abby try again

Christmas Past

some shots from the archives for you.

Happy Holidays!

I feel a bit like this house looks...

like a shell of former glory. I think I need some coats of paint and a repair here or there.

It is definitely time to recharge. 

:)

I'm compiling a list of books to read, recipes to make and projects to potentially complete.

Anything great you'd like to share?

I found this video to be quite touching and inspiring.

And I'd love to make a simple mobile like this when I visit my little nieces and nephews next week.

* * * *

Off to finish up some last minute orders and time to pack.

Hope you are well, friends!

is blue christmas too obvious?

 
Hello friends.

Since we're heading back to our home town for Christmas we decided to not get a real Christmas tree. (Well that and the fact that a small one would cost us $35-eep!)

I found some branches and gussied them up a wee bit...I like it. I might like our Christmas Stool better. ;)

Outside it's sunny and the sky is blue...feels like spring time.

Christmas in the South is so different.*

(*understatement)

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Not to be redundant but just in case you missed it....

Like I mentioned yesterday-today is the very last day to order from my prints shop or from my etsy.

They'll both be closed for several weeks as I change things up a bit.

 If you type in "holiday" at the checkout of either shop you willsave 15% on your order. I've put the few calendars I have on clearance here and here. I have a few sale items here and the discount works on those, too.

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Thanks, friends!

no judgement

As this year draws to a close I think it is only natural to look back on these past 12 months and think about all of the events that have transpired.

Biggest life lesson this year: "don't be so quick to judge". Still working on that one.

I am going to be completely honest, I have no clue what this next year holds in store for me and James. And that's ok, I'm going to try to just enjoy it.

* * * * * * *

After tomorrow I'm shutting down my main print shop and my etsy shop for several weeks. We're headed out of town and I'm going to be working on some new projects.  If you type in "holiday" at the checkout of either shop you will save 15% on your order. I've put the few calendars I have on clearance here and here. I have a few sale items here and the discount works on those, too.

* * * * * * * *

Thank you so much for your support over this past year, it's kept me going! I look forward to sharing some new things with you in the new year.

* * * * * *

Happy Monday.

 

five senses friday

I leave you with these images today...see you next week!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

 

a little slice of life with Shari

Happy Thursday, friends! Today is the sixth post of a little series that I hope to have somewhat regularly here on the blog: a little slice of life. I try to share the good little bits about everyday life here on my blog-and there are so many of you out there all over the world who do the same. I thought it would be nice to celebrate that. I'm happy to introduce Shari as my sixth guest in this series. Shari is one half of this joy+ride a really lovely publication you should check out. She also started "five senses friday" years ago on her personal blog. She is a wonderful writer and talented photographer who captures the most beautiful bits of her daily rituals. Thank you for sharing here, Shari!

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i like living in the country. 
when i go for a walk with my camera, i never know what is going to draw my eye:




chartreuse in a pile of old leaves,




maroon against all of that brown,




a subtle shadow.

i might try to capture a mood




or a detail.

there are days when i seek to fill the frame 
 



and other, quiet days, that i'm content with filling just the edges.




yesterday i saw a tangle of sticks and colors

and a fungus that i wish i could pin onto my purple blazer.

my favorite days, though, are the days that i use my camera




like a paintbrush
 



following the play of light among the branches








or watching water skip over a rock.




each day is different even though my path is the same.

unexpected

Something kind of strange happened this weekend.

I fell in love with a tiny Texas town and now I kinda of want to live there.

Back up...

Since moving to Texas six months ago, James and I had yet to try real "Texas Barbecue". Neither of us are big meat eaters-I used to be vegetarian for a time and James was vegan for years. The heat and humidity just sort of got to us and all we could sample were tacos and salads it seemed.

Now that the weather has cooled a bit, we decided to research and find the best barbecue to try. We were told to go to Lockhart-the supposed barbecue capital of Texas.

Off we went, driving just a short distance from Austin to Lockhart-but it felt like going to a whole new world. Big wide open spaces, yellow fields of hay, longhorn cattle...it felt like the Texas found in storybooks.

The barbecue was great, we had sauce less brisket and home made sausage at a place that's been doing it for over 100 years.  I had my first taste of Big Red soda (and my last-that stuff is SWEET) and I realized the greatness of white bread. But what sort of happened during our trip was that I kind of fell in love with Lockhart.

The town is small, around 10,000 people I think and the downtown is just amazing. The hip factor is definitely not present-just honest All American people running little shops in the same buildings their parents and parents' parents did. 

Upon our return, I found myself looking up houses for sale there...and of course they are ridiculously cheap. Now, James and I are not at that stage quite yet-but it was sort of strange that I would even find myself considering something like that. All of the changes we've had this past year have really made me think about what I value in life...

Anyway, I hope you are all well! I will stop my rambling now...

shooting in the sun

Sometimes I remember to change my camera's settings to get it right (top images) and sometimes-I forget (bottom images).

* * * * *

hello monday

Hello friends.

I hope your weekend was great.

We had a nice one; we explored a bit and even went on a small road trip.

I'm actually about a week or two behind with my film developing, so I'll share those later.

But I did want to share a few links with you today.

We watched two great films this weekend: Barry Lyndon and Mary & Max (careful-there's loud music on that last link).

Barry Lyndon is a Kubrick film that is said to be one of the most gorgeous films of all time, yet for some reason I had never heard of it until recently. Kubrick used no artificial light while filming and the results are truly stunning. If you love visually interesting period pieces-you must see this!

And Mary & Max is a claymation film, but it is not for children. It explores the freindship of two lonely souls and is just marvelous. It's a little dark, but very honest and I loved it.

And also-have you seen the dobbin mews holiday shop? Everything is lovely and that dala horse necklace is the best piece of jewelry I've seen in a long time. I don't have shopping to do...but perhaps you do?

And just a little heads up. I will be out of town for the holidays so my online photo shop and my etsy shop will be closed from December 14 until after the new year. If you'd like to place an order-please do so before then :) Thanks for all the recent holiday orders. I'll extend the discount until then-type "holiday" at checkout to get 15% off your order (works both in my main shop and my etsy).

All right friends, hope you have a fantastic Monday.

this morning in Texas

Some shots from my little digital point and shoot. Words and film pics to come.

Hope your Saturday is great!