snap shop: week two

I finished my second (and almost third) week of Snapshop, the online photography class I've been taking. We learned the basics of shooting in manual, and I was surprised to find it hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm feeling more confident every day. These were all taken with a Canon T2i (with kit lens) in manual mode, using natural light.

For those who asked, the class I'm taking is through Ashley Ann Photography. You can find info on the class here. She will be offering several more this year, and I highly recommend taking it if you're interested in learning the basics of photography using a DSLR. If you haven't heard of Ashley Ann before, you should also check out her blog. She is a believer, has an adorable family and home, and her photography is simply beautiful.

Vintage Velvet Goodness

That's right people! This baby is vintage, velvet, and floral!! If only it was mine to keep. Sigh.... Marisa lent it to me through Flock Together and I think I showed some SERIOUS restraint returning it to her. I may have worn it more than once before doing so. But hello! Three of my favorite things all rolled into one gorgeous package?! How could I not fall in love with this beauty? Not even the slightly large fit could detract from it's perfection. I simply added a belt and it drew in the waist just right!

 So remember that one time I had breakfast at Tiffany's? Well, I got invited back to preview a new exclusive collection today! My morning is off to a beautiful start! Promise they'll be pics to come :)

 

Is everyone else as ready for the weekend as me? I swear the work week gets longer every week and I can never be satisfied with sleep. I think humans should hibernate. I'm boycotting this whole work and being social thing until the weather decides to be reasonable. Sounds fair, right?

 

 Outfit Details:

Dress - Borrowed from Marisa

Tights - Forever Young

Boots - Forever Young

Headband - Target

White Out (Flock Together)

Hello Dears!

I'm over at Flock Together today sharing my take on this lovely vintage polka-dot dress of Hannah's. Come check it out!

P.S. Thanks for all the sweet birthday wishes for Ethan on my last post :)

UPDATE : I'm being featured as Pretty Of The Week over at Get Your Pretty On! Thanks Alison!! :)

(also linking to WIWW and Rolled Up Pretty)

the first haircut:

Sunday was a big day for us. I got to give Elliott his first haircut! A baby's first haircut is a big deal anyway, but it was even more special that I got to do the cutting. Gary held him, and he was such a good boy. It only took a few little snips, but that's all it took to transform him from baby to big kid. I just can't get over it! 

Looking forward to giving him many more haircuts, even when he's a little older and has a preference. I hope he'll always enjoy having a mom that's his hairstylist. I promise to treat him like I treat all my clients that sit in my chair, with an end goal of giving him a style that is his own, even if it means a rad mohawk or fashion mullet ;)

Ethan's Birthday (& winners!)

As I mentioned on Friday, my dear Hubby's birthday was Saturday. He turned 23 on the 23rd! (I hadn't heard this until just barely but apparently when you turn the age of the day of the month you were born on it's your "Golden Birthday" -supposedly your best birthday ever)

Anyway, since I didn't really have anything ready to post today and because I think my man is pretty cute and he doesn't make it on the blog enough, I decided I'd share some photos from his big day!

I made this card for him. I like to hand-make my cards, but they seem to always be for girls... I think I did a pretty good job making it look manly? P.S. - I'm so clever, I folded up a $20 bill like a shirt for him to use towards a band tee at the concert!

We had Lunch/Dinner at one of Ethan's favorite local restaurants, Chubby's. They have some pretty cute decor, but we found this sign kind of funny (and racist...). I got my usual, a fresh-made veggie burger and he got some meat with more meat on top like he loves to do :) (blech!)

Next we stopped for Coffee on the way to the concert since we had some time to kill. I had an amazing caramel pecan latte! But I forgot that I had a Pepsi at the restaurant just before that...caffeine overload!!

I thought this building was pretty cool. We saw it on our walk from the car to the concert venue. I wish we had time to take pics in front of it!

And then Ethan's favorite part of the night that really made it his best birthday yet:

He was already pretty stoked that one of his favorite bands, 10 years, was playing on his birthday but then he got a chance to meet the lead singer, Jesse Hasek after the show and get his new t-shirt signed and that REALLY made his night!! It was a really good show and I love this venue because it's smaller so you get such an intimate performance.

And since this is a style blog...here's what I wore to the concert:

I tried to keep it simple and wear a few layers since it was a blizzard that night and we had to wait outside for quite a bit before the concert started.

