july 2010 desktop calendar :: photography

click on the image above to view the full-res image.  right click and save... then enjoy!

my son and i went for a walk thru the nature preserve by our house.  my inspiration for the july desktop calendar came from our walk.  in the picture below, you can see he was having a great time too.

good morning road :: running

good morning road.  i've missed you.

it has been a while since i've gone running.  i finally made it out this morning and it was hot, humid, early, and glorious.  i can't wait to go again.

brothers

i love this quote by clara ortega...

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. 

design makeover

sassafras got a makeover. the blog that is... not me. hope you enjoy!

the background image is a throw-back to my texture photography. that's how i started this whole camera obsession anyway. in grad school i studied 3d animation. my favorite part was texturing my models. and really, what i liked about that was actually taking the photos of the textures that i would then apply to those models. long story short... here i am... taking photos of anything i can. and blogging about it.

day trip

i am loving maternity leave.  with my first son, i went back to work 5 days after i had him.  i haven't ever taken off work to just stay home...  it's a wonderful thing.  i am completely enjoying every minute i have with my boys.

one of those boys is "pseudo hubby" who gets some time off work too.  as scheduled as i am, "pseudo hubby" is spontaneous.  we are opposites in that matter, but my favorite times we have spent together are when he disrupts my day and drags me to do something else that he just thought of 5 minutes prior to us leaving.

which is exactly what happened yesterday.  after a morning of perusing craig's list, we set out to petersburg (illinois) to look at a 4-wheeler.  on the way, we stopped to take pictures (of course) and do a little shopping.  we found a great little antique shop right in petersburg.  i ended up with an italian himark bowl that we paid $3 for.  after getting home, i did a little research and found it's worth at least $25.  i was thrilled.  i put it right in the middle of my dining room table for show.  now, each time i pass it, i will have a memory of our time off together.

rain on a hosta :: macro photography

i love mornings like this. the rain had just stopped and the sun was refreshingly warm. i slipped out back for a second to snap some photos of the garden... to my delight & surprise our hostas had bloomed.

birth announcements :: graphic design

i signed up for shutterfly to get free prints and order "bump's" birth announcements.  i then realized, i'm not nearly patient enough to wait 2 weeks for them to be sent to my house.  i also feel like "bump" will change so much in the next 2 weeks, that by then, i would be sending an outdated picture of my little son.  so... i took the matter in my own hands and the result is below.  i just love how chubby his cheeks look when they are all smashed from lying down!

open house :: etsy finds

friends and family galore have stopped by to meet new baby "bump".  i was smart enough to send "psuedo hubby" to the store while baby and i were in the hospital, so i at least have something to feed most visitors, but i can't help imagine a more wonderful open house...

i would serve cake on this ceramic dogwood cake stand by whitney smith.  i would set it right in the middle of my dark wood table so that everyone could walk by and admire.

these citrus slip-on coasters by dimmalimm can serve two purposes.  they can be used as coasters, or as in the picture above, help in differing between wine glasses.  this is how i would use them because everyone knows how much i love a glass of chilled white wine in the summer.  so do my friends.

i just love this postcard garland by vintageScraps.  the seller has so many to choose from as well.  i would hang a birthday garland to celebrate "bump's" arrival on the fireplace mantel in our living room.  it would be the centerpiece of our visiting as friends take turns holding the new baby.

for the children that come visit (and are usually bored with "bump" in 5 minutes), i would suggest playing this awesome castlepults game by homenstead.  i've never seen anything like it and i am impressed with the craftmanship as well as the creativity!  i know "the monster" would love taking on a few opponents.

and finally, just for little "bump"...  these baby booties by RainRainRain are adorable.  perfect for any little boy and you can't beat the price at only $10 a pair.

baby "bump" has arrived

a tired mom...

 

a very happy dad...

 

an excited big brother...

 

adorable baby feet...

 

sweet baby fuzz...

welcome "baby bump"...

are we there yet?

this picture was taken this morning.  i began contractions last saturday night.  for days, they have come and gone with no regularity.  i woke up this morning and suddenly, contractions were coming very frequent!  i had a dr appt mid-morning, so i went ahead with the morning routine, went into work and took care of some final items then headed to the dr office.  to my delight, the stress test showed that i was in fact having real contractions every 3-5 minutes.  i left the office and promised to check into the hospital when they become strong enough that i had trouble breathing thru them.

then....  nothing.  as soon as they came this morning, they stopped.  i came home to grab a bite and get a little rest before the big event, but as soon as i laid down everything stopped.

this is normal i know.  but, i was so excited.  now i'm bummed and "psuedo hubby" is back at work.  so.  i'll wait.  hopefully not for days...  just hours.  what do you think?  will i have the baby tonight?

4th birthday cake :: cake decorating

did i show you "the monster's" cake i made him?  we did cupcakes for his party, but for the family dinner, i went all out and made him a fudge marble cake decorated with a crazy amount of candy!  he woke up from nap just as i was finishing it, so i couldn't keep it a surprise.  i think i heard "can we eat it now?" a thousand times.

jolene & kevin :: wedding photography