In my camera bag

I'm finally getting around to making this post that I've been meaning to do for weeks now. At first, I was just going to have it be all my camera gear, but let's be honest, I'm a mom first, so yes, my camera bag is also my "carry all" bag. Sometimes I feel like Mary Poppins with this thing!

First, let me just say I'm totally (and completely) in love with my bag from Jo Totes. It's the best thing! I can carry everything in here and I absolutely LOVE the color! It was especially great for our trip to Prague! Best.bag.ever!

Have a little peek inside...

See how it holds everything snug and secure. I love all the little dividers that I can rearrange to fit what I have in my bag at the time. This is usually what it looks like...well maybe with a few receipts and loose change, but I cleaned that out for y'all!

Here is the lowdown of what I carry in my bag.

1. My bag: Jo Totes in Rose-Teal.

2. Ariana bag: 3 crayons, mini notebook, 2 my little pony figurines, small bubbles she got from the library.

3 Wet ones, travel tissues, toddler cereal bar, smiley face potty stickers (P.S. I'm a mom hehehe)

4. Nikon D7000 (with 18-105mm lens)

5. 70-210mm zoom lens

6. Change of clothes for Ariana (just in case there is an accident, yep those are Ariel panties)

7. Chapstick: Blistex for Richard, Burt's Bee's for me

8. Cell phone (horrible pay as you go phone cause were are in Germany)

9. Keys and a pen

10. Wallet: Fossil. Isn't it the cutest? My Momma got it for me for my birthday!

11. Calendar

And that's my bag! 

In case you came here to see my camera gear, don't worry I've got you covered. I even looked up all the links for you, so you can read more about each item, cause that's what I like to do!

Camera Gear:

1. Dynex 60" Professional tripod

2. Nikon D7000 camera with 18-105mm lens.

3. Nikon SB-30 Flash (with case)

4. Nikon AF Nikkor 70-210mm zoom lens

5. Nikon FM10 camera with 35-70mm lens. (Strap cover crocheted by Amy)

6. Two 8gb memory cards

7. 62mm filter thread, macro reverse ring

8. 67mm filter thread, macro reverse ring

Not pictured (but loved just as much):

Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote 

Canon Powershot A610

Ok honey, I'm ready for my macro lens now! I'm only joking...but seriously, I am gonna want that soon!

:)

Happy Early Christmas to ME!!

It's true: good things come to those who are patient...including a Nikon D7000!!!!

Yep, I'm so excited! Last week I finally got a new camera!!

It's been on my wish list for YEARS now, and when I entered (and then placed) in the Photography Contest back in mid October, it was agreed that I would be getting a new camera this year. It's sort of an "I love you/early Christmas present". Thank you honey!

I never let myself look at nice DSLR's until recently, but we knew we wanted to get the D7000 when we saw it. Once I knew what camera I wanted, of course the BX didn't have it yet. (It was only just released late September) Then we found out the Nikon Roadshow was coming to our base, and we were told it would be there. Sadly to say, even the Roadshow didn't have the camera. It was "too new"?! We checked German electronic stores and couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, we gave up and ordered it online. The wait was horrible! But, finally I have it in my happy hands!

An expensive camera doesn't make a good photographer. I think people know that. I'm happy to be taking the skills I learned from my old slr camera and my always trusty point and shoot camera, and applying them to my new dslr camera. I feel like I've come so far from when I got my first Nikon almost 10 years ago, to now having this "dream camera". 

Why Nikon? I have both a Nikon and a Canon and I love them both. The Nikon I have is a Nikon FM10. I already have 2 Nikon lenses that I used with that camera, so choosing another Nikon made sense in that aspect. Of course I have my eye on a couple new accessories for this new baby, but for right now, I'm going to be getting used to this new camera and trying to perfect my skills. It's taking some getting used to, but so far, I'm loving it!!

You'll probably be seeing lots more photography posts on my blog in the weeks to come!!

xo

C

Lucky

It's March! A new month, a new beginning! Let's make it lucky!

 I wanted to share with y'all  this clover heart picture that I took last Spring in Georgia (aka my home state, for those of you that didn't know).

I have set a few goals that I want to accomplish this month.

March Goals:

1. Take 1 roll of film on my 50mm camera. (I'm hoping I won't be able to stop at one roll and that I'll keep it up).

To inspire myself a little I did some shopping in Amy's Etsy shop Camera Candy. I'm not ashamed to bribe myself a little! She has some super cute stuff to help make your camera's cute! I already posted about the cute camera bag she made for me for my point and shoot! Here are my most recent goodies...

 

 Camera strap and lens pouch

  

 super cute!

  

 My camera looks so cute and girly now!

  

 All I need now is some new film! Thanks again Amy, you rock!

2. Make something orange for Jamie's MS awareness giveaway.

This got done yesterday! :) Jamie, I'm going to email you and email about it shortly.

