sneak peek...

A little sneak peek...more to come!

I'm having FUN! It's supposed to be 69 here tomorrow!

SHE rocks...I'm giddy

SHE...as in my sister-in-law, Kim! She got a new camera (Canon Rebel DSL) a few months ago. I'm sure you've "heard" me raving about it, and how insanely jealous I was! Well, she ROCKS because she let me borrow it for like three whole days! I'm Giddy!! Not that you have to have a DSLR to take great pictures...but it sure is fun!

I told her about a week ago that I wanted to try and take some twelve month pictures of Barrett myself. Just for fun, to see what I could do...and because paying for portraits and getting a bunch of prints I don't need isn't in our budget right now. So, she tells me I can borrow her camera anytime I want! She came over this morning for a much needed visit with Barrett and I. We hadn't seen her in a week and we were both missin' our Aunt Kimmy! As if it wasn't enough for her to bring me her precious camera, manuals and cords...she also brought me a tiger spice chia tea from the coffee shop! See...she ROCKS! {Sorry Kim, you're probably blushing severely by now} She wouldn't even accept my wedding ring as collateral for the camera's safe return!

I was beyond excited to get it out of the bag and take some pictures of my baby boy. Ahh...he's such a beautiful and squirmy subject! Our schedules were a bit hectic today, so I didn't get to play around with it too much. But, after weeding through the few shots I got, I fell in love with this innocent little face.

Help me Rhonda...those little eyes melt my heart!
I was getting his attention with goldfish crackers :)

So, tomorrow I'm going to attempt my own little twelve month photo shoot! Depending on how it goes, you may or may not see what comes of it! I'm also hoping to get my lens on some other pint-sized cuties {Norah Kate & Lydia} in the next couple days, if their mommies will let me! In the past couple days, I have become obsessed with photography. As I've been working on my ej designs website...my passion to learn more about photography is growing. One of my good friends is having a baby in March and she's agreed to let me come over and photograph her little bundle. I told her I was doing it completely free, because I have no idea what I'm doing, and I have no idea if I will come away with anything halfway decent! But it will be fun to experiment with such a sweet little subject! I hope it doesn't give me baby fever!! I am doing the stationary for several spring and summer weddings, so I hope to save up some profits from those and maybe buy my own fancy-dancy camera! We'll see.

Okay...enough rambling for now! I must get to bed before Justin wakes up, realizes it 12:55 a.m., and notices I'm not in bed! Happy Friday!

favorite things:random edition

A few of my current favorite things...

video ichat:: video chatting with my little bro, Brandon. My mac continues to impress me! A few weeks ago, my little brother introduced me to another new feature I had no idea existed. If you are a Mac owner, go ahead a laugh at me! I knew my MacBook Pro had a built-in camera, but I didn't know I could use to to see my brother in Nebraska. How cool that you don't have to buy any expensive camera, install any programs, or pay anything. All you need is your laptop and an internet connection. So far, Brandon has given us a tour of his new house in Nebraska, and he's watched Barrett ride his rocking horse. Fun times!!

Chapstick Shimmers:: I can't live without chapstick in the Winter, but I like a little bit of gloss and/or shimmer too. I found these just before Christmas and they're great. I have the Shimmers in peppermint, but it must have been a seasonal flavor. Looks like now they only have Botanical Berry and Tropical.
Angels Jeans:: Call me a "teeny bopper," but I discovered these juniors jeans at JC Penny's and Kohl's and I love them! I'm only 5'-4" and the length is perfect for me. I got money from my parent's for Christmas, and used it to buy two pairs of Angels jeans at Kohl's. They're usually on sale for $29.99...so call me "cheap" too! One of the pairs I just got have the back flap pockets and I love the way they fit! Wahoo for great jeans!
Nuby Sippy Cups:: I had been searching for a good sippy cup forever, and finally discovered this one about a month ago. All the other ones we had leaked horribly. I'm sure you other mothers out there already know about these. If not, go get one! Barrett has the green one and I think he'll get a red one for Valentine's Day!My Puffer Vest:: I had been looking everywhere for a vest right after Christmas. I HATE wearing big bulky coats in the winter. I feel so restricted and usually end up running around with no coat at all! When it comes to coats, I feel like my brother, Brandon, when he was little...he would always say things like "I can't wear this shirt, it's too itchy." This year, with having to carry Barrett and a big purse/diaper bag around, I got even more frustrated. So, I knew I wanted a vest to keep me warm and keep my arms free. I wanted one in brown and I wanted a detachable faux fur trimmed hood. Too much to ask for? Apparently they were all the rage this Winter, so I struck out everywhere I looked. Then one day browsing through my own little Wal-Mart, I found one when I wasn't even looking. It was just what I wanted and only $18.00! Call me "cheap" again...but, Yea Wally World! I love it and I wear it all the time!!


