Turkey Day Flashback

I had this scheduled to post at 8am yesterday...how rude, Blogger!


My little Thanksgiving turkey in 2008....

He wants to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!!

We have mulitiple Thanksgiving dinners to attend, and lots of family we are excited to see!

Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, broccolio & rice casserole, pies,  and much more!

Yummmm-O!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. ~Psalm 107:1

Favorite Things::Fall

I "Googled it," and found out the first day of Winter in 2010 isn't until December 21st....

Seems late, but I guess that means I'm not as late as I thought with my {favorite things} of Fall!

I hope to get in one more {favorite things} post for 2010! We'll see!
If you're interested in my first two {favorite things}....

Part I-Winter 2010
Part II-Late Summer 2010

{1} happy pillow

I bought this pillow (brown, pink, orange & yellow) at Target about a month ago. I wasn't looking for a pillow...just happened to see it, and noticed it was on clearance for $4! Didn't really go with anything in my house, but I had to have it, of course! It doesn't match our bedding or room very well, but it makes me happy...so that's where it lives. I told Justin it would make a good inspiration piece for any future little girl baby nurseries we may have.  *note: I am NOT pregnant =)

{2} coffee mug

Well, I don't drink coffee, so this is my Chai tea mug! I was bored out of my mind shopping with Justin in Dick's one day, and found it. Loved the reddish-orange color, and it was the perfect size.

{3} purse

I do love purses! Not totally in love with this one, but the little pockets on the outside are great for my cell phone. No more digging around, and missing calls! Plenty of room for Barrett's crayons, candy, etc. Goes with brown and black. I'm happy!

{4} Zac Brown Band CD

It's been playing in our car for two months straight. Need I say more?!? My favorite song is #8

Barrett loves "Walkin' Away." We were in the mall last night, and it came on at one of the stores. Barrett yelled "Mom, Dad, this my favorite song!" Then started singing "walkin' away..." Those are about the only words he knows. But we rock out to in it the Jeep a lot!

{5} Lavender Car Sachet

I'm on my third one of these. I buy them at our local Farmers Market. The lavender is from Bonfy Farms in Winfield. I'm hoping to take Barrett out there next Spring or Summer. One of my blogging and real-life friends, Katelin, took her kids, and it looked like fun! These sachets last a long time. Just give them a little fluff every once in awhile. 

{6} Bean Pot

My first Bean Pot! My sister-in-law and mother-in-law had a Celebrating Home party not long ago, and I got my first Bean Pot! I was very sad when it came and the lid was chipped. So, I've had the pot and basket, but no lid for several weeks now. I'm impatiently waiting for the replacement, so I can finally start cooking in it! There are TONS of great things you can make! Here are a few. Oven, microwave, dishwasher, yeah!

{7} Baskets
Also got these from Celebrating Home! Barrett likes to hide cars and things in the little top basket. I have visions of using them for a newborn session. Ya know, hang a baby out the top basket. I actually used the little one on a session a few weeks ago. Here's Ansley modeling with my new basket!

{8} Scarves

I love 'em! These are just a few of my faves. I need more. You can never have too many, right?!?

{9} Mmm....rosemary juniper!

Got this on referral from my friend, Tonya! L'Oreal Rosemary Juniper shampoo. Great way to start your day :)

{10} MY very own keepsake book

I print these for my clients ALL.THE.TIME. I was so excited to get my very own. I print my clients' books as 4x6's. For ours, I decided to try a 5x7 book. Bigger IS better! I love it! I love having ALL of the images (I had to get rid of a few-80 images in the max for my lab's books) printed and all together. It's been a great help in picking our our Christmas card photos, and what I want on our walls! Still  working on the Christmas cards. The wall prints will come soon!

That's it for Fall!! PLEASE share your own favorite things!

I'm off to get ready for a night out with my girls! Dinner to celebrate someone's birthday :)

I see a Mountainberry Margarita in my future!
(If you haven't had one of these at Montana Mike's yet, you must try!!!)

