IMAX

The Tennessee Aquarium

Flutter by, Butterfly

We're back from a very full weekend. I've been busy going through all the photos, some of which I'll have to get developed. So, I'll probably do several posts on various things we did. Part one: some pictures from one of my favorite spots, The Butterfly Garden.

Hello Chattanooga

We're off to Chattanooga for the weekend. These are all the places we're going. See you next week!
(Ruby Falls. Image from here.)

(Lover's Leap, Lookout Mountain. Image from here.)

(Tennessee Aquarium. Image from here.)

Bijougirl Designs

I've added a few things to the shop, and I'll be adding a couple more throughout the day today.

Live Rocks

Remember that we turned one of our aquariums into a salt tank a couple days ago? Since then we added a few pounds of live rock to make the tank interesting, give the fish somewhere to hide and help filter the water. For those of you who didn't know rocks could be alive, well you'd be amazed. They're actually rocks that tons of strange oceanic animals and plants have attached themselves to. The rocks aren't even visible anymore.

Our rocks have a bunch of stuff that I have no idea what it is, but Seth and I keep watching, hoping to see weird stuff grow or move or grab infinitesimal particles to eat. I know for sure we have some plants and a small tube worm and some anemones. We also have this really creepy brain thing (photo below) that I need to do some research on to find out what it is. And who knows how many other things live on these rocks that are still too small to see!

Bye Modish

Modish Shoppe is closing their doors:( But if you buy something between now and the closing date (June 30th) You can get %15 off your purchase (even the sale items!) Enter the code "byemodish" at checkout.

I Got My SELF Published!

I don't think I've ever seen my name in professional print before. I entered a tip a couple of months ago and other than giving permission to print it if they decided to use it, I haven't heard a thing about it. So, last night I was leisurely browsing through my new mag during the commercials of Design Star and all of a sudden, there I am! Along with words I wrote! Hooray!



At the bottom of the page it says "Tip winners scored a gift card," and I will have you know that I haven't gotten mine yet! Hmmmm.

Shoe Shopping

I've been shopping black strappy shoes for an upcoming wedding. My heart goes pitter patter at these and these, but my pocketbook is not that full. *sad face*
(left: Kors Shoes Private Strappy, Right: Tory Burch Heather)

These are pretty cute, though. And the price is just right!

Happy Summer

Today is the official first day of summer! Hooray! (O.k. It's really tomorrow, but I'll be out all day and won't be able to do a post. Hey, at least I'm the first one to post about it! Ha!:)

(I think I've posted this picture before, but it's my favorite from my beach pictures. Makes me wanna go back...)

Tube Worms and Fish Tanks

We've been spending a little bit of our free time at the fish store.(One of Seth's favorite places in the world.) One of my favorite animals there are the tube worms. Well, I pretty much love anything in a reef tank, but the tube worms always catch my eye because they're so beautiful. On our last trip, my son touched the glass of the aquarium they were in and they sucked back into their tubes. Then they slowly inched their way out again to wave with the current. I guess I feel a connection, because I tend to do that myself. Suck in real quick if something scares me. Hide. I think I've been feeling that way this week. I don't really know why, but I just feel like I want to quit. Everything. Do ya'll ever feel like that? I know this feeling won't last, and I'll start coming out of my shell again, but sometimes I just want to acknowledge it.

(image from here)

On a brighter note, we're in the process of turning our 75 galleon freshwater aquarium into a salt tank. It's quite the process. We have to start out with some smaller, hardier (and cheaper fish) in order to "cycle the tank" (which means making sure the salinity, PH and all the bacteria levels are correct so that this fragile environment can flourish.) This part of the process will take six to eight weeks. We bought nine little yellow tail damsels. Even though we won't be keeping them forever, I think they're pretty cute.


I have feeling that God is trying to teach me something about hiding and vulnerability and processes...

A Wedding Weekend

For those of you who have been reading this blog since the beginning, you know that I occasionally work as a photographer's assistant for my long-time friend and super fabulous photographer, Tiffany Dupree (check out her Flickr photostream here.) We worked this past weekend and we have two weddings in a row next!

These are all pictures that I took with my (er...Kristen's) tiny Nikon Coolpix (you can click on the pics to see them larger.) I also got to take some black and white film pics with Tif's super cool huge Nikon N90. Can't wait (or cringe) to see how those turned out. Film and digital definitely have a different mindset!

Short Dark Nails

I was inspired by the cover look of the most recent issue of Domino. I loved the polish (which you can't hardly see in this pic, go here to see it better) on her nails and I even just bought a yellow dress! I'm a total copy-cat. (O.k. I actually bought the dress before I got the magazine, so I'm really only a semi copy-cat.) I don't know if my polish color is the exact same as hers, but I picked up some OPI "Suzi Says Da!" and I'm really pleased with the maroonish brown. Same effect I think.

Nightingale Sings

I've designed a new bird necklace. I love how this nightingale turned out!

Bijougirl Designs

I've added a couple things to the shop.

Mom shorts!?

Are there some things I love at Urban Outfitters? Yes. Things I'm craving? Yes. Am I glad they are opening a store near me? Yes. But do I think "Mom Jeans" should make a comeback? NO! Especially acid wash mom jeans. Now, I think that there are styles of high waisted pants that really work...but if I get old enough to see this style really make a big hit, I'm gonna cry.
Urban, I'm disappointed in you...

Fabric at Ikea

Who knew Ikea had such cute fabric? It's perfect for my price range, now I just need to find some in my color scheme!

Fredrika:

Patricia:

Grand Mastermind

Seth and I decided not to turn the TV on last night and opted for games instead. We played Grand Mastermind which is one of my all time favorites. If you're not in a thinking mood, this game's not for you, but if you want to stave off Alzheimer's or you like playing sudoku then try it! Ours is a vintage version, which you can get here. If you want a more modern board you'll have to try plain Mastermind. To learn more about the game, click here. To play an online version, click here or here.

Orno

I came across this lovely Etsy shop, Orno, the other day, so I splurged and bought these hand carved mahogany earrings. Oh, to look as pretty as their model...

Go for a glow?

This is what I learned this week about self tanner.
1. They have really come a long way with the color...it looks pretty real.
2. The brand from Bath and Body Works doesn't smell too bad. Kinda perfumy,
and not burnt skin smell.
3. If you're going to indulge in the cool spray kind, it's probably best if someone
else sprays it for you.
4. Exfoliating afterward to fix a bunch of streaks, because you thought you could
spray it alone, doesn't really fix it...at all.
5. Cute, long pants that were bought during the winter really come in handy in the
summer...

working...

I've really got to be working today. So much to do! See you tomorrow!

P.S. Just in case you can't tell, the picture is of gold balls that have just been rinsed; they've become encased in a bead of water. I'll be doing similar things today;)

Living in Dresses

I've been looking for the perfect summery white (or light colored dress.)

(Image via The Sartorialist)

These are some affordable ones that have popped up on my radar:
I love this pin stripe one.

This one's nice, too.

What are your favorite affordable dress shops?

Tourmaline

I'm working on a rather large custom order. I can't give away the surprise, but it involves these tourmaline beauties.