Spring IS in the air, gosh darn it!

It hasn't exactly felt like it these past few days and that's why I felt it was a good time to edit these photos, which I shot over the weekend while on a walk with Daisy in our neighborhood.

One of the things I love about spring is how -- seemingly overnight -- the landscape can go from drab and dull to bursting with bright pinks and purples as flower petals rain from the sky. It's a great reminder of how much I love Indiana's four seasons (come back to me again on that when I'm sweatin' buckets in sweltering July).

Anyway, hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

My new favorite spot in the house

After all the hours I spent painting, assembling furniture and organizing in here, it's no wonder that our new-and-improved den is now my most favorite spot in the house.

I could say it took me three days to take this room from what it was (a space that was functional but not fun) to what it is (a bright cozy spot in my home that I think would make even Nate Berkus proud) -- but in reality, I've been scheming up this concept for months.

And I couldn't be happier with the outcome:

The desk, shelving, office chair and filing cabinet behind the couch were all new purchases from IKEA. And a big THANK YOU to my dad for helping in putting this all together. Seriously, without his expertise with all things tool-related, this project would have been weeks -- not days -- in the making! (as you can see, the room is a hit with Daisy too!)

I'm a big fan of bold-colored accents, like the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster I purchased from this Etsy seller. Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy? I haven't devoted a blot post yet to the amazing finds I recently bought on there, but it's coming!

All the bright pillows (and colorful rug) were gifted to Nick and I from his parents and siblings for a wedding shower before we got married. They've been in this room for the past 2 years, but only now do I feel like they really pull the whole room together.

Finally, a closer look at one of the coolest work spaces I've ever seen (obviously I'm pretty biased ;)

Until now, our computer sat on a desk in one of the closets in this room and with all the time I was spending there, I was starting to get a bit claustrophobic in the space. Now I am giddy over the size of this desk and all the room I have to edit and have fun on our new Mac.

A final decorating note: The wire-hanging contraption above the desk was another ($14!) IKEA purchase. I love it now, but in the process of putting it together, I wanted to scream. I spent (no joke) 45 minutes trying to screw one end of it together, eventually resorting to trying and pound it together on the floor with a hammer. Nick came home from work and in four seconds had the job done. "Gail," he said, "it's reverse-threaded. Did you try screwing it together the opposite way?"

Despite the sass behind that question, I still gave him the biggest kiss in the world for getting the job done! HA!

"Better than Disney World!"

You better believe those were the words that came out of my mouth during my recent trip to IKEA with pals Michelle and Joy from the newspaper.

We three ladies had been looking forward to this trip since we first heard last spring that an IKEA was being built in West Chester, Ohio.

And WE. WERE. NOT. DISAPPOINTED.

Seriously, shopping at the store was better than a vacation spent with a giant mouse and his goofy pals ... and get this - we spent EIGHT HOURS in IKEA.

I know, you are thinking, "How is that possible?" (my husband asked the same question) but I assure you, it is ... especially if you've never been in the store before! We had to explore every inch of its 21,000-square foot (!) interior (and hellooo...Nick should know better. This is the same woman who, despite thousands of prior trips, can spend eight hours in the Glenbrook Mall with her mother on any given weekend - haha!)

Enough of my giddy babbling about how much fun we had .... on with the IKEA show.


Yes, I had to take a photo with the trusty Rebel of the outside of the store. It was just so good to see those 12-foot tall letters in person.

Some of IKEA's cute home furnishings. That pillow was $12! Why wasn't it in my cart, you ask? One has to pick their shopping battles in this store, that's all I can say...

These shoe organizers were in every pimped-out closet we peered in to inside the store. And I had to take a photo of them. Because we women know that the sight of something like this for our beloved shoes is on par with a delicious piece of cake.

Speaking of cake, here's a shot of the ginormous piece of apple crumb cake I devoured as we ate lunch in IKEA's funky cafeteria. Just like the rest of the store, the prices on their amazing food (seriously, THEY SERVE SALMON) was insane - this tasty treat cost less than $3.

