busy, busy, busy

 It's December the 7th, and there are 8 days left until my winter vacation. Life, in these past few weeks, has been crazy, and now, in these past few days, even more so. I've been spending the majority of my time doing homework, preparing for exams, working, and sleeping, which unfortunately, leaves very little time to photograph or blog. In fact, except for my little photoshoot with the boys on Sunday, and getting out my camera to take some pictures of our Christmas tree (those are coming soon) and some muffins I made last Wednesday, my camera has had a nice, relaxing break for these past two weeks.

Between being behind in schoolwork, spending the majority of my free time working, and looking at new places to live, I'm beginning to get a little stressed out. But, during this holiday season I can't help to be thankful, and even if times are hard, I am still happy and grateful that I am in a much better place then I was just over two weeks ago.

I'll hopefully be back to shooting soon, and although I can't make any promises, I'll try my best to have some new pictures in my next post! :) 

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely holiday season! Tell me, what have you been up to?

xoxo - hope

i heart faces | on your feet

I haven't entered nearly as many I Heart Faces photo challenges as I would have liked in 2011, so I'm hopefully going to change that in 2012! Yes, I'm already thinking of New Year's Resolutions! :)

Anyways, here's my entry for this weeks theme, "on your feet"!

xoxo - hope

the boys

I had a mini photoshoot today with the two year old twin boys I babysit and had a blast! I'm keeping it a surprise from their mom and am planning to get some printed for a Christmas present.

Needless to say, two year old twin boys are c-r-a-z-y! I had a hard time getting shots of the two of them together, so it's mostly just pictures of them individually! :) 

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What do you think? Can you help me choose some to get printed for their momma? :)

xoxo - hope

i miss you

My grandma told me something tonight that brought tears to my eyes, and I can't seem to stop thinking about it. She told me;

"Your grandpa always told me you were going to be special." 

The thing is, my grandpa passed away when I was eight years old, and although the memories I do have of him are wonderful, special, and meaningful, there aren't a ton, because after all, I only knew him for eight short years.

My grandpa was a kind, loyal man with a big heart, and a love for chocolate chip cookies. He was good to his wife, good to his kids, and I don't remember him ever raising his voice at his us, his grandchildren.

He was patient, smart, had a nice smile, and always had a twinkle in his eye, and it literally pains me that I didn't get to know him as well as I should have. It pains me that he doesn't get to see me grow up, and it pains me that he was taken from us at the young age of 58 due to the viscous and awful disease called cancer. 

I miss and love you so very much grandpa. I hope I've made you proud.

xoxo - hope

oh hey there, december

Please excuse my absence these past few days! With an almost-daily routine of school, work, and sleep, my life, as of late, has been extremely busy. So busy in fact, that I've only picked up my camera once in the last week.

Each month comes and goes so quickly that by the time I remember to write the correct month on my schoolwork, it's already time to change it up again. November was a crazy, crazy month, and I have no doubt that December will be even crazier due to the holidays, but I am so ready for a break from school and a new year!

Leaving you today with a delicious muffin recipe, a perfect treat for this magical holiday season;

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tbps. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

1 large apple, peeled and diced

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. brown sugar

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Once butter is cut in, measure out 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside for topping. Add apple and walnuts to flour mixture. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add milk. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just mixed (batter will be lumpy). Lightly grease a muffin pan, and fill each cup 2/3 full. 

Take the 1/4 cup of the mixture that was set aside and add 1 tsp. brown cinnamon and the brown sugar. Sprinkle over each muffin. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 12 large muffins.

xoxo - hope

a little something just for you {giveaway}

It has been a very, very long time since my last giveaway, and because I love my followers very, very much, I thought a giveaway was in order! :)

We have 4 fabulous prizes and 1 fabulous coupon code up for the grabs today,  so how about them prizes!?

1. 8x10 Print Of Your Choice From Keri Bevan Photography.

She has a huge variety of absolutely gorgeous photographs to choose from and I am insanely jealous of the winner! 

2. Set Of Four "Whimsical Owl Cards" With Envelopes From The Owl And The Envelope.

Are these not the most adorable cards you have ever seen!?

3. "When Pigs Can Fly" Brooch From MyPipSqueak.

One word; Adorable.

4. 8x10 Print Of Your Choice From Eeebee & Jack.

I would love to have one of these sweet prints on my wall!

Also, the wonderful Jo, owner of 42 things has offered my lovely readers a coupon code! To spice things up a bit, we also decided to do a little interview:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a whacky 35 yo, wife and homeschooling mom of 2. I live in Alberta, Canada and although I love it, I'm starting to really dislike the long dark winters. Snow is wonderful... but comeon! 8 months of cold dark? Maybe I better move south.

When did you first open your shop, and why?

