{day 30} in motion

(You can click on the above images to view them larger in Flickr.)

Today I am sad that it's the last day of the 30 day photo challenge.  Taking these daily photos has definitely made my September more fun then I thought it was going to be.  One of the reason's is that I am creating a minibook with all 30 of my photos!  I only have 9 pages done so far, but there is one for each day, so at least I'm a 1/3 of the way done : )  Will share a few of the pages as soon as I figure out how I am going to photograph them.  This project has also done a great job of documenting my life, my likes and what I have been up to this month.  My taste for things is constantly changing, so it will be kind of cool to see how different things are in October.  Anyways, for today's final  *in motion* photo, the easiest thing that came to mind was the above photo(s).....Ponyo chasing a ball in the backyard.  He loves to run, and jumps around like a kangaroo when he's excited!  It's really cute.  Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy October 1st tomorrow!!! <3 Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

Happy last day of September! This week's photo prompt feels a bit darker and a little vintage.....perfect for the season changing into Fall. The prompt is:

Black & White

I took these photos at the Del Mar Racetrack.  Ryan, a friend, and I spent the early evening (a few weeks ago) soaking up the glow of the setting sun while placing crazy fun bets, cheering on our horses, enjoying a beer and popcorn snack (no beer for me of course), and walking from our seats to the paddock to look at all these lovely beauties in between races.....

It was exciting and fun, made even more enjoyable by our surroundings.....the beautiful racetrack grounds.  And I am so in love with color that I had to slip in a few color photos!  However I originally was inspired to take black and white photos here by all the beautiful vintage B&W prints that decorates the walls of this building.....

And to top it all off, Devo played after the races (no photos of them, sorry)!  Ryan and I enjoyed their show so much he bought their newest album, witch I absolutely LOVE!!!

Enjoy your black & white photo taking this week!  I hope you find it as inspiring as I did : )

Love, Carrie

{xoxo} a freebie

There is a gift for my lovely blog readers over at Bubblegum Life today <3

An Autumn Gift For You | New Desktop Wallpaper

After taking this photo over the weekend, I ended up making it into my desktop wallpaper and thought it would be nice to share as a freebie for you to enjoy too.  xoxo

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{day 29} purchased

My favorite purchases from this month! Candles from Bath & Body Works in the following scents:

• Autumn
• Creamy Pumpkin
• Marshmallow Fireside

I am going to have a hard time deciding which one to buy in a larger size.....they all smell amazing : ) 

And then there's my *Hanna* DVD and CD.  The CD is a score by the Chemical Brothers that I find very energetic and melodic.  Perfect for running errands around town or waking up to in the morning.  The DVD is beautiful to watch, has lots of exciting action, and is shot in the coolest locations.  I did a post about seeing it in the theater HERE. <3 Carrie

P.S. Apparently I skipped yesterday's *daily routine* prompt.....not sure if I am going to end up taking it or not.  We'll see I guess ; )

{day 27} after dark

Ryan helped me with last night's *after dark* photos!  He drew the pretty pumpkin and word SEPT. for me with a flashlight while I held open the shutter.  I have no idea how he lines everything up in the dark.....it's nice to have an excuse to be outside on these cooler Fall evenings.  <3 Carrie

The First Day of Fall

The first day of Fall ended up being a lovely day, filled with fun, excitement, creativity, lots of color, good food and drink.....I could go on and on.  Nely and I spent most of the daylight hours scrapbooking (working on a minibook that I will share here soon ; ), under a big blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. At one point, even though the clouds looked the way they do in my photo above, HUGE raindrops fell onto our scrapbook supplies adding a bit of extra character to our projects! It was really fun!!!  We stamped, and cut, and sewed, and glued, and painted, and typed our little hearts out!  Happy Fall everyone!

