Valentine's Day Photo Shoot - Perfect Last Minute Gift

Having a child at any holiday seems to make it 10x more special. But with the need to instill traditions while keeping things Pinterest-perfect, there is a lot of pressure as well. I am definitely not immune. Celebrating Baby's First Everything puts me in a tizzy. I want to document it all. It's also important to spoil the grandparents with baby love. For Thanksgiving we did footprint turkeys. At Christmas, we made handprint ornaments. I figured for Valentine's Day it was probably time to let up on the body parts haha.

Instead, we did a mini photo shoot for Valentine's Day and guess what - you can too! I promise, it's not too late. Within 15 minutes of shooting, I had the perfect custom Valentine for baby J's grandparents.

With places like Target Photo that print cards in store (or even using your own printer and cardstock at home) you can have cards printed within an hour of doing the shoot. About 10 minutes after placing my order, I got the email confirmation that my prints were ready for pick up!

What you need is minimal at best. A piece of fabric for a backdrop, a couple glitter hearts, and a coordinating holiday shirt. No pants necessary folks!

Maternity Photos {by} Expressions by Nicole Marie

I'm so excited to finally share some of the pictures I mentioned last week! These are a few of our favorite photos from the extremely talented Expressions by Nicole Marie. She and I met through the power of social media - Instagram! - and I've grown obsessed with her work over the last year. If you live in the Philly area, I cannot recommend her enough. She's gorgeous, talented, and so much fun to work with. 

Maternity photos are all the rage nowadays but I still didn't want anything too cliché - no belly kisses or bare bumps. In just a couple of weeks, we are going to be a family of three (more like 5 because Quinn and Aubrey are very much a part of our family) so it was important to us to capture these final moments between Joe and I. Our photographer (Nicole Francisco) was the absolute best and completely understood my vision. She scouted out several locations for us and suggested that we visit the Artists of Yardley center in Bucks County, PA. It was the epitome of perfection with so many backdrop options - barns, fields, a meadow, a pumpkin patch, a gravel road, and even a pond. Just look at all of the incredible shots she took!

  

PHOTOS ARE COURTESY OF EXPRESSIONS BY NICOLE MARIE

 

What do you think? Did you get pre-baby photos done? I think it was a blast but I'm most looking forward to having photos that include our little man in all of his baby-faced goodness <3

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2013 Christmas Card Photo Shoot - Sneak Peak!

Yesterday night was Friendsgiving so it's safe to say that the holiday season has officially begun!

As I'm sure you already guessed, we went with Minted for our holiday cards -- best quality and assortment, hands down! Before we could order one of the lovely prints, we had to get our photos done. It's a bit late to go to a pro, so I pulled out my remote and tripod and we got shooting. 

We decided to go a bit non-traditional with this year's Christmas card photo and I just LOVE the results. Here's a sneak peak of the magic! 

Springtime Mason Jar Photo Holder

I recently took part in the Martha Stewart Glass Painting Program and had a blast creating an assortment of things. You see, Plaid Crafts has these great new Martha Stewart paintable clings that pair perfectly with their liquid fill glass paint. The clings are awesome simply because they are repositionable so you can change out your decor season after season, year after year. Since Spring is right around the corner (or so says Mr. Punxsutawney Phil), I used the Martha Stewart Crafts Butterfly and Blossoms clings and a few different shades of blue and green paint to create a new decor piece -- a Springtime Mason Jar Photo Holder.

Isn't it kind of the best thing ever? That might be a slight exaggeration, but then again, I'd have to agree that it's slightly more than just plain awesome. Do you remember that picture of craft supplies that I shared on Instagram about two weeks ago? Well, this is one of the projects I used with those babies!

Happy V-Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Did you start your day off right with a special breakfast or a big floral arrangement at the door? Or maybe you're spoiling yourself with a full box of chocolates? However you choose to celebrate, I hope it's great!

As much as I love LOVE, I'm a little cranky today. I'm home sick; this is the first time in 3 years that I've called out of work, so you know I'm really not feeling well. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to spending some time with the Mr. when he gets home tonight, sniffles, fever, raspy voice, and all.

I hope you have a wonderful V-Day and just know that I'm sending a little love your way from the City of Brotherly Love! xo

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Twas the Night Before Christmas Photo Mat

'Twas the Night Before Christmas was always my favorite Christmas story. When I was in kindergarten, we performed it for our parents and grandparents and ever since then, I've memorized every single line. Yep. Every. Single. Line. Quiz me, I dare you. Whenever I forgot the reindeer names, I'd go back and recite the poem instead (how crazy is that?). With Christmas only 6 days away, we are on the home stretch of The 25 Projects of Christmas. Number twenty-one is a festive way to frame your photographs -- a 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Photo Mat. 

It's the perfect accompaniment to my favorite holiday picture of the Mr. and I. I think this would look adorable framing your babies on Christmas morning or sleeping on Christmas eve. Read on for how to make one for yourself!

Love Autumn {Printable}

While some people are Summer folks and others sincerely adore the Spring, I am definitely an Autumn girl at heart. I love spiced cider, pumpkin patches, pies, corn mazes, picking apples, football, the colors, and most of all the change in weather. Seriously, what's not to love? 

At work, I'm teased because "Who doesn't love..." is pretty much my catchphrase. It's been followed by "mummies," "Martha Stewart," "cheesecake," "the Spice Girls," "Honey Boo Boo Child," and other random thoughts. 

In the spirit of the season, who DOESN'T love Autumn?!

Feel free to download the image here. 

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Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Say hello to my little friend!

image via Canon USA

It's official, I have the most thoughtful husband. Really, I do.


You may have noticed that the quality of yesterday's pictures were of a much higher caliber than older posts and that is all thanks to my super awesome hunk of a husband.


A few months of wishing on every little star has paid off -- I finally have a big girl camera. Yep, this lady is now a very proud DSLR owner. On Friday, my sweetheart came home from work and took my breath away with a brand new Canon EOS Rebel T3i with two lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm)! Let's be real, this camera is gorgeous and getting it as a surprise was just icing on the cake. I spent the entire weekend reading the manual with my camera in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I was taking snapshots of just about anything within sight: my toes, spare earrings, Quinn, the ceiling, our pillows, my empty glass, even the manual itself.

This is the second one I took and I love love love it.
(I'd share the first, but it's a silly picture of the Mr. that I don't think he would appreciate being blasted all over the web)

Now that I have this super awesome camera that I plan on getting to know very intimately, I've been busy creating a Pinterest board. "Paparazzi" is for all of the things I need to know, need to have, and need to make in regards to this new camera. What's on it so far? DIY camera accessories (surprise, surprise!), easy to read manuals for dummies like myself, styling guides and editing tips. Take a look: