Aromatic Project

Disclaimer: I'm not sure what the duration of these things is gonna be, but for now they smell awfully good!
Materials used:
oranges (get the cheapest you can find - $2.50 at Wal-Mart for these)
cloves (super-sized courtesy of BJ's)
thumb tacks or push pins (what is the difference?)
band-aids (unless you aren't as wimpy as me)
The band aids help push in the cloves. Use the push pin to make holes for the cloves. I found that three holes was my max before I lost sight of the holes amongst the orange dimples. Make different designs - mine were not as fancy as some I've seen...or make a smiley face like Lulu did!Bonus: On chilly days, I like to simmer (bring to a soft boil first) a large pot of water with one orange sliced into rings, add some cloves, a bay leaf, a shake of cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice. Your house will smell like you've been baking all day! A lovely treat without a lot of work.
*WARNING: Be sure to keep an eye on your pot. You can add water if it gets low, but eventually you'll be able to tell that you've gotten all the oomph from your spices that your going to get.

Happy Birthday!

Our little girl turned 7 today.
Born in Russia.
Small, but determined.
Her fiestiness has grown with her.
This is her favorite gift from today, Hannah. A purring lion cub from Nanny.

Happy Birthday, Lulu!

Inspiration

I have been so inspired by the talented photographers over at Lens Us Together, that I have to share what they have motivated me to try and link you up directly to some of their awesome sites!
Some brief background as we start. I value my sleep. With two young 'uns who must be at the bus stop by 7:00 am, my night owl tendencies and a husband who travels Monday through Friday, I covet my sleep. But after seeing the shots being taken by these ladies, I was determined to get out and catch the early rising sun and the fabulous light which comes with it. Yep, I spent two hours one day shooting landscapes and nature shots when I could've been comfy cozy back in bed.
Look what I would have missed:These shots were inspired by Mary over at In a Soft Light and Simple Things.
She is my Landscape Idol. Back when I got my first camera, I was crazy for landscapes, but extreme lighting situations befuddled me. I'm still befuddled, but now I'm digitally learning how to cover up, I mean correct my mistakes. Back to Mary...her photographs have such a dreamy, peaceful feel to them. Check out this one and this one to see a couple of my favorites. She also has a feature called Mosaic Monday on her third blog, Little Red House. I've lost a few morning hours clicking on the links of everybody who comes there to share their own mosaics.
Next up is Caroline from NoWordz and Whimsical Whispers. Her photographs are breath taking! I love her use of textures and the way she finds beauty in everyday objects.
Be sure to check out the black and white of apples on NoWordz which is just awesome (but I can't link up for some reason)! I mean, apples...really? I love it.
I took these:
after seeing this incredible photo of Caroline's.
She also has her first book for sale! You can preview it here or click on the "Buy the Book!" button at the top of her NoWordz site. Talk about a great gift for a photography enthusiast! Are you listening, honey?

Then there is 30 Days of Gratitude as Cora's theme for November on her blog, Heartfelt and Homemade. I had every intention of following Cora's lead on this one, but did I mention how much I love and need sleep? I have so enjoyed reading her posts each day. On some particularly long, rainy days, I have been pulled out of a funk by reading one of Cora's gratitudes. One of my favorites can be found here, but I highly recommend reading them all to find your personal favorite! Of course, each gratitude is accompanied by one of Cora's beautiful photographs.
Here is my precious Ella yet again. You can thank Kate at A Picture A Day for inspiring me to share my dear Ella more often. You see, in addition to her fabulous photos, you will see her fabulous dog, George. Ella was getting a wee bit jealous.

Finally, to see some ridiculously amazing family portraits, you need to visit Michelle (Shell) over at Wildflower Studio Blog. She is one smart cookie - picking a winery for a family session so mom and dad can do some tasting while the kids are busy being photographed. I have no pictures to show you - go visit her site while I pour some wine. See... she did inspire me!

Thank you ladies, for sharing your gifts and talents, for inspiring me to try new things and to look at things in a new light!

Ann - Maternity Shoot

It was such an honor to photograph our friends/neighbors who have since welcomed their baby girl into the world. Ann was just so relaxed and flexible regarding the scheduling (two bouts of the flu hit our house the week we were to shoot) and was wonderful to photograph.
Here's a sampling of our shoot:
Photographing adults was sooo much easier than children. Cooperative and highly photogenic subjects - what else could I ask for?
I think their happiness is so obvious in these shots and we couldn't be happier for all three of them! Congratulations Ann and Paul!