Photoshop Apps

I'm trying to make use of the fancy DSLR and have been incredibly inspired by the blogger-nets (I kind of hate the term blogosphere. I don't know why). Some major favorites are Under the Sycamore, Meg's Whatever blog  which totally captures kids and Kansas for me. It reminds me of my summers when I was growing up. On the flip side, the city pics on Sweet Fine Day are a different kind of greatness. Urban playgrounds and city kids are fun to see. Finally, the food porn, plus kid, plus island pics and other awesomeness of Gluten Free Girl's blog gets me through the crazy Texas heat. Day dreaming of picnics on an island in the Pacific Northwest... sigh. BUT, I did see the sign for the Texas State Fair so fall really IS almost here!

This is a tiny subset of the blogs I read with lots gorgeous photos and decorating/beauty shots. However, these stand out for me as they capture everyday moments. Making them magical, particularly with kids. Sophy is growing at a crazy rate and she's at school while we're at work so I have less of an opportunity to see her everyday interactions with world. I want to have a record of this time when she's exploring, learning and finds everything pretty nifty. This is what I will hold on to when she's slamming her door and screaming "I hate you". She can even watch me weep over the pics after I remove her door for slamming it but that's an entirely different thing. Let's not dwell. Not ready, not ready!

I've waxed poetic~ish about my love of apps on my phone and really, really wanted something similar for Photoshop. Turns out, there kind of is! I read about Totally Rad Lab on Ashley's blog but couldn't quite figure it out but found they had a free trial so I started playing with it. Now I'm hooked. It's a lot more of a commitment than my $1.99 phone apps but so far I think it's worth it. I hope I'm not spoiling anything for the family, but photo stuff is my new gift go to so I feel like I can justify the cost. Kinda. I hope my husband doesn't read this. :O

So here is an example of a "before and after" with Totally Rad.

Before

After

I cropped the poop out of it so you can get closer to the tiny toddler in the photo. I know there's a lot going on but I wanted to really get that feeling from the splash park. There may have been a little fixation on the rainbows. I don't want to talk about that either. Rainbows rule! Anyway, the super processed feel you see on phone apps is a favorite but this isn't a look for everyone. They have a lot of options for some subtle adjustments. I may have mentioned I'm not much of a "less is more" kind of girl.

The next set are from Pioneer Woman. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with PW in that I used to love her but after she turned into a giant marketing brand the "simple prairie girl" vibe was kind of lost. I do love her photos though. Recipes... eh.

Before

Ok, so this one has the tiny toddler making a break for it with Daddy's shadow at the bottom of the pic. I kind of love it which is why I end up keeping all of my photos in an "originals" folder taking up huge amounts of space. I'll figure out something with picture hoarding after I conquer my actual "stuff" hoarding. Anyway, back to the photo. And then it became...

After

This. I did want to crop it a little tighter though to get more of Sophy in the pic again. I also really modified the contrast and did a major sepia moment. I wish I would have rotated the image, you know, so that it's straight (OY!) but I didn't. I think on the whole most wouldn't find it a successful photo but I kind of love it. She's just on the edge of exploring on her own. Ready to break free and find adventure. That's a moment I want to have forever.

To Do List

I always like to see people making lists since I'm a list lover from way back. Anna at Door Sixteen has some ambitious home project lists which inspired me to do the same. Also, I need the public shaming since the private list making isn't really getting me anywhere. This is a post-Labor Day list since we've got family coming and then we're free to run wild! It's pretty ambitious but here goes:

1. Move everything out of the studio/guest room
2. Remove the quarter round molding from around the floor
3. Patch quarter round holes
4. Remove laminate floor
5. Paint the walls
6. Paint molding
7. Install wood tile floor
8. Grout said floor
9. Rearrange and move everything back in to look like this or this or this. Or not.
10. Remove quarter round in the hallway
11. Patch quarter round holes 
12. Paint the hallway
13. Paint the molding
14. Convince Rolland I need a shiny sparkly chandelier (really love this) in the hallway
15. Put down tile
16. Grout tile
17. Move everything out of Sophy's room
18. Remove the quarter round from around the floor
19. Patch quarter round holes 
20. Remove the laminate floor
21. Paint? It's really, really pink and makes everything weird in pics. May just knock it down a couple of shades
22. Paint molding to cover hole patches
23. May consider a new light fixture since it's also crazy dim... Rolland really might kill me. :O  Maybe just use existing hanging IKEA light over rocking chair and add a switch?
24. Install wood tile floors
25. Grout floors
26. Build built-ins and window seat along window wall
27. Figure out how to make/find a seat cushion for window seat
28. Move all back in and hope she's still got a reasonable sleep schedule

Take a break for Christmas!

