You know its been too long since you’ve last blogged when your Dad casually mentions it to you on the phone one day. So, I’m going to skip over all of the usual excuses of why/what/when, and just get right to it. My Favorite thing for June is Disney World!! How can you possibly NOT love Disney World?! Actually, I know quite a few people who hate it, but let’s not even go into why their brain obviously has a crossed circuit when it comes to imagination, fairy tales, and wishes coming true ;).

A few weeks ago, Greg and I went to Disney to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog from the beginning, you might remember me mentioning we got married in Disney, and we were beyond ecstatic to finally be going back! My sister, BIL and nephew also went down, and we had an incredible week together! The weather was in the mid to high 80’s (I know most people find that uncomfortably hot, but for me, its just perfect!!), there wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the humidity was really not terrible until the last couple days we were there. It was honestly a perfect trip! We ate incredible food, found the BEST soft serve station in Epcot (France), and we stayed at the Boardwalk Inn (a villa), for the first time. It was the perfect location – a 5 minute walk to Epcot, a 15 minute walk to MGM err, I mean Hollywood Studios (it will ALWAYS be MGM to us), and a terrible bus ride to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. If you can’t stay on the Monorail, (and let’s be honest, why can afford that these days [AMIRIGHT?!?]), then I think staying at an Epcot Resort is the way to go! Next time I think we’d like to stay at the Yacht Club – where our reception was <3... I'll be doing a full blog post on our trip, with lots more pics from the trip soon

If you’ve never been to Disney World… well…I don’t understand why that would be, but if you have any questions or just want to chat about all things Disney, leave a comment below! And if you have been, tell me, what are some of your favorite things to see and do there?

A while ago, I saw a blog post by another photographer who had a huuuuge list of goals, and she called it 101 in 1001. It was a list of 101 goals that she wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. Some of the goals were huge and scary and probably really hard to attain, and some were so small and seemingly insignificant. And, there were goals everywhere in between. I read through her list, and thought to my self, what a cool thing to do. I mean, really. I didn’t really do any “New Year’s Resolutions” for 2012, partly because I had this long list going, and partly because sometimes, writing down things makes them scarier!

Well, it’s taken me a long lonng looooonnnnnng time, but I finally finished writing up 101 goals for myself. Its a lot harder then you think! I cruised right along till about number 65, then I just got stuck… for a while. I finished my list this morning, and I think this is a great Favorite Things post for this month, because with Spring coming, the new wedding season upon us, whats better then laying out 101 of your hopes and dreams for everyone to see?!

Here’s my list, in all its glory I created this list on June 24, 2011, and using this neat website I was able to calculate the date I should hope to finish this list, which is March 21, 2012. Yikes! Only 2 years left, I better get going!! And if you have one, too, let me know and post a link to your 101 in 1001, in the comments section!! Don’t be shy

