new addition.

Long time no see my friends! Wow, has it really been this long since I posted something on my blog? Yikes! Well, I do have some amazingly exciting news to share. Our new baby girl, Carolina, was born on August 20, 2011 at 9:52am! She was 9lbs 2oz and 22in long!!! She’s huge and adorable and brings me so much joy. So far Carolina has been the extreme opposite of her sister, Aurora. Aurora has been a wonderful big sister though. She wants to hold her all the time and has only had a few really big temper tantrums over the new addition. I’m really proud of her. It’s really been an adjustment period and I think we’re far from getting things back to “normal” but I’m enjoying it. There’s nothing like cuddling with your new born to make everything okay.


I’m excited for things to start calming down and I’m already feeling like I have more energy, even if I’m only getting four hours of sleep. I’m still focusing on school work but I hope to get back to blogging as well. It’s an important release and gives me a sense of accomplishment outside of the home, and I think that’s really important for stay at home moms to have. I miss the community too. There are so many supportive bloggers out there and I can’t wait to get involved again.

Lots of love! <3

Disappearing Act

Long time no see I know. I know I said I was going to be backing off from blogging a little bit but it seems that I have stopped completely. It happened completely by accident. About two weeks ago my laptop completely stopped working on me. My hard drive is apparently completely fried and had to be shipped back to Toshiba for repairs.

The things about this that killed me the most is that I lost EVERYTHING. All of documents, all of our music, all of my photos. All the projects I worked really hard to prefect, poof, just gone. It was so sad. On top of that the process of getting it back to the manufacture has been a total pain in my neck. I won’t even go into the details of the whole but let’s just say I’m probably never going to be buying Toshiba again. I also have never liked UPS and this experience has just made me like them even less, which I thought was going to be hard.

I’m taking this opportunity to go on an early “maternity leave.” I’m due on August 18th with our second daughter and I’m still trying to get adjusted with Aurora getting older. I’m going to be putting my Etsy shop into vacation mode and not posting at least until I get my computer back.

On a blogging note I’m really excited to be taking in Ashley from after nine to five blogging e-course. I’m hoping it will give me chance to reinvent my blog to be more of what I want it to be. Ashley is a great blogger and I can’t wait to see into her mind about blogging and beyond!

Best wishes to everyone and their endeavors! I’ll be back soon, you can count on that.

unplugged and than some.

For the past week or two I’ve been almost completely unplugged. I didn’t really decide to do it, it just kind of happened. I just stopped writing blog post and didn’t really “tweet” nearly as much as I was. I didn’t feel bad about it, nor did the world end, and my phone and computer didn’t blow up they were just silent items I had around.

I was feeling rather overwhelmed between school, family, blogging and Etsy. It was a lot for me to take on and my fuel tank was running on empty. While I finished up my last course before the break I really poured myself into the class. My grade was sinking to beginning with and I had to pull it up somehow. I was completely stressed about it and ready to give up. Wait, give up school? For what exactly? As much as I love to blog and craft nothing should be more important than finishing my degree, well, other than family. When I finally came to the realization that, that was truly what I was contemplating I snapped out of it immediately! I’ve come this far and worked way too hard to just through it all away. With a more positive mentality behind me I managed to pull out a decent grade in the class and some really nice photo projects. The first projects I’ve ever done for school that I’m actually proud of. It reminded me how important this was.

So much about my pervious classes had bogged me down with how things were supposed to be. A majority of my classmates are already practicing photographers and sometimes I felt a little left behind. I have to remember that I’m not there for the same reasons as everyone else. Everyone has their own style and just because I’m not a portrait photographer and I have no interest in ever photographing a wedding, doesn’t mean I can’t be a really good or dare I say great photographer some day. I have a LONG way to go before I can give myself a title but if I don’t start taking myself seriously than who will?

