Little Cutie

I recently met up with an old high school friend to take pictures of her precious little man as she celebrated his 1^st year of life. We haven’t seen each other since graduation so it was great to catch up. Her little one melted my heart. He was just a doll and had the sweetest easy going personality!

Interesting Planters

No words needed…………………………..






Okay maybe just a little explanation. My aunt has a great sense of humor…….can you tell? She has quite a few acres out in East Texas and decided to get a little creative with her planters. A powder room for plants, too funny! They even have a working shower. :o) Talk about high class!

I Need Your Opinion……

Beware this post does not include home décor, thrifty finds, crafty ideas, or delicious healthy recipes. I did however throw in a few pictures just to keep things colorful! You’re welcome ;o)




I have a few things on my mind and I’m having a hard time deciding what I want to do. What does any good blogger do when they can’t make up their mind? They turn to their awesome readers……that’s you and yes you’re ALL awesome even the lurkers! So, what do you think……….do you mind helping with my little dilemma? By little I really do mean little; no one’s hurt or dying, I’m not losing my home and still have a working car so it’s all good! I am on the other hand at a crossroad.



Have you noticed my usual crafty post have been minimal over the last few months? They’re not going away and I still and always will have the creative bug. If for some reason it ever goes away I’m going to hunt one of you lovely creative ladies down and give ya a BIG smooch so I can get it back! I have however been pulled towards giving this little blog a more personal touch.

This year is going to be exciting as we begin to plan our low stress, low budget, destination wedding. This is huge for us! We’ve been engaged for 5 years together for almost 10! I would love to share our journey to the alter with you. I’ve thought about doing a few throw back post filled with funny old pictures and sharing our love story (G rated of course). I’m not saying that I ONLY want to blog about my relationship but also include fun events or outings I attend. Maybe a post about something that’s been on my mind (like this one). Perhaps a post that makes YOU think about something.



I guess my question is, do you even care? When I started this blog I planned to write about all things domestic which is what I’ve mainly done and loved every second of it. Here we are 164 post later and I’m looking at Domestic Princess in Training through new glasses…...or shall we say an updated prescription. I still want to post about my usual topics (thrifting, decorating, crafting, baking, and cooking) they make me happy but would like to throw in a few personal post every now and then.

Here’s where you come in:

What do you think? Would you be interested in a few new topics thrown in the mix or would you rather I stick mainly to domestic themed post? I’ve even thought about starting a new blog for all the other stuff but the thought of managing 2 blogs does not sound very appealing to me. I meant what I said above. I really want your honest opinion! Let me know in your comment below and/or take a few seconds to let me know by voting. I’ve included a poll at the top of my side bar. The poll is completely anonymous so you can be honest!

Thanks for taking the time to read though this and for letting
me know what you think! :o)

Ps….I’m having a girls day today with my best bud. She's kiddo free for the day and we have BIG plans to hit several thrift stores!!!! I’m super excited and yes…….I’ll be taking my camera along!

Whole Lot of Pickling Going On

Preserving, pickling, and jarring are in my blood! Every year my dad sets up shop in his kitchen and fills tons of jars with salsa, jellies, and jams. He knew before long I would catch the bug and follow in his footsteps. Being a newbie I wanted to start off slowly and with something easy, so pickling it was! We have a tentative date set in October for a little lesson on preserves. I might just take my video camera along for that. You guys would LOVE my dad. He’s hilarious and sweet as pie!



We purchased most of our ingredients at the Asian supermarket. You can’t beat the prices on their fresh herbs and peeled garlic. We bought tons of dill for next to nothing and big tubs of garlic for $1.00 each! A lot of times Asian supermarkets will buy from local farmers. Kent’s mom use to be one of those local farmers. She had the most amazing garden!



We made spicy dill pickles this time around. Each jar was filled with fresh garlic, pepper corns, fresh dill, and Thai chilies.




After our pickling brine was ready we got our handy-dandy funnels and went to town! I’m so happy Kent was willing to do this with me. If you decide to give pickling a try ask a friend or family member to join in……it’s much more fun when you have a partner to work with!




Once jars were filled with cucumbers, spices, and brine we settled them in a water bath to seal the leads.




    

Then gave them a kiss and a thumbs up for good luck!I have my fingers crossed that our first batch turns out good! I’ll let you know.