3. Start taking Ariana to the storytime at the library.

She is a serious bookworm. Her current favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are. We read it at least twice a day! She loves it! My favorite line is: The wild things cried "oh please don't go - we'll eat you up - we love you so". But Max said "No". It's her favorite too, she always says "no" when we turn to that page

4. Set aside one night a week to read my book and make myself go to bed early.

5. Send out LOTS of Happy Mail! :)

I'm not saying any more than that, I don't want to ruin anyone's surprises! :)

6. Walk more.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I want to get out more. I got rid of my old ratty shoes and got myself some much needed new shoes. I also splurged on a Nike+ to monitor how far I walk...and maybe even run!

  

 I was taking a picture of my shoes, and then...

  

 I was bombarded! My cat Ely, just insisted on being in the pictures and got right up in my camera!

  

 Such a camera hog!

 

I think he was jealous of the shoes getting all the attention!

And lastly, I'll end on #7, you know, cause it's a lucky number and all! :)

7. I'm in the midst of planning something for my blog readers. I'm not saying anything else about it, but I think it's going to be fun! I'll post more later on in the month!

Happy March everyone! 

xoxo,

Cat

P.S. I might not be blogging much until I get my computer back. But, I'll still be reading, so keep the cute blogs coming!

Lovely Amy...lovely boxes...lovely feet

I came home to find this lovely goodie in my mail box! :) Amy from Finding Everything Lovely made it as a gift for me! She's such a sweetheart! I LOVE it Amy, thank you SOOO much!!!

 

 It's a camera case, it fits my camera perfectly!! :)

  

 I love the yarn she used, and the yellow button to close it! She even lined the inside with soft fabric! :) It's awesome, I'm in love with it! Thank you again Amy! :)

 I'm also excited that I found these boxes for storage. I've been looking for these types of boxes for a few years now, but everytime I found some they were too expensive. I found these at Walmart for a good price, so I snagged a few for my craft room. I was so happy to finally find these!

 

They should help organize some of this clutter that I've accumulated over the past 7 years of craft stuff I've accumulated!

haha don't judge me! I might need to go get some more boxes huh? This is only one side of my craft cabinet in my craft room. It was organized at one point, I promise!

Today was a pretty good day so far, except for one thing. On the way back from shopping (and getting my awesome boxes!) we hit a pothole. Now, these things aren't normal pot holes. These pot holes are horrible after the snow and ice tears up the roads EVERY winter. These things are MONSTERS! They are hard to avoid. You regularly find ones that measure 1 foot deep and 3 feet wide. Yea, try to avoid those suckers! Usually I am able to stradle them, or know where the worst spots are to avoid, but this was unavoidable! We hit it very hard and must have just hit it at the wrong spot because a few minutes later my tire light came on. (Great) Now, I have a flat tire. Second flat tire in 2 years on a new car, is ridiculus! Of course my tires are special tires (I had to get the fancy package haha!) and so they are more costly than other tires. Ho-hum....on top of that my husband's car is having trouble this week too and needs some bolts replaced. Just wanted to vent a little about how annoyed I was with the City of Omaha and their crappy roads that they refuse to do anything about. Now, I'm done!

But on a brighter note, I'll end this post with my picture from my 365 from yesterday!

:) My daughters feet shot. Starting her young!

xoxo,

Cat

Dear Santa: (My Christmas {WISH} List)

Dear Santa,

I've been a very good girl this year! (I like to think so anyways) So, I thought I would take the time to make a list of things I would love to have. (In no particular order). *hint hint to my family and friends*

 Enrollment in Style School

6 weeks of fun and art projects, what crafty girl wouldn't love this!

 

A coffee warmer like this one...

or maybe this one!

I can't decide, so you do it for me!

Both from Sparkles and Sticks Etsy Shop

Burkle the Monster

 Also, from Sparkles and sticks Etsy Shop. Just a cute little cuddly monster to remind me of my strength within.

 

This awesome shirt by Johnny Cupcakes

Fuji Instax Mini 7S in Pink of course, with a few rolls of film just for fun!

A new cupcake pan

Yes, I'm a simple girl at times!

 

 Some funky fun spatulas like these from Funky Muffin. I especially love this cute cupcake one!

 

An electric fireplace like this one from Home Depot. Sandi told me about this and since we don't have a fireplace, I think one of these would be fun to have!

 

*source*

A sewing machine! Since I'm a beginner I don't even know what kind I would need. I just want something to help me do my projects instead of trying to handstich everything! Lemme tell you, handstitching kitchen curtains isn't as fun as it sound. I could create all sorts of fun things with this. I've been wanting a sewing machine for a while just haven't spent the money to get one. Any sewers out there have any recommendations? (for Santa of course hehe!)

Oh yes, and Santa, I would not mind ONE BIT if your elves wanted to come and organize my craft room all cute like the one in the picture!

 A facial from Sanctuary Day Spa.

*source*

A  Hobby Lobby gift card would always be loved!

Or a Starbucks Gift Card so I treat myself to a fancy coffee once in a while!

And like always, some cute knee high socks, you know the kind I like!

I know, I'm asking for a lot but any one of these things would be awesome! Gotta dream big right!!

xoxo

Cat