So where am I going with all of this rambling? I promise I have a point. My main point is that I am going to be pulling back a lot from this blog. I’m still going to be posting but I’ve found it very refreshing to be a little less disconnected. I am, however, going to be working on a new blog project. I just started a new blog entitled “kat and camera.” This blog “something with a chance of other stuff” never has really had a focus, it was all about fun and crafty things that I’ve been doing in my life and with my family. “kat and camera” is going to be focused on my photography projects and my journey in school. I feel like I really need to start taking myself seriously if anyone else is going to take me seriously. I know I’m just a student and I have a long way to go but everyone has to start somewhere.

I want to say thank you so much for all the support everyone has given this blog. I promise this is not goodbye. I will still be posting and updating, I’m just heading in a new but very exciting direction. I love all of the people that come and read this blog. Every comment is so special to me. It’s time to grow and spread my wings and see what the next phase will be!

blogsitting.

Just so you know I did a guest post for Maryam at Pamplemousse 1983!


My teeny tutorial. Fun and easy collage!

I was very excited to work out this little tutorial for her. She is busy taking care of her super adorbale new little girl. It makes me very excited and terrified for our new bundle on its way.
Enjoy!

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!

baby bump: 30 weeks.

My baby “bump” doesn’t really feel like a “bump” anymore, it’s more like a mountain. The little one is growing big healthy and strong. A lot of the time it doesn’t fell like she is just kicking and punching, it’s more like she is trying to escape! Over all though I can’t complain too much, I will complain about the heat though. It’s starting to hit 100 degrees here in AZ and if my dog and kid don’t even want to be outside you know it’s hot. I thought I had swelling issues during my first pregnancy; I’ve been blowing up like a blimp! I’m trying to not eat too many salty things but that’s all I want to eat!

Until we told our neighbors that I was pregnant they didn't realize we were having another kid. Apperently I just look like I'm HUGE!
My belly button is about to explode. It's been lovingly called "Snaggle Tooth." Isn't my husband sweet?

Speaking of eating, I went for my sugar test last week and got my results back the other day. I’m on the border line of having gestational diabetes. My number just reaches where it probably shouldn’t be. My doctor seemed pretty confident that it won’t be a problem since I’m not over weight and didn’t have an issue with it during my first pregnancy. She still ordered the three hour lab test and kind of left it up to me. I, honestly, would rather exercise more and watch what I eat. Either way, if there is an issue or not I’m going to have to change my habits. I know I haven’t been eating the best ever lately. Loads of carbs and a ton of sugar are not good for a pregnant body. So, the dog and I have been taking long walks in the morning, Aurora and I have been hitting the pool to stay active and cool and I’m going to work on not eating everything I see. I still should probably take the test but I want to make sure I’m under control before I go back in.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

a must see: flourish leather.

When I found out that Danielle from sublime lite was opening an Etsy shop, Flourish, I got very excited. She is an extremely creative and stylish lady so I knew whatever it was going to be, it was going to be wonderful. I was in awe of how wonderful her shop looked when it opened. Danielle’s product photos are effortless and wonderful and show exactly what the products are, her leather bracelets as so simple yet so stunning.

I waited by my mailbox patiently for my little package to arrive, when it did I couldn’t have been more tickled. It was one of the cutest packages I’ve received. I personally love the way they recycled the packaging. It fits really well with the style of these lovely bracelets and really shows them off.


The qualities of these little beauties are wonderful. I’m actually still scratching my head as to how they are made. They are really perfect for summer, not to mention they are a great deal! They start at only $5!! I think she is shorting herself! You just don’t find handmade leather items with this much thought and care put into them for that price. I strongly suggest getting more than one because they look super cute together.



I’m so happy for Danielle, she’s doing really well! Her Etsy shop is blossoming and have I mentioned how much I love her blog? Her photos and content are really inspiring to me. I love seeing that she has a new post up; I’m always intrigued to see what she has photographed next.


Cheers to Danielle in everything she is doing! Go visit her shop and blog and say hello!