2. Do you take tons of photos with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod and never know what to do with them? Simply Postcards is filling that gap! The app has been on my phone for ages and I finally printed my first postcard from a photo from New Orleans. It arrived and I LOVE it. It’s a full 5×7 print – you write a message for the back, and they mail it for you!

3. I cannot wait to share the photo wall from our session with Bernadette when we move into the new place. Currently they are spread throughout, because I didn’t really want to rearrange too many things on the wall. For now it’s a combination of canvases, art mounts, and prints but I’m sure I’ll continue to add with other items too.

4. I have put out a challenge on goodreads that I will read 75 books in 2012. I’m not sure I’ll reach it, considering the pace I’ve been going as of late! I was between books (just finished reading 1Q84 which is over 900 pages and wasn’t sure what to read next), so I got out my HUGE stack of magazines to finish them. I had a few from 2010 in there -oops! I read them all and they are now safely in the recycling bin! I’m not sure why I don’t just read them when they arrive but I’m caught up for a short amount of time!

5. This past week, I’ve been working on getting passport information gathered, photos taken, copies of marriage certificate, etc. to send our stuff in. I have a passport, it expires next year + it still has my maiden name. I thought I’d get a little break, but truthfully I am saving myself $20ish verse getting a brand new one for Anthony. This summer we will be heading up to Niagara on the Lake, since Anthony’s dissertation topic centered around that little town in the late 1800s. And maybe one day we will be able to add all sorts of countries to our passports!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Christine + Dan are expecting their first child and it’s a surprise! Christine is absolutely glowing, and you wouldn’t even guess that she had a cold! I am looking forward to meeting their little bambino/bambina in April

Simply beautiful!

Trying to get serious.

As serious as they can get, seconds later!

I love little boys in skinny jeans!

This photo cracks me up because Rylan is expressive all the time, Randon truly wasn’t hurting him at all. Just looks like it!

]]> http://www.kimschmidtphotography.com/2012/01/the-nephews-oklahoma-family-photographer/feed/ 0 http://www.kimschmidtphotography.com/2012/01/new-orleans/ http://www.kimschmidtphotography.com/2012/01/new-orleans/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:15:08 +0000 kim http://www.kimschmidtphotography.com/?p=4577 Three years in a row now I’ve attended one of the largest photographer’s conventions in the country, gaining momentum with more friends joining in! Last year there were 3 of us in San Antonio, this year I had 6 other roomies. Plus we met up with other girls from the online forum we all are members of. Last time I was in New Orleans it was for the college football national championship in 2004 (for the 2003 season though) when Oklahoma lost to LSU. Talk about heartbreak. We were in college, road-tripped down there, and it was fun overall. I just remember the humidity and how awful the people were to us. I went with an open-mind this time and really enjoyed myself. The humidity was at bay until the last day we were there, it was in the 70s the entire time, a far cry from the snow that’s now on the ground in New Jersey!
 

Sunday night we went to the Swamp on Bourbon Street for a fabulous party put on by a lab. We got to throw beads onto Bourbon Street and even started the party dancing on stage. Thank goodness no one has posted the video or photos!
 

One of the Kelly’s and I went back down to Bourbon Street on Monday to take photos with our real cameras! But I can’t pass up photos with the iPhone too! We heard musicians and stumbled upon a MLK Jr. parade. The high school band was by far my favorite, but I loved seeing all the cheerleaders, majorettes and I’m not sure what else starting at the age of 4.

Proof that I went to the trade show. The photo of the other Kelly and I with the moo book is a re-enactment from last year.

I was feeling cruddy so I went back to the hotel, but stopped to take a few photos along the way. The home in the tree is a sculpture done by a local artist for us to always remember Hurricane Katrina. I had a hard time being at the convention center and not thinking about all the people who lost their lives down there. I vividly remember the videos and stills from those horrible days after. But luckily tourism is alive and well in New Orleans.

Henry is 3.5 years old and was awesome at having his photo taken! At least nothing a bribery of a mini M&M or two couldn’t change!

Maggie really is the perfect addition to their already adorable family!

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Allison are stellar and shower their niece and nephew with so much love! This photo makes me chuckle because Maggie thinks we are all crazy and Henry thinks we are funny!

