♥ je mappelles christa♥

Polarize Spring + Art Gallery Night

2010-03-10T12:26:00.004-06:00

polaroid of tulips taken by me. it has been a beautiful 3 days so far even including the rain we had. it was that sort of wonderful spring rain that you must have to bring in the season before us. we did a little picnic outside this afternoon near the lake where we are having our wedding.

brandon and i are hosting an art gallery night for local artisits to participate in and for friends, neighbors, and family of our community to show our appreciation for the arts. if you are a local houston town artist please submit photos of your works and a brief discription to us at christa{at}sherrardphotography.com

the exhibit will be held July 23rd 2010 and all submissions must be turned in May 1st.

old home and new look!

2010-03-09T15:56:00.008-06:00

self portrait photo by me at a wedding this past weekend.

The wedding held at a relative's home off the medical center somewhere was really gorgeous. The groom had just been offered a job with the Attorney General in Guam and they were moving the next week. They put their wedding together in 2 weeks flat! the home was of the colonial sort and had so much history. I loved talking to the owners who told me of their search of more history to the home as themselves knew very little of it.

I just love old homes and intimate small weddings.

p.s. Yipee for my new blog look!

enter the giveaway for the mother of pearl and stone strand!

sweet weekend!

2010-03-08T15:40:00.004-06:00

photos of winter taken by me.

Was your weekend as sweet as ours?

Brandon and I did quite of few sessions over the weekend and even a wedding! a mist it all,were able to take some time for ourselves and catch the Alice in Wonderland movie. it was good!

don't forget to enter in the Je m'appelles Christa Giveaway!

dreamer: leave

2010-03-05T22:49:00.006-06:00

photo by me.

i got my first roll of film developed from my Diana F+ Dreamer that Brandon bought me! still learning about the camera and this was one of the only two photos that came out. as you can see, we need a new front door mat. the flowers were left at my door as a gift from my visiting teachers, friends from church, for me along with their birthday wishes.

yes, really...a new mat is needed.

don't forget to enter in the Je m'appelles Christa Giveaway!

p.s. new blog coming soon!

Je m'appelles Christa Giveaway!

2010-03-04T21:34:00.010-06:00

photo taken by me.

this giveaway is from Everyday Occasion jewelry!

Everyday Occasion is giving one lucky winner this gorgeous strand with it's lovely mother of pearls and vibrant stones! i love my necklace with the pearl flower clip!

all jewelry features the highest quality freshwater pearls great for everyday wear or special occasions.

Everyday Occasion offers in-home freshwater pearl jewelry parties where Houston women can shop with friends all while giving back to the charity of their choice!

to enter:

1)visit Everyday Occasion

2) comment with your favorite piece

3) become a follower

4) twitter about this giveaway
5) facebook status this giveaway

6)blog post about this giveaway

leave a comment each time you've done each to raise your chance of winning!

bon chance!
comment below before friday, march 12th!

a lesson in pop

2010-03-03T20:57:00.008-06:00

photo by me. everyone knows how much i love, love, love popcorn!

{nikon d300 manual: 1/4 sec at f/5. ISO 320. lightroom: direct positive}

planning for this carnival wedding has been so fun! popcorn boxes for my wedding that i bought from target and carnival stripe material from ikea. the material i'll use for a backdrop that my guests can use to get that feel of theme!

i have been trying to start exercising my talents and shoot more tabletop/product photography.

i think i'm getting better, how do you think i did?

p.s. i hope to soon have a new look for my blog.

...so please excuse the mess.

little by little

2010-03-02T16:29:00.009-06:00

photo taken by courtney w. in schulenburg, texas.

i was driving this morning to the earliest shoot i've ever been to, but before i left Brandon suggested since i am struggling with personal prayer that i should sing a hymn. i thought he was a bit silly for suggesting it, but i think he's guiding me to start "little by little". i made it out of our little neighborhood and i hummed softly to myself...then i mumbled the words

...then suddenly i begun to full on singing count your blessings!

thoughts of the dear things that the Lord has blessed me with rushed to mind: i am grateful for my darling children. i am happy and thankful that i have found a nuturing relationship with a man who knows love and shows it. i am grateful for the Lord giving me and my children health. i thank Him for never letting us go hungry and without money to pay my bills. i thank him for giving me talent so that i can take care of my family. i am thankful for the trials that have been given me so that i may progress in knowledge and strength.

i hope to reconcile with the Lord soon. i miss what we had.

...

congrats to Kathy who won the Seamstress of Avalon Giveaway!

p.s. sorry for the messy blog. it's under construction. hope to have a pretty blog within the next week! xoxo

just dance!

2010-03-01T20:19:00.008-06:00

photo taken by me. i loved the pink lights and motion.

tonight me and the kids went to watch Brandon's little sister, Megan, perform. she has been taking a dance class in school. i especially loved the dance tribute to Micheal Jackson!

i'm inspired to break out my ole' dance shoes and sign up for a class. i miss dance! Winter especially loved the show!

last night to enter in the Je m'appelles Christa giveaway for the darling headpiece by Seamstress of Avalon!

i heart u.

