It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

"Before we get started Aunt Elise, can I get you something to drink? Maybe a diet coke? They keep all the hard stuff  up high, out of my reach."

Well, as I progress on my journey as an amateur photographer, I would like to share some more photo's! Today, I had the privilege of taking some cute candid photo's of my adorable niece Lily with sort of a "Christmas" twist! She was wearing a festive shirt and was loving all the fun Christmas decorations adorning her home! Now, please keep in mind this is only the second time I've taken and edited photo's with my new camera. Here are just a few I find just absolutely adorable! 

"Now you said pose... is this right?"

Can you say Build-A-Bear Ad?!

"Whatchu lookin' at?"

Lil's First Photo Shoot

I was lucky enough to have a visit from Miss Lily this afternoon! We had fun playing dress up and riding the rocking giraffe. I used this visit as a test run photo shoot of the little angel! Here are the awesome pictures I was able to catch while Lil was playing!! There are quite a few... enjoy!

Two beds are better than one!

So as many of you know Beignet likes to chew. Yes she is a retriever and well thats just what a lot of dogs from that breed do; BUT in efforts to keep the little pup warm during the winter, I have come up with an idea. Beignet likes to chew her bed and pull out all the fluffy green fuzz. She also likes to curl up in a ball and take a warm nap on the bed. These two activities don't go well together... but what if there were two beds? Yes, In an attempt to keep the fuzz to a minimum as well as keep Beignet warm, I bought another bed. I put the new bed in her kennel (Beignets new favorite place to curl up and snooze) and the old chewed up bed out on the floor in the kitchen.

Now, for the good part! I was in the kitchen going about my business when I noticed my crazy pup dragging her "old" bed around. Beignet loves to do this as a play time activity, but she also will bring her bed in or out of her kennel when she feels like it. So, I heard the bed moving and looked over JUST as she got to the kennel. Instead of pulling the bed in she just stopped: Dead in her tracks. What in the world was she supposed to do now... there was a bed ALREADY IN HER KENNEL?! I just burst out laughing because I don't think i've ever seen a dog with such a "hmph" moment!

After the "what the..." moment, Beignet pulled her "old" bed back over to one of her favorite spots in the kitchen and then trotted back to the kennel to lay down. Oh the personality of a dog... well a dog like Beignet!!

Model Behavior

So, I have taken my first photo's with my new camera! Beignet was the best little model for me to begin my  photography hobby! Here are some really cute pictures of Beignet and thanks to the camera (and the pet setting), I am now able to get good pictures of my crazy puppy!! 

"Why are you waking me up for this?"

"As long as there is no light flashing in my face, I will lay like this for you all day!"

Hello Blog World... I'M BAAAACCCKKKK!!!

Okay, its been um well maybe lets just brush over the amount of time I have not been blogging. All that matters is that I'm back, and ready to reveal to the world all the new adventures of my life! I have bought some big ticket items recently, but the most recent will be the topic of this blog. I bought a really fancy shmancy camera, the (at least to me it is) Nikon D5000!!!  So, I will keep this short because I do not have any fun pictures yet... just words for now. I am going to track my status of learning how to use this new machine, on my blog. So, for day one: I opened the box and took a deep breath. For a girl who likes to think of herself as tech savvy, this camera was a bit... okay A LOT overwhelming. You have to kind of know something or other about putting a lens on, and well to be honest I was scared to brake it! I did get all the important pieces on the camera, and managed to get one of my lenses on. I did take a few snap shots but then turned it off and packed it back up until tomorrow. Sheesh, who knew trying to put together a camera could be so exhausting! Tomorrow I will break out the user manual... maybe even one of the teaching dvd's that came with it! Keep checking for new pictures... they will be coming soon!!!

Ways to beat the heat

With all these record breaking temperatures going on, Beignet has found multiple ways to beat the heat! Now, she can't divulge all of her secrets, she was only willing to share one in hopes of finding a cyber buddy! Calling all relative pups... wanna ichat or maybe even skype? Stay cool! xoxo Beignet

Richmond Renovation

Well, this weekend I've joined my parents along with my brother Scott, on a trip to Richmond to help Daniel and Laura with their new home renovations! We are right smack dab in the middle of it all, and it has been a lot of fun thus far! I will add more to this post after we are finally complete for the weekend, so get excited!  The running list of completion is as follows:
-Guest Room Painted
-Ceiling Fan in guest room installed
-Foyer ceiling painted
-Dining Room ceiling painted
-Outdoor lights up
-Dining Room Fixture installed
-Upstairs hall light installed
-Foyer Floor being pulled up as I type...

To Be Continued Tomorrow....