Sunday Scavenger Hunt [05-01-2011]

It's been a busy week but I still managed to have my camera by my side since after 5 long weeks, my new lens finally arrived in the mail! I ordered the Canon 24-105 f/4 L lens and have been patiently waiting for it to ship and it arrived on Thursday. I have felt like a kid in a candy store ever since and I think it's going to be my new BFF. I am going on a photo safari all day Sunday with a camera club I belong to but most importantly my friend Brooke from My [Boys]terous Life will be my sidekick. We will be seeing the City of Chicago through our camera lens all day and we are both uber-excited. We start out at the zoo and will hit many of the fun sites throughout the day. It will be nice to be with so many photographers and I won't be shy about asking questions, I have a long way to go but I'm an eager learner. Can you imagine a full day of shooting with no one saying "hurry up" or sighing because you are taking pictures of things that others think are not good photo subjects?! It's going to be a fun day and I hope the 20% rain stays at bay. Cross your fingers for a successful photo shoot kind of day. I'm sure I'll post a few shots from the day during our next Scavenger Hunt with Ashley. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself, below are the Sunday Scavenger Hunt items from this week.

Architecture

This is a shot from the bottom of a 5 story spiral staircase at work. I work in an all glass building that has some beautiful architecture and it's a beautiful place to take pictures in my spare time - lol.....

 Rimmed with Light

I had my first newborn photo shoot on Friday with my friend's 9 day old newborn. I was unfamiliar with the concept "rimmed with light" until I read Kat's blog which was very helpful. I love the side lighting here.

Toes or Feet

You probably guessed it, what's sweeter than a newborns feet?!?! I took many shots of her feet and had a hard time choosing one since chubby baby feet are just the cutest. 

This is my favorite

shot from my newborn session on Friday.

I just love the lighting and how peaceful she looks in this picture.

She did a great job posing with her hands for this shot too.

Shades

or blinds. Not so creative but I ran out of shooting time thanks for the thunderstorm coming our way.

Even though they are simply blinds I love the lines and how interesting something so simple looks.

Linking Up:

Cupcakes and Pink Cheeks

Pink

bunny ears,

whiskers,

jelly beans,

sprinkles,

and peeps.

 Move over Martha......I was a cupcake baking and decorating machine this past weekend.

It was my first attempt so please be nice but I think they turned out decent considering I'm a cupcake virgin.

Sweet Baby PINK Cheeks 

What is a sweeter shade of PINK than a newborn born 2 weeks early just in time for Easter.

Meet Kamryn or Kami who is the daughter of good friends of ours.

 Peacefully sleeping

 and now making her first Easter appearance 1 year earlier than expected.

She was born 2 weeks early and was a whooping 8 lbs.

Imagine if her mother went full term?!?!

 and now she is getting ready to leave the Easter festivities.

Not happy at all, I guess she doesn't want to leave the party after all.

She made that clear when she started crying.

I have my first newborn session with Kami and her Mom on Friday afternoon. Very excited but nervous. Cross your fingers and send me positive photography vibes that all goes well. I have some fun ideas planned and as long as the baby has a full tummy and sleeps soundly we should be good to go. Also great lighting is probably what I am most nervous about.

Linking Up:

hoppy easter

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {04-24-2011}

Happy Easter! I am so happy to find some much needed time this week to snap a few pictures as a part of Ashley's Scavenger Hunt Sunday. I've missed a few challenges recently and boy have I missed them! I am STILL waiting for my news to arrive after I ordered it 5 weeks ago so unfortunately I am limited to 1 prime lens and my telephoto.....I really miss having a lens with a better range. My lens is shipping from Japan so needless to say shipping is slow getting out of the country. When it arrives don't worry, you'll hear me yelling from the rooftop!

Reflections

of me while sitting at a stoplight with my husband. At least the sun is shining - finally!

Not a very exciting pictures but at least I am participating this week, right?!?!

Guess what this is.

Still can't guess what it is? It's my new secret weapon for wrinkle free skin! It's my much loved Rodan + Fields night serum that I put on each night before my age fighting night cream. My friend Brooke over at My Boysterous Life blogged about her love of the Rodan + Fields products and as a dear friend of mine I knew it had to be good if she liked it that much. So good that she talked her twin sister Beth into becoming a consultant! Interested in learning more check out Beth's website.

Also look at Brooke's results from using their acne system - unbelievable!

What's inside

my cupcake carrier today? I made some Easter cupcakes for Easter and I was surprised by how fun they were to make today. I may now be baking and decorating cupcakes every weekend.

