It's that time of the year again

I've been using Shutterfly for years now. It started with printing hundreds of pictures from my travels and their competitve pricing couldn't be beat. Every year, they add to their product list. They're building a lifestyle brand, I've made now made iPhone covers, address labels, cards, postcards, So naturally, we make our Christmas cards through Shutterfly. This has been our second year and every year I love the results. 

Also, every year I think I'm going to be on the ball, make my own cards, have a professional photographer and do our cards but let's be honest. I'm not that put together. I love that the card selections expand every year and I find that I can always find one to fit our families personality. Sometimes I notice that the printing might be a bit off from different batches but if you contact them, I've had friends that have had stand out customer service and speedy reprinting. I've never contacted them for this reason, mainly because I'm already a little behind the times on sending out cards. But none the less, people have loved our Christmas cards so much that if I run into someone at a coffee shop or supermarket they ask if they are on our Christmas card list for the year. So I think we're at a winning advantage. 

All these opinions are my own. I love having photos printing. I love that photographs reach far more than a frame on the wall. If you want an amazing example of some lifestyle shutterfly examples. Check out one of my favorite blogs, The Jungalow. 

PS. Did you catch the secret? 

When it rains in Southern California

I was a bit bummed when I woke up this morning. Why? Because I had plans. I got someone to cover my regular 7 AM on weekends job so I could wake up with the sun, go on a long walk with my pup and spend the rest of the afternoon reading in the sun, then I had plans to see a shakespeare by the sea play. But there was no sun. Instead, there was rain. To preface: California is in a severe drought. So once I got over myself and got over the fact that there was no sun. I embraced it. Rain is a great thing. It doesn't judge when you are lazy and still in your loungewear at noon and that's A-OK in my book. 

After, the hubs made me brunch. He's a trooper, he's cooked me meals everyday for the last 3 weeks.  I only thought it'd be fair to do the dishes. After I did dishes for what seemed like an eternity. I grabbed my pup and my camera and went exploring our little beach town. I love roaming the neighborhoods and seeing all the houses with character and the pretty gardens. Then I also love that I can walk to the beach. Today was lovely. I watched kids braving the rain and jumping in the water with their clothes on. I listened to the silence of hardly anyone on the sand. And I embraced the pounding of the waves and marveled at how blue the water was. 

At some point in time, I tried to take Buhle on a photoshoot, but she was being a difficult model. The pictures of her are the saddest pictures I think I've ever seen of her outside. So we moved on from that idea. ;) 

Overall, it was a great day. I love exploring my little beach town. I always find something new. I urge you to take a moment and look around your neighborhood. It may surprise you to find out how charming your neighborhood is. 

Happy Weekend, my friends. 

Growing Pains

Can I be honest? This week was REALLY difficult for me. I felt like I just sucked at being an adult. Nothing I did was right. My schedule was a mess, I wasn't sleeping, and there was just too much to do. I felt inadequate in all my roles. Like really inadequate. I would have loved to have sat at a coffee shop and cried my eyes out. Ain't nobody got time for that. Yet, there is time for yelling, apparently. Sheesh, I should probably reevaluate. My husband is a go-getter (it's a good thing, normally) and impulsively made all these changes in our 400 square foot beach shack without letting me process any of them. Which has been a trend since we've moved in. Now, when I come home, I look around thinking, I never pictured that, that's not me. For instance, I live in the bluest interior house that I never imaged myself living in. Small details seep into my day, our shoes no longer have a home, and there is no space for more storage, things like that. It's okay. Now breath. 

Growing pains. Life pains. Marriage pains. Self pains. 

It will all be okay. 

On the bright side of this week and all the weeks before, I've learned in my adult years a valuable lesson in breathing. A deep breath can change a lot. A deep breath brings clarity and brings to light what I'm feeling. Sometimes after a deep breath I feel the heaviness of life and what I've been suppressing, sometimes after a good deep breath tears happen, and other times a deep breath brings freedom. The point is, it slows life down for a brief moment to actually think and gather thoughts. This week I found moments while walking the dog and seeing Grey whales so close I could touch them and gave myself the time to walk 4 miles. I felt really lucky, and immediately knew to thank God for that. I worked at the Ritz Carlton this weekend and although I'm working, I know to feel really lucky because you can't beat the views and the mass of the sea and how powerful that feeling really is. Its rather breath taking. And in those moments, I'm reminded at how majestic He really is. 

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And everything will be okay. 

Breath.

Give it time. 

Nesting: We got a monster and her name is trouble.

It seems rather odd that I'd start this blog as one of my beginning posts rather than filling in the blanks on other things but, oh well, the world has not crumbled yet from a jumbled storyline.  

And then there were three. 

My other half and I very recently added a puppy to our mix. She's a precious little labsky, born on July 5, 2014. Fun Fact: She was born on our wedding day. We took that as a sign of fate and went for it.  Her name is Buhle Alexandria Suikerbossie Venter. 

It's a mouthful but we call her Buhle (boo-lay) for short. It's a Xhosa name for beauty and Suikerbossie is Afrikaans for sugarbush, an endearing term like honey or sweetie. 

The first day we had her she was extremely mellow. By 3 am, she was a completely different dog. She pulled a full Jekyll and Hyde and became a monster, a cute monster.

Having a puppy is like a baby. There are tons of sleepless nights and they pee and poo everywhere. We have been crate training her and it has not been fun. She cries for hours and hours. If anyone has any tips, please send me your knowledge. 

Then there are those moments, when your husband tells you when you come home from work, "She won't sleep and hasn't slept for hours," and in that moment she snuggles up next to you and falls asleep. Precious. I'm totally in love with her. 

This spunky, stubborn girl is going to be trouble. I knew it the moment I looked into her baby blue-eyes.