amylouwho

5 positives

2012-02-27T15:50:00.001-06:00

1) random fact about me: I love making grocery lists! Any lists really.

2) I'm probably a coffee addict.

3) I think our pup really missed us while we were gone. She did not want to me to go work!

4) That face!!!

5) Favorite outfit last week. Plus cuties are the perfect snack! AmIRight?

1) why are power lines so pretty? makes.no.sense.

2) Hubs bought Lily that huge bone and she was going to town!

3) exhaustion was a common theme last week.

4) so glamorous! haha!

5) Carpet picnic date and a new kind of wine.

6) I never wear red lipstick! Finally giving it a try.

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"Hi I'm Amy and I love eyelash photos."

Just thought I would throw that out there!

Oh man! Last week was rough at the beginning! You know when you go out of town and then come back....Your mind says, "yeah, I got this!" Then your body says, "Umm, no you don't." Well that was me. Totally worn out. At one point during the week, I actually started crying because I was kind of at my breaking point, but the world is always better with more sleep! I should listen to that bit of wisdom more often. ;)

5 Positives from this week:
linking up with Lydia

1) I got the most kind and genuine compliment about my photography that I've ever received last week. I actually started tearing up. Meant the world to me! I've actually gotten several compliments lately and it feels like I'm headed on the right path.

2) Husband randomly surprising me with a cup of coffee on his way home.

3) Catching up on chores. A clean home is always a good thing!

4) Mom found me a Sound of Music Soundtrack record at a garage sale for 75 cents! SCORE! I've been thrifting for one for a while! So excited!

5) Mini date night: We picked out that wine together and made a little night of it. Also.... I NEVER wear red lipstick. My husband has actually been begging me to for a while and I've been meaning to get some for a while, but I always chicken out on purchasing it. So last night we made our way down the lipstick aisle and I made Steven pick one out. Then this morning I sent him this picture. He responded with, "Vibrant and beautiful!" Made my heart so happy to make him happy!

What was something positive about your week?!

xo,

Amylou

on missing heart day....

2012-02-24T09:48:00.000-06:00

Wanna know what I did for Valentine's day this year?

I packed a suitcase.

Yep...

super romantic. I know.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have changed anything about getting on a plane the next day and flying to see my brother graduate from boot camp. It was an experience that I will never forget! It meant the world to me to have the opportunity to get to be there for him on a day that was literally changing his life!

But...

I would be lying if I told you that no little green monster appeared on my shoulder to tell me all about what I was missing out on.

He was an ugly little green monster too.

In January, I had already thought about handmade cards, pretty paper garlands, and heart-shaped food. I wanted to surprise my husband with so many things. Then our trip to Chicago became very real. We started to figure out what days we would be gone and I quickly realized there wouldn't be extra time for handmade, heart-shaped....anything.

Major bummer for the girl who loves hearts.

But this week I've been thinking a lot about the man I married and about his love.

About how he is willing to fly across the country with me and my family. Waking up in the early hours of the morning to board planes. Sometimes grabbing extra bags that weighed down the shoulders of the rest of us. Being a navigator. Or a chauffeur. Making a silly joke to make the rest of us laugh and let go of some stress. Hopping up and getting dressed at 3:00 in the morning to go see my brother off at the airport, eyes drooping, but still taking photos of our family so we will always remember that day.

His love is more than a paper heart.
It's a daily blessing.

best vacation of mahhhh life!!!

2012-02-22T10:09:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! I'm back from Chicago and it was an amazing trip! We took tons of photos, but here are the ones from my phone. Hope you enjoy!

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This was my first flight in four years! I was pretty nervous because I couldn't really remember what it felt like, but we arrived safe and sound and there was so much beauty on the way. There is really nothing like flying above the clouds. It's always an amazing feeling. So much of the flight was spent talking about how we couldn't wait to see my brother! Mom made a special batch of cookies to take to him and we just could wait to hug him!

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The first full day in Chicago was actually my birthday! My parents told me that it was my day, so I could choose what we did. That seemed like a bit of a daunting task in such a huge city but I knew that I really really wanted to see "The Bean" in Millennium Park. So we set off!

Hubs was pretty darn awesome at driving in Chicago even though it was very different from TX! Also have you ever noticed how annoying GPS voices can be? So we downloaded this British voice and she was awesome. I named her Victoria Beckham. She is legit.

Hello beautiful skyline!!!

Can you tell that we loved the bean?! Haha! We had way to much fun walking around and taking random photos. I'm bummed because I didn't get any cell pics of my dad. He had as much fun as I did! The sky was beautiful! A slight chill in the air, but the sun was shining and the clouds looked so pretty behind the gorgeous downtown skyline.

From there we walked over to the Chicago Art Institute. Boy did I fall in love! We didn't even see that much of the museum, but I loved every bit of it! (p.s. they did allow non-flash photography in some exhibits.)

MONET AND VAN GOGH! Gosh I loved seeing those two pieces. Made my year!

Next, Dad and Steven wanted to go up to Willis tower to the Skydeck. Mom and I decided we were too chicken, so we went to Starbucks in the heart of downtown instead. ;)

It was the perfect ending to my birthday. I loved the whole day! It will be one I will never forget!

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The next day we woke up and headed to my brother's boot camp graduation. We hadn't been able to see him at all until that day. We finally spotted him in the small group of recruits standing in the circle at the bottom of that first photo. His group sang several hymns and Anchors Aweigh.

So proud of my little bro! He was definitely standing tall and I think he was as excited to see us as we were him! He had three requests: Chicago deep dish pizza, coffee, and to the see the bean. So of course we did all of those!

We got to spend some time with him and see him off at the airport in the wee hours of the morning. It was such an amazing trip and I'm so grateful that we got the chance to go see him! The best thing is now my brother can have a phone again and I've been texting him most days!

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The next day we went to the Shedd Aquarium. It was pretty awesome too! But I was exhausted and didn't document much, the jellyfish exhibit was so neat. I had no idea there were so many types.

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Wow! That was a long post. Kudos to you if you made it all the way through it!

It's good to be home again and now I'm catching up with the rest of the world. Trying to catch up on sleep too! And I'm definitely cuddling my pup. I think she missed us!

Happy Wednesday friends!

A Photo Story {by Janette}

2012-02-17T08:30:00.000-06:00

Hello there! My name is Janette and I blog over at a happy corner aptly named, Janette the Jongleur. I share my offline shenanigans and online fancies on all days ending in "y". But today I'm here to fill in for the lovely and perfectly sweet blogtress, Ms. Amylouwho. While she's off flying the friendly skies, I'm here to share my photography story. Yup. I'm an aspiring photographer and today I'm sharing how I got started on this venture. So lets go back in time shall we?

8th grade. Darkroom. Bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos in hand. There I was giggling with my friends about our latest crushes... Paying attention to the stinky developer or exposure times!!!!? Nah. That was all a blur. Don't remember a thing. Highlight of my first photography class? Discovering that hot Cheetos are probably the best invention known to mankind (after the refrigerator of course).

Fast forward to junior year of high school.... Welcome to my personal nightmare. See the teacher in front always smiling and bubbly?? She assumed we already knew everything about photography and how to work a camera and just gave us weird themes and subjects to photograph.. Like "social commentary". (To this day I have NO idea what that is.) Uh.. Yeah. Lets get out of here cause I didn't learn a thing.

Moving on to my college years and a magical 2 month trip to Europe with my best childhood pal, Mel. But first, let me explain my mindset at that moment in time..Up to that point in my life, photography was about capturing moments, places, and people. It was a means of documenting life in a rather scientific and surgical manner. Stand in front of the monument? Check. Smile? Check. Snap? Check. Repeat. To me, pictures were evidence. Simply tangible proof that I was in a particular place at a particular time... Yet Mel was on some kind of artsy wavelength. See her in Paris getting out her vintage camera with the B&W film!!!? She was trying to capture the glory of it all. See me looking at her quizzically!!?!!! I was a little confused and yet totally inspired!

There! At that moment I finally began to realize that photography could be more than capturing subjects and lifeless scenes... It could be so much more. And I had no idea.

Now lets roll the clock forward to about 3 years ago. I purchased a point and shoot camera with manual settings, started teaching myself techniques, shooting everything in sight, and posting my captures on Facebook. A few months later I started getting inquiries about my photography and prices. I upgraded my camera to a dSLR and started my little photography business, Daneshmand Photography. What?!!!! Didn't see that coming! Believe me! To this day I'm not quite sure how the giggling girl with the bag of Cheetos ended up getting paid to take pictures of people... But I'm a happy girl and thankful that the Lord opened up this opportunity for me...

Thanks for reading and feel welcome to stop by my personal blog any time! Good day friends!

PS. That's Mel in the train station photos...

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Janette, thank you so much for sharing your photo story here! I loved reading about your cute Cheeto loving self and about your friend that inspired you! So neat to see her in your photos! They are all just lovely! You have a true talent sweet girl!

Have you visited Janette's corner of the internet? No you say? Well head on over because you are missing out on one of my very favorite ladies! Please stop by her space and say Hello!

When Music Speaks...{with Jess}

2012-02-15T08:30:00.000-06:00

I’m not Amy. Calm down, people. It’s going to be okay. While I admit I’m not as captivating as she is, I’m pretty darn cool. So grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable and try to enjoy the reading material set before you. Oh, who am I? I’m Jess and I run a blog called There’s a Monster in My Chest.

When Amy asked me about doing a guest blog, I kinda panicked. I’ve always wanted to be a “guest” on someone’s blog but I didn’t think I was there yet. You know…like I gotta earn more stars or something first. I’m not famous, I don’t teach people how to make pretty things, I’m not a photographer, I’m not organized and I don’t create recipes that become hits on Pinterest with cute little pictures. So even with all the things I’m not, I can tell you what I am and that is…thankful and honored to be here! :)

Let’s get started, I love music. Plain and simple. But most of the music I own is beyond “filler” music. You know what I mean? I like a lot of stuff that doesn’t sound so polished. Just because it’s messy doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I like knowing no vocals were retouched and that they were not meant to sound pleasant just to please the audience. I have a mental checklist when I get hooked on musical masterpieces. It has to be deeper than “this sounds good” or “I like that super bass”. Yeah it sounds good but what does this artist represent? Is it authentic? I guess I look at it the same way I look at any art. I don’t want a print or an attempt, I want REAL. I think a real artist is in front of a canvas to create...to pour out their heart and soul. They don’t look at the blankness before them and tell themselves they're going to make something that everyone will love or sell and sell big. That’s not art. That’s product.

I’m just sharing what I think. Product isn’t bad. I own lots of products and they are very useful for certain places at certain times. Sometimes it’s just plain fun. Also, I don’t care to know the meaning behind every song I hear. In some cases, like with How He Loves by John Mark McMillan, the story behind it is just as powerful as the song. But I know what the song means to me and how it moved me. We could all listen to the same song and all of us will be moved a different way. If it’s impacted me, it’s probably better that I don’t know it was written for the drummer's dead dog. "Wow, this song used to make me think of the time when I experienced fill in the blank but now all I'm thinking about is this poor guy and his teacup Poodle that ran after one too many cars."

Now, off the soap box!! Ok, so it seemed nearly impossible choosing ONE so I had to pick one that impacted me the most recently. Hmmm, who will be the chosen one? "You're a wizard, Harry." Well, it looks like it's going to be...*drumroll*

Shannon, Nate, Mike and David / Photos taken by Ninja Jon

My faith is very important to me and this MUSIC SPEAKS it. I love EVERY song from the album Home. It's like a good, balanced, organic, yet incredibly delicious meal. No joke. Anyway, I picked the song called 'Drifter'.

If you're calling me a drifter,

I'd say you're probably right

Just trying to get to where I'm going

Even if I don't know where it is

And if you're calling me a liar

Well, a liar is fine

I'm so sorry to have hurt you

I'll leave you alone

Cause I've been so stuck on myself

Can't seem to help anyone else

Tear me down again and build me back anew

Rid me of myself and fill me up with you

Take me to the place where I once knew

You were for me and not against me

And if you say I have no peace

I'd say you're probably right

Cause I can't seem to find it

You see I don't know what it is

My God, my God, my past haunts me

From the top of the morning to the bottom of the night

So sick, so sick of walking in darkness

Oh please shine your light

Tell me where to run and that's where I'll go

I want so bad for once just to finally know

That I'm not above and I'm not below

The place that you want me

I've burned so many bridges

I've run out of bridges to burn

I've failed so many times

I'm wondering if I'll ever learn

It's you I need, Its you I want,

It's you who can complete

This very world, this very life

That you've begun in me

Create in me a new heart and make it clean

A single-minded pursuit of everything

That you would desire from this offering

That you call my life

There's so much I could say about this song. The sheer musical talent is evident and the beautiful vocals are hard to miss. But what was my first reaction to this song when I heard it? I was humbled. I've been so stuck on myself, can't seem to help anyone else described where I was completely. I would worry about this or that in my life and ~~couldn't~~ wouldn't look beyond myself. I know we all struggle with selfishness from time to time so it's not unusual but I didn't like the me I was becoming.

