shetoldstories

Haven:

At my office, we've created a little haven where the birds can gather....

It's a sweet comfort to hear the little guys pecking on the seeds all day.

Because "all business", 6 hours a day, bores me to tears.

Felicity:

Funny thing about my daughter finishing up at elementary school this year: there is a ton of running around & prepping for yearbook and graduation. Projects are due, art portfolio deadlines, etc. It's only 5th grade yet it feels like she's finishing up at high school. Girl is keepin' me busy with 'mommy i need to get this' and 'ma, i need 9x12, not 8x10 paper !!!' requests. She is all business right now about her projects, which I love but, wow she's got me on alert - having me type all these deadlines into my phone for safe measure. 

Today, the three of us are driving into the city to renew my girl's passport. I know.. book a vacation online before checking if our travel documents are in order <-- so like me! I hope it's a quick, in & out appointment so we can have lunch and do a little shopping before driving home. Should be a fun day. My big camera is coming with us ;)

In the meantime, check out my interview over at Vivienne's You Are Your Own Muse site here & this fabulous interview I did with one of my favorite flickr friends Liberatad Leal, here.

Today's texture is by Kim Klassen ~Felicity (I love this one!)~ set to soft light, 100% opacity.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

a heart in my coffee:

Happy Valentine's Day!!

It's Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen's blog and this week the theme revolves around Happiness. These days, I'm a happy little camper, letting go of the everyday stresses and embracing calmness & peace.

My family most certainly brings me so much joy, but it's those stolen moments in the afternoon with my cup of coffee when I get to recharge that are pretty much holding my day together.  Another bonus dose of happy: we're going on vacation to the Bahamas in 2 weeks.  EEeek !! I can't wait to be sippin' a cocktail on the soft sand next to the aqua blue water.  <-- That makes me super happy.

And it was a big surprise to see the little heart floating right there at the rim of the cup.

I edited the photo using Rad Lab, then applied Kim's "Wet Tile" texture @ Soft Light, 100% opacity. 

Wishing you all a happy day.

a ribbon at a time:

simplicity:

Simplicity. For Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.

the pages of my story:

This I know for sure.

 

Texture: Ben's Collection #2 (my fave!) Head over to Kim Klassen's blog to see more beautiful texture submissions. There's a giveaway this week!

Photo of me by: Jen Lee.

around the block:

Totally excited that the 1st of 4 arrived in today's mail:

I'll be unplugging for the weekend because a lovely Kitty Kat arrives tomorrow. Hopefully I will convince her to stay for 2 days instead of 1. We'll be frolicking around NYC & wherever else the breeze decides to take us.

Happy Weekend, peeps!

this week, so far:

The 5th & final dinner party of the holiday season.

A simple breakfast shared with my mister.

The very long walks I'm indulging in.

A lunch & coffee date with a dear friend.

The dangers of Self Portraiture

Now they're saying snow. Just a little bit .. but still.

-Until next time.

New Years Day:

After watching this video over at the Kinfolk site, I felt like baking bread. Instead of dutch oven bread, I made two loaves of rustic Italian to go with our New Years Eve meal. I also bought a one year subscription to the magazine. Gorgeous photos of food & gatherings & more food. Definitely my thing.

Dinner. It was so good.

Taken a few minutes into 2012.

Today we stayed in. I had some housework to catch up on & some files to clean out of my laptop. At some point in the afternoon, we were dying to get outside. The weather was as mild as an early October day. Blue skies & sunshine. We lit a fire in our pit while we watched the sun set behind the forest.

Don't I look so sad in this picture? The thing is, I'm sooo not! I was trying to maneuver the camera to catch the sun behind me. That is my frustrated face.

And then it was dinnertime. Soon I'll be off to bed. But here is one last moment of awesome from today. They say ladybugs bring good news into your home. I know they do. They really do.

the softness & the grey of winter

I'm enjoying these last days before the new year. It's quiet. So much more quieter than the days leading up to Christmas. I'm leaning into the softness and the grey of winter, doing nothing more than reading and well, not much else.

Over at my 52 Photos Project site, I asked everyone if they could pick just 1 picture from the last year and share it. This was my selection:

On the dock. Lake George, NY. August 2011

It was a simple moment, yet it captures everything sweet, good, & pure about our family bond.

Christmas was unexpectedly fantastic. My mom and brother came over and stayed for hours. We had a wonderful meal and a lot of together time:

me, mom, & my brother Steve

us, Christmas morning

my sweetheart played for us

& sang us Christmas carols

The entire set of pictures us up on flickr. There are so many!

I think I'll go back to my couch now. But before I leave you I'd love to share an invite to this week's prompt over @ 52 Photos Project:

what will you leave behind in 2011?

what will you welcome more of in 2012?