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Check Me Out

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Hi all! Just wanted to quickly drop in today with a few random tidbits. Most importantly, I wanted to let you guys know that I recently had an article go live over on Home Made Simple. I covered the topic of how to clean your toaster.

Now I know what you’re thinking: that’s not the most exciting subject matter in the world. BUT did you know that not cleaning your toaster can present a fire hazard for your home? Yeah, no bueno. So go check out my simple tips for keeping your brave little toaster (Do you guys remember that movie? I remember being super freaked out by the evil electromagnet in the junkyard) sparkling clean. Check out my article here!

Secondly, when I did my reader survey a few weeks ago, a couple of you asked how our pooch was getting along with our little one. I’m pleased to say that she has been great! She barely pays attention to him, just walks by him every now and then and gives him a little lick on his head. It has been quite the relief to know they get along (at least for now)!

And finally, if you guys havent’ downloaded the new app from A Beautiful Mess, you are missing out! It is SO much fun to edit your photos with all their extras!! I was a ha-yuge Lisa Frank sticker lover as a kid…I can remember sitting with a few other girls at elementary school recess to look at each others stickers. Yes, I’m a dork. But seriously, this app is like my grown-up Lisa Frank collection. I love it!

Scoop Scoop Ba-Doop

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You guys, today I’m recommending my new favorite camera accessory. I would never claim to be a professional photographer..I enjoy taking photos, but there’s SO much I don’t know. But I’ve discovered a new (to me, at least) tool that is already making a huge difference in my pictures!

Meet Professor Kobre’s LightScoop

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I think we’ve all heard before that if you want beautiful, natural looking photos, using the flash on your camera is a no-no. It adds a harsh, unnatural lighting that often washes things out and causes weird shadows or red-eye (if you’re photographing people). But when you have very little natural light to begin with, what are you supposed to do?

I experience this a lot because I usually can’t photograph my projects for the blog in the middle of the day when the natural lighting is at its’ peak. If I can’t photograph my projects on the weekends when I’m free, then it has to wait until I get home from work. And with it being winter and all, sometimes it’s fairly dark by the time I get home.

Enter the LightScoop. Basically it works with the pop-up flash on your DSLR. However, it bounces the light from the flash so that you don’t get that harsh, direct lighting. I was a little skeptical at first, but now that I’ve used it, I’m a believer!!

Let me show you what I’m talking about.

My mantel has always been a problem-child to photograph. There’s a semi-circle inset over our mantel and while it gives me a little more decorating room, it’s SO hard to get a good picture of. It never gets direct natural lighting so no matter what time of day it is, there’s always some shadows in the inset. But I’m happy to report that the LightScoop definitely made a difference! See for yourself:

mantel before and after

Both these photos were taken around the same time of day..see how much better the bottom one is? There’s still some shadowing, but it’s MUCH better. The colors are much more true to life and it just looks lighter & brighter overall.

So if you’re looking to improve your photos, this is definitely one tool I would recommend adding to your arsenal! And at only $30, it’s not an expensive investment. Also, I’m not being paid to perk LightScoop at all, it’s just something I’ve found and liked!

PS – Thanks to everyone that entered the chevron bag giveaway. The winner is Kerry! Congrats! Your bag will be on its’ way to you soon :)

 

It’s Smashing

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Have you guys heard about these things called Smash Books? I first learned of them on Shelley’s Instagram feed (@HouseOfSmiths), and I instantly fell in love with the ‘throw-whatever-you-can-find-on-a-page’ look.

house of smiths smashbookvia @HouseOfSmiths on Instagram

Basically, Smash Books are a simplified way to scrapbook. I’ve never been a ‘scrapbooker,’ but my Mom did scrapbooks for each of us kids (there’s 4 of us) as a high school graduation present. And each one took her countless hours (thank you, Mom for being so awesome)! The point of these books is that they’re not supposed to be uber time consuming. Instead, these are more of a glorified journal; jot down notes and ‘smash’ them full of memorabilia, photos and mementos.  It’s supposed to be a quick and easy way to capture life memories and moments. Sounds good, right??

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This idea really appealed to me because I often feel guilty about throwing away cards, ticket stubs, and all those other little paper items that trigger special memories. But I also don’t want to be on Hoarders. So I get rid of them. But now I can stick them in my Smash Book! Woop!

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I think it will also be a great place for Instagrams. A lot of my Instagrams from 2012 are going into my yearly Shutterfly album (read more about that here), but I’ve decided in the future, I’d like to save those albums primarily for higher quality pictures (a.k.a. pictures taken with my DSLR) and get a lot of my Instagrams printed  instead. {Do you guys have any suggestions for the best sites to use to print Instagrams?}

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As far as where to get them, I’ve seen them at Michael’s and someone told me Target carries them as well. I ordered mine online from K & Company…they sell lots of cute little accessories, too! Or, really, you could just buy a regular journal and doll it up yourself! The great thing is there’s no wrong way to ‘smash’!

