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14 In Photography

What to Wear-Part 2.

Okay, I am back. Online shopping proved be a lot more time consuming than I initially anticipated! I recruited Brittany (my trusty assistant) to make these boards for your viewing pleasure! We tried to stick with stuff that was affordable and easy to find online. Of course, there are tons of designer brands we love but these old faithfuls work just as well.

• Baby Girls- I tend to like one piece rompers. Here are my reasons….1. They cover the diaper 2. They do not ride up 3. I like fat baby legs

1. Old Navy   2. Pink Chicken   3. Old navy   4. Gap   5. Old Navy 6. Gap

•Baby Boys- I am at a loss. Really. I like baby boys in little shorts with no shirt. I like baby boys in the same styles as big boys, but I know I am in the minority, especially in this southern part of the world. So dress him how you like but I may ask “wanna do some with out clothes?!” In which case, you may want to have a diaper cover on hand. And a little hat goes a long way!

• Big Girls- This is by far the most widely designed category for little people! Keep it easy, solid and small patterns. I tend to prefer a flowy dress over a straight dress, girls do like to twirl you know. If your girl is not a dress girl, then pair a cute flowy top with some fitted shorts or capris. Be sure dresses and shorts are not too short, be sure spaghetti straps are not going to keep sliding off, and be sure your girl likes what she is wearing. Girls care and their attitude about taking pics can have a lot to do with how they think they look!

1. Crew Cuts  2. Pink Chicken  3. Crew Cuts  4. Mini Boden/Gap  5. Tea Collection 6. Gap

• Big Boys- Bigger boys are a whole lot easier than baby boys for me to dress. Here is the breakdown: Try to stay away from cargo shorts with messy pockets unless you like to do some tricky ironing. And speaking of ironing. Please iron. Please. Even if you never ever iron again. When it comes to shirts, I tend to prefer cotton and/or linen button down style shirts over “polo” shirts. That is just my weird preference. I realize many people love polos and if you do, then go with it but maybe think about finding one with a smaller weave and a little pizzaz to it! If you are going to do a graphic crewcuts style shirt, I really prefer long sleeves over short….These are all blue, not a rule, but it seems to work well!

Gap. Crew Cuts. Old Navy. Mini Boden

Moms- Wear something you think you look cute in. Wear something comfortable. Wear something you would buy even if it was not for a photo shoot. Do not wear white. Wear a color. Wear a black top with 3/4 length sleeves. Wear a fun flowy sundress. Wear the same amount of makeup you normally would. Wear your hair the same way you always do. If you are weird about your arms like me than please wear sleeves! I think the moral of the story is Be yourself. Be normal! 🙂

Dads- Same as mom and boys! Dads should not be made to wear anything they do not want to wear. They need to be able to run, jump and throw. Dads are more emotional about pics then 7 year old girls. Tread lightly!!

For those of you with more photo/camera related questions, please read this interview I did with Darby a while back. It has some good info and lots of links!

46 In Articles/ Photography

What to Wear? (Part One)

Hello Blog World! It’s me, Marla! I am going to do some guest blogging for D while she and Erika have the time of their life exploring Italy. Fair? Not really. But hey I do live in Paradise so I can’t complain too much!

So what should I talk about…? Well I am knee deep in photo editing these days so photo shoots are on the brain. I do not think we have ever done a photo-shoot that is not preceded by this exact question “what should we wear?” It seems to weigh people down, stress them out, and freeze them in their tracks. And I get that. I have a hard time dressing my own kids for photos, but funny thing is the pictures I love the most of them are definitely not about the clothes.

They are both wearing very simple clothes from crew cuts, just the hint of color in the headband adds some fun to the image. But really it is more about the contrasting colors and their precious expressions.

And now that we are on the topic of headbands, lets discuss BOWS! Oh bows…..Some people would say I am anti bow, perhaps even a bow hater and that is just not true! For photo purposes, just err on the side of less is more. Here are some DOs for how to get hair out of the face without letting the hair clip take over the image.

I really did not intend to start this post with the last thing you add to an outfit, but the transition was there and I took it. Okay lets get back on track.

What to Wear Questions:

Should we all wear the same thing? NO! Outfits should coordinate but everyone should not wear the same thing. Think of it as one big outfit. Does that red and blue plaid shirt look good with a purple paisley skirt? If not, then you are not coordinated! The days of khaki and white are over, dead and gone! Two girls can certainly wear the same dress, or buy matching pieces from the same line that go well together.

Should we wear white? All solids? NO! color, patterns and texture make photos pop both in color and in black and white. Just avoid store and team logos. See above… And Below!

• Should we dress fancy? Heck no! Dress like you normally would but cleaner and more well put together!

Since this post is getting too long already, tomorrow I will post pics of clothes you can find currently in shops and online that I think would be precious for photos! Feel free to post any specific questions in the comments!

