currents

Time: 10:33 p.m. Location: In bed Mood: Energized (shouldn't have had that last cup of joe) Watching: How To Make It In America (I love Domingo) Loving: a lot Thinking: I can Knowing: I will Thankful: for those who believe in me

xot.

oh friday, how I love thee.

Another week down, another weekend to enjoy.I'm not sure how many times I've mentioned to coworkers, friends and family..."can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?!". Can you though? And with Thanksgiving kicks off the whole rush of the holiday. Crap. I feel like I should be better prepared for all of this. But I'm not, never am until crunch time. I'm struggling to figure out where we're going to put our Christmas tree being that Tyler must and will get into everything he is not suppose to get into to. A tree decorated with pretty shiny sparkly things will surely throw him in a grabbing frenzy. Guess we'll figure it out. Even if the tree ends up being in the dining room, it will go up. December daily? Another one of my concerns. Everyone seems to have covers decorated and pages done and I'm left wondering where to start. I did a bit of planning tonight, gathering things from my stash, going through old kits. An SCer commented "shop your stash" on the boards which sounds like a perfect idea and one I intend to do. And the whopper, Tyler's first birthday. I'm stressing about hosting his party in our tiny, not so functional home. I'm worried about the projects that have yet to be completed, the walls that are semi decorated, the dust bunnies, the kitchen cabinets that desperatly need a new paint job. I looked into having it elsewhere but Vee says I should do it at home and she's right. Tyler would be way more comfy here and although it'll be COZY with 15 people in a small box, I will do my best to make if fun for the person who will matter the most that day. My boy.

I've got a few more mini Polaroid cards up in the shop for the weekend. I only have a few calendars left from the first print batch as well. I will be doing one more run and that'll be it for 2012!

Happy weekend everyone.

xot

We enjoyed a pretty chill weekend. The only time we headed out was to purchase the little guy a better snowsuit so we could stay outside longer. Best purchase of the winter thus far besides the sled. Lot's of coffee drinking, some scrapbooking, playing in the snow. The big difference from this winter and all the winters from here on out is that I cannot fall into my snow coma where I live in my sweats, watch endless amounts of television and sleep to my hearts content. Oh man, how I miss the extra sleep. Having a kid, I'm learning is all about keeping active even when it's cold and dark out and I want to do nothing more than catch up on Grey's. Or play with paper uninterrupted until my eyes burn from creative exhaustion. Part of me misses all of that, not going to lie. This is the part where I say "it's all worth it" because it is...really it is. The balance, the sacrifice, the self evolvement. I feel way more creative than I ever have and I know that's because my time with paper and scissors is limited. I feel more alive being outside breathing in the icy cold air rather than the stale indoor air. (this is HUGE for me as I am a self proclaimed homebody) Naps are few and far between but it's all good. Being tired is second nature to me now. :) And now my blogging time is coming to an end, the boy should be up from his afternoon nap any minute now. Thanks for reading.

xot.

Gifted

  The Gifted mag is up and it is beautiful. I found quite a few things that I put on my own list. Like this arrow ring? Love. Kind of obsessed with arrows at the moment.

Since I am a proud sponsor of this years Gifted, I would like to extend a special shop offer. Purchase a 2012 Polaroid calendar by midnight, Monday the 14th and receive a free 3x3 flat Polaroid card.

No promo codes or anything. Simply purchase a calendar and your will automattically recieve one of these cute Holiday cards.

xot.

currents

loving: Tyler's first time in the snow. He had a blast. Just need to get a proper snowsuit.

Watching: Sons of Anarchy on Netflix. Kind of addicted now. Eating: oatmeal with blueberries. Drinking: OJ Thinking: only a few more things to cross off my to do list for the week. Feeling:  relaxed. Needing: some insight on a big decision. Wondering: how much snow is going to fall tonight. not going to be a fun drive to work in the morning.

xot.

make it work.

 There's always that one item in a kit that I like but don't know how to use. Sometimes I dismiss it, most times I make it work for me. Deconstructing embellishments is something I enjoy, especially flowers. It's easy to to snip a few petals and make something completely different. Another technique I'm loving is the effortless ink drops. Just unscrew the cap from your Mister Huey, tap off excess ink and fling onto paper.  Again, I'm making it work. Atmosphere was a hard color to work with....I don't do well with darker shades. Now, it's made it into my go to Misters that I keep in my faves box. Here are the other layouts I did with rest of November kit + ad ons. Cutterbees where my workhorse this month. I don't know what I'd do without them.

xot.

ps. If you'd like to pin my layouts individually, please visit my Studio Calico gallery. :)

 

Currents.

Time: 10:04 pmLocation: In bed Mood: Tired, relaxed. Weather: COLD. with a blink of an eye, it's winter. Watching: Fashion Hunters. just background noise. What I'm really doing: exploring Pinterest What I should be doing: calling it a night.