The next lyrics, "Tear me down again and build me back anew. Rid me of myself and fill me up with you. Take me to the place where I once knew. You were for me and not against me." are pretty much the exact prayer I needed at that moment. When I would sing those words, it was my prayer for restoration. On that note, it amazes me how generous God still is to us even when we're selfish and bratty. I can tell you, I love my husband dearly. I wouldn't trade him for all the gold in the world. But when he acts selfish and like a jerk...I'm anything BUT generous in return. I'm pretty sure Jon could say the same about me. So..amidst the very ugly sides of us, He loves and I'm ever so thankful for the grace He gives.

As far as my past haunting me, that's a long story. I'm not going to bore you with details. Crap, I'd bore myself. However, I remember obsessing over my failures and thinking people were keeping score. No. People weren't keeping score. I was. I was lying to myself that I wasn't good enough because of my past and those very thoughts were paralyzing me of being any good for right now.

Almost done! The last three parts are the very cry of my heart. I don't know when or where it was that I lost focus on this vital part of faith. Our lives are offerings to Christ. It's the very least we can give for all He has done and continues to do. This song reawakened me somehow. I needed to start being useful for God's kingdom and seek HIS goodness and not my own. I was immediately reminded of the value of living a life for Christ and doing His will. Yes, music speaks but in my case...it was God using music to speak to me.

"Create in me a new heart and make it clean. A single-minded pursuit of everything that you would desire from this offering...that you call my life."

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Jessica! This was such a beautiful post and the last line really resonated with me. I'm glad you introduced us to this band! I'm going to have to listen to more! Thank you sweet friend!

And if you have never met Jess or been over to her corner of the internet, you must! I'm so glad to have met her in real life. She is a beautiful person and I've loved getting to know her. So pop on over to her blog and say Hi!

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This feature is a way to let others guest post here on my blog and share their heart with other bloggers about songs that mean something special to them. If you want more info about "When Music Speaks" click here. To see posts from myself and previous guest bloggers click here. Or feel free to email any questions to me at amylouwhogirl{at}gmail{dot}com.

5 postives ( + 1)

2012-02-13T11:20:00.001-06:00

Morning and Happy Monday friends! I've mentioned it here before, but I will be linking up with Lydia a lot this year for her 5 Positives Series on her blog. Here are mine this week:

1) Snow!!! Our city has been a winter wonderland for the past few days. How cute does my pup look in her little sweater in the snow?!

2) Some shopping this weekend to get a few things I needed for this week. My mom also spoiled me by buying me a North Face jacket for an early birthday present! I've been wanting one for several years and when we found it on sale, we couldn't pass it up. I've been super toasty in this snowy weather. Plus it's purple. Enough said.

3) I finished Crossed last night and even though not many people really seemed to like the book, I loved it. The journey in the book is a crazy one and I actually kinda love the ending and it makes me wish I had the third book in my finger tips already! Hurry Allie Condie! I'm waiting!

4) Lily got sick this weekend, but now she is just fine. I'm thankful it wasn't anything serious!

5) Got to see my aunt and uncle for breakfast on Sunday as they were driving through town!

and an just one more...

6) BROTHER TIME! This week I am flying to see my brother graduate from boot camp! It's been two months since I've heard his voice and I'm just so happy to hug him! It's also going to be my birthday while we are away and I couldn't imagine a better gift than to see his sweet face and bald head! ;)

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So that being said.... I will be away from blog land this week, but I have a couple ladies who will be sharing some awesome blog posts with you! You will have to stop by and read them. Trust me when I say they are gems!

I will have to catch up when I get back, but I hope you all had a great weekend and have a wonderful week!And and early Happy Valentine's Day to you!

xo,

Amylou

beauty in the storm

2012-02-10T10:55:00.002-06:00

the rain came again yesterday.

in Texas, when that happens...everyone rejoices!

we are always grateful.

I love the rain....even more than the sunshine!

I love....the smell, and

........ how the storm clouds let the sunlight stream through.

........ that I literally say "Wow!".....out loud.....to myself.....when I see God's beauty.

........ how afterword, the world seems fresh and new.

The beauty after the storm always takes my breath away.

It makes me feel like everything is going to be alright.

And I relax and let some of those worries fall off of my shoulders that were there just a few minutes ago.

random happy list:

The sweetest friend surprising me by stopping by my work to say hello!

Lunch with both my mommas.

Taking like 300+ cell phone photos in one day just because I can.

10 minute coffee break at work.

My mom getting another phone call from my little brother! Can't wait to see him and kiss the top of his bald head.... if he will let me. ;)

Not caring how many people stare as I snap silly photos of puddles and rain clouds.

Refusing to use my windshield wipers, so that the raindrops can stay on my windshield just a little longer.

Seeing the reflection of the clouds in a school bus side mirror as I drive past.

Taking my time driving home, because I'm enjoying the beautiful sky.

My husband whispering into my ear as I fall asleep that he loves days when I'm really happy.

"He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;

he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Acts 14:17

My heart is happy.

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I also just want to thank you sweet ladies for your beautiful words of encouragement on yesterday's post! I've read them all and will be writing responses to each of you soon! Thank you so much friends!

xo,
Amylou

the greatest love

2012-02-09T16:35:00.000-06:00

Lately.....

We have been visiting so many churches.

I think it's one of the hardest things that I've tried to do in a while.

It's scary, nerve racking, and sometimes I just feel lost.

Steven and I met in church. We both grew up there and had many happy memories. But we've had some bad ones too. I feel like the bad ones are the ones that have kept me away from church for the better part of last year.

I'm tired of getting hurt.

We visited a church a few Sundays ago and my favorite song started during the worship time.

"You won't relent until you have it all
my heart is yours."

I broke down crying. I couldn't help it.

You see, I've felt pushed aside by so many people lately.

discounted.

it hurts.

About 5 years ago, at our old church, I was a youth leader. I always wanted to make every kid feel important. I know that I didn't always succeed, but it was a huge desire of my heart. I wanted them to know that I noticed. I cared. And I wasn't the only one. God did too! He noticed more. He cared more. He loved more than anyone ever could. I feel like I've lost sight of that very thing myself.

So this has been my struggle lately.

I made a commitment with Steven that I would try harder to search for a church home this year, but these feelings keep creeping back. I want so badly to find a place that feels like home. A place with mentors and friends that feel more like family.

But I need to trust. And continue to search.

So when I heard those lyrics......

"You won't relent until you have it all
my heart is yours."

It started to hit home.

"I'll set You as a seal upon my heart

as a seal upon my arm

for there is love that is as strong as death

jealousy demanding as the grave

many waters cannot quench this love"

I felt like right then and there, he was trying to tell me that even when I'm discounted, passed over, pushed aside and ignored.....

I am important to Him.

He notices me and he cares about my hurts and my desires.

He loves me more than my husband, parents, and friends ever could.

He is jealous when I don't give him that love right back.

His love overcame death and that is why it is the strongest there is.

So I shed more tears of joy.

I haven't felt that love in a while.

I needed it.

And I am so so grateful that he freely gives it.

evolution of amylouwho

2012-02-08T20:36:00.000-06:00

Sooo...my sweet blog pal, Janette, posted today about all of the blog headers she has had since she first started blogging! Kind of genius. She asked friends to share, so I'm jumping on this train, because I've actually wanted to do a post like this for a long time!

I think when I first started this blog, I just had my name typed into the top. Then I filled it in with a photo. But then I finally discovered what it could be like to make something pretty!

Here we go!

From the beginning:

It's fun to look back and realize how much my blog has changed and how much I've actually learned about HTML and how to use it. I kinda sorta wish I could go back and recreate that beautiful tree header though. It's probably one of my favorites of the older ones. That place was pretty magical!

Helpful hint: Want to know a really simple way to find all of your old headers? Picasa web albums! That is where all of your photos are stored when you upload a photo through blogger! I usually just google "picasa web albums" to find it easily. There should be an album for your blog that you can search through. That is how I found all of mine! :)

Tag you're it! If you do a post like this, please comment, tweet or email me a link to your post! I would love to see your past headers! Oh and go over and check out Janette's past headers too! Her's are kind of amazing!

So do you have a favorite up there?!

instant love

2012-02-06T10:53:00.000-06:00

Morning friends!

I thought I would go ahead and share a few Instax photos from last month with you all!

January:

Getting to see Nate, Jon and JESS!!! I love these guys so much! I'm sad they live so far away, but I'm glad we got to see them! I also secretly wish Jess was my sister. :)

First time my parents have ever tried Fro yo'.

It was kinda epic and one of my favorite little double dates we've had with them.

Our 4th Anniversary at our favorite little restaurant.

Love this man!

I am dragging this morning. I need like ten cups of coffee. Oh man! NEED.more.SLEEP! Anyway, the weekend was good. Lots of chores and preparing for an upcoming trip! EEEP! Also got to have dinner at my mom's. She makes the best meatloaf ever. You can argue with me if you like, but I will probably win. Haha. JK.

I feel so out of the loop lately because I have had zero time for the internet! I miss reading everyone's blogs! So tell me, how was your weekend?

Hope you are all doing great!

Happy Monday!

xo,

Amylou

January come and gone

2012-02-03T08:23:00.000-06:00

1) My Mama's hope chest. It's one of my favorite heirlooms.

2) MUST.have.Thin.Mints.once.a.year.

3) Keurig in my Starbucks mug. Blasphemy!

4) New favorite salad - Rotini pasta, lettuce, baby spinach, turkey pepperoni, Roma tomato, broccoli, mozzarella, bell pepper, and Italian dressing.

5) Love Texas morning skies.

6) My favorite room in my home.

1) My favorite lunch spot with my sweet friend. They know our order when we walk in the door!

2) Random chalk art found downtown that made me smile.

3) Blocks of color.

4) a good day.

5) Saturday boot shopping with my Mama. Frappes in hand and feet on the dash. Perfect.

6) Winter

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Slow down 2012. You're moving a little too fast and furious for me. February is going to be a whirlwind too! I'm turning 25 this month! Is that even possible? I guess it is, but 25 feels like a big one.

AND....It's official! My family is going to see my brother graduate from boot camp. It's pretty surreal and I'm not sure that I'm actually comprehending it all yet. I'm nervous to fly and visit a new city, but I'm so excited I get to see my cute brother's sweet face and shaved head.

February your going to be a crazy one, but hopefully amazing too!

Happy Friday everyone!

xo,

Amylou

Stocking the Shop!

2012-01-31T08:21:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday, friends! I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for your sweet comments, tweets and emails regarding my big news yesterday! I'm so excited about my new venture into being an Etsy seller!

I'm not going to use this blog to constantly post updates about the shop because it is my personal blog and I want to keep it that way, but I thought I would just go ahead and show you which prints are available in the shop this first time.

Pink Summer Green Wishes Shine
Caddy 1

Caddy 2
Nature's Ladder Bird Party Line

So many of the photos above are my favorites from our adventures last year! Especially the birds!!!

I also just wanted to say that if you have a favorite photo that you have seen on the blog and would love to have it as a print, just let me know! I would love to print your favorite. Feel free to send me a convo on Etsy or you can email me at:

amylouwhogirl{at}gmail{dot}com.

Thanks again friends for your support and encouragement!
My next post should be back to my normal writing and photo posting.
:)

Exciting News!

2012-01-30T07:42:00.000-06:00

Today I want to share something that I am so incredibly excited about!

I am now the proud owner of a new, beautiful, baby.....

...ETSY SHOP!

Yes! You heard it right!

I've been hoping to try and sell some of my photography prints for some time now and I finally decided to take the leap! Photography has been a big part of my life for almost a year now and I'm so excited about this next step. My shop is still a work in progress, but I do have two prints already up for sale!

My shop name is "The Beloved Bird" and it has a very special meaning to me. My first name, Amy, actually means beloved. I may have also mentioned that birds are some of my favorite animals. Bluebirds, sparrows, robins and of course penguins!

My shop name was also inspired by the verse Matt. 6:26 where it says that God cares for the birds of the air and how much more does he love us?!

I will hopefully be adding more items in the coming weeks, but I just couldn't wait to share the good news!

And thank you to everyone who has ever encouraged me along the way as I have been learning more and more about photography! Your constant support and sweet comments have definitely inspired me into taking this next leap!

So go ahead on over to Etsy and take a look around!

The Beloved Bird

Thanks again!

xo,

Amylou

The Blogscars!

2012-01-29T14:06:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to say that my blog friend Janette created a fun blog awards called the Blogscars!I'm blown away by her creativity but also honored that she nominated me!You can vote below for me in the category below if you like.My category doesn't seem to show up on her blog for some reason, so be sure and vote on this post.Then hope over to her amazing blog and vote for all the other lovely ladies!

