Bluebirdbaby

Jump Tuesday

Well, I'm sitting here in heat that has reached 95 degrees with lots of humidity. I have been working for 10 hours today (this is following the 10 hours on Sunday and 12 hours yesterday...) and am literally sweating just sitting here at my desk. Disgusting! I am ready for this heat to be over. It's just too much for my wee body to handle!

Other than the fact that this is my THIRD post today (really??!), which is a record I guess, I am enjoying getting caught up on my work. I'm hoping to take my business to the next level by the spring season. I'm super excited! But it has involved a lot of work, a lot of planning, and a lot of research. But working for yourself is just amazing.

And yes...I'm wearing the twirly dress again. I couldn't even put a t-shirt on today, it was just too hot! This dress was easily fixed by a fancy paperclip holding the back straps together, which makes the front look a little more sized to me. I also got my hair cut today. It looks healthier already!

Okie dokie...link time!

• my latest obsession (and music pick for the week) is this. i had to download their entire album and LOVE it. thanks to my internet twin for turning me on to them!
• i am having a love affair with tie dye.
• oh my word. cute and scary all at once!
• LOVE this belt.
• heehee. amen to that!
• must. have. another.one. is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen??!
• i'm so drawn to simple textures and colors lately
• today's picture was inspired by this one. you should check out the no gravity series...it's amazing!!
• i love this little lunch basket
• this was a pretty funny movie we watched recently

Okay...so what are you loving this week? (Don't forget to leave me a link!!) Happy Tuesday!

Senior Shoot :: Sophie :: freya photography

Sophie contacted me a couple of weeks ago after seeing Celia's photos and asked if I'd take her senior photos. I was totally psyched and couldn't wait for the shoot! I just love love love senior shoots! Sophie also asked if I'd combine this shoot with more of a fashion shoot for a modeling rep card. I got even more excited when I heard that!

So we had a lot of fun with this shoot. Sophie looked gorgeous, was super cute, and had a great selection of clothes to choose from. We had fun with some dresses at our second location. I am excited about designing her rep card. I think she totally rocked the camera!

Go here to see the rest! Thanks Sophie...you were awesome!

Freya Photography's Annual Free Photo Shoot

Hey everyone! I'm just popping in here a tad early today (don't worry...a link post will surely be in the works later!) to announce my first annual free family photo shoot just in time for the holidays! Yay! I'm so excited about this.

Fall in Maine is beautiful, and I'm offering shoots at two separate locations in October: one in southern Maine and one a little closer to home. These photos can be made into holiday cards, mini books, prints for family and friends, etc. It will be fantastic!!! I'm only accepting 10 families, so jump on this while you can! Woohoo!

If you're interested, e-mail erin@freyaphotography.com

I hope to see you there!

August Apples

There's a great little walking trail right near our house. We haven't used it much, but last week we decided to spend the morning exploring it. We were on the hunt for apples after we heard there was a little orchard down there. So we grabbed our bags and went looking!

(This photo reminds me of this from last year, and this from the year before!)

The center of the trail was just filled with apple trees. Yes, the wormy, spotted kind of apples, but we like them that way. It reminds us that they are there for everyone and everything, and we are lucky enough to get to share! The little one ate as many apples as she picked. I still couldn't believe we were picking apples in August.

We picked and picked, talking about how we were going to make apple crisp, apple butter, and apple pie. Yum! 

We continued on our walk, looking for wild mushrooms as we went. (Found some, but they were too old!) We also found grapes and raspberries. I think a mushroom hunt is next on our list!

So we came home with bags of apples and plan on making so many delicious things this week after this insane 90 degree heat goes away. But for now, that oven is not going to be on at all! Apple popsicles anyone?!

I've got a photo shoot tonight, so I'll have a link list up for you tomorrow!

A Rainy Day

Sometimes I love rainy days. Especially when they are following a hot and sunny summer. Today was chilly, so I bundled up in some corduroys and sweaters. The little one still insisted on shorts and short sleeves. We baked some "surprise muffins" this morning and followed it with lots of creative play.

Then there was reading to Kiwi. (A Curious George book opened to her favorite page...the one that shows how to make a paper boat!)