Guthrie was good to us

So this is basically a giant post of family shots from last weekend. I couldn't resist the toddler cuteness.

Sophy in her new flight jacket Grandad bought for her. It's Daddy's new favorite. If he could put her in her Star Wars onesies and her jacket everyday I pretty sure he would.

A new Halloween outfit from Grandma. She can kind say "Grandma" now and it makes my heart melt. Aunt Jeni also got her a super cute outfit but it missed the pictures. There's also a new baby, bear, baby sized wagon, and a couple of books. Nope, not spoiled at all.

Aunt Jeni watching her navigate the stairs. They were tall stairs and she made it. Mostly.

My Mom and I. We did not coordinate the pink on purpose but it's a nice happy accident.

Baby snuggles. She wasn't feeling like a photo shoot and became a little resistant. Daddy was quick and got a pretty good one.

How can you not love a toddler in pigtails with her monkey. So. Cute.

Stair climbing is hard work. A little sippy before she heads back to it.

Tasty goodness that is Cracker Barrel. This bib from Wal-Mart is fantastic. It has a little pocket at the bottom to catch everything. Greatness.

I said "No Pictures MOMMY!".

Well maybe one more with scrunch face. No resisting this.

Daddy and Sophy out for a stroll. I know some people hate the "leashes" but she loves her Monkey and it makes me feel better that she can't just dart out into the street. She pretty much refuses to hold your hand unless it's at her request and then she prefers a parent on each side swinging her. So, Monkey is the winner with her feeling independent and Mommy not having a stroke. Mommy not having a stroke is a big win with Daddy.

"Hi, my name is Sophy Huff and I'm addicted to Peppa Pig. And pacis." Although we've started hiding the pacifiers except at bedtime and she hasn't noticed. She only demands monkey when we get in the care. I cave. I know.

Sophy with Grandma and Aunt Jeni. Such a great picture for a great weekend.

Park Visit

It was really pretty this morning, still hot, but really pretty. We packed up before it became too scorching and biked to the park. Sophy got her bike carrier this spring but was not a fan. She looked terrified and was ready to get out after her initial ride.I decided another trip with a swing and jungle gym pay off might be enough for her to reconsider.

As you can see, still skeptical but super cute.

The park by our house is awesome. There's several miles of trails, swings and play equipment and Cricket! Sunday morning is the local Cricket Club (?) with everyone in white. Love it.  No idea if anyone's any good but I just like that they're out there running wild with cricket bats looking nifty in the white uniforms.

First couple passes down the slide required a little help from Daddy. After that, she was loving it on her own. That's pretty much how she rolls. She's got this.

Swings are still a favorite, she giggles and giggles with each push but you have to stand at the end and grab her hand/foot. I have no idea why.

Running on the play gym. She's a lot more grown up than I'm prepared for at this point. She's running everywhere!

Well, maybe she's still got a little growing. :) Her romper's still pretty big!

The biking was a big hit. She sat back drinking her water yelling "weeeeee" with Daddy. The ride was fantastic and really nice through the shady portions. Wasn't even that hot. Unfortunately our planning did not account for all the hills at the end on the way home. Oy. Next time, reverse route to the playground.

Birthday and Le Creuset Greatness

Yesterday was Rolland's birthday so went to the new Texas Land and Cattle Co. in Allen. It's the "fancier" version. Truthfully, it was a little fancy but not so much that I worried about Sophy. This was her dinner. Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft) with creamed Parmesan spinach. Spinach was in place of applesauce and our server couldn't believe she preferred this to applesauce but she did. She ate the sauce like soup.

This was my selection. You get to pick the meat for the entree and then the rub/spice and sauce option. I went with salmon, truffle salt and Bearnaise sauce. Holy smokes it was good. Garlic confit in the mashed potatoes was a big hit too. This is quickly becoming a new favorite meal. Their version was yummy. In the blurry background is Rolland's steak with cheese grits. Those grits were fantastic.