25 By 25 – The Final Tally

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Well, my 25th birthday has come and gone. It’s all downhill from here.

Just kidding! I’m not one of those people that gets depressed about getting older…at least not yet :)

But since this was kind of a milestone birthday, I decided to set 25 goals for myself and see how many I could get done. And it was pretty fun, actually. I think it’s something I may do every year! Let’s see how I did:

1. Learn to sew. {This one still evades me, but it will happen before the end of they year!}

2. Travel internationally. {We took care of this one back in March when we visited Poland, Russia, Latvia and Prague!}

3. Have a real, bona-fide, cutesy picnic. {We got to have a picnic at the base of Mt. Rainier when we went to Portland over the summer.}

4. Build something.

5. Make photobooks for 2010 and 2011. {Finished that one a few months back! Check it out here.}

6. Surprise JP. {I threw him a small, impromptu birthday party.}

7. Read 10 books. {I only got through 5, so I’ll give myself a half point on this one!}

8. Learn to play a new instrument.

9. Become more physically active. {I’ve been walking Lucy more and also riding bikes with hubby.}

10. Visit some thrift stores in Indy that I’ve been wanting to go to for a while. {Finally visited, and I was underwhelmed. Boo.}

11. Paint theguest bedroom and guest bath. {Another half point. The guest bath is finally getting some updates, here and here. I still need a plan for the guest bedroom. It’s kind of been put on hold because I’ve got nusery designs floating around in my head!}

12. Go to a concert.

13. Take a bike ride.

14. Teach Lucy to roll over. {I’m calling this one good. She lays down on command, and automatically rolls onto her back. The girl loves a good belly rub.}

15. Watch a documentary. {I’ve watched a couple actually: Being Elmo which I found totally fascinating and Best Worst Movie which is about the movie Troll 2. If you like ridiculously bad movies, Troll 2 is an absolute must.}

16. Plant a tree.

17. Watch a sunrise with JP. {This was probably the first one I checked off the list seeing as we caught several after returning home from Europe…yayy for jet lag!}

18. Blog consistently. {It’s been harder of late to keep up with this one, because our lives have gotten crazy since our little announcement, but I’m still trying.}

19. Do something spontaneous.{Recently, JP and I took off in the middle of a weekend afternoon and booked ourselves a fancy hotel for one night in Indy. We had no plans other than to just relax, and it was glorious! AND we decided last night to go on a mini vacay next week! What?! Who are we?!?}

20. Find a good way to commemorate our travels. {I have a plan for this one, I just need to find a nice large map so I can implement it!}

21. Make our bedroom more home-y. {This process has begun! JP got me some new bedding for my birthday :) }

22. Buy more artwork that makes me smile.

23. Try Thai food. {I have tried it a couple times but so far, most of what I’ve tried has been too spicy for me. So the search continues..}

24. Write a letter to someone (mayor? local transportation department?) about paving the back road to our neighborhood. {I’ve written a couple e-mails, and haven’t gotten a response. However, that road is blocked off for some construction, so here’s hoping that’s what it’s for!}

25. Get back to practicing piano consistently.

In total, I completed 16 of my goals, plus the 2 that I finished partly. I don’t think that’s too bad considering I only started 6 months ago!

Do any of you make yearly goals for yourself? Have you checked any off recently?

Really, Spammers?

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If you’re a blogger, I’m sure you’ve received your fair share of spam comments. Now, mostly I just find them extremely annoying. But every once in a while, one catches my eye and either makes me chuckle or totally scratch my head.

So, on this wonderful Friday afternoon, I thought  I’d share a few of my favorites with you.

Wow, that’s deep, Virgil.

How did you know that Courntey Cox and I are close, personal friends?!? I’ll be sure to pass along the message.

Hey everyone! This doughnut aficionado is going to put MY blog in the running for the greatest blog on the  Internet! Does this mean I get free doughnuts for life?

You’re welcome ?

FINALLY! Someone who appreciates my good standard data. Took long enough. Geesh.

If I’ve got to deal with spammers, I’m glad they’re at least partially entertaining.

Oh, and if you’re looking for some more entertainment along these lines, check out my friend Whitney’s posts about her Google search hits here and here. Hi-larious.

Update: Because I mentioned Russia in yesterday’s post, I’ve gotten about 15 spam comments in Russian. Darn you, perceptive spammers.

{Sidenote: Probably 80% of my spam comments are always on the same post and they’ve always got something to do with stinkin’ Uggs. Is there some kind of a better spam filter I should be using??}