Family Reunion

What happens when two grandparents, six of their children plus their six spouses and 20+ grandchildren descend on a small farm in Marietta, Ohio? Craziness ensues. Recently, Jared and I had the pleasure of attending a three-day family reunion with his parents, siblings, spouses and many of our nieces and nephews. The weekend's non-stop events included friendly competitions of skill and wit, four wheeling, scavenger hunting, popsicle eating, swimming, earth-oven-pizza-cooking, water-balloon throwing, barrel rolling (with people inside), homemade icecream making and of course lots of laughing. It's a wonder someone wasn't injured throughout the course of events but surprisingly everyone left in one piece- healthy, happy and looking forward to the next reunion.

(Jared showing off on his new toy.)

(My brave sister-in-law getting ready to roll down the hill.)

(Another brave soul, my 10 year old neice, getting ready to roll.)

(Grandpa

(My niece dodging a water balloon.)






(Prepping the Earth oven.)


(Mitchell's first sparkler.)




THE END.

500 Days of Summer

I want to see this movie. So. Stinking. Bad. Unfortunately the closest movie theater showing it is 2 hours away. To add to my pain, I just discovered that it has a musical-esque scene choreographed to a classic Hall and Oates hit. (I love musicals and I love Hall and Oates) No fair.

Mirror Turned Chalkboard

I've had a vintage-y chalk board project in the back of my mind ever since I saw this post on design*sponge. Lucky for me, I found an old mirror that I thought would be perfect for said project at the flea market last weekend. I didn't take a before picture, but here are some photos of the finished product. It was such quick and easy task! (Seriously, I think it took longer to upload these pictures into blogger than it did to do everything else from start to finish.) To do it, I removed the mirror and spray painted the frame white. Then, I covered the smooth side of the fiber board that was behind the mirror with chalkboard paint and reassembled it. That's all! I'm thinking I'll use it for to do lists in my kitchen. :)

Flea Market Weekend

Last weekend my friend Nicole introduced me to some new Marietta favorites: The River City Farmer's Market which was full of fresh flowers, crafts, baked goods and lots of fresh, local produce and Rinks, an old dept store turned flea market. I snagged these cute owl salt and pepper shakers at Rinks and since I was in the thrifting mood, I decided to take the boys up the highway to an outdoor flea market called Valley View Trade Days. The Trade Days had a little bit of everything from antique furniture and farm stuff to toy cars, guns and even puppies for sale. The boys loved the dealer with the metal Tonka trucks and the booth with a dune buggy and a mini four wheeler. In fact, they loved it so much that Spencer had a total melt down when it was time to take him off. Needless to say, we left shortly after but not before I snagged an old mirror that will be perfect for a chalkboard project I've had in mind for awhile. Score! I do love me some good flea market shopping.

New Photos

Lots of new images are up on my photography blog: a wedding, a couple of families and an engagement session. Also, I still need to post the pictures from four different weddings so check back over the next few weeks!

Stuck in the Middle

Right now I'm between...

houses (we're renting)
hairstyles (trying to grow my hair out-argh!)
seasons (is it fall yet?)
kids (taking a little break from the baby having)
careers (Jared says he's in his new career.
I say, until he's making money at it, we're between.)

Too many betweens. Wishing I were on one side or the other, especially in the hairstyle dept. Seriously, of all the betweens, I think growing my hair out is currently the most grueling.

Mailing List

Several people have expressed interest in my photography so I have decided to make a few trips to Columbus in the upcoming months for baby/child/family portraits. If you would like to stay apprised of the dates I will be in town, leave me a comment with your e-mail address (or you send it to me directly at hellokphoto@gmail.com) and I will put you on my mailing list!

Bedroom Update

I'm in the midst of updating the look of our bedroom. Slowly but surely it is coming along. I just ordered these white lanterns, mostly because I like them but also because I'm planning to use them for party decoration. However, when they came in the mail today, I just couldn't not hang them up immediately so they have found a new home above my bed. For now anway. Also, remember the throw quilt I started awhile back? Well, it still isn't finished but I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel! Once the quilt is finished, the next thing on my list is to paint our sad Craigslist dressers a fun, bold hue and add some new hardware. Decorating a rental is a little tricky so I'm trying to contain myself and not let myself get into anything too crazy. (Remember my ceiling scraping project? Nuff said.) Although, right now I have a dining room that is begging me to strip it's wallpaper. Seriously. Begging me. I'll see if I can hold out. I'll keep you updated on my progress. For now, here are a few images from my bedroom:

(Sorry, couldn't resist a couple of Polaroids as well!)

