sugarbowl art company

cooking

2012-01-18T15:27:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite daily photos so far:

Cora is wearing a little apron that was mine when I was little. I think my mom made it. Cora loves to make cookies and cupcakes in her little kitchen. She has a little oven mitt and everything.

I'm doing pretty good on my daily photos so far: I just now spent a little time uploading/photoshopping/organizing all of them. I need to be better about taking more pictures everyday. I am bad about getting in the one photo of the day and calling it quits, when I should be taking lots, then I could pick the best one.

I have the best intentions, you see. I am usually so excited that I remember to take one at all that I stop there!

new stairs!

2012-01-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

You'll have to forgive my grainy phone photo, but I couldn't wait to post a picture of our new stairs! Already the room looks brighter! Light comes down from upstairs and filters down into the living room. Even in the state that it is in, it looks so much better than our living room (aka "the cave") did before. I can't wait to see how it progresses from here:

Hope you have a good weekend--stay warm everyone!

currently reading

2012-01-11T15:38:00.004-05:00

Oh my, this is such a good book! I started reading The Forgotten Garden before Christmas, and honestly, it took me a while to get into it. I wouldn't pick it up all that often. (A lot of that probably had to do with it being Christmas time and things were just busy.) Once I was into the meat of the story, it was hard to put down! It is not the easiest read: there are lots of characters, and it jumps around from past to present time.

It is worth the extra reading "muscle" it takes though! A very mysterious story about long lost relatives, travels overseas, gardens (of course) art, secrets and storytelling. I am about 20 pages from being finished. I'm trying to savor the last little bit as the book comes to a resolution. Wondering what I should read next...

stairway

2012-01-09T13:58:00.002-05:00

Are you tired of looking at demolition pictures? If so, I really do apologize. This blog is a great way for me to record (if only for myself!) the progress of our house. Today, right now, the stairway looks like this:

I can't believe how much of a difference it makes in the entire room just freeing those stairs from their old hiding place behind the wall! I can't wait to see what happens this week. Our contractor is coming tomorrow to start work on the stairs. So excited. I hope to show more progress this week!

the photo-of-the-day project

2012-01-06T14:32:00.001-05:00

I have decided to embark on the "photo-of-the-day project" once again this year. I did pretty good with it last year, until I hit August. Then, I was in first trimester of my pregnancy and lost all motivation. It happens, I'm trying not to beat myself up about it. I still took tons of pictures, and that, of course, is the point.

The hardest part of this project for me isn't remembering to take the pictures, it is in the organization end of things. The date on my camera isn't set right, so the days are always off and I can never remember what day I took what picture. (The simplest remedy to this would be to look in my camera manual and change the date. There's a thought...) So far, I am up to date on my photo organization this year. Smile. It is only the 6th!

Then I don't know what I should do with all these pictures. I think I would like to make a Blurb book at the end of this year. I have ordered several books from this company, and I have always been really happy with them. That seems to be the simplest thing for me to do. I bought a Project Life kit last year, but that approach needs to be updated all the time, which I struggle with. So many people do awesome things using that kit, but I don't think I can do it.

So far I am using this blog as inspiration (Oh my gosh I love all the photos on this blog! The composition of them is so interesting, beautiful lighting, etc.) and labeling every photo with the date and a little title. Then, at the end of the year I can drag all the pictures into a Blurb book and it will super easy. I love super easy. I am trying not to get too caught up in the little details that usually deter my projects: obsessing over the size of the font in each one, etc. I just need to do it!

Here's today's picture:

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Hope you take some pictures!

rubble

2012-01-04T20:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday there was a small pile of rubble on my kitchen floor:

Thankfully, when I went to check out the house tonight it was gone. Demolition isn't bad after all the mess is cleared! Our living room is wide open now, and I can start to see the big picture. Big picture days are good, aren't they?

a quilt for baby

2012-01-03T19:12:00.000-05:00

I love to make baby quilts. I have a certain pattern that I think I have made about seven times. Two for my own babies, and five for other babies. I could probably make it with my eyes closed. It is always so fun to go and pick out fabrics for those quilts.

When I first thought about our new baby girl's room, I thought I would paint it a really light powder pink. Then I got my latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens and saw a beautiful grouping of purple and lavender paint samples. Hmmm... Maybe lavender.

For Christmas my sister-in-law gave the new baby a beautiful lavender dress. (Thanks Laci!) That sealed it. Lavender it is. I decided to go with a grayed lavender--so pretty and soothing. Last week my mom and I loaded up the kids for a trip to the quilt store. They were thrilled. Don't worry. They got Chic Fil A afterwards, so they were OK.
This is what I came home with:

Really different than what I usually pick out. I was inspired by the colors of this particular quilt. So pretty. Can't wait to get it started!

the "before"

2012-01-02T15:47:00.001-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year! As I mentioned in the last post, I love January. This particular January arrived with a bang--or sledgehammer I guess. Demolition on our downstairs started yesterday. Nothing like ringing in the new year with a little destruction. Both my boys (Andrew and Max) enjoyed it quite a bit.

These "before" pictures are really for me--but I thought you all would all want to see our living room progress too. Let's go on a tour of our living room!

When you walk in our front door, you are immediately in the living room. (Something that is not really handy when it comes to shoe/coat storage, but that's how it is.) If you look to the left, there is a door that goes to the stairway. This whole wall is coming down!!

More of that same wall:

This is the view from the middle of the room looking towards the front door.

This is the opposite wall. (Why yes, our TV is ancient and small!)

Ugly black ceiling fan! (I apologize if you like black ceiling fans...) I am blaming the embarrassing amount of dust on the drywall activity from upstairs.

This is the doorway that leads to the next room. (This wall has already been knocked out!) We use this room for a home office/toy room. This combination is not the greatest. One of the things about the remodel that I am looking forward to most is a dedicated office room. Possibly with a lock. Mamma needs one room where the kids can't go!

The wall of toys! Andrew made this cubby unit thing for us--I love it. It will be moving upstairs to the new playroom/library room. I think it will be so pretty up there!

I can't believe I'm showing you my desk. It is quite the disaster. I tend to pile things. I also tend to pile things up high where (hopefully) my lovely children can't reach them. I am successful about 50% of the time. Hopefully this beautiful desk will be prettier in a child-free room of its own. Side note on the desk: Andrew bought this at auction when we were dating. He showed it to me in a pile of pieces in the back of his truck. I thought it was a bad purchase. He was right: it refinished nicely.

This is the corner of the office room/playroom. The hallway leads back to our bedrooms and bathroom. I'm not sure what it will look like once the wall is all knocked down, but I'm sure it will be good!

This is the unfortunate meeting of putty colored paneling and a drop ceiling. When we moved in the paneling was wood colored, we painted it the putty color. It helped a little bit. I am going to try and branch out from my putty colored tendency when we re-paint!

There you have it! The tour of the living room before. The demolition started yesterday, so now it already looks a lot different. The kids and I are staying at my mom's house until things are livable again. Can't wait to see this old farmhouse transform!

a very good christmas

2011-12-27T14:58:00.002-05:00

We had a really good Christmas. I hope that all of you did too. There were dinosaurs and Cabbage Patch dolls, Legos and books. Max and Cora were showered with love and new toys. Happy kids were they:

That was my best Christmas morning picture. Ho hum. Better luck next year Mommy!

All the decorations are all packed away, because in a couple short weeks the major demolition and remodeling of our house will begin! So excited. (And a little nervous.) The living room/stairway is about to look a lot different!

January is always one of my most favorite times of the year--and I am especially looking forward to all the new things this year. New year, remodeled home, new baby...

Lots of work ahead!

happy birthday cora

2011-12-20T21:15:00.002-05:00

Last week we celebrated Cora's second birthday. Whenever I would ask her if she was going to have a birthday she would say: "Party! Cake!" It was fun to see her excited.

On the morning of her little party we made a cake. It is a little difficult to bake things with the kids, but they love it. Sometimes I long for time to do a project by myself, but when I see the pictures later of the kids working on the projects with me it is worth all the extra time it takes. Cora used to ignore any activity in the kitchen, but now she wants to "help". Here she is stirring her cake:

I'm sure Max is giving her some sort of lesson on cake making.

As soon as we lit the candles she was ready to blow them out. Sing fast everyone! So cute.

Happy birthday baby.

tree time

2011-12-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

We got our tree! Last Friday we bundled the kids up and headed to the tree farm. Max told me that morning that cutting down the tree was one of his favorite traditions. Me too buddy. I didn't think I would love it as much as I do.

Max loved the trees that were the same size as him. Someday it would be fun to bring one of these little "baby" trees home!

Looking...

Here's our tree! There were so many pretty ones, it didn't take long to find a good one. (Note how the kids are dressed--it was cold! Another reason why it didn't take too long. Cora is looking a little bit wide. Gotta love the snow pants.)

Everybody under the tree!

The annual photo. Wouldn't it be fun to frame each year's photo and get them all out at Christmas time? That is probably a project I will never get around to, but it would be so neat!

This photo would be a lot better if there was a tree in the little cart thing. Darn. Oh well, still love it!

hello drywall

2011-12-08T23:10:00.001-05:00

This is now the sight that greets you as you walk up our stairway:

So wonderful to see all that drywall up! I took lots of pictures today, but they all looked similar because my lens isn't wide enough to get pictures of entire rooms. Every picture ends up looking like a white wall with a window--doesn't tell you too much. It is so exciting to see exactly how each room will look! I really need to start thinking about colors for all these white walls...

I apologize for the lack of blogging, but the craziness that is December has taken over! We've had auctions and church programs, photo work, shopping, etc. The only thing that I honestly haven't done much of yet is decorating. Max informed me that ALL the kids in his church class have their Christmas trees...we are way behind! Hopefully, weather permitting, we will head out tomorrow as a family to find and cut down this year's tree!

advent calendar

2011-12-01T10:01:00.000-05:00

I love advent calendars. There are so many different and creative ways to do them! Max is old enough now to understand the idea of counting down to something, so I knew I wanted to have my act together and make a little advent calendar for him and Cora. So, in typical Abby fashion, I started this calendar last night at 9:00.

It honestly didn't take too long. I was going to photograph the whole process for you, but it was dark, and pictures with just the flash are not pretty. Plus, it was pretty simple, so I thought I could just explain it!

1. I have a big roll of plain, regular weight brown craft paper. (Thanks Carissa...I think you gave this paper roll to me. I use it for all kinds of stuff!) I cut 50 rectangles that measured 5x7 inches.

2. Next I used some acrylic paint and number stamps to mark the days on the little rectangles.

3. I made little sandwiches out of one piece of plain paper and one that had a number on it. I used the sewing machine to stitch around the sides and bottom of each one to make a little pocket. Cute!!

Andrew helped me hang it up when we were done. We actually just put two nails in the wall and strung a ribbon between the two. (Our living room walls are coming down in January, so this was the easiest thing to do!) I had a package of miniature clothespins that we used to clip the little pockets to the ribbon.