Outfit Details:

Jeans - Forever Young

Top - Papaya

Chambray Top - H&M

Leather Jacket - T.J. Maxx

 

And the WINNERS of the $30 JUNIEblake  gift cards are....

#71 - Kym Nye

#10 - April Hansen

CONGRATS Girls!! I'll be emailing you ASAP.

(click here to see the rafflecoptor results)

 

our growing boy:

Since I didn't do a monthly post for thirteen months, I thought I'd share a little of what our big toddler has been up to since his first birthday:

-Weighs 21 pounds 6 ounces, creeping up on tripling his birth weight!
-Walking everywhere- it's so fun, but it also makes me sad because it reminds me he is not a baby anymore.
-Favorite foods- bananas, berries, cheese, beans, and any flavor squeeze pouch (that's how I'm able to sneak in the veggies!)
-Loves to share his food and paci with us.
-Weaned to one bottle (whole cow's milk) a day at bedtime.
-Drinking about 22 oz. of milk a day.
-Talking lots! Most of the things he says are people's names (Momma, Dada, "Tia", Papa, Laura, Lola), but some new ones include banana, outside, and milk.
-Can't help but dance when his jams come on.... Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars seem to be particularly effective :)
-So affectionate! Hugs for everyone, even Maggie.
-Still napping twice a day and sleeping 12 hours at night (!!!)
-Still in size 3 diapers and shoes and 12 month clothes.
-Moved from daycare to a mother's day out program. We're still adjusting.
-Still battling asthma, and ear infections, with newly added eczema, yay!
-12 teeth- only 4 to go, then we'll get a break until the 2 year molars, praise the Lord!

This has been a challenging month, between cutting molars, steroids that bring out an evil alter ego, antibiotics that create the most dreadful diaper rash, adjusting to our new childcare situation, and fighting ear infections and asthma attacks, we've been through it! But, our little boy is a trooper, and is still a source of constant joy and blessings in our lives. Praising God for almost 14 months with him!

Deer, Dear

Ah, Friday! How I love the end of the week. And this weekend is sure to be a good one! Tomorrow is my Dear Hubby's birthday and one of his favorite bands happens to be playing! Lucky duck. So we'll probably be grabbing a bite to eat in celebration and then heading to Salt Lake for a good show! Sunday will most likely be spent unwinding and watching the Oscars. The perfect mix of excitement and relaxation.

My lovely little sister gave this cute deer sweater to me. I was swooning over it while sitting in her room one day and she surprised me by telling me I could have it since she didn't wear it enough. I LOVE it! It's a couple sizes too big so I'll probably have it taken in when I get around to it.. but for now it's over-sized and comfy :)

So funny story, a couple weeks ago when we took these photos, we decided to drive up the canyon a little ways just as the sun was coming down. We pulled into a snow-covered parking lot, took some photos and then got back into the car to go, but the car wouldn't budge. The tires just kept spinning and spinning and it was FREEZING cold! Ethan got out and tried pushing and even shoveling the snow out from under the tires with the ice scraper but we didn't get much further. We got kind of worried since we had no cell service in the canyon and there hadn't been any cars passing by but a few minutes later a nice man saw our hazard lights and stopped to help us. With the two guys pushing and me pumping the gas peddle we finally made it out! It was kinda scary though! No more snowy adventures for my little car!

Outfit Details:

Top & Necklace - Target

Sweater - Forever 21 (gift from sister)

Skirt - Downeast

Tights - H&M

Booties - Rue 21

>>Don't forget to enter the JUNIEblake Giveaway! Monday is the last day<<

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

It's not just this sweater I love, I'm obsessing over all things animals right now. (especially foxes) so I'm linking up to Falling for Friday with a few picks from Etsy (mostly jewelry). My mom would love that little sea turtle necklace!

(also linking to Casual Friday @ Two Thirty-Five Designs)

snapshop: week one

So, the past two weeks I've been taking an online photography class to learn how to take better pictures with our new camera. The first week focused on some rules of composition. I enjoyed practicing with my favorite little model. Here are a few of my favorites:

  

These were all taken in automatic, using natural light, but this week I've been learning about how to shoot in manual. I haven't had a good chance to practice yet, but I'm looking forward to playing with it this weekend. So stay tuned for more on Elliott's modeling skills, and my photography endeavor.