1. Take portraits of my sister
2. Go on a romantic weekend getaway with hubby Feb. 18/19, 2012
3. Go to the beach on a weekday
4. Learn how to knit and make a shawl
5. Make headbands for my newborn photography
6. Book my first wedding
7. Book my second wedding
8. Book more and more weddings
9. Print that portrait of my sister and Paulie
10. Go camping Oct. 18/19, 2011
11. Star gazing
12. Go back to Disney world with my sister and familyGoing in April 2012, wahooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
13. 3 months in a row with sub 1K credit card bill
14. Completely clear out the laundry room of all laundryDid it recently, although its tattered with laundry again… I’ll keep this goal going and going
15. Get a tattoo
16. Build a mini bed for newborn photography (with my dad)
17. Buy 85mm 1.2 lens
18. Get far enough with photography to quit my day job
19. Learn how to make home-made pasta
20. Cook a really nice 5 course meal for Greg and I one night
21. Hike other mountains besides Sleeping GiantSo far, only2 others, but we’re planning on doing a lot more this spring summer and fall (2012)
22. Practice yoga Started when I started my 10 Week Workout Challenge back in the fall of 2011. Its ongoing
23. Start meditating
24. Eat more fruits and vegetables
25. Go through old photos and get rid of the “junk” Did this in January 2012
26. Learn how to make sushi
27. Develop a killer chocolate frosting recipe
28. Start reading more and finish unread booksHave been reading about 1 new book a week since Feb 2012
29. Research health and nutrition and keep up to date with current health and wellness trends
30. Brush up on my geography
31. Drive somewhere I’ve never been before without using a GPS
32. Go for a drive to nowhere and enjoy the scenery
33. Go on a real picnic with our picnic basket
34. Attend every PUG meeting I can unless I’m physically out of the state
35. Visit California
36. Network with Bliss Bridal
37. Photograph an Indian wedding
38. Lose 5 more pounds to reach my ultimate weight loss goal
39. Rebrand myself to attract the right kinds of clients that I ultimately want to work with – started, but not finished yet…
40. Get better organized by doing the following: vacuum once a week
41. Do a load of laundry once a week
42. Plan out meals for the week for dinner and keep up with it
43. Clean the kitchen every nighthave been keeping up with this and its so relieving to have a clean house to come home to every night! I’ll try to keep this up as best I can!
44. Make a turkey meatloaf like the one from Whole Foods – tried and failed… try again!
45. Get my wedding band resized so I can wear it – F it, I just wear it now
46. Run another ½ marathon
47. Make a quilt for myself (for once)
48. Get back into taking vitamins dailystarted Jan 2012
49. Start using coupons and planning grocery shopping trips again
50. Design the back patio by fall 2011 – opps, by Spring 2012…
51. Submit the plans for the patio to the board by fall 2011 – By Spring 2012…
52. Weed all gardens and lay mulch by the fall of 2011 – By Spring 2012…
53. Rearrange the office and bring the iMac back upstairs Found a better place for the iMac!
54. Go through old bills and organize paperwork in the officedid Winter of 2011/2012
55. Vacuum my car once every other month
56. Wash and wax my car as often as I should to keep it protected
57. Cook pancakes for Greg’s parents again did once, but would like to do a lot more
58. Get on a better sleeping schedule (in bed by 11pm)
59. Go for manis and pedis as a little treat to myself once every few months
60. Reread all Harry Potter books Finished winter 2011/2012
61. Paint a picture to hang in our house
62. See the Grand Canyon
63. Go out west and go to some states I’ve never been to before
64. Spruce up our bathroom – new mirrors and lights, maybe new bath fixtures, and paint the walls
65. Do the entire P90X system (its really tough!)
66. In the winters, do 2-3 days of cardio to keep my endurance up so I don’t huff and puff when I start working out again in the spring
67. Put granite or some sort of nicer counter tops in the Kitchen, and do up a nice back splash
68. Keep my tree garden alive so that I can transport the trees to other areas of the yard when they are ready to be moved
69. Take a CPR and first aid class in preparation of becoming a mom some day
70. Get my boating license
71. Take a vacation to Canada just because
72. Start reading the Outlander series
73. Send greeting cards to friends and family 1-2x a year just because it’s nice to say hello. Try to start in 2012
74. Drop those 2 bags of unused clothing to Goodwill, or another charitable organization who can use them
75. Plant some veggies every summer and make sure they don’t go to waste
76. Juice 2-3x a week in the summer using either a farmer’s coop, or veggies from the Farm (if they start growing this year)
77. Find and/or create the perfect buttercream frosting recipecheck! I should do a blog about my baking adventures… they are fun!
78. Find the perfect chocolate cake recipeI think I’ve come really close, if not perfect! Blog post to come…
79. Find the perfect vanilla cake recipe
80. Create 1-2 handmade artifacts to sell on Etsy
81. Knit the baby snuggie in a neutral color yarn as a gift to the next person I know to have a baby (or in my fancy purple yarn, if that baby is a girl, or buy boy colored yarn if it’s a boy)
82. Take another craft class with Greg’s mom, like pottery.
83. Make the JCrew elastic waisted mini skirt for me and melis
84. Make a piece of clothing for Paulie and Julia
85. Join a book club
86. Learn how to speak German or Polish… or maybe both!
87. Upload a portfolio slideshow onto my iPad for future client meetings
88. Order the new Moo Luxe biz cards (once my new brand is done)
89. Order a sample album from one of my more recent weddings
90. Cut my hair short………. Maybe…….
91. Nail workflow down to 2 weeks for weddings and 1 week for portraits
92. Make new house quilt of the Farm for mom and dad
93. Take photos of the Farm to blog about
94. Start and complete another 365 project
95. Create a “365 gratitude” journal… one thing I’m grateful for, everyday…
96. Run a 10k
97. Try frozen banana “ice cream” and maybe some “raw” toppings too (cookie dough, etc)…it was good, but I dont know if I’d make it again…
98. Visit a Naturopathic doctor
99. Make applesauce and apple butter – made pumpkin and butternut squash butter in fall 2011… still have to make apple sauce
100. Learn to make jellys and jams
101. Get an ND filter for my 35mm lens (plus adapters for the other lenses) before our next vacation

