I highly recommend going to a National Memorial and having other people take your pictures!

Wow, I've missed you guys! Its been crazy insane for me, but still loving every minute of my little photo biz! Wanted to share some of our pictures from our Christmas card including a few that didn't make the cut! I never hire a photographer to capture my two crazies....case in point picture number one! They just want to run around and be themselves and G had a meltdown right on que! As well as the tourists who were happy to snap some for me, win win!

Here's us at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C

I seriously love this so much. Bo drew quite a crowd and all he kept doing to entertain them was jump off the step! Stuntman.

Gideon was yelling, "Kiss, Kiss" while he capture this moment!

This is me walking to Gideon to show him where to point the camera, good times.

Look who flew by!

B just wanted to run, so I had to be more fun than running around and jumping off stairs so swinging him around was a good option!

Annnnnd these are my absolute favorites....ninja Gideon and all three of them running towards me. LOVE.

There's much I need to catch you up on....like were moving to San Diego! But promise to update more frequently in the new year! Merry Christmas from ours to yours! God bless!

Coming up for air and lots of pictures!

I'm here, I'm here just hanging on by a thread! I've got two weddings down and one to go for the little biz, a first grader, a baby on the run and a husband who made a new rank! Phew, busy busy. Wish I could stop time right now and savor. So this is me attempting to catch up on my neglected blog and checking in with you all because I miss you!

Here's a few snippets from my iphone and fancy camera of our blissful time in Ocean city, Nj and Gideon's 6th Perry the platypus gymnastics party!

And G's 6th birthday!

Hoping to check in at least twice a week, once the weddings are through, but this time of year is crazy photography time! Love you all.

Guess what? We're moving!

It's been a whirlwind week with Gideon's 6th birthday and finding out were moving in a year. Of course we don't know where yet, it's the military remember?!! Either way, I'm a bit sad and excited in the same vein, I kinda love change and I also feel like I need to hit the reset button with my crazy scheduling! Nonetheless I'm enjoying every photo session and playful moment with my boys this summer! We're off to the beach tomorrow for a week then fall madness beings! Deep breath and go.

Overwhelmed.

Right now both boys at home for the summer plus a suddenly thriving photo biz has been kicking my butt in a good and exhausting way! I'm incredibly thankful for the way the Lord has poured favor on my little photography business and I'm scrambling to find the balance in it all of course! Just wanted to update you all that I'm here and missing the blogworld. I plan on getting it together this Fall! Today's G's 6th birthday and I must snap some real pictures of him and will post tomorrow, promise. 

Outside the Christmas card box

Looking for something a little different for your family this year? For us, Fall is already looking pretty crazy so our last summer hurrah at the beach will capture our family picture for the Christmas card too! The idea of finding clothes during the clearance sales right now and not trying to squish family pictures in during the cold and stressful holiday season is a win-win in my book. Plus who doesn't love getting a beach picture in the mail smack dab in the middle of chilly December? 

Here's some other ideas:

Nighttime/Classic-

 It's easy to get caught up in the trends on pinterest but nothing beats a classic black and white and I believe this is shot at nighttime which adds to the drama. Remember in your family photos you'll have it for a lifetime and don't want to look back and say, what in the world was  I wearing?!!

Act natural-

Lifestyle pictures are my favorite. Essentially they are capturing you being you in your home or in an activity that your family would normally do everyday. Pick an activity you can do as a family- fly a kite, play catch, bake, wrestle. You'll find that you get the best candids and your kids will be much more natural and happy in front of the camera, plus your Christmas card picture will be a little more real to life!

Change angles-

Try capturing pictures at different angle other then the standard everybody face the camera standing and smile. Laying down, sitting on a bench, middle of a field, train tracks, or even in between buildings provides some interest!

images here

This is changing the way I eat

I'm a bit of a self-professed foodie, which means to me, I LOVE food. I will try anything for the most part and get excited just thinking about food. My 1 year old feels the same way, but my 5 year old not so much. I blame my food obsession on my Italian blood, it's just in me! My mom says I used to eat tomatoes with zucchini as a baby, too funny!

So when a dear friend starting talking to me about the health benefits of an alkaline diet and how cancer cannot grow in that environment I was all ears. My first year of nursing I worked as an oncology nurse and I barely survived, heavy sad stuff. Then losing my Dad to cancer still shocks me daily. As a nurse for almost 10 years (yikes) I've dealt my fair share of drugs to people and its tiring, trust me. So if we can conquer cancer through the right food we eat, sign me up.  

