Must Read Books for the New Year!

A compilation of fiction, memoirs and health based reads.

Eleanor and Park

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

The Casual Vacancy

The Night Circus

And the Mountains Echoed

Attachments

The Book Thief
 
The Language of Flowers
 
The Signature of All Things

Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life

Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected - A Memoir

Splitting the Difference: A Heart-Shaped Memoir

The Rules of Inheritance: A Memoir

Against All Grain

Never Be Sick Again

Never Fear Cancer Again

Wheat Belly

Natural light product photography and Christmas stockings

Confused by the title? Hopefully not for long! My mom and I run an Etsy shop, Little Buddy Designs, selling hand knit Christmas stockings. We've had the shop for 4 years. She knits the stockings, and I do the finishing work, photography for the listings and handle customer service. All year my mom knits stockings to build our inventory. She hands them over to me, and I prep them for sale. This is our busiest time of year. You might catch me in carline duplicate stitching names onto stockings ;). 

Here is an inside look at how I photograph them using natural light.

I use white seamless paper and lay it across my dining room table.

I set up in front of a window to get the most natural light.

I use a reflector to bounce the light back onto the stocking, so the lighting is even. I balance the reflector against our light fixture (you can see it in the mirror). I could also use my backdrop stand and hang the paper from it, but I find it quicker and easier to use my reflector. I make sure I'm not standing directly in front of the window when I'm photographing the stockings, so that I'm not blocking the light.

I lightly edit all of the photos by adjusting the white balance, adding brightness and adding contrast.  I do all of this in Adobe Camera Raw. The edit is subtle, as I find it important to get it right in camera.

Have an Etsy shop too? Make sure you're using the Etsy iPhone app - it makes a fun cash register sound whenever there's a sale!

Yearly Family Photo Books with MyPublisher

In 2010, I finally followed in the footsteps of my best friend, Maggie, and started the yearly photo book tradition. I couldn't be happier that I did! Each page is unique, designed by me in Photoshop. For each new book, I start with January's pictures. I try to keep up with the current month's pictures. I am pretty impressed with myself this year, because I am up to August 2013! It's around this time of year, though, when I get super busy with back to school activities, holidays, photo sessions, and the book gets put on the back-burner :(. Come January, I start playing catch-up to finish up the year. I have even taken on the monumental task of creating books for 2006-2009! (Luckily I didn't take half as many pictures back then as I do now, whew!)

When I know I won't have enough room in the book for all of our year's adventures (100 is the max number of pages!), I create a separate book for big trips or events.

MyPublisher is my favorite print shop to use for these books. The quality is absolutely outstanding. Their lay flat page option is awesome and the quality of the pictures is superb. I choose the Classic Hardcover (11.25"x8.75") with Photo Finish. They have excellent coupon codes and promotions throughout the year. I order 2 copies - one to enjoy and one to keep safe from the every day wear and tear that books go through.

I love my photo books. They are a labor of love. I don't even want to think about how long each takes me to make, but they are worth every second. I hope this will inspire YOU to create one!

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:)

Lua Handbags | South Florida Designer

Ladies, if you're looking for a DSLR camera bag, look no further than Lua Handbags. I first found Lua Handbags from a post by Kelle Hampton of Enjoying the Small Things. I had been casually looking for a new camera bag/purse. While I loved the look of the one I had, it was leather and weighed a ton before even adding my camera. Plus, it was not super roomy inside. Once I discovered Lua Handbags, with Kelle's stamp of approval, I knew I had to have one. I emailed Lola, the designer and owner. She was super sweet, and we chatted back and forth via email, and discovered we were both part of the Nova school system :).  I ended up purchasing a chevron camera bag and clutch. I couldn't wait for them to arrive, and I was immediately in love. The bag is super soft and light, and has a TON of room inside. I can fit so much, it's incredible. It has inner pockets and 2 outer pockets that are great for my phone and keys. The lens that barely leaves my camera body is the 24-70 f/2.8, and those who have it know that it's a beast. I love that I can put my camera in the bag standing up, with the lens hood on! (I am one of those sticklers for keeping lens hoods and caps on ;). ) It is SO easy to quickly grab my camera, pull it out of the bag and snap a picture. No awkward rearranging of everything just to get to my camera. I can also fit my flash, another lens, and then all the usual suspects - wallet, snacks, juice, wipes, jackets (yes, 2 kids light jackets!). And the best thing about this bag is that it feels like you are holding a comfy pillow. It is so soft and smooshy!