2010-02-26T14:15:00.002-06:00

photo of waffle by me

brandon made me waffles this morning!

sweet sweet man. i love him so dearly.

don't forget to enter in the giveaway!

good luck to you.

happy weekend!

xoxo

Je m'appelles Christa Giveaway!

2010-02-25T12:40:00.006-06:00

This week's giveaway is from Seamstress if Avalon!

winner of this giveaway will get this edgy yet darling Rita headpiece!

Ginger creates such ravishing pieces. She made my wedding hair clip piece to match my shoes! Love it!

to enter in the giveaway check out Seamstress of Avalon's shop

and do 1 of the following to enter...raise your chances of winning by commenting each time you've done steps 2-5.

1) leave a fun little comment here
2) follow my blog
3) write a blog post about my giveaway
4) twitter this giveaway
5) facebook post this giveaway

bon chance!
{entries close next monday. winner to be announced tues.}

something blue

2010-02-24T17:01:00.010-06:00

photos by me

the stress of finding the perfect shoes for my wedding day is over. brandon's mom, diane, and i were out shopping and saw these gorgeous teals at the mall. but i was nervous to get anything before my dress arrives. weeks later diane and i were shopping again and i knew if i didn't buy them then, like most things, when i go back to get it later it would be gone. thank you mr. madden for making lovely shoes.

my earrings for the day.

my veil and ring!

my heart is light and flutters when i think of marrying my dearest friend, brandon. thank you diane for my beautiful wedding shoes.

xoxo

How to use a seatbelt

2010-02-23T09:43:00.003-06:00

we really struggle to get Winter into a habit of buckling up her seatbelt on the daily basis. But there was a moment in time yesterday where she actually wanted to show off her skills.

i love this little girl!

yellow lovelies

2010-02-22T13:57:00.005-06:00

i hope your weekend was wonderful. i found this arrangement at Walmart and fell in love with it. i honestly don't know the names of all the flowers...just the daisies and carniations...but i love love love these large and small yellow ones and know they are a must to have in my carnival wedding bouquet! check out my centerpieces i made

can you help me find the names to these fun loving yellow lovelies?

xoxo

not a night of urban regrets.

2010-02-19T22:53:00.014-06:00

{photos by me. nikon d300; 1/250 sec at f/5; on manual; ISO 800. shop: just levels}

brandon and i had to hit up urban outfitters in the galleria on the way home tonight . we saw this distressed white wall in the parking garage of the galleria and knew i'd regret later on not pulling out my camera to snap us that night. so i did...as cars passed us by.

what i bought at my fav store: a jewelry stand shaped like a branch. some black and white lomography film. 'where the wild things are' shadow puppet (winter will love this), a notebook that reads 'i can't keep secrets' on the cover and a photo cube that i can put my own photos in.

look out for some cool giveaways soon. does anyone else have the kesha 'tick tock' song stuck in their heads?
have a happy weekend!

the asian occasion!

2010-02-18T21:50:00.007-06:00

Today is my birthday! I was treated to a wondeful dinner and a gift card to a beauty day spa! I've been dying for a body massage for ages! and it wouldn't hurt to get a mani pedi while i'm at it. love my Rodarte dress from the Target collection? I do...it was on clearance for $9! and suited the asian occasion! hehe. I just made a rhymn!

(i love the Rodarte collection since i heard of it at style rookie)

Dinner was so yum and so fun to watch being cooked right before our eyes! Winter promised to become a chef when she grows up. She loved it! Her eyes were so big watching the big fire...Brighton would cry immediately. My darling baby!

i made mine and winter's hairclip minutes before we walked out the door. we had to go out in something original!

me and the lover boy Thank you Neal Family for a wonderful birthday dinner!

p.s. - i'm twenty four this year.

our carnival engagement

2010-02-17T09:21:00.011-06:00

the photographer's photographer:

photography by paul carrizales

we had the best time taking our engagement pictures last night in kemah!

can't wait for our carnival themed invitations that i made to get here.

we took a ton of other fun photographs! can't wait to get my hands on all of them and print them all for our wedding!

Awfully Good!

2010-02-16T12:23:00.006-06:00

it is a beautiful day outside today! it has been for the last couple of days. and we haven't let any one of those days go wasted.

photo taken by Brandon

winter has gymnastics today. she's awfully good at it! i love watching her do her flips, stretches, and hanging from the bar! she's so talented!

and today i have family portrait shoot of the Sarager Family and then me and brandon will have our very own engagment pictures taken tonight! I'll give you a little preview when i get the photos! I can't wait!

so far today its been a great morning...i just know the rest will be great!

Valentine's Surprise!

2010-02-15T07:55:00.011-06:00

photos taken by me. i love this photo i shot on vday.
Winter and Brandon had a cute little surprise for me for Valentine's day. It was killing Winter the whole day and half they had this mastermind plan at work to NOT tell me.

my true valentine's are:

This is how the adventure began:

Winter had the map

First clue was in the new house Brandon and I built together. Check the mail:

Next clue: I am right on TARGET...

