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This morning has been super productive already...
a trip to the library to return books, a trip to the grocery store where I bought these pears and everything for dinner tonight...the best tacos ever made by my husband...as well as my photo of the day shot, edited, and posted....all before 9am!

Busy Bee

This week I've been focusing a lot on my etsy shop by updating existing features such as Facebook and Twitter, and implementing new features such as a monthly newletter...the first issue of which is due out April 1st! { no foolin'! } You can sign up for that HERE.

I've been reading lots of small business articles and listening to tons of marketing seminars. I highly recommend Etsypreneur and Handmadeology. These two sites have really helped me focus on the business side of my shop without feeling overwhelmed or lost! I recently created a year-long promo plan and now need to decide how I'm going to market it all.

I'm thinking of buying ad space on one of the more premium blogs.
{ you know, the ones that cost beau-coup bucks per month! }

Have any of you done this and if so, what were your results?
I'm looking to advertise on home decor and maternity { read: nursery decor } types of blogs, so if you know any really good ones please shout 'em on out!

I'll likely also sponsor a handful of giveaways throughout the year and will share those via social networks and the newsletter.

Over the past two weeks I've also been adding a lot of new prints to the shop. Ever since starting up with the photo-a-day project I'm finding myself much more motivated to go out and shoot...even with the kids in tow! 

...I'm completely and utterly drawn to azaleas, by the way...

Here are a few of the images that haven't made it on the blog yet...in fact only a few have made it to the shop { the rest will be there soon! }:

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Seth had a business dinner last night and brought me home the most decedent dessert I've had for a very long time. I WISH I could somehow share this amazing dessert with all of you...that somehow if you licked your screen you'd taste the yumminess, too.
{Kristal...I'm looking right at you!}

It's a hollow chocolate brick that is literally the size of a brick, filled with thick and fluffy whipped cream, plump blueberries, sweet strawberries, and slightly tart blackberries as well as squares of moist champagne cake. And, as if that wasn't enough, it came with a side of slightly bitter-sweet chocolate mousse.

...as you can see, this is the stuff dreams are made of...

....mmmmmm....

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Scavenger Hunt

While there are many wonderful photo challenges out there my favorite by far is Ashley's Scavenger Hunt Sundays!
It's so much fun/challenging to have multiple prompts and to see how everyone interpreted them.
...here are mine for this week...


{ love. }
...in chevron...



{ duplicated. }
...keys...
Click here to read the story behind this shot.



{ trending. }
...spring...



{ paper. }
...handmade rosette topiary...
Available here.



{ plastic. }
...hotel coffee...

The Softer Side of Vegas

How many of you expected me to come back from Vegas with shots filled with neon and slot machines?
And how many of you expected me to come back with exactly what you're seeing?

I definitely went the other direction with my camera and from my perspective I captured the softer side of Vegas. We stayed on the strip the entire time and surprisingly it's not all gambling, cigarettes, and sin....it's mostly those things, but not all.




This bright pink gate was in the conservatory/wildlife area of the Flamingo.




The Bellagio had the best non-Vegas features, such as this carousel.
And the art installations....oh my...gorgeous stuff! I'll share shots of those soon.




There was also a newer store on the strip called the Sugar Factory.
It was a mix of super pricey candy, sassy tee shirts, I think they might have even had a makeup counter?, and an attached restaurant.
{I could easily see a playboy bunny shopping there}

A Wordless Tuesday

{PS. Don't forget to visit Nancy at A Rural Journal & Jeska at Living Our Love Song for a chance to win a $30 shop credit to my Etsy store!}

 

Scavenger Hunt - Last Trip to Deanna Rose

Thursday we finally had a break from the all too familiar heat advisory!!

At high of 85...it was glorious!
So on a whim the kids and I headed out to the farmstead.
With vacations and school coming up quick, it may very well be our last trip of the season.

1. Two
Two pretty white gladiolas. We had a light rain in the morning and some of the drops were still hanging around.

2. Whatever
In the same garden as the gladiolas were some veggies.
Here's a beautiful red cabbage:

3. Sweet
This kid was hilarious and full of spunk! He would run back and forth to whomever he thought had more food in hand. And then he'd stick his tiny cute head right through the fence.
...just look at that smile...

4. Space
This is where the sheep live.
They were huddled under a tree, obviously not utilizing their large amount of space.
{or maybe they had already used it....ahem.}

5. Bright
Here's another shot from the garden. There were tons of these Black Eyed Susans.
{and this shot is sooc!}

{PS - Want to win a $30 credit to my Etsy shop? Visit Nancy at A Rural Journal! Want another chance to win a $30 credit? Visit Jeska at Living Our Love Song!}

Cherries Jubilee

Before:



After:



  





For this edit I ran Nelly Nero's Blush action.
{I'm pretty sure}
As well as boosted the fill light and saturation.
Then I cropped slightly to get rid of the bare floor in the upper right corner.

Raspberries

This week has been mildly hectic.
The kids started swimming lessons 4 days a week, a bout of the flu swept through our house and potty training is still in full swing. That's a whole lotta bodily fluids finding their way to our carpets and furniture, which is why I spent the better part of yesterday steam cleaning everything.

The shots I had for today just didn't make the cut and I had neither the time nor energy to redo them, so I'm scrapping those and sharing some shots I took yesterday of delicious red raspberries.








These shots look exactly how I envisioned them when I was picking out my berries at the store!
It has been quite some time since the vision in my mind and the final image on my computer matched.
And boy, does it feel nice!









If you Like me on Facebook, you've likely seen these shots along with a few alternative edits.
And if you follow me on Twitter, then you've likely heard about them. ;)

I hope they are worth all the hype.

Jelly Beans

Short and sweet.
:)

Scavenger Hunt - Things Around the House

1. HOT HOT HOT
A charred jalapeno on the grill...yeah, I'd call that hot!



2. Finding Form
This was a tough one for me. I knew I wanted my image to be in black and white, as I thought color would be too distracting from the actual form of the object. I took a lot of photos of various things before deciding on this lamp.



3. Front Page of the News
There's not much to explain about this shot.
I ran PW's Seventies action and also layered with Kim Klassen's 'Coffee Tea or Me' texture.






4. Chore
I am not a fan of cleaning in general.
I love how things look after the icky work is done, but I certainly do not enjoy the process.



5. Beads
This necklace was my Great Grandma's. I consider myself very fortunate to have met three of my great grandmas and to have fond memories of each. But what I'm finding even more wonderful is that my children are able to enjoy the memories of these wonderful women, too!






And of course, this whole post is linked up with Ashley!