DIY- Master Bedroom

So DH and I recently decided to "tackle" our master bedroom.  We had originally painted the master bedroom when we moved in, thanks to our friends Chris and Megan.  It's not that I disliked the color, but wanted something brighter and more colorful.  So.......then I got the bright idea of painting it purple.  Tim was not so keen on the idea of purple, so it took a little um...nagging.  Hehe...for the last few months I have been trying to "persuade" Tim on purple.  "Not like grape tacky bright purple, more like cool calm awesome purple!"  Well finally Tim just gave in and a purple bedroom was born.  I win! :)

Before

Our original bedding was black, then we got married and got new bedding which didn't go with anything in the room.  The original paint color was "Earthy Cane" by Behr.  The room just looked blah and nothing matched.  Please excuse Gracie's tail...

Then we bought paint samples.  I usually don't buy paint samples, but for some strange reason I decided to this time around.  AND I'm SO glad I did.  The first "color" I picked is on the right and it's called "Lavender Sparkle."  Tim just liked to say Sparkle....  When it dried it was horrible!  A very pale/white purple.  Um no.  So then we went back and I chose "Lilac Bloom" which is the color on the left.  Much better.

After

Lilac Bloom.

I still need to put our duvet cover back on, but for now am enjoying the crisp white down comforter. 

What do you think?  YES I still need to decorate, hang pictures, etc....but I am liking the color a lot.

Oh and we also painted our furniture.  This 3 piece set belonged to my parents from back in the day.  I've had it for years and years.

Before (removed all the brassy knobs)

After

Please excuse the flash....it was 11:00pm when I took this....don't judge... :)  Doesn't it look better???  I still have to find knobs, I'm wanting some chunky glass or white knobs.  They (Hobby Lobby) have chunky white knobs with fleur di lis.....so we'll see... :)

That's all for now.  As soon as I finish decorating, replacing the ceiling fan, and doors I will share a "grand finale" pic.  I just like to say grand finale.... :)  OH and DH loves the purple.  Told ya so....
Have a fabulous day!

♥ Happy Mother's Day ♥

I just wanted to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day.  ♥

Thank you for letting me drool on you and for always carrying me around....

Thank you for putting up with all (lots) of my temper tantrums and always giving me THE BEST birthday cakes ever.....that's a care bear by the way....

Thank you for always letting me sit on your lap and taking care of me even when I was SO sick and SO contagious....

And thank you for always being a free spirit.....even when we went to a costume parade and no one else dressed up....LOL.....and not caring one bit when people looked at you like you were crazy....

I love you mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

Oh and mom, this song is just for you.  You know I can't stand the Beegees, but because I love you and I know they are your fav....you're welcome. 

(My mom is a disco queen AND once danced at Soul Train...seriously awesome...)

And to all of you awesome moms out there....Happy Mother's Day.  Hope you all have a fabulous day!

                       

I Heart Faces- Fix It Friday

It's Friday, so I decided to participate in another Fix It Friday.  This little boy is such a doll!

Here is the original photo

And here is my edit

I loved his little red sweater but I wanted the focus to be more on his eyes...so this is what I did...

Added a layer (ctrl J) and lightened it up

Ran amp Squeaky Clean

Adjusted the skin tones

Adjusted the color curves

Evened out his skin a bit...some little touch ups...

Ran Coffeeshop Baby Powder Room

Then changed coloring to black and white...

The ran Nelly Niro Pink Fade and adjusted pink..

Then adjusted contrast

Flattened and adjusted for web

TAH DAH!  I just like to say that.... :)

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Yesterday was my baby Gracie's birthday, she turned 5 years old!  We went "for a ride" or "buh bye....wanna go buh bye?"  and ventured up to our favorite ice cream place.  They serve a little treat called a doggy sunday.  It's basically custard ice cream with a crushed up ice cream cone and a dog treat on top.  This equals heaven.  I have had Gracie for 4 in a half years now, she is my widdle baby.  Spoiled rotten and deserves it all. 