I leave you with this thought: Imagine you are out of college and have moved away from all your old friends. Your best friend from college is hosting a 10 year reunion party. it is an OUTDOOR bbq at the PARK in the spring. No one has ever met your husband or your kids, you want them to look cute but know they will be running and playing for hours. How would you dress them?

~Ciao~

92 In Life/ Photography

Smooshed

I have a few things to catch up on… life has been quite busy lately. Justin has been out of town for a few days for the 3rd time this month and it throws me for a loop every time it happens. So, I’m going to smoosh a whole bunch of stuff into one post… hang with me.

bootlegs

Before I begin, NO Rover is not potty training yet. I sent Daddy to the store for diapers, specifically Huggies and he came home with a box of 2T/3T Pull Ups. The conversation went like this when he walked it with them:

Me: You didn’t?
Him: What?
Me: Buy Pull Ups?
Him: Oh, um, yeah. I did.
Me: Why? He’s 18 months old.
Him: Well, I know you said Huggies but they had Mickey Mouse on them.
Me: What’s wrong with Mickey Mouse? He’s worn Mickey since he was born.
Him: Well, he’s a boy.
Me: Yes….
Him: Well, I saw these and they have cars on them.
Me: And they’re kinda expensive.
Him: Yeah, they are… like $.45 each.
Me: Yeah, Huggies are like $.29 each.
Him: Yeah, you’re right. I stood there forever but couldn’t buy the Mickey Mouse ones.
Me: It’s ok, Mickey Mouse is a boy too.
Him: Yeah. Um, next time I’ll get the Huggies.
Me: Um, yeah… that would be a good idea!

At least he got them for me, right!? I will add that they are about as absorbent as swim diapers. 🙂

In other news… 

valentine9

I’ve been up to my eyeballs in May Johnson’s Valentines. I’ve been sorting and looking and wondering what I’m going to do with 150 of them. They are delightful to look at but this picture is a good representation of what happens at our house. I start a project, things get out of control and Justin literally gets surrounded by it. Please tell me we’re not the only family!

LOTSofValentines

He was on the computer trying to list a pair of boots he bought for me that were too big. We tried to take some pictures for Ebay and this is what happened in the process:
all3_boots
roverboots
justinpaiger

I ended up taking care of both the Valentines and the Ebay listing… while he covered the rovers. He picked out and bought the boots while he was out of town last weekend. It was a very kind gesture that nearly made me throw up.  I keep telling myself– “You CAN keep them, he bought them for you because he loves you.”  {The most expensive pair of shoes I’ve ever owned are my Saucony running shoes from Shoe Carnival and I think they were $49.99.} He made me close my eyes and he put them on my feet and I walked around and realized they were too big. When I slipped them off and saw the label and thought I’d throw up right there… I had seen them on PW and I knew they were nice… told him I couldn’t keep them but he told me I could. So, long story very short… we had a friend pick up the right size so now we have 2 pairs. We can return them and will if they don’t sell, but he bought them a long way away so we thought we’d try ebay instead… and who doesn’t love an auction!? And by the way… I totally love them and haven’t taken them off since he got them… and he likes to see me in them! 🙂

Ok, speaking of Pioneer Woman… I’ve been meaning to tell y’all that I sign up for her giveaways. Almost all of them. I mean, I know 34,000 other people comment to win or enter to win… but I think, “it takes 30 seconds and wouldn’t a $500 gift card be nice?!” So, anyway, she called for sunsets earlier this week… and I’ve got a few of those in my collection so I threw one in the mix and dog gone it… she picked it for the first group. I was pretty excited– to say the least. Thanks to those of y’all who brought it to my attention.

As excited as I was about PW I was even more excited to see the February issue of Southern Living that features my precious and talented sister with a 6 page spread of a fabulous house she did for some of my most favorite people in the whole world. The house is unbelievable and as wonderful as the images are, the house is even more beautiful in real life, I wish you could see the bedrooms, bathrooms and Mitch’s office! Mitch & Gaye have been incredible mentors to Justin & I for many years. They absolutely love the Lord and have used their fabulous house for His glory and I’m so happy for them! My best friend LA {their oldest daughter} and her precious little ones are in the pictures too! I think it hits newsstands next week… snatch up a copy! **And there was one minor detail that SL omitted from the article & sources… my dear husband was responsible for hanging all those lovely collections of frames & plates!! I must give credit where credit is due!!**

I’ve also been working on things for Craft Hope but can’t quite seem to get it all together fast enough. The listings are all due by today {because they’ve been inundated with buyers and contributors} but if I can’t get them all finished I will list them in my own Etsy shop and donate all proceeds to Craft Hope/Doctors Without Borders! I’ve finished 4 boo boo bags and am almost finished with 3 BIG rice bags. Don’t forget to check out their shop HERE… stuff is flying out the door!

booboobag1

The smaller ones {above} can be frozen or microwaved and used for boo boos {or migraines or puffy early-morning eyes} .

booboobag2

Each one has a slip-off cover…

booboobag3

… and is infused with the most wonderful and relaxing scent of peppermint oil.

I’ll be back soon with this recipe…

finished