Michelle and I being silly on this funky little teeter-totter we found in the kids' department. Yup, we got some strange looks as we tested out its not-so-ergonomic design.

Chair races. Need I say more?

Joy and Michelle testing out one of IKEA's amazing kitchens. We were debating whether we could give Mark a run for his money on living inside the store ...

And finally, us leaving the store -- tired, weary, but feeling oh so good about our purchases. One thing that should be said about IKEA furniture -- it's a do-it-yourself kind of job. And if you're not careful, there may be some cursing involved - ha!

Want to know what I bought? It's coming in the next post ...

I am in love

I could count on one hand the things in my life that matter most to me:

My husband
My family
My faith
My friends
My dog

But after this week, I may have to grow another thumb because I AM IN LOVE WITH MY NEW CAMERA!

Check out these images I snapped and tweaked just barely in Lightroom - they're pretty much straight out of camera. (and yes, CANON ROCKS THAT MUCH!)


Delicious light peeking over the house

Daisy looking like such a little menace. This shot cracks me up because see that long grass in front of her? She's obsessed with eating it, so I couldn't get her to look up at the camera for the life of me. Cue the far-off sounds of another dog barking and suddenly she's all ears.

And what's this? A shot of moi? Shocking, I know. But I've had a few people ask why there are never any shots of me on here, so I had to add the gratuitous self-portrait. Hey, you would to if you had this amazing little machine in your hand!

Okay, now I can't wait to get to work on client sessions -- I'm starting to get some bookings for summer, so if you or someone you know is interested, give me a buzz!

Out with the old

I recognize that a photo of paint chip samples doesn't make for the most exciting post in the world, but to me, it's more of what you can't see in this image that makes it blog-worthy:

And that is A REMODELING OF OUR DEN!

For the past 2 years we've lived in our house, the den has been this "blah" shade of "Almond Paste" (if that name doesn't do it for you well .... after 24 months of looking at it, me neither). So I decided to punch things up a bit and go with a nice, subtle shade of green. I think it's going to go well with the bold accents I've got planned for the room and can't wait to post on here AFTER a mid-week trip to IKEA and a frenzied effort to have a new office ... er, work space ;) by the weekend!

Don't you just love home makeovers? Not to get all HGTV on here, but even if it's just adding a piece of art to my walls, I feel like I've accomplished a goal akin to what those manic home crews pull off in 48 hours on Extreme Home Makeover.

Hellllooooooo spring!

I just came back from lunch and strolling across a college campus in springtime ... well, there's just nothing better.

Students sunbathing, the Beatles blasting on a stereo, the dogwoods in bloom -- after the winter we've had it's so great to feel sunshine hit your face again!

Just wanted to share a few shots of some of the flowers that have begun to pop up all over the yard. Hope you're enjoying this weather as much as I am!


Crocus just have to be the first to bloom

My absolute favorite sign of spring -- FORSYTHEIA!!!!

I dared not meet the daffodils,
For fear their yellow gown
Would pierce me with a fashion
So foreign to my own.
-- Emily Dickinson

One more ... sorry, I love flowers!

Whole lotta shakin' going on

Did you guys all feel the earthquake this morning?

Nick and I both woke up about the same time to the bed shaking. Seeing as how we were both in that groggy state of half-sleep, it all felt pretty surreal so we went back to sleep until the alarm went off at 6:30 a.m.

Not every day a 5.2 quake serves as your wake-up call!

Blast from the past

I've been going through my files as of late, pulling some images I wanted to use for test prints with the pro photo lab I'm working with when I came across photos of this little guy.

Meet Duncan the Dinosaur.

I shot these for one of my best girlfriends (shout out to Michelle at the Star Press!) last October, when her son was obsessed with his Halloween costume. Duncan's birthday happens to be in October and every year for the past four years, Michelle and Dave have sent out as invitations these adorable postcards of Duncan in that year's costume. For his 3rd birthday, the postcard was of the little guy as an elephant, "roaming" Muncie's parks. The year before, a frog.

Last fall, the theme was "A Day in the Life of a Dinosaur." Stumbling across these images was such a treat -- I had so much fun with them that day!

