#fleamarkethaul - the window find.

#fleamarkethaul @CountryLiving A great window found at the Springfield Antiques Show in Springfield, Ohio this past summer!  $12.  

Yo Dawg.

One of my photography sessions rescheduled for tomorrow so I took the open slot for myself!  Andrew is turning 5 early next month and I wanted to make sure that we got his birthday pictures done in order to have prints for the party - more honestly for the grandparents and other family members.

The other day I was going past the elementary school and there is a structure that was recently "hit" by graffiti artists - much to my delight, it was a very cool dinosaur.  With big teeth.  And little arms and hands...those little arms reminded of Cee Lo Green. So in any event, I have been thinking about how great of a backdrop this would be (now with the final product you do not even see the big monster that had me so inspired).

Andrew and I headed out this morning for our adventure.  You see, this is much different when you are taking photos of your own child vs. clients.  Two reasons, the first is that your own child does not listen to you! The challenging part.  The second, is there is a sense of adventure that you gain - you can be flexible and daring!  So, with a little inspiration from Cee Lo and of course, Mac Miller - here are some shots from this mornings session!

Springtime Cake Pops.

Okay, so I thought what is all the excitement around "cake pops".  Are they really that good?  Why are moms buying cookbooks and new special baking machines to create these things for their kiddos?  What is all the rage?  So, I looked to who else but Bakerella for the "how to" as she is the leader in this emerging trend. 

So, what is all the noise about?  Well, I can tell you...they ARE good. That is what all the noise is about!   I took a chance and tried making these delicious delights for the family a couple of weeks ago and SCORE!

I understand why bakeries are charging upwards to three dollars each for these sweets.  And they are sweet!  They are labor intensive and time consuming...but oh so much fun to eat.  I would recommend doing it Bakerella's way.  No short cuts, no machines that do the baking for you!  You can take a look on YouTube and find tutorials and in a few short, hours be the hero of the household!  

You can bet that the next birthday party or even happy hour at the Wasco's there will be cake pops! 

Spring at Phipps Conservatory.

I love botanicals.  Love, love, love them.  We are very lucky in pittsburgh to have a fabulous conservancy right here in our backyard - Phipps Conservatory.  The spring garden show ended this past week and they are gearing up to open the the butterfly forest tomorrow. In May, they are opening the Center for Sustainable Landscapes.  Stay tuned for some shots from this innovative community space! If you have not been there, visit.  In the meantime, check out these beautiful buds...

edible allegheny magazine...fresh and local.

Tonight, I finally had the chance to sit down and read some of those magazines that have been hanging out on my nightstand.  I was flipping through the local publication, Edible Allegheny and there was MY pound cake and MY red raspberry pie cookies.  They jumped right off the page!  My creations and photos made it into this fabulous magazine that focuses on local food and farms! Check out the page from the March 2012 issue on-line here!

thank you cards.

I created an image in Photoshop Elements and had Modern Art Stamps from Costa Rica create a custom clear stamp!  Last night the boys helped me cut ribbon from Martha Stewart (it was quite dangerous but they loved helping!)  I grabbed my new Tim Holtz tiny attacher/mini staple gun (I have been dying to use this!) and voila!  Custom thank you cards!

shoe love.

I have the fever.  Spring Fever.  And that leads to "shoe fever".  I found these great, adorable shoes (they are comfy too) and I just had to have them in anticipation of some Spring day where I can pair them with  jeans and a white oxford!  Simple and plain but going to be oh so cute!  What is your Spring Fever?