setting{s}

one of the most daunting things about having a digital SLR is learning the manual settings and then remembering how to use them to create the right picture. I've made it a point from day one of owning my camera not to use the auto setting but to actually learn to take pictures.

source

while on vacation, I used our lighthouse sun-setting experience to practice learning my aperture setting.

I've been loving my new lens because it goes down to a lower aperture (lets in more light) and it takes really beautiful pictures. But in this instance, it was too much light and I wasn't able to see the sunset very well.

f/1.8

I bumped it up just a bit to see if it would make a difference and I set the sun as my focal point.

f/3.5

I realized if I really wanted a clear sunset, I needed to bump it up a bunch which would make Josh more of a silhouette.

f/11

I think I like this happy medium the best.

f/6.5

Practice is the best instructor. 

highlights

we're back from our beach vacay. we had a beautiful time but could not be more happy to see our dog. there is just something glorious about coming home after being away. 

here are a few highlights from our trip:

We ate great food.

We climbed the Ponce de Leon lighthouse to watch the sunset.

We spent tons of time at the beach soaking in the sun and enjoying the waves.

Josh got to get his surf on.

We visited a great flea & farmer's market.

Where we ate the most wonderfully sweet grapefruit.

We spent a day at Universal Studios.

Josh dragged me out of bed at 6 a.m. to catch a sunrise.

I've always heard the light at this time of day is stunning. Now I know why.

Although, the best part of the vacation was enjoying this view. :)

wish list

tomorrow i'm celebrating birthday #26. here's some of the items i'm wishing for when
i blow out my candles:

japanese masking tape for crafting

{via happytape.com}

beverage dispenser for my summer lemonade

{via worldmarket.com}

neutral flats for outfitting

{via karmaloop.com}

a new watch band for my thrifted watch face

{via styleceo.com}

a bike basket for my new bike

{via amazon.com}

new dish towels for the kitchen

{via target.com}

a great dress for summer

{via jcrew.com}

oops...you're not supposed to tell your candle wishes, are you?

a little late

i bookmarked this adorable valentine printable back in february and actually printed it out in hopes to use it for valentine's day - sadly, it got shuffled in with some papers and I forgot about it. But it finally got its day in the sun for our anniversary. I woke up early to leave a little sentiment of my love and have a cup of coffee ready to go before Josh left for work.

$5 pillow covers

I've had the idea to make new pillow covers out of cute napkins tucked away for awhile awaiting just the right napkin. so when centsational girl said she got cute napkins at world market - that's where I headed. of course, I had to wait until we were headed to Richmond to get them cause we don't have a world market near by, but it was our first stop when we got there!

They had a bunch of really great napkins, but these struck my fancy the most and were also on sale for $2.50 each!


The reason the idea of making pillow covers out of napkins is so appealing, is because they are already a perfect square and if you are covering square pillows then the logistical work is done. All you need to do is sew three straight lines with the right sides facing each other - super easy!


Then, turn it inside out and insert your pillow. For the fourth side, you'll need to hand stitch it closed as seen in this post.


And you would never know these pillows were covered with napkins - they look great!




Now I think I need to find some bright blue napkins to match. :)

baby girl nursery mood board

One of my bff's is having her first baby and I couldn't be more thrilled for her! She just recently found out that she is having a girl and she enlisted me to help her cook up a super amazing nursery. So I have put together a mood board for baby girl haley's (baby's last name, not first) nursery from the ideas that kerry has given me and some of the items I already know she owns/plans to own.



kerry isn't interested in creating your average little girl nursery (notice the light blue wall paint swatch!) - she wants something that doesn't scream baby, still flows with the rest of her house, and is a mix of modern and vintage pieces. her first purchase was the chandelier pictured from ikea as a statement piece for the room. we also recently snagged an almost identical wall shelf to the one pictured at a garage sale for a mere $2! All it needs is a fresh coat of white paint. Can't you just picture dainty little dresses hanging from those pegs?! I will be sure to update you all with a picture of how the nursery turns out - stay tuned, it's gonna be fabulous!

trois {that's 3 in french}

Today marks our three year anniversary! It somehow feels like we just got married yesterday and yet like we've always been together. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet and loving husband to do life with. Here's to 100 more anniversaries! :)

Our wedding day

Celebrating 1 year in my hometown of Schroon Lake, NY

Celebrating a low-key 2nd year with Josh recovering from
a broken nose/face


Celebrating 3 wonderful years (our most recent pic)