. I will try to do better. I have a few things I want to share with you -- I just gotta whip out the ole camera and snap some shots. Until I get around to doing that, though, I wanted to have a Trendy Tuesday Wednesday. My sister Eliza actually gave me the idea for this week's theme: White Pumpkins. After she said it I realized I had noticed a lot of them surfacing around in blog-land, too. So I gathered some of my favorites to share with you.

1. Pumpkin in a Pot 2. Painted Pumpkins 3. Pottery Barn Pumpkin Candles 4. Jack-o-lantern/Snowman head 5. Carving Pumpkin 6. Pumpkin Centerpiece 7. Monogram Pumpkin 8. Message on a Pumpkin 9. Silhouette Pumpkin

How 'bout them apples pumpkins? Like them? I have to admit, I'm totally crushing on 1, 7, 8 and 9. I think they are devine! Not your traditional holiday decor, but I think it's clean and classy. Love it! What about you? Think these white rounds are here to stick around? Or are they just the latest trend?

Fix It Friday

Hello loves. Welcome to another Fix It Friday. This week's challenge included this adorable family shot.

 Here's what I did to the picture:

• Adjustment layer: levels (to brighten)
• Adjustment layer: curves (to brighten)
• add extra space above dad's head and rebuild so his head is not cut off
• straighten photo a tad
• Adjustment layer: contrast
• Adjustment layer: vibrance
• Warm & Soft Baby action
• Replace color on wagon to make it more red
• Adjustment layer: levels (to take red out of faces)
• Sharpen children/wagon
• Photo filter (to warm things up a bit)

And because I like to include a black and white:

Please note: I did not take these photos. I only edited the original to my liking. 

Evan's 4th Birthday

Last weekend was a busy weekend! On top of the photo shoot and the pumpkin patch, we also got to celebrate Evan's 4th birthday! He is one sweet kid! He'll be a heart-breaker one day, that's for sure!

His mom and dad put so much hard work into this party and it was perfect! PJ, Evan's dad, makes cakes for fun so he whipped out a top notch 3D birthday design for his little guy. And Erin's cookies did not disappoint either -- they were some of the most detailed ones I'd ever seen! She even made these cute little party bags for the little ones. Follow their blog here.

Erin even made some plain cookies that the kids everyone could decorate themselves. She just bought a bunch of edible ink markers and people went to town!

The only thing left was the gifts and let me say that Evan made bank! He got loads of awesome stuff! It was like Christmas arrived early!

Happy 4th Birthday Evan!

Pumpkins Galore 2011

Going to the pumpkin patch was one of the many things I wanted to do to celebrate fall this year. I've wanted to go to one with John the past few years, but something always got in the way: school, weather, whatever. I don't think I had actually ever been to one before so when it looked like John and I would finally get to go this year, you can imagine my excitement! I found the perfect patch about 20 minutes away from the house complete with a patch, corn maze, animals and best of all my main squeeze.

We were also super lucky that some of our greatest friends could go with us. You may remember Emily from our photoshoot a few days ago. Well, her boyfriend James was super pumped to come too! And then of course we had to get Mary and her fiance Joey along too. It's always way more fun with those two!

I have good looking friends, don't I? Anyway, enough of this lovey-dovey-cuteness -- I know you wanna see what we did while on the farm! Well, let me tell you all about it :) Right when we got inside the farm, we found the cutest pigs eating some corn on the cob. No lie. We hung out there until our ride came. Hayride, that is.

Best thing about the hayride? It took us to the corn maze. Two birds with one stone -- Always makes this girl happy! Boy oh boy was it HOT though. We'd all dressed for fall weather but we were practically melting. Once the hayride dropped us off and we bought some cool refreshments, we split up into couples for a little competition -- who could get out of the corn maze first. Mary and Joey were the first to choose the road less traveled by.