Best Blogtress in a Leading Role » make web polls

Tags : blog

Thanks for your support friends! And thank you Janette!

And hope over to Janette's blog to vote in the other categories!

life and positivity

2012-01-26T08:33:00.000-06:00

Last week kinda looked like this...

morning coffee and reading

Stickygrams that I won on Sometimes Sweet. Love seeing photos of the people I love on my fridge!

The cutest restaurant ever! Old screen doors, refrigerators, photographs, TVs, and you drink out of mason jars! I think I startled the waitress when she brought us our water and I squealed. Haha!

Plenty of film = happiness.

Flowers from Steven for our 4th anniversary. I was really surprised and they smell heavenly!

Instant LOVE!

I feel like I've turned into Paris Hilton! Never thought I'd own a dog that actually LIKES wearing clothes! She cracks me up!

My most recent embroidery hoop made for With Love, Jamie.

my favorite mirror in my home.

coffee and record hunting can really turn my attitude around. :)

Poor Lily. Mean Mama! Haha! Can't help it! Her wrinkles are stinking cute!

This owl penny bank is a gift from my Hubs. <3

favorite shoes.

I know that sometimes, especially on a blog that's tweaked to look pretty, it can be easy to tell ourselves that other's lives look so much sweeter than our own. I DO IT! It's a hard habit to break. Sometimes I wonder if that is the picture that I'm painting when I upload a million happy snaps, like the ones above. BUT, I NEVER want to do that. If I'm completely honest with you, things are changing a bit in our little household and it's been pretty stressful, like:

Trying make better food choices and grocery shopping has to be planned out in detail.

Planing for an upcoming trip that I'm not even sure we have the finances for.
Searching for a new church home.
Trying not to miss my brother like crazy.
Reading more of my Bible or a devotional daily.
Learning how do to yoga, which isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
Make more meals at home.
Trying to keep up with chores and it makes me act like a mad person.
Steven's been studying a lot for a test.
And I've also been pondering my next steps for my life this year.

All of these things have just been getting to me! It feels like a lot of life changes at once and it's scary. I'm not going to lie. I've broken down crying several times this week, but I probably won't ever post that on my Instagram, because my face would look like a swollen hot mess.

My sweet blog pal, Lydia, reminded me recently how important it is to remember the positive things in life. She has started a new series on her blog where she simply writes down 5 positive things from her week. Sometimes that can seem like such a hard task, but when you really sit down and list them, it's not too difficult. Plus, it makes life seem so much brighter.

Here's my positive things this week:

1) taking instant photos
2) record hunting even though I didn't buy a thing
3) filling up my penny bank
4) a new salad recipe that I love
5) making lots of lists
6) catching up on my favorite shows
7) coffee
8) playing a board game with some of my favorite people
9) homemade soup from my Mama
10) and lots of big hugs from Steven

That was more than five, but I think I need to focus on the extra!
;)

Little happy moments make my world go round!

p.s. Stop by Lydia's blog and check out her list too!

She's an awesome lady!

instant love

2012-01-24T11:17:00.000-06:00

I've been a bit absent from the blog lately. Actually from the internet. I've just been so busy that I haven't even had time to update the blog much. I have tons of photos to edit, but they are just kind of sitting on my computer until I get a chance to sit down and look at them. Such is life, but I'm glad to be living it!

So in the meantime, I thought I would share a few of my Instant photos that I've taken in the last couple of months. I have some new favorites now! :)

LOVE THIS GIRL! So glad I got to see Vickie before Christmas. I think it had been almost a year. Lots of laughing and deep chats. This girl gets me and I miss her daily!

Cookie making with my Mama. It's a tradition.

Love the time I get to spend with Steven's family at Christmas. Love all those ladies!

This is from our little mini vacay to San Antonio after Christmas! We loved the zoo!

Mini train at the zoo. Too much fun!

I made a little commitment to myself that I would splurge and take more instant photos this year. They always become my favorites, so why not take as many as I can! I bought some extra film and I've been enjoying snapping my favorite moments.

I have a few more to share soon!

snaps

2012-01-20T23:46:00.000-06:00

I decided to participate in this January Photo-a-day Challenge that has been all over Instagram. So most of these snaps go along with the challenge, but there are a few others. It's been really fun seeing how creative everyone has been!

instagram: @amylouwhogirl

Here are my snaps from the first half of January:

Some sweet things have happened so far this year.

Enjoying coffee from my Keurig that Steven got me for Christmas.

Seeing my sweet friends, Jon and Jess!

Thrifting with my favorite lady!

And getting my first letter from my sweet brother while he is at boot camp!
And of course our anniversary!

BUT....I feel like January is slipping right by me and I still don't really feel like a new year has started! I've been trying to get back into routine, but everything seems a little off. Anyone else feel this way? Hoping I can get back to normal soon and really enjoy this new year God has given us!

Happy Friday friends!

xo,
Amylou

1/19/08

2012-01-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

Today is our 4th anniversary. Where did the time go? It seems like it was just yesterday that we were driving away from our wedding guests, Steven peeling out to show off and hearing everyone laughing and shouting out after us, through the crack in my window.

I couldn't have asked for a better man to stand by my side every day. We have gone through so many things, some so difficult that I wasn't sure if we would make it, but at the end of the day, he was always there to hold me and tell me that we'd get through it. And we've been through amazing times too! When my heart swelled so big with love that I was sure it might burst!

Steven I love you more than ever! My love grows daily.

Thank you for loving me. Always.

stitchery

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-06:00

Here is an embroidery hoop that I sent to my aunt for her birthday last week.

A Moose!!! Because moose are her favorite!

I just couldn't resist adding that little heart!

What's in my (weekend) bag...

2012-01-16T16:43:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday everyone!

I've been participating in the fun January Photo-a-day challenge that has been going around Instagram lately. One of the days was to share what's in our bag, and I thought it might be fun to share here too.

What's in my (weekend) bag...

1. Instax 210, extra film, and some recent instant photos. I have a hard time taking the photos out of my purse because I love to go back and look at them later.

2. Sunglasses

3. My Write Every Day 2012 planner

4. Make-up bag and mini Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion

5. Tarte powder

6. Favorite lipsticks

7. Fossil wallet - Steven bought this for me on our honeymoon and it's still my favorite

8. Keys

I just love these posts! It's so fun to see what everyone carries around. I love to see all the cute planners and notebooks, because I have a serious stationary problem. I would buy a new notebook all the time if my hubs would let me! Haha!

Now, I say "Weekend" bag, because to be perfectly honest, during the week I carry way more than this. We're talking a extra notebooks, Kindle, random receipts, letters to reply to, lots of sticky notes and lists.....yeah it's bad. Really bad. And it just so happened that I took the time to take this photo as I was getting ready to lighten my load for the weekend. So there you have it. I'm definitely not a perfect purse keeper, and what's funny is that I used to be! Not sure what happened. Before I got married I cleaned out my purse every night. I was a perfectionist about a clean bag. Not so much anymore!

Have you done a "What's in my bag post?!" recently? Leave me a link if so! I would love to check it out and totally stalk your cute stationary. LOL!

Oh, and tell me this...are you a purse neat freak or a bit of a mess like me?!

the most wonderful news!

2012-01-12T09:48:00.000-06:00

These photos are from just a few days before my little brother left for boot camp. We always joke about how he can kiss the top of my head because he is so tall. So those kisses are my favorites. Always.

Honestly I haven't wanted to write about that day. The days since he left have been so hard on my family. Especially my parents. We've all been missing him so much and I just haven't felt up to sharing these photos and having those hard emotions fill me up as I write.

....BUT!

HE CALLED! He called my Momma yesterday for the first time in a month since we last saw him! She got to talk to him for ten minutes and then called me immediately afterword to tell me all about it! She said that he sounds amazing and was telling her about the people he's meeting and how happy he is!

I'm so excited for him! This has been my prayer all along that it would be something he could truly learn to love and be proud of. Something that would change his life in a wonderful way! I couldn't be a prouder big sister right now!

And I just want to say thank you to all the friends, family members, and even my amazing blog friends out there who have kept him in your prayers. You are all amazing and I appreciate you so much!

fall photo date part 2

2012-01-09T09:42:00.000-06:00

When we go on a photo date, we focus a lot on nature and details, but this time we decided to take a few portraits of each other too.

Sunshine, laughing, learning more about my camera, playing in the fall leaves, loving my silly posing husband, and just enjoying the beauty that God made for us. Wish I could do that everyday!

If you missed part one from this

photo date, you can find it here!

a project complete

2012-01-07T11:37:00.000-06:00

Project 52

~ Week 51 ~

I'm finally posting the very end of last year's Project 52. I'm so glad I kept up with it and captured the little everyday things!

1) Pinwheels I made for work. They were so yummy!

2) Mom and I made these cookies to give to family members and a few for ourselves too.

3) "This is what water bottles are really for, right Mom?!"

4)We had a real White Christmas this year!

5) Christmas Day - Headed to my parent's house.

6) Lily got a new sweater for Christmas.

7) Driving in a mini blizzard to go visit more family.

8) Hubs showing off the nerdy shirt I got him. Anyone heard of Minecraft?

~ Week 52 ~

Right after Christmas, Steven and I decided to go to San Antonio for an early anniversary trip. We had so much fun! Here are a few of my phone snaps from the week, but I have so many more that I will share from my DSLR.

1) Love Mimi's Cafe! So good!
2) Visiting the San Antonio Zoo! More pictures to come!
3) Treated ourselves with P.F.Chang's.
4) My very first time to see an IMAX movie!

5&6) TinTin was pretty cool. The animation was so unique to me and it looked awesome in 3D!

7-10) The San Antonio Riverwalk - It was still all lit up for Christmas! So pretty!

I wasn't sure if I would like doing a Project 52 when I started it last January, but I figured it would be so much less demanding than a Project 365. I was right! It helped me remember to capture at least one photo each week and I ended up taking way more than that! It helped me to focus on the blessings in each day rather than the negative, and now I have tons of these little blessings to look back on!

Have you done a Project 52 or 365?

fall photo date

2012-01-06T09:13:00.001-06:00

Back in November, Steven and I bought a new lens for my DSLR. I was so darn excited! I really needed a new 18mm zoom because the one we had was just sad. We found a really nice 18mm-135mm lens on Craig's List. We met the lady and tested out her lens. She had barely used it because she had one similar that she preferred. I was ecstatic! A barely used lens and it worked great!

That weekend, Steven and I realized that Autumn was almost gone, so we decided to go on a photo date to test out our new lens. These are some of my favorites from that day.

Don't you love the leaf imprints in that sidewalk? I have no idea if that was an accident or done on purpose! I thought it was so unique though and I loved trying to capture the little details of each imprint.

Seeing these photos makes me realize how much I miss the fall colors. I'm always sad when everything goes brown again. It's a dream of mine to head up north someday during the changing of the leaves, rent a little cabin, do nothing but explore the beauty around me, and sit by a fire at night, my husband by my side. Someday I will make that happen!

Part 2 from this photo date coming soon!

My little getaway space...

2012-01-03T11:39:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Friends!

My mind hasn't quite decided that it's actually a new year yet! I think it's because we have been off for a week on vacation, so I just haven't geared up to thinking about this brand new year and where it might lead. I changed this blog around and it's feeling fresh. Blue feels new to me and like a good way to start off the year. Feeling optimistic and hopefully I can start making some little goals for myself soon.

One thing I do know though....I want to spend some more time in my craft room. I worked so hard last year getting it just the way that I wanted it, but haven't had much time to sit down and craft in there. I hope to fix that this year and actually plan one night a week where I escape to this room.

I have been saying that I would post some photos of my craft room for ages! It's just been something that wasn't a high priority on my list, but I found these photos and thought I would share just a peek into my little room.

Just a glimpse...I know, but I think you can kind of pick up on my decorating theme.

Hint: I don't like movies or tv at all! Haha!

;)

Happy New Year, Tuesday, and my Monday!

(I was off yesterday!)

So what is one little goal you have this year?

date night at the Maize

2011-12-30T15:38:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! I've been away for a bit and taken a mini vacay with my hubs. It was one of my favorites ever! Hopefully I will be sharing some about our Christmas and our little vacay soon! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and will have a safe and happy New Year!

So excited to finally share our little Maize adventure! We went in mid November, but I've not had much time to upload or edit photos. Better late than never right?! We love to go to the Maize and try to make it a point to go every year. This year we were by ourselves, but it was still way too much fun! :)

Ariel view. We got lost in quite a few of those music notes!

It was dark and so hard not to blink! But I love this photo of Steven and his super cute smile!

a little spooky.

At the beginning of the maize you pick out a quiz and each time you come to a marker, you have to answer the question correctly to go the right way. We kinda cheated and got like three quizzes so our odds would be better. NBD.

Halfway point.
Visited with the animals a bit. They really just wanted to sleep though.

Queen of the Maize!!!