It was my senior year of college and I was planning on moving away after I graduated, and for that reason I wanted to get a dog.  One day I went up to Petsmart because I knew a few shelters were going to have adoptions that day and started walking around.....petting all the animals....and then I saw Gracie.....this gorgeous little dog sitting all by herself in her crate.  "Oh a german sheppard!"...and then she stood up and she had these little short legs and then I said "OOOOOHHHH A CORGI!!!!"...  I love corgis.  Everytime my mom would take me to the pet store when I was little, I always wanted a corgi.  But it turned out Gracie (her name at the time was Fancy) was not up for adoption.  I talked to the nice old man who was there from the shelter...gave him my little puppy dog eyes....and he agreed that she could be adopted in 2 weeks, just had to get her shots and get fixed etc.  The catch....the shelter was in Paducah, Kentucky.  Um ya that's 3 hours away.  But I was in love, and drove down to Kentucky 2 weeks later to pick her up.  And she's been with me every since.  :)

This is her adoption picture that was posted on the internet,  look at how widdle she is... :)

This was the night I got my new camera and I was trying to figure it out....I love her face....

Her favorite spot...watching the neighborhood....whenever we pull up into the driveway she is always waiting in the window....

Last night before we went "buh bye...wanna go buh bye???"

Happy Birthday Gracie!  I wuuuvvv you! :)

PS:  Shelter dogs are the best!


Have a fabulous day!

                                                                         

Belleville IL Wedding Photographer - Nancy and Frank

I recently had the honor of being a part of something very special.  Mr. Klein (I have a hard time calling them by their first names) contacted me and let me in on something special.  It was Mr. and Mrs. Klein's 20 year wedding anniversary and he wanted to surprise her.  I LOVE surprises!  Like when DH goes into the gas station to pay and comes out with a candy bar for me!  LOVE surprises!  hehe... :)  No seriously, anything romantic just makes me melt....so when Mr. Klein let me in on the big secret...I melted.  He wanted to surprise Mrs. Klein with renewing their wedding vows.  AND he asked me to be there to capture this special event.  I have known Mr. and Mrs. Klein for almost sixteen years now.  Their daughter Katie was my Matron of Honor, and we have been best friends since the 6th grade.  So I definitely felt like a little part of their family that day.  The plan was to pick up their new rings (needed a little "upgrade" and add more bling bling) and to swing by the church real quick to have the rings blessed before they went to dinner.  Little did she know.....a little vow ceremony was going to take place.  Melt.......  :)  Here are a few moments from their vow ceremony.  Happy 20 years Mr. and Mrs. Klein!  Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your special day. ♥

Lovely...

Two little love birds.....

I just love the way they look at each other....

Ok I'm melting....

Their grandson Jackson is such a cutie! :)

Bling! Bling!

Thank you again Mr. and Mrs. Klein for letting me capture your special day! ♥

Have a fabulous day!

            

I Heart Faces- "Then and Now"

This week's photo challenge theme over at I Heart Faces is "Then and Now".  After flipping through old photo albums at my mom's house, I realized that in most of the pictures I was either crying, naked, eating, or in my underwear....so this was a little tough.  There are some brave brave souls who entered this contest in their red tight superman underwear, but not I.  Sorry...  But here is my entry for Then and Now.  The original photo was taken by my mom when I was 2 years old. 

Now, please go check out the other entries at I Heart Faces.  They are HILARIOUS! :)

Have a fabulous day!

                                                                        

A Moment In Time

Good Morning!  Today I woke up at 9:45am, grabbed my camera, threw on some pants and flip flops, and ran out the door.  Why?  Because I along with thousands (maybe a million?) of photographers captured a moment in time.  That's right!  The New York Times had this great awesome fabulous idea to create an international mosaic, "an astonishingly varied gallery of images that are cemented together by the common element of time."  Did you get all that?  Bottom line, photographers (if you can take a picture, you are a photographer) around the world captured a moment in time by taking a picture on Sunday May 2, at 15:00 (U.T.C./G.M.T.)  If you would like to look up what exactly that time means go here.  The New York Times will then gather all of the photographs submitted into one huge gallery for everyone to view.  So I ventured out in my pajamas and flip flops and captured this moment in time.

"Fields of Gold" - Belleville, Illinois

Have a fabulous day!