Morning Snow.

This winter weather is crazy. I didn't even notice it was snowing until I looked up this morning to see my front yard covered in white. Just as I started dreading my afternoon drive to pick up the kids I babysit, it started melting away as quickly as it came.


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Dace.

DACE Spring 2010 from Dace on Vimeo.

[via Oh Joy!]

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Slacking...

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I'm still here, just busy. That's not a very good excuse, but it's all I have.

I am still posting quick inspirations here, playing with my new camera, trying to finish my office, and vowing to spend less time on the computer and more time with my little family.


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Etsy Wall Candy.

I'm so excited to have these prints by Alli Coate! They were a Christmas present from my little brother and I love them all.



I like the serene color palette so much, I ordered these prints from Studio Mela and Matte Stephens to go with them. I can't wait to get them all framed and up on my office wall! I have a few more prints picked out that I hope to add to my little art wall in the future. It makes me happy to have so much Etsy art in my creative workspace.


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Serious House Crush.

First spotted on myfarmhouse, I HAD to click over to the source and see more. The home belongs to photographer Dan Martensen and his stunning artist girlfriend Shannan Click.

I might have spent an hour last night going through the whole set over and over, saying "Boyfriend, did you see this house?! I want this house. Let's find a house exactly like this. Ok, then it's settled. When do we move in?"

There is a vegetable garden. And a swimming pool. And two barns in addition to the main house - one for a studio, one for a guest house. And all that beautiful rustic exposed wood and natural light and casual country charm. Yes, please. I'm in love.


[all photos via The Selby]


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Bath Time.

Isn't he precious trying to escape his bath in the sink?

Love the new kid so so much.


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Getting Festive.

I've been a little grinchy this holiday season, but after I pulled out the decorations and got a little crafty yesterday I started feeling much more cheery.

I made some super cute Riley-proof felt ornaments to avoid disaster with breakable glass + 7 week old puppy. I posted the adorable gingerbread man awhile ago and you can see my version above. I also made a couple cute owls using this pattern.

Here is a great list from How About Orange with more links to DIY ornaments. I want to make them all!

I also decorated the mantle and we now have icicle lights along the outside of the house too [Jake put those up, not me!] I still need to get a pic of the outside lights at night.

I had a few strands of white lights leftover so I put them up around my office and bedroom windows. I love them so much I might just keep them up in the office year-round.

I've even knocked out a bit of my shopping, but still have a few more gifts to find. I plan to get started making holiday fudge this afternoon and I made some cute little fudge recipe cards as a freebie for you guys. I'll post them soon!


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Riley.

I guess as quickly as I decided a bulldog pup would be ok, Randy decided that it was silly to spend hundreds of dollars on a purebreed when there are so many mutts who need homes. He told me on my birthday he was going to get me a puppy, but we were leaving town for over a week so I'd have to wait.

Well, we're back in town. I expected to wait at least a week, but we started searching Craigslist last night and found several little pups in need of homes. Less than 24 hours later, mister Riley is here with us in his new home! We love him to death already.

He's a lab great dane mix and we thought from the picture online that he would be a big puppy, but he is still sooo tiny. He's only 5 weeks old and absolutely precious. I'll take better pics in the daylight, but I had to share at least one tonight.

Nothing can replace my first dog, but it definitely feels good to have a pup in the house again.


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Puppy Love.

As much as it hurts, I am finally accepting that I will probably never see Chomper again. I am convinced someone took him. Even if that's not the case, it makes me feel better thinking that at least he's out there somewhere being taken care of [by puppy thieves, but alive nonetheless]. I'm afraid we'll never know for sure.

Surprisingly, Randy and Jake seem to miss him as much as I do. The guys who complained constantly about his rambunctious behavior, barking, crying, chewing, digging, jumping, everything. But I knew deep down they loved him too. We all agree the house is much too quiet without a crazy canine to keep us entertained and on our toes. A piece of our family is definitely gone, and while we can never replace our first dog, we are thinking about a new puppy.

Our friends have two American bulldogs and Randy fell in love the moment he saw them. He's been talking about wanting one ever since, but I wasn't so sure. My first puppy love was a little black lab mix and I thought I'd be a lab girl for life.

Then I looked up American bulldog puppies... and now I just may be ready to give those brindle patches and wrinkly underbites a chance. When it comes to cute puppies, it doesn't take much to win me over.


[photo 1] [photo 2] [photo 3]


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Gingerbread Man.

Eek, how cute is this half-eaten gingerbread ornament?! I organized my piles of felt last night and I definitely have some in the perfect gingerbread color. Head over here for Elsie Marley's free pattern and get crafting!

[via How About Orange]


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Colorful Christmas.

I have not even started thinking about Christmas shopping yet, but these pretty pictures of Rachel Denbow's decked out house are getting me in the holiday spirit. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is wrapping presents [I even beg Randy to let me wrap his presents for his family!]. Those colorful yarn pom poms look so cheery, I might have to add a few to my gifts this year.

Here's a little tutorial from Laura of the Bugs and Fishes blog to make some cute pom poms yourself. She has tons of great gift wrapping ideas on her blog.


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Giveaway Winner.

Congratulations to Lori! She is the winner of the custom holiday card giveaway. Thanks to everyone to entered. I really enjoyed reading what everyone is looking forward to this holiday season.

I can't believe we are only a week away from Thanksgiving! [Umm, and I still have an uncarved pumpkin from Halloween sitting on my kitchen counter.. oops.]

I am really excited to be going home to Houston and spending time with my family. As usual, Randy has saved up most of his vacation days and the year is almost over, so he's taken off the entire week again this year. Last year we stopped in Dallas for a few days before going on to Houston for Thanksgiving. This year we are spending the weekend [and my birthday on Saturday!] in Paris, TX with his best friend Bobby. We have made quite a few friends in Paris during visits with Bob, so I'm looking forward to a good time with friends there.

After Paris, we'll spend the beginning of next week in Austin. Randy has never been and it's been years since I was there last, so it should be a fun mini-vacation for both of us. My cousin goes to UT and my brother is nearby in Georgetown, TX, so I hope to get in some hangout time with both of them while we're there. If not, we'll see them later in the week in Houston. Randy is brave to subject himself to my crazy family during the holidays. It will be a big group this year and I can't wait to see how little Ava has grown since we saw her last in September [she was only 3 weeks old then].

I hope you all have a wonderful week!


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Vintage Cameras.

I'm a bit obsessed with old cameras. My very small collection right now consists of my grandpa's Asahi Pentax and a Polaroid I bought on Etsy earlier this year. Even though I don't shoot with them very often [film is so expensive!], I think they make beautiful display pieces. I'd really love to add a few more to my new office shelves. Browsing around Etsy, I found these lovelies at RoyalGold400.


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Christmas Card Necklaces.

LOVE these adorable sterling silver Christmas card necklaces from yellowgoat.

Aren't they sweet?


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Holiday Card Giveaway.

I've started working on Christmas cards for a few of my favorite clients this week. I love working on these! So, I'm going to do another little giveaway this week for a custom holiday card design.

To enter, leave a comment with what you're most looking forward to about the upcoming holiday season. I'll randomly pick one winner on Friday. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!


P.S. How adorable is little Fyn? What a doll!


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