Love, Carrie

{day 26} something old

For my *something old* photo the item above was the first thing that came to mind.  It was my Grandma's tea set from when she was a girl.  I have a slip of paper with her handwriting that says she had received it as a gift when she was around 10 years old (1931).  I am so lucky that she chose me to leave it to, her oldest female grandchild.  One day I will display it on a shelf, and maybe even get to play tea with my niece.  I think some hot maple tea with caramel creamer would be perfect for Fall.  <3 Carrie

{day 25} sunflare

Well, I'm back after a short break and ready to share my day 25 photos of *sunflare*.  I took these pics while out for a walk on Sunday, wanting to capture a bit of Fall through my camera lens.  I think I'm going to make that bottom photo into my desktop wallpaper.....I just love all the different colors!  There aren't many signs of the changing season here, so little bits like this are warmly welcomed. <3 Carrie

{day 24} a smile

Today was a really good day, so my smile here is truly genuine (taken by yours truly at sunset).  I spent the entire day with Ryan.  We went to the movies, ran errands together after, chatted, talked about how he is currently obsessed with Camera Obscura and The Decemberist, how I can't wait for the Drive soundtrack to come available on CD, laughed out loud at each other's jokes while walking through Target, bought a new loofah, had soup for dinner, and now we're relaxing on the couch watching a DVD of the Pixies.  Simple and perfect. <3 Carrie

{day 23} sunset

There wasn't much of a sunset tonight on account of it being overcast, but you can see what little light there was shining through at the horizon line.  Today was so cool though.  The sky was blue with beautiful clouds that were white and glowing around the edges with dark gray the rest of the way through.  I was scrapbooking outside most of the daytime with Nely, and huge raindrops fell sporadically adding bits of extra character to our paper crafting.  It was fun.  I took a few photos of what it looked like and you will be able to see them over at Bubblegum Life soon.  A great first day of Fall!  <3 Carrie

{day 22} trees

So, today's all about trees.....and I'm pleased to introduce you to the giant eucalyptus tree next to my house.  I didn't want to retake the shot that shows how big this tree really is, so go HERE to see it over at Bubblegum Life.  I've been told that eucalyptus trees only live so many years, and most of the others close to this size on our property are dying so I thought photos of this beauty would be great!  I want to remember how the bark peels away from the sides.  How the branches seem to grow in different crazy directions that don't look balanced.  I want to remember that there is a huge owl and pair of hawks that like to hang out here....the owl at night, and the hawks during the day.  The bean shape of it's leaves, and all the different shades of green.  And I love green.  Green is my best, and I think makes this tree beautiful.  <3 Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

So this week's photo prompt is up a couple days early because I am planning on taking my photo on the.....

First Day of Fall 2011

I just loved documenting the first day of summer so much so that I thought it would be fun to do it for fall too!  So the prompt is to take photos of your day on Friday, September 23rd.  You can take as many or as few photos as you like of course, but make sure to have fun!!!

The photo collage above is from fall of last year.....I had taken a walk on the first day of fall and ended up taking photos of what I saw.  Things that reminded me of this wonderful season : )

Are you getting excited?!?  I am!

Love, Carrie

{day 21} pretty pattern

Isn't the pattern on this dress lovely?!?  The colors are a little different in each photo because one was taken in the sun and the other the shade, but you get the basic idea.  I think it's perfect for fall.  The colors.  The hand drawn looking pattern.  Beautiful.  I found it at Target like 3 years ago and tend to mostly wear it during this time of year.....and this year I have been pairing it was magenta tights and by brown boots.  Fun!  <3 Carrie

about

(Photo taken by Nely on my birthday, and photoshop actions by moi.)

Hey beautiful people! I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I have a new *about me* page up and running : ) You can either click on the word *about* in the navigation bar, or HERE.  And if you have any questions please feel free to shoot me an email.  Enjoy!  <3 Carrie

{day 20} what i read

This art book is amazing!  I recently purchased it at Barnes & Noble and have been soaking up every lovely page!!!  Mixed media doesn't come very naturally to me, and this book is just what I've been looking for with it's step by step instructions.  I'm also a very visual learner so all the pictures help a bunch too!  I have plans for a project in October and this style of art will be the perfect inspiration.  <3 Carrie

