fav finds | week eleven

decided to prioritize my DIY favorites, for the new year. hoping to work on these projects in the coming months. silhouette pictures

painted animal-topped jars

billy buttons

finish this calendar journal project

because i have an owl obsession and the kids would love to do this.

need to remember to show steve this since our storage shelving is falling apart

this too, for around the pool.

yarn-wrapped sticks

and words

really want to get started on this long-term 'i love you' collage

get all my photographs hung

must remember to not throw out toilet paper tubes.

want to do this today, from oma & opa's in NV to our home in FL.

one of my absolute most important DIYs in 2012 is to learn and shoot video of my family. and i love heather's yearly new year's video tradition idea.  i might just tweak this idea and add questions to my annual family book -- have the kids complete some questions every year in their own handwriting.

happy holidays!

wishing you a wonderful christmas holiday and a safe, happy, healthy and exciting new year!!

and how amazing is this christmas painting of my three kids.  done by my dear friend -- the uber-talented erin darcy.  i will treasure it forever!! you can see and purchase her paintings and prints HERE.

mwah!!

fav finds | week ten

love this so.

love this idea for christmas morning, although you'd have to start it in the middle of the night.  this or this might actually be a better idea for christmas morning.

some of the best photography advice ever.  which has now been followed up with this.

made this soup last week and it was amazing. i used heavy cream instead of evaporated milk.

printed and posted in my office because i need to get my butt back in gear.

remember...

i love this photo so much, i can barely stand it [wish i knew who took it].

i kind-of-sort-of-really would like to walk into the grocery store with this.

might have to do this one day.

love this DIY print share from angela hardison. joy to the world. peace on earth. she designed it for the holidays but it really could stay up all year IMHO. we have a large vintage school map hanging in our dining area. this idea now has me thinking about stenciling some words on our map.

tried and true favorite, from childhood. and yes, i need to carb / sugar detox in january.

must read. top five regrets.

i want one of these really, really bad.

something to really think about

please...

fav finds | week nine

i'm a huge handwritten to-do list kind of girl. electronic lists just won't do. and i so love this written to-do list from johnny cash. and i just so love johnny cash.

my kind of necklace. simple and pretty.

pretty bangle bracelet.

a most perfect outfit, for almost any day.

love non-itchy smartwool socks, especially these knee-high ones.

i've made these green bean bundles quite a few times.  they're not exactly healthy but they are fabulous.

you & me & us & we & love. yes.

i love this commitment to shoot and print daily. and if you've never seen lila was here, andrea does daily photos better than any i've ever seen.  beyond inspiring.

hoping ; -) santa brings our family this. followed by this and this and this. and then i'll be on the local hunt for a bob seger, bob dylan and cat stevens album [all memories of what i listened to daily as a kid].

this is my kind of wrapping. you can find the tape here and here.

i have a thing for vintage fabrics, linens and wallpaper. and this is great.

my absolute favorite blanket / throw.

backlight love. not always the easiest but when it's good, it's really good. you can never practice enough.

i'm doing this as soon as we're back from nevada! but i want to do non-holiday versions. will be perfect for the trinkets my kids collect, e.g. shells, bottle caps, etc.

i dream about shots like this with my own family. more inspiration on this blog. sigh!!

did i share this before? just makes my heart so happy.

love this awesome blog post -- 30 things to stop doing to yourself. and love the blog in general.

fav finds | week eight

since i'm pretty bah-humbug right now, i decided to focus on christmas this week. yes, today is the day that i'm going to shake this grumpiness and get in the christmas spirit. because my attitude pretty much sucks [thanks to renovation yuck and a messy, cluttered house] and it's not fair to the kids. not one bit!!  so, here we go... we've been trying to figure out what we're going to do with outdoor lights, with this house. last year, we tried our usual -- big colorful lights, hung straight along the roof line. but with this spanish-style adobe, it just didn't work well. today, i came across this and i think hanging something like this in our entryway would be fun and pretty much perfect.

one hula hoop (spray painted) + two strings of icicle lights and duct tape = outdoor chandelier

i'd love to someday do a family fingerprint ornament. would be a great ornament to pass down to each kid.

