Attempting a schedule with dedicated hours for sleep has been something on my to-do-list for quite some time. I think a strict schedule for children under one is too difficult due to all the changes their bodies are undergoing, but was hoping after the first birthday, this would be more realistic.

I told myself that I was okay with only one nap. I told myself bedtime would be 8 or 8:30 each night. The first night it worked. I was hoping for a routine. Do you know what I got in return? Scarlett refusing to fall asleep until 10pm two nights in a row.

I'm starting to think, that this schedule thing isn't working for us. But truthfully, I'm not ready to give up. Wish me luck tomorrow night.

Love y'all,
<3xojo

The grandparents live in a small town, and their mail is delivered to the post office, and that is where I'm at this week and weekend.  Grandpa went to help set up and watch over our things at the garage sale and Grandma was at the salon getting her hair done while Scarlett and I were playing games and reading books.

So I waited.

When Grandma walked through the door with three packages in her hands, I was antsy like a school girl on her first day of class.  I found the closest knife and ripped open the biggest package.  There sat the box to my new Pentax K-5 with it's 18-55 f/3.5-5.6; needless to say, it was love at first sight. Grins.  I might have even named her Penny.  More grins.

I then carefully took her out of the box and pieced her together.  I sat the time zone, date and time, then went to put the battery on the charger.  (The other packages housed some Grandpa stuff.)

More waiting.  More of what I'm not good at.

A couple hours later, she was ready to go, and so was I.  But more of that later.

Let me formally introduce Penny the Pentax..  Sorry for the Instagram shots..

I have now been shooting with Penny for a little over a day now, and I am still as much in love with her, if not more than the first day.  I would be lying if I didn't tell you, shooting with this new camera, has come with a learning curve.  I have almost always shot manually, but it is different with the Pentax.  I'll go into more depth in a later post, but check out something else I am loving right now..

I shot these photographs just now with Penny..

I am still struggling with what I want to be in focus, and what is actually in focus, but I'm sure I'll get a better hang of it with time or research.  If you have any online reading you could recommend, I would greatly appreciate it!  This ice cream here is Bluebell, yay for living in Texas, Coconut Fudge, and it is out of this world.  Seriously, the bomb.

Yesterday when Scarlett woke from her nap, I followed her around the backyard with my camera.  The shots didn't turn out great, I'm to blame for that, but I could really see a difference in the outcome of these images to the old Nikon.  I will probably upload some of those later.  I didn't shoot them in raw, so that might be part of the reason why I don't like them as much.  

Well actually I did shoot them in raw, but when I imported them, I think I lost the raw file.  I did learn to close iPhoto when it pops up and just work with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw.  I used Camera Raw in college, but had completely forgot about it until I found it again today!

Last night, I cooked spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta shells.  It was extremely delicious, and I plan on blogging the recipe.  I had my camera around my next the whole process.  I am really excited to share the photographs with y'all.  In my opinion, they are incredible.  Well at least the thumbnails are.  Smiling over here.

Well I think I am going to finish my melting ice cream..

Love y'all,

<3xojo

I wasn't trying to spend any extra money this day, but here are the great finds I couldn't leave the store without..

I am an absolute sucker for vintage sheets, and at $2.25, you can't go wrong.  One is a king and the other is a twin.  The bottom print is one of two pillow cases I found a little while back, and I am using it as a back drop through-out these photographs.

I love this print.  It is a light light blue with daisies!

This cross-stitched look is to die for.  I might use these to make curtains in Scarlett's room when she gets a little older.  They don't match her current paint colors, but maybe when we move someday, and she has white walls.

I am in love with lace right now, and these vintage lace seam bindings were only 35 cents each.

Lookie, lookie.. 1974 and 1976!

This book is also from the 70s and has, to die for, hand drawn sketches on each pages!  I forgot to take pictures of the inside, so you're gonna have to trust me on this one!

So this is my gold of the trip..

It is a 1984 Fisher-Price Sesame Street themed Music Box Record Player.

It is in pretty great condition.  The only sign of age, is on the edge of the stickers, but barely noticeable in person.

It originally came with five plastic records, but Scarlett doesn't seem to notice one is missing.  She is in love with this toy.  She loves that it makes music, but even more she loves the handle, and she loves the records.  I plan on capturing her with the record box tomorrow or the next day with my new camera!