Monkey Munch:: If you read my post on Barrett's birthday party, you saw the favor bags that were filled with Monkey Munch! I found this mix recipe on the internet and I've had a container full of it in the kitchen ever since. I don't feel so guilty eating the chocolate chips, since I'm also snacking on cheerios and banana chips! Mix up a batch...you'll love it!

Barrett's Birthday Monkey Munch
2 cups cheerios
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup banana chips

My Evening TV:: It's no secret...I'm a TV junkie! In the evenings after Barrett goes to bed, Justin and I cuddle up on the couch and watch our shows. My dvr is set to record all kinds of stuff. Some things I eventually find time to watch, and others I end up just having to delete. Here are a list of my absolute FAVES that I usually watch right away.

Gary Unmarried- this show just started in the Fall and Justin and I NEVER miss it. It is one of our new favorites. It's "wet your pants" funny! If you've never seen it, set your dvr. It's on Wednesday nights on CBS.
Here's a clip from last week's show...



How I Met your Mother- Another CBS show. We've been watching this show since it premiered a couple years ago. I love the cast, especially Neil Patrick Harris, and it always cracks us up! Suit up.

The Bachelor- I've always been addicted to this show. I guess watching all the cat fights is my guilty pleasure! I mean, who doesn't get sucked in after hearing "up next; it's the most dramatic rose ceremony ever"? I LOVE Jason, the bachelor this season. BUT I can't comment on anything, since I'm pretty sure I know who he picks. Heard through the grapevine and I did a little of my own research.

Ellen-She's hillarious, what can I say! Watching her show cheers me up when I'm feeling blue.

John & Kate +8- Who doesn't love this adorable family! My favorite is Aiden...I think they call him the "professor" because of his adorable glasses. I was so excited for last nights episode. They showed their NEW house!

Anything on Food Network or HGTV!!
Food Network Challenge
House Hunters
Color Splash-I heart David...he's adorable!

Real Housewives of Orange County- Another guilty pleasure, on Bravo! Anyone else watch this? My favorite housewife is Lauri, but she's not on much this season because of family matters. Tamra cracks me up; Jeana is the quieter one; Vicki is a hoot & nuts. Lynne & Gretchen are the new girls this season and I'm not a fan of either of them. Bravo also had Real Housewives of New York and Atlanta. I admit I did watch the first season of each, but the OC girls are my favorites!

Friday Night Lights- FINALLY, it's back on! I love me some Tim Riggins :)

What are some of your favorite things?

I'll play too :)

I follow the Four Little Men & Girly Twins blog, and have had fun seeing her random picture challenges. A couple of my friends have joined in on the fun this time, so I'll play too!

August 2007...30th picture

My niece, Lauren! She would have been four months here! This was a summer weekend at my parents' with all the family. Other pictures in the file show us all out by the pool (can't wait for those warm days to get here again)! I was pregnant with Barrett in August '07, and just starting to feel better...as in, eat and not puke! I think that was the month I took my last pill for the sickness. Ahh...good times!

Join the fun! Post your RaNdOm picture!

January Wedding:: the programs

I have been busy with several wedding orders for the past few months. This week I am finishing up programs for a client whose wedding is January 31st. This is the first time I have done programs of this style, and I really like the way they turned out. I love the small, square size and the simplicity of them. This client's colors were ivory, black, silver and a hint of red. She wanted to keep things classic with her invites and programs though, so we only used the ivory, black and silver.

These programs are done in ivory linen paper and tied with a black double-faced satin ribbon.