Emily and James actually ended up winning. I think they got out in less than 10 minutes. Impressive. Somewhere along the line I split from John and teamed up with Mary (who had split with Joey). Our girl-power team lost though... but only because we were trying to find a different exit! We didn't want to take the easy road. Never did find that second exit, but you can't say we didn't try. Next year hopefully it will be a little more difficult. This corn maze was too easy!

Next up was the pumpkin patch! John grabbed a wheelbarrow so that we wouldn't have to carry our heavy pumpkins. Thank goodness because we ended up getting some pretty big ones!

After that wheelbarrow was full, we got distracted by some goats. We were feeding them some hay until James discovered that they really liked nuts! There were a bunch of pecans that a nearby tree had dropped, so John and James got really into feeding them those. How cute :)

 

The only thing left to do after that was to pack our truck with our orange load. Gotta love bringing the boys along so they help carry stuff. All in all, it was a wonderful trip to the pumpkin patch and I hope it becomes a tradition! 

Happy Wednesday!

Trendy Tuesday: Ombre (plus a tid-bit about breast cancer)

When looking up "ombre" on dictionary.com, it gives you one definition: "an 18th-century card game"

No, dictionary.com. No. That's not the ombre word I'm talking about. So I will attempt to define it myself.

ombre (adj.) the use of color that shifts into lighter and darker tones to create a richer color scheme.

Moving on.

I noticed ombre all over pinterest the past few weeks so of course it needed an appearance on the Trendy Tuesday board! Love it.

1. Wedding Color Cake 2. Giuliana's Hair 3. Anthropologie Pot 4. DIY Shower Curtain 5. Simple Scarf 6. Bag It 7. Crafty Pillows 8. Ombre Tulle Skirt

Also wanted to point out that I chose Giuliana as my hair example because she recently announced that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is only 36! In case you didn't know, breast cancer awareness month is October (as in, right now!) so to all of you ladies out there, be aware of the risks and do a self examination today! Click here for instructions. So important!

Love to you all. Prayers to Giuliana and those fighting cancer. Oh, and of course...

Happy Tuesday :)

{Emily} Part 2

As promised, here are my favorites from the second hour of my shoot with Emily. First half is here. GOSH, isn't she GORGEOUS? I couldn't have asked for a more perfect model!

{Emily}

So I'm not sure if I shared this with you... but two weekends ago I got the chance to follow photographer Stephanie Parsley to a senior shoot. Boy, oh boy she is amazing! She was such a wonderful help and inspiration to me, and I finally got to see what a "shoot" is supposed to be like. Afterward, I couldn't wait to try out some stuff on my own, so I asked my oldest friend, Emily, if she'd be interested in modeling for me. Luckily, she said yes!

We woke up e.a.r.l.y (as in met at 6:30 am) to guarantee we caught the sunrise. Luckily, we got to a great spot just in time and spent the morning taking photos. It was so much fun! 

Here are my favorite shots from the first half of our 2-hour photo-shoot! Yep you heard that right, this is only the first HALF! There were too many good shots for one post! Check back later for the second half (which may be even MORE gorgeous!)

Sneak Peek {Emily}

More photos coming on Monday! Can't wait to show you how PRETTY this girl is!

Note to Self: White Balance, White Balance!

A few nights ago I got to babysit for some of my very favorite kiddos. These three girls absolutely have my heart! The first thing I hear when I come over is sweet Ava, who always innocently blurts "Wanna pway a game?!?" Oh, be still my heart!

Anyway I dragged my camera over last time I was there, hoping to get some good shots of these gorgeous girlies. I only snapped a few and they were all indoors (ick). Looking through the pictures on my camera, I didn't notice that my white balance was WAY off! Imagine me kicking myself all night for not realizing it sooner!

Yes. Harsh reality. As I was saying, after giving myself a threatening speech and debating whether or not to tape the words DON'T FORGET WHITE BALANCE! to my camera, I took a deep breath and moved on. There was one solution and luckily I consider myself fairly talented in this area: photoshop.


Photoshop, you are my best friend.

Next time I'm there hopefully I can get some cuter ones of them together (I could never manage to get the two older ones looking at the camera at the same time...typical I presume, of having children HAH!)