Then we headed out to have an afternoon of tea and knitting at a friend's house. So fun. On our way home we stopped at a great store to get some nail polish that didn't have acetone and formaldehyde in it. (Why must they put that in it anyway??!) The little one kept asking this morning if I could paint her nails. I have no idea where that idea came from, but it was the perfect rainy afternoon activity and she was so proud. And purple, of course.

After our manicure session, we made some kale and white bean soup and biscuits. Biscuits are my new favorite thing to make, and the little one's new favorite thing to eat! What a yummy dinner.

We ended the day with a late night trip to the store to get Sasa a surprise card. We found the perfect card (with a Border Collie on it) and drew pictures on the inside and hid it upstairs. The little one kept saying, "Sasa, don't peek! Sasa, don't look! Sasa...your surprise rhymes with mard. Sasa...it also rhymes with pard. Okay Sasa...you're getting closer. Don't look under the covers in your bed, because that's where you'll find the surprise that rhymes with mard." She had us in tears we were laughing so hard! He did eventually find his surprise "card" and he said it was the best card ever.

He then told the little one that there would be a yummy surprise for her when she woke up in the morning. He said it would rhyme with "negg"...can you guess what it is?!

Happy rainy day!!

Fashion Shoot for Luksin Designs

There's no doubt in my mind that fashion photography is where I want to head. I have a major passion for it, but partly because of my location I'm not able to pursue it as I would like to. Enter Luksin Designs. Made, designed, and modeled by the brilliant Daria (remember that fashion show awhile back? that was her!) all right here in our little town.

I love her colors, the screenprints, and her shirts are all made by hand. She designed them all herself and sews them all herself too. They are made out of eco friendly materials like silk, organic cotton, and hemp. I love love love them all! I'm totally digging the terra cotta colored one!

We headed to a favorite field for a photo shoot for her new line. It was very exciting, even though I was battling a migraine and "day after wedding shoot hangover." We managed to get some awesome shots and I'm really pleased with the results. And it always helps tons to have a model who totally knows what she's doing! (She was pretty swell with all her poses!)

So check out her stuff. It's great! Here's a sneak peek...

Yay for Mondays!!!

Phew! I'm here and it's Monday and I have LINKS! I've been working my little tush off with weddings and fashion shoots (yay! more on that tomorrow...) and designing new marketing materials. It's been a busy summer and I am so very thankful to the universe for opening all this up to me. I LOVE every minute of it! The weather is slowly changing. Trees are beginning to shed their leaves and more and more orange is popping up in the midst of green. Really? In August? Already? This summer has been spectacular. I loved it, but I'm also look forward to fall and the coziness it brings. Sweaters, applesauce, pies, scarves...oh, I love it all. But we're still going to enjoy every bit of summer while it lasts.

It was a chilly day today, so I was able to pull out some jeans from the colder weather pile. I've been running almost every morning since early spring and I've noticed a huge change in my legs! They are much bigger! So my pants fit differently...legs are tight and waist is huge. It's funny to see how bodies change. While I love jeans, I may be settling into my yoga pants more often than not! And my cowboy boots made it out today! Yay! And my hair...oh my goodness has it gotten blond this summer. All this sun has completely bleached my hair and I love it!

And for the links...

• my little music man picked this one for you this week (inspired by the rockin' party at the wedding I just shot) It's a fun tune and I can't help but jump up and down when I hear it. (I'm jumping up and down right now as a matter of fact...) Late Saturday night Sasa and I were having a battle about who sang that song. I was SO sure it wasn't BEP. I mean, I've been listening to BEP for years and their sound has changed so much. All this techno stuff now is changing everything! He, of course, knew this song when it first came out and swore that it was BEP. Well, obviously I lost the bet. Haha! Sasa...I should always listen to you!
• see photos from the wedding here!!
• LOVE these shoes
• have you all seen her blog? um, her clothing is fantastic. i seriously want to buy it all. ALL! I want to wear it and photograph it and twirl in it and dance in it and giggle in it. it is terrific!
• this had me in tears. it is so hilarious!
• do y'all remember this song?!! I have fond memories of driving around town in my dad's t-top Camero listening to this song when it first came out. I thought I was so crazy cool!
• this corner rocks
• eeks!
• so clever. i want to drink my tea out of a tree!
• speaking of tea..if i had loads of money I'd surely store my tea in here
• i want to make this skirt!
• so cute! i want it! and i love that yellow.
• and you all must watch this delightful video that the little one's bestest friend MADE and acted in. Seqouia...we LOVE you! will you sign an autograph for us now before you get to be super famous?!
• i'm off on a date night with my man!