Wish me luck!! <3

I was recently introduced to Pinterst.com and to say I’m addicted is an understatement. I’ve been saving pictures to my desktop and clipping magazines since I could hold a pair of scissors; keeping these sources of inspiration and creativity in a neat and orderly place so that I could go back to them and create something of my own. Pinterest makes this 1000x easier! Not only can you save a picture right from the website you are on to come back to later (how many times have you navigated away from a page only to say later, “what was that website with that incredibly awesome pic of that dress??!?!”), but when you use the Pin it applet on your web browser, it links back to the original source of the image, too! This serves as two really valuable resources, in my opinion:

1. You can finally go back to that website/blog *easily* and see all of the how’s and where’s and when’s of your inspiration image (maybe a DIY craft, or a pretty braided up-do that you’re dying to try for your next big night out) without having a million bookmarks in your browser, or sending yourself a million emails with links (or am I the only one who does that??).

AND 2,

It CREDIT’S the owner of that image. You get linked RIGHT to their website, where you can search and explore tons of other amazing DIY crafts, recipes, or really pretty braided up-do’s. This is huge for me, because as a photographer, I really like to give credit where credit is due, and I really want to know how you did that pretty braided up-do!! I have weddings that I’m attending (as a bridesmaid no less!!) and I need to do my hair up all nice and junk.

I think Pinterest is a great source of creativity and inspiration, and can be really useful for everyone, photographer or not! I know I like to print off a million recipes that I’m curious to try. Why waste all that paper, when I can just pin it to my “Delicious!” board, come back to it when I’m ready to try it, and save a tree!!? Its awesome.

Speaking of my “delicious!” board, this is my favorite board to pin too because I’m a total chocoholic, and I’m constantly looking at chocolate cake recipes online… it’s kind of one of my favorite pastimes. It’s kind of a running joke in my family that I look up chocolate cake recipes like a 15 year old boy would look up … well, you get the idea.

You can follow me on Pinterst here, and if you’re on Pinterest, please leave a note in the comments and link to your Pinterst page so I can follow you too!! Happy Pinning

Last year, for Christmas, I got a really nice Breville juicer from my MIL, and we maybe pulled it out of the cabinet one or two times to make juice this year ::embarrassed::. She even gave me this really cool book with hundreds of juice and smoothie recipes. They all look SO good, and I really *wanted* to make juice, but I just didn’t really know exactly how. I was kind of afraid of messing it up. I mean, the point of juicing is to get vitamins and nutrients, and to make really delicious and healthy drinks. My mom makes these crazy juices with all sorts of weird veggies like Swiss Chard and bok choy. :-/ I thought for sure that when I tried my first juice it was going to taste like a cross between oranges and wet baby diapers. And this was definitely NOT something I wanted to consume.

But finally I decided to dive in and just try it, because you’ll never know unless you try, right?

