BIG update on life!

It looks like there are going to be LOTS of reasons to start updating this blog more often!!
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!
A baby BOY in fact!

Our announcement pictures for Facebook 

And our gender reveal video :)

Now that we know it's a boy I am overwhelmed with projects and decorating that I want to do!  Yay for an excuse to get out of the "I'm-in-Michigan-doing-gradschool-and-working-full-time-slump" :)

Bring on the COLOR!

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style!

Vintage Family Photos

My Uncle Jim is the family historian, so to speak.

He has put up tons of family photos on facebook.
Photos from when photography began.

I can't get over a few of them and just how classic they are.
Someday when I have the money and space to do so I want to print them out and have a gallery wall of old photos of my actual relatives.  How cool would that be??

Aunt Petie 1910

1890s

 my favorite is the girl in the back left's pig tails! 

 1911

 William 1870s

 Aunt Daisy 1888

                                                                             1900

                                                                                 1911

 1916

 My Grandma!!! 1927

Grandma at age 15, 1937

                     one of my favorites... my Dad (her son) loves love loves chickens. it's so perfect.

 My amazingly beautiful grandparents.  Isn't my grandpa dreamy?? :)

 can you just hear Ray Charles singing The Spirit of Christmas like in Christmas Vacation?? :)

This is my Grandma and Grandpa Cooper's family.  My dad is in the back right.  I love how he is smirking... and that hair cut is incredible.
It was 1968 the year my Dad graduated high school and went to Vietnam.

1978.  Same family 10 years later.  Can you believe how much my grandparents aged in that 10 years??
My Dad's in the yellow.  I think this is one of his best pictures ever.  He's so handsome!!  I can't imagine him ever wearing a sweater like this though. ha!




Isn't family fun?
I am so thankful for my history and all these people that came before me.
Thanks Uncle Jim for preserving our heritage for generations to come.

instagram love

I am new to the world of instagram this weekend.
so. much. fun.

I hope I'm not annoying anyone with my pictures as of yet.... :)

I want to share a few on this rainy Monday before I have to head back to work. boo.
is there a secret way to share photos from instagram on blogger than I don't know about??
just curious.

Sunday.

someone backed into my car when it was parked on the street. boo.

The amazing pizza place we discovered just about 1 block away. sooo good.

Graham crackers and icing. fun-fetti icing too.
it's ok because I ate a lot of fruit this day.

:)

a find I'll probably share more about later, but I got this at a yard sale this weekend!  perfect color and in perfect condition!

Happy Monday <3

Photo Booth!

I made my first photo booth for my sister's vow renewal and learned serveral things in doing so...

#1. don't have a shiny background.
in my defense, I didn't know it'd be shiny. I bought wrapping paper to use as the background and didn't realize that it'd be plastic and not paper. false advertisement if you ask me.

#2. make sure people know what it is.
several people didn't get it. advertise to the party guests. go first and look like you're having fun!

#3. have lots of props!
we had masks and hats and it really brought out some people's personalities.

So much fun, I wish I had done one at my wedding!  :(

New Years Eve Photo booth

For my sister's vow renewal I am planning a photo booth!
Instead of going with the trendy option of mustaches (I seriously don't get it anyway)  I'm going to make masquerade masks! I'm so excited!
Glitter, sequins, and feathers!  What more could a girl want? :)

Source: lowescreativeideas.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: max-dan-wiz.com via Patricia on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: highsnobette.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Saturday {late night} Picnik

I don't know what has been wrong with me lately.
Ok actually I do.
Lets just say this wasn't a great week for me... and not just because of the camera incident.  Lots of little things adding up and piling on me and making me not feel up to blogging or being creative or peppy.
I would share my Halloween costume with you, but the whole lack of a camera thing put a damper on that.
I'll have to wait to get some pictures from my friends.

I decided to make the best out of the situation and make some pictures of our beach trip this week (you know the one where both my friends and I got our cameras stolen)
It was my friend Stephanie's Birthday!  We were out on the beach exploring and celebrating and then BAM! THIEVES!
Stephanie and Sarah had never been to these beaches before (they're an hour and half away) but luckily I had and had some pictures of the beaches from this summer.

These are what the picture would have looked like had we not gotten our camera's stolen.  Good ole picnik.

A photo of Stephanie and I taken about a month ago at another beach.

A little use of the cloning tool & there we are on Bathway Beach!

Steph sitting by a pool...

Steph in the boat on Levera Beach!!

These pictures aren't anywhere close to how awesome the real thigns would have been... I took some darn good pictures that day... but I know these made us smile and feel slightly less horrible about the situation. 
Happy Birthday again to my sweet friends Stephanie!

Saturday Afternoon Picnik

I have been so busy that I haven't had time to blog.  Good busy.  Fun busy.
I currently have 73 days left in Grenada and it has been my goal since day 77 to go to the beach every single day.  To soak in the scenery and revel in the joy of living here as much as I possibly can.
No more complaining about the grocery store, the heat, our apartment, the lack of clothing, the lack of.... everything.
There is no lack of beauty.

I took these pictures on Tuesday at sunset and did the 1960s effect on picnik.

What about you? Have you had a busy week?  A good busy or a blah busy?
Take a couple minutes to appreciate the beauty around you.  If you're in the north/midwest enjoy those gorgeous changing fall leaves.  I'm slightly jealous.

Saturday Afternoon Picnik - collage

A couple weeks ago Picnik started allowing you to layer photos.  Before this my biggest complaint about Picnik was the limited collage options.  I used Picasa to create the collage and then added text and effects with Picnik... well not any longer!  I can do it all in 1 place!

This is an example of how I would make a blog header.

Start by selecting collage on the main page.

I chose the 3 box collage, but only for the shape.  Remember you can move and adjust the pictures in any way you want, and use way more than 3 images! 
In the bottom right corner it says the dimensions... around 1000x400 is a great size for a blog header.  Adjust the proportion to change the dimensions.


Click 'Done' and now you  are ready to add pictures from the 'Photo Basket'


I start by adding the background images... scrapbook paper, fabrics, or patterns I have created from colourlovers.com


I used a muted green and blue color scheme and added the plaid to get a bit of a fall look.
By right clicking on the images you can change the order in which they are layered.
For instance the plaid is much larger than what is shown here, but it is layered behind the stripes.  I right clicked and said 'send to back'


Next I added the images of Lee and I that I wanted to use.


Once you have all the images in place how you want, now is a good time to save it.  Saving it before you added text or stickers allows the layers to be secured so you don't accidentally drag a photo when you meant to drag the text (trust me it can get frustrating when you're dealing with lots of layers & as of yet Picnik doesn't have a grouping feature to lock in the layers).
It also allows you to go back later and add different text or stickers to the collage if you decide you want something different.
Once it is saved upload it to Picnik and open it as you would any other picture to be edited.


Next add text if you want to.  This is from one of my favorite songs...


I added a few 'whimsy trees' to my collage since it is fall after all.



And you're done!




Today I signed up with Picket Fence Blogs! and I realized that my blog button was super tiny... but hopefully that's fixed now!  Both are on the sidebars... let me know if you have any feedback for me.
Have you been picnik'ing anything fun??