Color Me Katie

Just discovered this funny and creative blog, Color Me Katie. Her improve everywhere and street art series make me smile. Definitely worth checking out.

(Image by Color Me Katie)
(Via Say Yes to Hoboken)

Me and the Mister

Celebrating six years of wedded bliss today!

Camera Stuff

Buying camera equipment can be tricky business. There is a lot of stuff out there and a lot of it is quite pricey so you want to make sure you buy the right stuff the first time. I am currently in the market for some new gear so I've been perusing the net for good deals and reading product reviews of a few things I have in mind. If you are just starting out in photography and are thinking about investing in a digital SLR, I recommend you read this this post by photographer Nicole Hill. She gives some great advice and outlines just few good cameras and lenses that are available in the Canon line. Also, I recently found this web-site which gives some very in depth reviews of all the Canon equipment.

P.S. Another great all around lens not mentioned in the post above is Canon's 24-70 f/2.8. I have Tamron's version (aka: the cheaper version) of this lens and I love it!

Sprinkler

We had some good old fashioned fun playing in the sprinkler last night. Definitely the best five dollars I've spent in awhile.

Waste Not, Want Not: Part II

I had (and still have) quite a bit of chambray left over from the skirt I made, so I made this tunic-y shirt. I used this pattern (which I highly recommend for a beginning sewer) with some slight variation and an easy flower detail-of course. :)

Travel Itch

I have...

...splashed in the fountains of Rome (which is illegal, btw)

...qued at Wimbeldon

...walked through a palace made of corn
...smiled at the Mona Lisa

...dug Wall Drug
...jet skied in Barbados

...witnessed a mass ascension of hot air balloons

...slurped spaghetti in Italy
...left my heart in San Francisco (several times, actually)


...vomited over the side of a boat all day while Jared caught fish from the Atlantic
...cruised A1A Beachfront avenue

...haggled with the locals in Mexico
...wondered aimlessly through the alleys of Venice

...sat in the top of a working windmill

...touched the hand prints of Tom Cruise
...watched the sunset behind the Eiffel tower

...walked through the Gateway to the west
...sipped a Starbucks in Seattle
...camped on the shores of Lake Superior

...driven through the middle of nowhere
...tried my luck in Vegas
...window shopped on Rodeo Drive

...stood on the southernmost point in the continental U.S.A.

...been eaten alive by mosquitoes in the Everglades

...experienced the vastness of the Grand Canyon

...hugged a Palm Tree in Key West.

I have... a travel itch. Big time.
Any great and exotic yet attainable ideas?

Flowers

I love that the house we are renting has a variety of flowers that are perfect for cut arrangements. Fresh flowers make for one happy chica.

Living Room Inspiration

Ever since I read the Domino: The Book of Decorating, I have been collecting home decor images and tucking them neatly away for inspiration. It has also been a good exercise for me because I think I have a little bit of A.D.D. when it comes to decorating; I seem to like a little bit of everything and my house ends up looking like a random garage sale. Anyway, stashing pictures is helping me pin point my decorating style because I'm beginning to see a pattern among all the images. I seem to be drawn to clean, modern spaces with a splash of vintage/bohemian flare. The image above is one of the most recent additions to the aforementioned inspiration folder. There is something about those white Ikea shelves adorned with all those brilliant globes that makes my heart go pitter-patter.

(Via Lovely Design)

Patriotic Cupcakes

My most favorite holiday is rapidly approaching. Which leaves me with two questions:
1. Where in the world is my summer going? (Just a guess but I'm pretty sure it got lost somewhere along the highway between Marietta and Columbus. :) And 2. How am I going to celebrate Independence Day? Honestly, I would love to celebrate inside the pages of the July issue of Martha Stewart (she throws the best parties!) but regardless of where I end up, I'm thinking these patriotic cupcakes might be in order. How will you be celebrating your Independence this weekend?


(Image via Inchmark)