Okay you guys...hit me with some links you are loving!! Happy Monday!

Milestone

The little one has been riding her balance bike for a year now. She got to the point this past summer of gliding for about 100 feet before putting her feet down. Her balance was getting that good! So yesterday we took her training wheels off the bike her friend gave her. She wasn't afraid one bit. Sasa and I told her to use it just like her balance bike, but instead of picking her feet up to glide, just to put her feet on the pedals and start pedaling.

Well...it took about two minutes. She got it with no problem! So we've been biking all day yesterday and this morning she came in to wake me up with her helmet on! What a cutie.

We're so proud of her! Way to go my little one!!

Twirly Tuesday

Oh man. What a morning! Complete with hula hooping (I learned a new trick!), twirling around in our dresses, and eating our yummy happy eggs from our happy chickens. That's how to start a day, if I do say so myself! I scored this dress yesterday at a thrift shop. Yes, it's a tad large, especially in the upper front region (ahem...) but hey...it TWIRLS! And who doesn't love a twirly dress, even if you don't quite fill all of it in?! So I twirled and twirled in front of our massive sunflowers that make me so very happy.

Then the little one had to get in on the action too. So she twirled and giggled and laughed, and then we all twirled together with Sasa giggling and snapping away. It was marvelous!

And links! Here they are...

• had an awesome family shoot tonight. can't wait to get the preview up!
• Sasa's music pick for the week is Gorillaz! Love this tune. (Definitely not for kids! Scary cartoons...) But the tune is catchy and has a good beat!
• love this moment
• this is awesome
• happy happy house!
• this is what i'm learning on the hoop! (by the way, my abs have never been flatter after this hooping stuff, which is a nice perk when all i'm interested in is the fun!)
• this is pretty clever
• this is amazingly cute (and would look ridiculous on me!)
• Sasa just took me out to a delicious dinner where I chowed down on French fries and beer. Doesn't get any better than that! Thanks Sasa. You know how to make a woman happy! Smooch.
• i want this so badly. if it wasn't dinged up and so expensive (I would take the dings with a smaller price tag!)
• Sasa and I thought this was the most awesome movie we've seen in a long, long time.
• I'm absolutely in love with her designs, clothing, and well...everything. Amazing. Seriously. This dress? Eeeks!

Okay, I must sign off and get to work! Loads of photos to edit tonight. I'll have two separate previews on my photo blog soon! What are you loving this week? Hit me with some links!!

Doing Nothing

Sasa and I have been talking a lot lately about doing nothing. Not just sitting around and doing nothing, but being able to enjoy something so very simple and yet have so much fun. Whether going for a walk, watching a meteor shower (Friday night...it was awesome!) in a field, picking wildflowers, dipping our toes in the pond, putting on music and dancing for hours. All of these are pretty simple things that don't involve planning, car rides, and lots of effort. And they are so much fun.

So we did just that over the weekend. Lots of nothing. Our favorite nothing activity was going for a walk in the woods, finding stick people and building them a house and beds. We must have played for two hours in this little spot. We laughed and giggled, dressed up the stick people in acorn hats and leaf dresses, played fetch with Doggy Fly, had a major tickle game (the little one totally won!), and just enjoyed the simplicity of being together with no agenda, in the middle of a beautiful spot.

(taken by the little one! she's so good!)

We definitely plan on doing nothing as much as we can. There's something about these simple moments that stick with me forever; they are the memories that tend to never leave my mind. I guess these are the moments that mean the most to me. They certainly are filled with lots of love.

When is the last time you did nothing? What was it? I'd love to hear!

Happy Monday everyone! I'll hopefully be back with a link list tomorrow...

Mama's Going to Can Them For Next Winter

The little one and I have been doing lots of picking, cooking, and eating. Remember Bri and her gorgeous family? Well, she let us come back up for some blueberry and blackberry picking. And boy...we got loads. I spent the better part of yesterday (and Sasa the night before) picking through the berries to freeze for the winter. The little one and I love this book. We read it almost daily in the summer time. When we were picking blueberries she said, "Mama...you're going to take these home and can them for next winter!" Yes indeed. Perhaps not can all of them, but freeze them for sure!

