Project Three-Sixty-Five

Day 120: A book Chris and I are reading (taking turns reading to each other).  We bought it on our trip to the East Coast and just started it. 

Day 121: We went to Applebee's for dinner and were asked to fill out surveys about our meal and received a gift card each.  

Day 122: Our favorite brand of olive oil and vinegar. 

Day 123: The leaves are turning!!!  

Day 124: Hannah and I at my family photo shoot.  She's such a great assistant! 

Day 125: Its always nice to come home after a long day of service. 

Day 126: Editing and posting pictures.  

the Schwartz Family Portraits

On Sunday afternoon I had the privilege of meeting up with the darling Schwartz Family for a family portrait shoot.  They are a mixed family with 6 six children...all so sweet and well behaved.  We met at Sun Lakes for some formal portraits and then went to their home in Coulee City for some less formal, fun pictures. 

I ADORE the light in this one.... *swoon* 

I was so enamored with this kids.  They're sweet and just a pleasure to be around.  And I literally could not stop taking pictures of them.  Here is just one set of portraits I did of them...

Many thanks to my cousin Hannah who came with me for the shoot and did an awesome job keeping track of the list of images and the kids.  I couldn't have done it without her.

Click HERE to see the complete album. 

I have another family shoot that I haven't shared on my blog yet, so look for that soon.  Hannah helped me then too.  I think she's hired! :D 

Project Three Hundred Sixty Five

I feel strangely far removed from last week...it was weird putting this week's photo cluster together and comparing it to last week's.  It felt like such a long time ago.  I feel like so much has happened.  

But fall has arrived, and I am so happy for that.  

What was your week like? 

October Photoshoot

October is my favorite month...it just is.  And so every October I try and do at least one photoshoot just Chris and I, like this one from 2008.  

This year we took a Saturday evening, went to my favorite spot in Soap Lake and took pictures of each other and used the tripod and remote for the ones of us together.  I want to capture and remember this time in our life together.  We are learning so much...about life, about each other, about how we deal with crisis, about the things that really matter to us.  That is what I see in these images.  It didn't take long...ten minutes maybe.  But now we have these pictures forever.  And I will always treasure them. 

I am so thankful that Chris likes being in front of (and behind) the camera.  I knew the first time I asked to take pictures of him and we did, that wanted to take pictures with him for the rest of my life. 

So get outside today...set up your camera and use the timer for some self portraits of some pictures with the one you love.  You won't regret it. 

Pinterest Recipes

One day this week I stumbled across this interesting recipe on Pinterest and showed it to Chris.  We had all the ingredients at home already and it looked good to us, so we decided to make it for breakfast this morning.  Well, he made it...and I took pictures of course! ;) 

So here is my first food edition of "Stop Pinning // Start Doing."  This is one you're gonna want to try!! 

Its called a Hootenanny and it seriously is the easiest breakfast ever.  It kind of reminds me of french toast with a more eggy texture.  Delish!  

I think is going to be a new favorite breakfast in our house!!  You should come visit! ;)  Or make it yourself, I guess.  Yeah...you could do that too.  :D 

Let me know if you give it a try and what you thought!  Any other recipes you think I (ok, Chris) should try?  Link me up in the comments. 

memories

I followed link after link after link today and found this really sweet and interesting blog called Hello, Moxie!  I've spent some time reading it and was pleasantly surprised by one of the posts containting this image and poem.  

I was immediately taken back to the 8th grade and a class where we all memorized this poem.  I loved it then and its still one of my favorites to this day.  

Thank you Rudyard Kipling and a random memory from Jr. High for making me smile today. 

Have you ever memorized anything like this before??  I'd love to hear about it. 

music that made me smile

this made me so happy today. I was caught by the melody, the images and the message.  watch and smile.

keep your head up... keep your heart strong...

   
Keep Your Head Up - Ben Howard from mickey smith on Vimeo.

