Fun At Sea World

Some of our family from Hawaii is in town and invited us to join them on some of their vacation excursions so we decided Sea World would be fun. It just so happened that they were going on a Thursday so Brian was able to join us :) 

Since A is still free I just had to find some tickets for me and B...Craigslist to the rescue. I managed to find 2 really cheap tickets...both were less than one at the gate...so we were good to go. My nephew is staying with my parents right now so we decided to bring him along for the fun. 

It's been a really long time since I was last there and wow has it changed since then! Of course the animals were all still there but they have rides and coasters and a mini water park for the kiddos in addition to the exhibits and shows. It was a really fun day and even though A had a mini meltdown because she refused to nap, she bounced back after lunch, and had a blast!

Here are a bunch of pictures of the animals for you to enjoy! 

And here are some others from the day

And of course the only picture of the three of us all day isn't the greatest but oh well.

Friday Favorite

Would you like some wine with that cheese?! Haha, too much sugar makes her crazy!

Happy Friday ♥

Sneak Peek :: Marisa's Mini Makeover

Here's a sneak peek at another makeover project I've been working on:

the room

 some inspiration:

Stay tuned for the full reveal!! It's pretty awesome.

What A Day!

What a busy day! We started out early and headed to a playdate at the McCrays with the boys. After a couple days of rain we were thankful for the sun so the kiddos could play outside. After snacks and a nap (for baby T) we braved the "cold" and let the kids run around outside. 

trying to decide if she's brave enough to go down the driveway

 baby T enjoying his bouncer...and his fingers

hey there gorgeous...

 giving kisses...

(Big brother B was off playing with the neighbor boys so he missed out on the photo shoot)

After we left the boys to nap we headed to Samy's so I could check out some lenses to rent for an event tomorrow. Miss A took her requisite short nap in the car and woke up just as I pulled into the parking lot. After renting my lenses, we did a few more errands in OC then headed home before traffic got too bad. We pulled into the garage at 4:15 which means we were out and about for 8 hours...almost half of which was in the car. It's no wonder A was exhausted! Night night, baby girl. 

Mini Makeover :: Erika's Bedroom

So I've been helping Erika with small projects here and there for her apartment. We started in the living room and then tackled the bedroom. The space isn't huge and there is an awkward wall that has a random window on one end and boarded up doorway (I think?!) on the other...with her bed somewhere in between:  

*please excuse the pictures...I didn't have the correct lens on me the day I went up there!*

I suggested a "wall of curtains" behind her bed to serve several purposes. 1) it hides the fact that there are random windows and boards on the wall, 2) it adds some "drama" to the room, and 3) it acts like artwork in her room. Here are a few examples of what I was talking about

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At first E wasn't so excited about it but as she slowly started warming up to the idea, she gave me the ok :) She found curtains that she liked that wouldn't compete with the rest of the room but that would add some interest to the walls. 

We ended up using 95" long panels as we were going to hang from as close to the ceiling as possible. Remember, we wanted "drama"! We lucked out that the room was the exact width of the max of the curtain rod she had! So after a few hours of measuring, hanging and straightening up, here is the finished product:

What do you think? Because of the size of the room and the lens I was using, getting a picture of the entire wall was SO hard! Here's one on E's phone that she took that gets a little more of it:

Pretty huh? :) I LOVE IT! The curtains definitely make the space prettier while hiding the flaws we discussed and it most definitely adds the drama she wanted! During the day you can see the light coming through the window, but it's definitely better than what it was :)

Friday Favorite

Yes, you got caught. Don't touch that stuff in the garage!

Happy Friday! ♥

A Small Step

Well folks, after much prayer and careful consideration, I've decided to take a small step into the world of photography. I've had a lot of positive feedback from the recent photo shoots I've done and have actually started getting questions about pricing and booking sessions from people I don't know. How crazy is that?! It still baffles me. Anyway, I started a new photography blog that will serve as my main website for now. I don't know how far this will go as a "business" but I'm willing to see what happens. You can read more about it here:

Thank you for all those who have encouraged me to pursue something more. I am still learning and am in the beginning stages of getting everything "launched" so bear with me a bit longer. I hope I can continue to grow and learn and always strive to be better. Don't worry, I'll still post here about Anayah our family and crazy projects I'm attempting to do around the house!

If you are interested in any photography services, or know someone who is, keep me in mind!

♥ Mandi

Friday Favorite

Yup, limes taste just like lemons!

♥ Happy Friday ♥

Photo Session:: Just Danielle

You'll remember my friend Danielle from this post last year. She is a childbirth educator, lactation consultant, and doula, among many other things! When I reached out to my friends to offer photo sessions, she booked me to take a few new head shots for her new website and blog. I hadn't done "head shots" before but I figured it would be a great opportunity to practice! We went down to San Juan Capistrano and had fun walking around "practicing" and trying not to fall off train cars :) With a background in theater, Danielle wasn't shy in front of the camera which made taking pictures thisclosetoher much more comfortable! Once we got the requisite website shots, she let me have fun and "do my thing."

"website shots"

 The "fun" ones

 She does sultry well, no?

 you are too much right now!

 straight out of the camera...just gorgeous!

Danielle, you are one gorgeous mama! Thank you for being so flexible and willing to do whatever! You rocked it!