Monthly Archives: January 2009

Papeterie

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Well this week has been pretty uneventful. I started a few design projects, updated a few things on my site, designed a few more pre-fab websites, and got through 2008 in Quickbooks. Josh has been traveling again this week, and I have been alone, trying to keep myself busy and away from complete and total boredom. It’s been fun reading the comments that each of you left on my last post, and certainly needed! (This week I am officially not pregnant if you catch my drift), so your supportive comments were appreciated immensely.

To clarify a little, I do plan on still sharing my favorites from my photography sessions, but I also want to get back to using this blog as a journal. So unfortunately for you, that means that you might have to suffer through a few boring posts like this one… he he he. :) It sounds like most of you were on board with whatever I choose to write about, so thank you for being so easy to please.

I am expecting quite a few new items for the shop in the upcoming months, so I hope to get those added as quickly as possible. But today I was trying to redo some of the photos for the items already in the shop. Since I set up my website to use vertical photos for every item page, certain items can be challenging to photograph. The vintage mail basket we carry has been one of those items.  Luckily I was able to get a few good images for the site, and in doing so, it prompted me to find the perfect place for it, in my own office.

mailbasket

I mounted it to the old door I have leaning against the wall in my office.

door

I think it’s perfect there. Not only is it convenient (as it’s only a few feet away from my desk chair), it also makes the door functional for me! I would show you more of my office, but it’s a disaster area today.

Anyway, I better get back to doing something productive… I’ve already spent about an hour on Etsy, watched the news, and played with Hannah in procrastination fashion..

Thank you again, to all of you who left sweet comments for me on my last post. I love you all!

P.S. I sold out of the baskets already, but I have more on the way, so email me if you would like to be put on the waiting list. I will notify you when they are back in stock.

Posted in our house, shop news

Feather Puffing and Nests

Friday, January 23, 2009

I have done some reflecting lately and took some time to read some of the posts I wrote when I first started this blog. It seems forever ago to me already, but in reality it’s been just under two years. March 2009 will mark the two year point for this crazy journey I have been on. It will be the anniversary of the day I began living my life the way I always wanted to.

Don’t get me wrong, my life is not perfect, and it certainly is far less glamorous then this blog (or a magazine photo) makes it appear to the naked eye. But I am happy. I love my home, I love that I get to work from home, and I love that I have been afforded the luxury of getting to try my hand at the numerous passions that have filled heart these last two years.

I love sharing my photography with all of you, but I am feeling like I need to get back to sharing more about me, my home, my life, and my story. I feel like this blog has gotten away from the theraputic tool I used to think of it as, and it has become a “brag book” of sorts… which I am feeling pretty bad about.

The truth is, I have been all over the place lately. My home is a mess, and I haven’t been spending money on myself like I used to (so that means no new “decor” to inspire new photos of my house). Josh has been traveling a bit again, so I have been alone and that means I work WAY longer hours than I should (which makes me crabby). And we are “trying” again (when he’s home), which is so emotionally taxing on me. I am taking this new “pregnancy protocol” that my doctor prescribed, which is easily 20 or more pills a day (and I am SO NOT a pill person!). I hesitate to even talk about it on the blog, because it gets those emotions flowing, but again, I need to get back to the therapy this blog (and you all) once provided to me, so I’m spilling my guts.

I do actually have some photos of my home to share today…. (it’s really just a couple close-up’s of the cute “nests” I saved for myself from the shop in my living room), but hey – it’s a start. I doctored up the photos to make them extra special and pretty for blog sharing. :)

Nesting 1

I know what you’re thinking…. it’s a little early to be decorating for spring, but the Christmas decor comes down immediately after Christmas over here. (I’ve always been that way… learned it from my mother). Actually I started taking my decor down ON Christmas, while my guests were still here….he he he….Josh doesn’t get why I do it, but I LOVE the way it feels when the house looks clean and uncluttered after it all comes down.

nesting2

nesting3

Hopefully, you can get past the fact that I’ve shown you this set up of cloches and pedestals eight million times already with countless other props, and just appreciate it for what it is. I will make it my mission to find some inspiration, start talking again, and to do it more often than I have been! Cheers!

Posted in fertility, our house, personal

Tawni

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

On Sunday, I met with Tawni for some headshots, and a few fun portraits. We walked around the park trying a few different spots and changing clothes a few times. I think I managed to torture her a little bit, with the laying down in poky shrubs, walking the park in her heels, and the heat on Sunday… but it was totally all worth it! I managed to capture some amazing shots of this very beautiful girl! I hope you agree….

tran1

tran3

tran2

tran4

Doesn’t she look amazing with a punch of color next to her face?

