sweet baby Tate!

It's a BOY! My newest nephew arrived on his due date, July 25th! He was a whopping 9lbs 4oz! I'm so proud of my sis-in-law Kate, she did an amazing job with the delivery (& with no epidural, she's a champ)!! We got in the car as soon as we could on Monday & drove down to meet the new little guy on his first day of life. There really isn't anything more magical than holding a newborn baby & oh my goodness he smelled so sweet & had the most precious, squishy little face! 

Welcome to the world baby Tate!!! Here he is with his proud papa, my brother Trebor.... 

I can't wait to watch this little man grow! This brings the tally to 7 nieces & nephews for Creed & me. & we are the last out of all our siblings to not have any children....*gulp* 

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summer treats

One of my favorite treats during the summer - especially to stay cool - is little trips to Sonic! A Route 44 Cherry Limeade can really cure just about anything. We went there the other day right after working out (oops) & it really hit the spot! I'm thinking we may need to take another trip today! It is Friday after all! 

I am really excited about this weekend, I feel like I have lots of fun things to do! Here's a little list:

- I have all the supplies to start on some fun new projects - this means busting out the sewing machine - if I'm successful I will share. :)
- I want to try THIS recipe for baked cake doughnuts (I've been craving them)! If you have made some & they were delicious please share the recipe!
- We are patiently (& anxiously) awaiting the arrival of my newest niece or nephew, I'm still voting it's going to be a girl! Come on baby Marple!!!! If this happens we are road tripping down to meet this new little bundle! I'm so excited!
- & lastly we booked our trip to CALIFORNIA this week! We have exactly one month to plan out what we are going to do while we are there & for me to plan what outfits I'm going to wear (because girls think about these things...)
Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a magical weekend! ♥ Pin It

toy camera strap diy

I've been using my film cameras a lot more since making my little camera display. I decided I wanted a fancier strap for my mini Diana (it came with a tiny, black, plain plastic one). So...I made one with some supplies I had on hand & a few I purchased. It was simple & only took me about 10 minutes to make, so I made two!! [tutorial below]

Here are the details: 

supplies: 
- needle nose pliers
- clasps (found in jewelry section of craft store)
- copper wire (found in jewelry section of craft store)
- safety pin
- leather cord (also found in jewelry section)

steps:
1. cut cord into 3 pieces, attach one end with safety pin to something stable (I used an armchair) & braid until desired length. I made mine 35 inches.
2. slip ends through clasp
3. fold over & wrap excess with copper jewelry wire. I used the pliers to clamp ends down (so I don't get poked) & I trimmed the excess leather
4. TA-DA!!! Now you have a super simple cute camera strap!

I think I like the look of them doubled on the mini Diana! I have some more fun diy's up my sleeve that I will be sharing soon! ♥

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Happy Birthday Blog Giveaway WINNER!

Congrats Kate! Email me with your address & I will get your prizes sent out to you!! 

& thank you to everyone else who entered!! It was definitely a fun first giveaway! Can't wait to host more. Happy Monday! ♥ Pin It

kitchen chalkboard wall

A couple of months ago I decided to use some left over chalkboard paint to paint a wall in our kitchen/dining nook. I love how it turned out & I enjoy changing it every month.  I decided I would start documenting each time I change it starting this month. I really have way too much fun drawing on it & probably spend too much time doing so. This month, my design was heavily inspired by the amazing work of Dana Tanamachi (her chalk work is really stunning). Here are some peeks...

Don't forget to enter my little blog birthday giveaway (if you haven't already)! I forgot to mention is was open to international readers as well! ♥

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Happy Birthday Blog Giveaway!! [CLOSED]

In celebration of my blog's one year birthday, I thought it would be fun to host a little giveaway! It's actually my very first & I am super excited to offer one lucky reader the chance to win their own copy of some of my recent favorite things!   

1. I have a growing collection of UglyDolls, I keep saying they are for my future children, but realistically they just make me smile. I keep a few in my studio to keep me company.

2. The Q&A 5 year journal prompts you daily with fun little questions & with 5 slots per page to record, it will serve as a fun way to look back & compare over 5 years.

3. Wreck This Journal is also a little journal/sketchbook that provides prompts to step outside of your normal comfort zone (it's great when you need a break & are brainstorming ideas)! There is also this  "wreck this journal" flickr group, where people share the images of what they've done to their journal.

I enjoy these items on a daily basis so I thought you might too!
To enter to win just leave a comment on this post! For additional entries, you can tweet about the giveaway (let me know you tweeted with a separate comment). 

You have until Sunday July, 17th to enter & I will pick a winner at random & announce on Monday July, 18th! Good luck!! ♥

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happy 1 year blog birthday!

I can't believe it has been a whole year since this very first welcome post! My little blog has come a long way & continues to evolve daily. I have loved the whole process & love that I have a whole year of posts to look back on. I picked out one favorite post from each month of this past year, listed from oldest to newest! Click on the images to read the posts...

Thank you so much for reading, following & leaving comments on my little blog!! To show my appreciation I will be posting my very first giveaway later on today!! ♥

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what I wore - summertime uniform

outfit details: top- tj maxx, skirt- sale rack urban outfitters, locket- vintage/yard sale find!, minnetonka moccasins- marshalls 

My go-to outfit during the summer is usually an airy skirt, a comfortable cotton tee, my moccasins & throwing my hair up in milkmaid braids or buns, you really can't go wrong & there are so many different variations! We went out to dinner with our sister in law on Saturday & this outfit was perfect to stay cool. I brought along my diana mini & shot some slide film to cross process, can't wait to finish the roll & get it developed! Happy Monday! (tomorrow is my blog's one year birthday, I can't believe it's been a whole year!) ♥

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for the love of film friday

 

As mentioned in this new goals post back in May, I wanted to start getting back to my roots in traditional photography. My very first camera was a basic Polaroid 600 followed by lots of simple film point & shoots. In high school, I longed for something more substantial & started begging my parents for an analog SLR, they appeased my requests one Christmas & my love for traditional film was born. I learned how to develop my own black & white film in a darkroom & carried on with that through my college years as a fine arts major. I was very hesitant to jump on the digital photography bandwagon, but now that I have, I have noticed I use my film cameras less & less. (sadness) In an effort to change that I thought it would be fun to start sharing some of my film photography periodically in a new feature called For The Love Of Film. 

This is some of my older work, from a study abroad trip to Italy when I was still in college. 

Shot with my trusty Pentax ZX-L, using T-Max 400 black & white film & hand developed by me.

For larger & more images from this set go here. It's a little painful to look through these again, it leaves me with this deep yearning to go back to Italy. It was the most amazing summer I have ever had & I am so glad I was able to capture some of that beauty on film. & seriously the graininess & saturation of T-Max 400 film?!?! There is just nothing better in this world, digital doesn't hold a candle. Thanks for viewing! Happy Friday!

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