I found this quote on my Pinterest and thought to myself, "yes." This is something I do quite often, more this year than any other. Just recently, I had a "stop and think moment" when I was giving Tyler a bath. I sat back and watched him play in the water with such joy. After splashing the water with a toy, he looked up at me with the biggest smile. Even if I had the worst day of my life, there was no way I could not smile back. That is more happiness than I can ever ask for. xot.

monkeyyyyyyy!!

Remember when I was going to go cool for Halloween? Didn't happen. I ended up going cute with this monkey suit purchased at Target.The monkey is a pretty significant animal in Tyler's life. His favorite book? 5 Silly Monkeys. The binding is hanging on by a thread and we read it to him at least 3 times a day. One of two lovies is his stuffed monkey. He rubs this monkeys paw against his face when we lay him in bed at night to sleep. It's so cute to watch. So I had to go for the monkey suit when I saw it hanging on the rack. No trick or treating for us though. It's snowing like crazy tonight. We're chillin', watching Halloween cartoon specials and waiting for the few trick or treaters we get. (also eating a fair share of Bottlecaps).

xot.

I spent the last few months scratching my head at what to feed Tyler. He's been eating pretty chunky foods for awhile now but it was the same old thing. Roasted chicken breast, sweet potatoes, peas, squash...pretty plain. I really wasn't sure what he could or should be eating at this point. My goal for Tyler and his eating is to enjoy different foods, not feel like he has to eat them because I say so. After doing some research, I invested in a few cookbooks specifically for babies. This recipe comes from Tyler Florence's cookbook, Start Fresh. So far I've made several dishes with great results. This one in particular was good being that I have several fillets of salmon in my freezer. Something almost every Alaskan has in their freezer along with their go to salmon recipe.  I subbed risotto for long grain rice. Although I love risotto, I simply did not have time to keep an eye on it and constanly stir. The meal was quick to prepare and that was key. Tyler gets pretty impatient when he knows dinner time is rolling around. I wasn't sure how he would react to the taste of salmon. I was pretty excited to watch him take his first bite (oh, the things that excite you when you're a new mom). This kid could not get it in his mouth fast enough. He loved and devoured it. It made me so happy to be able to add something new to his dinner menu. I highly recommend this book for any new mom whose at a loss on what to feed their baby.

xot.

current life cycle. 10/17/2011

Dude, where in the world did September disappear to? I remember August, then blinked and now it's mid October. Goodness. Wrapping up my last few Fall sessions. Will definitely be more prepared for next fall, that's for sure.

Some of you are probably wondering who the winner is. I received some awesome comments. Poems, and fall favorites, some interesting one words and ones that were down-right hilarious. Love 'em all. The dt was asked if they actually do read all of their comments on give aways and my answer if a firm YES. A lot of the dt do. Why wouldn't we? :)

My winner is:

Heather V - I love fall. For some reason, this time of year always makes me think of one of my favorite poems, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Here’s the part that sticks with me:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

Maybe it’s the back to school/learning something different vibe of this time of year, or the fact that I go out and enjoy the beauty of nature this season. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for the lovely poem Heather! Please email me at lifelovepaper@gmail.com to claim your prize! If I don't hear from you by Wednesday, the 19th, I will have to choose another winner.

Happy Monday! xot.

Meagan Class of 2012. Anchorage Senior Photographer

I loved working with Meagan. Kind of a dream cleint. Open to anything & not afraid to get dirty. I couldn't wait to go through and edit her shots.

These are the type of sessions I've been wanting. I'm so glad I made the decision to re-evalute my photography business. Doing so has changed Life.Love.Paper in so many ways. I'll talk more on that later and will also include my gear as I've received several questions about it.

xot.

girl loves friday.

Weekend to do's: Finish editing 3 sessions before senior yearbook deadline. (man, these seniors love waiting until the last minute to get their photos done! ;) ) Scrap. my inspiration has renewed, somewhat. Try to stay away from Pinterest. eh, can't really promise that. Dust off my camera remote for a few family photos. not sure how this is going to pan out. Take a drive out to the valley to see dad. Last quick fall photoshoot with Judith + company. Get Polaroid calendars to the printer! yay! Relax, play, repeat.

xot.

(giveaway is still live, please post below)

Really?!

Fieldguide is still available? The arrow stamp? The Sass exclusives? Crazy.Here's your chance to win this incredible kit. Post your comment here. Can be anything. One word, your favorite fall time thing to do, your favorite movie, what inspires you...anything. Just be creative. I do read every comment and I am making you put a little effort into this giveaway. :)

Be sure to pay a visit to my fellow dt collegues to better your chance to win Fieldguide. Winner will be chosen October 17th in the afternoon. Good Luck! xot.

 

Chase + Addison. Fall mini shoot.

I'm definitly finding that I love working more with children when shooting. I love all surprises and the off moments they have. The pouting, the laughter and giggles, the all around lightness that surrounds them. Part of me wants to stress out with the looming expectations of parents but I have to let that go. I can't stress enough to inquiring clients to really get a feel for my point of view. None of my photos are perfect or staged and I can't imagine ever expecting that from a young child. I'm all about having fun and working with kids. I probably have more fun than they do. :)

xot.