Last weekend I drove 300 miles to Big Lake, Minnesota. I went to visit my dear friend Carrie. Since she moved to Minnesota I have only seen her when she comes to Madison. This has been eating at me. Part of the problem was that I had some serious health problems and after my recovery… Continue reading Road Trippin’
Author: Aly
Free Spirit, Deep Thinker, Book Nerd, Avid Coffee Drinker, Food Enthusiast, Tattoo Addict, Budding Photographer, Wife & Mother.
Through Her Eyes
Over the last six months Taylor has been taking pictures with her Fuji film Instax Mini 9. In essence it is a modern mini Polaroid camera. She received it as a gift for Christmas last year. Recently while picking up around the house I gathered and assembled all the photographs I stumbled upon. I enjoyed… Continue reading Through Her Eyes
Posing for Portraits
Natural light is my dear friend. It has assisted me thus far on my photography journey. Until now. Recently I have been trying to learn how to take studio style portraits with an off camera flash setup. Here are a few of my images, well more than a few of Taylor, but who's counting?? The… Continue reading Posing for Portraits
Proud Mommy Moment
Over the years I have noticed and embraced a handful of extra special, proud mommy moments. These moments are ones that steal your heart, take your breath away and bring tears to your eyes. These moments are different from the ones when your baby takes their first step or says their first word. In my humble… Continue reading Proud Mommy Moment
Celebrating one more year of survival
So it happened. I am now 32 years of age. Another year down and many more to go. This year my birthday was celebrated a little bit different from most years because I was traveling for work on my birthday. I was up at 4am (which is way too early for this girl) to catch… Continue reading Celebrating one more year of survival
Loosening the Reins
Parenting and / or child rearing is tough. There is no right way, but lots of 'wrong' ways. There are a lot of opinions though! People always have a simple solution for what ever the current problem or obstacle is too. Even without fully understanding the situation or the dynamic of those involved. I'm sure… Continue reading Loosening the Reins
Wordless Wednesday: 16
Snowed In
A weekend away is a wonderful thing. Especially when you are visiting a dear friend and her wonderful family. It is even better when you get well over a foot of snow and have a good excuse to stay put and catch up. Between coffee, wine and kids there was plenty of entertainment. Paint, science… Continue reading Snowed In
Taking a second
I wanted to take half a moment to reflect on the last month or so. It seems like when it gets busy that a lot of things get pushed to the side. My blog has been one of them. When I started writing this blog post two weeks ago I kept getting stuck between having… Continue reading Taking a second
Mistakes
I can't stand it when I make simple stupid mistakes. Like this morning for instance. I was so proud of myself for getting us out the door on time (we had a two hour drive to see my sister and get our hair done), but then...I was happy, singing and all of a sudden driving… Continue reading Mistakes
Kissin Cousins
A few weekends ago we had four extra legs in our home. Luna came to visit for a few days. Shiva was so excited to have a friend to play with. They were both thoroughly spoiled rotten and exhausted by the time the weekend was through. We were not sure how the weekend would go… Continue reading Kissin Cousins
That damn question.
It is always the same, but asked in different ways. ~ How are you? ~ How's it going? ~ How do you do? ~ How's your day? ~ Why do people ask questions like this? The majority of the time they don't care or want an honest answer. Most people are just asking to be… Continue reading That damn question.
Can I?
Many times I find myself thinking, wondering... Can I ... Should I ... Will I be able to ... What would happen if I ... Why didn't I ... Would things be different if I ... This leads me to wonder - if I need to start taking action to find out the answers to my… Continue reading Can I?
The Bullet Journal
It has happened. I am Bullet Journalling. For those of you who have not yet heard about this fad let me explain. It is basically a single notebook that is a notebook, planner and to do list all in one. It contains - EVERYTHING, well everything you decide to put in it. It is personalizable so that… Continue reading The Bullet Journal
Posing Workshop
At the beginning of January I attended a seminar and workshop called The Art & Science of Posing by Pierre Stephenson. He is the author of Foundations of Posing: A Comprehensive Guide for Wedding and Portrait Photographers. I signed up because I wanted to gain more insight on not only how to pose people, but… Continue reading Posing Workshop
Gangsta
Late night texts. Pushin' product, Neighbors, friends and fam. Notes in shorthand. Parking lot drops. Stack of cash. Customers hiding their habit. Kid working the street, drumming up business. Watching the stash. Addicted. Maintaining inventory, Can't run low. Peddlin' round the clock. She be hustlin'. Street cred. Serious business, these Girl Scout Cookies.
Door County
Four years of marriage. Seven years of love. Feels like only a moment and forever at the same time. Nick and I decided to take a long weekend and getaway from the daily grind. Spending quality time with each other was our goal. We felt like the best way to do this was to leave… Continue reading Door County
She be Sellin’
Taylor is in her third year of Girl Scouts! This year she wanted to make a higher cookie goal and crush it. I love her determination. Day one we spent 2 hours going door to door in our neighborhood. Yes, that sounds like a lot - however - we only made it around the block… Continue reading She be Sellin’
Resolution
So each year hordes of people make resolutions. The vow to better themselves and make drastic changes because, well it is a new year after all! Although I am writing this at the beginning of February, I made my resolution in January. Sharing this goal is important to me because I feel that by knowing… Continue reading Resolution
It’s been a while…(long read)
I decided to take quite a few weeks off from blogging during the holiday season. It was one thing that I could take off my To Do List guilt free even though it is one of the few things I do for myself. I did miss writing and getting my thoughts 'down on paper' per… Continue reading It’s been a while…(long read)
Savoring Life's Moments 