Giving away Memories

To me, a great photo session is more than just a couple of posed pictures.

A great photographer can capture little pieces of your heart and soul (yes, as cliche as that may sound).

About a year and a half ago I had the privilege of having a shoot with Audrey Coley. She had my attention after doing a friends wedding photos. My children and I were right in the middle of the upheaval of our family, so you wouldnt think it would be the most opportune time for family pictures. But Audrey was so kind and even supportive and that session was exactly what I, myself, needed. She chased T around a farm and got me pictures that were realistic to his personality; not "stand here, pose like that".

Right now Audrey has a give away going on that she has extended until February 12th...that's tomorrow!! Check out her link to see the give away details:

* Audrey Coley Photography Give Away *

And here are some photos from our session!!

(There are some doubles-color then b&w, but I just love them.)

Ahh, my little loves =D

Loves!
~Kels

Thanks for stopping by

I am SOO super stoked how my little blog has grown in only 52 days.

It's been a great release for me. A real joy to be able to share things that I do, make and some things that I have a passion about.

This afternoon my little baby blog here got it's 1,000th view and viewed in 14 countries. =D Yup, I got reeaaallly giddy about it. I did indeed just really do a happy dance a minute ago.

I hope its the first of many "thousand" marks I.I.O will reach because I am so hopeful in how well it will do and the opportunities it could open up for me.

So thank you to all of you who have stopped in to check out I.I.O. I hope you'll be back for more! I greatly appreciate your support.

See you soon!

Loves!
~Kels

P.S. OH!! And by the way, I'm half way to having number 8 crossed off my * Goal List *  Yessssss!

Easy Valentine's Day Prep

Hello all!!

I hope everyone has a great upcoming weekend and holiday!

I'm really looking forward to Valentine's Day this year for basically the first time in an incredibly long time. I dont want some big to-do or diamonds or any of the typical V-day norms ingrained in our minds. Roses? Nope. Dont want them. Seeing Star Wars in 3D? Yes please!

As most of you know, I've got three kiddos. That really limits what plans can be made and definitely limits my ability to get all dolled up, so I've started a few days ahead!

Pink Argyle Nails!

Cute, Festive and suuuuper easy!! Last night while browsing through the store I happened upon these new Salon Effect cuties by Sally Hansen.

I tried these for the first time this past fall when I got the black and white Hounds tooth print ones. You get multiple sizes to choose from, peel off the polish strip, gently press onto your nail (start from the cuticle and smooth down to the tip of your nail.) then you just buff away the excess. Done! Do be careful not to try to rush through the smoothing part of the application. Try to do it slowly and evenly or you'll end up with some bumps or creases. One more note: Careful not to pull or stretch the strip because it can effect the pattern and cause small tears in it that look like white lines.

They're about $8.50 per set, but think about what you'd pay at a real nail salon to have hand painted detailing like this. I've paid $40 before and for far less detailing.

Never forget the small details such as your nails; it can make such a difference to your over all look and how you feel. =)

Now Sally Hansen, I'm gonna need you to make Nail Effects for toesies!!!


Be Beautiful!

Loves!
~Kels

S.S. Question Mark : Week 6

As with most soul searching type questions, there's a secondary question that goes along with another. * Here * we can see last week's question to be able to answer today's :

What do you have to do to make that change happen?

Sometimes what you have to do can be hard. Sometimes it can feel scary. Its always far easier to think about what would be nice to change than it is to do what is necessary to change.

Most often, for myself at least, is the first step; knowing what it is, not over thinking it, and getting over the fear of failure to be able to take that step.

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." ~ Ben Stein

If what you decided last week that you want to change is that important to you or close to your heart, the fear wont matter. You'll be willing to take that leap. I'm still learning that not everything can be dictated by my fear of failing. Things may not have turned out how they were "supposed" to in my life thus far, but I have not failed because I have not given up. I may have had to sit and wait for a while, but that didnt mean I was being lazy or that I was being complacent to what was going on around me. I had prayed for more patience, and boy did I get a major lesson in it!

Even though I dont know how things are going to turn out, I am no longer so worried about being a "failure" that it consumes and runs my actions. How could I show my children how to live their lives and chase their dreams if I myself were too afraid to do it myself? How could I encourage others-especially those who have been through similar things to myself- to do it if I couldnt? There must be more actual action and less talk/thinking about what actions that must be taken to make changes in your life, otherwise your life will pass you by.

Fear Not and Happy Searching!

Loves!
~Kels

Easy Morning Breakfast

For those of you, like me, that have kids and either no time or just take a while to really get going in the morning ( I would be the latter), breakfast for the kids can sometimes be a pain. I am sure I am definitely not the only person who has done this but I thought I would share it with you anyway.

On the rare occasions I actually can get myself to make things like pancakes, I'll make a huge batch or make silver dollar sized pancakes and freeze at least half of them in a zip lock bag. I have also done this with french toast. You could make them whenever you just have a few extra minutes free. The next morning I simply pop however many I need in the microwave for about a minute and ta-da! A cheaters way of a good homemade breakfast =) If you are doing this with french toast, you can put the slices in the toaster.

Here they are still frozen, they got eaten up too quickly to get an "after" shot. But they just look like normal pancakes.

Loves!

~Kels