We've made blueberry muffins, jam, a tart, and "smoothie popsicles" out of them already. (We discovered that adding Greek yogurt to our homemade popsicles is deeeelicious!) The little one is such a good helper with all this too.

We've also been enjoying loads of tomatoes and cucumbers, so a simple salad of the two mixed with olive oil and feta is a great lunch.

And the jam...oh my. This is just some of it. We are going to be all set with jam through the winter. A lot of you have asked what recipe I use. It's just the "low sugar" recipe on the back of the Pamona's Pectin. I typically use 1/2 cup honey per batch.

We have been enjoying so many picnics and dinners on our back porch. The little one has been so interested in setting the table all by herself. See those folded napkins? She did that! We found a vintage children's cook book at a used bookstore and it illustrates everything, right down to setting the table. She adores it. So sweet. And Sasa and his Pop worked so hard on this porch... it's just beautiful. We have been enjoying it every second!

And up for today...zucchini bread, homemade hummus, millet sqaures, and quinoa salad. Yum!

Senior Shoot :: Celia

Celia is one of my good friends. We met each other through the local co-op and have had so much fun working shifts together, shopping together, chatting together, and just hanging out. She's an amazing young lady. So bright, so friendly, and so mature. It was an honor taking her senior photos. We didn't realize just how soon the sun is setting these days (it shifts so quickly!) and ended up leaving the ocean to drive to our field and realize it was almost dark! I had to bump up my ISO for the last shots to 1250, open up to a 1.4f, and tried to have really steady hands...

Soon she'll be off doing amazing things with her amazing self. Celia...just come back to visit often, okay?! I love you girl! xoxo

View more here!

The Kitchen

We've been spending an insane amount of time in the kitchen this summer. Blueberry cakes, muffins, pancakes, and jam, raspberry jam, blackberry jam, banana bread, roasted kale, rainbow chard frittatas, ice cream, summer soups, cucumber salads, zucchini pasta, pesto, pesto, pesto, and more pesto. And the list goes on...

I love how the little one is getting so used to cooking and baking. I think she'll be able to throw a muffin recipe together on her own in no time! And I absolutely love how excited she is now to pick things from the garden and bring them in to cook and eat. I love that she knows where her food comes from and that she played a part in helping it grow.

Nothing beats homegrown food and all the yumminess that is coming out of our kitchen! What have you been cooking lately?

Thrifty Sunday

The little one and I went on our first thrifting trip of the year last week. She picked out the new "lunch box" and enamel tea cups (to have "cups for all her friends" for tea) and I scored that awesome enamel pot with the polka dots. I thought I was in heaven.

Our wee little house is just about full. I have little desire in bringing more things in, and am usually seen carrying things out in an attempt to simplify. So there is definitely a balancing act going on. But it's fun and finding some sweet little things like these every once in a while is exciting nonetheless, even if it means something needs to go in order to make room for them.

What have you found thrifting lately?

Blueberry Hill

Our favorite little spot. It's magical. With fields and fields of blueberries, a path up the hill surrounded by clover and blackberries, and the top of the hill covered in chamomile complete with a stone house topped with a sod roof, and you have perfection.

We love this little spot. We picked some berries, some chamomile (it took one smell from the little one for her to identify that this was in her bedtime tea!), some clovers, and had a picnic atop the hill. As we were walking back, the rain started. We climbed into the car and it started to pour. So we nixed the swimming and playground and headed to another special spot for some free sorbet and a little indoor playtime.

We drove home in the pouring rain. By the time we got home, things were dry and the sun was out. We planted some of our chamomile in our herb garden, talking about how some day we would pick it and dry it for our bedtime tea. 

And the afternoon's fun with last in our memories forever. I love this little spot. I love these two beautiful people in my life. We are so very, very lucky!

Happy weekend everyone!

Bees and Summer Nature Table

The little one and I have noticed just how many bees are in our yard this summer. It seems like hundreds! I couldn't pick a flower without one flying out. It has indeed been an amazing year for bees (and honey!!) and we are learning more and more about them everyday.