We had to hang it high enough to keep the kids out of it. I did give them a little speech this morning about being good and not peeking into the pockets. We'll see how they do!

pure joy

2011-11-29T21:49:00.001-05:00

If someone asked me to find a picture for the word "joy" I don't think I could find a better one than this:

He was so happy enjoying the first big fat snowflakes of the season. I was so happy watching him.

santa

2011-11-29T09:25:00.001-05:00

We had a Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering for Andrew's mom's side of the family (hello Carroll family!) in Ohio on Saturday. Santa always makes an appearance. I can't remember if I have blogged about him before, but he is a good Santa!

Anyway, I was anxious to see how Cora would react. Max gets it: he knows Santa brings presents, so he was into it. Well, right before Santa's arrival, the kids broke a Christmas pinata. (Funny, I know.) If you know Cora you know that she LOVES candy. LOVES it. She really didn't care too much about Santa. She had a bag full of candy. You should have seen her. She was relishing the fact that everyone else was watching Santa and she could eat candy as fast as possible before being discovered:

We did get her up on Santa's lap, but only if she could take her candy bag with her. This photo makes it look like she and Santa are in deep discussion about her gift. Nope. She just dropped her Tootsie Roll in his lap and was looking for it. Sorry Santa.

Max, as I said, was fine. He has quite the list for Santa this year.

Love these Santa pictures!

coming right along

2011-11-22T07:44:00.001-05:00

Our upstairs remodel project is coming right along! It is so exciting! I wanted to share a few pictures today. It is hard to really get a good shot that shows a lot of the space, but I did what I could. All the rooms are framed in, there is insulation and a furnace, as well as electricity! How about Max looks like a big kid in this first picture--crazy!

Things will really start to take shape as the drywall starts going up. I need to seriously start thinking about colors for all the rooms. Big decisions!

a little cold

2011-11-17T22:22:00.001-05:00

I don't think I'm ready for the cold yet. So not ready! I don't think it matters whether we are ready or not, winter will be here before we know it.

I don't think that children feel the cold like adults. Cora and Max could run around forever in the cold, noses running, fingers freezing, and they don't care! My art studio tends to be a little on the freezing side. I am usually huddled around a little space heater while my art students happily paint/draw in short sleeves. (Funny: the bathroom at the studio is especially cold. I don't think the heat is ducted in there at all. This makes the toilet seat extremely cold! I always warn people before they go in there that it might be a little shocking!)

I think I might just have to treat myself to a new pair of mittens and a hat to ease myself into these cooler temperatures. It can't hurt. Cora loves to wear her new winter gear:

Here's to hats!

And gloves.

And scarves.

And layers and layers of clothes...

PS: This one is for you, Ann!

oh my gosh, it's friday!

2011-11-11T10:07:00.001-05:00

I feel like I say this a lot, but time is really going fast! I had all intentions of blogging earlier in the week--honestly, I did!--then I blink my eyes and it is already Friday! Not much for today, but I did want to check in and let you know that we are all still here!

Around here things are great: the house renovation is moving right along as the electrical and heating/cooling stuff is getting done. So exciting. If time doesn't move too fast for me, I will post some photos next week!

Just for fun, here is Cora in my first attempt at pigtails:

I hope everyone had a great week!

lofthouse cookies - take one

2011-11-04T08:48:00.001-04:00

Raise your hand if you like Lofthouse cookies! You know, the little cake-like ones with all the icing and sprinkles. I love them. Andrew loves them. Of course the kids love them. I recently found a couple cookie recipes that claimed to be similar to Lofthouse. Game on, let's bake!

Click here for the first recipe that Max and I tried. (Max is my assistant on all things cooking. You should see him crack an egg...he is really good!)

The verdict: When I first made them I was hopeful. The cookies came out really light and cake-like. They were super easy to make because you just rolled the dough into balls and flattened them slightly on the cookie sheet before they went in the oven. At first I thought the icing was totally wrong. It was a little more grainy than I wanted. Plus, I think we had ours a little too runny. I was feeling a little bummed. The funny thing is about these cookies is that they age really well! A couple days later they tasted better than when they were super fresh. So, although they weren't exactly what I was looking for, they were still really good.

I think we will try the other recipe I found, and see how it is. I'm sure my assistant will be excited.

off on off on...

2011-11-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

Cora has recently discovered that she can reach the light switch in her room from her crib. I love listening to her on the monitor before I go get her in the morning--and it is so funny to hear the flip of the little switch. Then I go in and ask: "Cora, did you turn on your light?" "No", she'll say. Smiles. She turns it off, and on, and off and on...

Yesterday after her nap I opened up all the curtains and captured her in the act. I've been a little lazy with my big camera around home lately...sometimes it seems like a lot of work to run get it. Years from now I will probably forget when she learned to turn her bedroom light on and off.

This will be the picture that will help me remember.

trick-or-treat

2011-10-31T21:26:00.000-04:00

Trick-or-treat! We took Max and Cora trick-or-treating last night...and they both seemed to really love it. What child would not love going door to door and collecting candy? Now for the costumes. Very early on (I think it was sometime this summer) Max decided that he wanted to be a "cowboy monster superhero". Hmmmm. I didn't know how we were going to pull that off. I really tried to talk him into being a wolf, so that then Cora could be little red riding hood. Bad idea mom. Cowboy monster superhero it is. We decided that Cora could go as a Wild Thing--from Where the Wild Things Are. My mom made this adorable costume for Max a couple years ago, and I decided that it needed to see at least one more Halloween! (Plus, if you know Cora, you know that it very fitting.)

If looks could kill:

Mom, you did a great job helping us with this costume again this year. Max loved how it turned out!

Love this.

Oh my gosh, it's me! I gave the camera to Andrew so the kids would look back and remember that I went trick-or-treating too. Those Wild Thing ears are too much.

happy halloween!

2011-10-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

Max and I just finished our jack-o-lanterns a little bit ago. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! Tonight we are taking the kids trick-or-treating for the first time--I'm sure they will be excited about all the candy!

Hope you have a fun and safe Halloween!

miss mila

2011-10-28T09:40:00.002-04:00

I have one last photo to share with you for "picture week"! On Wednesday, my friend Carissa's sweet baby girl turned three months old. The kids and I went to their house for a little playdate and picture taking. At first I didn't think we would get much--my kids wanted to be in Mila's pictures really bad. (We did take a couple of all the kids together.) Luckily Carissa was able to distract the older children with snacks and a little TV.

That left me to spend time with this little one:

So sweet. If I wasn't already pregnant, this girl would give me a serious case of baby fever.

Thank you so much for stopping by and looking at all my pictures this week! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

in the gardens

2011-10-27T07:16:00.000-04:00

Just this past Saturday I ventured to Indy to see my beautiful niece Callie--and take some pictures of course. We went to the gardens at the IMA for our little photo shoot. It was so beautiful there! It helped that it was an awesome day as far as the weather went. Lucky!

Dear Callie,
Does that outfit come in my size? Seriously. Too cute. Jeggings, boots, sweater...I can't stand it.

I love love love this. Hugs.

I have taken a bunch a pictures of Callie--newborn, three months, six months, and now nine months. I love having the opportunity to photograph her so much. Plus, I get to hang out with some of my favorite people. Bonus.

Thanks guys--love you.

picture week continues

2011-10-26T09:05:00.000-04:00

It was a dark and stormy day... Not really, but rain threatened on the day that these pictures were taken for the Cox family. I watched the radar all day, and what looked early on to be a wash out turned out to be a windy and overcast day with just a few big rain drops. (I love overcast days for photos!) Theresa said that she wanted to get family pictures taken before her boys got any older. Wish granted!

I can't tell you how much I love these pictures in the grass. I think I shall order myself a copy!

Hey Mom and Dad...looking good! I love rustic settings...the more weeds and peeling paint the better.

Cox family: I can't wait to show you the rest of your pictures!

family

2011-10-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

I have known the Hardacre family for a long time: Rachel and I became friends in elementary school. (Was it 4th grade, Rachel? I can't remember!) It was great to be able to catch up with them and photograph their family. They don't look cold in the pictures, but trust me, it was a cold and windy day! The heat wave of early October was officially over. I hope you enjoy this little "sneak peek" Hardacre family!

I just love this.

Baby Abram was a trooper through this whole session. He had to be so cold, but he didn't seem to mind!

Love those leaves...they make the best background.

Thanks again Hardacres!

sisters and such

2011-10-24T07:25:00.001-04:00

I think I am going to call this week on my blog "picture week". I have had some great photo sessions this month, and would like to share them with you! I had all intentions of sharing some photos last week, but both Max and Cora came down with something... Needless to say, we spent lots of cuddle time on the couch, and very little time doing anything else. Thankfully they are much better now! Two sick kids = not fun times.

Early this month I had a great session with two lovely ladies and their beautiful mamma. So fun. These were taken during the October heat wave--80 degrees and sunny!

I understand why so many families want to to have their portraits taken in the fall: color, color, color!

We took all these pictures at Hickory Hills Golf Course in Farmland. In one of the sheds on the course there is an old truck. It is such a great color--I love it! I think this is my favorite picture from this session: looks like secrets are being shared between these two sisters.

Thank you Mandy, Karly and Addy! I enjoyed spending time with you on such a warm October day!

he writes

2011-10-12T16:23:00.001-04:00

The other night we had a bonfire for Andrew's auction/real estate company. We invited over all the people who are a part of the business--a way to thank everyone for all their hard work. Shameless plug: Do you need a good realtor or auctioneer? Click here!

Anyway, we had a bonfire and we hired a caterer. Thank you Andrew for doing that. Caterer = happy wife. As people were arriving, Max perched himself in the caterer's van and wrote a little menu out of what we were having:

I had to spell every word out of course: B B Q, B E A N S, P O T A T O E S...

I love his handwriting, and love seeing his little notes around the house. At times it is tedious to spell words out for him, but one day he won't need me to. Sigh. He is getting very big.

parenting tip

2011-10-11T08:50:00.003-04:00

A parenting tip: If your child smears Vaseline all over her head, the best way to remove it is to mix a little baking soda in with her shampoo. Lather and repeat.

On Saturday afternoon, I thought Cora was in her room just playing. I could hear her messing around with the baby monitor. I did a few tasks before checking on her. I forgot that I kept a basket of lotions, etc. on the dresser right next to the baby monitor. When I found her she had the jar of Vaseline open, and a good amount slathered on her head and face. I tried just washing it out with regular soap/shampoo, but that didn't work. Baking soda did the trick.

Another parenting tip: don't assume that they are ever just playing.

friday find: a very special cake

2011-10-07T08:09:00.000-04:00

I recently found out that my sister in law Laci is an excellent baker. Excellent as in, holy cow you made that? We, along with my grandma Barb, share birthdays in September. When we got together for a little family party Laci showed up with a cake that was so beautiful. Probably the prettiest cake I've ever seen in real life.

Later that day we were talking about her cake making, and Laci asked me if I had considered doing something fun to reveal the gender of our new baby. (We found out what we were having with both Max and Cora. Andrew and I were always too excited to wait. We knew we would be too excited this time too!) Anyway, we got to talking about how now people get cakes to reveal the new baby's gender so that the entire family can share in the excitement. I didn't realize at the time that Laci was hinting that she wanted to make us a cake...

Well, the next time we talked I realized that Laci wanted to make us a fun baby cake. Well yes, that would be fun!! So, after some careful strategizing we hatched a plan. Andrew and I went to our ultrasound appointment and shielded our eyes when the technician got to the nether regions of the baby. Oh my gosh it was so hard to not peek! I don't know how people don't find out! Our very friendly technician then printed a picture announcing the baby's gender and sealed it up in an envelope. We took that envelope to my brother to give to my sister in law. It was all very secret agent.