Oh hello missing number 6! I didn't see you there.....no, really....I didn't see you. Must've been wearing your invisibility cloak. Hmph.

I freak out without flashlights! At this point I was just taking a photo so the flash would light my way. Haha!

Finished!

the city lights.

I kinda sorta love date nights where you run around in the cold with a cupcake hat on your head and act like five year-olds. Yep, perfect.

:)
<3
;)

festivities

2011-12-22T11:41:00.000-06:00

Project 52

~Week 50~

Last week....

1) Such a thick fog. I think it's kind of dreamy when the tops of buildings disappear.
2) Brownies with red sprinkles on top to make them festive. Might have to do this all year long! So yummy!
3) I basically live in these boots. I will cry when they bite the dust. I know I will!
4) Couldn't help but think of my favorite Third Day song.
5) New corner in my craft room. Borrowed my Daddy's record player.
6) New mug! I'm in LOVE!

1) Hot Cocoa days make the world a little better.
2) NOEL.
3) I needed this beauty.
4) Hello new favorite army green slouchy boots!
5 & 6) Lunch with my Momma and these beautiful ladies.

And this photo above means the world to me! Before Travis left for boot camp, he surprised my parents by putting up the lights outside. I think it was his Christmas gift to them. Sweetest thing ever!

I hope you all are having a very festive December!

I still have some gifts to wrap and some last minute details to take care of!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays friends!

Much Love,

Amylou

a thanksgiving blessing

2011-12-21T11:28:00.000-06:00

Still catching up on my blog posts. :)

The day after thanksgiving, we traveled to spend some time with more family. My grandmother got to be there too and lots of aunts, uncles, cousins and cousin's kiddos too. I'm kind of bummed that I didn't take more photos but I was so exhausted for the whole trip. I did manage to get these when we visited my great uncle and I'm so very glad!

My brother Travis and my Aunt Christy

My Grandmother, Great Uncle Bill, and my Mom.

We really missed seeing him and visiting the farm. It had been way too long!

My Meme is so gorgeous! Wish we lived closer so I could hug her anytime I want!

And my this is my very favorite photo! Meme had already told Travis that she didn't want him to leave her sight while she was there. It's not just me and Mom who are being affected by his leaving us. She was having a hard time too. Meme wouldn't let go of his neck and Travis had the most beautiful smile on his face and you knew that it was only for her! This will be a most treasured photo, and I hope to mail my grandmother a copy soon.

The older I get the more I realize what a blessing my family is to me. I feel like God is constantly teaching me new ways to learn how to love them all better. I hope he never stops!

this year's reads

2011-12-19T16:19:00.000-06:00

I thought it might be fun to write up a little post about the books I read this year! I love getting recommendations from other bloggers and who knows, you might even find one here that could be your next read! I made the book titles clickable links so that you could read a full synopsis over on Goodreads if you like. Hope you enjoy!

1) Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire at the end of last year. This is my favorite book series ever! I tell everyone to read these. My husband is actually reading Catching Fire right now. This is the perfect time to start these if you've never read them, because The Hunger Games movie comes out in March!

2-8) The Harry Potter Series - 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

This was the first time I ever read them! I fell in love with this series. I love it more now than I ever had when I only had the movies to relate to! Oh and Dobby is my favorite!

9) Matched - Ally Condie

Loved this book and the entire concept behind it. I'm so anxious to find out what happens next in Crossed!

10) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephanie Meyer

This one was on my list for a while. I loved getting this short glimpse into the other side of Twilight. It gave me a really different perspective.

11) Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

Gosh I love this story! The movie too, but oh the book sucked me in. I was sad that parts of it were crude, but it did suit the Prohibition era and the line of work in the book. Jacob was an amazing character and Rosie captured my heart as soon as she was introduced. This book will always be a favorite.

12) The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Break my heart and heal it all over again! That is exactly how I feel about this book. The movie leaves so much out! I will say this for the movie though. The characters are spot on! Perfection! All of them! Especially Miss Hilly! This will always and forever be a favorite of mine!

13) I am Number Four - by Pittacus Lore

Loved this book for an easy YA read. The book really filled out the plot for me where the movie left holes. It was cool to really understand what I felt like was missing. I'm excited to read The Power of Six now!

14) Sense and Sensibility - by Jane Austen

I read Pride and Prejudice right out of high school and decided I should give another Austen book a go. I loved the movie anyway. Every time Emma Thompson breaks down in tears at the end, I do too. I just love the Austen stories.

15) Delirium - by Lauren Oliver

Another amazing read! Definitely up there with the hunger games. I loved this book the whole way through. It was scary to me to see what growing up without love would be like and I rejoiced when the characters found it. I was heartbroken when the book ended and can't believe I have to wait until March for Pandemonium to come out!

16) Before I Fall - by Lauren Oliver

This was a really hard book for me to read because it is about a girl that dies and relives that last day several times. The concept was intriguing to me though and I ended up appreciating the book by the end. So sad but actually pretty good.

17) Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
I'm currently reading this one. The Little Women movie always puts me in the Christmas spirit. I try to watch it every December. Since I had never read the book, I figured it was the perfect time.

Are you on Goodreads? It's definitely one of my favorite social networking sites. It's the only way I was able to accurately keep up with the list of books I read this year! Each time I start or finish a book I just click on the app in my Ipod and update the status of my book. It's so easy! If you love to read and haven't joined, it's definitely worth a try.

Add me on Goodreads!

Let's be bookworm pals!

Just click the button above.

It was a pretty good year for books. There wasn't one that I really disliked and there were so many I loved!

If you have any suggestions of something you think I should read next year, please send it my way!!!

snow daze

2011-12-16T12:28:00.000-06:00

In all the craziness of last week, I forgot to share these snow day snaps! I always get excited about the first snow....if we even get one at all here in Texas! I was a little picture happy that day!

1) It's a little hard to tell, but you can see my husband's footprints along with our puppy's. Love!

2) snow is so beautiful when it glitters!

3) snowflakes everywhere!

4) lonely leaves

5) "Happy Feet." Haha!

6) Don't church steeples look extra beautiful in the snow?

Also .... I had this song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

"Snow" - from the movie White Christmas

snow = a happy heart.

thankful

2011-12-15T15:03:00.000-06:00

Playing a bit of catch up on my blog posts. This is Thanksgiving part 1.

We had a very small Thanksgiving Day this year. It was actually pretty neat. Usually we go to a huge family gathering, but this year several things came up and it just wasn't going to work out that way. So Mom and I decided that we were going to make a small feast at my house. Steven and I made the sides and Momma made the turkey, amazing pies and the other hard stuff! My mom and dad picked up my Grandaddy so that he could be with us and my little brother was there too. Since we knew Travis wouldn't be here for Christmas, it was fun to celebrate this holiday together instead. I'm so thankful that we got that day together.

"All is merry and bright...."

2011-12-14T08:54:00.000-06:00

I love to decorate for Christmas! When I was growing up, it was always something that we did as a family, and Steven and I try to keep that tradition too. This year it was starting to look like I might be decorating alone because Steven had several meetings and we just had so many things going on.

I decided to put up as much as I could by myself, so I plugged in my very favorite Christmas movie while I worked. Watching White Christmas when I decorate is a must!

I left the tree empty and Steven and I managed to find one hour, inbetween work and meetings, to put the ornaments on the tree together. I was a happy girl! So glad we were able to keep this little tradition of ours even with all the holiday bustle going on.

What Christmas tradition do

you just have to keep?

Another one I don't like to miss is going to look at Christmas lights.

Hoping to talk my parents into that one soon!

Hint, hint Mom!

;)

tears, hugs, laughter, and love

2011-12-13T10:43:00.000-06:00

Project 52

Week 49

This weekend was one of the most difficult of my life, but it was also filled with so much love! It was all about my little brother and I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was so neat to see how many people reached out to him before he left for boot camp. This won't even cover it. These are just a few photos from Steven's phone the day he left.

ALL of Trav's friends showed up. Some even left work early. I wanted to hug every one of them for they support they showed him. We couldn't even get a good pic of all of them at once, because they were joking around. I think it meant a lot to Trav that they were all there. So glad he is blessed with this awesome group of friends!

Some friends from my parents church that have also been great support for him.

Our family. It was so so so hard to let him go. When he came around to hug me, I couldn't stop the tears. I told him that I loved him more than words and that I am so proud of him. When he let go to hug the next person, I was shaking and crying so hard that he gave me another hug. I never want to forget that! Ever!

And here are just a few people that helped me get through this weekend:

My friend Ana. Her texts messages to check up on me and help with the party and just being there made a huge difference! Ana, you are one of my dearest friends and I thank God for you!

My friend Vickie! I know for a fact that there is no way I could have made it through this weekend without this sweet lady! She traveled from out of town and then helped me get all the food ready and my house ready for Trav's going away party when I was crazy stressed. She kept me going when I was on the verge of tears. I'm not sure she even knew that. You are such a blessing to me! Thank you for everything Vickie!

And my husband. I cried on his shoulder all week long.
He just hugged me, plugged in a Christmas movie, and made me hot cocoa.
Exactly what I needed.

You are my world, babe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And thank you friends for all of your encouraging comments and emails! I've been kinda absent from writing here, because I knew I just couldn't handle it. It's so good to know that other's relate to the hard times in life. Thank you for understanding. Hopefully a few more happy posts soon. I've edited lots of photos from the last couple months and can't wait to share!

Much love,

Amylou

A WINNER! YAY!!!

2011-12-08T10:58:00.001-06:00

We have a winner for the My Memories Digital Scrapbook Software!

Kara from Sunshine Cupcakes!

I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to see what you create! I already have your email address, so I will be contacting you soon with more info about the software.
Congrats Kara!!

If you are interested in purchasing My Memories Suite for yourself, click below for $10 off! Use the code: STMMMS81486

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also just wanted to leave a quick note to everyone who has offered up encouragement and prayers about my last post. Thank you so much! It means the world to me!

Much Love,

Amylou

how I'm doing...honestly.

2011-12-07T11:19:00.001-06:00

I just spent the last ten minutes crying at my desk at work. Just hoping that no one would walk by and see me in tears.

You see...... I'm planning out a very small get together for my brother before he leaves. I need to plan out what I need to serve for hors d'oeuvres, I'm making arrangements with the people who will be there for him, and I'm calling back and forth with my mom to get details in place.

This week has been okay so far. Moving right along with other Christmas parties, work, plans, and different chores and things. Truth be told....I'm glad to be busy. I'm glad to have something else to think about right now. It's keeping me moving.

I've been keeping it together. I'm not looking forward to him leaving, but I was ok. I was strong. But today I found out that my brother is having a hard time with leaving. And that is what broke me down. I was ok being the one hurting, but it kills me that he might be too.

I'm good. I've pulled it back together and I have a smile on my face again. I'm going to be strong....for my family....for my brother. These days will pass quickly. And I will tell him how much I love him. And how proud I am of him. And I will give him as many hugs as he will let me give!

I'm not looking for a bunch of comments on this post or anything. I just need to write this down. I need to remember this. I really am ok. I got my cry out. And I know that God is doing something big in my brother's life. He will be an amazing soldier and will learn a lot in this time of his life.

This hurt that I'm feeling today is fleeting. God's got this!

my halls have been decked!

2011-12-05T09:36:00.001-06:00

Project 52

~ Week 48 ~

1) We had our first frost last week! Loved the pretty patterns on my car window.

2) My work decorated everything so pretty! Makes my week that much better.

3) New Kindle Library Book! I Decided to read Before I Fall after I finished Delirium. Both books are by Lauren Oliver.

4) My custom Hot Chocolate Tea Cup from Sheepish Knit Crochet! I just love it!

5) Went hunting for one specific piece of fabric and this is what happened. It's kind of ridiculous how messy I can be.

6) Gorgeous sunrise!

____________________________________________________________________

Last week was also all about making our home look like Christmas!

1) Our little tree and my new favorite ornament from my sweet friend Ana! Coffee and Snowmen! She knows me so well!
2) My snowman collection is a bit out of hand! These are only a few, but trust me when I say that they are everywhere!
3) More decorations: My wreath from Handmade Colectibles, star topper, and a candy garland that I hung over my curtains.
4) Movie night! It's been so cold in our house. I put on my warmest jammies, toe socks and my favorite scarf.

____________________________________________________________________

p.s. I have both mad love and hate for the Water for Elephants movie now! I loved it except for a few major changes (in my opinion) from the book. But it made me really really wish I had a pet elephant! Rosie is the cutest!

p.p.s. I'm pretty disappointed that no one has entered the giveaway yet, because I really love my copy of the digital scrapbooking software from My Memories! I put a lot of thought into my review and really love the product. I've seen this giveaway several other places but I don't thing that all of my blog friends have won a copy. You only have until Wednesday! {CLICK HERE TO ENTER}

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

(This morning we had our FIRST SNOW!

So excited!!!)

