a room with a view. of the ocean.

I'm so sorry for disappearing! Real life is once again taking hold and prohibiting me from blogging and visiting all my favorite reads, and it doesn't look like it'll be letting up anytime soon.

This past week I spent in my soon to be future home of Wilmington, North Carolina. A big move is coming for Andy & I as we trek (literally) halfway across the country for school. We'll be making the move at the very end of July, but we had to get our living arrangements sorted out before hand (mostly just to calm my nerves). We now have a beautiful, roomy new apartment that is about 15 minutes from the beach and I couldn't be more excited about calling it home soon.

For now we are back in Texas and I trying mentally and physically to prepare us for the move coming up. Been cleaning the apartment and starting to get stuff packed away into boxes so when August 1st comes rolling around the actual moving part won't be such a headache.

In between packing, cleaning, & traveling, I've managed to fit a teensy bit of crocheting in. These slippers I added to the Artfire shop last night. I have named them Oceanview - I guess my trip kind of inspired me!

I don't know when I'll get more things added to the shop. Besides the move, there's been a serious development with my dad. He underwent bipass surgery a few months back, but right now things aren't looking as good as could be hoped. A few of the grafted arteries seem to be clogged & the surgeon thinks it's too soon after the first bipass to attempt to perform another one to graft a few more arteries. For now it looks like he'll be getting some stints placed in the bad arteries in an attempt to relieve some of the pain he's been feeling & buy him some time incase he'll need another bipass. Please keep my family in your thoughts as I think we're all still in a bit of shock on how this is turning out. And please think fondly of my dad & hope he gets better soon with no more pain, surgery, and hopefully no heart attacks.

Sorry to leave off on such a sad note, I just wanted to give you all a heads up on why I may not be around as much as I'd like to be. And I'll try to keep updated as things progress with both the move and my dad. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week (and may it lead quickly to the weekend!).

what's sprung.

Some of my beauties growing out on the porch right now. I really love spending the sunny afternoons in the shade of the porch with some cool Italian soda, a snack, and these lovlies to look at. They brighten up my day. I hope everyone is enjoying the colors & warmth of summer in bloom! Don't forget about my giveaway - there's still plenty of time to enter!

fungus among us.

Photo highlights of a morning spent away from the crochet needle, away from the computer, away from the stress, & just out in the open. Enjoyed the warm, humid day, the flowers by the trails, the extremely photogenic fungus, & a picnic in the trees. Did not enjoy forgetting the bug spray and occasionally be swarmed by hungry mosquitoes on certain trails.

Tomorrow it's back to the grind doing those weekly chores like groceries & laundry while also catching up on some online business. I hope everyone's weekend has been as lovely as mine, if less mosquito-y.

foto friday - September 5, 2008

For Foto Friday this week I decided to use this shot of a cotton blossom with some cotton fiber I took this afternoon. Most of my week this week has been spent out in the cotton fields picking the cotton for work. It is definitely not one of my favorite things to do let alone when it's 90+ degrees outside and you are out there for hours on end. But sometimes you do come across some fun critters out there in the fields such as a beautiful butterfly I saw today, but he didn't want to sit still for a picture. Plus, I think this picture is actually pretty, even though it doesn't soothe the pain of the sunburn I have on the back of my neck - ouch. 

diy light box

This afternoon I stumbled across a post in the etsy forums concerning terrible pictures. I'll be the first to admit that pictures have probably been one of the weakest points of my etsy shop. While giggling about everyone else's photo troubles, I saw a link to a tutorial for a diy light box. I had considered using one of these before to take pictures, but hadn't taken the time to make one because of the fact that I couldn't model the slipper inside the light box. 

Well, today, I finally decided to make one - and it was so easy! All the supplies I had lying around so it didn't cost me a cent and took less than 30 minutes. In no time I was outside shooting in my new mini studio. And the pictures came out beautifully. I had to do a few minor adjustments on them, but the lighting and colors were true and beautiful. I think the beautiful new images completely make up for the cons of not being able to model inside the light box - I don't think the slippers need to be modeled any longer for someone to see how fabulous they are. 

If you are having photo issues and can't figure out how to get great, professional looking photos like so many etsy artists, I would definitely recommend making yourself a light box. It's so simple and you'll be glad you spent the time (and very little money). You won't know how you lived without it!

P.S. The slippers pictured above (the first photographed in my new light box) are now available in the my etsy shop.

photography.

Lately I've been playing around a bit with photography. The spring around here is just beautiful with the huge explosion of new life - wildflowers, plants, animals - all sorts of growth and it really inspired me to just get out there and try to capture it all. I haven't really looked into photographic technique, I just play around with what looks good to me and go from there.

All of the photos I share on this blog are my own. Most, if not all, are from the surrounding area and the things I have come across in daily explorations. It's been quite fun exploring new things that just seem mundane and taken for granted, like city parks or highway road sides. The camera I have now also goes underwater, but I haven't had much of a chance to use that feature yet - just think of the possibilities though!

One of my favorite things to do with the photos I take is to share them. Almost every single one has been added to my facebook, and I'm slowly getting around to adding them to flickr - and of course here when I find a reason to share a picture I'm particularly fond of. 

In etsy news, I added a new pair of slippers to the store this afternoon. I'm calling them "Sex and the Slippy." It's very clever, I know. 

When I was crocheting them, the hot pink and black just reminded me of Sex and the City, so I couldn't help myself, really. I'd like to think that if Carrie were to buy some slippers of mine - these would be the ones. Hah hah.