Long story short: my wonderful sister in law made us a beautiful cake to celebrate our new baby. It was so fun and special...something I will remember forever. Now, without further ado, the results! (Note how the cake looks like a wedding cake. You're good, Laci!)

We're seeing pink!

another pretty picture

2011-10-06T13:35:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago we had an outdoor auction that had a lot of old quilts in it. Love love love quilts. Love old quilts even more. Someone draped all the quilts for sale between lines on a couple trees. Um, adorable:

A lot of the quilts were pretty worn, a couple were really nice. I came home with a really pretty faded baby quilt in pinks and blue. It was in good condition. I only spent $10. Gotta love that! It is so fun when you find something you like that fits into your budget. At auctions I don't allow myself too much spending freedom. I would come home with way too much stuff, and Andrew would probably not take my bids!

(You can't see my quilt in the picture. I think it is under another quilt. I will have to show a picture of it soon!)

Happy Thursday, enjoy the sunshine today!

fall is the prettiest

2011-10-05T08:23:00.000-04:00

There is something pretty about each season, but fall always seems to be the best. On Monday there were huge blankets of clouds hanging in the air above the fields. So neat.

phase one almost finished

2011-10-04T08:26:00.003-04:00

I hope you are not tired of seeing photos of our upstairs mess. In case you are, please come back later! The first phase (aka demolition) is almost complete. All the walls are now down, and Andrew has started cleaning up all the "rooms". There is still a lot of clean up to do, but the majority of the tear down is finished.

It is amazing to me how different this space looks with all the walls down. It looks better all torn up. That doesn't really make sense, but it does. Maybe because I know that progress is happening!

Hardy har! I don't remember what Max is laughing about, but he was really laughing. Love this picture.

One more of my Max. These are such memories. He probably won't remember helping Andrew tear up our upstairs, but I will always remember. When I was little my parents remodeled and added on to our house. I think I was in first grade, so that would have made me around 7 or so. I very vividly remember all the exciting activity, and all the guys working at our house all the time. My brother, who would have been around Max's age, was into the process big time. He worked with the guys all the time. Cale, you'll have to let me know if you remember that!

hello october

2011-10-02T21:26:00.000-04:00

October! Here's to pumpkins! I just love pumpkins, and pumpkin flavored things. These pumpkins actually came out of our garden, and I am so glad they made it to October. We harvested them in the heat of August, and I wasn't quite sure on how long they would last. They started out on the bench by the garden, then moved them to a little table on our porch. Check out that curly stem! That particular little pumpkin is the perfect shape because it never touched the ground as it grew: it dangled from its little vine hanging out over the edge of the raised bed. It is perfectly round all the way around. Oh--gardening note: pumpkins are crazy. Just try to put them in a raised garden bed. They will laugh at you as their crazy vines snake everywhere and try to grab small children.

I have lots I want to accomplish in October: getting the house ready for the remodel being the major thing on the list. Did I mention before that we are opening up the now closed up stairway? I am so excited, but know that our lives are about to get really messy. And dusty. It will all be worth it as we start to turn this old farmhouse into "our house". (Of course it is already our house, but you know what I mean. It is exciting that things we have talked about for two years are starting to happen.)

Oh: a chicken soup update. I just know that you have all been waiting at the edge of your seats. I had the perfect chicken soup this weekend at our auction. Perfect. Mary, who does all the food at our auctions made it. It is always exciting to see what food Mary will have on auction day. Well, this weekend she had chicken noodle soup. As I was clerking someone was eating it right next to me. Rude! Totally kidding. Anyway, by the time the sale was over I was sure she would be all sold out. Luck would have it that there was some soup left. Lucky day! That never happens. It was heaven in a syrofoam cup. I have been thinking about the soup since the auction. It was a classic chicken noodle variety: chicken, carrots, noodles, celery, etc. I am on a mission to find out more about this soup!

I hope October finds you well!

quest

2011-09-21T16:22:00.002-04:00

So lately I have been very "food focused". I am always this way, but I think the focus is more so now that I am pregnant. I eat every 15 minutes. I kid. It is bad, but not quite that bad. I love hunting for recipes, and trying new things, and lately I have been on a quest to find a recipe for a perfect chicken soup. Maybe with noodles, maybe with rice. It doesn't really matter, I just want it to be a little creamy.

So, first I made this recipe for a simple chicken and past soup. Pretty good. I love soups that go in the crock pot, so this was a bonus. It had lots of carrots and celery, which was good, but they didn't cook all the way through in the crock pot. Bummer. This soup (with a few tweaks) would be great especially if you had a cold or something. It's very "brothy". That reminds me, whenever I am sick Andrew offers to make me "chicken water". That's what he calls the broth. Ha!

Moving on.

So, last night I tried another chicken in the crock pot soup recipe--this one was a little creamer, but when I followed the instructions mine turned out a little like chicken oatmeal. In other words, the flavor was great, the texture was strange. Needs some tweaks. It made my house smell very good though!

I am still looking for that perfect chicken soup. I am sure I will find it. When I do I will be sure and post where you can find the recipe and some pictures and such.

Gotta go, time for a snack.

goggles and a friday find

2011-09-16T08:29:00.000-04:00

Just a little something for your enjoyment:

I was looking through some pictures on my computer last night and stumbled upon this little gem from my phone. She cracks me up. Keep wearing your shades and goggles, girl. They look good on you!

Now for the Friday Find. About a month ago I decided that something had to be done with my laptop. Every time I tried to work in Photoshop I got the the "color wheel of doom". Fellow Apple folks, you know what I am talking about. Slow city. Also, I was completely out of memory, and I had erased everything that I felt comfortable erasing. So, I took my computer into the Apple store in Indianapolis (which was a crazy zoo of people as usual!) and the guy at the front of the store took one look at my old laptop and said: "We cannot help you." Darn. He did tell me about some people who could...

That is how I found Elan Technologies. Oh happy day. I took my laptop in there and they fixed it all up for me, for a very reasonable price! I was not ready to upgrade my computer quite yet, but something needed to be done with this one, so I was so happy. I got a new hard drive, some other gig stuff (I honestly do not know what I am talking about, sorry!), plus a little facelift for the keyboard, etc. (My laptop was cracking around the edges and it was a known problem, so Apple fixed that for free. Awesome!) I was going to blame part of the blogging hiatus on my computer being in the shop, but it was only there for a few days. Fast! I dropped it off on a Wednesday, and they called me Thursday afternoon and told me it was done.

So, I if you are an Apple computer person, and your computer needs help check Elan Technologies out! I was so very happy with the service. My computer is happy too. (Oh--no one is paying me for this recommendation or anything. I just was really pleased so I wanted to pass the information along!)

Hope you have a great weekend!

progress

2011-09-13T14:31:00.004-04:00

My two-man demolition team (Andrew and Max) have been hard at work upstairs. They are demo machines. Max is having the time of his life. Andrew just told him not to hit the windows while hammering. A four-year-old boy dream. Ok, here's the stairs now. Look to the left and you can see a little of the mess. These stairs scare me. I don't take Cora up anymore (because of nails and debris, obviously) because those spaces in the bannister are exactly her size. She could slip right through.

Here are the walls now:

Down to the bare studs people. Speaking of studs, here are my two favorite. They're on break.

I was up snapping pictures of the progress, and taking to the boys while they took their break and all the sudden Andrew looks past my shoulder and says "Oh my gosh" in a type of voice that you reserve for shocking things. I was expecting to turn around and see a dead animal or something. I turned and saw this:

That would be a piece of glass that was literally stuck in the wooden door. From the tornado a year ago. A few of the windows upstairs were blown out (boo), but the insurance company replaced them (yay). Don't mess with Mother Nature!

That is our progress so far! This morning our big dumpster arrived. Now we (by "we" I mean Andrew and whoever he can find to help him) can start shoveling out all the debris. Fun times.

new beginnings

2011-09-05T14:42:00.001-04:00

Welcome September. I love September. I love fall. As much as I welcome the warming days of spring and the hope of summer, it is this time of cooling and turning that I look forward to the most. This is without a doubt my favorite time of year. I feel a little renewal of sorts going on with myself: a time of new beginnings. With good reason too...lots of change is on the horizon! Let me catch you up:

1. Okay. I have been a sad excuse for a blogger lately. I think to consider oneself a "blogger" you actually have to blog. Ahem. Well, I have a pretty good reason! We are expecting a baby! Our party of four will be a party of five in the spring. We are delighted. Even though August is a blur of nausea/exhaustion I am delighted. This wonderful first week of September finds me coming up on the beginning of trimester two, so maybe that is why I feel so much hope in this cooler air. So, hopefully I will soon begin feeling a little like my normal self and will be blogging a little more frequently. Smile.

2. We are about to begin a big project. Huge. With baby Wagner # 3 on the way, the upstairs of our house is soon going to get a major makeover. Big time. I am super excited (and a tad apprehensive) about all the changes and mess that our house will undergo. I think I explained before, we are living on the first floor of our house. There is an entire story of high-ceilinged/big roomed goodness that is sitting empty. Why empty? Well, in typical farmhouse fashion, when the children who lived in this house before left the nest, the owners of the house shut up the upstairs. Behind a door. The upstairs of this house has not been lived in in 50 years! That's a long time. So, you can imagine the amount of work that needs to happen to make it livable. Heat, cooling, electricity! Nope, there isn't even electricity up there at the moment.

I naturally wanted to share a few pictures of our upstairs "before". The lens on my camera isn't quite wide enough to get a whole room in the picture, but I got what I could. I am so excited that this place will be unrecognizable soon! Right now there are three bedrooms (with big closets) and a very large "top of the stairs room". Soon it will be three bedrooms plus a new bathroom and a library room. I know! A library room. I am beyond excited.

Here's Cora watching Andrew and Max begin a little demolition work. Notice all the cracks in those plaster walls:

This is a view from one of the bedrooms looking into the soon to be library room.

Cora has taken to wearing her sunglasses all the time. This really has nothing to do with the renovation, I just think it is cute.

I actually think the colors in this picture are pretty. This shows one of the huge closets in one of the rooms. We are able to put a bathroom upstairs because these closets were so big.

Future library room. That carpet makes me want to gag. My gag reflex is a little quick these days, but still.

Scary stairs. These will be widened and opened up to the living room below. Yay!

So there you have it. The real reason for my blogging break, and some exciting times ahead for our home and our family. I feel so blessed! I hope that September finds you well!

the "picture of the day" just got a little easier

2011-08-17T07:44:00.003-04:00

So I got a different phone. My new phone takes such fun pictures! I used to try and always have my little point-and-shoot camera with me in my purse, but when I got it out the battery was usually dead. Not very handy. New phone with fun picture taking abilities = handy.

Yesterday Max and I went on a little outing to the local library and then for ice cream. I love the library. We really haven't been all summer, and so I was happy to go yesterday. Cora was at my mom's taking her nap. She still loves to go to the library and pull books off the shelf as fast as she can. So, you can imagine that it was nice that Max and I could go alone this one time and actually look at the books.

