Mini Style | She Wears Her Heart on Her... Jeans!

Well, it's freaking snowing again! That's that, I hate snow, and the kids are out of school again! They haven't been to school for a full week since before Christmas. I want my schedule back, and actually, the kids do too.

Shirt - Not sure of the brand, Gifted

Jeans - Target, $12

Boots - Journey's Kids, $35

Hair Scrunchie - Purchased from a craft fair, gifted

Necklace - Gifted

Earrings - Acute Designs on Etsy, $12

My poor girl was freezing! I just wanted to document the snow, so we were only out there for a couple of minutes without any snow gear. When I asked Phoenix what her favorite thing about the snow was, she told me it was building snowmen. She then promptly told me that bananas are grown in South America. Ha! My sweet girl is a bit random like that.

                    

shoot and edit: winter wonderland (EDIT)

(SOOC)

(EDIT)
jacob: december 26, 2010

i pretty much followed ashley's steps mostly in the first edit but added a couple steps from the second, adjusting to my photos preferences except for the BLACK AND WHITE adjustment layer. and i did not add an action because i just didn't feel it needed one.  

the yellow on his coat was a pain in my aunt susie's smile because every time i made an adjustment to brighten the yellow, it would redden his face. i finally used the dodge tool to soften his face but still keep the yellow as i wanted it.

i wish i could have brightened his eyes but the poor child squints just like this when he smiles. every time! drives me crazy because he does have some gorgeous eyes.

shoot and edit: winter wonderland (SOOC)

i took this photo during our christmas snow and am going to use it for the new shoot and edit challenge over at forever 'n ever 'n always photography and ramblings and photos.

on monday you post and link up your SOOC shot over at forever 'n ever 'n always and on thursday you can link up your edits at ramblings and photos. you can go here to read more about how this challenge works.

 

 

touch up tuesday | a leopard print cherry

SOOC

edit 1

using lightroom 3, i sharpened the image and i adjusted the levels to brighten (because that is all i know how to do with my new lightroom 3). then i took it over to photoshop and removed some food around tyler's mouth and adjusted the saturation.  lastly, I highlighted the eyes and brightened them slightly and then adjusted the curves on the entire photo.

edit 2

this is the same photo as edit 1 with the PTM Jubilee action added.

...

reminder: giveaway for the sweet valentine 3 felt flower headband plus a $20 shop credit for sweet-n-sassy shoppe. click here to enter.

tuesday photo challenges | my bundled up snow baby

SOOC

edit

i adjusted the levels to brighten then softened it a bit.  in a new layer, i added a touch of rosy cheeks and brightened the eyes some.  lastly, i added a soft white matte frame and adjusted the opacity.

the paper mama's photo challenge | winter

ryan, january 2010

for this to be north carolina, this was a pretty big snow, which equals a pretty awesome winter for us.

awesome enough for snowballs and snowmen!

except for mackenzie, the kids had never seen a big snow, so of course everyone was excited to get out in it. 

go check out some of the other photos at the paper mama and enter one of your own too.

REMINDER:  don't forget to enter my new giveaway. 16 photo new year's cards from pear tree greetings.

miscellany monday | it was a lovely weekend indeed!

oh, yes it was!
and a busy one too.

1. i hate to admit it, but my gps is a genius!

saturday mackenzie was to be in the christmas parade with her builders club, so we got up early and make sure we got there on time and that i was able to find a good spot for photos. i had never been to the louisburg christmas parade.  we missed the big parade in raleigh and i was a little bummed about that, so i was excited about going to this one.

there were very specific directions to meet at the old tom togs building.

do you know how to get to the old tom togs building?

well, you know about as well as i did at the time.  i had never even heard of it.

i did give myself a little credit because even though i have been to louisburg many times, i still had never really given myself the opportunity to learn the street names or to familiarize myself with unique landmarks.  therefor, i had to rely on my gps to do all the work for me.

long story short, mackenzie never made it to the louisburg parade.

because the old tom togs building isn't in louisburg...IT'S IN YOUNGSVILLE, the neighboring town!

obviously mackenzie missed the most important part of her parade instructions. that being, which parade she was actually going to be in.

funny thing is, i think i cursed that darn gps for a good 10 minutes about why it kept wanting me to turn around and go to youngsville when i clearly knew that louisburg was in the direction i was going.

