Getting Crafty

Along with photography, art has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I'm not necessarily the most talented, but I enjoy any chance I get to get messy with some paint. Awhile back my husband took me to a wine & canvas joint, and I had the time of my life; not to mention sharing it with my hubby was a real perk.

But this isn't about Pinot & Picasso.

This is about sharing the fun of arts & crafts with my baby girl! Well, not so much a baby anymore. Now that Audriana is getting older, we have been getting pretty crafty with all sorts of things. I'm loving the fact that she can pick out her own colors, and just let go!! Although it may seem to be a mess, it's all about the fun! And it certainly has been just that.

My mother-in-law loves getting Audriana the cutest crafts, and usually going along with the current holiday. Better believe I dive right in and join the fun!! Some of the most recent items she's crafted are a scarecrow, pumpkins, and a couple cute Halloween figurines; cat & owl witch. Audriana is gracious enough to allow me one of the items, so as displayed you can see hers and mine.

Recently we painted pumpkins, and my oh my was that... a mess. Ha. Of course it's all fun, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being a little over protective. Hints the table cover, and over excessive amount of paper towels. And yes, the last photo is my attempt to make a spider on our baby's pumpkin. Audriana wanted to make sure her baby brother's pumpkin was festive... I did my best.

 Lastly, we painted an assortment of randomness. She was in the painting mood, so we went with it! The few others we put together were done with nothing more than a sharpie, paint brushes, and paper plates!

 She's such an artist! ;) I'm loving this age where she is so independent, and I can enjoy her artistic individuality. Although they're bittersweet moments. My little girl is growing up so quickly before my very eyes.

Shade of the Week

Trying to think of some clever title to go along with my weekly polish change-up. I don't know if this will stick, but it's good for now. I didn't realize I could actually make a post out of such a small accessory, but by-jove I have managed to do so these last two weeks. So continuing with this new tradition, this week I'm rocking an old favorite!

Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure Shell We Dance 160.

This has been one of my most popular staples for years. The photo color is much more pink than the actual shade result. It's subtle, yet enough color to make a nice classy statement. Love love love.

Fall Wedding ::look book::

Another momentous occasion deserving of a look book. This past weekend, a good friend of ours got married, thus resulting in an overload of pictures! The details were exquisite and the guest list consisted of yet another High School reunion. I've known Jamie for over 20 years, since we first went to grade school together. She and I were also teammates for our high school volleyball team at Providence High. I was so happy to bear witness to this special occasion; beginning her new life with her new husband, Sam.

The wedding was held at one of our local, and historical hotels downtown, The Seelbach. It's quite a popular venue for gatherings of any sort, but I'd say a large variety of those are weddings. Upstairs the ceremony was held in their old Grand Ballroom. Recently renovated, it was stunning and seemed to be the perfect location for an intimate wedding.


First entering the room, you are completely overwhelmed by the FLOWERS. I guess I should also mention the bride's family is the owner of one our local, and very popular florists, Nance Floral Shoppe. Therefore, the flower details were certainly at a high expectancy, but I was still completely blown away. The aisles consisted of large vase arrangements, along side candles.

As you can see, it was beautiful. Given our seats I wasn't able to get the full view of the front, but it was certainly something to see as you can imagine.

We were told the candles caught the eye of more than just the guests seated next to them. Apparently, the ring bearer (groom's son) was so mesmerized, he asked if he could blow them out on his way down the aisle. Kids! Hilarious.

Well, the ceremony was as expected - a tear jerker! The groom immediately teared up when he saw Jamie coming down the aisle. I thought I was going to lose it right then and there. Luckily I was able to get through it with just a couple watery eyes; although these pregnancy hormones could have suggested otherwise. After the ceremony we made our way down to the Seelbach's lower level venue, the Rathskeller. This is where the reception was held. Again... breathtaking.

A beautiful arrangement of center pieces, votive candles, and each place setting accompanied by a purple rose. Gorgeous. And as always, the hatred part of blogging, I tried capturing every detailed shot I could. The lighting was as it should be, dim and romantic, but it is the absolute enemy for photographs. I was able to lighten the exposure, but it still doesn't do justice to the ambiance of this occasion.

After dinner and the dance formalities, so began the mingling. It's great seeing old friends and classmates, catching up on life's recent events (engagements, pregnancies, etc.). I just love it! The bride actually had three out of her five bridesmaids who were pregnant. Isn't that something?

One of them being another good friend, and fellow volleyball player, Juli (on the right). This spunky lady is truly one of the most sweetest gals I've been blessed to know. Sadly, she lives clear across the country in California, so it's great to see that face when possible!! I'm so happy for her and her husband on their soon-to-be baby boy. It was so exciting to find out she was having a boy, also. Yay for baby boys!!!! Not to mention, she's only about 5 weeks behind me, due in February.

Here with our bestie, Erika, we attempted to get a side by side shot of our baby bumps. There's mine... can you see her little bump? No? Neither could I. And yes I gave her a lot of crap about it, too. She's just tiny and it's her first baby - at least that's what I keep telling myself. Ha! She was simply glowing. This pregnancy is going to be good to her, I can tell. :) Congrats again, Juli and Brad!!!!

After further mingling, we managed to snap some more photos of everyone together - the best we could. We were hoping to get one of our classmates, but with the dance floor a blaze and drinks flowing, it was pretty difficult to keep everyone in one place for too long. Nonetheless, we got what we could. Along with a few silly photos of me and Erika, just being ourselves.

And I can't forget my handsome date. He was such a trooper that night; escorting me to and from the bathroom every hour. Although he does it with no hesitancy, I know it gets redundant. Ha! He's so good to me, and I'm grateful. LOVE YOU, CHRIS.

