Sweet Baby Ellison {greensboro nc newborn photographer}

I haven't posted much of my professional photography stuff here lately but had to share this sweet girl's images from yesterdays session. Little Ellison Skye is the newest addition for my dear friend Melissa! She and her husband have 2 school aged girls but decided they wanted one more and they were blessed with a 3rd little angel! She is precious and I just loved getting to spend some time yesterday creating these special images for them! It almost makes me want another one ;)... almost! Congrats Davie & Melissa on your beautiful baby girl!!

Halle's 1st Riding Lesson (and my ribbon collection)

Halle has been begging for the last year to ride horses and yesterday afternoon she finally got her wish. A sweet friend of mine shows horses and recently purchased the most beautiful equestrian farm and agreed to give Halle some lessons. I took her out yesterday after her soccer game for her first meet & greet type lesson. It wasn't really a lesson but rather a chance to see how she responds to being around the horses and ponies. Sometimes kids want to learn to ride but then they are afraid of the animals. Halle was in absolute heaven!! She took to them right away and had no fear. She fed carrots by hand to the large show horse, a beautiful warm blood whose actual breed I cannot remember, and then did a little grooming on the miniature horse named Bully. Then she learned how to lead Bully on a lead line and how to make him stop and go. It was adorable to watch! Bully was definitely a challenge to lead because all he wanted to do was stop every 3 steps and eat grass and clover...and Halle of course would let him, lol! She had the best time and was definitely in her element.

Here she is doing a little grooming on Bully, learning to brush him and comb his mane. Isn't he cute?!!

I just adore this image, the way she is smiling at him and he is looking right back at her! Such a sweet connection!

She kept getting a little turned around and ended up on the wrong side of the lead but I know she'll get the hang of it over time :)

Stopping for a bite to eat for the 50th time, lol! She'll have to learn how to be more authoritative with him while leading him. She just wanted to be sweet and let him do whatever he wanted which he took full advantage of :)

After spending some time with Bully, Halle got to meet Donikan, a German Dressage pony who will eventually be used for shows. He is extremely sweet but is not completely broke yet so not ready for riding. Once Halle is a confident rider and Donikan has had more training they may get to do some training together. He sure is pretty!! Halle absolutely loved her time on the equestrian farm and didn't want to leave. We spent 2 hours with the horses and she cried on the way home because she said she missed them already.  The next time we visit for her first official riding lesson there will be a new addition to the farm...Bella, a white pony who Halle will learn to ride first. I'll share pictures and keep you updated on her riding adventures!!

On another similar note I wanted to share the beginnings of my vintage horse show ribbon collection! I discovered the charm of these old ribbons while looking for ideas for Halle's equestrian themed birthday that she wants for next year. I like to pick up things over time for decorating my party tables and I can't wait to use these beauties! I am swooning over these pretty feminine colors and it's a shame that these are the ones you get when you place lower...I think those pink ones should be 1st place ;) The older ribbons just have so much more charm and character than the modern ones of today...look at the center medallions...they don't make em' like that anymore! I can't wait to add more to my collection over time! Just wanted to share :)

Ella Got Her Ears Pierced

Sorry for the lack of blog posts over the last few weeks. I'm hoping to work on some more projects soon that I can share with you! For now here are some pictures of Ella getting her ears pierced. She turned 5 last month and this was one thing she's been wanting to have done after her 5th birthday. We were happy to let her do it sooner but in her head she wanted to be 5 first. I think she was just not ready yet and a little nervous so she always said that when she turned 5 she would be ready...and she was! She's been begging since her birthday and so we took her to Claire's over the weekend. She was incredibly brave and didn't make a peep or shed a single tear. Wow!! We were totally prepared for otherwise but she shocked us in how she handled it. The moment they pierced her ears (at the same time!) we saw a hint of a tear welling in her eyes but it quickly dried up and she was all smiles!

Here she is hugging on the Claire's bear as she listens to the lady telling her what she is going to do. She was a little nervous but we knew she would not back out. She wanted these!

She is all smiles the moment before it happens as both Claire's employees get the earring guns lined up.

And then they did it. You can immediately see it in her face.

Looking over to me for reassurance. I was clapping and cheering about how brave she was and how proud I was of her and that it was all done. You can tell in her eyes that it hurt but that was it. No tears or crying.

All smiles and admiring her new pink diamonds! 

I had to get a quick pic with my BIG girl!

How sweet is that face?! She is really growing up! I'm glad that this is done though. I think I was more nervous than she was...that's my baby afterall :)

Showing off the cute little bag that they give you so you can tell the world what you just did!! She's so proud! She really is cute with them!! (Can't believe it's been almost 3 years since Halle's ear piercing experience!)

Camper Daydreaming: A Little Vintage Eye Candy

This is what's been on my mind lately. I have a bucket list and this is at the top of it. I want to own a little vintage camper :) I dream of taking her on romantic weekend getaways with the hubby and on some fun-filled trips with the kids. I want to doll her up and just hang out in her...even if it's parked in my driveway! The obsession started about 8 mos ago when I first discovered that these little beauties existed and now I cannot get them out of my head. I'm still searching for the perfect one...and at the right price ;) Whenever I see a pretty quilt or a cute vintage accessory I think "this would look great in my vintage camper!"...yeah I'm nuts, lol! One day it will happen though...it will!

For now I will just daydream and live vicariously through everyone else who owns one! Like this one (swoon)...

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and this one here (how cute with the matching vintage truck!)...

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and look at this! How peaceful and amazing!

I could totally see myself here!

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And I just adore this precious teeny camper! How cute is this?! Oh and I'll take that sweet little doggie too!

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and how about all these!!! Aaaah...I love them all!!

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I can't wait to fix one up and make it look like some of these! This first one is painted in my favorite color!

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 How warm and inviting is this family camper?! It looks like a children's wonderland and is absolutely precious! I want to go wherever they are going ;)

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I love how this one reminds me of a picnic and apple pie! It's so cheerful and fun...how could anyone not smile hanging out in here?! :)

Just look at how bright and amazing this one is!! I love how she painted it completely white inside and threw in all the pops of color with accessories! So girly! Love it!

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This one is actually set up as a little shop! Genius! It oozes vintage charm! I see some things I want to buy for my camper...aaaah, daydreams!

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There are so many more wonderful campers that I didn't share here. I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to this dream of mine!! Dreams do come true, ya know! Happy Friday!!

Shabby & Sweet Cane Back Chairs: A Before & After

I picked up these gorgeous cane back chairs this past week after finding them buried in craigslist. There was no mention of the word cane in any part of the ad which is probably why they hadn't been picked up already. They were listed for $150 along with a little side table but seller said he'd do the set of chairs for $70! Steal! I loved that they still had the original blue tufted upholstery that was in really nice condition. All they needed was a little paint to give them new life.

I'm a little impatient when it comes to prepping for a project and I couldn't figure out how I was going to remove the upholstered seats easily. Part of the upholstery wrapped around the side of the chairs (you can see that in one of the after images). So what is a girl to do?! Make plastic bag slipcovers of course! All I did was tear open some plastic shopping bags and tape them over the upholstery using painters tape...and scotch tape when I ran out, lol! Both worked perfectly and came off easily without damaging the finished paint.

I had no idea how time consuming it would be to paint caning!! It took For-E-Ver! I finally resorted to using a tiny little art brush instead of my regular painting brush. It was slow going but the tiny art brush got into the cracks and crevices so much more efficiently than a regular painting brush. It was also much easier to paint around the taped edges of the upholstery because I had much more control than I did with my bulkier brush. So there's my tip...paint cane back chairs with an artist brush!

I used Annie Sloan Old White for this project because I wanted that shabby chic cottage look for these chairs. The Old White paired perfectly with the pale blue upholstery to achieve this look :) Here they are all done! What a change huh?! You'll have to excuse the indentions in the carpet. These are replacing a large oversized chair that was in this spot. We are hoping to replace the carpet with hardwoods but haven't tackled that project just yet ;)

I found my Nest pillow here.

Here is the space they now occupy in the living room. There used to be a big, bulky, oversized chair here in an awful slipcover. I've been wanting to switch it out for forever. I think these sweet chairs are much better suited in this space :)

 A close-up of the distressing. I did 3-4 coats on these chairs and finished with Annie Sloan's clear wax.

A view from above. I just love these tufted seats!

This quilt was actually a cutter quilt that I got free. It was a queen sized quilt but had rips, tears, and large holes all over it which left it un-useable. An etsy seller gave it to me as a surprise when I bought another quilt in her shop. She said she thought I could use it to create other projects. I made this little throw blanket buy cutting out a large portion that was still intact and then sewing some soft flannel to the back. It's now the perfect lap quilt and looks great draped over these chairs :) I still have sections left that would make great pillow covers!

So what do you think? I hope this will send you on a hunt for your own cane back chairs! They really are pretty and especially nice for adding seating to small spaces. The guy who sold them to me said his wife HATED these chairs and had been wanting to get rid of them for years. I wonder if she'd hate them now ;) Have a fabulous Monday!

