Wednesday Wisdom | Stay Positive While Climbing That Mountain

Source: ruelala.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I absolutely love this quote. In fact, I actually might make a sign just like this when I finally get my Cameo out of the box. I have been in too many fabulous situations with a crabby person that tries to bring everyone down. So it's a challenge? So what? So we are we walking down a freeway off-ramp in France looking for a hotel that we have absolutely NO idea where it is - so what? We're in France. Doesn't that make it fabulous regardless? (I have been there, done that, if you couldn't tell.)

I dare you to live by this. Life can get hard. I know that, however, we can always find a positive in any situation...even if the only positive you can find is that you can't hear my stellar singing voice while I climb ahead of you.

Happy Wednesday!

XoXo,

The Time I Tried To Be A Family Photag

What I learned? It's a lot harder than it looks. 

I've owned my D7000 for nearly four months and I am confident it's one of the best purchases I could have made. I am starting to get all the fun features figured out...though I have yet to figure out how to do video -- any help?!?...and really having fun with it. I am always amazed on how sharp & crisp the photos are, and you want color? The D7000 delivers.

However, I will be the first admit that I am not a professional. A lot of people think that if you buy a nice camera, you can immediately take great pictures. But it's not that simple. It takes so much time and practice to really get to know your camera, let alone perfect your craft, but I do think the camera is a start and any time I can shoot pictures, I will. It's all about learning.

So when my sister asked me to do an casual family photo shoot for Christmas card photos last fall (I know...just posting about it now!?...you don't have to remind me), I hesitantly agreed.

Don't get me wrong, I was really excited. This would be a great opportunity to practice photographing people (I tend to get a lot of practice on cows, not always people) and all I needed was one good one, right? But there was that nagging voice that kept reminding me how terrible it could go. You know, the whole "I am not a professional" thing kept dragging me down.

Then I reminded myself that Cathy wasn't paying me, so I warned her a few times that it could go terribly wrong, put on my big girl shoes and did it.

Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

All in all -- it turned out pretty well! We ended up with some photos that not only will work, but also managed to capture the personalities of my niece and nephew perfectly. (Aren't they the cutest?) That's definitely the bonus of having your sister be your photographer. We didn't have too many forced smiles, managed to escape with only a half-crabby kid and got to enjoy a beautiful fall day tromping around the woods together. 

I'll mark it down as a success.

Hopefully we can try it again in the spring and hopefully by the time my kiddos role around (in the far, far future), I will be a professional a little more confident.

By the way, a downfall (and a perk) of having a grown-up camera is all the photos you take. In less than an hour, I snapped 546 photos. WHAT?! That, friends, equals a LOT of editing.

And finally, I have no idea what settings I used to take these photos (literally, I had owned my camera for less than a month when I took the pictures), but I did do most of the editing with the help of good old PW's photoshop actions. You can download them here. 

So what do you think? I'm open to friendly critiques. When I took the photos I was so frustrated with the amount of bokah in some of the photos, but luckily Cathy liked it...and unlucky for me, I haven't figured out how to come even close to the same results again. Suggestions? I am also on the lookout for a good photography book to read this winter -- let me know if you have a favorite!

XoXo,

Here's To 2013

As we welcome in 2013 (with friends and remnants of last night's fun littered all over our house), it seems impossible not to log on to the sorely forgotten Cows, Corn & Country Girls and reminisce on a really great, nearly perfect 2012.

We were blessed. 

There are no other words that do 2012 justice.

We are blessed to have each other and our families who drive us to do better and love deeper. We are blessed to have friends that are there to celebrate our greatest accomplishments and build us back up when we need their support. We are lucky to have jobs that remind us that life requires work and dedication, but also provide us with the means to try new things, splurge every once and while and live comfortably. We are blessed to have a happy little home that afforded us the opportunity to explore a new community, find a dive of a bar that we love and enjoy Sunday morning coffee shops and quirky dinner dates. And we were blessed to have a year that allowed us to fall in love with each other and life even more than we thought possible.

{love him}

And I fully expect 2013 to be even better.