PS. If you were paying attention, you might have realized I said three little girls. Where was the third? 

Yep. I'm the baby whisperer.

Fix It Friday (but on Saturday instead?)

This is gonna be short and sweet :)

Before:



Color after:

Black and white after:

Ella Bella (commonly referred to as EB)

I know I've already done a post today (and lots of posts about Ella already click here for my favorite one) but I just noticed there's a Link Party at Kelly's Korner and I wanted to share my own little girl! I'm sure I'm a little biased, but Ella's definitely the cutest dog I've ever seen. Especially better looking that Boo. Ugh, that dog is funk-ay!

Moving on, most of you probably already know that I am the momma to Ella. EB, as her BFFs like to call her. Here are some of my favorite videos and pictures of her :)

(DISCLAIMER: Just realized this post will probably be full of sappy commentary that is unnecessary and extreme. If you do not wish to experience said sappiness, please leave now. It only gets worse from here. Consider yourself warned.)

Ella on her way home -- February 18, 2011

Ella is a shorkiepoo. I cannot believe I just admitted that -- how embarrassing! I hate saying it out loud but there you have it. She's a designer dog. Basically, her mom was a mix between a shih-tzu and a yorkie. Here papa was a black toy poodle. Who knew this was the perfect combination?

First family photo! February 18, 2011

She was born December 25, 2010 (Christmas Day!) and we picked her up on February 18, 2011. She was 8 weeks old and weighed 2 pounds... It's hard to believe she was ever that little -- she's up to 10 lbs. now. (please excuse my high-pitched voice in next video -- it's embarrassing but authentic)

If you haven't figured out by now, John and I are borderline obsessed with her. Sometimes we even take her to Lowes with us. {{Hides face}} Some of her quirks include her amazing tongue (Yes, there's an entire post dedicated to it already) and escape skillz. See below:

Like I said, skillz. She can also climb over fences and half-doors. NICE! (not)

Ahh, but we love her anyway. And I'm pretty sure she loves us too :) Almost as much as sticks.

Words to Live By

I've totally been digging quotes on Pinterest. I keep finding ones I really like, and soon enough they're running through my head all day, like some fantastic, inspiring song on repeat. I've always been one who hears a quote and kind of hangs on to it for dear life. Like a mantra, different sayings seem to get me through stages of my life. High school was "this too shall pass." Dramatic, eh? Ahh, to be young again...

After that, I moved on to college. A time of growing up and living outside of my comfort zone. Learning new things. Trying new things. And learning to stand on my own two feet. "Faith is believing that one of two things will happen. That there will be something solid for you to stand on -- or that you will be taught to fly." It helped keep me calm with the overwhelming fears of making the right grades, finding the best friends, and falling for the right guy. All of which, I'm proud to say, I did. :)

Lately I've been stuck on "the best things in life are worth waiting for." I guess I need that quote because I get anxious about where I'm supposed to be right now. I'm kind of in the in between --- living in an apartment, "single" but not really, entry-level job...there's a lot of waiting for what's next. I'm trying to remember to enjoy this moment, for one day it will be gone. And even though I'm anxious about finally being seen as the grown up I feel that I am, this part of life is important. And special.

One day, I'll be married. Living in a great house with little ones running around the house -- screaming and crying. The dog will be barking and the doorbell will be ringing and although that moment will be beautiful, I suppose I'll miss the days like today. Maybe I won't want to go back to 2011 -- Lord knows I'm so over college life -- but still. I suppose I'll miss going on spontaneous weekend trips with John. The ability to throw my clothes on the floor of my one-bedroom apartment. Working at a job that I love.

Every chapter in life is important. I'm just trying to enjoy the one I'm in and appreciate the NOW.

Hope you are too :)

Sources: this too shall pass, now and then, enjoy the little things, faith is believing

Ella's Eyes

Thank goodness we took Ella to get her hair cut the other day. She actually DID have eyes under there!