Happy Monday!

link love list

2011-12-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

I've really loved collecting fun links from around the internet these past few weeks. I know a ton of other bloggers do this, so it might seem a bit overdone, but I love browsing the links that everyone shares! It might be something I would have overlooked otherwise, and I even love coming back to look at these lists later. Hope you enjoy them too!

THIS AMAZING PHOTO SHOOT! - I love the movie "UP"! So when I saw this on Breanna's blog I nearly cried! And then I emailed it to a bunch of friends. The whole shoot is beautiful. And I wish it could have been mine!

I have crazy love for the House of Humble blog! I'm sure you've heard of them, but if not, you must check out this husband and wife blogging team! They have both written a couple of my favorite posts in the last week! The next two links are both from their blog.

Perfectly Imperfect - by Katie. I love Katie's honestly and realizations in this post. Pretty sure that every blogger can relate!

On Being A Man Who Knits - by Reuben. I could really relate to this post. My husband actually taught me to single crochet because his grandmother taught him when he was younger. I love that he taught me. It's definitely one of my favorite hobbies now!

Lydia's beautiful birth story! - And her new little baby girl is just adorable! Congrats Lydia and Josh!!

"Tracks in the Snow" by The Civil Wars - My favorite song right now. Youmustustgolistentoit. Must.

And sometimes my husband emails me photos that he knows I will love! These are my two recent favorites.

I have no idea of the original source.

CUTEST HAMSTER EVER!

I think I NEED him!

Oh and don't forget to enter the giveaway in the post below! You have until next Wednesday to enter!

My Memories Software Giveaway

2011-12-02T09:16:00.000-06:00

**giveaway closed**

I'm so excited to share this giveaway with all of you! You may have noticed that I like to take photos.... a lot, so this is right up my alley! ;)

When I received an email about My Memories Suite, I was really excited! Digital scrapbooking software is something I have always wanted to try! The first thing I noticed is how user friendly the program is. It is so easy to put together a page!

There are photos kits that come pre-made. All you have to do is to drag and drop your photo into the designated space. You can also start from scratch and create your own layout. I ended up starting with a pre-made layout page and rearranging it to my liking. You can even design pages on regular letter size paper, (8x11 1/2), for easy printing from your home computer. I also found the freebies page on the My Memories website and I may have gone a little crazy with my clicking. There were so many cute designs!

I got so excited playing around with My Memories! My husband laughed at me more than once as I played around with the pretty backgrounds, text and font options, and little embellishments. I may have squealed and Ooooed and Ahhhed several times! Guess what! I haven't even put a dent in what you could do with this software. I'm planning a Christmas card and maybe even a new blog header. It would be so fun to make Christmas gift tags too!

I have been trying to figure out a new way to display some of my favorite photos in my home! We have so many gorgeous photos on CDs that our photographer took from our wedding, but heading to the Walmart photo kiosk isn't my idea of fun. In reality most of my photos never make it off my hard drive, unless they come to this little blog.

As much as I love picture frames, they can be expensive and not practical if you don't have a lot of shelving or table space. I also love scrap-booking and making memory albums, but sometimes it is hard to find the time and the space to pull out all of my supplies. Well, I'm convinced that My Memories is the solution to my photo problem!

So that is that! I'm a totally fan! And I'm really excited that My Memories is giving away a copy of this software to one of you!

To enter the giveaway.....

Mandatory Entry:

Visit the My Memories website and tell me which is your favorite Digital Paper Pack!

Additional Entries:

1) Become a follower of the My Memories Blog via Google Friend Connect

2) "Like" My Memories on Facebook

3) Become a follower of My Memories on Twitter

* Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry. *

*Please make sure you leave a way to contact you either through your Blogger Profile or an email address*

The giveaway will be closed Wednesday, December 7th at 12:00 AM.

And If you can't wait for the giveaway to browse and purchase, just use this coupon code to receive $10 off the software and $10 off in the My Memories store!

STMMMS81486

or click the button below

Thanks for entering friends! I can't wait to see who wins! I hope you love it as much as I do!

favorite things about Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T09:41:00.000-06:00

Project 52

~ Week 47 ~

~ Hosting a quiet lunch at my house for my parents, brother, and grandfather.

~ Good excuses for coffee because of lack of sleep.

~ My mom's turkey and dressing.

~ All of the dishes I made, came out good (with a little help from Steven). I'm not normally a good cook, so I was so glad that my family enjoyed the dishes I made.

~ Coffee date Thanksgiving night - just me, my hubs, and my little bro.

~ Traveling and spending the weekend at my Aunts house.

~ Getting to see my Grandmother, who I hadn't seen since April.

~ A little crocheting.

~ Steven got me the She and Him Christmas Vinyl! I think a record player might be in my future, but for now, I will borrow my Dad's.

~ My grandmother getting her picture taken with Santa. CutestThingEVER!

~ My brother playing his guitar and taking requests from the whole family.

~ Watching the biggest smile I've ever seen appear on the face of my cousin's little girl when Trav started playing the Justin Bieber song, "Baby." I don't have any Bieber Fever whatsoever, but whenever I hear that song, I will always think of that sweet little girl!

~ Singing a crazy Sunday school barnyard song for my cousin's little girls. We all had to be a different animal. I was the lamb. Haha!

~ Watching Elf with my Dad.

~ Squeezing six people around a four-person table at Schlotzsky's. Not easy, but so fun!

~ Going to my Great Uncle Bill's farm to visit with him. It had been way too long.

~ Watching my grandmother's eyes light up when she opened her Christmas presents!

Sweet conversations.

Great, big hugs.

And lots of love.

I wish times in between visits with my extended family weren't so long. And the visits are never long enough. But I'm oh so grateful for the time I get to spend with them.

After the fast paced holiday, Sunday was spent reading Delirium while my husband read Catching Fire next to me. There was also some cuddling, catching up on sleep, crocheting, and watching movies.

I'm thankful for every bit of it!

a week of hearts

2011-11-22T10:39:00.001-06:00

Project 52

~ Week 46 ~

Last week in cell phone pics......

Weekdays:

1) the very last bit of sunset.
2) puppy butts are CUTE! I can't be the only one that thinks this! ;)
3) my very favorite coffee ever: Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha from Hardback Cafe at Hastings Video - This photo is for Ms. Courtney, because she asked me!
4) crock pot cooking
5) found the shoes of my dreams!!! Couldn't believe they had a pair left in my size
6) favorite new eyeshadow! Found this Eyes.Lips.Face pallet at Target for only $5 bucks! It actually has four rows of colors and it stays on almost all day without creasing on my eyelids. I've never found anything I love more! You have to try it!
7) my Target scores - I don't usually go shopping that much (unless it is to the thrift store) so this was a big deal for me! I found that bathing suit top and the shoes on clearance. The cardigan was on sale and I paid next to nothing for the E.L.F. makeup! I was a happy girl!
8) Baby Lily! Love her little face!

Weekend:

1) We went to the Corn Maize Friday night - I was so glad we got to go before it closed for the year!
2) Steven bought me a new lens! I'm in love! We went on a photo date to try her out and take some photos of the fall leaves this weekend. We also used it at the Maize! Can't wait to share some pics with you in the coming weeks.
3) Sunday I put on that my heart thermal, jean skirt, cotton tights, and boots. That thermal is one of my very favorites. I have lots of happy memories wearing it. My favorite memory is one Christmas when I met Steven's extended family for the first time. Steven's aunt Kim teased me about getting married and being a part of her family. She said her son, Ryan, was a minister and we could get things going right then and there. I fell in love with her and everyone else! Three months later Steven proposed. Eleven months later Ryan married us in our home church! Yeah crazy that a shirt can hold that many memories, but it does. It's my happy-winter-love shirt! :)
4) On Sunday Steven took me to see Breaking Dawn! I know that people complain about Twilight and the actors, but I don't care.... I loved it! There's something a bit special about seeing the scenes of the book come to life on screen. I thought this movie was the very best one yet! And now I can't wait for Part 2!

I hope you are having a great almost-Thanksgiving week!

Things are getting busy at my house....cleaning, menu planning, and

getting ready to spend lots of time with family.

If I don't get to tell you again,

I hope that everyone has a very safe and

Happy Thanksgiving!

Much Love,

Amylou

<3 <3 <3

Portrait Session - Ana and Jerry - Part 2

2011-11-21T11:35:00.000-06:00

Remember this sweet couple?
I featured them before and wrote a little bit about how we met them.
Well here is Part 2! Just a few more of my favorites that I wanted to share!

I just loved the train tracks! The tracks that they were standing on were abandoned, but the train behind them actually started moving while we were shooting. It made the photos a bit more fun! I just loved this shoot! It was my favorite I've ever done! Thank you so much Jerry and Ana for being amazing friends! It made me so happy to be able to take these photos of you guys!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well it's been a little crazy in my world getting ready for Thanksgiving! Mom and I have been making grocery lists. I'm excited to cook for my family again this year!

I have some fun snaps to share from the weekend and I will try to post those tomorrow.

Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

xo,
Amylou

:)

for my Little-Big Brother

2011-11-17T10:20:00.000-06:00

I've been really reflective this week. Thinking about life and where this crazy road is going.

Knowing that some things that are coming will be so hard. Mainly....my little brother leaving.

He starts basic training next month. After that...a six year service. Seems like an eternity.

I'm not ready. When I am with my Mom, I try to be strong and hug her and hold her hand. When I am alone, my heart breaks. Then I start to think about the fun times we have had together.

I think back to when I was the taller sibling. Back when he and I spent all summer together, every year. Back when we climbed that tree where we lived and called it our treehouse, even though it lacked a house. He played with his dinosaurs and cars and I played with my Barbies and stuffed animals. We managed to make our imaginations work together, and made up games that would last hours. We fought a lot, but I realize now that we loved each other a lot too.

I think about now. About our coffee dates. Just chilling on a couch, in our favorite coffee shop, with our warm drinks. We catch up on life. We talk about his studies, my work, his friends, my photography, music....so much music. I think about when I go over to my parent's house and he is there. He pulls out the guitar and we start to sing "Getting Into You" by Relient K. I take the melody and he takes the harmony. Then we switch and I take the harmony for a few notes. We know this one so well. The harmonies in this song are my favorite.

Things aren't always easy, but these are the things I want to remember. The things I'm not ready to let go of.

But I know that things will turn out ok. I have this peace about it, like it is something that he needs to do. I hope this experience will be a growing one for him. A good thing. Something that he will look back on later in life, and be grateful for. I know it won't even really sink in until the time is actually here for him to leave. But I'm proud of him. And I will miss him. And I love him so much.

This is the verse I think of for you little brother.
I know that He has your future in His hands.

link love list

2011-11-15T08:30:00.000-06:00

My favorite links this week:

Larissa's stories from Ethiopia - Building a beautiful church and this story about Jitu touched my heart so deeply.

Taryn's fun photos from her walk. Can fall look like that where I live, please?!

Jennifer wrote another blog post this week that touched me so deeply. Please go read it. Your heart will never be the same.

This super hilarious prank call on Ms. Jamie's blog!

This gorgeous typeography artwork that I saw orginally on ShannonBear.

This amazing Audrey art!

This adorable photo that made me squeal!

Unsure of orginal source. Found on Pinterest.

And 2 movies I'm really looking forward to!!!

Snow White and the Huntsman

I couldn't embed the movie, but you can click here to go watch the trailer.

THE HUNGER GAMES !!!!! EEEEEEPPPP!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And after all of that, I have just one more link to share.... Find me over on Shannon*Bear today!I'm sharing my photo story! This was such a fun post to write about my journey through photography so far!See you over there!

autumn beauty

2011-11-14T09:39:00.001-06:00

Project 52

~ Week 45 ~

This week was spent soaking in all of the fall beauty around me. I know it won't be hanging around much longer and it will be hard to see it go! I'm not ready for the crisp mornings to turn into the biting cold. I wish there was a place where autumn lasted for most of the year. I know that is where I would want to be! My husband just laughs at me when we drive around our city and I pick out my favorite trees. I tell him that I want him to plant three trees in our yard. Trees that would turn red, orange, and gold! I would love that! Someday...maybe.

This week was also for:

~ My first peppermint mocha of the season! It is my favorite coffee ever!

~ The Canadian Geese are back in Texas. I love to hear their honks as they fly overhead in the morning.

~ Comfy PJs and Pigtails.

~ Floral skirts and grey nail polish.

~ Drive-In movies. Double Feature! Puss In Boots and In Time. I think that In Time might be a new favorite of mine. Very dystopian! Also I loved the classic cartoons they played in between the movies. They are the same ones from the movie Grease!

I hope that you are enjoying the fall beauty where you are too! xo, Amylou :)

when life doesn't work out...

2011-11-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

lately things just haven't been going as planned.

you know when you start planning...well.....life?

you decide that you will be over here on that day

and do that thing before the next week is over,

but those things just don't happen.