Hopefully it will bring a vacation of a lifetime so we can finally check that honeymoon off our to-do list and if we all cross our fingers (are you crossing them?!), maybe by early summer I will be looking out our window at cows on pasture and be spending my nights checking for heat and weeding the garden. (Doesn't that sound amazing!?) Oh and another potential game changer will be a legitimate craft room where I can maybe finish a quilt or two.

2013 will likely bring a lot of cattle shows and road trips to watch our little brothers and family accomplish big things and we will spend a lot of Saturdays celebrating the weddings of our friends. We will hopefully babysit our niece and nephew a little more, have more nights relaxing with our families and find reasons to laugh until we cry. And hopefully, in between the adventures, we finally find our purposes professionally and continue to grow in our careers.

There is no doubt that there will be challenges. I hope and pray that everyone I love and everyone that they love stays safe, happy and healthy, but I know that won't always be the case, so hopefully Mark and I can find trust in God and find peace in even the most heart-breaking moments. 

2012 ended with some unnecessary tragedies. My heart hurt for my friends, family and even complete strangers too many times in December. If nothing else it reminded me to love each and every person in my life to the fullest, to wear my seatbelt and stay focused on the road and cherish the life I have. Every moment is a gift.

Like every year, I hope to read a few more books, make a few new friends, reconnect with old friends, continue blogging and get high-school skinny again. Those resolutions are oldies but goodies and somehow make the list every year. Hopefully I can actually accomplish a few in 2013 (especially the high-school skinny & blogging...). But I also have a few big dreams for the year ahead. Big, scary ones. And I can't wait.

So here's to you, 2013. Let's make it a good one. I plan to love every minute.

XoXo,

Celebrating The Birthday Boy!

My hubby turns 27 today! 

Happy, Happy Birthday to him!

He's my absolutely very favorite & I am lucky to have him! Now off to wrap some presents and spoil him... :)

 

CCC Christmas Wish List | Sweet Auburn Studio Goodies

It's never to early for a Christmas list, right?

Let me start this post with a disclaimer. I really don't NEED anything for Christmas this year. I am blessed in a lot of ways and being a grown up with a really great husband has allowed me the discretionary money to buy something if I need it (or occasionally even if I don't need it, but I convince myself it is a good deal.). I am really pretty lucky. With that said, it's still fun to dream and gather a list of really pretty things I wouldn't mind having, right?

So, with that in mind, I decided I am going to put together a weekly blog post highlighting some fancy little things I think any girl would love, from now until Christmas. Last year I did a Pinterest list, but that got really confusing for my non-Pinterest addicted husband and Mom (I know, how is it possible that anyone is not addicted?), so this year, I am going to share my wishlist on a platform they understand. And, hopefully along the way, you can pick up some new ideas as well!

So without further adieu, I present to you the most beautiful bracelets from Sweet Auburn Studio. What girl wouldn't love one of these?

Source: etsy.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I am having an internal debate on what I would have engraved, but I am set on the coral color. It's just gorgeous. 

Source: etsy.com via Jamie on Pinterest

And even though this might be too simple for some of you, this sweet bracelet would go perfect with my favorite earrings that I ordered off etsy last year. I know big, bold jewelry is in, but at $10, it would make a fabulous stocking stuffer or a simple gift for a friend. Plus, you could also consider ordering more than one. :)

What do you think of the Sweet Auburn goodies? And do you have a favorite (or your own) Etsy store that I should browse? I will be back next Monday with some more pretty little things for your Christmas wish list!

XoXo,

H54F | November 9th

Happy Friday! 

I am definitely looking forward to the weekend. It's going to be full of old-friends, my husband and Christmas crafts. Perfect in my book.

By the way, remember yesterday when I was so excited about making all my Christmas gifts? Then I made a list and got really scared. I have a lot of freaking stuff to do. Say goodbye to lunch breaks and lazy Sundays...

Anyway, every Friday, I like to celebrate the little things that made my week exciting by linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for her High Five For Friday post. And there is a lot to celebrate this week!

