Kids and Animals

 Photography is one of my favorite hobbies.  But the more pictures I take, the more I am discovering that I have serious preferences.  My favorite subjects?  Kids and animals.  Like Tara's fur baby, Spencer, for instance.  I know what you are thinking.  Are you crazy?  Who would rather deal with kids rather than adults?  But what women is going to let you take her picture with no makeup and curlers?  And just look at those eyes. 

 I don't really know what it is about animals.  I mean, you should know by now that I have a thing about birds.  I love the simplicity of an animal just hanging out, doing its thing.  These hummingbirds weren't even bothered by my presence or my camera.

 And I mean, seriously, what's cuter than a little kid smiling? 

 Maybe this guy?  (He's sooo fluffy!)

 What is comes down to is that kids and animals aren't worried about that 15 pounds they meant to lose or if their hair is just right.  They don't do that weird no-smile thing that guys tend to do.  And a subject that isn't self-conscious makes it so much easier to be the photographer.  Who wouldn't want to take pictures of a face like this?



Day 11: Share A Recent Photo

Jen (my fabulous hairdresser) is allowing me to share a few pictures from the photo shoot I did of her family a couple weeks ago.  Hope you love them!  (Her little guy is too cute!)

A Little Late Is Better Than Never....

I'm linking up with Kelly to show you my dining room this week.  So "Hi" to those of  you visiting!  This is the main focal point of my dining room.    I have an "L" shaped room that houses my dining room, living area, and office.  The china cabinet is nothing fancy, but it's my grandmother's and I love it.  Mostly, I love all the dishes I have in it!  I do have a table, but it's small and usually covered in mail.  But here's a few of my favorite things.  These pieces are Fiestaware that belonged to my great-grandmother.  My grandma gave them to me a couple of years ago, and they matched what I already had pick out!  I thought it was cool that I had the same taste as a great-grandma I'd never gotten the chance to meet.

This adorable bowl is one of two I picked up at Annie Laurie's.  I adore unique pieces, and I thought these were just so much fun, even though I don't like cantaloupe!  And yes, that is a fine layer of dust you see there.  You wanna make something of it?  (tee hee!)

I have lots of Fiestaware.  I have the dark blue and green in my kitchen, but these are the colors of my living room, so I thought these fit the palette of the living room a little better. (And besides, you can never have too much Fiestaware.  Seriously.)

 

I also have a huge collection of wine and other glasses.  I had several different ones and my aunt has helped me add to the collection.  but my favorite things are little touches like these little picture holders with pictures of my grandpa's from World War II. 

Of course, there's also this centerpiece.  It's a 4 feet by 4 feet painting that I also got at Annie Laurie's.  It's really striking.  This is the next area that I am going to really work on, as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Bedroom!

This renovation project started with a somewhat simple idea: "What if I took that picture David Michael printed for me and moved it to my bedroom?"  Which turned into:  "Can I make this the theme of my bedroom and how would it look if I painted the walls gray?"

I don't really have any before shots because I haven't been sleeping or really doing more than using my bedroom for storage for the last six months.  Sadly, I've been sleeping in my living room either on the couch or the mattress I eventually moved in there because I just didn't have the time to deal with things until summer came.  But, without further delay, here's the final results of Extreme Home Makeover: My Home Edition.

This is what it looks like looking from the corner...

And this is what it looks like from the doorway...

Pretty cute, right?   Let's highlight a few of the details.

This is the dresser.  It's still a bit unfinished, but I was finally able to make it functional.  It had a drawer that was broken, and I saw this idea in a magazine.  Using the bottom of the broken drawer and a couple baskets from Target, I have more storage.  I am going to refinish the dresser and drawers at some point, but it was just too big a task for right now.

This box is another one of my favorite things.  I bought it today from my new favorite place, Annie Laurie's Antiques.  It's actually a doll case that had the cutest daisies and suitcase pattern. Here's a closer look:

I display my costume jewelry using glassware from the kitchen.  I saw this on some other makeover show or magazine but it was a great way to use some of the dishes and bowls that saw little use and organize my collection at the same time.

I decided that my book obsession needed a new shelf to expand to, so I got this inexpensive one at Target and put it together.  I moved some of my favorite books into the bedroom and left the rest in the yellow room. 

Amber and I found this frame Friday night at Target (are you sensing a theme?)  It was whimsical and fit the color scheme, so Amber (and Steven) got the honors.

The other super cute items on top of the bookshelf I picked up at Annie Laurie's.  The billiards balls and the basket, all for a very reasonable price!  I was all over it the minute she posted the pictures on her Facebook (If you want to check it out, go here.)

I made a giant french memo board out of several I had around the house.  Dad helped me hang it this week and I've been reworking the pictures for several days to have a good mix of old and new ones.  Here's what I have so far (even though it's a little hard to see them all)

And the bed!  I am just in love with the way it turned out.  I found the bedding at Sears early in the summer with Crystal.  It was a steal!  Then I just had to get the bed situation worked out since I had a daybed before.  After I traded some furniture with Sheena's parent I managed to get a bed frame and box springs and Dad and Lu brought over the mattress today.  Kohl's had a good sale today on the pillowtop mattress cover and on pillows.  And the curtain idea came out of another magazine.  I really like the way it turned out with the mirror that has been there since my grandparents lived here.

And of course, there's Lu getting her face on my blog, just because she can.

Hope you all like it as much as I do!

Photo Session: The Kraatz Family

When I agreed to take pictures for my third grade teacher, I was really nervous.  I did not want to screw things up, as having their whole family together was kind of a big deal.  I reminded them that I wasn't a professional, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the session.  It was a good time, and I am glad that everyone seems happy with the results.

   

Isn't this the sweetest cookie face ever?!

Matt & Melissa (aka Mel)

These cuties...

are getting married...

in a little over a month.

and I, for one,

can't wait!