I decided to make some Easter bunnies and then one's with green grass, Easter eggs, and peeps too.

The Easter bunnies turned out better than I thought. 

Playtime!

My big child loves to play video games and it happens more frequently than I would like.

While I was decorating cupcakes, here's what my husband was doing.

Playing Xbox......notice the headset?! That's so he can play online with his other adult friends.

Who knew video games were so popular for adults!

Lawn & Garden

This called for a visit to the "lawn & garden" section of the Home Depot!

But the second picture of the UGLIEST toad I've ever seen was found on my lawn in the backyard today.

I was in the yard doing work and let's just say I thought my dogs left something behind for me until I realized it was alive! Yes, I screamed and ran but then grabbed the camera.

Linking Up:

Happy 7th Birthday Tanner!

Today our baby Tanner is 7 years old! I remember getting him when he was 9 weeks old and only 2 1/2 pounds. Now 7 years later he is about 11 1/2 pounds and absolutely spoiled rotten. He was the only dog in our house until 4 months ago when we rescued Stella from a puppy mill. He is still adjusting but we love him even when he is a "grumpy old man" towards her at time. After an afternoon stroll this afternoon we decided to snap a few pictures of Tanner on his 7th birthday.

 Posing in front of his birthday cake - which still looks brand new after celebrating 7 birthdays!

 Look at those eyes, he is hoping that I will put the camera down for a few minutes.

 If there is a treat around, Tanner can sit or lay down and plead with those adorable eyes for hours!

Last but not least, me and the Tan Man.

I love you Bubs!!!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [4*10*2011]

We finally had some Spring weather on Saturday and we spent quite a bit of time outside when I wasn't inside doing my spring cleaning. The kids next door kept coming over to play and we hid Easter eggs, played on the swing set, and climbed trees. I took pictures while playing with them for this week's Scavenger Hunt.

1 - Motion

Kids are always in motion and diving onto the swings head first to pretend to be some super hero.

 2 - Waiting to Click

Getting a genuine smile from a child is trickier than you think since they love to give those fake smiles.

I captured this shot right after Liam won the pot of money after playing Left, Right, Center.

 3 - In Fashion

It's Spring and isn't "Easter" attire in fashion? Bunny ears and all.

It is in fashion if you are a 4 year old little girl.

 4 - Animal's Perspective

When I am taking pictures of Tanner & Stella I usually end of getting down on the ground so I'm at their level. Can you imagine eating so close to the floor? You can see Tanner at chow time, I have raised bowls for him because that's what I would want if I was a dog.

5 - Many

During our Easter egg hunt today, there were many, many, many eggs to hide. They love counting them to ensure we found all of them and didn't leave any behind.

Linking Up:

You've Been Egged!

This past weekend I decided to egg my neighbors house and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Yes, you heard me right, I egged my neighbors house.....Ok...... You know I did enough of that as a teenager I'm too nice to do that but rather I got this really cute idea from the eighteen 25 blog and decided that I couldn't wait until Easter to do this to the twins next door. All you do is get a couple dozen plastic eggs and fill them with candy, coins, toys and sweet little notes about what you like about them. You hide the eggs in their yard, hang the "you've been egged" sign on their front door, ring the doorbell, and run like heck so they don't see you. I timed it in the afternoon after their afternoon nap and then hid in my yard with my camera to catch all of the fun! I can't tell you how excited they were - they absolutely loved it and they are still trying to "investigate" and solve the mystery. I was surpised by how much they got into the "investigation" part of this and I decided to leave clues behind in their mailbox for the following 7 days. They have no idea it was me and that's half the fun since it's too early for the Easter bunny.

I thought egging my neighbors was the perfect chance to capture FUN for Beth's You Capture challenge this week. So what do you think....wanna egg your neighbors? If so download the template at eighteen 25.

Let the Cute Begin

My friend Megan and her husband Ryan will be having their first baby in May and I can't wait until the little princess arrives. Megan and Ryan are going to make wonderful parents and I'm looking forward to taking lots of pictures of the little one when she arrives. It'll be fun to take pictures of a newborn and try out some new poses and techniques that I have up my sleeve.

In preparation for the baby's arrival I recently attended Megan's baby shower and it was a wonderful afternoon full of adorable baby clothes, toys, and of course necessities. Everyone was asked to bring a child's book in lieu of a card but anyone who knows me knows that I can't NOT make a card. Here's the "let the CUTE begin" onesie card that I made for her.

The princess will be very lucky and I can't wait to meet her.