Then we met up with Andrew for some ice cream. Max wanted to get "fancy" chocolate ice cream. Fancy as in not plain chocolate, but chocolate with stuff in it. It was a hit.

I know I haven't posted my photo of the day collections for a while, but I am still taking them. I don't have trouble taking a photo every day, but I do have trouble getting them all organized. Usually at the end of the month I sit at the computer with my calendar trying to remember which picture goes with which day. Doing it this way is kind of like a brain exercise. Keeps me sharp. That's what I tell myself. I should really just get with it and sort and organize my pictures every couple days. That's a concept I have yet to embrace.

Side note: Max picked out a dinosaur origami book at the library. Currently my "good mom" status with him hinges on my ability to make a brontosaurus out of paper. Oh heavens. I can barely make a paper crane. Looks like I will have to practice a little!

friday find

2011-08-12T15:13:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to pop in really quickly today to share a great little blog I found:

Lila was Here

It is so simple and great. Go look and see.

I found it via Pinterest. Ah Pinterest. I "find" all kinds of wonderful things there. Hope you have a great weekend!

still here...promise!

2011-08-07T18:01:00.005-04:00

Umm. Hello there! Yes, I am still here. I would like to report that my absence here from the blog was due to a wonderful vacation, but it was only due to the dog days of summer snatching my motivation. Extreme temperatures (cold or hot) tend to zap me. True. I hate to complain much about the heat, but man, it is really hot. In the dead of winter I will wish for a 90 degree day, but for now I'm over it!

Ok. Complaining over. One good thing about the heat is that my sunflowers in the garden seem to like it. They are all standing at attention out there in the sun. I love sunflowers. My grandpa told me that when you see sunflowers in people's gardens they must have a little hillbilly blood in them. Funny. I must have some hillbillies in the bloodlines, because I do like them!

I put a little one in a blue jar the other day:

I think the back side of the flower is just as beautiful as the front. Lovely.

Hope the heat isn't zapping you! Stay cool people!

does it feel a little humid, or is it just me?

2011-07-23T21:41:00.004-04:00

Ah...July in Indiana. The air is a little bit dense. Oh my goodness. Humidity is not my friend. It is a hard to breathe, and it makes your hair do crazy things. (Curly haired girls, you know what I mean!) When Andrew and I chose November for our wedding, people asked us why that month. Umm...low humidity equals better hair! It is not very humid in November! I was able to wear my (then very long) hair down that day....

I digress. This isn't about hair, it's about July in Indiana. The kids and I were out the other morning working in the garden, and we hooked up the sprinkler--for them, not the plants--and they created a little mud pit. They were in kid heaven. I took some pictures, and you can even see the haze in them:

Nope, that's not a filter or Photoshop effect...it is just that humid. My lens was a tad fogged over! Supposedly the temperature is going to bet better this week, so maybe we'll get a little relief.

friday find

2011-07-22T11:15:00.003-04:00

I have found that it is best to have my camera out and handy all the time. On the kitchen counter, on the desk, outside. Very rarely will you find my camera in the bag. The one area where I need to improve is taking the camera with me when we run errands, etc. It is hard to lug around my big camera when I am also lugging children and all their stuff. I'm working on it.

Anyway, when I have the camera out where we are I get the best stuff:

It is these impromptu, dirty face pictures that I will look back on and say: "Remember that? Remember them? Remember when?"

I love you dirty face little babies.

look what I found

2011-07-19T23:37:00.005-04:00

I love auctions. They are fun. They are an adrenaline rush. No, really! I don't know if they are for most people, but for me they are. You stand next to the item that you love, and you pretend that you don't love it. Act cool. You scan the crowd. Does anyone else love your item? You bid casually as if you don't care what happens. This is all going on while your heart is hammering. It is like game.

Also, I have the added task of trying to work and pay attention while I am loving/pretending not to love something and bidding. This creates a little problem because I get flustered and sometimes mess up my job! I clerk auctions with Andrew, which means that I have to write down every single item that sells during the auction, how much it went for, and who bought it. It is a little challenging at times. Andrew makes it pretty easy for me because his auction chant is pretty predictable (to me) and I can usually tell when he's wrapping up a particular item. This helps if I am day dreaming or something like that. Which I hardly ever do. I am an excellent auction employee.

Side note: would any of you like to see more auction type work/photos/etc? I think they are so interesting, and I could let you in on the excitement of my side job.

Now, last weekend I spotted a beautiful Pyrex bowl that would match some of my refrigerator dishes. I didn't see it on my quick walk-through before the auction, so I was a little unprepared when I saw it after the auction started. So, as we approach it, I try to act cool. Andrew was selling choice which means that everyone is bidding on items on a table, but you don't know what people are bidding on. Like I said, it is like a game. Well, I lucked out and brought home my new Pyrex beauty for $5!

Woo to the hoo. Usually these pretties bring around $20. That's the only downside to auctions. I am a little bit of a tightwad, so I only buy the really cheap stuff. Therefore I usually leave a little disappointed. This past Saturday it worked out. Fun times. My new bowl is making my kitchen counter so happy!

callie and avery

2011-07-19T08:09:00.006-04:00

Last week I took some pictures of my niece Callie along with her adorable cousin Avery who was visiting from Florida. Cuteness galore. Callie is six months old, and Avery is three months. Once they are around a year old they will essentially be the same age. I bet they will have lots of fun together!

Thank you Tammy, Laci and Heather for having me capture all of you in this fun time in your lives! Here are a few of my favorites:

I love this one. It's almost like Callie is saying: "Avery, you have something on your face!"

Baby feet.

Heather has the prettiest expression in this picture. I love it.

We wore pore little Avery out. She just wanted to take a little nap! Look at that red hair. Lately I am so drawn to red hair--I think it is so beautiful!

Thanks again girls!

backlight

2011-07-18T06:52:00.004-04:00

I love experimenting with my camera. There are so many resources online for how to improve your photography skills! Lately I have been trying to use backlighting. Backlighting is anytime when the light source (usually the sun of course) is behind your subject. It is kind of like a photography eclipse! This type of lighting becomes especially pretty in the evening. If you can catch it just right, it will create a little halo of light around your subject.

You don't have to be outside to use it, though. The other day I had Max stand in front of our window. Usually I try to get the sunlight to fall across someone in window light, but I wanted to try some backlighting:

With Max's back to the window all the light curves around and frames his face in a totally different way. The results are a little interesting. Thank you Max for being such a good sport. I am grateful for your willingness to be my photo guinea pig. (I guess he has no choice, poor guy!)

friday find

2011-07-15T14:31:00.003-04:00

I recently found out that one of my art students raises chickens. So, every other week when he comes for his lesson he brings me a carton of beautiful eggs:

Brown ones, white ones and green ones. The green ones are my personal favorite. Chase told me that the green ones are best for baking, and the brown ones are best for just eating. I feel like I hit the jackpot that I found an egg supplier who loves to talk chickens. You see, I would love to have chickens someday. (Somewhere Andrew is reading this and is rolling his eyes...) I think I will have to get a few consecutive successful gardens under my belt before I can convince him that chickens are a good idea.

Until then Chase can keep me supplied. I love that I am buying eggs from happy chickens that get to run around and eat grass. I feel good about that, and I feel good about supporting Chase in his business. Who knew that he was an amazing artist and a budding chicken farmer! He recently finished a painting, and we decided that next he wants to paint a picture of his rooster. So excited!

quiet

2011-07-13T08:55:00.003-04:00

I love pictures that look quiet and soft. My personality tends to be on the quiet side, so I think that is why so many of my pictures look that way too.

I just love this picture of Cora. I love the quietness of it. The empty space. So often I love pictures for the empty or negative space as much for the subject!

jami & landon

2011-07-12T12:21:00.003-04:00

I want to share a few more pictures from Jami and Landon's June wedding! Landon is my cousin...my youngest and "littlest" cousin. It was a little strange seeing him get married. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was toddling around? Seems like it!

Jami had stargazer lillies for her bouquet. So pretty.

Ellie the flower girl loves Jami so much, and Jami loves her just as much right back.

Hello there gorgeous bride! Jami has the most beautiful red hair. Beautiful.

Neat car! I couldn't help myself: I thought this old car photo needed the antique treatment.

Congrats Jami and Landon!

photo booth love

2011-07-11T14:57:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned on Friday, I set up a little "photo booth" during Farmland's Good Ole Days. What is Good Ole Days? It is a festival that celebrates the days gone by: antiques, yummy food, horse carriage rides, demonstrations, etc. I thought it would be fun to take "antique" pictures people who stopped by my studio. I had a few takers. I would love to do it again next year. Now I will have clear examples of the outcome! Max and I had too much fun:

Don't you love the antique look? I do. Plus, the mustaches on a stick were too cute. If you stopped by to see my on Saturday: Thank you! Soon you will find your own antique pictures in the mail!

friday find

2011-07-07T22:17:00.009-04:00

Oh Georgia kitty. This is a very special edition of "Friday Find". You see, last week (I think it was Thursday) Georgia disappeared. Very strange. Of all our cats, Georgia is the most "social". He follows you everywhere, always wants to be on your lap, etc. So, I was concerned that he was gone.

After a another day I was more concerned. By the weekend I had given up. We looked in every building that he could have gotten locked in. No luck. I figured that had either taken off, or been mauled by a wild animal of some sort. So sad.

Fast forward to Monday, the 4th of July. Andrew went over to his parent's house to pick up something. When he got there he was greeted by none other than our Georgia. When Andrew's dad was over the other night (the night of the disappearance) he had a cargo trailer attached to his truck. Georgia being the very snoopy and social creature that he is, climbed in the trailer to investigate. Georgia got a one-way ticket to a farm far far away. Just kidding. It's probably just about 4 or 5 miles away.

Big Max (Andrew's dad) didn't think anything about an extra cat at their house. Georgia just blended in with their barn cats. Oh I was so happy when Andrew called and said that Georgia had been found and was on his way home. Lucky cat.

(Note "ugly kitty" in the background of this picture. Doesn't she look extra creepy?)

Hope everyone has a good Friday and a happy weekend! If you're in town be sure to stop in on Farmland's Good Ole Days Festival! I'll be at my studio from 9-5 taking pictures in my little old-fashioned photo booth set up. It will be fun!

kids photography workshop

2011-07-06T07:42:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago (Wow, two weeks? Time is moving really fast lately...) I hosted a kids photography workshop at my studio. I had four wonderful girls attend my workshop, and we all had a great time.

We met four days in a row for a couple hours each day. We talked about composition, what camera settings to use for better pictures, etc. The girls soaked in every bit of it, and at the end of the week came up with some amazing photos. Photography is such an amazing and complex thing. It was exciting for me to teach it and empower these young women to use it. Their excitement was contagious!

We also experimented with a photo transfer technique (so fun) and used our photos for the start of a drawing project. A good photograph can open the doors to all sorts of art! **I may share the steps for the transfer technique here later. Such a fun project!**

Thank you photo workshop girls! Keep taking pictures!

garden oasis (& a little drama)

2011-07-04T22:55:00.008-04:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. We did. We went visiting friends, went to the movies, worked in the garden, played in the sandbox, shot a few fireworks, and laid on a blanket in the yard. It was relaxed and wonderful.