I opened my shop in Feb. 2010 (although I signed up sooner). It was during one of those long dark winters and I just needed something to do for me. Something that I could leave and pick up at any time. little did I know it would become an obsession. I was very sure it was going to fail right off the bat.

What is your favourite thing to make?

Pretty much everything. Some things I balk at a little bit because it's so time consuming, like the paper beads, so I only offer a few kinds of them for sale as a supply as I enjoy making them into bracelets so much more. I can't say for sure which is my favourite item to make. Bookmarks are fun... they turn out so cute.

In your opinion, has your shop been successful?

Yes, I think it has. Maybe not HUGELY successful, but besides time I haven't invested a lot into it monetarily so that is one of my goals this year. Invest more money into the business so I can invest less time :) as far as learning new things and becoming more confident in my abilities as a business owner? I've been hugely successful.

Enter coupon code: LIVEYOURLIFE for 20% off your purchase until December 11th, 2011.

Mandatory Entry:

Follow my blog via GFC, and leave a comment telling me what your favourite thing about the holidays is.

Extra Entries:

Heart Keri Bevan Photography's Etsy Shop

Heart The Owl And The Envelope's Etsy Shop

Heart MyPipSqueak's Etsy Shop

Heart EeeBee & Jack's Etsy Shop

Heart 42 Things' Etsy Shop

Post About This Giveaway And Leave A Link In A Comment

Giveaway ends in two weeks, on December 11th, 2011. 

Have fun & Good luck! :) 

xoxo - hope

bucket list

1. Visit each continent.
2. Witness a solar eclipse.
3. Visit and explore Italy.
4. Go on a grand trip around Europe.
5. Meet one of my favourite singers/actresses/actors.
6. Get married.
7. Become a parent.
8. Start a successful small business.
9. Go to Oktoberfest in Bavaria, Germany.
10. See the Monalisa
11. Ride an elephant.
12. Go on safari.
13. Learn to play golf.
14. Learn how to speak Spanish.
15. Learn how to speak Swedish.
16. Learn to surf.
17. Go shopping at The Grove.
18. Take a road trip across Canada.
19. Take a road trip across the United States.
20. Visit Banff National Park.
21. Drive through the Canadian Rockies.
22. Visit the Grand Canyon.
23. Go Bungee Jumping.
24. Visit New York City.
25. See the Statue of Liberty. 
26. Have a picnic in Central Park.
27. Visit all 50 of the United States.
28. Live in a foreign country for a month.
29. Read the entire Anne of Green Gables series.
30. Read the entire Harry Potter series.
31. Attend a New Year's Celebration in Times Square.
32. Go whale watching.
33. Ride a camel.
34. Go to Las Vegas.
35. Visit India.
36. Visit the Great Wall of China.
37. See Mount Rushmore.
38. Go to Disney Land.
39. Go on a cruise.
40. Solve a Rubik's Cube.
41. Cook my way through an entire cookbook.
42. Spend a day in silence.
43. Donate blood.
44. See/hold a koala bear.
45. Ride a motorcycle.
46. View the Aurora Borealis.
47. Ride in a hot air balloon.
48. Go white-water rafting.
49. Make cake balls.
50. Graduate High School.
51. Ride in a limousine. 
52. Sleep on a beach.
53. Get a tattoo.
54. Swim with dolphins.
55. Drive a convertible. 
56. Take a photo of a peacock.
57. Go to Mexico.
58. Visit the Eiffel Tower.
59. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
60. Get a pedicure.
61. Meet a fellow blogger in person.
62. See a live musical.
63. Stay up for 24 hours.
64. Stay up for 48 hours.
65. Get a manicure.
66. Paint each of my fingernails a different colour.
67. Ride a horse on a beach.
68. Write my name in the sand on a beach.
69. Take someones engagement photos.
70. Take someones newborn photos.
71. Shoot, or second shoot a wedding.
72. Take pictures at a fair at night time.
73. Eat gelato in Italy.
74. Visit Isle of Capri.
75. Watch a movie at a drive-in movie theater. 
76. Drive a tractor.
77. Go canoeing.
78. Go kayaking.
79. Go sailing.
80. Ride a jet ski.
81. Go water skiing.
82. Milk a cow.
83. Go scuba-diving.
84. Do a polar bear swim.
85. Visit the San Diego Zoo.

This list will forever grow, but for now, this is what I have.

What's on your bucket list?


xoxo - hope

why?

Because I am so, so grateful for all of my amazing followers friends and their encouraging words! Thank you, I really needed the lift.

Because it snowed 3 times this week, and I love snow.

Because I got a cell phone. LOVE. 

Because my dog is adorable.

Because I did a merchandise shoot for the local veterinary clinic. Fun? Yes.

And because I've already shared way too many pictures for one post, this post will now be ending! ;) 

Oh yeah, what do you think about the new design? :)

xoxo - hope