I just love LOVE, and true love stories at that. The story of how Jamie and her new husband, Sam, met reminds me of a classic movie. Although God's plan is never written out for us to know ahead of time, making these fate drawn relationships spectacular in ways we can't explain. I'm so happy for Jamie and Sam. I wish them the absolute best on this new journey together!! Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day! Sending you lots and lots love!!! Xoxo

Harvest Festivals ::look book::

Well here we are three post days later. I'm getting quite good with that. Although, the excuse is exceptional if I do say so myself. As mentioned, this weekend was full of festivities and began on Thursday! Needless to say, I am exhausted. Nevertheless, the weekend was incredible and I'd relive it all over again. Except for the fact that I may or may not have gotten sick from all the food... literally, sick. Not that the food was by any means intolerable, just my stomach's intolerance to the over consumption. Moving on! I'm excited to share some of the highlights of this weekend. Given the amount of photos I gathered, I decided on a few look book collages. Get ready for a photo overload.

The following consists of the line for dumplings, our lunch after waiting in said line, Jess and her roasted corn on the cob, the children and the freaky pumpkin that Audriana was obsessed with, and lastly me and my girl.
A successful afternoon!

Next is our second day, split into two occasions. Earlier in the afternoon, Audriana and I met up with Jess, my mom, aunt, mother-in-law, sister-in-law. We had the usual for lunch (yes, more dumplings) and then enjoyed a few games for the little one. She attempted at the race car game, got some cotten candy and a balloon (a pretty sweet gumball machine) and lastly made her first sand art!

Second half (me in new attire, given I sweat my butt off that morning - hot!) we went back down for our last venture around the booths. Along for the final night was Chris, Audriana, my parents, my aunt and uncle. We like to make sure we take up the whole street when we walk through the crowds. Ha. Well no dumplings were consumed for this occasion, given we just had them that afternoon, but don't you worry, we already stocked up and had them in the fridge at home. This time around we enjoyed some roasted corn, pumpkin ice cream (not pictured), and apple dumplings. Mmmmm.

That concludes our Harvest Homecoming adventures!! Did you see the size of that cup? Those were the apple dumplings. Seriously, it's no wonder why my stomach ached this weekend. All worth it, though.

Next was our adventure to Gallrein Farms for another family festival. We're talking trains, hay rides, pumpkin patch, hay stack pyramids, face painting, bounce house, and pony rides - to name a few. It's open to the general public, but my husband's work reserved an area for their private party. Thank goodness for that, because in most cases that means clean bathrooms. I celebrate those little perks given my frequent potty breaks.

So moving forward from my pregnancy blatter nonsense. Here are some photos I was able to capture of our family fun day. It was a looooooong afternoon (1pm-6pm) but we survived! First we made our way to the pumpkin patch. There we found one for mommy & Papa Chris, then two of the smallest pumpkins I've ever seen for Audriana and her baby brother. :)

Next we had some lunch, and awaited the raffle drawing for prizes. No winners here, but we didn't walk away empty handed. Having children always means some sort of goodie bag. So a few candy bars later, we were now on to the general public area for more fun! 

Here the girls rode on a John Deer train, got their faces painted, rumbled around on hay stacks, and Audriana experienced her first horseback ride by herself - while I nearly had a heart attack.

So like I said... what a weekend!!! Luckily after a good bath and early bedtime, babygirl and I slept in till around 8am this morning. Much needed, at least for me. She was up and at it, ready to paint her and her brother's pumpkin! So that's on our agenda today. Oh yea, check out the size of this baby pumpkin.

They always say to count your blessings, and I certainly do everyday. I'm grateful for the opportunities God allows for days like these; beautiful weather, the gathering of friends and family. This weekend could not have been more perfect, and I find myself speechless in ways to describe my happiness.

I love my family, and I cherish these moments together. Tomorrow is never promised, so we should always be grateful for the current moments we embark on and take advantage of enjoying every second. He is good to us, and not a day goes by where I forget that.

Harvest is here!

Well folks, the time has come. Our town's annual festival is here!!! It's the week anticipated year after year. Literally, once the week is over I set a countdown for the next one. It's that serious. My husband kids me all the time, apologizing that he doesn't share the same thrill for this holiday (it should be). Nonetheless, he joins me on my food fest. Deep inside, I know he loves it too. Who can't?!?!

What makes this festival so special to me, is the overload of delicious food options and the inevitable reunion of old classmates; sometimes pleasant, sometimes not. For me I always enjoy seeing new/old faces, so I'd say it's a pleasant encounter. I can't wait to share the details of this weekend with everyone!

There will be an overindulgence of chicken & dumplings, sweet roasted corn, pumpkin ice cream, and apple dumplings; just to name a few. Mmm I just had breakfast and my mouth's still watering.

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Beautiful Berry

Well, I couldn't resist the change. I found a new color to sport this week! It wasn't one of the two I listed last week, but I will get to those soon enough. This one struck me while waltzing through Walgreens (I'm as bad there as I am in Target) and a "sale" sign caught my eye under my favorite name brand polish. $3.49!! You better believe I jumped on that. Limited to colors, I still somehow struck gold with this find.

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Beautiful Berry 31. 

Whether it's one coat or two, this week's color fits in perfectly for this time of year. This particular line is known for it's 30% nail growth formula. I haven't always been a fan of growth enhancing nail polish, because I'm pretty particular about the length of my nails and don't like filing them more often than necessary. That sounds a bit OCD, but what can I say... I'm guilty. Nonetheless, I love this brand and each line that it offers.