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{one} do you always wear your seatbelt in the car? always! well, okay, on the rare occasion, i slack. but if you catch me doing so, feel free to harass me until I buckle up. safety is sexy! {two} do you crack your knuckles? yeah, but not nearly as much as I did when i was in highschool. {three} what is your favorite flavor of gum? don't have one. i'm not much for gum, but on occasion i'll chew some fruity gum {four} what is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own? oh, my engagement ring, of course!  i know all women love their rings, but i think mine is the best. it is unique and was designed just for me by my husband. :) {five} who is your best friend? the two most obvious, of course: my husband and my twin sister . {six} what is your favorite smell? my husband's cologne. he doesn't wear it too often, so it's a nice treat for me ;) {seven} what is your favorite lunch meat? roast beef, probably {eight} do you still have your tonsils? yep. neve...

"Putting sneakers on an old man isn't going to make him run faster. Having a better camera won't improve your skills." Just saw this quote at DPS where someone left it as a comment to this post . So many people that say, "Oh, I wish I had a better camera so I could take nice photos!" Scott Borne says , "Stop making excuses for your gear." No lie, having a DSLR with interchangeable lenses does make a difference. A $2500 camera with a $1000 lens will take better photos than your $100 p&s. It makes a huge difference. BUT...that doesn't mean you can't take some nice photos with your regular 'ol camera too. (Heck, you don't even need a camera! Have you seen the gorgeous photos some people take with their iPhones?) Anyway, I've been thinking about posting a " take better pictures with your point & shoot camera " series. Would anyone be interested in that? Until then, I wanted to post some of my favorite photos ...

to all my lovely followers! I know many bloggers are good about holiday greetings ON the holiday, but unless I schedule that post, I usually forget. Now...v-day recap: My husband and I went out to eat on Sunday since I have a photography class on Monday night. Instead of going somewhere fancy and watching a chick-flick, as per our tradition, we went to a diner. I was really wanting a monte cristo . Also, there wasn't any good chick-flick out this v-day. Last year they made it so easy with a movie called Valentine's Day . This year they had Just Go With It or Gnomeo & Juliet , so we decided against going to the movies. (We had just seen True Grit on Friday, anyway. I highly recommend it!) We agreed to exchange cards & presents Monday evening, after he came home from work, but before I went to class. He told me that he was getting me a gift that was for both of us, so not to buy him anything. Well, Mike really likes pies, more than cakes or cupcakes. But pies seem...

Valentine's day, so I wore pink. I LOVE pink. This here is another one of those old navy maternity shirts I talked about in this post . Again, NO BABY. This outfit is exciting because I am wearing socks over jeans and my hair in a ponytail. Anytime my hair is in a pony, the day is a success. That is, until my hair grows out and I can put it in a pony everyday. Bella is my 2nd Valentine. Here I am, letting her be in my picture and she goes and licks my chin. Gross. Rotten little mongrel. Afterwards, I sanitized my whole face. And those of you who don't think that's gross clearly do not appreciate how often your dog licks his or her own butt. This flower is another one made by Stargirl. They're getting to be some of my favorite accessories. Here is my face. Pretty natural here, except I think I'm wearing eyeliner. I'm not sure why I'm posting this photo and can only hope that it doesn't scare you off. See that earring, it's a coffe...

I got these fun pink socks from my dear friend, Anne Marie, at my lingerie shower. She called them my business socks. Only some of you will laugh at that. I didn't think I'd every actually wear them because, really, who wears pink over-the-knee socks? Of course I kept them and, once this so much pretty thing started up, I was determined to figure out how to wear these socks. The socks were actually the start to this outfit. I was going to a bridal shower and felt like wearing pink. I was determined to wear the over-the-knee pink knit socks and I did. So cute, I know. The fun scarf-tying method was taught to me by Stargirl. It's such a fun & unique way to tie a scarf! She should do a quick tutorial video.Also, welcome to my porch. Aren't outside pictures grand? Earrings made by me, Mossimo tuxedo top, pink pashmina from my mom, generic black belt, Gap denim skirt, Mossimo patterned tights, Sock Dreams pink socks, Madden girl boots

This outfit kind of just fell into place. I pulled the dress out of the closet because I knew I wanted to wear it. And then I added black leggings underneath for modesty + warmth. At the last minute, I decided to add my white cardigan because I knew the room I'd be in would be freezing. I tried it over, but it looked terrible, so I put it under! Also, the flower is made by Stargirl . It's supposed to be for hair, but I thought it add a nice pop of color to my very neutral outfit. Also, I loved this outfit more than I anticipated. Wearing a dress AND being warm because you've got leggings on? WIN

{one} ice: crushed or cubed? depends on my mood. I like crushed ice at restaurants, but I don't like waiting for a fridge-unit to crush the ice. {two} what is your worst traffic pet peeve? people going slow in the left lane. especially when the right lane is free. {three} what room in your house best represents your personality? the kitchen. kind of messy, but cleans up really nice. {four} do you save old birthday cards? yep! i have an little box full of them :) {five} when was the last time you went on a picnic? hmm...probably when i got engaged. makes me think we're overdue for another one! {six} do you regularly check your horoscope? i'll check it if i happen to be thumbing through a magazine that features horoscopes, but i don't ever make a point to. {seven} when you’re home, what do you wear on your feet? my LUK-EES ! i love them. :) {eight} what’s your favorite gambling game? do penny slots count? {nine} have you ever written (or ...

Last week, while I was taking these pictures , something happened. My camera stopped. It just stopped working. When I pressed the shutter button? Nothing. When I tried to auto-focus? Nothing. Oh, dear. This was it. The day that I had feared would come, but had hoped it would take it's time coming. Yes, my Canon Rebel XT --or, rather, Mike's, since it was technically his camera--died. In fact, in the post I linked to above, you can see me sitting next to my camera in the last post. That's because I had to finish the photos with my point &shoot . our used-to-death Rebel Our rebel lived a good life. It's done more traveling than lots of people I know! It's been to Bangladesh (several times!), Afghanistan, Japan, Thailand, India, Peru, Czech Republic, Austria, and Turkey. It's also seen me through quite a few photo shoot in my burgeoning photography career. I learned how to shoot manual on that camera (and, by the way, never went back. If you have a DSLR,...

First outfit vlog! What do you think? I think that I sound a lot like Stargirl . Also, did anyone notice that my hair is in a bun? My hair is finally long enough for a wee bitty bun (with lots of bobby pins). Pretty little details: In Pursuit earrings, necklace from The Emporium, Coolwear white top, Queen Esther gray sweater-thing, Refuge skinny jeans,  LUK-EES by MUK LUKS Fairisle Boot Slippers (and I wore the same Mossimo heels you see HERE when I was out and about)