f/8 1/1600 It's so hard for me to get an in-focus picture of Dashiell these days. Certainly I can't do it with my phone, which has enough delay that there's at least always a blurry limb. In this photo, Dashiell was mesmerized by a small twig and leaf that he found on the ground as he explored our patio area (completely naked, by the way). I love his look of concentration, his fat cheeks that curve out and the fuzzy back of his neck. The Photo Challenge Next Door is a collaboration with my next door neighbor Erica from Laddventure.... Read more →

So, I'm a little behind with my art-a-months. The last one I posted was January! It turns out I'm pretty good at buying affordable art for the house; I'm terrible at framing it and actually displaying it. So, for now, I'm not determined to buy a new piece of art each month. But I am determined to frame and hang what I have. I love the simple frames at IKEA so I just need to make a trip soon to stock up (that store can be so overwhelming so I always put off the trip). But I do have a... Read more →

For my January art-a-month, it's us! I know I'm not the first person to take awhile (ahem...almost 2 years!) to print wedding photos so I'm not beating myself up about it but I am trying to remedy the situation. For Christmas this year I ordered several prints from our wedding day, framed them, and gave them to our family. I had this one printed for us. We were married in Austin at Mercury Hall, beneath the beautiful live oak trees. The sprawling branches of the live oak trees in this photo feel so very Texas to me, I love that... Read more →

I hope you had a cozy Christmas! Highlights of our holidays so far include my birthday dinner with Chris at Cibo in Phoenix, peppermint hot fudge sundaes and Kinnect with friends the next day at our house, a quiet Christmas Eve with friends learning to play our new Settlers of Catan Seafarers game (!!), and a lovely Christmas day with family. Besides our Settler's of Catan Seafarer's game I was so excited to receive a Mac Book Air (a wonderful surprise from my parents!), Simple Sewing, and a framed print from the budanART Etsy shop which is my December art-a-month!... Read more →

As soon as I saw that Abby's etsy shop would be closing soon I headed over and bought this sparkly print that I've had my eye on for awhile. Et voila: November art-a-month! If you like Abby's film photography prints too, she's having an amazing clearance sale; just use the code "shopclosing40" for 40% off. One of her framed prints would make a nice Christmas gift...since it's time to be thinking about these things after all! Aaand, I'm not at work! On a whim last week I requested to take today off and I'm making a mental note to always... Read more →

Recently I stopped in a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, just to browse. Along the way I found my October art-a-month! It's a colorful photograph taken in Joshua Tree National Park during what looks like a phenomenal wildflower season. It was being held captive in a sad metallic frame and was marked at $6. Sold! I put it into a black IKEA frame that I already had and it seems to have found a home on our great room sideboard, where it adds a pop of color. Now I'm wondering if the wildflowers are always this amazing in Joshua Tree or... Read more →

I'd love to give you a peek at where two of my art-a-month pieces have found a place in our home. Both are part of a growing gallery of white-framed art on our dining room shelves. My June piece is tucked behind one of my favorite photos from our wedding. It's a photo a friend took and framed for us. The September piece is awaiting a frame but seems to fit right in beside a stack of thrifted books. Sharing where these pieces end up is very good motivation for me to use them in our home. I tend to... Read more →

My Septembert art-a-month makes me homesick for Austin! I found this little print (it's 5 x 7) through Young House Love when they tweeted that Dutch Door Press was having a 15% off sale. I checked out their Etsy store and found cute prints of state flowers and birds. At first I considered buying three prints: Connecticut, Texas, and Arizona to represent where Chris and I met, where we got married, and where we live now. But unfortunately they didn't have a print for Arizona. (Maybe soon!) So I went with the Texas print since it's not only representative of... Read more →

For my art purchase in August I bought a print from the Etsy shop of Lucy Snowe Photography. The photo print cost $25 plus $5 shipping, so a fresh new piece of art for $30. I love the conrasting colors, simplicity, and the desert mid-century modern feel of it. As we've been decorating our house over the past two years I've found that I love the mid-century modern look. (Lucky for me, I'm not the only one in the valley who feels this way.) I don't have a spot picked out for this print yet but I think it will... Read more →

I frequently see art prints that I like on Etsy and around the web-o-sphere and I think, "Oh, I should get that and frame it. It would like great in our house." But I never do! I end up being indecisive about where we'd put it or I decide that I should just save the money. But art is a great thing to spend (some) money on and the things I'm usually looking at are less than $50 so it wouldn't break the bank. I think it's definitely worth buying some of these things so that we can have more... Read more →