Long Beach Baby Child Family Photographer

Style Findings

19Sep

The humdrums [Style Findings]

Packing lunches for kids can lead to boredom and possibly even wanting to pull your hair out.  I always tell my kids, you don’t have to eat everything in your lunch, but you’re not allowed to throw it away.  At the end of the day, I just want to see what things you like (and eat all of) and what things you don’t like or don’t have time to eat.  These talks are serious.  You’d think it was an ABC after school special.  But, seriously, I want to be an effective lunch packer.  I hate throwing food away, but I don’t want them to be hungry at school either!  I’m sure some of you can relate.

I’ve learned that marketing is key.  And packaging is everything.  If I can ‘sell’ it, they’ll be excited about it and want to eat it.  Let me give you an example.  Vegetables in the lunches are not a big hit.  I wanted them to be able to dip their vegetables, but the individual ranch packets you can buy are a) way too much ranch for a kid to eat at lunch and b) expensive.  I went on the hunt for tiny containers to hold dips and found these Lock-Ups at The Container Store.  I saw them in the office section, so I think they are meant to be for office supplies, but they are the perfect size and also dishwasher safe (on the top rack).

Carrots are now a lunch favorite and we have plans to use them for celery and peanut butter too.  I’ve even been thinking pretzels in a yogurt dip would work.  The Lock-Ups stack too, so you could pack more than one dip and have the containers connect.

 

 

 

 

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09Sep

Handmade Gift Wrapping Ideas [Style Findings]

If you’re like me, life is lived on the fly.  Sometimes you don’t have wrapping paper at home.  And sometimes the party is in an hour.  Other times you have plenty of time and you just want to make something pretty.  Either way, these ideas for gift-wrapping will save you when you’re rushing out the door.  Or looking for a way to spend your Saturday afternoon!

I’m guest posting today over on Little Skye Children’s Boutique’s blog.  Check out the link to see the details…

 

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18Aug

Home Montana: Antiques [Orange County Photographer]

When every other store on the street is an antique store, you have to stand out.  This quaint little establishment is housed in what used to be The Stevi Star, the newspaper for the little population of 1,000 town I grew up in.  The rooms each have different themed items and the whole side yard is filled with architectural salvage and garden antiques.  Owning a place like this would be so much fun.  I overheard the owner say that she likes to dumpster dive.  How fun that all these treasures she not only curated, but took the effort to find them in the unloveliest of places.

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09Aug

The Parker l Palm Springs [Orange County Photographer]

Okay party people…wanna know what I did for my birthday last month?  My always-amazing husband took me to Palm Springs.  We hid out at The Parker, which has become a favorite.  My friend Laura introduced me to the hotel a few years ago.  From top to bottom, they take care of every detail imaginable.  And if you stay there in the summer (when the temperatures are 110+) you can get a great deal!

The last time we were there, I took some photos of the lobby.  This time, I wanted to share photos of the room and a few from the grounds.  Here’s a link to the photos I took last time.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this place!  They call you before you arrive to see if there’s anything you need prior to your visit.  When you arrive you can arrange to have free french press coffee delivered to your room along with a newspaper of your choice.  The patio is enclosed with local desert greenery to make each area feel private.  Even the room key is embellished with a tassel and picture of an antique key. The bathrooms are stocked with everything you’ll need in the desert (sunscreen, lip balm) along with the essentials.

Jonathan Adler designed the decor and you see his fingerprints everywhere, from the tapestry pillows to the pottery and choices of reading material in the rooms.  Every where you walk on site is a little nook with a seating area, a fountain or a fire pit.  So many lovely little places to sit and chat.  We were so inspired by the grounds, we wanted to try to re-create a bit of it in our own backyard!

 

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30Jul

Felted Flower Headband [Newport Beach Photographer]

I’m guesting this week on the Little Skye blog!  Click here for full directions on how to make this super cute felted flower headband.

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13Jul

Red White and Blue Birthday Party [Long Beach Child Photographer]

My good friend Laura of Ascot Friday recently threw super cute party for her one year old son, Lincoln.  All the stars aligned (with a birthday right before 4th of July and a name like Lincoln) for a red-white-and-blue BASH.  I’ve photographed several of Laura’s parties and she out does herself every time!  I’m dividing the party into three parts for the blog.  This will be the post showing the decor and party guests.  Then the photo booth and a special post for the cake smash.  Because it was that cute!

Laura bought an old presidential campaign book and used the pages to make posters as decor.  The dollar store had a wealth of flags and red, white and blue accessories.

Here’s Laura and her sister prepping the hot dogs…Bryan’s mastering the grill behind them.

What’s more American than apple pie a la mode?  I love this party tip…pre-scoop the ice cream and adorn it with flags, so it’s ready to serve!

Next up…the fun photo booth!

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12Jul

Vintage Boys Room [Orange County Photographer]

I’ve shared parts of my boys’ room over the last year since I made it over, but never the finished product.  I think homes are always a work in progress…we are constantly re-freshing things and the kids are growing, so we try to re-configure according to their needs!  The boys have been in bunk beds (purchased online as pottery barn knock-offs) since they moved out of toddler beds, many years ago.  They are 10 and 11 years old (19 months apart) and collectors of legos, bionicles, art supplies and just about everything else under the sun.  My goal in the room was to keep the clutter down.  I wanted to have a container for everything.  Basically a place to put everything away.