I've been wanting to share pictures of our backyard garden for a while. This weekend I think we finally got it "photo ready". Now, there is still a lot I want to do. I think and hope that every year this little garden oasis will get better and better. I love it so much already! (I also wanted to say that this is a group project: my mom and step-dad Jerry have helped out tons. Thank you. Love you.)

This is what you see when you step out our back door:

The kids have their sandbox right under the maple tree. It used to be out in the open, but I convinced Andrew that the poor children needed a shady spot to play under. Mission accomplished. (Thanks for moving their sandbox!)

This is my new garden sculpture. Love it! My BSU friend Lindsay (Lora's sister from Lora and Brandon...) made it. I went to see her the other day and told her that I wanted to commission her to make me one. (Lindsay recently moved, and she had a garden sculpture I loved at her old house. Sister Lora has one too.) Lindsay gave me hers. She is that kind of friend. I love it, Lindsay. Thank you!

The garden bench is my favorite spot. Cora girl likes it too.

Speaking of Cora, she loves the hose. Give her a bucket or a baby pool and a hose and she is a happy girl.

Don't you dare turn off the water, though. Cue the drama:

If you know Cora, you know the amazingly high decibel scream that goes along with these pictures. Bless her little heart.

So the garden oasis is not immune to screaming and crying, but it is pretty wonderful. Gardening is such hard work, and takes a lot of time and attention, but it is worth it. I certainly couldn't do it without help from my mom and Jerry! I am loving the raised beds so much. Less weeds, easier on the back, prettier, etc. You know when you have an idea and your head and the real thing turns out better? That's how I feel about the garden this year. I love it.

technical difficulties

2011-06-30T08:57:00.002-04:00

Hello there and happy Thursday!

My computer/Photoshop and I are experiencing some technical difficulties. Don' you love it. Hopefully within a few days I'll have everything up and running once again!

little man

2011-06-27T22:01:00.003-04:00

Max. He is growing up very quickly. He loves dinosaurs, Legos, & drawing. He talks. A lot. (Side story: Cora is a girl of few words. I keep wanting her to talk more. The other day my mom came over to help me work in the garden a little. Max talked nonstop the entire time. No joke. Mom just looked at me and said: "And you want the other one to talk?!" Good point. The poor girl doesn't have a chance to say much!)

Somedays we are best buds. Like yesterday: He "helped" me take Cora to the doctor for her eighteen month check-up. He was an absolute angel. Probably because Cora was screaming like a wild banshee. Behavior is relative.

Somedays we butt heads. Like when he desperately needs a nap and he fights me tooth and nail. Or argues with me. (This arguing thing is a new development. It can kindly leave any time.) Or, when my grandpa came over for a visit and he acted like a crazy child.

Max remembers everything. Retains everything. Do not promise that you will do something tomorrow if you do not intend on doing it. He will not forget. He says such funny things: "I have it under control." That is my current favorite.

I didn't think I would ever forget how he was as a baby. I do forget a little. That makes me a little sad, but he is filling my whole mind and heart with his grown up four-year-old self. I loved him fiercely as a baby, but I love him even more as a little man.

favorite

2011-06-26T23:51:00.004-04:00

A favorite shot of my Cora from this weekend:

For fun, here's the "pullback" shot:

Max and Cora playing hide and seek in his bed. (Note how I let Max tape random drawings and papers all over our house. They're in the living room too!)

They were both fresh out of the tub and smelling so good. I want to try more pictures like this soon. I think it would work better if the sheet was plain white. I don't know though...the little cars are pretty cute. Also, I might stage these pictures in a room that gets a little more light. The window by Max's bed is a south facing one, and I think maybe next time we'll move our post-bath hide and seek party to a western facing window. Follow the sun!

friday find

2011-06-23T21:49:00.007-04:00

This week's "Friday find" is food related, like last week's. I do like food!

On Wednesday, Max and I harvested some spinach from the garden. There wasn't tons, but enough to fill a regular size baggie. It was so fun plucking those little leaves! Max was so excited about it that he ate two raw spinach leaves. I almost fell over in shock. I made a huge deal about how fast he would be able to run after eating the two leaves.

I"ve seen a couple different recipes for smoothies with spinach. Yeah, right. That would be totally gross. Well, because we had this spinach that needed consumed, and I have two small children who love smoothies I decided to try one out.

We adapted a recipe found on Annie's Eats called the Green Monster Smoothie. Max was very fired up about it. I showed him the picture and he was even more fired up. It is very green! We stayed pretty close to the original recipe, except we omitted the pear because we didn't have one. (The recipe calls for pineapple, orange juice, banana, spinach, and honey.) We also added a little ice because we like the little ice crunchies in our smoothies. We are wild and crazy like that.

I must say, it was so good! It just tasted fruity, not spinachy. Ours turned out a really pretty and frothy light green. Delish! You should check out Annie's Eats...she's a fellow Hoosier. Gotta love that!

lora & brandon

2011-06-21T21:25:00.006-04:00

Hello there! Today I want to share a few more photos from Lora and Brandon's beautiful wedding. I mentioned before, no detail was forgotten: every little thing was so neat! I seriously had the best time taking all these pictures. It helped a little that Lora's sister Lindsay is one of my "besties"! I felt so comfortable and relaxed all day. Well, until the hail...

Here are a few of my favorites!

Lora found this little ring box in a flea market (I think that's right) and the lady who sold it to her said that it was shaped like a little coffin to symbolize the man "losing his life." Funny. Love that blue inside!

Did I mention that I love the getting ready pictures? I do. Love love. (Warning: Lora, once you see all the pictures, you will see that there is a lot of makeup/hair/getting dressed shots. Your bedroom lighting was too pretty and I couldn't help myself!)

I think this might be my favorite of Lora. So pretty!

Strawberry ice cream for everyone! This was post rain/hail. Oh my goodness. I was a tad worried because it rained and hailed on our way to Cammack Station for pictures. Yikes. We waited it out, and the rain gave way to beautiful sunny skies.

I am such a sucker for painted buildings!

I love to take pictures of people when they are posing/smiling for someone else's camera:

Lora & Brandon: I can't thank you enough for trusting me with your wedding memories! I can't wait to show you everything I got!

columbus

2011-06-19T22:02:00.006-04:00

This weekend took us east to Columbus, Ohio for Andrew's cousin's wedding. A very beautiful wedding. I am kicking myself for not lugging my camera to the actual event because it was all so pretty! Live and learn. Take the camera everywhere! Andrew and I took the opportunity to explore Columbus's German Village while we were in town. Max and Cora were having fun at my mom's house--thanks Nana!-- so we had a leisurely time, just the two of us. Here's the highlights:

We started the day at the Coffee Shop. When we pulled up we saw several people waiting outside. That's always a good sign! It was a neat little diner. The sign said that they had the best club sandwich in town, so that's what I had. (Whenever someplace claims to have the best of something, I am always compelled to order that.) Andrew got breakfast stuff, including hash browns. If we ever go back I think I will just get a plate full of those...they were so good!

Next we visited the Book Loft: an independent bookstore that spanned an entire city block. Book heaven!

We wandered around for quite a while, and eventually picked out books for Max and Cora. I wanted to buy something to support this store: independent booksellers are so rare! I worked for an independent bookstore when I was in college, plus I adore the movie You've Got Mail. Therefore, we shopped and bought. Smile.

Ice cream time! I read about an artisanal ice cream place that started in Columbus called Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. The flavors were interesting and different. After sampling a few, I decided on the strawberry buttermilk. Yummy!

While we were eating our ice cream, a nice man offered to take our picture. I am smiling on the outside, but on the inside I am thinking "Please don't steal my camera!" I am always worried about that. Turns out this man has a camera like mine. Thank you kind Sir! This is a very rare photo of Andrew and I together! (Note to self: trust others to take photos of us when we go places...)

Outside the ice cream shop there was a huge mural of Grant Wood's American Gothic. Love!

See...it was really big!

That was our weekend! We had a great time. Hope yours was great too!

friday find

2011-06-17T13:59:00.005-04:00

For the past couple Fridays I have posted "finds". Week one was a new artist/blog/book I found and loved. Week two was a couple nests we found in the yard. I think I will continue with these "Friday find" posts. They are fun, and give me a little structure. Gotta love structure. I do. So, without further ado, today's find:

Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing. That's a mouth-full. This stuff is good! I bought a couple bottles of Kraft dressing the other day because I had a Target coupon and a regular coupon for them. Score! I decided to try something new. This dressing tastes like Chinese food. I don't know how else to describe it. So, if you are a fan of Chinese food, you would probably like this dressing. Here's a loose recipe for a perfect salad:

Marinate a chicken breast in the dressing for a few hours. Grill it, or put it on your handy dandy panini press. Slice up your chicken and toss with:

Romaine lettuce
Croutons
Red onions
Feta cheese
More dressing

Delicious! Now, it is a little bit on the stinky side (thanks to the red onions and feta cheese) so you might want to use caution and freshen your breath accordingly. (I love feta cheese by the way. I try to incorporate into as many meals as possible.) I was even mega-healthy the other day and just made a salad with the marinated chicken, lettuce and edamame. I know! I didn't even miss the cheese. Don't worry, I balanced off all the healthiness with two big bowls of Frosted Flakes and a S'more later that night.

There you have it, another Friday find. I feel like I need to go make a salad now. Wishing you happy weekend thoughts!

this old house

2011-06-16T08:44:00.004-04:00

Once upon a time there was an old house, with a lot of people sitting on the porch:

Time went on, and so did the old house.

The house still stands, and has many stories to tell:

How cool is this? Um, really cool. Here's the story on how I got my hands on these awesome pictures of our house:

We moved to this farm two years ago, in 2009. (I can't believe we've been here for two years!) On our property there is a trailer, where "Miss Laveda" lives. The farm has been her home for 70 years. Her late husband's great grandparents (I think I have that right) built the house. Wow! When we bought the house, it was part of the agreement that we would let Miss Laveda live up here on the hill as long as she was able. She is a sweetheart, sharp as a tack, and we love her.

Whenever people would visit our house for the first time, Andrew would drag out my laptop and show them the "before" pictures of the house. These weren't the cool old ones, just the ones I took of the house when we moved in. So, I had the idea that I should make him an album of the house and it's progress so he could show our guests an album instead of just pictures on the computer. One day I asked Laveda if she had any old pictures of the house. She didn't know where they were, but she said that her son-in-law George would have some. Did he ever!!! George is a fellow photo enthusiast, and one day he handed over an entire disc of goodies.

I have had the pictures since February, probably, and I just now gave the album to Andrew for his birthday last week. It was so hard to keep these a secret! Our home has such a history, and I am so lucky that I was able to collect some of it. As we do more and more work on the house (it still needs a lot!) we'll add it to our album. The story of our home.

After seeing the old pictures, I am more aware of how much work and how much our house has changed. I want to make all the changes and remodel everything right away, of course. Our entire upstairs needs to be gutted and re-done. I want a garage. I want to re-do the laundry room. The bathroom needs a total makeover. I want to start now! The photos remind me that we need to take our time, and love our home the way it is and appreciate how long it has been here. It is hard. I think it must be a "woman thing" to want our houses in order, right away.