Your body works to maintain a certain homeostasis requiring a specific ph level. If you eat too many acidic foods you are more susceptible to allergies and disease. If you can favor alkaline foods such lots of leafy greens and fruits you can help you body achieve that balance easier and fight off illness. Resources mentioned a 60% alkaline 40% acidic. Here's a chart to highlight some alkaline foods:

And more of a food list here!

This bedroom had me at hello

The seagrass wallpaper has been a long time favorite of mine and if we ever live somewhere longer then a few years I would save up for some! And that fabric on the chair, double swoon. This room is from ballard designs where I purchased my beloved fabric for the roman shades I did on a dime! At least get on their mailing list, its eye candy coming in your mailbox monthly, promise.

Boaz's cake smash

If I sat a watermelon or even a tomato in front of this kid he would have gone to town and chowed down which would have been a great show! Unfortunately or fortunately for me he isn't all bonkers for cake yet, but the pictures still turned out cute!

Can't believe he's one year, I feel like I never had a baby with this go-getter!

If you have a girl, you need these

This is one of my favorite shops on Etsy, LOVE the name, Giddy up and grow. Such creative and refreshingly different hair adornment!

The little (studio) shed that could

It's finally here and virtually finished. The story of this little shed is a long and sordid one! We went through trial after trial including the guy we paid to build it running off with the money and knocking our whole street out of power when the electrician wired it for sound. When it was all said and done, it was hard for me to conjure up good feelings about the thing. 

Then a sweet dear friend came over and walked in and exclaimed with such joy, "Maria you have your own clubhouse!" She also commented about the smell of the wood and how wonderful it all was and dear friends that's all it took....a few words of encouragement and I was sold. The power of encouraging words never ceases to amaze me. Thank you K, you have no idea what you did.

Inside pictures coming soon!

Circles, squares, and an awesome deck set

We have roughly a year left and then we find out if we will be here longer or move. So there will be no purchases for the house in light of a possible move, but if our time is extended my list is getting longer by the minute for things that need updating or replacing. Honestly, I don't think we'll buy again until our kids are grown, they seriously wreak havoc on our house! Pretty sure I did the same as a youngin, sorry Mom!

Which brings me to our deck set which is from ikea so that already explains its life line of 2 years. Gideon literally tore off a piece of wood on top and Boaz pulled the end extension piece right off, my boys are destructive.

This unique set caught my eye for the price ($279 for the whole set) and the style! Most deck spaces are squared off so when you add a circular piece it really brings interest to the eye. A good thing to note in design in general, when you have a lot of 90 degree angles in a room, add something circular!

A well-mixed home

I love a home that looks collected over time and well-lived in; where anyone can feel comfortable. Sometimes that's pretty hard to pull off but this home does it with ease, take a look!

home images here

His grace

Just reflecting this morning on all the people God put in my path that led me to Him. They were bold and brave enough to tell me about their relationship with Him and because they did, I really got to Live. His grace confounds and overwhelms me, so completely thankful today.

Recipe for a room: Americana redefined

I'm launching a little series here on the blog, "recipe for a room." I'm simply going to show you how to put together a room pretty quickly and easily that will make your eyes dance and please your wallet. I have no training in this nor do I consider myself expert, so this is just how I do this- my must-haves for every room. 

Rooms that make my heart sing have a cohesive thread or color palette and make my eyes bounce from item to item. They also have to be pretty kid-friendly because of my current season of life!

So I took a beige couch that everyone owns and built the room around that, most people pick paint out first, but I usually put at least one thing in the room I absolutely love and build the color palette around that item. To set up this room place the couch on one side and place two chairs across from it, or you could use another couch too. Also, I love patterns because of the interest they provide in a room, but its a little tricky when combining patterns. The rule is go with the same color palette but smaller pattern scales. Since the rug is pretty busy stick with simple pillow patterns, add throw blankets for texture, basket for storage and stick with a microfiber couch in a classic color. You can always always change out pillow and accessories, but keep big items classic and simple. This is a pretty traditional room I threw together for a friend who loved Americana style, but wanted to change it up a bit. So I kept that in mind and went with a different  red and blue then the traditional primary colors. Real persian rugs are not kid-friendly but this one isn't real from home decorators and persian rugs never never go out of style. And lastly, if you live in a track home like most of us do changing out the light fixture will breath new life into that room instantly. Let me know if you have any requests for a room you'd like to see done!