And the winner is...

You may not know this, but I was recently a part of a giveaway held by the amazing Heather from Spunky Real Deals! We had a lot of great entrants and it was a seriously difficult decision, but there could only be one winner...

Congratulations to Julie from The Bumble Bee Studio! I absolutely can not wait to work with you and your bee-autiful products!

Thank you so much to all who entered! I am offering a very discounted session to all of you as a thank you, so please email me directly for more information :)

Beer Me Another

One of our local wineries, Corcoran, has recently launched their own brewery that we've never been to. So we decided to check it out while my brother-in-law was in town from New York.

Fleeting Moments

I wanted to blog today.

I wanted to tell you all about our adventures trying to buy my husband a new (used) commuter car for work - people, cars do not appreciate in value. At least not the ones we were looking at.

Boxwood Winery

On Saturday I had the absolute pleasure of joining some new friends out at Boxwood Winery in Middleburg, VA (I'm sensing a theme to these blog posts.)

As far as picturesque goes, this is really a tough spot to beat.

Augie the Kitten

My friend Kelly brought over her new kitten today for a little kitty photoshoot. She adopted Augie from the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. LCAS actually rescued my own cat after she ran away last winter, so I'm a big fan.

Please send reinforcements.

My daughter will be two on September 7th. Back in mid-July we converted her crib to a toddler bed, and have gone the last month or so without any issues. In fact, her sleeping was better than ever - she wasn't as restless and was sleeping 11 to 12 hours overnight, and sometimes more. "Why didn't we think of this sooner?" I would ask myself as I rolled out of bed at 10am.

Wine, please.

I recently mentioned that I enjoy a glass of local wine now and again...and again. I live in Loudoun County, Virginia - Wine Country, as it's known. There are more than 30 wineries within a decent drive from our house, and some that are only minutes away. We also have a lot of farms.

Put Me in the Zoo

Today, my friend Kim and I took my daughter to our local zoo, the Leesburg Animal Park. For anyone in the area, it's a great little place to check out. Entrance for adults is only $10 and you get a cup of food to feed the animals. The chickens and giant turkeys are just out and about with you, and they have a huge petting zoo area with all kinds of animals in it. They have a free wagon ride that takes you to see some cool, larger animals as well as the zebras, and they do free shows with some of the exotic animals. They also offer pony and camel rides. It's a very neat place to have right in town.

Plumbing With Friends

My husband travels a lot. Just about every month and mostly for work, but this weekend he is at a bachelor party in New Jersey. In keeping with tradition since a trip he took in May, our garbage disposal suddenly stopped working almost as soon as he walked out the door. When the garbage disposal doesn't work the sink doesn't drain. This is a problem.

Nice to meet you!

How excited am I to be a part of this blog link up? I wanted to use my "real" camera, but part of what I love about my iPhone is the ability to quickly and easily capture the everyday moments in my life as a SAHM. So it was only fitting that all but one of these are iPhone photos, and most had a little help from Instagram ;)

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Pet Faces {August 2012}

Meet Finn; he is our 5 year old German Shepherd/Pug mix. Yes, you read that right. And to answer your next question, the pug was the mama. The couple we got him from were pug breeders who also had a GSD they showed so he couldn't be neutered. So while it was no surprise when the pug got knocked up, they were a bit thrown off when she gave birth to these little monsters they call "Shugs." :)

Headshot help

I need some help!! I love my little Instagram icon but I'd like to have something a touch more professional as well. Which do you guys prefer - color vs black and white, right vs left?

Obama 2012 Rally in Leesburg, VA

What an exciting night! I attended the Obama 2012 rally in Leesburg, VA with my favorite mother-in-law ;) Now, I am not normally the rally type. I'm not even the politics type. But it's not every day the President of the United States will be in your small town in Northern Virginia and I just couldn't pass up what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Click it Up a Notch

My entry for the July contest - this photo was taken in a Puritan cemetery in Salem, MA just a few days ago while my husband and I were on our very first mommy/daddy trip without our daughter (she's almost two!) I love the flare from the light shining onto the headstones while the sky is just bright enough to see on the horizon. By far one of my favorite photos from the trip.

Massachusetts Trip

Today I returned home from four days away with my husband - our very first mommy/daddy trip without our daughter. It was so hard to leave her but it was really nice to get away. We had an awesome visit to the Sam Adams Brewery, I highly recommend it if you're in the area. Not to mention...the museum in Salem happened to have an incredible Ansel Adams exhibit that I thoroughly enjoyed :)