Things I learned:

*Pack your cucumbers and then pack them some more! You want these babies jammed in there.

*If you have an opening but do not have a cucumber that will fit just cut a cucumber in half or however you need to make it fit in your open spot.

*If this is your first time around and you plan to do several jars it can be a timely process so make sure you pick a day when you can hang around your house for several hours.

*We used jars with the regular sized mouth because well…..I’m cheap and didn’t want to pay the few extra bucks for the wide mouth jars. The ones we bought worked fine but the wide mouth jars would have made things a bit easier. If you plan to do larger pickles (not spears) I would go for the wide mouth jars.
  
*Do your research! Watch a few youtube clips if you're unfamiliar with pickling to help familiarize yourself with the process. Below is a clip that I thought was very helpful.

I'm linking up with:
The Thrifty Home

Over Head

The challenge this week over at I Heart Faces is Over Head. I thought this picture of little C. would fit right in. Aren’t his baby blues breathtaking? He was the cutest little guy and so easy to shoot. I’ll share more pictures from his session on a later post.
 

Thrifty Treasures

Oh Goodwill how I sing thy praises. Seriously……..I LOVE Goodwill (which I’m sure you already know). I want to shout it from the top of a mountain and I don’t care who hears me! :o)

I’ve been on a bit of a Goodwill frenzy the last few weeks. I don’t always bring things home but sometimes the hunt can be just as fun!

I did a double take when I came across these glasses. Of course the polka dots caught my eye and I was instantly in love. Our glasses have been slowly dwindling and we desperately needed some new ones. Can you believe I found a set of 6? In Goodwill land that is unheard of. They were scattered throughout the store which made the thrifting hunt even MORE fun. It was like an egg hunt…..but with glasses which was right up my alley!

Carafe (GW)- $1.00
6 Glasses (GW)- $1.00 each
Flower Pot (GW)- $.49
Tray (Garage Sale) - $1.00
Plate- Free!

These bad boys are super heavy. They seem to be very good quality but I’m not familiar with the logo. I tried to snap a pic. of it but it wasn’t showing up so
I drew it…………….



Do any of you dish loving peeps recognizes this logo? If so do tell. I’m wondering if I have a gem on my hands. If I don't it’s okay I’ll still love them anyway (oh that rhymes).




I recently gave away my copy of Jemima J and was on the hunt for another copy to add back into my library. This is a GREAT read and one I want to keep on hand (for a list of other fab. books click HERE). I also picked up this super cute coffee cup. I planned on using it as a gift bag for a Christmas gift but have decided to keep it……it’s just too cute!

Coffee Cup (GW)- $.49
Book: Stranger in Paradise (GW)- $. 49
Book: Jemima J (GW) – $. 49

I’m always on the hunt for great frames especially great frames with mats! Ever since my craft room redo yellow has moved in and become my new favorite color! I was tickled when I came across this yellow notebook. It was brand new still had the wrapping on it.

Frame (GW)- $1.99
Note Book (GW)- $1.99

   

         
As a photographer I’m always on the lookout for props and stopped in my tracks when I came across this cute little purse. I can’t wait to snap a few pics of a little one all frilled up with this houndstooth cuteness in tow. I’m thinking about adding a removable pink rosette. What do you think?

Purse (Thrift Store)- $3.99, kind of high but it was just too cute to pass up

    
The jewelry gods have shinned some light on me lately. Usually the jewelry section in GW is a hit or miss but I’ve walked away with some goodies the past few trips.

Beaded Earrings (GW)- $.79
Necklace (GW)- $.79
Medallion Earrings (GW)- $.79
Cuff (GW)- $.79 

That brings our ending balance to = 21.09!

I would have spent more than that on the glasses alone.
See why I LOVE thrifting so much? 

I’m linking this post to :
Southern Hospitality
Tales From Bloggeritaville

Weekend Wish………

Hope you have a wonderful tear free weekend (unless you’re crying tears of joy)! Kent and I have no plans this weekend which I’m pretty excited about! I think I’ll work a bit, catch up on some house work, and finish a project I’ve been working on. Hummmm……everything I plan to do has the word work in it.

I’ll be back Monday with a new thrifty treasures post.

