I Have Moved.

Hi friends. It's not that I haven't posted lately...it's just that I haven't posted here. You can find me at my new hizzy on the world wide web:

http:veryeasilyinspired.blogspot.com

Half Birthday.

Today is Selah's half birthday. That means that 2 1/2 years ago at 2:30pm, my life changed forever for the good. After a very unexpected emergency C-section, I left Winnie Palmer with a little baby girl in my arms 5 days later. I have learned more about myself, this world, being a mother, and grace and sacrifice from this little piece of heaven than anywhere else.

So after 30 months of life, who is she?

Rock collector extraordinaire.

Tiny dancer.

Asker of many, many questions.

Trinket gatherer.

Lover of people.

Maker of friends.

Watcher of Dora and Diego.

Princess wannabe.

Fruit snack fiend.

Wordsmith.

Potty skeptic.

Cell-phone chatter.

Light of my life.

Double Duty.

This week, I am gonna do 2 little participatory deals at once:

and

Thankful Thursday

Now that feels productive. And happy. And a little happiness and productivity goes along way in my world...

Recently, I had the privilege of shooting one of my bestie's family portraits. That was fun enough itself. And let's be honest, I am in love with my camera and all things photography. So, embracing it is as easy as breathing. Usually I am in the embrace pic, but this week I was behind the lens watching Selah with Amy and company.

She thinks that she is part of their family. :)

If she knew what bff's were, I am pretty sure these 2

would be at the top of her list.

Oh the sweetness.

Which brings me to my thankful Thursday sentiments:

1.) Oh, how grateful I am to have such WONDERFUL friends who treat my daughter like their own and take such good care of her. Seriously, I would be lost without them.

2.) On a much less sentimental note, I am thankful for anything chocolate that is stuffed with Reese's peanut butter. My mom sent me a six pack for Valentine's Day. And it's better than any beer. Ever.

3.) I went dancing the other day. What? Yeah. Dancing. Like at a club. And oh, was it ever an experience. $12 drinks and strangers with no boundaries. But, it was FUN. Much needed FUN. And I even wore jeggings for the special occasion. Though I have to say that they seemed like a chastity belt compared to the way that some of these women were dressed. You know those stores that you drive past sometimes with all kinds of skanky, skin tight, scantily draped clothing and you think to yourself, who wears this stuff?! Well, the people at Blue Martini do.

But, not us. We were just some normal girls with clothes on out to have some good old fashioned fun. And when you team up for that, you can beat off any random men that try to work their way in to your safe circle. Promise.

The Dancing Queens

4.) Bargains. This past week, I purchased these babies from Target.

For $7.48. I've had my eye on them for quite a while now, but $29.99 was a little too steep for my money/gift-card hoarding self to bare. But, $8!?! Score.

5.) And lastly, I wanna send a shout out to my sweet little lady. Her spunk rocks my world.

It's That Time of the Month.

No, not that time, silly. It's Cewing Time! And we are planning on making aprons! Don't be intimidated, okay? (That's what I keep telling myself...). Our fearless leader will be there to guide us.

This is a woman who knows how to sew people.

There are basically 3 ways to accomplish this whole apron deal.

1.) go to walmart and get a kit that comes with the necessary fabric and the pattern. (turns out joann's does NOT carry the kit in their stores.)

2.) choose the hard way or

3.) obtain a pattern of the internet or buy one at your sewing store of choice and then find the kind of fabric you want and wa-la.

a word about the hard way: i am going to try to make my own pattern using hannah's anthropologie apron...this is not the easy way, but let's be honest, that's just how i roll.

also, if you wanted to pick out a pattern at joann's or the sewing place in maitland, the store peeps should be able to help you to then get enough fabric/thread/etc. to make whatever it was that you had in mind. the pattern envelope will tell you exactly what you need in order to make it...and then mary will graciously help us from there...

so, let's review:

1.) tuesday, march 1st is the next cewing circle. 7:30pm

2.) we are working on aprons, so choose your method above.

3.) get your hiney to the store to get the necessary supplies

4.) be there or square on tuesday.

Capiche? (Get it (in Italian)?) Good. :)

Boutique for a Week is back!

It's time to remind you about my favorite place to shop for my little lady: Boutique for a Week! The fabulous week long consignment sale is back for spring, so mark your calendars for NEXT WEEK if you'd like to check it out. Visit boutiqueforaweek.net to learn more about the sale and to see their schedule of events. The sale opens to the public on Thursday, March 3rd. The schedule is a little different this time, so check first before you head down. And AS ALWAYS, the sooner you can get there, the better. All the good stuff gets gone real fast. :)

They have TONS of stuff....clothes, baby gear, bedding, furniture, etc. And, if you are feeling froggy, there is still time to register as a consignor to sell some things too (you have until Saturday night to enter items).