I am SO LUCKY to have had my niece, Kylie, over yesterday. She played with Barrett while I got some work done on the programs. Barrett and Kylie both love to read, so they spent quite a bit of time snuggled up on the couch with all his new books. Thanks for your help Kylie!


I have been trying to get my website together for the past couple weeks. I'd neglected it for too long. If you haven't visited Elephant Juice Designs in awhile, go take a peek and let me know what you think. I would love any feedback you have...Is it easy to navigate? Is there something else you'd like to see? Is there anything that confuses you?

There still aren't a lot of sample pictures on there yet, but I'm working on it! If you're a past client of mine and would like to contribute a comment for my testimonials page, I would very grateful! Just email your comment to: elephantjuicedesigns@gmail.com

Happy Friday!!

Birthday events

It's hard to believe after all the planning that Barrett's first birthday has already come and gone. He had a busy birthday weekend, but was such a good boy for it all! I was worried about nap schedules, since we had the party Saturday and another busy day Sunday...but he just seemed to go with the flow.

Sunday was his BIRTHDAY!!! After he woke up, I made him birthday pancakes...

No, we weren't playing Bingo! That's a "B" for Barrett, and a "1" for his 1st birthday! He thought they were pretty funny, and so did Daddy!

After his pancakes and playing with all his new birthday toys, he went down for a morning nap before church.

That morning he was baptized at church, and we were so glad to have Gigi & Papa, Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Everett, Grandma Jenny, Aunt Kim, Kylie and Emily all there to celebrate this wonderful occasion with us. Before church we stopped in the office to visit with the Pastors. Pastor Beth was excited to tell us that they had just gotten the new Baptismal Font in that week. This was special because it was purchased with memorial funds given in memory of Gennie Thomas. She was the grandmother of my friend, Amber. The baptismal was beautiful, and I was honored that Barrett was the first to be baptized with it.

The baptism seemed to be pretty long. I guess when you're just sitting in the congregation watching, it doesn't seem as long. I carried Barrett up to the alter, but was happy when he wanted to go to Daddy. I knew it would be easier for Justin to hand him off to Pastor Dave when it was time for the baptism. Barrett did such a good job. He just looked out at all the people and pointed, and studied Pastor Dave and Pastor Beth as they spoke. When it was time for Pastor Dave to take him, he looked a bit worried for a second, but he did great!

I was baptized on my first birthday!

After the service, we took a few pictures with all of the family.

Grandma Sandy, Kylie, Barrett, Emily & Aunt Kim

Papa, Barrett & Gigi

Kylie & Barrett

Barrett & Emily

Then we headed to Gambino's for a birthday lunch!

Barrett got a new book from Gigi & Papa.
Blessings Everyday: 365 devotions for the very young
We looked up his birthday's devotion

After church and lunch, the little man was ready for a nap, and so was Mommy! He took a great afternoon nap, and after he woke up, we headed to the park to feed the ducks.

It was a wonderful and special birthday! We hope you had a fun weekend of celebrations, Little Bear! We love you!!

monkey business

Barrett had a wonderful birthday party with lots of friends and family on Saturday. My sweet sister-in-law, Kim, took pictures for me. Between her camera and mine, we ended up with LOTS of pictures...here are a few of my favorites!

Our monkey cupcakes!
Justin gets all the credit for these...they turned out so cute!

Treat bags for our guests...these were filled with 'monkey munch'
cheerios, chocolate chips, banana chips & coconut flakes
Getting things ready for lunch.
We had taco soup, veggies, chips & salsa

A little guest book I made for Barrett.
Everyone wrote sweet birthday wishes to him inside.
Opening presents...Barrett got so much fun stuff!
Everyone knows how much he loves books, and he got so many great ones.

He loves riding Grandpa Rusty's 4-wheeler with him,
so they got him one of his own!

All of his presents...THANK YOU everyone!


After opening presents, we had cake! I wasn't sure what Barrett would do.
He'd never had cake, or anything chocolate before.
He wasn't shy, and dug right in.
I made the party hat for him, and didn't think he'd keep it on.
I guess he was too distracted by the yummy cupcake to notice.

It was a great 1st birthday! I had so much fun planning for it. Barrett was such a sweetheart the whole day. Thanks to everyone who was able to come! Barrett Russell is so loved!