life-ography: phoenix children's museum

This weekend was wonderful. We've been making the most of our time together and I couldn't be happier. On Saturday we took a trip into Phoenix and explored the Children's Museum. I think both of the girls had a lot of fun and I have to admit it, Marc and I did too.


If you are near the Phoenix area and you have kids you need to get to the Children's Museum. It was a blast. If you have more than one kiddo I definitely recommend going with someone else. It's huge! but so much fun. 
I've been working a lot on my photography lately getting ready for a big event I'm going to be doing next year. Working in manual mode, white balance, editing all that good stuff. Outside and in natural light I feel like I'm golden, inside however, ughh... shoot me. My photos turn out underexposed, grainy, and just blah... It's a work in progress but I'm getting better. If you have any tips for indoor photography please leave a comment. I'd be more than happy to hear some good advice!
What did everyone else do this weekend?

finally free.

Yesterday was a very exciting day for us. We finalized the sale of our house in Pittsburgh, PA! Well, when I say “we” I really mean Marc's mom signed the paperwork in Pittsburgh while we are in Phoenix. It’s still very exciting.



We bought the house in August of 2008 and let me tell you home ownership is so not easy! I know you’re thinking “well, duh!” It was a great little starter home though. Marc worked really hard to make is a great place to live. We were able to have some great little fires and cook outs in the backyard. Aurora was able to play in the park right across the street and we got to stretch our legs and grow a little bit.

I can’t say I’m sad to see it go. As I looked back at pictures of the house it feels like we were there so long ago that it’s just a memory. I didn’t really feel attached to it all that much. We’re getting closer as a family and more independent here in AZ and I’m really happy about that. I miss our family and friends for sure but is home is what you make it, not where you make it. Who knows where we will end up next! We’re drifters, it’s so true.

Here’s to the future!

AZ Blogger Meetup Recap!

I've said it once and I'll say it again, this month as totally flown by! All of a sudden one day I realized that the Arizona blogger meetup was right around the corner. I have been excited for this event for months it feels like! What a great event it was too. Chelsea, Danielle, and Kelsey did such a great job. Because this month has been so crazy for us I decided to give myself, and my family, a little break and I only attend some of the daytime activities. I couldn't have been happier!

I showed up late to the event meeting up with the group at the GROWop. Thankfully Chelsea was kind enough to text me and let me know where everyone was. It was a little akward at first, so I just kind of poked around checking out the GROWup and The Butter Toast Boutique (on a side note I can't wait to go back to Butter Toast and pick out some super cute vintage kids clothes!) I finally butted my way into a converstation and things felt a little more comfortable from there. I've always felt socially akward and since I've gotten older I've learned that running into walls or smashing a cake in my face isn't really an exceptable way of introducing myself. It's to bad though, I enjoy all of those things, leave it to an EX-theater major!

Everyone gathered at the GROWop
I heart this store! Can I live there?
Some of the ladies being creative.
Flowers? Yes please!
Coming from someone who works with faux flowers all the time, real flowers are totally different! I give all the florists in the world a ton of credit.

After the fun and festivites down on Roosevelt Row, everyone headed to Frances Boutique. I've never been that far into Phoenix before and I'm really glad I got the chance too. Even though it was just a short drive it really gave me an idea of how different Phoenix is from Pittsburgh. Everything is so spread out and still fairly new. I saw some beautiful articture as well as some more interesting sites. I just could believe how different it was from the crowded city I grow up by. I can't wait to go on more adventures!

Did someone say candy?! Smeeks Candy shop is so awesome!
I got so excited walking in, I can't wait to take Aurora there, she is going to go CRAZY! I've never seen a kid react to sugar quite like little Miss Aurora and this place is loaded!
YUM!
After a stop in the candy story everyone slowly made it over to Frances. This boutique is so beautiful. You walk in and it just smells welcoming. I was seriously inspired just by walking around this places, it gave me such an itch to open my own shop. It also made me realize how much work it takes to do that!
I can almost smell the fragrence again just looking at this picture. I could spend all day there, is that weird? ^.^
Of course I stopped at the adorable kids section!
Love Phoenix or Leave Phoenix. Seriously? Love this shirt.
Anything with words or phrases on it catches my eye! It's a wonder I didn't come out of there spending a ton of money. I was a good girl though!

We were so so lucky the Short Leash showed up and happily opened early to feed all the hungry bloggers. I was so excited to see them pulling up. I heard great things about them from Chelsea and I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to try them. It's amazing what happens when you leave the house. The owners and opporators, Brad and Kat (love the name ^_~) are amazing! They have increadible food too!

A hot dog to this pregnant lady is like gold!
I wasn't sure how to even begin eating this thing, but it didn't hang around long after I did. YUMMY!!!

After we had stuffed our faces, Kelsey and Chelsea presented us with around gift bags given to us by Frances!
How cute is that? It almost made me cry! Stupid hormones.
Inside was a gift box from Smeeks filled with Taffy (that is now gone!), an adorable pair of earrings, a container of the most luscious body butter, and a luxury bar of soap. Wow, seriously, how sweet?!