I really love attending this sale and have gotten so many fabulous things for Selah there. Most of her really cute clothes (and shoes) come from this sale.

This time, BFAW will be held just a few miles off of I-4 on West Colonial Drive. I just googled it and it will take me about 15 minutes to get there from College Park. Yippee!

Petting Farm Part Deux

Do you think that the Pioneer Woman would be willing to take us in? She looks like a natural cowgirl and I'd be up for being mentored...

Random pictures of chickens.

This made me want some even more.

I am seriously considering putting a few in the back yard. Fresh eggs.

Animals for Selah to be around. It's a win, win.

A zorse. Not joking. It's the love child of a horse and a zebra. Sorry about

the view, but it was important to see the stripes...

Cow-milking fail. Just a little too close to an 800 pound beast for her liking...

Momma could not resist though. :)

This quote basically says it's mean not to expose your kids to nature

and animals. And I concur. Hence, the soon to be chickens in my back yard.

(I wouldn't want to fail Selah in that way...)

And lastly, but most importantly, the llama.

I GET this animal.

Sometimes, all that you can do in life is just sit there and look stupid. :)

Embracing little tiny chicks and ducks. And the now. Before it's gone.

It's official. My child plays hard to get with the camera.

Case in point: our recent trip to the Petting Farm.

"Oh. Me? What?...I can't hear you. You want me to look away from the camera?"

"This amazing giant tractor? Emmm. It's alright. I guess."

"Wait, did you want me to frown when the camera is pointed my direction Mom? Cause this chick is just really depressing me."

"And this pony is kinda overrated."

But really, who can get frustrated with this precious little creature for more than a second?

It's not all about the pre-empted smiles and attentiveness to what mom wants after all.

Even if she wants to be a rockin' photographer.

And...if Momma is patient, sometimes I can be caught at just the right moment...

and my joy is captured.

It's worth hanging in there, cause those moments are the bomb.

"I'm already 2 and a half Mom. Soak it all in because soon,

it won't be cool for me to act like you are my favorite."

OK. Now it's your turn to get all mushy smoosh.

Embracing the Move.

Moving is much easier with help. Even if it's pint size.

Are you as excited as I am?

Blurry, but super cute. The kid. Not the pile of stuff. :)

Side bar~today is a momentous occasion that must be documented:

today was the first time ever that when I said "I love you baby,"

the Bug stopped for a moment, tilted her little head and said sheepishly back:

"I love you, too."

omg. one of the most moving things i have ever experienced.

Now, here's your chance to embrace your day with someone you

like to snuggle with...

Learn all about why we embrace the camera at Emily's blog.

RUFFLES!

It is with the utmost excitement that I present to you...

a ruffle.

That I made.

This tickles my crafty little soul. Not sure why it feels like such a big accomplishment, but really. I am so excited about it. This fabric will soon become a pillow.

Look out world. It's about to get a lot more ruffly around here....

Wait. What?

Recently, I was in Winter Park shooting a typical senior portrait session. We heard something weird and noticed off in the distance a car swimming in a lake. WTF? (that means what the frick, for those of you that think I would be so worldly as to use code for the f bomb. :) )

Back to my story. The car in the lake.

Looked a little something like this.

What the crap? I did a double, and a triple take. And still, it did not register. What the heck is a car doing in a lake? The guy wasn't panicking or flailing his arms like I would be if it weren't on purpose. And then he drove the thing right up out of the water. And parked it like a normal car.

Meet "Amphicar."

We approached the man, surely like every other non-social phobic person that has ever seen this occur. He was such a peach that he offered to take my graduating client on an adventure. Since I was being paid to capture his image, I opted out of the boat trip. (Dang it!) But, I was able to photograph the whole experience.

Hey normal car! Careful by that there water!

Looks like we are at a theme park.

I will never be able to offer a cooler portrait session

to a senior boy ever. Look at him in the passenger seat!

The owner of the amphicar might like the attention. Maybe.

Almost done.

This goes down in the history of me as one of the most interesting things I have ever witnessed. So glad I had my camera! All hail the Amphicar. Oh wait. It's German. Shouldn't say it like that. Um....thanks for the experience Amph. :)

Sneakity Peakity.

It's moving week. Again. Nothing like moving your entire existence twice in 7 months. It's so rest producing and all...