since we leave in a week, for nevada, and still don't have a tree, i love the idea of doing something like this -- vintage containers filled with pine saplings. getting a tree[s] is my mission after seeing the muppet christmas movie today.

i'd love to cover my front windows with hanging snowflakes, like this.

and free printable snowflake patterns

i've loved this idea for years.  someday...

a few cute free printable gift tags here, here and here.

my friend, heather, gave me the idea of doing homemade christmas ornaments every year using the kids' photos. maybe cookie cutter ornaments could be our ornament project this year.

peanut butter reindeer cookies. kids would love to make these.

love this idea, either for the cards you receive every year [and then display them on your coffee table every christmas] or to simply keep your own cards together, from over the years. i'm digging this blog too; a new one to follow and be inspired by, for sure.

wishing you a holly jolly christmas

now to get my annual family books [christmas presents] ordered and get off this dang computer for the rest of the day. xo scrooge schwedhelm

it's that time of year

...to finish and upload my family's annual book. makes me teary as i look through our family photos from this past year and put together our book. and i so love that my kids look through the books over and over again, giggling as they flip through the previous years' books.  they just happened to be flipping through the books today -- showing me all the pages that bring back memories or simply make them laugh. :-) mmmm...i treasure these books more than i can even express. worth every bit of time it takes to make them!! not to mention, they make fabulous christmas gifts too.

here's this year's layout...

[larger version HERE]

and here's a few of my favorite page spreads...

makes my heart so very happy!!!

fav finds | week seven

yes, it was supposed to be fav finds friday but i had two editorial shoots this weekend and my friday ended up being consumed with prepping for the shoots.  so  here with go with fav finds monday. hope you enjoy... love this

these geometric animals, to hang on the wall, are so cool

i do something like this every christmas for my neighbors and friends, although i usually useregular mini pretzels, dip the pretzels in white chocolate and then add two M&Ms. they're such an addicting snack.

would love to make one of these for each of my kids, in a theme of what they love or are into [and maybe a christmas idea for the cousins].  hmmm...the kids could even help create the cousins.

seven-layer dip [made with homemade guacamole] is one of my absolute favorites to bring to parties and pot-lucks. so love the look of this one. i also love bringing a side of garlic-garlic dip.

i used to make friendship bracelets all the time as a kid.  here's a couple cool tutorials for macrame bracelets.

this is just pretty darn fabulous. i would love to own a print.

i'm craving this. i think i'll make this tonight with some grilled chicken.

and i'm going to try this idea because the salad [in the bag] always seems to go bad in my fridge. i'm hoping that if i prep the salad ahead of time, it will actually make it's way to our plates.

i'd love to have this clock [and the table and the lamp] in my home

i'm really not a very good vegetable eater, but my friend leah swore by roasted vegetables.  so i gave them a shot and have to say...i love them.  this is the recipe i use, although i add zucchini and fresh garlic too.

i really should read this regularly

fav finds friday | week six

while i didn't just find homeland, i can't seem to get enough of it. especial since dexter has been overwhelmingly disappointing this season.

haven't tried this but i'm hoping it works -- baking soda and peroxide. and dish soap and peroxide = oxyclean.

i really want to grow my own little avocado tree.

thinking about making something like these but with thumbprints instead of fabric and reindeer instead of reinbirds.

such an amazing series. i'm pretty certain i blogged about mr toledano before but i just went back to visit the other day so i thought i'd share again.

another incredible series of photographs of a dad documenting his daughter over many years. and here's a little interview with the photographer, jack radcliffe.

happened to see something similar in anthropologie and then came across the tutorial the next day. considering some inspiring words for the home. and from the image title, looks like this photo was taken at anthropologie too.

super love this template.  blogged all about it here.

apparently, a working camera transformer from 1985.  seriously wishing the toy industry would put something like this back out there. so cool! hmm...maybe i could disassemble one of ryder's transformers and make one of these myself with a holga or diana i have. yep, i'm so doing that.

a few children's books / series i think every family should own.

sandra boynton books were my absolute favorite books to read to the kids when they were toddlers. we own them all.

shel silverstein poem books. this one was recently released. we own them all and read his poems almost every night.