And onto the clutch. This thing is awesome to throw into your towel bag for trips to the beach or the pool. Before finding this clutch, I was putting my camera in an insulated lunch bag, gah!

PS - Need a blog reader for your phone? Check out Bloglovin ;)


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GrooveBook

My first GrooveBook arrived in the mail this week, and I love it! 

GrooveBook is a company that prints 100 of your iPhone pics in a neat little 4x6 book for $2.99/month. The app is very simple. You choose 100 photos from your camera roll, upload them via the app, and they print the book and ship it to your door! The book cover is a silver matte cardstock and the photos are glossy, but they are not your typical glossy print from an express print shop. They have a slight matte texture in the background. They are perforated so that they can be removed from the book. This is a perfect way for my kids to share the photos and display them however they like. They also have a date /time stamp, and the location the photos were taken.

My 4 year old is into taking pictures with my phone and always asks if I can print them for his photo album. GrooveBook makes printing the photos simple and economical for me. And he loves being able to hold his pictures in hand.

Want a free GroveBook? Use coupon code TICHIO5

Need a blog reader for your phone? Try bloglovin ;)

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Sarastoa Trader Joe Favorites

I have been keeping a list in my head of things I love and feel passionate about that I someday want to "share" with the blogging world. So I decided, let's spice up this photography blog and share them here.  It's a hodgepodge of ideas: crafts, baking, favorites, photography tips etc. I'm hoping this will be a place to showcase my photography work, as well as whatever else is spinning around my head at the moment ;)

So, here we go....

We are newbies to Trader Joes, as one opened in Sarasota about a year ago. After the first visit, we were hooked. For almost a year now, we've been practicing our version of "clean eating", part of which includes non-GMO food and no HFCS, so TJs was right up our alley. We live 45 minutes away, so we try to get there once a month to stock up on our favorites. A dear friend from Seattle was kind enough to share her TJs favorites with me before my first visit, and it was a huge help. I am sharing my favorites in the hopes of helping others new to TJs, or veterans find something yet discovered.

Hummus, plain and black olive
Chunky guacamole
Wine Country chicken salad with cranberries and pecans
Shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses (cows not treated with rBST)
Cheese sticks (cows not treated with rBST)
Plain greek yogurt and cottage cheese (cows not treated with rBST)
Yogurt squishers
Organic probiotic smoothies
Turkey hot dogs
Shaved brussell sprouts
Organic brown rice marshmallow treats
Dark chocolate honey mints (don't pass these up)
Organic pops (I carry these in my purse and give them to my kids in lieu of dum dums)
Chocolate chips (for baking)
Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
Vanilla extract (alcohol free)
Organic coconut sugar
Organic midnight moo chocolate sauce (great mixed in almond milk for "chocolate milk")
Coconut oil spray
Greek feta dressing
Balsamic vinaigrette 
Tuscan Italian dressing with balsamic vinegar
Pitted kalamata olives in EVOO
Organic Kosher sandwich pickles
Organic mayonnaise
Organic yellow mustard
Organic ketchup
Organic baked beans 
Organic vegetable broth
Creamy unsalted peanut butter
Almond butter - raw creamy unsalted (I buy almost their entire stock b/c sometimes they are out of it!)
Organic reduced sugar raspberry and strawberry preserves
Organic applesauce (unsweetened) 
Organic fruit wraps (like fruit roll-ups, but no added sugars. They come in a variety of flavors and you buy them as singles for .50)

Frozen:
Vegetable Panang curry (amazing)
Polenta with spinach and carrots
Quinoa Duo
Organic brown rice
Frozen blueberries and strawberries 
French fries
Chopped spinach (pesticide free)
Organic foursome - corn, peas, carrots, green beans

Chips:
Roasted plantain chips (I could eat the entire bag)
Quinoa and black bean tortilla chips (awesome with hummus)
Organic blue corn tortilla chips
Veggie chips (for the kids)

almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios...

* Everything I buy is gluten free
 
** Please leave me a comment with your TJs favorites!!