Project Three Hundred Sixty Five

Here are our pictures from the last week.  

1) Our rental while we're waiting to see what the insurance decides to do about the car 2) Chinese food and my favorite prawns 3) the CD I won 4) Dad at the circuit assembly 5) Tucker puppy 6) my very first taco from a taco truck 7) a barn we saw out in rural service

See the complete album HERE. 

I have started work on the book that is the ultimate plan for this project.  Shutterfly has crashed on me a couple times, but its coming together.  I think its going to be such a lovely keepsake for Chris and I....our 5th year of marriage in pictures. 

Yellow Shelf Project

I am very excited to share another "Stop Pinning // Start Doing" project with you today.  Its another one from my office, which is so coming together!! 

source

I saw these white shelves with the pop of yellow on the back of them and not only thought they would be perfect for bringing more of the yellow into my office, but totally saw how I could use the idea with what I already had.  I have had two of these tall white shelves from Walmart for years... they have made many moves with me and have transitioned with my style as I grow.  And so I was so excited to use them once again in this space.  

Chris and I took the shelves into the garage and ripped pages out of a magazine and taped the sides to protect them from the paint.  Then it took two full coats of the yellow spray paint to completely cover the backs.  

The next day I pulled all the pages off and moved the shelves into my office.  I absolutely LOVE how they look next to the grey stripes and my purple walls.  The pop of yellow is exactly what I needed and I think it all turned out awesome!  I pulled a couple books, one of my elephants and a plant to create a little vignette for these after pictures.  I'll put the rest of the shelves up soon and unpack some boxes finally!  I can't wait to make this a workable space that I can continue to be inspired in. 

Have you done any project lately??  I'll love to see.  Link me up in the comments!! :D 

Little Miss Momma: Giveaway Winner!

I have something fun to share today. Thank-goodness! ;) 

A couple months ago one of my favorite bloggers Ashely of Little Miss Momma did a super fun post about Brooke White and did a giveaway of a signed copy her latest collaboration album Jack and White's Gemini.  

I was so excited to see the post and to get a chance to learn a little bit more about Brooke.  If you don't know who she is, I first learned of her through American Idol where she came in 5th place in the seven season.  I fell in love with her voice then and voted for her every week.  Now she is making music and having fun with her Girls With Glasses show.  So of course I commented on this post and entered the giveaway....

AND I WON!!  

Ashley was so sweet and commented on my blog to let me know I'd won.  And then yesterday I got my signed cd and a gift from Ashley's shop in the mail. 

I just love the ring I got.  Ashley has some adorable things like this in her shop.  Check it out HERE. 

So far I've listened to the cd like 7 times all the way through and my favorite track is the last one called "Feathers."  You can listen, download and learn more about Jack and White on their website HERE. 

That is happy something today.  And let me tell you, I sure needed it.  Road trippin tonight to stay with my parents for the weekend in our huge rental Yukon, and I'm sure this cd will be on repeat.  

Thanks Ashely and thanks Brooke.  You made my day. 

Project Three Hundred Sixty Five

Another week has come and gone...with some high points and some low points. 

the worst tuesday

Yesterday morning at 4:30 I got a call from Chris.  He had been in an accident in our car on his way to work.  It was raining and he was driving too fast for road conditions and at a sharp turn in the road the car went straight instead of turning. Fortunately he is okay...stiff and sore and bruised, but he is okay.  

The car on the other hand, is a different story. 

This is how she looked at the impound lot when we went to get our stuff out.  The car's nose was squished in the ditch and the front bumper was pulled completely off when the tow truck it out.  We don't know yet if they will fix it or if they will total it.  We're still waiting to hear.  

The part that bothers me the most is that the air bags did not deploy.  I plan on putting a call in to the dealership we bought the car from.  I'm pretty upset. 

I am thankful that my husband is ok.  And a car is just a car.  I know things will work out. 

Its just been a hard couple of days.