Hey, dinosaurs have gotta get around somehow, right?

And one more of Duncan, sans costume. How cute is he? Man, I miss this little guy!

A grey kind of day

After the most beautiful weekend we've had all year last weekend, this weekend was ... well, not so pretty. I think this extended winter-like cold has been hard on everyone who's been slammed by colds, the flu and a bleak spirit so far this year.

In honor of today's "grey" day (seriously, it should NOT be spitting snow in mid-April!) I thought I'd post an image I shot some time back while on my in-laws' farm. It was one of those cold, grey mornings where everything is shrouded in fog and you think, maybe if you were Ansel Adams, you could capture that feeling.

Well, I tried anyway ...

Slammin' Sammy

I pulled together a few recent shots of my nephew, Sam, to create a storyboard. That's one of the things I'm trying to learn how to do — make storyboards — and given my absolute sucky-ness at math, well .... I'm impressed I was able to evenly divide this one by three! HA!

More of these to come — I just love the idea of capturing a series of moments in one image. Who needs custom matting, I say? :)

PS - Anybody else out there with a 2-year-old boy in their lives who is obsessed with "Cars"? Back in '06, when Sam was a baby and the movie came out, Nick and I were telling our brother-in-law (Sam's daddy, Alan) about how much we enjoyed the cartoon (we heart Pixar!). At the time, I recall Alan saying, "Yeah, I'll probably wait for it to come out on DVD because, you know, I have a feeling some day I'll have the whole thing memorized." Little did he know ....

Branding myself — without a hot iron, of course

I'm a bit of a design junkie. Have been ever since my days in high school yearbook class, laying out spreads in clunky 'ol Adobe Pagemaker.

So it's been fun for me to work on a logo that will represent "who I am" as a photographer — for the moment, anyway.

I wanted something fresh, clean, fun, but with enough of a creative touch to maybe help my work stand out in the crowd (given my love of Picasso, that free-form flower was just what I was looking for).

What you see below was put together on the fly (I don't have too much time to be overly concerned with marketing myself when I'm so engrossed in learning so many other things right now) but I needed something to get me going — to help me feel like I'm one step closer to making this* all happen — and what I came up with, well ... I'm diggin' it.

What about you guys? Like it? Love it? Have a suggestion on how to punch it up a bit? (Purdy) please share your thoughts in the comments below — it'd mean a LOT to get a little feedback in the form of some blog love.

*"This" would be a kick-ass photography business where I could rock people's worlds with my images.


Edited post: At the suggestion of friends (and my own personal leanings) the logo I created has been edited to add a "punch" of color. Me likey even more ...

What a week!

So who knew this week would turn out to be so crazy for my husband! One minute he's getting pounced on by a Republican, the next he's interviewing the Democrat who could very well become the next President of the United States.

This is Nick with Barack Obama during his campaign stop in Muncie Saturday. Nick was one of two reporters to get seven minutes (I know, why seven? why not like, 10? ha!) to meet with the presidential hopeful after he gave his speech at Ball State.

The photo above was taken by our good friend and Star Press photographer Melanie Maxwell. Since I didn't get to actually be there in the gym for Obama's campaign stop (I couldn't get a ticket in time and work-wise, I had to be back in my office to post Ball State's coverage to the Web), I just wanted to give credit where credit was due!

And here's a link to Nick's interview with Obama if you want to watch it!

I just want to let you know I'm okay ...

Those were the first words Nick spoke to me while on the phone with him at work today.

"You're okay, well, what was wrong?" I asked.

"Well, I got jumped at a meeting today ..." was his response.

WHAT???????!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought Nick was playing some kind of belated April Fool's joke on me, but no, my husband really did get attacked this afternoon.

Thankfully, he's okay. Because Nick wasn't hurt, this hopefully becomes one of those stories - alarming as it is - we eventually find humor in.

"Remember how that crazy guy tried to take you down but instead gave a Congressman a shiner?" we'll joke.

And that's the only way I want that moment to be remembered because if that fight would have ended any other way - if the guy had a weapon or .... well, I don't even want to think about it.

I love you babe and I'm glad you weren't hurt!

