the simple things

some big news...

We're moving! Back in November we got word that my husband was being transferred to a new office in a new province and the opportunity was just too good to pass on. However, this move won't be easy. We've lived in Calgary for quite a long time now, our girls were born here, our house is now just getting to a point that we love and we've made some really good friends we'll miss dearly.

What will make this move even more challenging, is our new home needs a top to bottom renovation...oh, and did I mention I have never even seen the house!! My husband flew out to look at a home we thought we were going to buy and long story short, that house didn't work out, but by chance he happened upon this house and well...he bought it after seeing it for only 5 or 10 minutes. Crazy I know, but we needed a house.

The house was built around 1920, is not located on acreage, and isn't at all what we were looking for, but with all the negatives, there are some really great things about it. The home is really close to my Mom, Dad and Grandma, a wonderful school is just a short walk away and there is great renovation potential.

I'm just now getting excited by all the possible renovations we could do, especially since I feel I've really developed my home decor style to something I love and am thrilled to start creating a home from scratch.

So what's this mean for my blog. Well, for awhile my posts may be a little sporadic. The craziness of getting our current home ready for sale, packing, moving to a new city, renovating our new home, getting the girls settled in a new neighbourhood and starting a new school will all be a little overwhelming at times.

However, on the fun side of things we will be totally transforming this house so if you're interested in home renovation projects we are going to have a lot of fun posts for you! I'll try to keep my photo challenges going, but to be honest it will be hard, so if I'm not able to post a challenge I hope you will still pick up your camera that week and challenge yourself to take a photo of anything and everything!

We aren't set to move until June, but as soon as I have reno project pictures in the works I'll be sure to share. From what my husband has told me, the house hasn't seen a single renovation in at least 40 years. There is wallpaper to remove, a kitchen and baths to replace, floors to be refinished, a basement to demolish, and the list goes on from there, but transforming a home from the early 1920's is sure to be fun!

Well, I'm off to build my room-by-room inspiration boards for the new house! Wish us luck! :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

why I love photography {and how to achieve the look of film}

I've always been interested in people's stories which is probably why I love research and history. When I was younger I filled journals and notebooks with all kinds of stories and loved to read everything and anything. Another creative form that beautifully captures our own unique story are the photographs from our life.

My love for photography and journaling came from my Dad. My Dad is an amazing writer and was always behind the camera when we were young. Recently he's been scanning old slides and sending us the digital images. Do you remember the old 35mm slides!!!

I have really wonderful memories of when my family would gather in the living room for an evening slideshow and often my Dad would click through the slides to music. It was so magical to watch! Like a movie just about us.

Every day I realize more and more the amazing power of capturing and telling stories through photography. This video by Kelly Corrigan says it so beautifully, how photographs can lockdown life's everyday moments so you can remember them forever. As she say's, photos "roll again like a movie in my mind".

When I entered my 20's and 30's I felt I had better things to do than journaling or documenting life, after all I was just too busy living it...or at least I thought. It wasn't until shortly after my girls where born that I realized how important it was to capture what is happening today before it is lost forever.

It already feels like forever ago my babies were just that, babies. They grow up so quickly and I don't want to forget a thing. For me, life is all about the memories we make and one of the biggest enjoyments in life is being able to look back on those memories and enjoy them all over again like it was yesterday.

I think this is why I'm loving the look of film in my photographs, it reminds me of the photos of when I was a kid. Call it nostalgia, but for me the look of film has such a beautiful feel and holds such warm memories. Who knows, maybe I'll even invest in a film camera one day. :-) But until than here's how I'm getting that "film" look with my digital camera.

First, I do all my editing in Lightroom. I do have Photoshop, but for this look I just use Lightroom. Before I had a little preset-help (more on that later), I would do little tricks like warming up my white balance and increasing the grain. I then purchased two presets sets that do all the work for me with very little tweaking!

Visco Supply Co. offers these incrediable Lightroom presets made specifically for your Canon or Nikon camera and allows you to select your favourite film from Kodak to Fuji. It's incrediably easy to use and gives your digital images the look of film instantly.

I also own Kelly Hatcher's colour and BW presets. Kelly is an incrediable photographer and her presets will give your photos the mood and depth of film.

Wow, that was kind of a long post. Sorry about that, but I just had to share. Before I sign off for today I have one more thing to share with you. Deb Schwedhelm, another amazing photographer at capturing the specialness of everyday, wrote a truly wonderful post about "is there ever a perfect time to have photographs taken of your family". This post will touch your heart and if you didn't already feel how presious time is, well, this is one post to read. Titled: is there a perfect time?.

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to take a few pics! 

dance like no one is watching

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, 
Love like you'll never be hurt, 
Sing like there's nobody listening, 
And live like it's heaven on earth.” 

- William W. Purkey

Happy Monday!!

Merry Christmas to all!

Hello friends! I'm stopping in to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a most magical holiday!! I'll be taking some time to enjoy the holidays with my wonderful family and friends, but I'll be back next week to share some big plans for my little blog!! I've been doing lots of thinking about New Years resolutions and this little blog is going to be a big part of it all. I can't wait to tell you more! :-)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Warm wishes,

Carly

embracing winter!

The only thing you can do in the winter is to get out there and embrace it! We don't have tons of the white stuff yet, but just enough to make mini snowman, a few snow angels...and more importantly, have some fun!

Aren't those the cutest little snowmen ever! Both girls made their own, with a little help from me. ;-) Em loved her little snowman so much she kept giving him hugs and kisses.

With my conscious effort to embrace winter this year I have lots on my winter to do list! We've already gone tobogganing a few times and this week I hope to hit the skating rink with the girls.

How about you, how's your winter going so far? Got any fun winter activities planned?