Lately I am just loving this old house. I'm trying not to look at all the work I want to do, but look at all that has already been done. You've come a long way house!

coming along

2011-06-15T09:27:00.004-04:00

I am loving the garden this year. I love the idea of the garden every year, but this year I am actually loving it. I am convinced: raised beds are the way to go!

The beds look so pretty all lined up. Sure, it was a pain to build them, (thanks Mom and Jerry!), and a pain to get them all filled with dirt. Now, all of the work is paying off. It is so fun to perch yourself on the edge of one of the beds and pluck away at the weeds. It is even a little relaxing! Last year, and the year before I didn't even want to go out to the garden because the weed situation was so overwhelming.

The plants seem so happy in their little beds too. Maybe it is because they are not being choked out by waist high weeds. That is a start anyway!

wedding weekend

2011-06-12T23:19:00.005-04:00

Hello, and happy Monday! I want to give a little preview from both of the weddings I photographed this weekend! Once I get everything all edited, I'll share more, but I couldn't wait. I read on a blog somewhere (I wish I could remember so I could properly credit my source) that digital photography is a lot like collecting sea shells: You spend the day filling up your basket with shells, then when you get home you dump them all out on your table to see what you got. So true! Over two days I filled up my camera with all kinds of images, and now I get to "dump them all out" and sift through them to see what beauties I found. These are a couple of my early favorite "sea shells":

Lora and Brandon's backyard wedding was so sweet. No detail was overlooked! We did have some challenging weather (downpours and hail!), but everything amazingly came together. This shot was taken in Cammack--a little town west of Muncie. Love love love.

Jami and Landon were so excited to be married--and you could feel their happiness all day. Check out their getaway car. So fun.

Just for kicks, here's a picture of me:

While in Cammack on Friday with Lora and Brandon we had some ice cream. Best idea ever. I think I took my best photos of the day while multitasking and eating an ice cream cone. Strawberry. Delicious!

friday find

2011-06-09T21:27:00.007-04:00

The other day the kids and I were headed out to the sandbox, and when we got there we found a tiny little bird's nest. It was just sitting there, right in the middle of the sandbox. It fit right in the palm of my hand. Of course I scooped that thing up out of the reach of Cora, who also goes by the name "Destructo" around here. She's a little rammy.

A couple days after the first nest find, my mom found second, even smaller one in the front yard right under one of our red maple trees. Two perfect little nests!

I put some buttons in one of them to try and portray their size a little better:

I love birds, so naturally I am so excited to have these little nests. I do feel bad that they just fell out of the trees, though. Some poor bird worked so hard on them! Have you ever took the time to really study a nest? They are amazing. I'm trying to figure out how I want to display them. Right now they are sitting on my cake plate in the cabinet. I tried to put them down in one of my jars, but you couldn't really see it very well. I held my breath when I was putting one down in the jar. It was kind of like a ship in a bottle situation: once I got in down in the jar, then realized I didn't like it, I wasn't sure how I was going to get it out. Luckily I got it back out and didn't have to crush the nest or break the jar. Whew.

I need to try and find one of those little cloche things. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled at future auctions for one. I think they would be so pretty under something like that.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and a happy weekend!

three things

2011-06-09T07:32:00.005-04:00

1. So we have a little strawberry patch. It doesn't produce that many berries, and the ones that do come from it are very tiny. Tiny but really sweet. Usually we just pick them outside and munch on them right there. Warm strawberries from the garden are so fun and tasty. The other day while the kids were playing outside, I really searched in the patch and found quite a few:

2. This weekend I am going to shoot two weddings. Two! Today I am going to get myself all organized with all my gear, thoughts, etc. I get all wrapped up in the emotions of weddings. I absolutely love taking pictures of the bride getting ready. That is probably my favorite time of the wedding day. So much energy and excitement. Next week I'll do a couple wedding photo posts!

3. Have you ever gotten a little surprise in the mail or a gift just the moment you needed it? My sweet blog friend Lindsay sent me a gift in the mail, and it made my day yesterday. My Max and I had been through a rough afternoon (a nap was needed, and didn't happen. Those of you with children know that this can be a recipe for a major meltdown!), and I was exhausted. When Andrew got home, he forgot to get our mail, so I said I'd run down and get it. Literally run. I needed out. So I put on my shoes and took a little run. (Now, our driveway is long and has hills, so it is more of a workout than you might think!) When I got to the mailbox a wonderful little package waited for me: a new camera strap cover in a lively lemon yellow. Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you, Lindsay! I wanted to take a picture of my new camera strap cover, but I was so excited when I got it that I put it on my camera right away. It is hard to take a picture of something that is attached to the back of your camera...)

experimenting

2011-06-07T22:16:00.003-04:00

I promised myself that I could have a little "fun time" at the studio today. As in: yes, I really have many other things that are more pressing, but I really want to experiment with something else. Just for fun. What!?

Amazing. When you allow yourself to have fun, fun usually follows. I painted and did a little collage stuff on a photograph. This was an "old" photograph, so it was pretty low pressure. I wasn't too worried about how it turned out.

I have a whole stack of old books and fun papers that I've collected from few auctions. I love going though those old papers and reading all the notes and looking at all the drawings. I have a little folder of papers from what looks like a young lady's high school foods class. Notes on how to make cakes, how to plan a menu, etc. My favorite thing from this little collection was an actual test on how to bake cakes. It was so neat. (I probably loved it because I took foods class in high school and it was one of my most favorite classes. I enjoyed it and had so much fun! I still use the "electric mixer yeast dough" recipe every year at Christmas!)

The photograph has been mounted on a "clay board", which is like a very sturdy little panel primed with gesso. They are great for collage because they don't bend or warp, and they can take a lot of abuse.

Now, if you do like this little photo/mixed media painting and cannot imagine your life without it, I have listed it in my etsy shop. If it doesn't sell I will just keep it in my window sill to remind myself to let myself have a little fun! (There is also a simple photo version of this--what it started out like before I doctored it all up--in the shop too. It looks a little more "vintage" than this one, but it is the same original photograph.)

feels like summer

2011-06-06T07:21:00.003-04:00

We had a good weekend full of bucket sitting (see photo), strawberry picking, working in the garden, etc. Speaking of the garden: our tomatoes are looking awesome, the green beans and spinach are up, and the melons appear to be happy. My sunflowers haven't appeared yet, but I'm sure they will. I've never tried growing spinach before, but I thought it was worth a try! So far, the raised garden beds are working good. I promise I'll share a photo soon. We have a little clean-up yet to do yet before it is show-and-tell worthy.

I am loving this summer feeling. Relaxing around home and working in the garden is my idea of summer. Add some popsicles and ice cream and it's even better!

friday find

2011-06-02T22:45:00.007-04:00

I recently stumbled upon a new artist who's work I really love. Sarah Ahearn Bellemare. I can't remember how exactly I found her--you know how you'll be looking at a blog, then you click a link, then another, and then you end up somewhere? Well, I was intrigued by her use of collage, especially the use of photographs in her paintings.

Look...she has a book too! Fun times. I must say, that I love it. I haven't really had a chance to read much, but the photos alone, and the style of the book are just fresh and beautiful. It even smells nice! Do you ever smell books or magazines? I do. I think that is how you can tell that you have a real book problem...

Lately I have been focusing a lot on photography and less on painting. I think that painting became so labored for me, and the work I was making showed that. I was frustrated a lot. In painting classes in college, there were things that made a painting "good", and things that made it "bad". I got to where I thought everything I made was a little more on the "bad" side. It probably wasn't really, but in my mind I over thought it so much that it became that way. Then, I was trying to make money with my paintings. That is a surefire way to think that your work is bad! I lost all my painting joy. I haven't even really wanted to paint in a long time. That was until I saw this:

My heart skipped a little when I saw these pages! It made me miss my paints. So, I think I might just make something for me soon. Something for my own home. I think that on my next "studio day" I will make a little time for experimenting and having fun.

Check out Sarah Ahearn Bellemare's blog, and her book. Hope you have a great weekend. Paint something or just have fun!

painting

2011-06-01T21:59:00.004-04:00

Cora had her first painting experience the other morning. I remember Max's first painting. He was a little more tentative than Cora. She tackled painting like she does many other things! Cora loved it, and she loved the black especially. You'll see.

I didn't think I'd have to worry about lipstick until much later...

Her little jammies are permanently stained. Darn. I don't mind too much. I wised up and the second time she painted I had her wear a paint shirt, and I took the black out of her paint set. I hope that it doesn't crush her creativity too much! I just love these pictures. As a mom it is so fun to see your children absorbed in something that is new and fresh to them! Little hands on paintbrushes. Love it.

four

2011-05-31T23:22:00.006-04:00

Please don't be confused. Yes, I did change the name of my blog. What was once "artist for hire" is now "sugarbowl art company". Why? I am trying to merge my blog with my studio/studio activities, etc., and the name change seemed to be the first step. So, yes, you are at the right place!

So, the other night I bribed Max with an ice cream cone to pose for some pictures for me. I have tons of pictures of him doing everyday type things, but not many pictures of just him, dressed up a little. Seeing how he just turned four, now seemed to be a good time to capture him by himself. Um, he was not really a fan of this idea. Maybe it is because he is over the camera, but I think it had more to do with the fact that things were happening in the garden and he was forced into taking pictures. He had work to do!

He gave me about ten minutes, which (luckily) was enough to get a few keepers. Hello Max, you look a little too old in this picture, please stop growing right now!

This look is a little moody. My boy was a little moody, so it is fitting.

My mom was just over my left shoulder coaxing out a few smiles. It worked.

Max was awarded for his modeling with the promised ice cream cone. He's off the hook until next year!

Note to grandparents: I will be ordering some "real" copies of these pictures of these very soon. You know, pictures that are on paper that live outside the computer!

water in a bucket

2011-05-31T08:43:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, the kids love to play with a bucket of water on the sidewalk. I love it too. Now, they do have a couple little squirter things (thanks Carissa!), but other than that it is just a bucket of hose water. I took these pictures one evening last week:

Love Cora in her little Croc shoes. They're not the real Crocs, my mom found them for her at Meijer. Five dollars, I think. These are the best shoes as far as dirt goes. With the sandbox and the garden, the kids' feet are always dirty/muddy. These shoes can just be hosed or rinsed off!

Max tries to teach Cora how to do the squirt thing. She hasn't really caught on yet, but she still has fun just dipping it in the bucket.

Doesn't get much better than this!

buttons galore

2011-05-30T13:29:00.006-04:00

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I hope you have the day off and are able to enjoy the hot rain-free weather. The kids played out on the sidewalk this morning in a bucket of water. I love that they are the ages where the simplest things make them happy!

We had a busy weekend: a monster of an auction on Saturday, then yesterday we finally got most of the garden planted. I'll have some pictures of the garden later, as we get it looking pretty. We decided to give raised beds a try this year. They do look nice all lined up. I think it will look even prettier once everything starts growing up and filling the boxes even more.

Now, about that monster auction: This auction had an huge collection of buttons. I mean huge. I am a button lover myself, so it was fun to see the sheer volume of buttons that this particular woman had collected over her lifetime. Huge. Now, in a risky move, the seller decided to sell all the buttons in one lot. (That means that they were not sold per container, or box, but rather the whole shooting match for one money. I sound like Andrew when I say that...) Anyway, they sold as an entire collection. I won't say they exact dollar amount here, but just know that it was a lot. People even applauded!