And let me tell you, my juice, despite having swiss chard, spinach, AND kale, did NOT taste a thing like wet baby diapers. Ohhhh no, quite the contrary. My first juice had the most wonderful sweet and tangy flavor. You couldn’t taste the bitterness of the greens at all, but they were in there, on yes they were. I saw them go in, and yet… all I could taste is the tangyness of the orange, and the sweetness of the strawberries and carrots. All in all, my first juice was a raving success, and I’m hooked.

Which is why for November, juicing is my favorite thing! I’m so addicted to juicing that I now make sure to get up extra early in the am to make a big 32oz batch of fresh juice. I drink a big glass of it on my way to work, and feel full and satiated until lunch time!! No joke. I’m not sure how long the juice will keep in the fridge, so I only let it sit 24 hours. I also drink juice with lunch. I’m planning on trying a ton of different recipes, and I’m sure some will tank, like my fist attempt…

Meet, my first Green Monster.

I actually made this before I decided to pull out my Breville. I found the recipe on my new fav blog, Oh She Glows, and decided to give it a try. Since its fall here in CT, and I’m totally all about the pumpkin flavors, I though her Pumpkin Green Monster sounded particularly delectable, however, I was soooooo very wrong. I think its a personal thing, but I can not eat canned pumpkin without cooking or baking it. The taste just gets to me. I didn’t really figure this out, however, until I made a giant batch of this green monster. I think if you like to eat cooked down pumpkin or canned pumpkin straight up, you’ll probably really like this recipe, but I just about gagged drinking this thing. If you think this is something you might want to give a whirl, you can find the original recipe here from Angela’s website, The Green Monster Movement, and here is my modified version:

PUMPKIN PIE GREEN MONSTER from GREEN MONSTER MOVEMENT:
3 C spinach (lightly steamed)
1 C almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
1/3 C canned pumpkin
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
pinch nutmet
pinch pumpkin pie spice
2 crushed graham crackers
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp chia seeds
a few ice cubes

Add all to a blender, and blend away until at the desired consistency. I blended mine for probably around 3-5 minutes to get it really smooth and creamy. Let me know what you think, if you make one!

After that tank, I discovered my love for juicing, and now, I much prefer my Breville for a big batch of fresh juice because I’m consuming a huge amount of fresh veggies which are providing my body and mind with all of the essential vitamins and nutrients that I need. And that is what it’s all about! I haven’t given up on the Green Monster though, and I think if I skip the canned pumpkin flavors, and make more traditional flavors, like peanut butter banana, choco mint, and the like, I’ll really end up liking these too!

Have you ever tried juicing? Do you have a favorite recipe?? Post about it in the comments below, and I’ll share some of my favorite recipes as I try more and more flavors! Don’t be shy

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had this incredible urge to make things. If I saw something in a store that I really really wanted, when we got home later on, I’d sneak into my mom’s craft room and try and make it. Backpacks, skirts, barbie cloths. You name it, I tried to make it. Even to this day, I make things whenever I can. I just like to craft.

So, yesterday, when I was cleaning out the hall closet for the 223,423,423,455th time, I realized I needed another shoe organizer. We already have a nice wooden one in there with little cubbies for shoes, but its filled to the brim. I’m talking 3-pairs-of-shoes-per-cubby filled.

So I went to write up a list of things I’d like to pick up from the store the next time I went out, and then thought, why not just make one? Which brought me to my favorite thing for October. As the weather (*tries*) to get cooler, one of my most favorite things to do this time of year is sew!

I whipped this little shoe cubby up in just a couple of hours, and although I could have just run to Wal-mart and bought one for probably 12$, there is something really gratifying when you make it instead. Now all my flip flops and flats have a happy home, and we have more room in the wooden cubby for the sneakers, boots, and all my fun high heels. Yea, I have too many shoes!

*Why, yes I made my shoe organizer out of cat fabric. Its really cute and I love it!*

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.