Something Refreshing and Easy

Do you ever put fresh cut fruit in your ice tea? I love to cut oranges and peaches when we have them around the house and dump them right inside my tea glass! Ice tea is already refreshing (at least I think it is) but when you add fresh fruit it just kicks it up a notch.


The best part is when you finish your tea you have a little tea soaked fruit snack in the bottom of your glass. It sounds kind of gross but trust me it’s good!


And just to keep it real……………………… I was not in beautiful open meadow with wild horses trotting behind me when I took these pictures. Nope, didn’t have to go far at all just right outside my back door. 
            

Sometimes procrastination pays off! 

Take Your Dog to Work Day!

Everyday is take your dog to work day in the office of Kendra P. Photography which is my home office. Parker was feeling a little wild and decided to wear a tie on this particular day. I know…..I tell him he’s fancy all the time (fancy is my favorite word by the way)!


He started off super chipper and ready to learn all about the world of photography! He’s often my model (as you can tell) and was looking forward to learning what goes on behind the scenes.


We chatted about locations and posing tips. He even had some great ideas about upcoming pet shoots we have on the books. I then went on to tell him about the countless hours spent tucked away in the office editing pictures and showed him a few basic Photoshop skills. That’s when it ALL started going downhill………..


Photoshop-shmotoshop he said with his sweet brown eyes. Before I had a chance to win him over with creative textures and backgrounds he passed out……right there on the desk! “Oh no, no, no” I told him “We don’t do that here at Kendra P. Photography. This is a FUN place to work!” I even told him that he was going to get me in trouble with the head honcho……he doesn’t need to know that said head honcho is me! ;o) So I did the only thing I knew to do. It sure helps me get through a few late nights in the office.


He was a little unsure at first. He tried to sneak a drink out of my coffee cup a few times in the past but I wouldn’t allow it. I gave him a little nudged and assured him it was okay…….this time only!


   
I know, it sure was nice of me to share my coffee and good coffee at that. I was sipping on butter toffee coffee that morning. After he had a few sips of energy juice a.k.a. coffee I didn’t waste any time and jumped right back into our lesson. This time I started with info about our photo packages……maybe that would catch his interest!

I went on to talk about goals and where I planned to see our little photography biz in the next few years. I looked over at my fury coworker to make sure he was engaged and saw nothing but an empty desk. Maybe he needed to run to the little boy’s room I thought to myself. That’s when I saw a tieless brown and black fluff ball lounging in the corner of the office. 
He sure looked sweet and comfy but I still had tons of things I wanted to share with him. I tried to entice him back to the desk but all I got was the cold shoulder.


  I guess coffee doesn’t have the same affect on dogs or maybe he just wasn’t cut out for the awesome world of photography. I know I’m having a lot of fun with it! Oh well he still makes one cute coworker even if he does sleep most of the day.

Disclaimer: No dogs were harmed during the creative process of this post. The coffee cup was coffee free! ;o)

Thrift Store Fashions

I’m heading to dinner with my dad but I had to join in on the fun over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlum so I’m doing a super quick post with a few frugal fashions I’ve come across. I’ve been having a blast digging through the racks at thrift stores lately!

Love the color of this Gap sweater! I paired it with some pearls and funky print button down that I already owned. I believe the sweater was $1.99. 

This Express tank caught my eye right away. Paid $3.00 and it was $3.00 well spent! We have dinner plans with friends this weekend. Now that I’m seeing this picture I know exactly what I’m going to wear! 

    

Another look using the same tank. I always say accessories can make or break an outfit. I tend to be a little more adventitious when I accessorize. I love BIG earrings, chunky bracelets and fun necklaces!

   I find the best stuff when I’m thrifting for Kent (my fiancée). He’s not too picky
about his clothes which makes things pretty easy for me! Paid $2.00 for this.

 That brings us to a grand total of……..
$7.00 for 3 shirts!!!

Update: Posted this in a hurry and didn't proof read........shame on me! Typos are not out of the norm for me but one of them was so bad it made me gasp and bring my hand to my mouth in shock! It's fixed now and thank you to those who pointed it out. Incase you're wondering what it was I left the "r" our of shirt! I know I'm awful but come on.......it was kind of funny!!!

I’m linking up with: Balancing Beauty and Bedlum
                        Southern Hospitality