THE STAR PRESS: Republican staffer attacks reporter

A Republican voter registration deputy faces battery charges after he tackled a newspaper reporter and hit the Democratic 6th District congressional candidate after a contentious Delaware County Election Board meeting this afternoon.

The meeting had just ended when Will Statom, GOP registration deputy and secretary of the local Republican Party, attacked Star Press reporter Nick Werner while Werner was interviewing Ball State University student Johanna Perez about hundreds of last-minute voter registrations for Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign.

“He did not seem very happy that we were stating our opinions,” Perez said afterwards about Statom.

Werner said Statom seemed critical of his reporting, sarcastically saying to make sure he screwed up the story again.

Statom had just walked past Werner when Statom turned around and pushed Werner against the wall, grabbed him and they fell to the ground, according to witnesses.

Barry A. Welsh, Democratic 6th district congressional candidate, who attended the meeting, stepped in, and Statom turned around and hit Welsh in the eye.

“When Nick went to the floor, I tried to break it up,” Welsh said.

County sheriff’s deputies then stepped in and broke up the fight outside the commissioner’s courtroom in the third floor of the county building. More deputies arrived when 911 dispatch informed police of an emergency in the county building involving a scuffle outside of the commissioners office.

Statom refused to comment when he walked out of the county building. He was taken into custody of county sheriff’s deputies.

Sheriff’s investigator Todd Daily said Statom was interviewed, and would be booked on battery charges, based on a battery affidavit signed by Werner.

Working on my nursery ....

NO, no, no ... not THAT kind of nursery! Think more along the lines of the kind with lots of windows, stuffy air, sprinklers and plants — lots and lots of plants.

These days, our house is slowly starting to resemble a nursery, what with my absurd collection of houseplants. When I stop in at our local pet and garden center, it's like I can't help myself. And another plant will go in the cart.

Recently, I had the first houseplant I ever owned die on me. It was this little philodendron given to me EIGHT YEARS AGO by my residence hall director my freshman year in college. It's only when I have a plant die on me that I think about how something so small and seemingly insignificant has been with me through so much of my adult life and how crazy that can be to think I could have kept something alive that long.

These days, I've been giving some green thumb lovin' to a few new plants — ones that, if I'm lucky (and some times, with houseplants, that's what it comes down to) — I'll have around the house for years to come:


(From left to right): A succulent Nick bought me for Valentine's Day this year (yes, that is so me, forgoing the flowers to ask for a plant - ha!); my favorite, a jade plant; and a spider plant start that's flourishing from a larger spider plant my mom bought me last summer -- these guys are nearly impossible to kill (but a forewarning: cats love them)

These next two I'll confess I have NO idea what kind of plants they are, having lost their name tags after repotting them. I picked both of them up when I was home a few weeks back and went to Fort Wayne's Home and Garden Show with my parents and siblings. For house plant lovers, an expo like that is like heaven. Needless to say with one swoop around the expo circle I'd picked up this guy:

And this crazy plant that I just love. I'd never seen anything like it and no matter how much I've searched online, I can't find anything that comes close to identifying it. So for now, it's the nameless, Seussian-inspired house plant that rests on a ledge in my bathroom.

Here kitty, kitty

This here is Stripey. He's a cutie, huh?

Nick's friend, Erik, brought Stripey (his dad's cat), over to the house tonight. Stripey was one of three "actors" in a student film Erik's making at Ball State and, yep ... you guessed it: Nick and I were actors one and two.

(Let me tell ya ... I dread seeing that footage. We shot this with me in no makeup, wearing workout clothes post-run, wearing a T-shirt covered in cat hair. How's that for a visual?)

Anyway, Erik's friend created this amazing light set-up in our kitchen for filming and knowing I'd never get our house this well-lit again I decided to take the opportunity to snag a few photos of the cat. Now, I've been resisting Nick's pleas for a cat for a while now (a dog is enough work, I say), but a cat like this ... well, a cat like this I could fall for...

Then again, how can I resist a man's pleas when he gives me a face like this? Seriously, who is making his best "Could we purdy please get a cat?" face in this photo?