{day 19} where i slept

So today I'm playing catch up since I forgot to take yesterdays *where i slept* photo.....and this is where we sleep.  It's actually our futon in the living room.  We turn it into a bed a night, and even though we have a guest bedroom we prefer this.  I just love the light streaming through in the morning/afternoon!  Ryan and I both sleep with two pillows.  One queen and one king.  I have two satin pillowcases on mine.....a purple and a silver.  Ryan has a silver satin and black and white checker cotton.  At night we fall asleep with pink twinkle lights on.  It's VERY relaxing.  What's it like where you sleep?  (Today's photo post will be up tonight.)  <3 Carrie

the sweet escape

Well, today I was a dork and forgot to take my 30 day photo challenge pic for the day.....so instead I thought it would be the perfect time to share Nely's new *Sweet Escape* blog!  Nely and I spent an entire day driving around San Diego shooting photos to use as the graphics for her new blog design.....it was a blast!!!  Plus she has a really fun scrapbooking post up!  I think you should go take a look.....there's lots of eye candy ; )  Enjoy!  <3 Carrie

P.S. If you're interested in a new blog design or some new graphics, shoot me an email.....I loooovvee spending time with Maple!

{day 18} in my bag

I've never done one of these *in my bag* posts before, so today's kinda fun : ) Here's is what's in my bag right now (minus the receipts).....

• My non-planner datebook (right now I'm using it to track the 30 day photo prompts)
• A strawberry scented pen (that reminds me of the Strawberry Shortcake doll I had when I was a girl....when you squeezed her belly strawberry scent came out of her mouth)
• A little fabric owl pouch that holds my change and extra Keys
• Green wallet
• Blackberry
• Rice paper
• Neutrogena chap stick
• A tin that holds some of the supplements I take (like fish oil and vitamin D)
• Goody pick (cuz I don't like tangled hair)
• Keys
• And last my Alice In Wonderland bag that I bought at Disneyland years ago and still love!

Usually my camera is in my bag too, but I used it to take this photo.  Happy Sunday!  <3 Carrie

{day 17} on the shelf

Some of the goodies in my craft space.  I like to have them out so I can see and remember they're there.....plus they are pretty to look at (even though dusting them is a pain ; ).  I keep baker's twine and clothes pins in the gray swans, the yarn I use for my wreathes, and the spray paint and fabric are both for scrapbooking and various crafts.  I also have a shelf (now shown) that is just different punches stored in metal bins.  I find that I use these specific items more by having them out *on the shelf* to add to my crafting fun!  I have been editing photos almost all day and into the night today, and have scrapbooking planned for tomorrow.  I love the weekends!!!  Have a beautiful day.  <3 Carrie

{day 16} what i ate

For lunch today:

• 4 deviled eggs
• baked ruffles potato chips
• lots of pink grapefruit

And this really is a typical lunch for me.....except usually I eat nuts too (but I'm all out right now).  This, and a big glass of ice tea (because it's still not quite warm enough for warm drinks here yet).  Keeping my fingers crossed, though ; )  What's a typical lunch for you like?  <3 Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

Hello lovely people and happy Friday to you! This week's photo prompt is to.....

Go to a coffee shop(and take photos of what you see). 

Hmmmm.....I think I will always love amaretto cappuccinos! They are the BEST during cool weather!!!

The Pannikin is one of our favorite outdoor coffee shops.  The atmosphere is light and happy.  The building looks like a two story beach house washed with light yellow paint.  The second story balcony (where we usually sit) get a wonderful breeze and feels very open.  Honestly, I don't make time to go to coffee shops like I use to, but when I do it is a real treat.....and today was no exception.  Ryan and I had a wonderful time.

I know I'm a bit behind on my Project Monday's but hope to get caught up some time next week.  This month has been busy and LOTS of fun so far!  Have the best day today!!!