And so what would be more appropriate at this time than to take on a project? :) Makes total sense. Focus on what's important right? Here enters my new craft locker. As a reminder, this is what it came like:

And here is a post makeover sneak peak:

The bells and whistles have yet to be added. And it's sitting on a cluttered back porch. Which is just not pretty. Once I get in to the new pad, I will get it all together and post another pic.

And this is a glimpse in to why someone like me would need something such as this.

I am an organized person's worst nightmare. And I am the last person that should attempt to live in a 1200 square foot house with little storage space. Good thing the new place is a little bigger, eh? And good thing I have my new super fun craft locker!

On a side note, I just realized that I forgot to snap a shot of the Packing Party that I had on Saturday. PLEASE, IF EVER YOU MOVE, KEEP THIS IN MIND! I had several friends over to assist in the process of boxing stuff. It was a great time with the ladies and we got a ton accomplished and I was completely compliant with my chiropractor's orders for NO LIFTING. Yay us.

Happy Monday ya'll!

Amendment.

Okay girlies, the cewing circle plan has changed. Show up to Hannah's on Tuesday evening with anything you'd like....even if it's a bottle of wine. And we will enjoy a time of fellowship and sewing random things if you'd like. And then we'll firm up plans for next month to begin the apron adventure.

Apron Party~What to Bring!

Cewing Peeps-

After looking through a ton of these apron patterns, it seems like the best thing to do is for each of us to come to the Circle with our own pattern printed out and desired fabric purchased. It felt a little intimidating to me at first to get this stuff off of the web, but after a little more homework, I think it will be fairly easy.

Here are a few more choices:

Inspiration #4

Inspiration #5

So, now here's what you need to do:

1.) pick the apron that you want to do.

2.) download the pattern FOR FREE! found on each tutorial and print out

3.) purchase required amount of fabric per tutorial instructions (looks like around 1.5-2 yards)

*I just went to the sewing superstore place in maitland (on 17/92) to have my machine repaired and to my surprise they had amy butler fabrics for $10/yard. Her designs are BEAUTIFUL and it fits the whole anthropologie style. They had a sign advertising a facebook page and coupons, so maybe it is affordable after all. Has anyone signed up for the coupons?

4.) email me if you are stuck since I have not yet downloaded my patterns and it looks a little persnickety.

Got it? OK great! Comment or email with questions or concerns. Hope to see you Tuesday!

Cewing Circle Prep!

Okay Sewey Sewersons....we have reached the point in our Circle journey that we have all been waiting for. Or at least some of us. We are taking on the apron projects my homies! Here are some links below that I am seeking for inspiration....Stay tuned for the deets on what to bring to Hannah's house next week. Feb. 1st. 7:30pm. You. Your sewing machine. Or someone else's. (We heart sharing). Some fabric. Some ruffles. Oh. Yeah. It's. On. :)

Inspiration #1

Inspiration #2

Inspiration#3

Which one do YOU like? C'mon now. Don't be shy. :) Do any of you ladies have an inspiration pattern? Or plan to get one? Please do share a link. Just wondering how many I should come with... :)

Touched.

My dear mentor just posted this on her facebook page. This song is beautiful. And the words couldn't speak more to my heart. Sometimes death must come before life can happen. This metaphor is all over the place, but I can't say that I've understood it until it actually began to happen to me.

A Little Bit Crazy.

Here is today's Embrace the Cam shot. We were headed out for a Home Depot run. I hid behind my child secretly because I hadn't changed my clothes in a few days. And it looks like a bomb went off because we are about to move. Again. {sigh.}

Coincidentally, the goose managed to wear a backpack and carry a map in this pic. She began watching Dora a few weeks ago and I am afraid that we are never turning back. Up until this point, I managed to only put on the occasional DVD or a few choice PBS shows for her. But no more. Dora is the deal. I didn't realize until I was about to take the picture that she had her Dora gear on. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but it gave me a chuckle.

In other news, I confirmed for myself today that I am, in fact, a little bit crazy. In the midst of the chaos of my life, not limited to getting ready for a move, trying to manage a serious back issue, being a mother to a 2 year old, and starting a business, I have taken on a few projects. I already posted on one today. And then I went and started another. What am I thinking? No. What in the Sam hell am I thinking? Ei yei yei me. Here's a little sneakity peak at project #2 minus the 2 cans of spray paint that are already coating it. Gotta head back to the Depot for some more. Spray paint makes me feel powerful.

I love you Craigslist.

Back to my crazy...Yeah. So, I tend to thrive and be more productive when I have craploads of things to do. I've got problems. Big ones. Which is why it's so good that crafts and projects are cheaper than therapy. Stay tuned for the end result of project #2. :)