I plan on linking this post up with some of my thrifting friends, so watch for those links to be added below.  I will be out of the house most of tomorrow, so hopefully I can find some time to do so. I am participating in a annual three day garage sale event, where I will have my Vintagemade inventory out and ready to sale!  Wish me luck!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

[linking up with thrift score thursday and loves on thursdays and high on thrifting thursday.]

Here is the before..

And the after..

If you get a change, please stop by her blog and say "hello"!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

This is one of my favorite photographs of Scarlett.  It was taken a month or two back, when we visited The Houston Zoo.  I can't wait to go back with my new camera in the coming weeks, hopefully before it gets too hot out!

Today I'm linking up over at The Owlery.  I love linking up, meeting new people and making lasting friends!  If you're interested in linking up too, click on the picture below.  The favorite photograph wins a free blog design, which I'm not trying to win, but if you're interested..

Love y'all,

<3xojo

So the point I am trying to make here, is that I think it is okay to write a post similar to what someone else has already posted about.  No, I do not think it is okay to do a copy and paste and change a few of the words around.  No, I do not think it is okay to steal photos from another blogger.  But I do think it is okay to try something they tried, and post about your experience.  Yes, you should try to put a twist on it, but sometimes projects are so simple this might be hard.  I also think it is a good idea to link back to the original poster and give them the well deserved credit for being original.

The main reason why I think this is okay and should be widely accepted, is because we might have different readers who we've developed relationships and trust with that the original poster might not have.  Plus, a lot of times, these original posts are by well-known bloggers, who not everyone might connect with because they are on a different level of popularity and their writing reflects it.

My thought process coming to these thoughts evolved around a comment that asked me to do some photography tutorials.  My first thought was, why, there are already so many out there.  But then my second thought was, wow I have a friend.  A friend that wants to hear and see my adventures with photography.  I know I have friends; I do have a blog with a readership.  But it just really meant a lot to me reading this comment: my favorite type of feedback.

When I started blogging, like the rest of y'all, I didn't have any readers.  I was my first reader, then it was my family and friends, and now you.  Of course, I write for myself each time I sit down, but in all honestly I also write for you.

Long story short, I want to start writing photography tutorials.  My camera should be here Friday!  I have plans to shoot an around town guest-post, for the lovely, Katrina, of Simply Us this weekend.  But the first technical photography post I want to do, is comparing my old and new camera, but I'm pretty stumped on what my second technical post will be about.  Any thoughts?

I am really wanting to start a new weekly link up party and series.  You would be asked to show us your favorite bokeh photography, that you took, of the week.  We might have a different theme each week, but maybe not right away.  I love the word bokeh, and I am actually obsessed with the term now.  Bokeh is "the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image. Bokeh has been defined as 'the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light'. .. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field."  

We could start this link up Tuesday, and it would run through Sunday evening/midnight.  This would give everyone plenty of time to take their photograph(s), link up, and converse with the other participants.  Then each following week, I will feature my favorite previous bokeh photographs.  Now if you don't have the equipment or you have trouble getting a photograph that demonstrates "bokeh", we would still love to have you link up!

Thoughts?

Love y'all,

<3xojo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I shall be contacting the winners for addresses this week!  Congratulations, and thank you for everyone that entered!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

So last night we ordered my new camera, and I am beyond excited!  We made the leap and got the camera I have been dreaming about.  It is the Pentax K-5..

I will be heading out of town Monday, so we are having this little puppy delivered to the grandparents.  I'm not sure if I've talked about this before, but annually we participate in a garage sale with some friends of the grandparents, so that is why I am hop, skipping and jumping to East Texas for another week.

I have the leftovers from our last garage sale still hanging out in the garage, taking up a whole car worth of space, ready for the trip, along with my Vintagemade inventory.  Hopefully we'll have a good run this year.

Last year I didn't sell too much, but it was a lot of fun.  Little baby Scarlett hung out outside with us, we ate some delicious food and this year we have our own fancy tent!  I have big plans to make and sell hand-squeezed blueberry lemonade along with my fresh blackberry lemonade cupcakes!  The whole weekend shall be a lot of work, but tons of fun!  I love meeting new people!

But anyways, isn't that camera a beauty?  I still want to purchase a 50mm prime lens for it, but there isn't an inexpensive option, like what is available for the Nikon or Canon.  The only option is about $350, so that purchase will be on the backburner until June, or if the garage sale goes well, this upcoming weekend!  Wish me luck!

