My Year in Photos: 2011 Part 1

January:

By January 1st, we had quite a bit of snow – a far cry from this year!

We went skiing many times last year. My favorite place to ski: Giants Ridge. Photo credit: Albert Berge.

I experimented with artificial portraiture lighting for the first time. Katelyn makes such a lovely subject.

February:

Grandma taught us how to make Spaetzle. So good. Photo credit: Katelyn B.

On Saturday, February 12, Reuben and I started our romantic relationship. :)

I went on my first date ever on February 14. Photo credit: Katelyn B.

March

More skiing at Giants Ridge. This is my brother-in-law, Justin, with his wicked beard hat.

Reuben sent me these gorgeous roses.

We gathered and boiled down sap for maple syrup.

April

April 2, we got engaged! Photo credit: Janna B.

My beautiful ring.

Watched Reuben play golf with friends.

May

Much of May was spent preparing for our wedding.

June

On June 11 we were married. Photo credit: Anders Keller

We went on a 2-week long honeymoon out west.

More photos to come later!

A Lovely Surprise

Last night, Reuben surprised me with these lovely flowers. I love the way the roses are varicolored, and the purple flowers add a lovely accent. Even the greenery is beautiful! My man has such good taste.

After supper, he put away the food, washed the dishes, and cleaned the kitchen.

Every day I am reminded why I fell in love with this amazing guy. He always finds a way to make me feel loved.

What’s something special someone did for you lately?

2 Responses to A Lovely Surprise

1. Katie M. 
   December 7th, 2011 at 9:24 am Moderate
   Aww…marriage is wonderful isn’t it?!!! On Monday my dearest husband helped me fold about 6 loads of laundry that piled up in my laundry room (we have a little 2 month old so laundry piles up faster than before)!!!!
   Love both your blogs!!!
2. Laura 
   December 10th, 2011 at 2:49 pm Moderate
   My husband of 21 yrs. just surprised me with dinner at a mediterranean restaurant for my birthday ;-) It gets sweeter everyday…love him so. By the way, I love the pictures of the flowers…so vibrant!

Our First Christmas Tree

On Saturday we acquired our first Christmas Tree!

The woods were gorgeous that day. It had rained the night before, and there were little droplets frozen onto the branches of the trees.

Into the truck.

~

We had so much fun decorating the tree together. I still need to get a skirt and a topper for it, but we’re pretty happy with how it looks.

When are you getting your tree?

4 Responses to Our First Christmas Tree

1. Rebecca in NC 
   November 29th, 2011 at 9:59 am Moderate
   Gorgeous!
2. Alannah Renee 
   November 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am Moderate
   Beautiful! My brother is allergic to real trees, so we have an artificial one. We put it up on Saturday, though!
3. Miz Boo 
   November 29th, 2011 at 11:01 am Moderate
   I love your little tree. :o)
4. Anna 
   December 17th, 2011 at 12:13 pm Moderate
   Cute tree! The first tree as a couple will always be special, I still remember mine and Peters.
   We’re not getting one this year since we’re going to my family in Sweden, but that’s ok because the one last year was so big it will count as this years tree as well! :)
   Have a great Christmas!

Snowy Day - A Short Film

Camera: Nikon D7000

Lens: Nikkor 50mm 1.8

1 Response to Snowy Day – A Short Film

1. Melanie 
   December 5th, 2011 at 11:24 am Moderate
   Lovely, Erica. Looking forward to seeing you tonight!

Black as Night

This is my entry for this week’s I Heart Faces photo challenge.

Sitting around the campfire at night is one of the highlights of camping for me, especially in the chilly months. It’s so cozy to warm yourself by the fire and listen to stories.

Make sure to check out the other “black” entries {link}

2 Responses to Black as Night

1. Shawntae 
   November 7th, 2011 at 4:30 pm Moderate
   Neat shot! I really love your blog!
2. Kathryn Grace 
   November 9th, 2011 at 12:36 pm Moderate
   You can almost feel the heat. :-) Neat effect with the sparks streaking up!
   Thanks for your comment on my post!

Bedhead to Elegant Updo [Video] Tutorial

Inspired by my sister-in-law and friend, Breanna, who has an awesome hairstyle/fashion/personal blog, I’ve decided to share a tutorial for a quick, easy, and elegant updo that will transform your messy hair into a neat, beautiful, romantic hairstyle.

You’ll need:

• About a million hairpins
• Hair flowers or other hair accessories (optional)

Note: my hair had a bit of texture in it from the previous day, so if your hair is very flat you may want to add some product. I love TRESemmé 24 Hour Body Spray Gel.

And here’s the tutorial:

4 Responses to Bedhead to Elegant Updo [Video] Tutorial

1. Sereina 
   November 1st, 2011 at 10:47 pm Moderate
   Very pretty! I love the flowers you added.
2. Susanna 
   November 2nd, 2011 at 7:23 am Moderate
   Loved it! Absolutely beautiful–think I’ll have to try it!
3. Steffani 
   November 2nd, 2011 at 8:23 am Moderate
   Hello Erica! I am a new reader of your blog, and I would like to tell you how much your blog fascinates me.
   Thank you for this tutorial. It’s a very good timing, since I crave to learn more hairstyles for my unruly hair.
   I am looking forward eagerly to your future posts! :)
4. Kathryn Grace 
   November 7th, 2011 at 12:55 pm Moderate
   Lovely! I have done a similar style to this on someone else but I haven’t tried doing on myself. It’s so nice to see tutorials for updos with straight hair! It is so hard to achieve a nice looking updo if you don’t have curls.