This auction also had the largest collection of Roseville pottery I had ever seen. Now, I don't really care much for Roseville myself, but a lot of people like it, and it is highly collectable. I do have to admit, the colors looked really pretty all together on Saturday, but it is still a little too ornate for me. Give me my Ball jars and Pyrex please.

I hope you like the auction pictures. It is really fun to walk around with my camera before things get started and take some photos. A lot of work goes into putting an auction together, and so we may as well document some of it. Plus, you never know what you will find!

more baby girl cuteness

2011-05-26T23:09:00.006-04:00

I have a few more baby photos for your Friday!

I had such a fun time taking Callie's pictures! It was really warm last Sunday when we took these: perfectly wonderful weather to do baby pictures outside. Plus, my brother cooked us hot dogs on the grill while my niece got her nap in. Win win. (Side note: hot dogs on the grill are like pure summer to me. Love it!)

When I was uploading my pictures to the computer I laughed out loud when I saw this one. Callie is giving me quite the look. I feel like she is saying: "Why am I doing this? Why am I wearing a tutu? Why won't my Aunt Abby leave me alone?"

a thursday list

2011-05-26T07:28:00.005-04:00

1. Sorry about the lack of posting for yesterday. We were busy yesterday morning, and when we got home I watched approximately eleven hours of weather radar. I know: "Hello, my name is Abby and I'm a radaraholic." Thankfully nothing major materialized here at home, but there are others in Indiana who are digging out this morning. My heart hurts from all of these storms. (Not to mention that I am a little on edge. I hear thunder and I'm like "Everybody down!!" In the depths of winter I yearned for spring so badly. Now I just want it to be over.)

2. On a happier note, Scotty won American Idol last night! I, along with most of the teenage girls in America, faithfully voted for him.

3. I am out of ideas on the cooking front. I used to do pretty good with making a menu, then shopping and having a handful of meals I could make. I recently have tried to stick to a stricter grocery budget, and the menu idea has since went out the window. The kids and I went to the grocery on Monday (to read about that experience please scroll down!), and I don't have anything to make for dinner. Or lunch. Hmmm.

4. I'm reading a really cute book right now. I checked it out from our library. Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews. I'm not very far into yet, but so far I'm liking it. It's about Savannah (obviously) and antiques, and pickers, and estate sales. Fun! I love books. I love the library!

5. Check out this cutie:

I plan on working on editing more of her pictures tonight, so I can share more tomorrow. So cute Callie girl!

Hope everyone has a storm-free Thursday!

she is very determined

2011-05-24T06:48:00.004-04:00

Oh Cora girl.

She is a saucy little thing. Not easily distracted. When she wants something, she wants it. Or, when she is upset, she lets you know about it. A month ago when we took her to the pediatrician for her leg he tried to walk around with her to get her to relax. The nurse assured me that he sometimes did this, and the children usually calmed down.

Well. He brought her back to me at an arm's length, kicking and screaming and red as a beet. "She is very determined!" he exclaimed in an Indian accent. Yes, yes she is.

Yesterday we were in the grocery store, and Cora watched a little bag of marshmallows go down the conveyor belt. Panic! She wanted those marshmellows! Try to explain to an eighteen month old that she will get them in a minute. She screamed during the entire checkout process.

I think our cashier was stressed. If you have ever seen Cora when she is upset or wants something it is quite a sight as well as an intense listening experience. I am pretty used to it, but to others it is alarming. Goodness. As we were leaving a lady checking out in another lane gave me the stink eye. I know, I know.

Back in the comfort of our car, I gave Cora her marshmallow. As was well with her little world again.

Even though she is very determined and a little hot-headed, I don't think I would change her. Sure, it is embarrassing out in public, but it is her. Some of my most favorite moments with Max lately have been when we meet eyes as Cora is throwing a little hissy fit--he knows and loves her too. He smiles and just gives me a look that says: "I know Mom!"

Love you Cora, and all your determination.

*This photo of her is really not related to this story, but I just thought it was cute.*

more family photos

2011-05-23T14:44:00.003-04:00

I want to share a few more photos of the family I photographed last week! Like I said before, I've known Kate my entire life, and it was so great that she asked me to capture her family in photographs.

Kate and Nate have the most perfect "picture taking barn". I don't know why barns make such good backdrops for photos, but they do. Maybe it is because they create such a great feeling of Americana. I love old barns!

Isaiah is so fun...he reminds me a lot of my Max. (He loves dinosaurs!) I did pictures of just him last fall, and he has grown so much since then!

Little Jude was so happy during the entire session! Supermodel baby award!

Thanks again Kate and Nate!

On another photo note: yesterday I went down to Indianapolis to photograph my niece who is now four months old. We got some really pretty ones that I am excited to share later this week! Be warned: there is a tutu involved. Seriously cute!

a little preview

2011-05-20T06:38:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday evening it quit raining long enough for me to take photos of a wonderful family. Kate and Nate and their adorable boys were so much fun! I have literally known Kate my entire life (she is one of those people I don't ever remember not knowing) and I was so excited that she wanted me to do some family pictures for her.

I will probably show more next week when I have them all edited. There are lots of good ones!

Hope everyone has a great Friday! It looks like the weather here is going to be great!

the key problem

2011-05-19T06:55:00.004-04:00

I don't know if anyone else out there has this problem: we have a problem with keys. We are always looking for keys. Keys to the cars, keys to the office, keys to the studio, etc. We seem to always be looking for a key to something.

Meanwhile, we have a ton of keys laying around that we can't remember what they go to. I mean a lot of keys. Yesterday I was trying to tidy up a few things, and I decided to put all the random keys in a jar. I chose a big jar because I knew there would be more. (I haven't gathered up all the keys from the laundry room yet...)

I am in a purging type mood, and I wanted to just pitch all these keys. I didn't though, because as soon as I did we would need to hunt through them to find a key to somewhere. So, for now I think I will leave all these orphan keys in the jar on the counter. They can be decorative!

lilacs in jars

2011-05-17T22:07:00.003-04:00

Just a little pretty for you today. I wonder if I will ever tire of lilacs in jars:

Probably not. It is one of the best simple pleasures of spring!

peek-a-boo

2011-05-17T07:30:00.004-04:00

Cora played outside during the birthday party the other night. She loves playing outside.

The second picture isn't perfect--the focus is a tiny bit softer than the first photo--but I just love her expression. After I took this one and saw it on the back of my camera, I knew that it would be one of my favorites of Cora, and that I should do something with it.

I really need to print out more pictures. Right now they are all living on my computer. Max looked through some photo books I had made for him of his baby pictures and he seemed to love seeing himself as a baby. It was great because it made me realize that the thousands of photos I take of my kids will most likely not only be appreciated, but maybe be loved and cherished.

I shall keep snapping away.

happy birthday max

2011-05-16T07:16:00.005-04:00

On Friday evening we celebrated Max's fourth birthday. This year he said he wanted a monster truck party. Luckily he is very easy to please, and a few checkered flags and a monster truck on his cake made him more than happy.

Max actually helped me make the frosting for his cake and cupcakes the day of his party. Every birthday party I am a little bit stressed about the cake, but I really love doing it myself. I think he would probably be happier about a cake from the store, but for some reason I think a old fashioned type layer cake is more fun. (I'm sure the clock is ticking on this. When Max starts going to more birthday parties he will see "cooler" cakes and the jig will be up.)

My mom made this adorable flag bunting type thing for Max. It was so neat. I think maybe we could use it in his room someday.

All in all a great birthday. Love you Max!

love hate relationship

2011-05-13T15:30:00.003-04:00

These pictures are a wee bit overexposed, but I just had to share them anyway.

They love each other:

They hate each other:

The cats spend half their days sleeping, and the other half fighting. Very entertaining.

Hope you have a great weekend! We have a busy one: Max is turning four!!!

kids photography workshop

2011-05-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Today I wanted to tell you about a workshop I am planning at my studio!

I always host "art camps" each summer for kids. This year I wanted to try something a little different. In June, I have scheduled my first ever Kids Photography Workshop! Basically, kids will bring in their digital cameras and we'll learn how to take better pictures. We'll practice doing still life pictures, portraits, and landscapes and architecture. I will also introduce famous photographers in history, and share their work with the students.

Local? Interested? I have made a Google Document for the workshop that you can access:

Kids photography workshop

Hope you have a great day!

a bracelet project

2011-05-10T21:04:00.007-04:00

Did you ever make friendship bracelets when you were younger? You know, the ones made out of embroidery floss? I did. Oh man, I was a friendship bracelet making machine. I think I hit my peak bracelet making days in late elementary school, probably fourth or fifth grade. I also vaguely remember having a really cool thick one that I refused to take off. I think it made its way into a formal type portrait of my brother and I because I didn't want to take it off. (Do you remember that, Mom?)

I do have a direction with this, I promise. One morning I was reading Ashley Ann's blog. Do you read Under the Sycamore? Please do, it is awesome. Anyway, she mentioned a project that she was taking part in, and I loved the cause, loved all of it:

There is an organization called Craft Hope that prompts people to make different crafts for people in need of, well, hope. In April, the cause is Orphan Outreach. Orphan Outreach is a non-profit organization that reaches out to the millions of orphans and at risk children throughout the world. Craft Hope is partnering with Orphan Outreach to send them to Russia armed with bracelets to pass out to children there.

Will this change a life? Probably not. Will it give a child a little smile? Hopefully. Little things can be big things to those who are hurting.

So, I enlisted one of my art students to help me with this project. I sent her home with a goody bag full of embroidery floss to make lots and lots of bracelets. The bracelets are due June 15th. I asked this student how many she thought we could make. I suggested twenty. She says forty. I think she's excited.

Do you want to kick it elementary style and make bracelets too? (They don't have to be friendship style, they just have to be handmade.) Here are the links:

Craft Hope: Project 12 (Orphan Outreach)

Orphan Outreach

hang on!

2011-05-10T08:37:00.004-04:00

Last year for his birthday, we got Max a little Gator. Basically it is a battery powered golf cart type thing for kids. It has been an endless source of entertainment for us and for Max.

Enter Cora. On Sunday we decided to put her on to see if she would like it. (You know, since her cast has now been removed we can up the danger factor a little.) Anyway, so we put her on the Gator, thinking she wouldn't really like it. Oh, she liked it all right...

And she wanted to drive. She steered and Max pushed the pedals. Cora is you know what on wheels:

You should have seen Andrew running all over the yard after them! Oh, I'm not sure why Max has on that Amish hat...

nothing mini about it

2011-05-08T15:30:00.005-04:00

I made it. I finished the 2011 Mini Marathon on Saturday! I feel like it was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, and I am so proud of myself. I feel proud of my body, too. For one of the first times I am really happy and satisfied in my own skin, and a attribute that with running and accomplishing a goal I set for myself.

Here's a recap of my experience: (warning--it is a little wordy!)

I was so nervous the morning of the marathon. Seriously, I don't know how people can be real athletes. I was in corral U for goodness sake (back of the pack!) and I was really nervous. I found my friend Holly--who I've been training with since January--and her husband Scott before we got packed in our corrals. Did I mention there were 35,000 people in this race? Crazy. I was looking for some other people that I knew, but never found them.