There is this new craze sweeping the country (or maybe I’ve just been living under a rock). I blame my brother, Brian, and my soon to be SIL, Claire. See, they introduced me to Red Mango one day when Greg and I were down on LI visiting the fam…. and I’ve never been the same since.

Who ever first thought of a self serve frozen yogurt shop is seriously the smartest person in the world. And so, when I saw an advertisement for Kiwi Spoon in Wallingford while waiting for a movie to start at the theater, I jumped for joy… like, literally, in my seat did a little *happy dance*. See, there aren’t any Red Mango’s in CT. So I thought the only time I’d ever be able to enjoy frozen yogurt would be when we were visiting NY. Check out their facebook fan page, it has a bit more info then their html website.

Since discovering Kiwi Spoon, I’ve been there (I’m not lying or exaggerating) probably 4/5 days a week. NO LIE. If you haven’t been to one of these self-serve shops, let me paint you a little picture.

An assortment of frozen yogurt flavors, just waiting for you to pull their handle and dispense their sugary goodness into your cup. Mango, Strawberry, Original Tart, Chocolate, Cookies n’ Cream, CHEESECAKE for goodness sake!!!

Once you’ve filled your cup to the brim with frozen deliciousness, you add toppings… as many as your little heart desires. See, they have these little bins FULL of all sorts of toppings… m&m’s, chopped reeses, brownie bits, chopped nuts, gummy bears, captn crunch cereal!, and all sorts of fresh fruit (for those who want a healthy option) like strawberries, mango, kiwi (duh), banana, and blackberries.

*then you just weigh your decedent dessert at the checkout counter (kiwi spoon currently charges .49/pound) grab a spoon and dive right into divine heaven.

::sigh::

My favorite flavors (at the moment) are peanut butter (just came out), mixed with either cookies n’ cream or chocolate, and topped with whipped cream.

Have you been to Kiwi Spoon, or any other frozen yogurt place I should know about so that I can try it? And what’s *your* favorite flavors??

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.

Last month, the last movie for the epic Harry Potter series premiered, and like all the other crazy obsessed fans across the US, I was lined up with my friend Catherine (also a Harry Potter junkie) at 11:59 PM Thursday July 14th, waiting for the midnight premier showing. We wanted to be one of the firsts to see the last movie. So I though it was quite apropos that this month’s “Favorite Things” post would be about probably my all time favorite book series of all time… Harry Potter!!

*I started to re-read the series, and just started book 3 yesterday morning. These books have been awesome while I sit at home and wait for my wisdom teeth extraction to heal. :)*

Midnight showings are always so much fun, you get only true die hard fans (for the most part), and part of the magic of watching the movie comes from the audience and their reactions to all those key scenes. The cheering, the booing, the crying… oh the crying. I dont think there was a dry (girls) eye in the whole theater towards the end.

I went to see Harry Potter 7.2 again a couple of days later with my brothers and SIL’s, and even though the movie differs quite a bit from the book, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching it. You really have to separate the movies from the books in order to enjoy the movies, I think. Books are *always* better. Period. You can not compare them. Once you do, you only set yourself up for disappointment.

If you are a Harry Potter fan and haven’t seen the movie yet… what’s wrong with you!!?!?! Get out there and go see it! And if you have seen it, leave a comment below and tell me what *you* thought of the movie. One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is talking about Harry Potter… talking about the series as a whole, the various books and how they all eventually interweave, about the why’s and the how’s and the whatif’s…

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.

How is it July already!?! It feels like just yesterday I started the “My Favorite Things” series on this blog, and now half the year has gone by! Well I’ve been doing these “My Favorite Things” posts since January, and I thought, for my 6 month anniversary and because I’ve been so good about blogging about all of my favorite things, I’d reward you guys with a little giveaway/contest! Yay! See the details below…

I probably haven’t talked too much about on the blog about my addiction to chocolate… but… its pretty bad. I take “chocoholic” to a whooooole new level. Seriously. I just can’t resist chocolate. In fact, I love chocolate so much, I don’t really think a dessert (or snack) is *worth* it unless there is some sort of chocolate involved. Lemon cookies? bleck! Blueberry muffins? Where are the chocolate chips!?! Sugar candies? ppffshh! Bring on the snickers.