“Let Them Be Little” Photo Challenge

My cousin’s little girl, Mariah, from Ireland. What bright, beautiful eyes she has!

For the I Heart Faces photo challenge.

To see many more “Let Them Be Little” photos, stop by I Heart Faces.

10 Responses to “Let Them Be Little” Photo Challenge

1. Cindi Murphy 
   October 24th, 2011 at 8:38 am Moderate
   Love his cheeks!!
2. Kel 
   October 24th, 2011 at 10:05 am Moderate
   Oh my goodness!!! She is so cute!!!!!
3. Fairly Candid 
   October 24th, 2011 at 10:24 am Moderate
   Thank you for stopping by my blog. I love your entry as well. Great clarity on the eyes! Congratulations on your UHF winning photo and top 10 entries. You certainly deserved them. :-) Mary
4. Fairly Candid 
   October 24th, 2011 at 10:25 am Moderate
   Oops, I meant IHF entries, not UHF (fumble fingers).
5. Melanie 
   October 24th, 2011 at 10:43 am Moderate
   I heart that face too! My little sweetie pie! I love your pictures, Erica.
6. Jackie 
   October 24th, 2011 at 12:56 pm Moderate
   cute, love those blue eyes!
7. Ashley SIsk 
   October 24th, 2011 at 1:06 pm Moderate
   Love those eyes!
8. lynne 
   October 24th, 2011 at 2:24 pm Moderate
   Such a determined look in her beautiful eyes as she pulls herself up. Love it.
9. Annie 
   October 24th, 2011 at 8:22 pm Moderate
   Erica, what a beautiful photo! Soooo precious! =)
10. Kathryn Grace 
    October 25th, 2011 at 3:03 pm Moderate
    Wow, what eyes! Love the colors in this shot.

Grandma’s Hands

Grandma’s skilled hands teach my sister how to roll up apple strudel.

For the I Heart Faces photo challenge.

To see many more “hand” photos, stop by I Heart Faces!

13 Responses to Grandma’s Hands

1. Regina White 
   October 11th, 2011 at 9:30 am Moderate
   Those Grandmother’s hand can tell so many stories. I love this. Thanks for your blog love as well.
2. Tania 
   October 11th, 2011 at 9:58 am Moderate
   … this made me miss my grandmother so much. I love this image.
   http://www.redhandedphotography.blogspot.com
   http://www.redhandedphotography.com
3. Trude 
   October 11th, 2011 at 10:55 am Moderate
   Absolutely love the story this shot tells. Fantastic!
4. Christina 
   October 11th, 2011 at 11:01 am Moderate
   Great shot. I love baking with my mom and this reminds me of how she’s always teaching me. Beautiful!
5. Felicity 
   October 11th, 2011 at 2:29 pm Moderate
   This is a fabulous shot! I love *everything* about it!
6. Kathryn Grace 
   October 12th, 2011 at 12:09 pm Moderate
   Love this photo… makes me think of a quiet, relaxed afternoon at Grandma’s house, baking. Lovely!
7. Jen 
   October 15th, 2011 at 9:39 am Moderate
   Such a beautiful photo! I love the story it tells of passing down treasured recipes.
8. isea 
   October 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am Moderate
   Congratulations! On the win. Beautiful Photo.
9. jill 
   October 15th, 2011 at 11:33 am Moderate
   congratulations on your first place prize! …..love the photo.
10. Mallory 
    October 15th, 2011 at 11:49 am Moderate
    This really is beautiful! Congrats on the win!
11. Sereina 
    October 15th, 2011 at 3:43 pm Moderate
    Whoo-hoo! You got first place! Congrats!
12. Kathryn Grace 
    October 15th, 2011 at 9:39 pm Moderate
    Congrats on the first place win! :-)
13. sarah bryant 
    October 16th, 2011 at 12:10 am Moderate
    I LOVE this! So perfect.

Golfing at The Sand Trap

A short movie that I filmed & edited. Enjoy!

4 Responses to Golfing at The Sand Trap

1. Sereina 
   October 7th, 2011 at 3:57 pm Moderate
   Fun video! I love the music; Up is one of my favorite soundtracks.
2. Melanie 
   October 8th, 2011 at 3:09 pm Moderate
   We enjoyed that, Erica. Thanks. :)
3. DessertForTwo 
   October 11th, 2011 at 12:29 am Moderate
   Cute :)
   What inspirted you to do this? Are you expanding your creative space beyond photos and baking? Do tell! :)
4. Erica Lea 
   October 11th, 2011 at 8:42 am Moderate
   DessertForTwo: I’ve always been interesting in making “films.” When I was thirteen my sisters and I bought a little digital video camera, and my siblings and I spent many, many hours making movies. I’d love to get more into making films, and with HD video capability on my new camera (the Nikon D7000), I’ll be doing some experimenting. :)

Earring Storage

While I’m just starting my earring collection, I’ve discovered a handy, pretty way of storing them neatly. I simply hang them from a lovely little bowl given to me by a dear friend.

Once my earring collection grows a bit, I’ll have to upgrade to a more substantial organizer. Like so: {link}

How do you keep your jewelry organized?

2 Responses to Earring Storage

1. Sarah W. 
   October 6th, 2011 at 11:21 am Moderate
   The organizer you linked to is super cute, and you could totally DIY!!
2. Crystal 
   October 6th, 2011 at 8:53 pm Moderate
   I did something similar to the link that you posted, but with chicken wire in the frame instead. There is a picture of it in my Facebook album “Crystal’s Creations.” I’ve also seen a picture frame with window screen on it that was really cute! :)