Valentine Printable

Inspiration

Don't be surprised when I take these 2 pictures (my inspiration if you will)

and combine them to create my new bedroom....
it might take me FOREVER to find the perfect quilt set (trust me I've looked)....but let it be written, this is my plan. :) I mean, it's classic! What's not to love?
I can see it now-with a big black chandelier hanging from the ceiling.....STOP ME! I've officially lost it! he he he

A Dog's Life...What a Life!

Cupcake Cuties

The Best Tools

For Christmas I got some pretty sweet stuff to add to my photography collection. I highly recommend these things to anyone looking to explore photography more seriously. They are AMAZING!

First-if you haven't checked out and taken advice from Ken Rockwell-DO IT! He has a website full of simple to understand things about every camera, lens and accessory on the market. The man is a genius where photography is concerned. www.kenrockwell.com

Second-if you are curious as to what kind of camera or lens you'd like best, but don't want to splurge on it when you aren't POSITIVE (seeing as this hobby is a costly one)-I totally recommend using Borrowlenses.com. They make it totally affordable to rent different cameras and lens, insure them and SHIP IT ALL TO YOU! Does it get any easier? A great way to use the equipment and make a sound decision. LOVE it!

Third-the Gary Fong Lightsphere II!!! A recent trip into Kits Cameras turned me on to this next accessory-it is a MUST HAVE. I don't take pictures without it anymore. It is nothing short of AMAZING! (You can also rent this accessory from Borrowlenses!) Trust me-this is a no-brainer!
Personally, I find it annoying to have an external flash that STILL doesn't let out enough light. Ugh-nothing is more irritating than to miss a shot because your stupid flash was too weak for the bad indoor/flourecent lighting. The most expensive piece of "Tupperware" you'll ever own, but....try it and you'll be hooked. It can't get any easier-just attach it to your flash, turn the flahs up towards the ceiling and depending on the inverted dome you clip on the top of the lightsphere (amber color, frosted or chrome) it can create different effects-however the chrome dome is magical-it creates light in a room where there is really crappy lighting-thus eliminating that irritation I spoke of earlier! Gary Fong-what a GENIUS!

Fourth-if you understandably don't want to spend the money on the Gary Fong diffuser-this is a 2nd option that I also love. The Westcottt Mini Apollo Softbox. It is like setting up an indoor studio without having all the strobes, umbrellas and wires all over the place. Try it-you'll LOVE it! Goodbye to over-exposure and shadows! Woo-Hoo!

Last-This set of 3 Digital Photography books (I got mine at Costco). These should be called "photography-recipes for success in EVERY shot". They are SWEET! Super simple to understand, vibrant photo examples on every page-down to the point. I have sat for weeks now with the books on my lap & camera in hand trying out all the fun stuff it has to offer! LOVE LOVE LOVE! HIGHLY recommended. It's like having Ken Rockwell sitting beside you giving you his best tips. Literally-the books were written with that as the intention (just some dude named Scott wrote it-not my pal Ken :)

Anywhoo-I'll get off my soapbox, but I just wanted to share some sweet tricks for those who might be interested. I realize it's probably a "Kristi" thing, to be so enammored by crud like this-after all, most nights I bet you don't go to bed thinking about ISO settings, exposure, white balance, aperature priorities and bokeh-do you???! lol-It's better than counting sheep!

You Heard Right!

Every December-the last Bunco of the fiscal year-we get assigned our hosting month, and I got October again! I am OOBER excited about it too. My type A personality has me planning it already of course. I'm like a kid in a candy shop. I just can't help myself! My inspiration for this years function was our trip to Disneyland this past Halloween...walking around the park & being begged to go into "Spooky House" a zillion times, and now that we are home Emma is STUCK on watching the movie EVERY day-all sorts of ideas have been spiraling out of control in my little head. We've GOT to have a JACK SKELLINGTON Halloween party-and apparently Bunco gets to be my outlet for it! Here's a sneak peek (10 months early-ha ha ha):

Of course we HAD to have a fun invite!

Festive Bunco cards...

My new Jack plates, courtesy of the clearance section of the Disney Store....LOVE that place!

Cute Art piece for the food table...

Cake Pops-TOO CUTE!

Mickey Ears hat from Disneyland will serve as the Traveling Bunco item!

I've always wanted one, so I am going to search far & wide for an awesome deal on a BLACK christmas tree, so I can have a Halloween tree this year! I can see it now....purple lights, swirls of thick shimmery orange and purple tule ribbon spiraling around it, Jack Skellington face ornaments & mini pumpkin lanterns adorning the branches, perhaps wires with bats on "flying" on them poking out???

It's all so exciting for me. I LOVE Halloween! :)

Bring It 2011!

Being that it is New Years Day-we wanted to start off right...on an organized note. On top of that, I got a wild horsehair to rearrange our entire house AS WELL AS start in on the kitchen "face lift"! That is quite the undertaking with 2 crazy kids running around in the process.
We took down all the christmas decor-and that always means a nice growth in square footage. ha ha ha
Plus all the Christmas clutter is now organized nicely in 4 Rubbermaid bins ready for next year. (The stuff they have these days to store christmas stuff is AMAZING!!! I get so amped about organizing crap-it's even better than Christmas!)
We turned our bedroom into the new playroom-and took the trampoline out of the dining room! HALLELUJAH!

We turned Em's room, into our new room-which involved taking down EmmaLee's playhouse bed, and moved it to the garage to use as my classroom playhouse (which Em is actually SUPER excited about!).

The kids are now sharing the "Peter Pan Tink Room"-which use to be Bryce's Pirate Room. They've been sleeping together for a while now anyhow, because Bryce has nightmares and sleeps better if someone is with him. Poor guy.

It is so nice to have all the toys condensed into ONE room instead of scattered all over my house (which was looking more like a Carnival FunZone, than my home)  :) The kids rooms are SO SMALL that it was actually ridiculous having the toys in the same room as their bedroom furniture. That mini crisis is OVER. Hip Hip HORRAY!

This weekend, while Joe & Mike worked on the finishing touches to the outside of the classroom (new windows, siding & electrical "stuff"), I started in on the first phase of my own project-took off 3 of my kitchen cupboards-turned one into my chalkboard weekly meal planner,

and the other 2 are my prototype for the rest of the cabinetry! Maybe you are wondering if I am LOVING it? YES! It's a miracle what a little wainscoting, framed with some trim and painted in High Gloss Onyx can do. Say bye bye to old school knobs too!
Over this year and when our budget allows, I'll work on new countertops, sink & crown molding. Heaven knows it's all LOOOOONG overdue.

Celebrating with Family