Love, Carrie

{day 15} my shoes

Today's photo prompt was to take a photo of *my shoes*. Ahhhh....boots are probably my favorite kind of shoe. I just love the soft leather, mostly waterproof, comfortable for being on your feet all day durability. And these are one of my favorite pair of boots.....I think they're pretty : )  I can't wait to wear more of my dress, tights, boots combos.  Yay for Fall!  <3 Carrie

{day 14} flowers

These pretty little African violets were a birthday present from the lovely Nely.....and I just LOVE them : )  Right now they are sitting on my kitchen windowsill cheering the place up with their pale magenta color.  Potting flowers is one of my fall traditions, so this sweet bundle of joy is the perfect start!  I love that they bloom all year round.  So pretty.  <3 Carrie

{day 13} from a distance

At first I had a hard time figuring out what to shoot for today's *from a distance* photo prompt.  But then I remembered I've never taken a photo of my truck before, so this pic ended up being kinda special for me. I think she's pretty, and makes my driving around town super comfy.  To get this shot, I set Clem up on a ladder so I could use the tree leaves for natural framing.....and then to get myself in the photo I sprinted over to my truck just in time.  Interactive and fun.  Done.  <3 Carrie

P.S. Today I have a guest post up on My Creative Brightside!  It's the skeleton of a Week In The Life book I handmade as a gift : )

{day 12} close-up

Here is our sweet puppy Ponyo.  I have been waiting for a prompt that was right for capturing this cutie, and thought today's *close-up* photo prompt might be perfect.  He has the cutest little whiskers and makes the silliest lovey faces.  Ryan and I sure love this little guy.  <3 Carrie

{day 11} something fun

With today being the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, it was really nice to take some time to enjoy one of the things that helps make me feel strong.....the company of a sweet friend.  I was lucky enough to spend a few hours this afternoon with Ally*Cakes.  We chatted and scrapbooked, listened to happy music and ate dinner out on her patio.  Perfect for the *something fun* prompt for today. <3 Carrie

{day 9} faceless self portrait

For yesterday's *faceless self portrait* photos I decided to have them say something specific about myself, hence the sunflower.  It represents my love for bouquets.  I prefer to have a fresh bouquet next to my bed, however, is just so happens that my bed is in the middle of a room so isn't not really an option for when I'm at home (it is when I travel though ; ).  Usually you'll find potted flowers on my kitchen windowsill and a bouquet on my kitchen table, and I love it!  If there was more light in my house I would have plants too!!!  <3 Carrie

P.S. To see {day 10} something i made, go to My Creative Brightside for my guest post!

Your Appointment with Saturday

For this week's photo prompt I wanted to focus on summer as it begins to come to a close. The prompt is to capture something that has become.....

A New Summer Tradition

(These photos also happen to be my day 10 *something I made* photos for the 30 day photo challenge I'm doing this month over on my personal blog, Blume & Grow.  Fun!)

I have never really been a big ice tea fan, but this summer I started mixing homemade ice tea with different things like lemonade or flavored sparkling water.....and it's stuck.  I love it!!!  I've tried quite a few different mixtures and here are some of my favorites:

• Tazo Rest (rose petals, valerian root and citrusy herbs) mixed with Simply Limeade (pictured above).  This one tastes like you're drinking a flower.....it's floral and refreshing.
• Tazo Refresh (mint with a pinch of tarragon) mixed with Simply Raspberry Lemonade.  Mint and raspberry's are so great together, and this is no exception!
• Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry mixed with Simply Raspberry Lemonade.  This ice tea is sweet and tart.....and so delicious.

If you're interested in the actual recipe I use, you can find it HERE on a guest post for My Creative Brightside.  I use the same steps and ratios for each one, so all you have to do is replace the corresponding ingredients with ones of your choice.  It's really easy, and a real treat to have at home or to throw into a travel mug for the road.

What's a new tradition that you've started this summer?

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Carrie

Project Friday

Yesterday I had these photos taken and ready to go, but we lost power till early this morning, and haven't been able to post them until this afternoon.   So now I am happy to finally get to share with you my project from last week's photo prompt.  A new 8 1/2x11 layout.....

The Hambly transparency, fabric, and baker's twine are all from Color Me Miki : )

I did a little layering and sewing, and was excited for a chance to use these leaf pins.....

This shade of mint green is a favorite right now, and I even pulled out my typewriter to write little notes on the tags.....

I hope to be back tonight with a new photo prompt, but may not make it happen till tomorrow (I try not to stress about stuff anymore).  Hooray for the weekend!

Love, Carrie