....and it's no one's fault.

no one gets sick on purpose,

or hopes their car will break down.

no ones plans for work to get in the way.

cancellations come up.

hardships happen.

and it's no one's fault.

but you know what? it's kind of heartbreaking all the same.

it's discouraging when goals aren't met and life takes another turn.

it's hard to understand why things happen the way that they do.

it's hard not to get down on life....

.....down on yourself.

lately this has been me.

nothing huge.

nothing devastating.

just lots of little disappointments.

things not working out my way.

but I guess that's my problem.

my way.

it should be His way instead.

so I need to stop.

and shift my focus.

let God take the lead for a change.

I need to learn patience.

contentment.

hard words aren't they?

difficult to soak in and purposefully seek out.

so this is me.

saying that I'm ok.

I'm fine.

just having a hard time.

and learning a hard lesson.

.....learning the lesson that He wants to teach me.

Proverbs 3:5-12 MSG

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

instant treasures

2011-11-08T18:58:00.000-06:00

my Momma's bday

apple picking

I'm not sure what makes instant photos so sweet, but so many of my Instax photos are my most treasured. The ones above are no different. In fact these have been hidden away in my planner since they were taken, pulled out on the days when I needed to see the smiling faces of my family.

what are your most treasured photos?

weekly snaps

2011-11-07T10:56:00.000-06:00

Project 52
~ Week 44 ~

Last week in cell phone pics.

Weekdays

1. Lily riding in the back seat with her nose out the window. Pretty much her favorite thing to do.

2. sunshine through the trees.

3. crisp, cool morning

4. I had massive amounts of chores to do around the house and I was kind of freaking out! Steven decided to help me, by cleaning the kitchen. It was absolutely spotless! So thankful for that man!

Weekend

1. Pedicure (zebra toes), coffee, and kindle.

2. Sometimes my music choices match my mood exactly.

3. Saturday I helped my Momma out at her jewelry booth at a craft show. I always end up leaving taking something home with me. Her things are just too pretty!

4. Saturday night outfit - my favorite lavender dress, cardi, black tights, and grey boots. Loved this outfit!

5, 6 & 7. Our sweet friends' birthday dinner!

8. Steven ended up with heart shape chicken! So he decided to spell out "I Heart You!"

9. Late night wine date at our favorite place.

10. Pulled out the winter comforter again to make our room nice and cozy!

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

What were you up to?

Look me up on

Soundtracking & Instagram

@ amylouwhogirl

link love list

2011-11-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

Morning friends! I just wanted to share a few links today that I've been loving lately!

First things first this morning! Have you seen the new design over here?! (hop on over if you are viewing in a reader.) Well, I must give lots of credit to Ms. Janette for my new header! She asked for some help from me with html coding so I asked for some banner help! I've been wanting something with fall colors, but I had no idea what to do! She whipped this up and I love it! Perfect blog trade! Thank you Janette!

Suzie's discovery of the snark mark - Why didn't I know this existed?

Katie's 5 Favorites of Fall series - Katie's photos are all so inspiring and this series is no different

Janette's Scary Spider Incident
I was laughing so hard I almost cried when I read this. I knew that I would have reacted 10 times worse if I were in her shoes! Kudos to you, friend!

Disney Doo Wop Medley - Best thing I've seen in forever. I'm a huge disney fan and these guys have it going on!
Is anyone else excited for this?! We already bought our Breaking Dawn tickets....ummm...like two weeks ago! I can't wait! And no we won't be going to the midnight release! Sunday morning earlybird is where it's at! Haha!

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

I plan on having a movie night tonight with my mama and some other sweet friends!

What are your weekend plans?

apple picking adventure

2011-11-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Steven and I decided to go apple picking! It was the first day you could pick the Pink Lady Apples at this little orchard in a neighboring town. Pink Ladies are my favorite! Steven was still working 7 days a week last month, but he managed to get just a few hours off that morning. It was so wonderful to have a mini adventure and get out of the house, away from chores and the stresses of work. Neither one of us had ever been before! Here are the photos from our morning.

We were the very first people to arrive! We passed tons of pumpkins walking in. They were just waiting to be taken home. I would have bought three if we had the extra money!

They showed us the path to take through the orchard and gave us a bucket on wheels! Away we went!

There was a very sweet farm dog and she followed us the whole way! She was so excited to run along side us and even stood up on her hind legs and hugged my arm. Such a sweetie!

We were a little disappointed at first because the apples were so small. We just haven't had enough rain here in Texas this summer. We managed to find several good ones though!

Steven's Twilight impression! Haha!

Tiny little pink lady apples!

After we filled our little bucket, we went inside to the little shop and restaurant! They offered a pancake breakfast and some of the proceeds went to our local food bank. Such a sweet gesture! I love when local businesses help out our community.

They had so many preserves and fresh goods! We ended up taking home some green chili salsa, cherry fruit spread, raw honey, fresh okra and some fresh green chilies! I made fried okra that weekend and it was so good!

Nothing like sunshine, a cool morning, coffee, pancakes, farm fresh goods, and a little time with the guy I love! I plan on making this a new fall tradition in our home!

Have you even been apple picking?

thankful for a new month

2011-10-31T11:13:00.000-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 43 ~

Monday

sunrise.

Tuesday

new yarn colors and the first granny square I've made that I really am proud of. :)

Wednesday

Cutie! Lily knows how to represent! I bought this little sweatshirt for her from Walmart

because it was on clearance. It's the first one she's ever had and she loves it! I'm not really

into putting girly things on her, but I've been noticing she gets so chilly at home lately.

When I pull it out for her to put on she gets really excited like it's a treat! Might have to

find her another one soon.

Thursday

rainy fall day

Friday

1st frost!

dinner/coffee/book browsing date night.

came home and cuddled in our freezing living room to watch my favorite pirate!

Sunday

date night outfit

perfect way to end the night. slippers, another movie and one of my favorite snacks.
Lily is such a photo crasher! Haha!

Not Pictured: Fun times on Saturday with a friend. We are catching her up on Twilight. She has never seen the movies and we're fixing that! We ALWAYS forget to take photos together!

After a long, crazy, emotional October, Steven finally got a whole weekend off!!! So we treated ourselves to two date nights this weekend and enjoyed some much needed time together. I feel like October was one big emotional roller coaster for me. I have cried more times than I would like to admit. (Just keeping it real.) Not a good month at all and I'm actually really glad it's coming to a close. It's a brand new month tomorrow and I'm looking forward Thanksgiving and TONS of time with family and friends!

p.s. Did you know Turkey Day is my favorite holiday? It's pretty hard to choose between Christmas and Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving is really better....nothing but huge family gatherings, fall leaves, yummy food, cold mornings, warm coffee, a good book, photos and more photos and so much to be thankful for!

much love,

Amylou

Another crafty goal complete!!!

2011-10-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

WOOT! I'm so excited I finally learned how to crochet a granny square! I started learning to crochet last year, but gave up on my scarf project when it started to get warmer. I just wasn't into it and I felt a little defeated.

I knew I didn't want to give up and I thought granny squares would be the perfect project to try! I was right! I pulled up some you tube videos last week and a tutorial from Ms. Mandipity's blog and set to work. It was a little difficult at first, but once I started to catch on, I was really enjoying it!

I love that I can start a square and then finish it off. There is a sense of accomplishment in finishing one square and then starting a whole new one instead of one long continuous project. I also love that the stitches are more complex, but not too hard for me to not keep up with the pattern.

And here is my newest square! Looks a lot better than my first attempt! I went to walmart to grocery shop the other night and passed the yarn isle. I got these two colors and a new hook for less than $5.00, because everything was on sale! I was a happy girl! Steven teases me that he is glad I enjoy crafts more now, because it's a cheaper hobby than shopping for clothes, shoes, and purses! Haha!

If you are dreaming of learning to crochet, I would highly suggest looking up free tutorials online and then looking up a YouTube video! I'm an extremely visual person, so it helps to have the instructions written out in front of me and then to see someone do the stitch itself, so I can really understand! I also found a book at Michael's with clearer instructions on how to do individual stitches such as a single, double and round, etc. There are so many resources out there in places you might not think to look. So I just want to encourage you! It's not impossible!

My hands are getting faster and more familiar with the rhythm of the stitches. Maybe soon I can have enough squares for a little blanket or a long scarf. I even thought granny square Christmas ornaments might be fun gifts. Oh the possibilities!

So what crafty goals on on your list?

p.s. thanks for all the comments on my last post!

I'm not against technology, just sometimes tired of

the way it seems to push relationships apart!

Thanks so much! So nice to know I'm not alone

in feeling this way!!!

times change

2011-10-26T08:47:00.001-05:00

Thoughts:

When did communication become text, email and facebook?

I miss..... walking down to my friends house. Only a few houses down.
3-way calling.
Hanging out at the playground or skating rink.
Sleepovers.
Heading to the mall with no money. Just to walk around and talk.
Coffee shop dates.
Feeling like your friends knew you better than you knew yourself.
Calling a friend when you are upset. A listening, encouraging ear at the other end.

I miss that.

Sometimes I hate what technology has done to this world.

i haz a bucket full of apples. ;)

2011-10-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 42 ~

10 weeks left of these photo posts? That certainly doesn't seem right! This year has zoomed by! Well, I have definitely kept my goal of snapping more photos this year, even if most of them are cell phone pics.

Monday

Monday night we had one of the worst dust storms ever! I guess I'm just kind of used to it now, but a lot of people were freaking out. That's TX for ya!

Tuesday

One of my favorite tricks that Steven has taught Lily is how to "hug". It's the cutest thing! Every morning Steven says, "Lily, come give me a hug." She pops up on his leg and he put his arms around her. Then she turns her little head in to his face! If Steven leaves in the morning and doesn't give her a hug, she get really sad! So adorable!

Wednesday

I'm super addicted to this app! Soundtracking is a lot like Instagram, but instead you share what music you are listening too. I sent out a few invites, but if you would like one, just send me your email! Ms. Lydia is responsible for this new addiction! Thanks girl! ;)

Thursday

Thursday was for boots, pretty shadows and lunch with a sweet friend! This was the second boot day in a row last week! Yay for FALL!

Saturday

"I haz a bucket" LOL!!
Srsly! If you don't get the joke. Click that link above!

Steven is still working 7 days a week, but his boss let him have a few hours off first thing Saturday morning, so we went apple picking at an apple orchard in a neighboring town. They didn't have the best crop this year, but we still came home with a few baby apples. We also grabbed some fresh okra, green chilies, raw honey, cherry fruit spread, green chili salsa, and another baby pumpkin. We had way too much fun! It was nice to have some time together, even for just a few hours. I will have some more photos of our trip to post later!

After Steven went to work I hung out with my mom for a bit. We did some shopping and she came back to my house to see the little munchkin. Well, this is what happens when my mom leaves our house! Lily pops up on the door to watch her car drive away! I love her little butt wrinkle! Haha!

Sunday

Sunday was for chores. Lots and lots of chores, but I did have a nice coffee break before I got started. :)

Pretty good week all in all! I got some photo editing done and even cleaned up my craft room. It may or may not have been a disaster zone! This week I will be cleaning some more so that we can have guests in two weeks. I can not wait! Got a few fun things planned next month.

So what are you up to lately?!

Hope you are having a great start to your week!

much love,

Amylou

Handmade Trade with Taryn!

2011-10-20T10:23:00.003-05:00

Several months ago, my bloggy pal Taryn, emailed me about doing a handmade trade with her! Of course I said yes! She told me a little about what she might like and I did the same. Well, life happened and all sorts of craziness and I wasn't able to finish her embroideries as fast as I would have liked, but Taryn was so amazing and super patient with me to finish her gifts for her! I wanted to make something special that I knew she would love! After I was done, I was pretty sure that I accomplished it! I took the photos below and sent them off to her. She had no idea what was coming in the mail, except that it would be embroidery!

So what do you think? Taryn and I both are big Twilight fans (Vampire Diaries too, oh my!), so I knew that it would be the perfect theme! That little apple may have been the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to do it completely freehand, because I don't have the right transfer tools, but it was worth it!!! Taryn loved them and I'm so glad!

NOW.....to show of what she made for me!!

I'm in LOVE with Taryn's button flowers. I had just thrifted that Ball jar when I received her package. As soon as I saw that sweet little bouquet I knew they would be perfect for the jar! It's sitting in my craft room right now and I enjoy looking at them whenever I go in there. She made the friendship bracelets in my favorite colors! So sweet! I love them!

I love handmade trades more and more, because I feel like every time I do one I'm meeting a new friend and getting to know a little bit more about them!

Thanks again Taryn! I had way too much fun with our trade!

date night at the fair

2011-10-18T11:59:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago the fair was in town and it was the last night it would be open. I had been really wanting to go all week, but Steven was just exhausted. (I explained a little about what our crazy schedules have been like lately in yesterday's post.) I didn't want to press him to go anywhere, but when I mentioned it was the last night, he said we could go. We went for just a quick trip and grabbed some fair goodies. It was good to get out and have a little date together, even if it was a short one. We both enjoyed the photo practice too!