I'm so glad I made it out to atleast part of the event. I know that everyone had a great time at dinner! The great thing about blogger is that I still felt like I got to experiance atleast a piece of it from photos and stories I've read. I can't wait to see everyone elses posts and photos! I hope that this can happen again, if it does I would love to help in any way I can. It was such a boost and a really high point for me. I feel so lucky right now. I'm so glad we moved to Phoenix, it has been such a great experiance for me, I don't regret it at all. I came home from the event floating on cloud nine I think. Holy inspiration overload!

where i'll be tomorrow....

I'm so excited and slightly nervous for the AZ Blogger Meet Up tomorrow! I feel like this month and been a flash. So many great things have been happening... now... what do I wear? oh boy...

What are your plans for the weekend? Will I see you in Phoenix? ^_^

fresh starts.

Well, March is starting to wrap up here. I feel like all the crazy business is starting to slow down. We are taking Granny to the airport today. It's really sad for everyone. It's so nice to have her here, and Aurora loves her so much. It just sticks that we can't live closer. Honestly, I don't think we would be happy back in Pittsburgh. I miss our families so much, but we love it here so much. It's so difficult.

With all the events and visits coming to a close here pretty soon I just keep thinking of a fresh start. I think in life you can hit the "freshen" button as many times as you need too to get going again. This past quarter has been going very poorly in my classes, well, my math class. I can only hope that I get through it. I did pretty well in my Photography class and I feel like I learned a lot in it. Math has always been my downfall. This exact class is one of the main reasons I never finished college the first time around. I'm crossing my fingers for a C at this point.

I'll have finished a year of college after these classes are done and I can't believe it. I can't give up now, I've been doing so well. I cut down to part time due to the baby being on the way. I think it really is for the best. It might take me longer, but that's okay. Classes stress me out enough and I have so many things I want to focus my time on now it's hard to juggle. I hope I can still manage with the new baby.

{i'm obsessed with this photo. I took it in sedona, az and used picnik.com to edit it.}

My Fresh Start list:- Take special time with my family.- Enjoy the one on one time with Aurora.- Prepare for a new little arrival.- Maintain a B average in my classes.{only if I am successful at the previous 4}- Start an Etsy shop.- Be involved in more art events (but only when I can.)

I don't want to give up on my little Etsy journey, I feel like I have a lot of pressure in my life and maybe the timing isn't perfect, but I've been waiting too long to do this to stop now. It's been my goal, and it's really what I want to do. I'm not giving up.

Here's hoping!

P.S. I totally screwed up my appointment date and we find out TONIGHT if we are having a boy or a girl. I blame the pregnancy on my total lack of brain function!

it was a beautiful sunday...

I couldn't have asked for a better day yesterday for the Phoenix Art Detour. The weather was cool and it was cloudy, but it was way better than baking in the hot sun. The ladies of Butter Toast set up a nice tent for us to set up under. I had some great creative neighbors to share a space with. Foot traffic was a little slow; it was perfect for my first event though. It was a lot less nervous once I got there. It was also really nice to be out sharing what I love to do and getting to know some really cool people. There were several musicians that played that made the day very relaxing and fun. I'm so glad I go this opportunity, it was seriously a blast.

My little table from the side.
I had a lot of fun planning this table set up. I wanted to to be very "spring."

The front of the Butter Toast Boutique and the Vulpine Collective table. These girls are awesome!

More of the Vulpine set up. They are a group of about 9 girls supporting and encouraging eachother in the Phoenix area, which I think is pretty great.

Linen Lovelies table and her adorable daughter, Violet. She had a great day, I was really excited for her, and her daughter was so good! I was really impressed. ^_^

The Butter Toast Boutique.
The GROWop handmade and vintage collective.
I loved this band! Pick and Holler was great!

I hope this is just the first of many events I get to take part in. Even though I'm shy and a little awkward I love interacting with people. There’s something about talking to someone face to face about a product that you just can't get online. I'm still planning on opening my online store (crossing my fingers for early April) and I'm really jazzed about that. Who know, maybe I'll be out in front of Butter Toast again with my little table peddling hair clips.

Thanks again to Traci and Jasmine! These ladies seriously inspire me to make my dream business happen, I'm so glad I could be a part of this past weekend Art Detour!

Better late than never, right?

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to post anything. I’ve been having a seriously tough time getting motivated lately. I’m still trying to shake off winter break I think. We really did have a wonderful trip back to Pittsburgh, PA. It was really great to see all of our friends and family! The newest addition to the family, Lily, might be one of the cutest babies ever! I am her Aunt though so it comes with the territory. We’re all getting adjusted to being back in AZ and I must say, again, I love it here. I love the people back in the ‘Burgh that’s very true but there is something about this place that I just love. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! I promise not to slack so much in the future. As soon as I shake the last bit of dust off my motivation things will be back in full swing, you’ll see!

Here’s a look at our wonderful holiday!









Happy Trails!