Sophy showing off her spoon skills. She switches hands but she really is right handed so that often goes much better. Gotta love her persistence though.

After dinner we came home to find this box on the step.

With this inside.

To reveal my new saucier pot!

A few weeks ago, there was apparently an incident where my Le Creuset chocolate pot fell, nearly braining the baby, and Rolland deflected it to the floor where the non-enamel handle broke with some enamel chipping off the pot itself. The details around the falling of the pot are sketchy. As I wasn't here at the time, he was able to formulate a game plan which included us hot footing it down to Williams-Sonoma when I got home. We were pretty sure they no longer made the pan (they don't) but a suitable replacement was found. My super smarty husband mentioned the incident to the salesclerk and she suggested we contact them since there's a lifetime guarantee for their products. He did and they sent this.  All we had to do was send in the broken one ($20 bucks in shipping) and viola! New saucier in Marseille blue.

Smarty pants is forgiven.

Blog Note: Neither TXLC or Le Creuset asked me to pimp out their products, although I'm not opposed to free goodies that I love and offer tasty goodness. This wasn't the case here.

Anniversary

Our anniversary was on Sunday and we ran wild! Or, went to Target bright and early to check out all the Feed stuff. We purchased a fair amount and I loved this bag so I got it and one in orange. Pretty much everyone but Sophy scored in the Target trip and even she could ride IN the bag when tired so a win for everyone! After shopping we let the wild baby run free at the park by our house. We'd gone before and she liked the swings but everything else was kind of eh. She went with Granny and Aunt Anita in March and loved the swings and a little more play. This time, she was everywhere! The jungle gym has all kinds of openings make the plummet to the ground range anywhere from 6 inches to 4 feet. Mama was a little freaked out but did ok. She ran through everything. She played with the chimes, the rolling drums, the swings, the steps, etc. There's also some water features that kids can frolick without submersion in the pool so next time we'll go with the swim diaper and suit.

After a nap and a fair amount of time doing nothing we went out for dinner at one of my favorites, The Porch. Yum. Rolland ordered a beer that turned out not to be what we thought. Not a fan of stout, and as you can see by the color, it was super stout. Hehehe. New beer replacement coming up! The Porch is kind of awesome, not just because they'll bring new beer, but they have a great menu that works for everyone. Sophy had the fancy mac and cheese (waiter couldn't believe we wanted the full order and not kids version. Rookie.), Rolland a hunk o'meat with brussel sprouts and I got a club sandwich. It was a fancy club sandwich! And a shared lavendar and blackberry sorbet for dessert. Soooo good! Oh, we also had the fried port salute cheese with tomato marmalade. I could've eaten 3 orders of it. Sophy approved.

Perfect anniversary day.

Chinese Lantern Festival

I was looking through my camera at the photos for our Seattle trip and found all of these... plus 100 more from New Year's Day. We went with some friends to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Fair Park.
It was amazing! It was also freezing but we bundled that baby up and headed out.

We started off at Angry Dog where I did indeed have said dog. Tasty. Then back in the car to hit the park. A friend had posted the groupon offer on Facebook so we had pre-purchased tickets at half off but honestly, it was so worth it at full price. A few days earlier we had seen the Chiluly exhibit at the arboretum for the evening tour and it was really disappointing. This exceeded my expectations. Highly, highly recommend it.

This dragon is made of dishes. Incredible!

Little cutie mixing her animals here. Last minute Target purchase for a good hat with her panda coat also a Target purchase when she was still in utero. She also had gloves not pictured since this was actually us packing it in not heading out.

He should guard our house. Loved the Foo dogs.

Heading in and a very well bundled baby as promised.

Sophy and Daddy ready to head back home.

Super cute, and mittened, baby waving to her fans.

Warning: adorableness overload with this cutie! Seriously, she is this cute all the time. It makes my heartache.

I took a gazillion photos trying to get just the right shot of the Cotton Bowl. This was my favorite.

I think the longhorns and lotus flowers sort of sum it up.

Fantastic! Honestly, I still rave about it, you know 4 months later so that's a pretty big endorsement.

Next up Seattle! I promise!