A little break } shooting for me

I'm barely keeping my head above the water.
I LOVE my job, but I'm counting down the days to my last session of November.

Then I'll get caught up on editing, and enjoy a little breather.

I'm shooting a ton of beautiful families, children and seniors.

Editing hundreds upon hundreds of images.

Trying to keep up with sessions, holiday card designs, print orders,
Facebook {peeks} for patiently waiting clients and blogging.

I had a day "off" on Saturday!

No sessions scheduled. I thought maybe we could go hang out in Wichita.

Do a little Christmas shopping and go out to dinner.

Then Justin was invited on a hunting trip for the day.

So, I called up my nieces, and invited them out for a FALL photo shoot with Barrett and I!
Yep, even on my "day off"... I wanted to shoot!

This time though....I was shooting for me. Just for fun. Just because.
I even did a little landscape shooting, which I don't get to do nearly enough.

I did some quick edits on these, since I have other stuff I'm working on.
Here are some of my favorites...

 

I got a little teary-eyed while editing these. Thinking about how much Barrett loves his cousins. We're so lucky to have them just a few blocks away. They get to see each other a lot, and they are all so sweet to each other. Kylie and Emily are great girls, and they are such wonderful examples for my little man. He's years younger than them, but I can just imagine when they're all young adults, that he will be very protective of his girl cousins =)

My older brother just moved back to Kansas! So I look forward to Barrett spending more time with his cousins, Emma, Lauren and Jones too! They moved right after he was born, and we've only seen them a handful of times since then. It is so nice to have them back in the same state, so we can see them much more often!

You can see all of the images HERE

 

Happy FALL!

Enjoy the last few days of color, before the cold of winter sets in.

The Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

The Friday before Halloween, we had our annual pumpkin carving party at Brent and Megans.

Only this year....

We never really got around to the actual pumpkin carving! Oops!

Guess that's what happens when you add two new babies to the mix since last year's party.

I must say I was very bummed.
If we wouldn't have had to leave at the crack of dawn the next day for Manhattan, we would have stayed to carve!

So....we had pizza, let the kids run and play, sat by the fire, made smores, and enjoyed being together.

{some snapshots from the night}

Of course we had to end the night with a bfe baby shot!

I can't believe there are SEVEN of them now!

We all had to snuggle baby Cal too! Justin got to hold him for the first time :)

Thanks for hosting the annual gig, Brent and Megan!

Can't wait for next year! You'll have a one-year-old!

{TEN} on Tuesday

{1} Happy Birthday to ME!
My birthday's not til the end of the month...but I like to celebrate ALL month long! I have a lot of things on my wish list.
I probably won't get any of them :) but it's fun to dream!


::Apple iPad::

For one, it would just be fun to have! Barrett could play games on it and read books. It would also be an awesome thing to take along on my client meetings. Especially when I'm helping them with orders, and they could see their images right there!

::Need to Breathe CD::

I obviously love this group, and I'd really love to get their newest CD 'The Outsiders' ...Nuf said!

 ::Northface Jacket::

I've been wanting one of these for a long time, but I can't ever decide which style and color I want. So I've just never bought one. Maybe this year??? I am really liking this graphite color.

::Canon EOS 5D Mark II::

I just upgraded my camera last December, and it's totally great for what I do. BUT my business is definitely taking off, so I might be upgrading again before long! This camera would be a couple steps up from what I currently have (The 50D). The Mark II is a full-frame camera, and I would really love that!

Okay...enough birthday dreaming!
That almost could have been a {ten} on Tuesday post all on it's own!

{2} Modern Family

Anyone else watch Modern Family?!?! We LOVE this show!!

It's the highlight of my Wednesday :)

{3} KSU Game
We went to Manhattan over Halloween weekend for the KSU/OSU game. The Cats didn't get a win, but it was still fun. The game was early, so we had plenty of time to rest up at Christie's house after. Then we headed to dinner at Little Apple Brewery and out to Aggieville. It was Halloween in Aggieville, so there was entertainment everywhere! I sooo wish I had a point-and-shoot camera! There were some hilarious costumes, but nobody had a camera on them! Maybe I should add that to my birthday list too!

