White as a sheet

And the similes took off like planes...

Feels like heaven

Like a walk in the park

Like a picture on someone else's wall

As fragile as a leaf in autumn

As American as apple pie

Busy as a bee

Like a flower waiting to bloom
Wet like pansy petals after the rain
As thick as thieves As old as the hills

Sharp as a thistle :)

This week's theme is similes and I've been struggling with it all weekend. Yesterday at the park, I did find some inspiration when I came across a patch of thistles. I love the purple color :)

Tea Staind Roses

When things get busy around here, my editing often suffers and the pictures build up. This picture was taken back in May when my family came to visit and I'm just getting around to editing them now. I am definitely pleased with how this picture came out - I used one of the actions I've been working on - I'm calling it Tea Staind :)

What do y'all think?

Sunny Skies

After spending more time travelling via airplane than we would if we had driven, it isn't exactly what I would call a great time to fly. However, I'm not going to get into all the drama of our travels. I am going to share with you the highlight of our flight from Charlotte to Philidelphia - the gorgeous sunset we got to watch. Thankfully, Alex lets me have the window seat when we fly. I think he does it to save himself the annoyance of me leaning over him to see out the window - but either way - I'm definitely appreciative. Here are some of the shots I got when the sun was getting low in the sky late in our flight :)

The Great Texture Debate

The current trend to add texture overlays to photographs has been an interesting one. I know lots of people who do it and love it - and I know others who have chosen not to jump on the texture background. For the most part, I can't say that I love it. I like crisp and clean. I like color pop and contrast.

But today, I was bored. When I'm bored and Alex is at work, I play in photoshop. Mostly I've been working on creating my own PS actions to streamline any post processing I do (and cause I'm dorky like that). After a few hours of that though, my brain needed a break, so I decided to play with textures. Surprisingly, I found one that I liked, so I thought I'd share.

And because I'm bored, I saw this on a friend of a friend's blog and I'm going to steal it for something to do...

5 Things

5 things under $5 that I can’t live without
1. Sweet Tea
2. Oreo Cakesters
3. Tide to Go
4. my Ms Manicure nail file
5. Victoria Secret Minty Lip Shine (okay I don't remember if it's under $5 but I have one in my purse, one in my camera bag, one in my fleece coat, and one on the computer table - so it's safe to say I can't live without it)

5 favorite movies
1. A Few Good Men
2. Dirty Dancing
3. Freedom Writers
4. PS I Love You
5. Sweet Home Alabama

5 Baby names I love (some of these Alex doesn't agree on)
1. Ava
2. Reiley (a family name)
3. Poppy
4. Winter Grace (these two are a package deal)
5. Sophia

5 Songs I could listen to over and over again
1. The World I've Known (both Collective Soul and David Cook versions)
2. Better Days by the Goo Goo Dolls
3. You and Me by Lifehouse
4. Heavenly Day by Patty Griffin
5. Teenage Wasteland by The Who

5 People who have influenced me in a positive way
1. Alex
2. my parents
3. Nana
4. Team Sassy
5. Sarah

5 Things that are always in my purse
1. Victoria's Secret Minty Lip Shine (see above)
2. wallet
3. cell phone
4. keys
5. checkbook (even though I don't ever write any)

5 moments that have changed my life forever
1. I don't know if anyone who reads this will know what I'm referring to but "I want to see him NOW"
2. alex proposing
3. moving to south carolina
4. throid cancer
5. going back to Acadia for my BEd

5 Obsessions I have right now
1. Food Network (I *heart* Giada & Ina Garten & The Neeleys)
2. Photoshop
3. David Cook
4. Chocolate
5. New lenses for my camera

5 places I would like to go
1. Italy
2. Englad to see Sassy
3. Greece
4. Barbados
5. Antarctic (okay I know I'm weird but I want to play with the penguins)

5 appliances/ kitchen tools I can’t live without
1. glasses
2. dishwasher
3. kitchen aid mixer
4. pots/pans
5. good knives

Digital Revolution

I struggled quite a bit with what to do for this week's theme of Past and Present. There were lots of discussions with friends and even an argument but today, an idea came to me. A great idea that reflects both the past and the present in one photograph. And even better - it's showing the past and present of photography ... the past world of film meets the present world of digital photography.... all on my coffee table :)

happy hydrangeas

I love flowers, as you've probably noticed. Hydrangeas have a special place in my heart. Alex and I bought a beautiful one two years ago at the Downtown Greenville Farmer's Market one Saturday. It was our first plant. Unfortunately, I am a plant killer. I had strong hopes for our first plant but 3 weeks later it was dead. Since then, we have successfully killed a thyme plant and a rosemary plant... the rosemary plant bit the dust a mere 5 days after we bought it....

I hope this isn't a sign for things to come ;)

Just Ducky

Today was another gorgeous day in paradise as Alex likes to say, so we decided to go for a walk through Falls Park after dinner. I was hoping to find my inspiration for this week's theme of "Past and Present", and though I was inspired, the perfect shot didn't happen. However, I did come across the most adorable baby duck playing in the Reedy River...