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)

Moving Announcements

In an age of text messages and mass e-mails, unfortunately there seems to be a lack of pretty correspondence circulating the regular mail. Don't get me wrong. I embrace electronic communication whole-heartedly but there is something about opening the mailbox and seeing something handwritten or pretty among the boring bills and the grocery ads. I thought a moving announcement would be the perfect excuse to create something people would be excited to see in their mailbox. I developed the wording and the basic layout but I was having trouble with the illustration. Enter graphic designer Karisa Winkel* of Pretty Handsome Paper. She helped me execute my vision perfectly and was also a pleasure to work with! After I sent her some (very) rough drawings of what I had in mind, she created a PDF file with four announcements per page which I then printed onto card stock from my desktop printer. I glued a olive-y/lime green, textured card stock to the back of the announcement to give it a little more weight, cut them apart with my paper cutter and mailed them as postcards to save money on postage. Of course I spent too much time and money, but I say it was worth it. I also say two thumbs up for pretty correspondence!

*P.S. I don't know Karisa personally but several years ago I was fortunate to receive a beautiful wedding invitation she had designed. It was my first introduction to letterpress printing and I have loved her work (and letterpress) ever since. Although she specializes in wedding correspondence, she also gladly accepts smaller design jobs (like my moving announcement) and will also work within your budget. If you need a creative solution, I highly recommend!

Ban.do

I'm not sure there will ever be a need for me to wear a big bow around my neck, or even better, a big ruffley bow, but I sort of really want to. You can find these and other not-so-practical-but-oh-so-pretty accessories (including some amazing flower corsages) right here.

Waste Not, Want Not

Last week I made this skirt out of a bed sheet. (You'll notice the bottom hem is the top part of the sheet that you normally fold down.) I had been wanting to make a few things out of chambray and just hadn't made it to fabric store. I opened the linen closet and had an epiphany! The fitted sheet from the set was nearly worn to shreds but the flat sheet still looked great and was just the type/color of chambray I had been wanting to buy. I used a pattern I bought a couple of years ago (New Look #6594 , if you're interested.) with just a few modifications. Since the sheet is king size, I still have quite a bit of fabric leftover so I'm thinking a sun dress or a tunic top might be next on my list.

(P.S. I got the cute yellow sandals at Wal-mart! Only $10 and they have them in every fun color under the sun- hot pink, orange, lime green, metallic...)

A Tribute to My Grandmother

In addition to my class reunion, I also had the opportunity to attend a memorial service for my Grandma who passed away about a month ago. She was in her eighties and had been battling cancer for quite some time. My uncle Bill made this lovely tribute video for her which I just love. I am not a very deep person but seeing my Grandma and Grandpa so young and happy makes me think a lot about life, it's richness, beauty and the people that come and go that make it that way. You can watch the tribute below if you feel so inclined.

Party Like It's 1999

Over the weekend I attended my 10 year high school class reunion. DJ "Star Traxx" (pictured below) kept the party kicking while I had fun catching up with all my good friends from high school (most of them actually go all the way back to preschool!) I also had fun catching up with the people I haven't kept in contact with. Like the guy who took me to my sophomore homecoming-who, I should also mention, had no idea who I was. Seriously. He acted like I was the 300 pound girl in high school who had lost 200 pounds. Come on. Really? I don't look that much different. Anyway, I had mixed feelings about going but I'm glad I did. Has it really been ten years since me and these punks graduated from high school? Humor me a quick walk down memory lane.

The gang THEN:
L to R: Rachelle, Travis, Rachel, Seth, Me, Kayne, Nicolette

The gang NOW:

L to R: (Front) Rachelle, Nicolette, Rachel, Me
(Back) Travis, Kayne


My date to the reunion- my younger brother Carl and I.
(Jared couldn't make it due to his rigorous study schedule. Carl is only two years younger than I am so he knows most of the people I went to school with.)

DJ Star Traxx:

(Random, I know. But this guy cracked me up.)

My senior prom date (Travis) and I THEN:

NOW:

The End.

Summer

Porch swings, popsicles, bare feet, lightning bugs, the warm smell of rain, strawberries, sprinklers, long days, backyard BBQs, flip flops, fireworks, picnics, stargazing, sunshine, bike rides, night swimming, corn on the cob, first kisses, thunderstorms, watermelon, outdoor concerts, hammocks, drive-in movies, flash light tag, road trips and festivals.

Well hello there summer. So good to see you again.

(What are your favorite things about summer?)

Salt Water Sandals

It makes me happy to see Salt Water sandals making a comeback. (Maybe they never disappeared and I've just rediscovered them?) As a kid, I loved getting a new pair each year and wearing them until the soles were holey. These are a little pricey for my budget but if I had a little girl I'd probably be all over that darling red pair. Find them here.

Portrait

I don't normally like pictures of myself, especially when Jared is behind the camera. (He takes a bunch of shots in rapid succession, like a sports or fashion photographer, and it makes me feel really dumb and awkward.) Anyway, he took this one of me around Mother's Day and I really like it. It was very windy (hence the crazy hair) and I was trying to avoid the whole picture-taking blitz so I was surprised that one actually turned out. (FYI: The other 40 or so shots were of me giving him dirty looks and swatting at the camera.)

Jared and Aubrey: Sneak Peek

I think I have tried to execute this shot at almost every wedding I have photographed with mediocre results. Who knew the key to success was a bride with ultra cute, hot pink shoes!?

(May was a busy month for me so I'm in the midst of editing two weddings and a couple of families. I should have a lot more images to share in the next few weeks!)

First Drawing

This is Mitchell's first recognizable drawing from 6 months or so ago. (I have been meaning to scan it for awhile and luckily it just resurfaced after our move.) An abstract piece which he aptly titled "Clothes in the Dryer." We may have a little Picasso on our hands. :)

I Have No Business Being on the Road

As I mentioned in my previous post, I hit a parked car going about 30-40 mph on Thursday night. I'm not sure what happened. I was in full auto pilot, watching the green light ahead of me, but NOT paying attention to the four cars in front of it that weren't moving. (Oops!) Everyone involved was physically okay, the only damage to me was to my ego. (Who hits a parked car in broad day light? I wasn't even talking on the phone. Just driving along and BOOM!) However, since I hit the girl in front of me going so fast, she hit the car in front of her, who then hit the car in front of him, who then hit the car in front of him! It was a complete domino and in the end there were three other cars involved. It was a mess and I'm glad it's over. The funny thing is, this is the first car I've ever owned that has been manufactured in the current decade and I've had to file not one but TWO insurance claims within the past month. I'm thinking I should stink to vehicles from the late 80s to mid-90s...I have had much better luck with those.