Brother for sale

Right now our little guy is very mobile and that means he can (and does) get into his sister's things. This bugs her to no end



Of course that frustrates sister to no end. And our little man still just grins at her. There are moments like this that I love stumbling upon...





And then there are moments that our little girl acts like this:


I am sure this sibling dynamic will change as they grow and change, but I'll savor the sweet moments whenever I can.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Maternity & Family Pics

My friend Rachel took these pics so we would have a few for the baby book and likely our last family photo of just the three of us. I could not be happier with how they turned out! We had a blast too! A big thank you to her!!!

I had this book when I was little and my mom found it in a thrift shop for Kaia!!

~Angela

Capturing the moment

We took a trip to Utah. We saw friends and had some time just the three of us too, our last family vacation before we become a family of four. It was wonderful in ways that all vacations should be- relaxing, beautiful scenery and we lost track of time in the way you can on vacation.

And although we try to get pictures of us as a family since we were all there together, it's those candid in-the-moment photos that are best. They never have all if us in them since my husband and I take turns grabbing the camera, but they are always my favorite pictures!





















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Using hangers to display photos

Being that I take thousands of photos, I am always looking for unique ways to display them, like when I hung photos from a branch here. I mentioned before I don't mind doing laundry and spend a decent amount of time in my laundry room, tending to laundry, making my own laundry soap and repairing clothes. I decided to add some personalization to the room with pictures of my little girl.  I had taken these fun pictures when we were out puddling last summer and found inspiration here. I found these antique hangers at a thrift store and mounted the 8 X10 photos to mdf that I cut to size. Then I used Mod Podge to adhere the photos to the mdf.

Clip them in a hanger (mine were purchased from a thrift store), hang with 3m Command Strips- done!
~Angela

Magnets from Instagram Photos

This is not a sponsored post. I blog for me and am not being paid to write this. I just share things that I love and this is one of those things!

I take a fair share of photos with my iPhone and edit them with Instagram, but if you get the pics developed, they are stretched since Instagram takes square photos and most photo studios develop 4X6 prints.

I found Stickygram which prints your Instagram photos on 9 magnets to a sheet (2 inches x 2 inches) and mails them to you. It is super easy to order and is all done from your phone. 

 This sheet was $14.99 (shipping included) although they have discount codes for your first order.

Nothing magnetic sticks to our fridge so our metal door is our place to display projects:)
~Angela

 

A Big Announcement

I turned 30 this year and shortly after my 30th birthday I stumbled across my Bucket List.  I wrote this list years ago and have accomplished some of these goals already:
-Running a Marathon
-Falling in Love
-Being a Mom
-Skydiving
-Learning to cook
But there are several things I have not yet attempted and publishing a book was one of them. I figured this was the year for me to tackle this goal. If we are friends on Facebook, then your already know the news I am about to share....as of last week, my book Finding Love in Nature: Heart Stones is officially published!  I may or may not have been logging into Amazon.com to search for my book multiple times a day just to see my book there. I can hardly believe that it is actually printed. EEK!! It is real.

I found over 70 heart shaped stones on our trip to Maine last July and after putting the first few in my pocket or purse (depending on the size) I started taking photos before I took them with me. This book is a compilation of those photos. I also insisted on taking all of these stones home with me (much to my husband's dismay). We had these stones in our carry on bags, our checked luggage, my purse and my daughter's diaper bag, but I am happy to report that we got them ALL home with us. I am no stranger to the orange HEAVY tags that are usually attached to our luggage anyway:)

rock hunting in Maine

my little girl helping me hunt for heart stones

After a stress fracture forced me to lay low this winter, this really jump started the prcoess. I finally organized and edited my photos and got this project underway. I was rather frustrated to be unable to be so active, but I put my energy into this book rather than focusing on all the things I could not do with an injury. And I am glad I did.
Although this was not the book I had orignally planned on publishing (I would still like to publish a children's book that I wrote years ago), this was a great first book to help get familiar with the publishing process. And it sure beat paying $24.00 to print a very similar photo book through Snapfish (which I already did just because I wanted this in book form so badly). I used the platform Createspace which in an affiliate of Amazon. If you have ever had the inkling you would like to be published, I would highly recommend Createspace.
And although I will never get rich with my publishing and plan on keeping my day job, that was never my intention anyway. I just wanted my book in print form. And I can cross that off my Bucket List.
~Angela

Photo Contest Entry: taken from a low angle

I am entering the photo contest over at Our Reflections blog again. I love that Laura hosts these because I enjoy looking through my photos and finding new ideas for photos. It gets my creative juices going.

This photo was taken on my husband's birthday as he played with our little girl on the playground. I was laying in the sand to get the picture, which was a mess, but totally worth it:)

You can check out my entries to her previous contests here, here, and here. And be sure to stop by Laura's blog to check out the other entries and her photography tips.

~Angela

Shadows! (Photo Contest Entry)

I am entering the weekly photo contest over at Laura Hernandez's Blog Our Reflection. The theme is shadows and this photo was taken last year on Christmas Day. It was so nice outside, we were able to go for a walk. This is my little family: my husband, my little girl and I. Good memories of a rare warm holiday in my husband's hometown. I love capturing simple moments like this with my camera...it justifies me lugging it with me everywhere I go:)

I encourage you to check out Laura's blog for great photos from previous contests and photography tips as well.

~Angela

Photo contest entry: faceless portraits

Here is a family picture from a vacation last year.

10 Favorite Photos & Photo Contest Update: I got 2nd Place!

Earlier this week, I entered a photo contest sponsored by www.our-reflection.blogspot.com.

Click on this link to see the other winning photos if you would like.

Since I spent so much time looking through my photos, I thought I would share 10 of my favorite photos. As you can see they include my favorite things - family and nature:

I LOVE finding heart shaped rocks. This photo was taken during our vacation to Maine

My mom, my little girl and me, holding hands on a fall walk

My little girl when she saw her daddy come home after work

I found 2 petals in the shape of a heart. I love finding symbols of love in nature.

My little girl in a watermelon. Poor thing!

I love the footprints in the fresh fallen snow

I like this perspective as we were above the hot air balloons pictured, on our own hot air balloon ride.

Muir Woods, looking straight up

I like the foggy photo of the Golden Gate bridge.

Even though this hood covers up my little girl's birthmark (which is a part of her I do not try to hide) I love this smile, I love the eyes and I love the outfit, compliments of my brother.

I am super excited to report that I won 2nd Place with the above photo!!!!

~Angela

On top of the world (Photo Contest Entry)

I am entering this photo of my little girl in the Photo Contest sponsored by www.our-reflection.blogspot.com. The contest's theme this week is Childhood.

The photo was taken at the highest point in Acadia National Park, during our vacation to Maine last summer. I was able to capture this special moment between my husband and our daughter; knowing full well that I may never be able to capture a moment like this one again. Her unsteady gait climbing around on the rocks, just a few months after she began walking, clinging to her Daddy's hand was a priceless moment. It was even more special because after 3 previous attempts to get photos at the highest point in Acadia National Park, we finally avoided the fog and were able to get this one.

Even if I don't win the photo contest, I had fun perusing the thousands of photos I've taken in the less than two years since we were blessed with our little girl. I love so many photos, but this one stuck out last night while I was scrapbooking with a friend- it is a favorite to me because the photo turned out so well and it also brings the memories of that trip flooding back. We have made this a monthly craft night together and it is so fun to share our photos, our memories, conversation and a bottle of wine in the company together. To spend an evening accomplishing the task of recording our memories in the company of someone else who shares your passion for family, photos and creativity is a beautiful thing.

~Angela