if you haven't read this book, you must! without a doubt, every family should own this one.

ha!!

my mom is a great baker. she used to sell the fancy german tortes she made, when i was a kid. but this was my all time favorite -- toasted coconut clusters. none of the optional stuff. just straight chocolate and toasted coconut.

just happened to sample this recipe [turkey and sausage chili] the other day, while in publix. it was awesome and such a great idea for turkey leftovers. making it today.

need i say more...

fav finds friday | week five

there's so many signs tacked up around tampa -- money 4 junk cars, 2/1 house for sale, avoid foreclosure, etc. well i love the idea of placing some of these around town.

longing for more music around my house. and this ipod dock is pretty darn cool.

love this simple, casual look so much. wish it was cooler so i could dress like this. we're back to humid and the 80s here in tampa.

something so magical and powerful about this moment captured.  makes me want to slow down!

love the idea of making cords that are hanging around pretty.

would love to try this project.

this is SO my kind of business card.  i never seem to have my business cards with me.

this power pig with 17 snout-plugs is pretty darn cool too. cords around the house make me cringe but i might be okay with them if i had a power pig. although i couldn't find it for sale anywhere.

DIY [toilet paper tube] owls. will have to do with the kids.

i keep looking and looking at these.  for years now.  one day i'm going to get a pair.  and red seems just right.

i'm not sure you can ever go wrong with homemade chicken noodle soup. some in the fridge. some in the freezer for a later date.

haven't made this recipe yet but i have all the ingredients and am excited to try it -- creamy chicken apple chili. a friend made it and said it was awesome.

not only do i love this quote, i love the whole mixed media art piece.

fav finds friday | week four

supporting our wounded warriors. "you don't have to support the war to support the soldiers."

i needed to read this the other day. bad.

an important reminder.

this recipe turned out amazing. the kids loved it too.

love this so much.

yes, please. all of them.

i'm excited to read this book, along with two other art history books i just purchased.  and i'm hoping to start an art history class at a local community college in january.

i would like this hanging in my office.

rethinking some wall space. love these large, stacked prints.

i'm in the process of making this.

being reminded my friend to trust and become exactly who i'm meant to be.

fav finds friday | week three

i really long for one red chair in my house [although i have no idea where i'd put it]. it can be from anywhere; just a cool red chair.

anthropologie has some awesome christmas stuff in their store right now.  much of which could inspire do-it-yourself holiday projects.  can't wait to make something like this...

i wish i was a better thrifter and sewer.  i'd be all over finding sweaters and making this [made from an men's XL sweatshirt].

so smart. doing this as soon as i have enough toilet paper rolls.

creating a healthy snack station, in the fridge, for the kids.

these are pretty darn fabulous. and pretty darn expensive too.

i've been a long time user of allrecipes.com. i love that i can sort the recipes by rating and popularity. it's just so easy. and maybe i'm a creature of habit.  also, over the past few weeks, i've been putting together 2-3 crockpot recipes sunday evening and then freezing them.  it's so awesome having 2-3 meals done for the week.  just pull out the ziploc bag from the freezer, thaw for 30 minutes, place in slow cooker, add the liquids...done!

had this buffalo chicken dip at a party i went to last weekend.  OMG...amazing.  she made it with rotisserie chicken [instead of canned] and served it with tortilla chips and red pepper slices.  i will be bringing this to all future parties. it's that good.

although i have to say, this is my other party favorite -- tastefully simple beer bread and garlic garlic dip.  it's always a huge, huge hit, whenever i bring it. my friend, gwenn, is a TS consultant, so if you want to purchase anything, her ID number is 0042780.

last but not least...finding out today that my awesome partner-in-crime, during my last two years in the military [we were health-care-integrator nurses together] just got selected for an air force PhD scholarship.  she'll be moving closer and i can't wait to see her.  it's been almost nine years. i LOVE when great things happen to great people.  i couldn't think of a more deserving person.  love and miss you laurie!!  i'm so proud of you!

their story

i saw this story on 503 photography's blog this morning. and while i've heard of storycorps [more times than once], i'm not sure i've ever listened to one of their stories. but i will now! after watching this [please watch it till the very end]...