Posted in photography

Did I forget to mention….

Thursday, January 8, 2009

So, bear with me while I shamelessly self-promote for a moment… but did you see that Romantic Homes Magazine named me one of their “Top Romantics” this year? I was so honored and overjoyed when Jacqueline asked me to be one of them, and it was certainly fun to get to write my own blurb and provide my own photography for the article. Here’s a peek at my article, in case you haven’t seen it:

Top Romantics

I think I still blush a little when I tell my family about it, as I am anything but “romantic” in their eyes. (Especially my husband who I’m pretty sure chuckles quietly to himself every time he hears me mention it). I guess they have some lower standards this year and consider pajama wearing, domestically challenged, computer nerds the latest in romantic crazes…. lol…

Speaking of domestically challenged. I have to share a recipe with you all that I heard of on Oprah… (yes, I tivo Oprah, and watch it late night, romantic isn’t it?)

It is one of the Cristina Farrare’s Roasted Chicken recipes found here: Click here.

Well you know how Josh loves to bbq whole chicken’s for us to eat? (Seen in a prior post here). Well we always seem to get stuck in a rut with the same five or so recipes we always make (I say “we” very loosely here, as “he” really cooks everything in our house). And when I saw this episode of Oprah I knew these easy meals were for us (Uh, I mean “him”)! The episode was about making your budget stretch with easy meals for a family of four. Cristina showed us how to roast a whole chicken and then use the leftovers to make three additional meals for your family. (Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Pot Pie with Cornbread Crust, and Pesto with Farfalle Pasta with Roasted Chicken). We tried all three recipes with the chicken Josh makes on the bbq and loved them!!!! But my favorite is the Pesto with Farfalle Pasta with Roasted Chicken.

We are having Pesto with Farfalle Pasta with BBQ Chicken tonight, as a matter of fact. Please, please, go to the Oprah site and download these yummy recipes. I highly recommend them, as they are all easy to make and so yummy! The pasta is especially easy if you freeze your leftover pesto sauce, and use it the next time you make the dish. Anywho, I’m terribly hungry now, thinking about all this, so I am off to snack, so I can tide myself over till dinner time.

Posted in design, family, inspiration, personal

New for 2009!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My design business has been busy this last year and I owe so much of that to all of you, my dear blog friends! Between the magazine features in Artful Blogging, your referrals, and the repeat business, I have installed and designed over 100 blog designs to date, and quite a few websites. I wanted to take a few classes to better my knowledge of web design in 2008, but I never seem to find the time for extra projects these days. Unfortunately I have to turn away a few customers a month because they want design features that I simply do not know how to do.

Well that brings me to a very exciting announcement I wanted to make: a new partnership I made with the very talented Leila of Lightning Bug Designs. Leila has the design skills that I am lacking, and she has agreed to take my designs and implement them into a Zen-Cart website for my customers. Zen-Cart is a great shopping cart system that has many features others don’t. You can view a full list of those features on the Zen-Cart website.

Many of your favorite websites are already using Zen-Cart; including the gorgeous websites of my dear friends Carol and Heather. (p.s. their sites were not designed by me).

While I plan to offer custom designed sites for use with Zen-Cart, I will also be featuring several “Ready to Glow” websites that are pre-designed and ready for implementing! Each website will only be sold once, to assure that every customer has a one-of-a-kind unique web design. As a matter of fact, I have five websites designed and “ready to glow” now! (Please allow poor Leila a week or so to get them on her website and ready for purchase, as they will only be sold from her site exclusively).

Here’s a sneak peek:

Sadie Olive "Ready To Glow" Designs

Sadie Olive "Ready To Glow" Designs

I will continue to offer template designs for use with Pappashop, Merchant Moms, and ShoppePro, for those of you with a smaller budget, and of course, blog designs, business cards, postcards, address labels, stickers, blog buttons, etsy banners, etc. You can purchase any of those items on my website here: Design Menu

Now it’s off to work on the rest of my “to do” list….

Pumpkin Peach Logo Design
California Sales Tax Return
Quick Books Data Entry
Reconcile Accounts
Add New Products to the Site
Evening Walk With My Husband
Eat Some Dinner
Take A Bath

My life is certainly not glamorous…..

Posted in design, personal, shop news

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