Christmas Card

This is one of the Christmas cards I made on Shutterfly! 
It isn't the actual one I'm sending out, but I do like them a lot!

Retro Plaid Christmas Card
Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.
View the entire collection of cards.

Have you made yours yet?!



Things I learned this week including that hipsters are hysterical



This was the week where I wasn't retrenched then I sort of was and then I sort of wasn't and then I definitely wasn't. What a rush.

I've learned a few things along the way...

1. Laughter really is the best remedy. Check out Unhappy Hipsters to see why I still have a smile on my face despite the dreadful week I've had... they are so funny (even though they clearly don't get the joke!).

2. Also keeping me smiling is the resillience of children. Maxi-Taxi's "Battleaxe Fairies" made me realise that whatever happens, self-belief and creativity will get our kids through most things. Just like they've seen their parents through the worst from time to time.

3. Change is good, change is appreciated... but sometimes it sucks the very life out of you.

4. I know it's 'back', I know it can look good, but I just can't like wallpaper.

5. Eating four pieces of a chocolate, maple syrup, kit kat and marshmallow Christening cake is not very condusive to weight loss. The scary thing is, I don't think I really learned this. I think I will probably do the same again next time I encounter the same oozing, lucious, sticky sweetness... darn!


How was your week? Did you learn anything new to share?


[Image by Crisobal Palma via Unhappy Hipsters]

Scenic Drive

I love my drive home, especially in the Fall. Maryland is so beautiful in the Fall. I think we're nearing the end of all the pretty colorful trees so I decided to take a few shots before all the leaves have fallen.

I just love how the setting sun warms the trees and barns along this road. It's always a nice view.

I also love this little girl that rode in my car the other day. 
My beautiful niece Livi Grace.
(Do not worry we were at a complete stop when this picture was taken!) 
*I used Pioneer Woman's Seventies action on the above & below pictures (I'm loving it)!

And finally, I retouched this photo a bit..

To this...
Gives it a kind of haunted feel, right? I think it has more 'emotion' than the first photo now and puts the focus more on the birdhouse too.
Which do you like better?


P.S.

The wonderful Ashley Sisk is hosting her first giveaway for one of her beautifully edited photos! She does some amazing work! Check her out! Click the button below to enter!

More Wintery Woodland

Part two...



Yamba is 4 hours south of Brisbane...on the NSW coast. 
 Yamba is relatively untouched ~ famous for it's charming little village, surf breaks, spotless beaches, fresh seafood and the historic lighthouse that is perched high above the stunning Main beach...



He tells us he wants to swim like a dolphin, be fast like a shark and his favourite friends are the fish, whales and "dolph". He really is turning into such a water boy...we can't get him out of the bath, every time we step into the garden he asks for the hose, swimming lessons are a laugh {gulping water along the way} the water was like ice in Yamba...that didn't stop him!


That cute little hand and that fun shirt fabric makes me smile...and yes part two had to happen ~ we had so much beach fun! 


'Show it Like it Is' Challenge... are YOU brave enough?

I love all those magazine and blog features where you get to peek into somebodys home to see how they live... doesn't everybody? Its inspiring and I get lots of ideas for my own home through peeking into others'....

But isn't it amazing how shiny and spotless their kitchen is; how their bedroom looks like an Adairs catalogue; how artfully the kids toys are arranged about their designer playroom?

We all know its a facade; nobody lives like that ALL the time... do they?

I will be the first to admit I prefer my home to look like it stepped straight out of the pages of Home Beautiful, and sometimes it does. For about five minutes. But it is next to impossible to maintain for more than an hour... at least while the kids are up!

And so, my friends, I'd like to extend a global challenge to:

Show it like it is when it isn't a showhome!


I know. You'll need to be very brave. But I feel you are up to the challenge! And just to prove I'm not afraid to air my own dirty laundry (so to speak), here's a little peek into my designer kitchen a couple of mornings ago:



I'll admit. It kinda depressed me a little. When my husband leaves for work each morning I always have a little cleaning up to do. But this particular morning, it really took the cake. Last night's dishes piled everywhere, food on the floor, breakfast ingredients all over the bench, coffee-splash up the glass splashback, bits of paper, half-filled bottles of milk, a box of garden round-up and snail pellets and god knows what else staring at me tauntingly, daring me to ignore the spectacle and risk an unannounced drop-in  (the horror!) by a friend or family member. Because we all know unexpected drop-ins only occur when your house looks like the above, right? Clearly, my home was not being photographed for Home Beautiful THAT day!

And now, dear friends, I'd like to extend the 'show it like it is' challenge to YOU!

Just to be extra cheeky, I'm targeting a few yummy-mummies to play along:

Kristi from The Way I See It
Jess from Life's Little Whispers
Tracey from Procrastination Mama
Lizeylou from It's Lizzy Lou
Kalen from K Loves B

Be brave, girls... and if anyone else wants to play, please please do! x

cards for the loved ones



head over here 
for Here we go Loopy Lou's 
Christmas card & gift tag range 
& be quick before they all sell out!


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)