I'm going to just go ahead and say that this is my favorite fair goodie! I'm not much of a lemonade person, but give me a strawberry with it and it's instant yummy!!!

simple, but so good. we aren't much into the strange fried foods.

Noms. Hahaha! ;)

photo above by Steven. I think it's kind of dreamy!

not brave enough to try this bungee ride, but man did it look awesome!

Love this crazy robot! He was playing a Michael Buble song over a loud speaker in his suit and dancing some sweet moves! The crowd loved him!

my favorite desert. Funnel cake! YUM!

Tried to capture the crescent moon!

We went home oh so full and had a ton of laughs, just the two of us.

So tell me....what is your favorite thing about the fair?

acorns, fog and pumpkins = FALL

2011-10-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 41 ~

Monday:

lunch with my Mama! always makes my day!

Tuesday:

Foggy morning! People think I'm a little strange because I love this weather so much!

a long, chunky sweater kind of day.

Did a little acorn hunting on my lunch break.

When I was little I would try to find the ones with the tops still attached. Still do.

Tiny little full moon peaking from behind gorgeous bright red clouds!

This was so beautiful in person! Wish you all could have been there to see it too!

Wednesday:

Could.NOT.Stop.Clicking.THIS!

Dear Google, Please stop making addicting interactive headers. KThanks.

Thursday:

Of course I had to have a baby pumpkin!

Friday:

Sooo late to this party! My work ordered Einstein's bagels for a birthday breakfast.

This was the first one I had ever tried. Ah-maze-ing!!!

Saturday:

Did a little thrifting this weekend. Here's just a peek at what I found.

I can never resist a turquoise bird! I've been looking for a piggy bank for a while and

I loved the hand painted flowers on this one! And well the camera....couldn't pass it up!

Sunday:

Finished Sense and Sensibility. Now...Delirium!!

Other little happy things not pictured:

Dinner with my Mama-In-Law
Lunch with my parents
A really clean house
ALL of my laundry is done at the moment
Fall decorations
Thrifting with my Dad

This last week really felt like fall to me because we have had a few chilly mornings and I decorated a little bit this weekend! We did have some really warm days, but I'm just going to pretend like that didn't happen. ;)

I'm just going to be real with you and say that this has been a really stressful week! Steven has had to work 7-day-weeks all this month plus some on-call weekends. I kind of want to kick someone's butt! Instead, I'm just trying to deal with it and do as many errands and chores by myself so Steven doesn't have anything to worry about when he comes home. I'm really ready for October to be over so maybe we can get back to a normal schedule.

Another thing that's just really been stressful is that I've discovered I tend to have a lot of anxiety before I go to a doctor's appointment. I get tense and my throat closes up. I really have to purposefully de-stress. Lately when I visit my chiropractor, his waiting area is full of people and small children, which doesn't really help me to calm down. By the time it's my turn, my muscles are so tight that every adjustment hurts! I talked my chiro about it and he was so nice. He said I should just wait in my car until it's my turn and then someone will come get me! This is perfect because now I can plug in some tunes and read. Hopefully my muscles can be more like jello when I finally go inside! Such a relief and I'm so thankful for understanding doctors!

Anyway, so life for me as of late, is just constant chores and trying to enjoy the little things. Hopefully this next week will be a chill week and I can get some photo editing done.

So what have you been up to?

Do you have any fall decorations up yet?

country music mama

2011-10-13T09:13:00.002-05:00

this totally happened yesterday.

......and I loved it so much that I just had to write it down so that I could remember it forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mom called me while she was on her way out of town to spend some time with my aunts. (yes....I'm pretty sad, because I couldn't go.) When I answered the phone, my Mom is cracking up laughing and I'm a little confused.

Here is how our conversation went:

Mom: "I'm driving and I've got some country music turned up WAY too loud in the car!"

Me: "But Mom....you HATE country music!"

Mom: "I know, but some of these songs are just so stupid! It's funny!"

At this point I'm cracking up and still really confused. My mom hates country music and always has. It's not my favorite either (although I do like some).....I guess just because I didn't really grow up listening to it. This is seen as pretty strange by people that know us, because we live in Texas. Texans should love country music right?! Anyway....that was a bunny trail. Back to our conversation.

Mom: "There's this song that says, God is good, Beer is great, and People are crazy. It's just so stupid!"

My Mom is pretty much laughing hysterically at this point.

Me: "I've heard that song. It's pretty funny. Mama, have you had your coffee this morning?"

Mom: "No...I didn't"

Me: "That might be the problem."

Mom: "Well you weren't with me. And I didn't have anyone to talk to, so I'm listening to this music instead. I just thought I would call and make your day! I've just been wanting to call and sing that crazy song to someone!"

Well, guess what Mama?!

You totally made my day!

And I laughed about this and

your country-music-self

for the rest of the day!

I love your silly face!

And if none of the above was funny, because it was just one of those you-had-to-be-there-moments, then I sincerely apologize. But I hope that some of you enjoyed it as much as I did.

;)

knock and the door will be opened...

2011-10-12T11:51:00.000-05:00

Just a little something on my heart lately.

* click to enlarge image *

Maybe you are in the same boat as me. Lately I've been bottling things up and forgetting to seek Jesus and cast my cares on him. I took this photo in August at my cousin's wedding and I've been thinking about that verse ever sense, so I decided to make this little reminder for myself. Thought I would share with anyone who might like it. Feel free to use this at home on your mirror, re-post, or use as a computer background and if you don't mind linking back to this post, it would be much appreciated! Thank you friends! Hope you are having a blessed week!

much love,

Amylou

another journal entry....

2011-10-11T10:53:00.001-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 40 ~

First off.....I need to thank a couple lovely ladies for their amazing gifts!

The talented Janette mailed me the sweetest painting she did because she knows that
I love birds! I just adore the little bow and a hat! Thanks so much Janette!

Handmade Trade with Taryn! She made me the cutest button flowers! I thought

they went perfectly in my newly thrifted ball jar. And she made these friendship bracelets
in my favorite colors! I love everything Taryn! I had so much fun doing our trade!

And here are some more Instagram photos from last week.
If you would like to follow me on IG, my user name is amylouwhogirl.

sunshine. :)

coffee = morning must have.

lunch = sunshine, ankles crossed, and a good book.

favorite outfit ever!!! Couldn't wear my Beatles tee from this post

to work though. I had to tone it down a bit. Haha!

My bottle collection might be getting a little out of hand! This isn't all of them either!
I have several more scattered throughout the house. Please love that all of these
pictured are grouped in pairs. Just now noticing that I did this!

Finished I am Number Four! A little slow at first and not my favorite writing style,
but the plot is awesome and the last big battle scene had me on edge! I really loved
this book and I can't wait to read the sequel that just came out!

Thrifted on Saturday! They are so cute!

Wonder years and cheerios. Lazy Sunday morning.

Might be in love with my new makeup.

Date night.

boots and tights for a chilly evening.

Sunday night's sunset.

Speaking of Makeup: Random I know, but does anyone else have a problem with their makeup looking overly white when someone takes a flash photo of you? Well I learned from one of the ladies who works at Ulta that the problem is too much SPF in your makeup. She says it is better to have more SPF in your moisturizer than in the foundation itself! Who knew right? She suggested the Tarte brand for me because it has less SPF than what I was using and is still a natural makeup brand. It feels great on my skin too! WIN WIN WIN!

Speaking of Boots: Does anyone else hate how expensive they are? I haven't found any when I've been thrifting in my size, DSW is easily $80-100, and I looked at Payless and their's were $40! I was thinking I might give up looking when I found the ones above at Ross for $17. I was ecstatic!!!

Not pictured:
~ LOTS of chores. Blah.
~ Fighting with photo storage. Oh man! It's getting a little out of hand. We were able to get everything a little more organized, but it still needs some work.
~ Coffee date with my little brother. Not sure how many more chances we will get to spend time together before he leaves for the military. I'm soaking up every moment I can get!

Sorry for the long winded post! If you read it all, I'm impressed!I love to do these little weekly recaps. Feels like keeping a real journal!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!:) much love, Amylou

p.s. Janette...the title of this post should look familiar! ;)

backyard daydreaming

2011-10-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when I get home from work, Lily and I head out into the backyard for a little playtime.

I throw sticks and she chases after them. They are doomed to be nommed.

Lily protects me from the neighborhood cats. Such a huntress!

Then...just for fun....we pose for a photo shoot.

But then we are worn out and need to rest.

A nap in the sunshine should do the trick.

Good times...just my pup and I.

guest posting today!

2011-10-05T09:46:00.001-05:00

Today I am guest posting over at Vintch. Courtney gave us the topic.... "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned ________." At first I had no idea how to fill that blank, but then it came to me.

I titled my post ...... "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned ......through music." After that the words just flowed and I will say without a doubt that this is one of my favorite blog posts that I've ever written!

Click here to read.

bookworm files

2011-10-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

Since Steven bought me my Kindle, I feel like I've been even more of a bookworm! I do love to read a real book, but the change has been a nice one. I can not tell a lie.

I'm the kind of girl who takes my book with me everywhere! I'm never without one and my purse can get kind of heavy. My back is thanking me for not carrying a ten pound book in my purse everyday. (maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously....it's bad.) Plus I read at night a lot and that is the same story. The kindle is a lot lighter to hold up while laying down than a hardback book.

Another thing I love is never loosing my place! Do you know how many times after work that I've just thrown my bag in my car...then my book falls in the floorboard.....and so does my bookmark. This usually causes several words of frustration and complaining until I can find my place again. Yep! Not going to lie. It happened a couple times a week at least.

To sum it up..... I love books, but I'm kind of in love with my Kindle!

As far as what I'm reading....well I downloaded pretty much every free classic I could! Yay for free books!

I'm almost done with Sense and Sensibility. LOVE Jane Austen! That lady knew what she was doing. To me...her romances are more real than anything these days. Romance isn't always easy and it's not always fireworks at first sight. Goodness knows!

Anyway...I took a break from this one so that I could try out a Kindle Library Book. When I heard about this, I was way too excited! More free books! YAY! How it works is that you go to your local library's website and see if they offer ebooks. Mine did, so I whipped out my library card and started browsing. I found I Am Number Four and downloaded it to try it out! I had to input my library card info to get it, it redirected me to the amazon site, and then I was able to download using my USB Kindle cord. I have a limit of two weeks to read it before my download is no longer valid. I guess it will disappear from my Kindle...we shall see. This was a book that was on my to-read list anyway, so I was pretty excited. I'm already 3/4 of the way through the book. It is a quick read and I'm enjoying it.

And guess what? Steven got a Kindle too and he started reading the Hunger Games series! I'm a happy girl!!! He actually just finished the first book and I'm so excited that he likes it. I told him it definitely wasn't a "girly" series and he agrees with me. It's kind of cool to sit and chat about the book together. It's been a while since I have read the series and now I feel like I'm reliving it! I'm thinking I definitely need to re-read the first book again before the movie comes out in March though!! EEEP!!! Can not wait!!!

So do you love to read?

Do you think you might consider an e-reader

if you don't have one already?

What's your favorite read so far this year?

weekly rambles

2011-10-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Project 52
~ Week 39 ~

This week.....

"Oh glorious day!" I thought of this song when I saw this view. :)

something I see everyday.

Sent out some snail mail to this lovely lady. Sending is just as fun as receiving. :)

Wednesday was a dress day. I mentioned a $6 clearance find from Target in this post.

Well this is the dress! I love the pattern and it's so comfy! Can't wait until it is cold

enough to wear it with boots!

This is my new Kindle cover! I ordered it from this great shop, Dana Designs. I scoured
Etsy looking for a handmade cover that wasn't too expensive and this was the perfect
seller. She made it to fit my Kindle and I loved this fabric! Steven actually picked it out
because he loved the fluffy owl. Haha! Anyway check this shop out if you are looking
for a cute handmade Kindle cover for yourself or maybe a Christmas present.

New favorite cardi.....blue zebra! Gifted from my sweet friend Ana!

This weekend was for CHORES! haha! I know that's pretty lame. It was kind of nice though. I love to just put in some good tunes and get to work. I did a lot on Saturday. Cleaned up my office some, rearranged a little furniture, and gave the pup a much needed bath.

Does it ever drive anyone crazy how you can clean a room and the next day it looks horrible again? OH MY! I don't even have kiddos yet! I'm just being honest here guys. We are gone from the house a lot and so it's just hard to keep stuff organized. I miss the days when we lived in a one bedroom and it took me like ten minutes to do a chore. Now in a four bedroom house, I feel like only one half of the house is clean at any given time! Sometimes is takes all weekend to get the house clean and get some laundry done. Oh well. Maybe someday I can figure out a better schedule.