while i have tears rolling down my cheeks, i can't get over how beautiful this story -- and their love -- is.

i think i'll start my every morning, after dropping off the kids at school, listening to a story.  what a great way to start the day.

have a story? everyone does, right?! i remember many years ago, when good morning america [i think it was good morning america] drove an RV around the US stopping in various cities.  they would then find a phone booth, open the phone book to a random page, point their finger at a name and that's whose house they would visit...to hear their story. loved the concept. loved the series. anyways, here's how you can record your story with story corps [either at one of their studio or mobile locations, do-it-yourself or sponsored door-to-door service.

thanks jessica for the awesome share and making my day a bit more beautiful and hopeful.

fav finds [the day after] friday

how cool are these boats?

the prettiest rings on etsy. all of them.

can't help but love this shirt.

well said.

said to be the best holiday recipe.

a year of crockpot recipes. one for every day. this lady did just that.

love this simple polaroid wall layout. i so miss the old 600 film.

so love this. would love to have a huge 3 or 5 of my own. maybe next house.

love these lettered cups. sky has tons of knickknacks and i think something like this could be the perfect solution, along with being a stylish trinket collector [although i'd prefer plastic & available in the US]

sources: cotton bird designs garnet girl designs wildfox sapling press my recipes stephanie 'dea | a year of slow cooking flickr la la lovely things design letters

fav finds friday

thought it would be fun to start sharing some of my favorite new finds of the week.  so here we go... adore this necklace for a child.

love.

i love this DIY coat rack and am thinking about asking steve to do a rack for the little ones' room [since they have such a tiny closet and sky has so many dresses].

a cute DIY book mark project.  would make a great little addition for christmas gifts and a fun project to work on with the kids.

this was so, so good and easy.  definitely a keeper recipe.

brings me back to childhood. one of my all-time favorites, especially around the holidays.

as we demo and renovate our bathroom, pinterest has been an awesome place for inspiration and putting ideas, thoughts and design all together.

one of the next projects that i want to do with the kids. could also make for some great christmas giving.

a message about this is going around on pinterest right now.  i remember seeing it on the news quite a long time ago.  in 45 minutes at DC's metro station [jan 2007], only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while, 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace...all while one of the greatest violinists in the world played six bach pieces. he collected a total of $32. indeed...i wonder how many amazing, incredible things we are missing during our hectic day-to-day lives? or that we just don't take the time to stop and notice.

hope you have an awesome weekend!

souces: be wise kid's necklace | beth quinn designs chunky brass love bracelet | etsy DIY coat / dress rack [original source unknown] DIY paperclip book marks crock pot santa fe chicken buckeyes pinterest yarn font

in my spare time

...i've been working on my family's annual book. anyone who's read my blog over the past couple years, probably already knows how much i adore and treasure my family books. they grace our credenza right as you walk in the door and i get chills each and every time i look through one of the books.  last night, i found the  kids looking through them -- laughing and giggling as they turned the pages. i've been doing an annual book ever since i started photography [2006].  i always joke that if there's a fire and my family is all safe, my books are next to be saved from the flames. but i'm serious.

i started working on the book a bit earlier than usual, so i'm not rushing to get it done the end of november.  i give the books to grandparents for christmas every year and need to make sure i allow time for printing and shipping. this year my book is called life passes so fast, with an accompanying closing quote on the last page.  sigh!

while i'm sure the book will be tweaked many times between now and the end of november, this is how it's looking so far...

you can see a larger version HERE.

a bit about my book-making process: i design the book from scratch [no template]. 11x13 landscape format. hard cover and premium matte paper. use booksmart via blurb. every year is different (e.g. here's last year's layout). include favorite photos from the year. quotes to go with some of the photos. words | thoughts about each child. every book is unique. and so very special.

in closing... i beg you to get your digital files off your computer and printed. on your walls. in a book. somewhere. anywhere.

i'll be sharing another project i've been working on in a few days. just a couple more things to get done first.

so funny

i came across this video this morning.  such a great way to start off my morning!  i love the video for so many reasons and i'm pretty certain you will too.  just keep watching.  there's little golden nuggets throughout the whole thing. such an awesome older couple, who seem to have the most incredible relationship.  they inspire me.

and here's a video of the couple being interviewed [via skype] on the morning show.  and wow...he's 86.

be great listeners

understand and be empathetic to the truth of who they are. understand their soul.

mmmm... i love his words so much.

thanks chase charvis for such a great share.

spreading goodwill

Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.

