recently a friend of mine asked me about interior decorating . . . i told her i don't know anything about it other than my own philosophy: i decorate from the heart! i don't hang or display anything in my house that doesn't mean something to me. as i was looking, i realized that the things that mean the most are my mini collections. 

my cameras . . . several of them belonged to my grandparents and a few i picked up at a flea market while on our rv adventure. i love that my friend, jamie, captured cleo "taking pictures."

these glass boxes (made by a friend) hold so much family history. i spy my great great grandma's view finder, my parents at prom, my grandma's birthday book, sand dollars that henry found for me, my mom's first birthday candle holder, her playing cards, my dad's baby book, hankies . . .

one of my very favorite collections . . . it's my version of a family tree for my kiddos.  

{when the color is bluck, b&w is always my fix} their great grandparents, great aunts and uncles, grandparents and kev, ben and me all have a place on this wall!

ok this is a favorite too! i have two columns on each side of my sink that display my  great-grandma's salt and pepper shaker collection. 

when we were designing my kitchen i knew that i wanted a special place for the salt and pepper shakers and my fiestaware  . . . 

i think this is an interesting collection. these belonged to my grandpa who was in the turkey biz. i don't know much about them other than they were wing labels/clips used in butcher shops to let customers know what farm the turkey's came from . . .

this was from my grandpa's farm

 : : : : : : : 

do you collect anything? 

remember my "chapter ahead" friend? i was honored when she asked me to snap a couple pictures of her son . . . he's a senior! {i am potty-training and she is looking at colleges!} hope you have a great year sam! 

happy monday

my camera definitely earned it's keep this past weekend!

: : : : : : : : : : : : : :

F R I D A Y

in between snapping pictures, my helper would ram a vintage baby buggy into my clients {ie friends husband} shins . . . thanks mike for being a good sport! 

S A T U R D A Y

i finally remembered to bring my camera to the dog park . . .

it's a beautiful, perfect place for taking pictures!

i am not in enough pictures with my kids! i hate seeing myself in pictures . . . i am either too fat, or my head looks huge or i don't have makeup on . . . but this is me! this is what i look like on most days . . .  so embrace it, right?

S U N D A Y

sunday brought this blue eyed beauty . . .

but not before these three had to "test" out my set up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

make your own heart here

show and Tell Wednesday: stickygram

instagram + stickygram = true love

just got my order and let me tell you people . . .

who would have thought a little square 
could make a girl so happy!

something i read, ate and created

very deep and meaningful 

 - hollywood news from across the pond -

it's a daily read for me!

YUMMY and EASY

via



found this idea here
used pages from my vintage dictionary 

got a chance to use it for a 

valentine's day photo shoot with these beauties!

filling MY cup

i had a weekend that filled my cup right up . . .

 the Hudson Hot Air Affair parade

stood with some great friends laughing and cheering

(right in front of the porn shop . . . which makes me giggle that we even have a porn store in hudson)

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ms. pac man and am cokes at pier 500 with kevie

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matilda jane happy hour with good friends

 who share a love for food, drinks and fun clothes!

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a chance to get outside and photograph 

the morning snow crystals 

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what fills your cup?

Good News | Bad News

The bad news: I lost my phone and had to buy a new one

The good news: a new phone case was in my future!

Remember Kristin? She took this super cool picture of her vintage camera collection . . . I downloaded the picture to Uncommon and a couple days later . . . my super cool phone case was on my doorstep!

Happy New Year!

the best part of our holiday was being in playa del carmen for new year's eve! we spent 6 days in mexico with this crew . . . it was the best NYE ever! 

kristin (the gal on the far right) and i get together several times a year to have camera play dates or "cpd" . . . we took it to a whole new level this year and went international!

our assignment: capture each couple jumping on the beach in manual mode! what we figured out (we are NOT professional photographers) . . .  we needed a big ol' aperture so lots could be in focus but we also needed a super fast shutter speed to "catch" them in the air.  in order to have both, we needed to jack up our iso . . . i think we did ok! i edited these using the totally rad lab (slight obsession). i tend to over-edit pictures . . .  do not follow my lead! 

if you got a new camera this year for christmas take the time and learn how to use it! it can be a ton of fun!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to our beautiful, silly, no fear, singing, nose picking, dancing, Mickey Mouse loving girl! 

To my right hand girl . . .

I am lucky to have a great print shop right here in Hudson and part of what makes it so great is Serena!  She is sort of my right hand girl at Pretty Girl Designs . . .  So when she asked me to snap a few picture of her son I couldn't think of a better way to "pay" her back for all the stuff she does for me . . . up until this point I was "paying" her in chocolate! 

Isn't he the sweetest? It was so fun to finally meet him in person and get to love on him a bit! I am pretty sure he asked about me the next day! 

shhhh don't tell our boss!

this picture makes me giggle . . .  at the time it was taken we were hiding behind a ginormous light in the studio . . . i was supposed to be taking product shots and i am not quite sure what she was supposed to be doing . . .  then she became the model and i the photographer (aka look-out girl)..... shhhhh don't tell our boss!


{isn't she pretty? guess what? she is smart too!}

Bubbles . . .

I have been trying to get a good bubble picture for quite some time . . . I think I finally got one! So I thought I would post a tutorial so you could try it too!

this is what you will need . . 

1. a camera . . . set on continuous shooting . . . i keep my camera set to this most of the time. especially when i am taking pictures of my kiddos.

2.  a bubble gun works best, preferably one your 20 month old knows how to use!

3.  patience

your 20 month old shoots the gun and you shoot your camera . . . over and over and over again . . . until you get ONE good picture!  have fun! 

disclaimer: i am not a professional photographer!

Meet Mark

I started working for a photographer a couple years ago, and from day one I had camera/lens envy . . .  it got to the point where I didn't want to take pictures at home anymore unless I had my "work" camera with me . . . so I started to save for a new camera! Here he is . . . isn't he a beauty?

But let's talk about what's really important . . . my adorable new camera strap! You can find it here.

Photography Challenge

Wanna know the best way to learn how to use your "fancy camera"? PRACTICE and then PRACTICE some more! Here is a great way to get started. Check out this 30 day photography challenge I found on Pinterest (thank you white peach) My dear friend, Kristin and I are going to start on Saturday. Join Us!