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Healthy Lunches Made Easy Courtesy of Planetbox: a product review

I have mentioned in previous posts that our family is on a journey to cut out processed food and eat more local and more whole foods. We buy organic as much as possible, buy grass-fed/pastured meat and eggs from local farms that don't use hormones or antibiotics, visit our farmers market for produce, and read every ingredient label on store bought products looking for items with just a few simple ingredients as well as those that don't have GMOs. It's a very overwhelming learning curve with so many things to consider when making food choices for your family. The majority of our store bought groceries come from Trader Joes, Earthfare, Whole Foods or our local health food co-op called Deep Roots Market. We are not perfect but we are doing our best to keep processed food out of our home as much as possible. I cook dinner from scratch most nights of the week but coming up with fun and healthy lunches that my kids will actually eat has proved to be a challenge...until now. I discovered an amazing lunchbox system called Planetbox! This is no ordinary lunchbox! This is a high quality, non-toxic stainless steel lunchbox with multiple compartments that allows you to pack a healthy and balanced meal that is very visually appealing! The one piece tray makes it incredibly easy to clean too! Just pop it in the dishwasher!!

There are actually two versions of Planetbox, the Rover for smaller appetites, and the Launch for larger appetites. Both come nestled within their own carrying case. This is the Rover Planetbox system...which in all honesty can hold enough food for anyone. I chose the Rover because it is perfect for sending lunch to school with my kiddos. This great carrying case includes a stretchy front pocket that is the perfect size for a water bottle or juice box.

Each Planetbox Rover comes with your choice of magnets to help personalize your lunchbox! My girls LOVE these fairy magnets! They had to take turns taking them off and putting them back on...over & over & over again, lol!

I absolutely LOVE that the Planetbox Rover has 5 compartments. It also includes 2 separate containers (Big & little dipper) to hold dips, yogurt, or an additional snack. The big dipper fits perfectly in the front flap pocket of the carrying case if your child need an extra school snack...or, either dipper can fit inside the box itself. Kids like to have choices when they eat and this lunchbox allows them to have a healthy variety of foods. Having everything compartmentalized also makes it look yummy and fun. Even my husband said he wanted to take this to work for his lunch...he didn't even care that it was pink! (BTW...pink is just one option...there are multiple colors to choose from!)

The possibilities are endless with the lunches you can create using a Planetbox. During the kids spring break I let them each take turns using the Planetbox. They were fighting over who was going to get to use it so it was declared that they all must share it, lol! I created this lunch for my son Hayden (he wasn't as thrilled with the pink, lol). His lunch includes:

2 hardboiled eggs (from local pastured chickens)

organic hummus and baby carrots (Trader Joes)

pita chips (Trader Joes)

organic celery and raisins with homemade peanut butter (made only from roasted unsalted peanuts)

trail mix that includes dried fruit, nuts and a bit of chocolate (from bulk bin at Deep Roots Coop)

He really liked this lunch...except for the carrots. He's not a big carrot fan but I was trying to get him to branch out.

I made this lunch for Halle. Her meal included:

whole wheat wrap with peanut butter (homemade) and organic bananas
organic cheese (grass-fed cows) puzzle pieces (my kids are more likely to eat things cut into shapes!)
organic baby carrots with homemade veggie dip
organic apple slices
a few annie's bunny fruit bites

She liked this lunch except she wouldn't eat the bananas in the wrap. She didn't like them mixed with the peanut butter. And again...she wasn't a fan of the carrots. Halle is my pickiest eater. I'm struggling to get her to try new things.

This was another lunch I created and in all honesty this is more in line with a typical Halle lunch. It's hard to get her to eat veggies. Baby steps I guess. This meal included:

Peanut butter on 100% sprouted whole wheat bread...cut into dolphin shapes (again my kids like shapes)
organic unsweetened applesauce
organic cheese puzzles (from grass-fed cows)
Annie's Organic cheddar bunnies (I realize these aren't a great choice but this is what she'll eat right now)
2 Annie's chocolate bunnies and a couple chocolate chips as a treat

And of course Ella had to test out the Planetbox as well. She got to try it once the kids went back to school. Her meal included:

peanut butter and organic strawberry conserves on sprouted whole wheat bread
organic apple slices
organic banana slices
Annie's honey bunny grahams
Annie's bunny fruit bites for a treat

Planetbox now offers a great new application on their website where you can get meal ideas from other Planetbox users as well as share your own meals. Share-A-Box is a great place to go if you are short on ideas or just don't know where to begin. You'll find lots of creative lunch solutions in one easy to browse location. The application also has an area called Plan-It-Box where there is a diagram of the tray and you can click on each individual compartment and Planetbox will give you image after image of food ideas for that compartment! How cool is that?! Definitely check it out!

I absolutely love the Planetbox lunchbox system and am pretty sure that we will be needing 2 more of these so that each kiddo can have their own. It really does make packing lunches so much easier and the kids tend to try new things when their food is presented in such a fun way!

*Planetbox supplied me with the Rover Planetbox system for the purpose of this review. However all the views and opinions expressed within this post are my own.  I only share products I would be happy to use with my own family.