- wikipedia

when i was in wisconsin, i stayed at my dear friend, julie's house.  shortly after arriving, we had gone outside to look at julie's incredible garden and i noticed the prayer flags hanging from her front port.  later in the day, i mentioned how awesome it would be to have prayer flags at the fischer family's session (thinking maybe we could pick some up before the shoot).  the next thing i know...the prayer flags are down and ready to go with us to the shoot.

i absolutely love that we were able to have prayer flags with us at the fischer family's session.  i love it even more that they were worn from their days of dancing in the wind at julie's house.

i now long for prayer flags, to grace the front porch of my own house... prayer flags to flutter in the wind... prayer flags to bring good energy, luck and happiness... prayer flags to spread blessings and goodwill to those around.

i've been asking friends what they know about prayer flags and looking around.  while i'd love to make my own flags, i just know that that's not happening anytime soon.  so far, i've found...

these tibetan prayer flags, sold on amazon and here. or these prayer flags on etsy.  i'm a bit partial to the happiness-themed flags.

if you know a great place to purchase prayer flags or have any additional insight, i'd love to hear about it.

also, i just came across this PDF article on prayer flags, which i plan on reading later tonight.  seems like a great read.

ETA:  for anyone that might be offended because the prayer flags touched the ground, please know that at the time of these photos, i had no idea that prayer flags are not to touch the ground.  i had the absolute best of intentions in bringing them to the session and photographing them, with the fischer family.  i will never let that happen again, now that i am aware.

also, my friend, wendy, just shared this with me:

i do prayer flags with mighty girl...their flags fly to encourage the girls that come after them. i ripped an old white bed sheet into squares and give them fabric markers. http://mightygirlart.blogs​pot.com/2010/05/wind-horse​s-arriving.html

and after seeing this flag, created by nina beana, on the mighty girl art site... i'm feeling the strong need to make my own flags. a family project. designing, dreaming, gathering, creating, sewing...together as a family. my new (year old) sewing machine has been waiting for something like this, to finally make it's presence, from out of the box.  YES, our august pre-school project -- prayer flags.

unapologetically me

last night, i watched this documentary...

i've loved sally mann, from pretty much day one, of photography. i love her even more, since seeing her documentary. she's truly such an amazing artist. she makes no excuses. she photographs what she loves. what she is deeply connected to. what she is passionate about. her children. her husband. her animals. her land. and yes, death.

there was a time when i worried about what others thought about my work. but more and more every day, i feel that the work that i produce is unapologetically me. you can take it or leave it. but i'm passionate and proud of what i do and the photographs that i produce.

i almost ditched the above images.  i'm beyond thankful i didn't!!

i woke up to foggy windows.  couldn't stop thinking about them.  hours went by.  i looked and still foggy.  the moment was not only there, it remained. so i asked sky if she'd do just a couple photos with me --

it will be fast.  i promise.  you can stay inside.  you just have to look out the window.

so i shot a few photos.  maybe a minute.  five frames at the max.  and thought, oh well...i guess my creative spirit wasn't with me today. i was so frustrated that i almost deleted the photos right then and there.  but i didn't; i put my camera back in my bag.  a few days went by and i thought about formatting my card (deleting the above images) but didn't.  i uploaded them today and well...i LOVE the above photos of sky.  they are...unapologetically me.

p.s. i wonder if sally mann would allow me photograph her family? maybe one day, i could knock on her door and ask her. not sure how i'd find her house. who knows...maybe someday, somehow.

goodness, i love sally mann. always have. always will.

strong and paranoid

vivian maier. the pre-production trailer is out -- a teaser of what is to come. and i so fricken can't wait till this documentary.

Trailer: Finding Vivian Maier from John Maloof on Vimeo.

she's a riddle. you don't know what is really behind everything. - maren baylaender

i love that. i can't wait to hear and learn more about her.  gives me chills to think about what she would think about all of this, if she was still alive.