The focus of the room is the shelving unit that Bryan (husband of Ascot Friday) built for me.  It’s loosely based on shelves seen at The Ace in Palm Springs.  He did an AMAZING job and if you’re in Long Beach and want to have him make you shelves like these, let me know and I’ll put you in contact.  The shelves are filled with books, toys and a few vintage found items.

I tried to use vintage pieces that would be functional, like pottery bowls to hold lego guys and an old pair of speakers as book ends.  I did a whole blog post about the soda crate that houses all of their art supplies.  I also love this old flour sifter that now houses colored pencils.

The green storage boxes are from Ikea.  I printed out matching labels to remind the boys what belongs in each box!

The white bedding is also from Ikea.  I splurged on a Jonathan Adler needlepoint pillow to inspire the room and the other pillows I made.  I also have a whole blog post about how I made chevron stripes out of the regular old striped fabric that you buy at Ikea.

 

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27Jun

Wallpaper Makeover [Southern California Photographer]

I’m a bit vanilla.  When it comes to how I dress and how I decorate my home, plain is best.  I’m creative in my work, but I tire out when it comes to personal decisions.  Thankfully I have stylish friends.  And thankfully they help me make personal decisions.

Two of my good friends have wallpaper in their homes.  The exact same pattern, in fact!  So, the wheels started turning about a year ago.  I wanted to wallpaper a wall in my dining room, but oh the choices!  I waffled this way and that for a whole year.  I pinned different patterns.  I was sure about this one, until I saw that one.  Finally ready to pull the trigger, I ran two options by my friends.  Laura told me to go to Walnut Wallpaper by where she worked at The Grove.  She met me there and we looked through all the books until we narrowed it down to this:  Summer Palace Fret in Mineral by F Schumacher.  Heather gave the stamp of approval and we were off!

I’m so happy with how it turned out!  The mineral color nicely compliments the soft gold color on the walls.  We also got these mercury pendants from West Elm a few months ago and these chairs from Crate and Barrel were what started the whole change.  I used to have matching wood chairs to the table.  Matching.  How boring.  Laura recommended a galvanized steel chair and I love how it has a vintage feel, while still being modern.  And of course I love my DIY terrariums.

We also decided to wallpaper around the corner, so you could see a peek of it when you walk through the front door.  Danny, our contractor, installed the wallpaper and it looks perfect.  Brent agreed to wallpaper if it was professionally installed.  I would have happily tried to do it myself, but weird seams and crooked patterns weren’t what Brent had in mind.  If you’re in the SoCal area and looking to wallpaper, I will gladly give you Danny’s info.  He’s the best!

And just so you can see the difference.  Here’s a before picture.  VANILLA!

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07Jun

Fresh Strawberry Homemade Facial Mask [Newport Beach Photographer]

Even though I love my thirties, it’s not perfect.  Yes, I’m wiser, stronger and more efficient than I was in my twenties.  But, I have the unfortunate combination of wrinkles and the occasional break-out.  Didn’t I leave that in junior high with my trapper keeper and pegged jeans??  Apparently not.  So, I treat myself to a facial every now and then.  Kelly is a naturalist and believes that so much of what ails us can be solved with home remedies.  On her recommendation, I started doing a strawberry mask every other morning.

It’s a simple combination of greek yogurt and fresh berries.  I puree a half container of single serving plain greek yogurt with 4 medium size berries in my mini-food processor.  I keep that combination in my fridge for the week.  Before I shower, I’ll paint it on my face with a pastry brush…or fingertips will do in a pinch.  Kelly says you can leave it on for just a few minutes, but I’ve found the best results when I leave it on for about 30 minutes until it’s slightly dry.  Then when I jump in the shower, it’s easy to rinse off.

Strawberries contain salicylic acid that rids the skin of dead cells, makes your skin pores smaller and your face look brighter and shinier. They gently refresh and exfoliate the skin, remove impurities, and reduce redness and swelling, which is wonderful for a cleansing and skin softening facial mask.  Kelly also recommends a pumpkin mask, so when strawberries are out of season just add pureed pumpkin.

(Some people are allergic to strawberries, so test it out on a small patch of skin before applying everywhere if you have sensitive skin.)

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31May

Boho Striped Wood Hanger for Hair Accessories [Huntington Beach Photographer]

I have to admit, after having Memorial Day off, it’s been hard to get back into a schedule this week.  You mean we have to go to work and school after Monday?  We don’t get to play the whole week?  I made some recipes I wanted to blog about and then a few things got in the way of them actually making it on the blog!  I pulled out my popsicles before they were ready.  Do not do this.  It’s very disheartening.  Then, I was trying to photograph bread minutes before my dinner guests arrived.  Again, do not do this.  It stresses your family out when they can’t eat the appetizer, BECAAAAUSE I have to photograph it.  SO.  I will be sharing something else today.  Don’t worry it’s cute.

My friend, Heather, asked me to pick up a stick for her the last time I was on a stick-collecting mission.  She was going to be making a bow-holder for her girls’ hair accessories.  I was looking for big straight sticks for the tent I was trying to create.  I picked up a cute little stick and handed it off to her the next time I was running by her house.  The last time I was there she showed me the finished product.  It’s the perfect addition to her girls’ room!

Her directions are:  Paint stripes on  the stick with acrylic paint in various colors and widths.  Leave some of the wood showing.  Tie pieces of fabric or ribbon on the stick to clips the barrettes to.  Lastly, tie a piece of twine to both ends and hang on a nail or the edge of a frame (as shown).

What a fun way to display hair accessories and an easy way for the girls to grab them on their own and easily put them away!

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© 2013 Kristin Eldridge | Long Beach Baby Child Family Photographer