"stop fooling around! we have a parade to go to you uneducated piece of doodie gps! " (that was the nice version)

we all know who the idiot really is, and i know now to never argue with the one who clearly knows the directions best.

luckily, we made it just in time and even found an awesome spot to sit.



2. zero to snowing in under 10 minutes

mackenzie wore this wiggly jiggly santas-on-a-headband thing in the parade and i wanted to get a few pics of her when we got home. it was cold, she was goofing off, i got irritated (hence the reason for the grumpy look) and we went inside.

less than 10 minutes later, it began snowing.  it never snows this early in the year in NC.  almost never, but definitely closer to never.

what a pleasant surprise. it had to be at least 3+ inches. and it was still there sunday morning.

i am so glad i tucked away all of that homemade chicken noodle soup in the freezer. how funny that i just made it two days ago?

the only time i got out in the snow was to take a few photos.

i didn't even let the kids go out. i know bad mom, how could i not let them?

BECAUSE it would have taken 30 minutes to get them all dressed up, they would have spent 5 minutes out there realizing that the snow sucked because it didn't stick together, which means NO snowman, NO snowballs, NO NOTHING!

which then equals BORING, so they would have wanted to come in. once they were in, i would have had to strip them naked and give them a bath (coming in from snow always constitutes taking a bath to me for some odd reason) and that would have taken another 30-45 minutes.

then, when i was finally ready to sit down and relax, a small voice would have said "i want to go outside, mommy!"

Nope, wasn't doing that! Sorry! 

 How was your weekend?

one last thing please...

I would love for you to hop over to the paper mama and vote for my holiday card. voting ends tonight. click HERE to vote. thanks!

Super Simple Recipe - Warming Foods

For several days now, we have been enjoying the beautiful sights of fallen snow in our neighborhood and all over many parts of the state. However, we aren't able to see past our little neighborhood because we are snowed in.

After all of the snowmen, snow angels, sledding, snow cones, and snowball fights, we have been enjoying delicious winter meals. After a day of fun, it is {delightful} to come home and find a pot of something yummy to warm you up.

Here are some {yummy} recipes I have been making for years that you can enjoy on a cold day in your neighborhood.

Easy Way Out Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

2- 15 oz. can peas
2- 15 oz. can green beans
2- 15 oz. can carrots
2- 15 oz. can diced potatoes
2- 15 oz. can corn
2- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2- 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2- 32 oz. cartons beef broth
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion chopped

Let me start out by saying THIS MAKES A LOT OF SOUP and YOU ARE GOING TO NEED A BIG STOCK POT!

Open all canned goods and dump them into the stock pot, water and all. Pour both cartons of beef broth in also. Brown the ground beef and the onion in a sauce pan. Add the ground beef and onions to the pot. Let simmer on low for at least 30 minutes. That's it! Easy!

Word of advice...Freeze any leftovers and enjoy at a later time.

Chicken (or turkey) Chili

2 lbs. of chicken (boneless, skinless)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 1/2 large onions chopped
2 green peppers chopped
2 tbs. chili powder
4 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1- 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2- 19 oz. cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
cayenne pepper for spice (add to your liking)
jalapeno peppers (add to your liking)

Cut chicken into 1 in. cubes. In a large saucepan, heat oil to medium high. Cook chicken for 5 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Add onions and green pepper. Transfer to a large pot (or crockpot) set to medium heat. Add oregano, chili powder, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and beans. Increase heat and boil for 10 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat and let simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

I like to serve mine with tortilla chips or the New Parmesan & Sun Dried Tomato flavor Rice Works Chips. We tried these new chips for the first time yesterday and I must say that they were delicious, especially with this chili recipe.