I have never handled or even seen this camera in person, but after we did enough research to induce a headache, this camera sounds and looks perfect!  It is everything I thought I would get this time around, and more.  I am currently shooting with a Nikon D3000, and I have been ready for an upgrade for quite some time.  I am hoping to move more into the professional photography direction.

Fingers crossed it is as perfect as I imagine!  Let me know if you've ever shot with the Pentax K-5, and what you thought of it!?

Love y'all,

<3xojo

P.S. Thank you Allwen for working so hard to provide for our family.  Scarlett and I am so proud of you.  You're amazing, and our little life is beyond perfect.  Through the ups and downs, I'm yours. Xo.

Isn't she just too cute? This is her "Mardi Gras" dress GiGi and Paw Paw got her for her birthday!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

I, by no means, know everything there is to know about blogging, and I am a intrigued sponge wanting, learning and needing to learn more.  I feel there is so much power behind knowledge, so any chance I can soak some up, I am ready.  

So, when Dana from The Wonder Forest announced the upcoming launch of her new e-book, Blog Wonderful, I pre-ordered it right away!

I have my phone set to alert me when I have a new e-mail.  Luckily, Scarlett was asleep when I got the announcement e-mail for Blog Wonderful!  I devoured that e-book as fast as I could, and I couldn't wait to share my thoughts with y'all.

I don't want to accidentally over share what I learned and re-learned from Dana, so instead I decided to send her some questions and guess what.. She answered them!  What a super awesome lovely lady!

So without further ado, here is the little interview / Q&A ..

Q What do you think your e-book offers that maybe other don't?

A I think that maybe my eBook treads on some of the more technical aspects of owning a blog, that others might not know.  I tried to include the basics of certain things that I deal with every day in my profession as a web designer/developer. Things such as how Adsense really works, search engine info, and some designing and formatting tips.  I really wanted to explain how these little things help a growing blog. 

Q If you could only give a blogger one piece of advice, what would it be? 

A Well first and foremost to be yourself, but if that’s not obvious already, I’d say to make sure your blog reflects who you are in the overall look of it as well as the content. It’s so important and gets overlooked so often!

Q It is quite evident through your blog and e-book that you are quite confident.  What advice do you offer on the subject? 

A I actually think that having a blog has made me more confident to be honest. I grew up a bit on the shy side, never really voicing my opinions in public. Throughout the years, I became more and more comfortable with expressing my views and really changing as a person. Blogging has helped me realize that there are other people out there who do care what I have to say and I think it’s amazing that something like the internet can give you a confidence boost, especially when you need it most. That’s not to say everyone should be conceited and grow a huge ego, it’s just about being yourself and having no shame in that.  The advice I’d give is to just go for it. Let yourself shine and show the world what YOU can do. There is nothing wrong with that if you’re being true to yourself!

Q What do you see for yourself and blog in the future?

A I just hope to continue growing and sharing creativity. Hopefully I’ll have this blog for a long time, and I think it would be fun to look back on it 5 years from now to see how far I’ve come.  Besides that, I’d like to expand my design business somehow. Who knows though, I’m a girl with a million ideas so I’m sure no matter what I do I’ll be happy doing it!

And a couple fun off topic questions..

Q What camera lenses do you use?

A I mainly just use a 50mm lens on my old Canon Rebel. It’s a trusty lens, and cheap (only around $150!).  I use a wide angle lens sometimes as well. I have no idea what kind it is though!

Q What types of posts do you personally enjoy reading and why?

A Hmm I suppose it depends what kind of mood I’m in. I don’t like super long posts that have no pictures. I get bored with them. I like any type of post that has great photos, really. If I’m feeling crafty, I like to read DIY posts. I don’t tend to read posts about babies, kids, etc. often because I just simply can’t relate (yet at least).  Maybe this should have been ‘what posts do you not enjoy reading’? hahaha.

Well, I hope you enjoyed getting to know Dana a little bit better, and you should really check out her blog and e-book!  Dana also co-owns the cutest shop ever called, fawn & flora with Heather of Just Love.ly.

Love y'all,

<3xojo

I am pretty sure this was my best visit there so far..

This unfinished vintage quilt is by far my most favorite find of the day.  Most of the fabrics appear to be from the 70s, my favorite period for music and especially fabric patterns!

I found another great blanket at Goodwill this day as well.  It is a white blanket with a pretty design and fits a queen bed.  Which is a great score for us, because we needed something in our guest bedroom with a comfortable weight.

