Owls, Lenses and Fires

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning due to a sick baby :(

But that gave me time to make this fun Painted Owl Necklace for my etsy shop! Isn't it a hoot? (I'm a moron, my apologies.)

I am trying to make as much jewelry as possible so you have many options to choose from during my fundraising for Haiti! See here for details.

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Ok. I see I've neglected to tell which lens I bought! For all of you who are curious it is the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 prime lens. It's pretty much awesome. I'm having lots of fun playing with my camera and all my lenses. Soon my 2 new camera bags will be obsolete; I will need a suitcase to help lug everything around!

I am by no means a pro at this, I just love taking pictures and I want to get the best picture I possibly can so my memories are well preserved! (Fun fact about me : If my house was on fire and my family and dog were safe, and I could only go back for 1 thing, I would have to rescue my photos and a few special items from my hubby - shhhh don't tell I took more than 1 thing!) Hmmm this could be fun. What 1 thing would you rescue??

I Did It!!!

I am not a big goal setter.

If I want to do something I just do it.

A couple weeks ago, however, I decided that instead of just doing what I want to do, I would set a goal for myself and when I accomplished that goal, then I could do what I wanted to do.

Now I'm rambling. What did I want to do? (I know the suspense is killing you) Well....

I've been wanting this lens for my nikon D5000 for a while now, but I always feel guilty buying things for myself (especially when those things cost a couple hundred dollars). So I set a goal for myself and decided when I met my goal I could buy the lens. 9 days later I bought it!!!! Wahoo!! For once I didn't feel guilty about spending the money because I felt like I earned it.

The lens just came to my doorstep yesterday, so I haven't had too much time to play with it yet. Here are a few shots I've taken so far (keep in mind I still need practice....).

I was trying to read my Bible, but Isabella kept taking it to the fireplace to read for herself! (notice the vent under the curtains blowing air in her hair - so funny!)
This is how I find my child constantly. Eating.
Now the baby's napping, so I'll be the guinea pig.


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On a side note, I want to take a minute to thank Allegra from My Lips in Stitches. She sent me a wonderful book this week (actually 3 books) and I am so thankful to her for her kindness and generosity. She has a great blog and a beautiful heart. Check her out sometime. You will be encouraged!

P.S : Don't forget that from now until the end of January a portion of every purchase at Bella Reagli goes to help the people of Haiti!

Jewelry For You = Help For Haiti!

I've been trying to find a way that I can help the people of Haiti more. There is SO much devastation there and they really need our help! So yesterday I came up with a plan. Sure, I can pray for them - and they do need or prayers, and yes I can donate food/money, but here is a way I can give a little more.

From now until the end of January a portion of EVERY sale from Bella Regali will go directly to help the people of Haiti. I just added new items to my shop and will continue to add pieces throughout the next couple weeks. So if you see something that you or a friend may like, now is a perfect time to shop. It's the best of both worlds, you get jewelry and you are helping those in crisis. Every little bit helps! I just keep thinking, if the roles were reversed and we were the ones in need we'd be wondering why the richest country in the world isn't doing more to help? I know it's not much but this is a small way we can give more.

Haiti

I am so sad for the people of Haiti. Wasn't there enough devastation there before the earthquake? I was watching tv last night and they were covering what's been happening there over the last few days. They found a baby that had been trapped in the rubble for 3 DAYS, amazingly she is alive but has no one left to take care of her. There are so many stories like hers, of babies and little ones all alone now. No food. No water. No one to hug them and comfort them.

I wish I could go to Haiti and scoop up all those precious little ones and bring them home with me.

So sad....

Random Friday

Yesterday we decided to go to Chicago. It was supposed to be above freezing, my man had the day off, and I didn't have any hair appointments scheduled; perfect! We planned to leave during Bella's nap time hoping she would sleep on the way there and therefore be able to enjoy a day in the city. She did. YAY! We didn't really have a plan. We just thought we'd find a place to park, walk around for awhile and then find a great restaurant. The walking around part was cut short due to the bitter cold wind, gotta love the windy city. So we thought we'd just find a place to eat. There is this seafood restaurant that we went to in the summer and they had this super yummy blue crab fondue served with garlic pita bread. Mmmmm. That's what we wanted. So we walked through the icy wind a few extra blocks for the sake of blue crab. We have not gone out to eat with our daughter in a few months (because she is too wiggly) so I was a little nervous. As it turned out, there was hardly anyone in the restaurant so we let Bella walk around a bit (which means she stayed happy).

She was really excited to see food. It's her favorite!

We were ready to order the minute we got there; no need to look at a menu. But alas, they no longer serve the yummy crab fondue. (Insert sad face here.) Oh well, at least we got to go out and enjoy the city. And Bella was sweet as pie the whole time :)

I've also been busy making jewelry. I noticed my inventory was getting pretty low so I spent some time designing a few new pieces. What do you think??

These 2 aren't new, but they are perfect with the new designs!

Everything is available now at Bella Regali.

The Chocolate Diet

So, I have this problem. I didn't use to be this way. I have good intentions of trying to do better, but I keep slipping back. It's just so alluring....

I am talking about my addiction to sugar. More specifically chocolate. I went nuts baking for Christmas and now I just can't stop. I've been know to eat truffles for breakfast. And maybe cookies for lunch....sshhhhh!

I use to eat super healthy and workout everyday. But all that ended when I got pregnant with Bella (yes, I know that was nearly 2 years ago). I was too sick to eat anything except the occasional piece of dry toast, and I was on strict bedrest so I couldn't workout anymore. And then she was born and I wasn't sick anymore, but I was too tired to workout everyday and, well, I was still eating mostly carbs. Then I started having major wrist pain and that kept me from doing my beloved yoga every morning.

That leads us up to today, where I occasionally work out and occasionally eat healthy. I really want to do better. It's not that I want to lose weight. Somehow in the midst of my Chocolate Diet (copyright pending) I've managed to drop about 20lbs below my pre pregnancy weight. Go figure.
But I do want to be healthier. I need to be a good example to my munchkin :)

So me and my man are workout buddies now. It's way more fun when you have a hot guy working out next to you, am I right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up chocolate. I'm just not going to treat it as a meal anymore. :)

Psssst....

Just a little reminder,folks! The Bella Regali sale ends tomorrow. All earrings are buy 1 get 1 FREE as long as you are a follower of my blog! There's a variety of styles to choose from, I hope you can check it out! (Thanks to those who have done some shopping already!) Happy Friday! :)