This weekend...

I'm baaa-aaack  ;)




This weekend I:


* Went shopping with my Dad to pick out an anniversary gift for my Mom.  Not that he really needed my help...he does a pretty good job of selecting gifts on his own!  A couple of weeks ago he came into Yankee Candle with me and while I was paying for the things I bought, he was looking at the new fall collection of tart burners lol.  He was pretty into it too...I went over to him when I was done and he was showing me the one he wanted to buy for my Mom.  He's got pretty good taste :)

*  Celebrated my parents 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

* Re-painted a hutch I bought last week off of Craigslist.  It was purchased with the intent of using it in my bedroom to display my collectibles, but I later decided it would look better in our office/computer room.  And this meant that it needed to be black now so it would match the rest of the furniture in the office.  What I didn't know is that you cannot use latex paint over the shiny laminated surface without priming it first. oops.

This was what the hutch looked like before:

* Had a *teensy* meltdown when I saw that I ruined the hutch.  I will spare you by not posting an 'after' photo.  It looks ok enough, but I can see all of the flaws in it and it bugs me.  It will have to do for now until I find something else to replace it (and it will NOT be painted by me!  lol)

* Had to have blood drawn for some blood work my doctor ordered.  I think this was the fifth time being poked in the last month.  I have always hated needles and if you told me I had to have blood drawn, my blood pressure would shoot up.  I'm happy to say that after all these times I am finally getting used to it and it's not as bad as I always thought.

* Found out what Burning Man is.  After reading that two bloggers I follow were going to it recently, I had to find out what it is.  Basically, it's an arts festival held every year during the week of Labor Day at Black Rock Desert in Nevada.  They literally build a 'city' (called Black Rock City) and for one week over 45,000 people camp there and there are art exhibits, music, performances, etc.  When the festival is over, they leave no trace that the city ever existed.  It's kind of hard to explain.  I find it very, very odd....yet interesting at the same time.

* Relaxed and caught up on some blog reading.



I have lots to say, so I'm going to try to post some more this week about what's been going on over the past couple of months.  Stay tuned :)

They say there's a sucker born...

You know the old saying "there's a sucker born every minute"?  Well, the other day I was that sucker.  I've always been the type of person who loves to try new products.  I also happen to be the type of person who watches an infomercial and is sold by the end of the half hour.  I mean, come on - who wouldn't love the Slap Chop, a dog Snuggie or a $300 Cricut machine? (you should see what that thing can do!)  I really don't consider myself to be a gullible person, just optimistic that things might just be as good as the company claims :)  You'll never know unless you try it, right?

So, I had gone shopping with my Mom and we were browsing around looking at the air fresheners.  Well, the lovely folks at Febreze must have seen me coming and done a happy dance lol.  I spotted the Febreze Flameless Luminaries and decided that I had to try one.  They run on batteries and simulate a flickering flame inside a scented lantern.   I liked the idea that I can leave it unattended and not worry about my cat knocking it over.

Now comes the sucker part.   I read the packaging in the store looking to see how long the scent will last but it didn't say (of course).  Not until I got it home and read the scented shade package inside did I see that it only lasts for a week.  The replacements are around $5.00 per pack, so it looks like I just found myself a costly little hobby lol.   I have to say though that I set it up and it does smell really nice.  Whether or not the scent will even last a week remains to be seen.   If nothing else, it makes a nice decoration.  But, I can definitely find something better to spend 20 bucks a month on...like Yankee Candles ;)

Before

After

p.s. - this is something that I DO recommend:

It's a soy candle and it smells soooo good!  I haven't even burned it yet and I can smell it as soon as I walk into our office area.

The Wedding

I bet you already know what I'm about to say, right?  This has been such a busy month so far. (surprise!)  It seems like every weekend since the wedding on May 29th has been busy and in between I have been editing photos and trying to build my website, plus all the normal day to day things I do.  But, I enjoy it so there are no complaints here :)

The wedding was nice and everything went smoothly for the most part.  I spent the entire day with Laura and her family.  I went to the salon with them to take some photos while they got their hair done and it seemed like once we got back to her house, time started going by at double speed.  Before I knew it the night was over and I was heading home.

Here are some photos from the day:












So far I've done family portraits, maternity photos, and of course the wedding.  In the coming months I will be doing baby portraits for a couple people and sometime this summer, more family photos.  It's a good feeling to know that things are moving right along and with every photo shoot, I'm that much closer to being a photographer :)

Coming soon!

So, it looks like I finally have a reason to create a portfolio website.  I have one portrait session under my belt and with the wedding on Saturday, I will need a nice place to display my work.  I finally took the leap and signed up for a web designing tool so I can create my website.   I've spent today trying to come up with design ideas and was blank.  I started sketching something a while ago and now I seem to have gotten the creative juices flowing, so I at least have a starting point for the new design :)

My plan is to have a separate blog and website.  This way I can still blog about whatever I'd like while having a portfolio of my work that is strictly professional.  I haven't decided where I will host my blog yet; it will either remain here on Blogspot or I may move it to Wordpress.  It is staying right here for the moment, but I will definitely make sure I post the new link if/when it moves so you will (hopefully) be able to stay with me ;)

I'm off to start creating!

What I've been up to

May has been a very productive month so far and it seems like everything is really starting to come together.  I finally decided on a business name for when that time comes.  Instead of using my own name, I went decided on A Bella Sorriso Photography.  I created a Page for it on Facebook, which you can check out here if you'd like.  I also designed my logo and ordered business cards.  They came in the mail today and I love them!  Now all I have to do is work on my website so I can post my portfolio online and I'll be all set :)

I also got together with a friend of mine on Saturday to take some family photos.  Michelle & I worked together at the bank until last year and it was really nice to see her again and meet her kids.  Her little boy is 2 months old and man, is he adorable!  Her daughter is another cutie.  She's 6 years old and has such an outgoing personality!  She seemed to love having her picture taken and had me laughing the whole time with her poses.  I finished editing all of the photos last night and wanted to share some.  Here's a sample of the photos from our shoot:

These geese were at the park with their little babies when we arrived.  They were so adorable I couldn't resist taking some photos :)