We got to celebrate Randon’s 5th birthday on the 18th. As luck would have it, I was charging my camera batteries before we left for the bowling alley, I grabbed my camera and it was dead by the time I got it out. Luckily the iPhone 4S saved the day and I was still able to capture the moment! And of course we only had a #4 from Randon’s birthday last year. It didn’t matter one bit to him (though it may give him a complex later on in life!), he blew it out and little Rylan thought it was his turn. He has to wait another few weeks (January 14th) before it’s all about him!!

We spent Christmas morning with my family and got to share in the excitement with the boys. Randon started per-kindergarten this year and is really into coloring and art. My parents got him the famous IKEA art easel. Can you tell what his favorite color is? I think they are going to need to invest in more blue paint, chalk and markers. He won’t have anything to do with any other color.

We have been very fortunate the past three years to see the OKC Thunder play during the holidays! This year we really lucked out!!! We went Christmas day, opening night!! The atmosphere was electric, we were half court 7 rows up, really the perfect seats to see Kevin Durant throw down on the Orlando Magic. THUNDER UP!

I will get a post up very soon with the rest of the photos I took, including a family session with a good friend of mine!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything regarding living a more green life here on the blog. Today’s topic is hand-washing your delicates/sweaters/etc. Below you can find some tips on what temperature the water should be and more for different fabrics.

I start out with this aluminum bucket in our kitchen skin. For some it may seem a little redundant, but I do need a place to rinse. Enter in bucket/sink combo (I dream of having a double sink – or even better a laundry room with a sink!!!). I fill the bucket with a small bit of Dr. Bonner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap and water. I place the item(s) into the bucket, dunk a few times, using my hands to swirl a little and work the material in places that may need some love (armpits for examples!)

Castile Soap can be found in many places (I typically buy ours at Whole Foods or Wegmans) with lots of different varieties in bar soap and liquid form. This is concentrated stuff, you only need a teaspoon or less. Your water will not bubble but it is working I promise!

You can see that my bucket isn’t even half full of water. I will put in all my delicates or one sweater at a time. Put in enough water to cover your garment.

Pat dry between a towel or two and hang dry (I lay ours on an Ikea Drying Rack).

I’m not sure what my fear of hand-washing my clothes was about, but this is so easy and simple. The castile soap is super mild and won’t irritate your skin or destroy your clothing.

Silk: Wash by hand in warm or cool water with a gentle soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap). Swirl, swish and rinse (never squeeze or twist). Press between two towels to dry and never use bleach. Hang dry and place in a steamy bathroom to remove the winkles.
Rayon: Hand wash in cool water with castile soap. Swirl, swish and rinse then hang dry.
Wool & Cashmere: Hand wash in cool water w/a mild castile soap. Gently squeeze to wash. Rinse and squeeze gently. Blot dry between two towels and dry flat on a towel.

I’m not sure I talked much about it, but this summer (end of June/beginning of July) Anthony got a nasty case of e.coli (and unfortunately we still don’t know where he got it from!). He was very miserable (which in turned made this wife miserable), didn’t eat much, and lost a little over 15 pounds in two weeks. It wasn’t an ideal way to lose weight but it didn’t hurt either! Right around the same time, I picked up my Zumba class load and started seeing my weight drop too. Enter in the perfect time for photographs when we are both feeling great!

I contacted a good friend of mine, Bernadette of BUPhotography out of Philadelphia, about doing a session with the idea of a Mad Men inspired photo shoot. I have loved her shooting style since the day I met her and I knew she’d be on board with just about anything I suggested. Anthony has once or twice thought of himself as Don Draper from Mad Men, so I knew he’d do whatever I asked too! Win win!

We met up in Northern Liberties in Philadelphia (and wouldn’t ya know the location once was the Schmidt’s Brewery – it was destiny!) on a perfect Thursday morning. Being the beginning of November I worried about it being too cold for the dress I picked out but the sun was shining and I had my honey by my side!

I believe most everyone has received our Christmas card by now (hence why I was waiting to share a few with you all!) and if not, here it is! I’m in love with every single photo Bernadette captured of the two of us. Picking a few to share was tough stuff!!!

A bit of causal photos first (and we had no idea that our outfits would match that wall below!)

Hello Darlings!