the mcroy babes

I left you last time with mention of a baby shoot for a good friend of mine, Julianne McRoy. She asked me to take pictures are her new baby girl, Leah, and of her precious son, Mason. After an amateur photographer mistake on my part...I was finally able to set up and start snapping.

What a joy of a family! Although far away from that point in my own life, it's refreshing to see such a loving and joyful family atmosphere. I couldn't help but smile at both children while trying to capture exactly who they are at exactly this age. Below are the results:

I had such a great time with this shoot! Thanks to Julianne and Chris for allowing me into their home and maybe I can take next year's pics ;).

Night for now! Yard sales are calling my name...

'tis the season for babies

Is it just me or is EVERYONE either pregnant or having babies?

I guess it's just that stage of life in which having little ones is the next step; but for me? Not ready. I'm far too consumed with my own life to be concerned with taking care of another human. Hey, at least I'm honest. Quick, late night Target trips are much to precious :).

Maybe once marriage is checked off the list, babies will make their way into the agenda, but until then, I shall celebrate everyone else's wonderful life change!

Enter Leslie and Ken:

I met this awesome couple through a mutual friend. They were married last April and this August were blessed with TWINS! After celebrating their exciting news, I was super excited when they asked me to take their maternity pictures. I immediately said "yes!" and scheduled a shoot.

The backdrop was the beautiful Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina and it was a hot, hot day, but none-the-less, we were determined to get the best (and most fun) pics possible. And we did! Behold the shoot of Leslie, Ken and their two soon-to-be "nuggets."

We got some good ones and it was so fun to do! I can't wait to meet their little ones!

Moving on to my other dear friends, Chrissy & Joe. Chrissy was one of my college roommates and thankfully, we have remained friends throughout the years. She and Chris are also expecting TWINS (whew, what is with all these multiples??) and today I went to her baby shower. I'm always baffled by what to buy babies, more specifically these days, what to buy twins. And this case, 1 boy and 1 girl! The shopping task was getting more difficult by the minute. But fortunately, I was able to find doubles of 3 different things and decided to get a little crafty!

After purchasing the gifts, I wasn't feeling a bag or even a wrapped box, so I went a step further and decided on some storage baskets. I hit up my neighborhood Hobby Lobby and went to specializing!

I started with this:

I ended up with this:

A little stapled fabric and trimmings, and voila! Instant personalization. I think they are the perfect size for diapers too, so I hope they come in handy! Only 7 more weeks and there will be 1 more set of twins in my life!

Finally, tomorrow I'm doing a baby shoot for a close work friend of mine. This is her second and she asked if I could take a few shots. I gladly committed and tomorrow morning I'll be capturing little Leah's personality and features! I'm looking forward to it!

Stay tuned for results from that shoot! But for now, it's bedtime for me. Big day tomorrow! Night!

mac 'n valance

One might say, "welcome to the 21st century" now that I FINALLY own a Mac computer. I know, I know; what's taken me so long? Well, to be honest I'm not sure. I think part of it was the cost and part of it was fear. But, none-the-less, I've made the transition.

Like many other Mac users, we were all once PC folks and to make the leap is like trying to rip off a very, very stuck on band aid - you really want to take it off, but you know it's going to cause all kinds of ruckus. So, when you finally muster up the strength and get your mind right, RIP! It stings for only a second, but man are you glad once it's over! It's over for me now and I'm officially on the iMac bandwagon!

And what else to do once you take the plunge? Blog about it, of course!

I have something else to post about as well, so don't close the screen out yet, but I just needed to tell the world, "I've done it!" Ok, I'm finished. The real reason for posting is below.

THE REAL REASON FOR POSTING.
A couple of weeks ago while I was running, I saw a trash pile. And if any of you are like me, that's as attention grabbing about as much as a BIG, RED STOP SIGN. I immediately jogged over to it to see if it was worth the digging. Fortunately, it was! Just so happened that the pile was in front of a home that was being renovated and to what did my blue/green eyes focus on? Several planks of pale blue porch wood just waiting to be upcycled. I briskly finished my morning workout and headed straight for the car (well actually I asked the Fox [my bf] to run pick it up in his more than adequate SUV).

At the time I had no plans for my find, but I don't let grass grow under my feet long when there are items to be repurposed!

The Fox has a very large window in his living room and it was in desperate need of some "ebonnizing." But after many failed attempts to bring it to the next level, we were at a loss. Then finally, a light came on! The porch planks! Of course! We shall make a valance that can be the focal point of the window and use other items for hanging the curtains! And that's just what we did!

After several trips to our favorite home improvement stores and lots of sweat equity, the final product went from this...

and this...

with a little work like this...

to finally this!

Hooray! We finished! But this booger is staying with the house. It weighs a TON and we attached it to the wall like no one's business. We'll enjoy it while it's there, but once the Fox moves, it's the next homeowner's problem :).

A few tips of the trade for this look:

• Liquid nails were used to attach the planks to another piece of wood on the front side.
• Lots of "L" brackets and screws were used in order to attach it to the wall and to connect the side panels to the front panel.
• Finally, because we weren't able to find a dowel or a curtain rod to run the length of the window (122 in), we ended up using a piece of piping to hang the curtains. It was a heck of a lot cheaper and a lot lighter to put up. 

Overall, it was a successful project and I'm glad it turned out well. Now on to the next thing! I hope the Fox is ready :)