We set to work making a bee mobile to hang above our new nature table. It's super easy. The wreath was made out of old grape vines, the flowers out of wool felt, and the bees were just black felt that we rolled between our hands to make it into an oblong shape. You then wrap it with some yellow embroidery floss and the wings I made out of tracing paper. I sewed the wings on (with one stitch) leaving a long thread to hang them from the wreath.

The little one and I also went to the library to get books about bees to learn more about them. We weren't exactly sure what happened after they brought the nectar back to the hive, and we were so surprised to read that they have quite the amazing system! I will never look at a bee the same way again. They are smart creatures. It's just fueling my love of beekeeping. I so want to keep bees and have been after Sasa this summer to let me do it. Anyone out there a beekeeper? I'd love to hear your experience!

The table our nature corner sits upon was found thrifting at my favorite little place. We have had a variety of nature tables, but with the rate this house gets changed around, the nature table was always getting pushed aside or taken down altogether. But this place? It won't budge. It's right in our mudroom for all to see. I love seeing it when we walk out the door.

The little one helped a lot putting this together, even finding her two summer picture books and placing them on the table. She's so sweet.

I am in love with this little corner. I think it's my new favorite!

What does your nature table look like right now?!

A Link and Pesto Love

Oh man. I just had the most terrific fabulous amazing post typed up for you all, went to hit "publish" then typepad kicked me out of my account and erased it! Ugh!

So, I'm feeling rather frustrated and now am crunching to get this done.

I know you all want my pesto recipe, so here it is. But first...you MUST promise to listen to this song. It will get you moving and it's Sasa's pick for the week. He loves it. Oh, and check out these beautiful canvases. Yipee!

Okay, now that you are groovin' you may view my ultra secret spectacular special pesto recipe ::

Erin's Ultra Secret Spectacular Special Pesto Recipe ::

• 1/4 cup pine nuts (or just use walnuts if pine nuts are super expensive like they are here)
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 clove garlic (or 3 if you are us!)
• 2 cups fresh loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 parmesan cheese
• salt

1. Combine nuts and garlic in food processor and blend until coarse.
2. Add basil and olive oil and blend to a paste.
3. Add cheese and pulse a couple of times.
4. Add salt to taste.

That's it! Super easy and tasty! We just put ours in canning jars and freeze. Take one out the morning you will use it for dinner and let it sit on the counter. It should be ready for dinner!

Birthdays and Pesto

Wow...our gardens are completely out of control! Zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, chard...oh my! It's great and feels so good to be eating our own veggies. The basil was starting to get attacked by beetles, so we rescued it over the weekend and set to work making pesto to freeze for the winter. We ended up with ten jars...each the perfect size for a meal! It's so nice to have fresh pesto again. And yes, it's still one of my favorite foods!

The little one and I celebrated our friend's birthday today! We surprised her with a cake and presents, a homemade banner, heart rocks,  and a little note on the sidewalk (she walks by our house on her way to work). The cake was deeelicious! We used the "Maple Cake" recipe from "A Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book" and substituted a gluten-free mix for the flour. We picked fresh blackberries across the street and added them to the top. Yum! Happy Birthday Maria!!!!!

And sorry I didn't get a link list for y'all this week! I am bogged down with a lot of work (yay!) and haven't had much time for anything else these nights...so why don't you share a link that you are loving with me? Oh yes, that would be fun!

Happy Monday!!

A Lazy Sunday Morning

The little one slept in this morning. We had a big day yesterday...hiking, birthday parties, a musical that went a wee bit past her bedtime last night. So this morning when I opened my eyes I was surprised to see it was late and that she was still sleeping. She was so cozy. I quietly tiptoed downstairs to get my camera and snapped these photos of my baby sleeping.

This summer has been so nice. It's really been close to perfect. The days are growing cooler, the blankets are once again on the beds at night, and we are finding ourselves slowing down a bit, anticipating the end of a sweet season and the welcoming of a new one.

We still have more gardening to do, more berry picking and jam making, more beach days, camping trips, hikes to the tops of favorite mountains, backyard parties, and dips in the lake. I don't want to be anywhere but here, right now. Because right now is perfect.

xoxo.