1. One Year Anniversary

{You can read all about it here.}

 2. FBO Cheese Cave - Let me introduce you to The Cheese Cave. It's a little slice of heaven hidden in downtown Faribault. We've stopped in a few times before, but our visit last night was the best by far. I love it because the food is delicious, the wine is local, they have our favorite beer, plus the cheese gives France a run for its money even though it's made right down the road in the caves of Faribault. 

{via}

 3. FBO Beer Lovers Unite - Have I ever told you that I really, really like good beer? No mixed drinks or girly cocktails for this girl, I usually stick to beer (preferably dark) or really good red wine. In fact, one of my 101 in 1001 goals is to complete an Old Chicago beer tour. So, when we found out Faribault has an Unsettled Ale Society that gets together once a month to dabble in beer tasting, I almost died and went to heaven. Faribault, you really have been impressing me lately.

4. Weekend - Can I be thankful for something that is yet to come? Regardless of your answer, I am looking forward to this weekend. I have a date with my craft room and a brunch planned with my high school classmates. Plus, if my husband manages to not shoot a deer this weekend, my fears of eating venison can be laid to rest for another 365 days.

5. Crazy Good Gap Day - If you know anything about me, you know I have an obsession with Gap clothing. On any given day, you can find me wearing something Gap. It's partially because I had that ridiculously great discount card (read about that here) for a year, and partially because of days like I had this week when I walk away with impossibly good deals. By the way, Friends & Family event is this weekend -- 40% off your whole purchase. I wonder if I can convince Mark that I need to go again?

What are you thankful for this week? If you are linking up for H54F, share your post in the comments!

Have a great weekend!
 

Ridiculous Thoughts For A Thursday - Christmas, Apples, & Elections

I have a few fun blog posts in the work for next week, but for now, let's keep this simple. 

 Here are the completely random thoughts running through my brain today. Enjoy?!

1. I am listening to Christmas music as I type this. And I am not ashamed one little bit.

2. And speaking of Christmas, I am so excited to start making Christmas gifts. Yup, you read that right, my goal is to make every Christmas gift this year. Totally unrealistic, but still trying...

3. Yesterday, my blood was boiling all day over the ridiculous Facebook & Twitter posts over the election. Where did the days of not talking about politics go? And since when did Facebook become a venue where we should say things we would never actually voice out loud in real life? 

And on the same note, did anyone notice that this ridiculous social media backlash was somewhat generational? I remember when my Mom & Dad would come home from the polls and refuse to tell us who they voted for it because it was a personal decision for them. Clearly, my generation decided their political beliefs were public, and if someone didn't believe the same as them, they should "unfriend them," "unfollow them" or spew hate at them. And maybe it's the PR professional in me, but I would refuse to hire you for any job if you posted such offensive tweets/posts that I could publicly see.

4. On to a more positive discussion, we put our apple peeler/corer (one of our favorite wedding gifts) to good use this week. Two batches of homemade apple sauce in the crockpot and apple crisp -- yum!

And I learned that I should probably stick to being in charge of grocery shopping from here on out. I sent my husband to grab some quick-cooking oats and nutmeg for our Betty Crocker apple crisp recipe. First, he called me in panic looking for the oats - I am nearly positive he was looking for oats like we feed our cattle - and then he came home with Maple Brown Sugar instant oatmeal packages. And he forgot the nutmeg. 

Oh well, we needed a laugh, and it still worked!

5. Last, how long is it acceptable to leave pumpkins on your front step? I am fully intending to leave ours out until Thanksgiving. Too long!? I plan on giving Thanksgiving all the attention it deserves this year so I am refusing to put up Christmas decorations up until November 23rd. However, that does not mean I am not making new Christmas pillows tonight....while listening to Christmas music (if they made Thanksgiving music, I would listen to that, I promise).

And that's enough torture for one day, but feel free to add any and all (as long as they are appropriate and don't spew any more election hate) random thoughts of your own in the comments. See you tomorrow for a High Five For Friday! 

Happy Thursday!