The race started and then we were off! Not really, it actually took a little over 20 minutes for me to reach the actual start line. Then I was off! Now, I knew that I could not run the entire course, but I wanted to run as much as I could. I made it to mile 5 then I started to walk. Then I started to wonder how I was ever going to finish.

So I walked a little more. Miraculously, I hear a familiar voice. I turn around and there was my friend/training buddy Holly and her sister Kari! I was so happy to see them! I honestly feel that God knew I needed a little push. How else on earth would I have run into (almost literally) Holly? Don't know. It was like seeing an angel or something.

Holly and I made it through the track, which many people say is the toughest part of the course because it is 2.5 miles around. It takes a while! After the track I felt like I needed to walk a little more, so Holly went on, and I walked on.

I walked, and walked, and walked. I would have liked to run more than I did. I was really not prepared for the toll running/walking on the pavement would have on my body. Cardio wise I felt OK. Not super, but OK. My back/knees/feet/hips were another story. Everything from the waist down was in serious pain. I did the majority of the training on the treadmill, which has a little give to it. The pavement does not. Plus, I knew I had a blister situation on my left pinky toe. But I kept walking. Slowly but surely, I kept passing the mile markers. 9, 10, 11, 12.

The last mile was the longest mile of the whole race. At the quarter mile remaining mark, I started to run again. I was so happy to see the finish line! My official time: 3 hours, nine minutes, 51 seconds. Pretty slow, but I finished.

After the finish line I got my medal--which I am tempted to wear everywhere--and a bunch of snacks. I called Andrew to try and find him in crowd. He just said: "Keep walking straight, I can see you." When I saw him, I cried. I felt like a huge baby, but I couldn't help it. I don't think I have ever been more happy to see him!

On the way back home we stopped at Steak n Shake and I devoured a cheeseburger and fries and two vanilla Cokes. (I'm sure lots of top athletes refuel with Coke.) It all tasted so good because I had really earned it! I almost wore my medal in the restaurant, and I should have so that way people would know why I looked like I had been hit by a truck.

There you have it. My tale of the Mini Marathon. Will I ever do it again? I don't know. Had you asked me yesterday I would have said: "No way--not in a million years!" It was really tough. I do want to continue to run, and work on my fitness level. Like I said, for the first time in my whole life I am really proud of my body. I don't want to pick it apart: it is strong!

Plus, I really love cute workout clothes. So, if nothing else I shall continue with my fitness goals for the clothes. Smile.

weekend plans

2011-05-05T21:55:00.006-04:00

This weekend I think I will go for a little jog...

Oh my goodness. I am not really crazy about running (although it is growing on me), and not really crazy about crowds. It appears from the above photo that I may have signed up for the wrong thing...

Hmm. Maybe next Saturday I shall try to find an event of cupcake eating and talking about books and craft projects. That is more within my comfort zone!

I kid. I think part of the reason I wanted to do the Mini Marathon this year was the fact that it was outside my comfort zone. Really outside. The other reason was that it gave me a goal to work towards. I can tell you, it was really hard to keep getting on the treadmill these past few months. This goal was a little (OK, big) shove towards being more active. I have said before, I am not a runner. I've never been an athlete. I have been running since January, and I feel like I have come a long way. Just exercising regularly is a great outcome from this experience. My first goal was to run the entire 13.1 miles. I am realizing, that at least for me, that goal was a little lofty. Now I just want to finish. Running/walking the whole course.

We'll see! I tend to be a little bit of a Nervous Nellie, so I am hoping that I don't get myself all worked up about it. Me, worked up? Crazy.

(I am banking on my sweet husband letting me sleep in on Sunday so I can recover from all this craziness. It is Mother's Day after all!)

Happy weekend to you!

self timer success

2011-05-05T21:22:00.003-04:00

Reading stories after Cora went to bed. Love that look on Max's face!

happy bath day

2011-05-04T18:12:00.005-04:00

Cora got her cast off today! I have been looking forward to submerging this girl into a tub of soapy water for three weeks now. I even got her some new bubbles. She seems pretty happy having a bath too:

Sweetie.

as promised

2011-05-02T23:14:00.006-04:00

I have a few photos to share from my little photo shoot with my niece, who is the ripe old age of three months. I love it when babies hit that three-month mark. Their little legs start to fill out and get so chubby. I told my niece how much I loved her chubby legs and she cried. One should never comment on the chubbiness of another's legs, even if they are baby. Even if it is super cute.

On to the pictures...

Why do I love pictures of hands so much? Don't know. I think a portrait can be of so much more than a person's face.

I wish someone would have been taking a picture of me taking this picture. We (myself, my brother, my sister-in-law & her mom) were surrounding the poor child while holding up the edges of this pretty sheet. It was a little too bright, and so we had to make a little sun shield. How many people does it take to take a photo of a baby? On this day it took four.

I adore feet and shoe pictures even more than I do hand photos.

Now, these are not the last of the cute niece photos. Callie was not quite feeling me and my camera in her face the other day, so I think we may try for a few more this weekend. OK, if I have to take more pictures of her I will...

featured

2011-05-02T11:05:00.004-04:00

A photograph of mine has been featured today on a blog called Back Home Again. If you love Ball jars, especially the blue ones, be sure to check it out!

I am excited to dust off a few of my blue jars to use for some lilac photos. All of a sudden the lilacs are in bloom! The combination of flowers and blue jars is so beautiful.

friday

2011-04-29T10:28:00.003-04:00

*A happy Friday indeed: the radar is clear and the sun is out!

*I had a good night's rest last night, and Max woke me up at 7:30. Together we watched a little bit of the wedding hoopla. Kate looked beautiful, don't you think?

*Today I'm going to take my niece's three-month pictures...I bet I'll have some cute ones to share next week!

*Tomorrow is my last run with my Mini Marathon training group. The Mini is next weekend. Yikes!

*Hope you have a good weekend! Enjoy the break from the rain!

me + max

2011-04-28T17:01:00.004-04:00

I took this picture today: Max and I decided to make some impromptu sugar cookies, and convinced him to take a picture with me. Impromptu cookie baking is the best in my opinion. It is fitting that I got a picture of me and my boy because this morning we had a little date. Andrew's mom wanted to play with Cora this morning, so Max and I went to get him a (much needed!) haircut, then we went to Target and Burger King. I tried and tried to convince him that Panera would be more fun--they have squirt yogurt!--but he wanted Burger King. You win, buddy.

What you can't see in this photo is that Cora is behind the camera ready to push all the buttons. Panic!

I'm excited that I am in a photo again so I could link up with Emily over at the Anderson Crew blog. Fun fun.

Random question: is anyone getting up early tomorrow morning to watch the wedding of the century? I might, because I haven't been sleeping much lately anyway due to Storm 'O Rama 2011. I feel like my blood pressure has been high for two weeks now. In all seriousness, I do have a big problem with "storm fear". I wonder if there is a phobia for storms. Probably. I'll have to Google it.

My heart goes out to all the families in the south who have been hit hard with tornadoes. I can't watch any more storm footage or really even think about it anymore because I might faint, and then who would bake cookies with Max?

This morning I woke up and the sunlight was streaming through our windows and I was so thankful. I guess you have to have the storms to appreciate a regular, sunny day. I know, I am very philosophical today!

worn out

2011-04-26T10:08:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the kids and I went to the library, then had to run to Hobby Lobby and the grocery. They both fell asleep on the way home. I thought about circling our house in a holding pattern until they woke up, then I remembered that gas is $4 a gallon. So, we came on home, and I very quietly unloaded all the groceries. Then I took my book out to the car and read until Cora woke up.

Max was still so tired--once we were inside I tucked him in on the couch. I love it when he sleeps on the couch:

What is amazing about it is the fact that he can sleep through all kinds of noise. The TV was on, Cora was playing, I was making noise in the kitchen, etc. Poor guy was just worn out.

a little chick

2011-04-25T10:40:00.002-04:00

We had a good Easter yesterday. Easter baskets for the kids at home, then church, then a big lunch at Andrew's parents' house.

Mamaw Kay (Andrew's mom) gave Cora a little Easter chick. It winds up and hops around. She loved it:

Then she tried to eat it:

Cora gagged a little from the fuzz afterward. She is something else.

happy easter

2011-04-22T10:12:00.004-04:00

Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!

georgia kitty

2011-04-21T11:07:00.004-04:00

I think I've shown pictures of our cat Georgia before. Pretty kitty.

For months we thought Georgia was a girl, but later found out that "she" was in fact a "he".

I still call him a her. He a she. So confusing.

Oh well, whatever it is, it is still a pretty cat!

I love how cats lay on the sidewalk when it is warm out. (Note: this photo was taken before all the monsoons this week. Another note: I am tired of rain.)

Enjoy the sunshine today!

dear treadmill

2011-04-19T22:46:00.004-04:00

Dear Treadmill*,

I understand if you are angry with me. This week I haven't been spending much time with you. Please know that it is nothing that you have done. Your little belt still moves around just fine, and your numbers light up perfectly.

I think it must be me. I must have spring fever. Now that the frozen tundra has finally melted, the lure of the great outdoors has gotten stronger and stronger. There are birds out there! And trees and grass and all kinds of lovely things to look at!

I hope you know that you were my first running love, and that the time we have spent together has been great. I feel like I can consume more cupcakes/ice cream/and McDonald's french fries all because of you! Maybe we should just take a little break? Not a break up, but a break. If I leave for a while, I hope you will let me come back. It will snow again, and I still need you in my life.

Much love,
Abby

* I wish I could say that I was running outside more. Sadly, the good ole treadmill is still my most convenient workout option. Most days I do my little run (I still think it is odd to say that I run. I jog at best!) at night, after the kids are in bed. Boy it is hard to work out at night. I could get up early to run in the morning, but I don't think that Andrew would appreciate the lovely sound of the treadmill as he is trying to sleep. (He is a pretty heavy sleeper, so he might not even notice...)

*Isn't running funny? While I am running I actually kind of hate it. Can't wait for it to be over. Then, when I am not running, I think about running. Wanting to run, and reading about other people running. So strange!

*My friend Holly and I are banking on a good long run outside this weekend, as she is wanting to break up with her treadmill too.

in the cabinet

2011-04-17T14:22:00.005-04:00

Sometimes Max and Cora fight. Ok, a lot of times they fight. But every once in a while they play together so sweetly.

They other night they took out ALL of the pots and pans from the cabinet:

Then they climbed into the newly empty space. Fun times Max and Cora.

I love the look in Max's eyes in this photo: you can tell he is smiling really big behind that little flashlight!

hey ladies!

2011-04-17T14:08:00.003-04:00

As the weather warms, the auction business picks up. Before Andrew I had never attended a single auction, now I go to lots: estate sales, farm machinery sales, going out of business sales...

You never know what you will see at the auctions, and you never know who will buy it. Always surprises.

On Saturday we had an auction for a local florist who was going out of business. There was the usual florist type stuff that you would expect: boxes of artificial flowers, ribbons, vases.

Then there were these two lovely ladies:

They cracked me up. They seemed to be having a serious conversation about something. I am glad that one of our auction workers thought to drape them with sheets. Poor things were nude to start out with. How embarassing for them!

I was happy that when it was their turn to be sold, that the buyer took both of them. It would have been a shame to see them split up!