We managed to squeeze in a night at the fair this weekend. I was glad because it was the last night it was in town. I didn't take a single cell phone picture which was fun! I love the days when my big girl camera gets a ton of use. So I hope to share some fair photos soon.

ALSO - I've been having a lot of trouble commenting on any blog that doesn't use the pop-up option. Am I the only one having trouble? Anyway if I haven't commented on your blog lately, it's not for lack of trying! Sorry guys! Hope it gets fixed soon. It's driving me bonkers!

I feel like I'm being long-winded today! LOL, but sometimes it just feels good to write and use less pictures. Is anyone else excited that it is October?! I'm not into Halloween, but I still love fall! I'm hoping to pull out my decorations this week and keep them up through the end of November so they will get a lot of use! Also I'm hoping the Corn Maize and the Apple Orchard will be on the agenda this month! DEAR WEATHER, please bring us some crisp cool sweater weather! Please! Thanks in advance!

October....please be glorious! ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Tell me about it!

much love,

Amylou

p.s. If you missed yesterday's post.

It's one of my favorites. Just saying.

up with the sun

2011-10-02T10:32:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I heard about a Hot Air Balloon festival that was going to be held at sunrise in a neighboring town. I asked my mom and she said she would love to go with me! I woke up very early, at least for me, and dressed in the dark so my husband could sleep in. Once I got to my Mom's, we piled into her car and raced the sun as fast as we could to get to the park before sunrise.

When we arrived, it was still a bit dark, but the first balloon lifted off right in front of us.

What we didn't realize at first is that this would be the only balloon, because it had started to rain.

We sat there for a while and watched the sun rise above the trees. I was playing around with my camera settings and showing my mom each picture I took through the rain droplets on the windshield. It was really a stunning sunrise!

We thought maybe we could wait out the rain, but the trucks started pulling away with the balloons still stowed away in their trailers. Mom and I were pretty disappointed. Neither one of us had seen hot air balloons in person before.

We left the park and decided to go ahead and make a day of it! We grabbed coffee and headed out shopping at some garage sales and the craft store. Lunch together was also a treat.

I didn't really take any more photos for the rest of the day. I just soaked up the time with my Momma. Since I've left home we don't really get to spend as much time together as we'd like. I've come to appreciate the time that we do have together so much more now. In that way...growing up has become a pretty cool thing.

Sometimes, I feel like God is teaching me through little things like this. I may have plans for myself, but they may just not work out. And that is ok.

Moral of the story:

Sometimes God's plans are more important than mine.

....like noticing the beauty in raindrops on a windshield....

...and spending "camera-less" time with my amazing Mom!

Sweet Pet Photo Tips from Shannon Bear

2011-09-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

Do you remember several weeks ago when I wrote about taking photos of our little puppy? Well...Shannon had just adopted her new puppy at that time and told me she was excited that I wrote about my tips and would try out a few. I was so excited to see more photos of Shannon's new furbaby! I decided to email Shannon and ask if she would like to write a guest post for me about the tips she learned when snapping photos of her dog.....and guess what? She said YES! So I'm really excited to share it with you today. I sooo enjoyed reading her post and know that her tips are going to help me and hopefully all you other animal lovers as well! Without further ado....here is the lovely Shannon!

______________________________________________________

Hiya Amy Lou readers, I'm Shannon from Shannon*Bear! How much do you love Amy's blog? Seriously. I always feel better after a visit and looksee around her world! I'm really excited to be here and share a few tips for photographing your pets! I'm a photographer and I run my business with my sweet Mr. We just recently got a super sweet blue tick coon hound named Daisy Bear. I'm completely head over heels for her and I'm forever taking photos of her, which can be tricky. She has a lot of energy. A lot.

When I want to get a few good shots of her I always have my camera ready. Lens cap off, camera on and the settings the way I want them. I like to take a few shots when she's out on her lead and running around like crazy. I find that while she's distracted I can get some great shots of her being sweet or silly.

Another way to get some great shots is to bring the camera into play. Daisy loves to chew on... well, everything. So I decided to grab a stick and entice her with it. While she was jumping I took a few photos and this one is my favorite of the group! I had it on the sports setting, that way I could hold the shutter button down and take 5 or 6 shots in a row of her jumping. You can also take a few shots while they're playing with another animal.

Take them by surprise! Literally! Call their name when they're in the middle of something and snap a quick shot of them. Usually you'll get that sweet excited-to-be-called-by mom look! A little tip: when you're going for this approach zoom in. If you're on your DSLR use your zoom lens, if you're on your point and shoot zoom in! It makes life much much easier.

Since she's so little she sleeps a lot too. I love to get sweet photos of her sleeping. This is probably the easiest way to get cute photos of your little.

And last but not least, paparazzi it. Andrew coined that term in our house. If you can't look through your viewfinder hold up your camera, point it in the general direction of your subject and click the shutter. You'll be amazed with the results. Some of my favorite shots - puppy and otherwise - are from paparazzi shots!

I hope these tips are helpful! If you have any questions please let me know and I'll answer them the best I can!

Happy Shooting!

xo Shannon

______________________________________________________

Isn't Daisy the cutest?! I love the one of her sitting on the hill with her back to us!

She looks likes shes contimplating life. Adorable!

Thanks for sharing your tips Shannon!

Please check out Shannon's blog if you've never stepped into her corner of the internet!

I love seeing Shannon's mountain town and her beautiful photography!

She has a pretty sweet little spot and I always leave her blog with a smile on my face.
So don't wait! Head on over!!!

:)

what I wore to a wedding

2011-09-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

I wore this to my cousin's wedding last month. My job was to take photos of his lovely bride while she and here bridesmaids got ready. Such a fun job right? I'm still going through and editing photos, so they aren't ready yet, but I thought it would be fun to share what I wore.

I think this is my favorite dress I own!!! (besides my own wedding dress of course, haha!)

details:

dress - ross

shoes - payless

cropped jacket - made by my Momma

I just love the way this dress fits! I think it suits my curvy figure pretty well, and the price wasn't too bad either! I'm a super cheap shopper, or at least I have become that way since I've gotten married. I'm always hunting for a bargain, so stores like Ross, TJMaxx, and thrift stores like Goodwill are my best friends. I'm also a huge fan of Old Navy and Target clearance sections!

Lately my favorite thing to look for at thrift stores is skirts. They seem so easy to find around here. I guess I live in a pants/jeans kind of town. This weekend I found a skirt for 99 cents! Score! Oh and I picked up a dress at Target for $6! That made me a happy girl!

So my question is, do you love to go thrifting?

If so, which section to you make a beeline for?

little joys

2011-09-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 38 ~

Last week.....

Flowers from Steven. He knows my favorites are the marbled roses. So sweet!

Silly guy! Always making me laugh. Never a dull moment.

Most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen!

And since I love it so much....here is the non-filtered version. Even more beautiful I think!

My name was on my lunch. ;)

Monster Lily!! Normally she is so good! I was pretty disappointed about this.

Clouds all in a row.

Super grateful for this invention lately.

My unfinished scarf from last year. Picked it up again and I'm so glad!
Hoping to finish this and start a new project. I want to learn something new.

Lily - "Mom, when I raise my arms in the air like this,
it means that it's time for belly rubs. Mmmkay?!"
;)

A little antique and thrift shopping was the perfect start to my weekend.

I decided to get lost (on purpose) in my favorite used book store.
Stacks from floor to the ceiling. I found one book I couldn't leave without.

Kind of a magical place. :)

On Saturday, my friend Ana, invited me along on a mini road trip! We had such a fun time!
coffee. tunes. cameras. shopping. best brisket of my life. lots of laughing and lots of smiles!

Sunday was for a whole lot of nothing!
Oh....except for my hubs started reading the Hunger Games. I'm a happy girl! Haha!

Pretty great week.
:)

__________________________________________________________________________

Oh and I got to share my favorite Fall tradition on Allie's blog, Of All the Nonsense.
Please go check it out!
So glad that Fall is officially here, aren't you?

sweet stitches

2011-09-22T10:26:00.002-05:00

Ok so, I posted an Instagram photo of these embroideries, but I just never feel like that does them justice!

I really loved this design. I didn't create it myself, but I did add my own words. All of the sewing designs below are from Sublime Stitching! I really love their site! If you want to try embroidery, but have no idea how to start, check them out. My kit came with lots of basic instructions and some patterns, and they have every pattern you could think of! This kit was the reason my love for embroidery started! I decided to do these two pieces for my mother because she is a wonderful seamstress and I thought they would be a nice addition to her sewing room.

I did add that little heart at the bottom of the sewing machine myself though. I though it added a nice touch.

I really love the colors and I think my Mom was pretty excited about these. It was just so fun to give her something handmade this year!

What do you think?

Have you ever tried embroidery?

august is for birthdays

2011-09-20T15:44:00.002-05:00

So I think I said this last month, but August really is for birthdays in our family! We have my mom, dad, brother, and grandad all in August. Not to mention my husband's is in June. Summer is just kind of about celebrating! :)

I forgot and neglected to take my camera to the other parties, but I grabbed my camera for my Mom's. I was really glad I did. We got to spoil my Mom rotten this year and that just doesn't happen enough. I'm so glad that she had a wonderful birthday. It made my heart happy!

I made my mom open her gift before the food even got there. I just couldn't wait! I will share a clearer photo on the blog later this week! It was so fun to hand make her gifts this year and she loved them!

mean little bro. He hates when I take his picture. Oh well! Haha! Love him anyway!

My aunt and uncle. My grandad is hiding behind them.

Oh hey...Hello there! Awkward smile.

Can I just complain about restaurant lighting for a moment? It's just a pet peeve of mine. I despise dark/harsh yellow lighting and guess what.... It's everywhere!! You can't escape it and it's almost impossible to get good photos, unless you flash everyone to death. Oh and those mirrors weren't helping either.
Ok ....rant over.

This salad was a WIN! Yum!

And my favorite photo of the night! Love this lady with my whole heart!!!

I love family time. If I could have it daily....I think I would.

The drive home left much to be thought about and to be thankful for. I'm blessed with a truly amazing family!

"all you need is LOVE"

2011-09-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

Project 52

~ Week 37 ~

Last week's phone photos....

breakfast

$7 steal! Love silver shoes!

Organized. It's a pretty thing! :)

Baby yellow leaves! This means fall is coming! I just love these trees!

Lunch break

sent out some snail mail. :)

Finally we had a good hard rain! The little lakes in our parks are actually pretty full!
Such a blessing!

Loved the reflection on the trees in this puddle!

Kindle lunch breaks are the best!

Wore jeans to work one day last week to support Children's Miracle Network.

Pulled out my warm PJs for the first time this season and had some homemade
coffee in my ceramic cup. Hoping this will become a regular thing very soon!

Munchkin

Friday... Steven surprised me with a date night. I ordered this margarita! It was ginormous!
Steven helped me a little but we still couldn't finish it! The rest of the night was for a shopping,
coffee, and watching the new X-Men movie.

Saturday.... I woke up and got a text from my momma asking me to join her for a pedicure.
It's our favorite thing to do together! I put on this floral skirt and my new Beatles tee with
minimal make-up. Perfect, relaxing morning! We got pampered and then we got to eat lunch
with one of my cousin's who was in town for the day. I got home and did some chores and
waited for Steven to get home. When he did he arrived with some roses! Such a sweetie!
Couldn't believe how much he spoiled me this weekend! It's not very often that we get to do
things like that for each other so it really meant a lot to me that he did! A few minutes later,
Steven got called back out to work. Such a bummer! He had already been working all day long and
he normally doesn't work weekends. I was really glad he didn't have to stay out too late though.

Sunday was a day for zero pictures! I soaked up the day with my husband since he had to work
literally the whole day before. We slept in a little and then tried out a new church and it felt
so good to sing my heart out to Jesus! We got to have lunch together and spend some time
just the two of us. I was so grateful for yesterday!

Goodness! It feels like September is just flying by! Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving before we
all know it! It has to be my favorite holiday of the whole year! Nothing better than seeing family!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
What were you up to?

outtake

2011-09-15T08:12:00.000-05:00

My husband is such a photo crasher!

Can't take him anywhere!

;)

* More photos from this session here

Portrait Session: Jerry and Ana

2011-09-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

Today... I get to introduce you to one of my very favorite couples! Meet my best friend, Ana and her husband, Jeremiah! You may have seen them around this little ol' blog before! Steven and I have known these guys forever! In fact, I think we were only just engaged when we met them for the first time. Ana and Jerry had just started dating. I got to receive an excited call from Ana when they got engaged and Steven and I stood next to them on their wedding day! I love these sweet people and I'm so glad I got to take photos for these two!

Here's a few of my favorites:

I'm not quite done editing their shoot, so you might get to see a few more in the coming weeks. I just loved all of our locations! They were perfect and so was the day that we took them. How amazing is that graffiti wall behind them? I have some crazy love for those painted roses!

Goodness! Love is beautiful!