So last month, while visiting my sister, I brought my whoopie pie recipe book and made her some delicious chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake whoopies for her birthday. They were SO so sooooo good!

I tried to find a link on Amazon for the recipe book that I have, but I couldn’t. This doesn’t really surprise me, as I bought the book from Marshalls and usually, things that you buy from that store don’t seem to exist *anywhere* else in the world, except in other Marshalls/T.J.Maxx’s… so here’s a recipe book on Amazon that is similar, and one I would definitely buy if I didn’t already have a fabulous whoopie book

WHOOPIES!!

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.

*The Giveaway!* So tell me, who else here has an unabashed love for all things chocolate or even just dessert in general? Just leave a comment below before 11:59pm Sunday, July 17th, and I’ll pick one lucky winner to receive a copy of the above-mentioned Whoopie recipe book! Annnnnnd go!
**I extended the contest because I dont think there was enough time for people to come and comment. So, you have a full week! Remember, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (it can be about anything, it doesn’t have to be about whoopies, chocolate, or dessert of any kind!).

Before we get too far into June, I thought I should do a Favorite Things post for this month! One of my all time favorite products for beauty is Burt’s Bees. If you haven’t heard of Burt’s Bees (perhaps you should come out from under that rock you are living under… kidding!) you should go over to their website RIGHT now and check them out! Their products are amazing!!!

A. Lip Balm. This is seriously the *B.E.S.T* lip balm in the world. Seriously. I have about a hundred tubes of this and keep them tucked in every single nook and cranny that I can think of, so that no matter where I am at any given moment, I have some chap stick if I need it. This is not an exaggeration. OK maybe its not 100 tubes… but I have multiple, and I DO stock my nooks and crannies.

B. Mama Bee Nourishing Body Oil. I use this as a face moisturizer because I’ve found that most lotions feel so heavy and greasy and even though this is an oil, its light, it absorbs into your skin super fast, and it has a very pleasant yet subtle lemon scent. I absolutely love this oil and use it religiously!

C. This After Sun Soother is great for those days when you get a little too much sunshine (great for this time of year!). Its a tad expensive, so I do use it sparingly, but with the aloe, it really does sooth your skin when you get a burn

D. Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion. This lotion is really light and it has a really pretty honey scent. It goes on supper smooth, and doesn’t leave a heavy greasy feeling (can you tell I don’t like greasy!??!)

E. Natural Toothpaste. Okay, I have to admit, this toothpaste was really weird when I first tried it. It’s thick. It takes a few seconds to really loosen up; its nothing like Colgate, or Crest, that’s for sure! As strange as it was the first few times I used it, I quickly grew to love it just as much as their other products. I used to use Tom’s of Maine for the longest time, and then saw this toothpaste in the Grocery store. As with most new Burt’s Bees products that I discover, I had to try it. Its definitely become a staple item. I even keep an extra tube in my cosmetic bag for when I go away for the weekend

F. Burt’s Bees Radiance line is awesome for women who aren’t as … :ahem: young as they’d like to be, and I LOVE their Exfoliating Body Wash. Now, I’m only 27, so I know I have nothing to complain about, but I like to think that if I start using their Radiance line *now*, then I’ll stay young looking forever! That’s the plan, anyway

Burt’s Bees uses as many natural ingredients as they can, and every products gives you a % of Natural content right on their product for you to see. So you know you’re using really healthy, really high quality products, and you’re not getting a lot of fillers and chemicals. That’s the biggest reason I continually use Burt’s Bees above other beauty care products out there. I guess you could say this is probably my 2nd biggest Lovemark (click here to read about my *BIGGST* Lovemark, and if you don’t know what a Lovemark is, there’s lots of good info about it there too!).

** If you’d like to see some of my other favorite things, you can click on the category “favorite things” under the title of this post, or just click here.