I really love the texture of this blanket.  Oh, and we had to soak and wash this pretty well.  Luckily all the stains came out!

I love the fringed edge!

I am really into gold accents for my bedroom right now, so these really caught my eye.  My first thought was to cover them in fabric, but I think I'll just keep them as is!

This white lacey fabric is gorgeous.  I might use it to wrap a metal lamp shad frame that I spray painted gold the other day!

I am trying to collect these vintage reading books for Scarlett.  I think I have four so far!  I remember reading them as a child.  I think they are from the 80s.

These WeeSing toddler sing-a-long cassette taps really got me excited.  They are vintage brand new in the wrapping.  Luckily I did not have to pay 19.99 for these, but 1.99 instead!  Now I just need to find a cassette tape for little Letti!

Now this one is kind of a cheat.  It isn't vintage at all, but doesn't the top fabric scream so?  I found these lovely floral treasures for only $1.50 a yard, except for the top fabric.  That one was $3.00 a yard, and well worth it.  I only wish they had more than 2.66 yards!

Well there you have it, my lovely finds from Goodwill the other day.  The next day I went to a flea market, and found a vintage circus clown puzzle, in the package, from the 70s, for Scarlett and some vintage buttons for crafting!  But I'll save those photos for another day!  I think I might start collecting vintage puzzles for baby.  I have two so far!

I can't wait to link-up and see all your finds!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

[linking up with lovely things thursday and thrift score thursday and loves on thursdays and high on thrifting thursday.]

I am pretty much in love with everything Dana pins.  I think it is important to follow pinners who you have some things in common with!

2. Whitney Baugh from It's Gravy, Baby!

Whitney pins a lot of preschool crafts and learning projects.  Any type of education for toddlers really interests me!

3. Heather Bullard from Heather Bullard lifestyle blog

Heather has a lot of great pin boards.  One of my favorites is her Wood Love board.  I am also in love with her home and style.

4. Murr Johnson of Our Little Clann

If you love vintage, you'll love following Murr.  One of my favorite board of hers, is this nursery rooms board.

5. Renee B. of Oh Renee Design

Renee has some pretty awesome boards, but I really really love her //my style board.  The colors in her pins are right up my summer ally!

6. Mandy of Harpers Happenings

She "likes pho".  Need I say more? Lol.  But in all seriousness, if I had to pick a favorite board, I would probably pick, colors//patterns.

7. Erin and Stefanie with Oh So Lovelies from Oh So Lovely Vintage

One of the boards I have been really digging this week is their Dreamy Hair board.

8. Casey Wiegand of The Wiegands

I really love her For the Home board.  The artwork she has pinned to it gives me so much inspiration for a piece I want to create for the huge wall behind our couch!

9. Erin Dollar of I Made You A Beard

She doesn't just pin beards, but her Beardy board is pretty epic!

10. Me ? Lol.

Well I hope you enjoyed this 10.  Did I leave anyone out?  Feel free to leave your Pinterest link in the comments! And let me know if you still need an invite!

Love y'all,

<3xojo

One of my favorite places to find clothes for Scarlett is The Gap, but I'm not a huge fan of buying it at retail prices, so yesterday after lunch, Scarlett and I were walking around and passed a Gap store.  I really did just that, I passed it, but after a second thought, I turned around and headed in.  I went straight back to the sale rack.  It is pretty common to find same season clothes on sale there.  

This shirt is probably my favorite.  I can't believe I found it half price.  I actually found this while following Scarlett around the store.  There were so many left, that it was still in the front of the store.  I probably would have gotten it no matter what, because it was 30% off anything regular priced through-out the store yesterday.

This is a size four t-shirt, which will probably fit her next year.  It reminds me of the movie Up.  Balloons on a toddler are just too cute.

I really wish they had this shirt in a bigger size, so it will fit during the winter, but I thought I could either push up the sleeves or just hem them.

These shorts are absolutely adorable and perfect for spring and summer.  I love how lilac matches so much in Scarlett's wardrobe.

I picked out a a handful of pieces, and spent about $32, but saved somewhere around $45 by shopping the sale section of the store.  They had a lot of t-shirts for $2.97 and $4.99.  I wanted to stock pile toddler sizes 3 and 4, but they only had one.  Sad face.

Well, we are off to the park!

Love y'all,

<3xojo