I have a thing for popcorn...target popcorn and not only that...it has to be a tad bit stale...the cafe lady had the next clue!
Go to DSW! There your treasure will be!

in a treasure box, winter laughed alot because she loves treasure, was a gift card to DSW and the best valentine's day cards ever!

THANK YOU Darlings!

p.s. my birthday is in 3 days!

red drummer

2010-02-13T12:14:00.009-06:00

sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan

the sun finally came out to play sowe are going to check out this exhibit at The Menil Collection this weekend!

brandon and i love the contemporary arts! if you are in the Houston area take the time to check this place out!

happy and lovely v-day weekend!

xoxo!

pillow talk...a little v-day

2010-02-12T18:54:00.005-06:00

photo taken by me. this is my sister and her husband, i was their photographer.

i am excited about this valentine's day. i have a present for brandon and a little present for winter.

when i was growing up my dad would always put a box of chocalates in a heart shaped box under our pillows. i always got the more fancier of the boxes. shhh. my sisters wouldn't know they, were so little. but daddy knew i'd love the one with more ribbons. or more sparkles. or the chocalates shaped like a makeup kit.

i'm starting that tradition here with Winter and Brighton.

i love this holiday now.

lovely little fairy cakes

2010-02-10T23:02:00.004-06:00

photographs by me. still working on my food + still photography

today we made these lovely little fairy cakes. it was more the case of the little red hen...in this case i was momma hen. i mixed and stirred and brighton stayed nearby. watching every swift move i made as i gathered the mixture from the sides of the bowl to my spoon. in his effort to be indulged in the actual making of the cupcakes he patiently stood still like brandon's dog does when he's waiting for food to fall to floor. smitten by his cuteness, i let him lick the spoon when i had finished. winter saw that the cakes had finished baking as you could smell the aroma throughout the house and her belly said "it's time to eat cupcakes!"

oh my little dears.

p.s. i bought these shoes today for my wedding attire. i hope they work out!

a day off for us and giveaway winners!

2010-02-09T22:17:00.008-06:00

wedding plans have been in full throttle since we heard back that we have been approved to have our wedding at the park that we want to have it at close to home for us. so today we need a break...just a day break from it all. so we took a day for us.

a couple shots from the day in town. we also window shopped at the galleria.

took winter and brighton to our favorite park in downtown.

it wasn't complete without a wonderful date night with the fiance. we went to see "when in rome". it was a lame movie but it was great to spend that time together.

...

the winner of the je m'appelles giveaway is...

congrats to amy for winning this giveaway!

thanks for all those who entered.

it really meant alot ot me! xoxo

the rat pack and pizza and the great things!

2010-02-06T20:26:00.008-06:00

reading taza's post made me hungry for pizza today. winter insisted on making a great pizza! i'm a lucky mom.

"i want to be a chef, a vet, a pilot, an artist, and build house for people who's houses are broken, like ty pennington." - winter eden

i can tell she is going to be something great someday.

merry songs of the good ole' rat pack filled our kitchen as we attempted to throw our pizza dough sky high. i wish you could hear it...i just wish you, my blogger friends could feel my happiness in those moments i shared something so simple with my daughter.

we sang made up songs about pizza to the italian themed songs i hear on commercials ever so often. we laughed and baby boy just sat and watched us be silly as we cooked. winter had the funniest things to say.

"this music is like 'date music'. a boy takes a girl out for a date. and he takes her to a pizza place!" - winter eden

tonight's little chef eats her masterpiece. it was good! i know brighton would agree!

me: what will your resteraunt be called?

winter: sapa-nozzi's

me: well, it definately sounds italian. (throwing the dough high in the air)

Je m'appelles Christa giveaway!

2010-01-28T22:40:00.013-06:00

lo' in behold! it's my 200th post!

*do a little celebritory jig*

i was thinking of having it all be a surprise box of

my stuff i think are mint...

but i'm never good at keeping surprises anyways

so if you're the lucky one you get:

10 greeting cards embellished with my favorite personal photos

and my kingston headband made my me

and early 1900 vintage camera (for decorative purposes)

all you have to do is do 1 of the following to enter...raise your chances of winning by commenting each time you've done steps 2-5.

1) leave a fun comment here

2) follow my blog

3) write a blog post about my giveaway

4) twitter this giveaway

5) facebook post this giveaway

bon chance!

{entries close next tuesday. winner to be announced wed.}

it's pink.

2010-01-28T16:20:00.006-06:00

a couple of weeks ago brandon's mom and sister surprised winter with a decorated room to call her own! I had painted the wall weeks prior but hadn't had the time personalize it for her. i am so grateful that they could do this for her. it meant so much to her and made her new house feel like home to her. winter loves keeping it neat and clean now that she has some furniture.

winter also put up glow in the dark stars and moons on the opposite wall (not shown) above her dresser. she loves her room...where she doesn't have to share with Brighton...though she loves him dearly also.

winter and brighton.

winter is wearing her mardi gras mask we got on our trip.

thank you diane and megan!