hungry thrifter.

 

 

 

We went out to lunch earlier today with a couple of friends in between rehearsal for Skyley and while daddy was at work.  Then while Skyley was back at dance I tried to hurry to Born Again (thrift store for kids) and Salvation Army (thrift store for me).  My shopping companion was beyond tired and fell asleep in the car, but woke up when I got her out of the car (but she wasn't upset because she got a rare treat) so I could shop for some stuff.

 

 

She loved holding the graham cracker with her chubby little hands :)

 

 



now and then.

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Skyley.

  

 

I've noticed a lot of people are trying to recreate old pictures...so with Skyley's birthday approaching I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

 

                                  March, 2011                                                                                                 April, 2014



copy cat

 

We were hanging out in the living room the other day.  Skyley and Saylor started being really cute and silly....together.  I showed them how to "paint" your nails with markers...because who hasn't done that as a kid?

 

 

 

After they got all dirty, we decided to go outside and take some more pictures together.  I decided to get some shots of them with their new purses...a bunny and a lamb.  Gramma sent them to the girls (for an early Easter present).  I love my girls...

 

 

 

 

 

Saylor absolutely adores her sister and tries to copy everything she does.  They were being hilarious at this point.

 

 

 



my new boss

Typically if I try to get work done during the day, Saylor will hang around right outside of my office.   We have a little hallway at the top of the stairs and she loves playing there.  And sometimes she does play in there...

But usually she will just stand there and squeal at me (which is why I can't work during the day).

Well the other night I had to look for houses online, so I let her play in my office.  She played with her horse on the printer.

And she got into everything.  And she just generally got into a lot of mischief, which is why I can't work when she is awake.

Yes, there is junk everywhere.  But we had a lot of fun.  And just a little while after I took this picture, Saylor was having some nakey time (which we've been doing a lot lately) and she peed on the rug in the hallway and then again on the floor in the office.  Unfortunately I did not take a picture of that.  But I'm just glad it wasn't the dog again!

 We've been looking online for housing this summer in Seattle for Kris's internship!  I've yet to find anything and we are starting to rethink our summer plans, but we are still undecided.  Wish us luck!



love

 

There is still a tremendous amount of love in this sometimes nuts-o world.  Photos like these remind me this on days where our hope is tested.  Prayers and sympathy for Ft. Hood.

 

 



i want to be a photographer when i grow up

Yeah, this was not what I said as a kid.

In fact, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always said I wanted to be a veterinarian, but there is no way I could handle being an animal doctor.  But I do still love animals.

My interest in photography began when I had my daughter almost 5 years ago.  I snapped photos without ceasing of her with my point and shoot, then, my husband bought my first dslr when Skyley was about 18 months old and I enrolled in a local photography class in McKinney, TX.

The first time I stepped into that classroom I was very afraid, but my mentor was wonderful and I slowly began to figure out what I could do with my camera.

Photography made me linger and acknowledge things I never noticed before then.

After that class...I continued photography as a hobbyist.

Once I learned the basics of photography, I thirsted for more and have since mentored with several amazing photographers.

For the most part, I feel like my journey as an artist is just getting started.  Finding your style and voice takes a lot of time.

The process of creating art with photos is enjoyable and stimulating and stirring and upsetting and pleasing and shattering and exhausting and exhilarating and depleting...yeah, you get it.

I'm in the process of trying to master balancing my love for photography my family and the rest of my life.

It has been so helpful to surround myself with people who support and love me and now I have the capability to do what I love.

I thought I'd share a little bit of our work the last year or so...our art.

One of my favorite landscapes was this one...at a beach in Oregon.  We went there on vacation and had an amazing time.

Kris did all the editing on this one.

 

artificial light

Illuminated by the lamp...



march 6, 2014

already 15 months

 

My daughter astounds me.  Her greenish eyes and long girly lashes and the way her eyes look when she's sleepy or just waking up.  Her glowing skin and big toothy smile.  A couple of weeks ago she turned 15 months. My little girl is growing fast and making every day so perfect.

 

 



what do we eat for dinner? {crock pot shredded chicken}

No surprise here....I can be pretty lazy sometimes....maybe too often. Since I have decided to put more effort into documenting my family and posting it on here, I figured throwing in some extras (like recipes) wouldn't hurt. And since we're on the subject of laziness, why not incorporate laziness into dinner too? Genius. I have way too many recipes on Pinterest awaiting my attention and here is a keeper.

For my preliminary "what do we eat for dinner" post, this is what we had a few nights ago - Shredded Chicken Sandwiches in the slow cooker.

Here is where my inspiration originated: http://simple2something.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/slow-cooker-shredded-beef-sandwiches/

I originally pinned it because it just sounded so good. I've had chicken thawing in the fridge for a few days and it needed to be used up, but of course, I was feeling...lazy. So making something in the crock pot just made sense and shredded chicken it was.

 

I changed it up and made it my own quite a bit...I used chicken, after all.

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
1\4 t. garlic powder
pepper
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. dried parsley
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/2 c. ketchup
3 chicken breasts

Mix everything, minus pepper and chicken in the slow cooker.  Pepper the chicken and add to the slow cooker.

Cook on low 4-6 hours.  Shred the chicken the last hour of cook time.

I had mine with a little bit of ranch on the bun and some mixed salad on top.  Seamed broccoli made a great side with this dish.  Kris was so happy to come home to this meal.  And there was plenty for all and then some.

Honestly, this is just about a perfect meal for us.  It was sooo easy to make.  You just throw everything into the pot and you're basically done.
It's reasonably healthy...maybe not very low fat.  I didn't have any whole wheat buns, that would've made things a little healthier.
As far as taste goes, this takes the cake.  Not only that, but it made my house smell good, which is always a plus.
This is also very budget friendly.  Really, the only cost for me is chicken.  I usually have all the other ingredients already.
This meal is perfect for a family.
My girls loved it.  They both ate it with enthusiasm.  Score.

I plan on doing these type of posts more often.  It will motivate me to cook more.

Now go make something (preferably this). 

Fun link party: http://tidymom.net/

our life

It's Friday photo dump.  Here's what we've been doing for the past 7 days.

 Have a pretty weekend.



Lauren