We celebrated Audra's 31st birthday in Aggieville....
Just as we'd done 10 years before.

Well, actually, I didn't turn 21 for another month.
So, I guess Audra and Christie might have been the only ones celebrating in Aggieville.

{4} New bedding for Barrett

The time is coming...we will be turning Barrett's room into a "big boy" room before long. That means bye-bye crib and hello big boy bed. We could have done it a long time ago, but the truth is, Barrett is my rock-start sleeper. So I've been hesitant to do anything that will mess that up.  He doesn't  climb out of his crib, he sleeps 12+ hours at night, and takes 3-4 hour naps during the day. AND, I kinda like hearing him call out "Mom, me ready get up now" every morning. I'm sure he'll do just fine though.

I'm having a hard time finding bedding. I'm a little picky. Who would have thought :) His walls are greens and browns, so it would be nice to find something that require no re-painting. I don't really want any characters, and I'd like something that will grow with him for awhile.

I just saw this in my newest Pottery Barn Kids catalog, and I really like it. 

The quilted bedding is browns and greens, and would easily grown with him for several years.

The dino print on the wall is $179!!!

I think I can create one of those myself!

This gets me excited to work on his room! Maybe after the holidays, it can be our 3rd birthday project!

{5} GAP Casting Call

A couple weeks ago I entered Barrett in the GAP Casting call for kids. They had a million + entries!
I cropped this image down and sent it in. Gap clothing wasn't a requirement, but he was wearing Gap jeans here...and I thought it showed personality!

GO HERE to vote for Barrett as a "fan favorite"

{6} Christmas Cards
I am soooo excited for my business rush to slow down after this month! I take off the month of December to catch up on my edits, update my website and blog, get tax stuff ready, and spend more time with my family. I will also get a chance to work on OUR family Christmas cards! I've got the design started, and I love it! I'll have {peeks} to share once they're done and mailed out! Hoping to get them out in early December!


{7} Trew Luv

Just ordered these two adorable headbands from the Trew Luv Etsy shop. I can't wait to try them on some clients! They are on elastic bands, and fit newborn up to adult!

{8} Consigment Sale
Our October Girl's Night was a trip to Wichita. We (Audra, Roiann, Kelsey & I) went to dinner and then to a big consignment sale. Megan didn't make the trip, since she was due any day with Callum! I was excited, as always, to find lots of great goodies for Barrett, and have a night with my girls!

Here is some of the stuff I came home with! Lots of long-sleeve shirts, pj's, shoes, jackets, and undies. I wanted jeans for him, but struck out. Hoping to find some of those next month, when we hit up another sale!

I was pretty excited about the shoes. They were both in great shape! The Gymboree ones are a little small, but I couldn't pass them up for $3.00. I'll put them up, and use them if we have another boy. The Merrill shoes were exciting too! I knew Justin would love them, since he has a pair too! It will be a few years before Barrett fits into them, but they were a steal!

{9} Before & Afters
These were popular last time, so I thought I'd share a few more. It was FUN to get emails from complete strangers that read my blog and enjoyed me sharing these. I was happy to send them my tips and recipes :) I wish more would come out of the woodwork and comment, so I know they're out there reading. BUT I understand. There are a TON of blogs I read, and never comment on.

{Obviously removed the drool, and then ran my usual recipe}

{Chesney is beautiful, so her edits were easy-peasy! Just tamed a few flyaway hairs in this one, brightened her eyes, and warmed it up}

{love the colors in this image...got rid of some hair laying funny on her arm, and a bit of her dress strap sticking out under her arm. MY bad for not catching that in the moment.}

{Didn't want Mister Hayes to fall, so Mama was right there, then I made her disappear!}

{Another one of Chloe, in another hat. Cropped and tried to even out the shadows on her face}

{10} Matt Maher
I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it! Looking for a couple new songs to use with my Mini Session galleries, I came across it again. It was perfect!

Matt Maher::Hold us Together

Happy Tuesday!!!