We're going to Disney World

I've missed  you guys so much.  Life happens and I just couldn't get motivated to get back into it for a while.  I've been reading everyone else's blogs and missing doing my own.  I hope I can at least talk to you guys once or twice a week. But  let's get back to the matter at hand......

Yes!!! We are finally going to Disney World with the girls!! I can't wait. I'm so excited and I hope they are to :)

I've been before............ in 1982 ( remember..I'm the oldest girl in all the pictures. Get ready for the gawkiness)

gotta love the eighties, am I right?

 

1983....

(I'm the one on the left)

1987........

I have no words for that whole outfit I'm wearing(blue shorts) and the hair

and 1994.........

and this one with all the fanny packs... yikes

 but my hubby and girls have never been.  We thought about waiting until they were both a bit older and were able to ride some more of the rides. But when my Aunt recently passed away, it reminded me how short life is and how you never know what is going to happen.  Why wait?

I talked with my good friend, Heather, who had just recently  become a certified Disney travel agent with Wish A Upon A Star With Us and she hooked us up. She's actually there  as we speak doing some more training. I can't wait to hear any new stuff she finds out. She can work with you completely over the phone and online. She can also send you stuff in the mail.  I had been before but there is SO MUCH MORE to do and see since  the last time we went and I wasn't the one doing the planning last time when I was 16, my mom was.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

....which hotel is best for you and your budget?
.... and do you or don't you get the meal plan?
.... do you buy the Photo Pass or Photo Pass +?
.... do you trade pins or don't you?
.... To nap or not to nap?
.... since we'll have a car and staying on property , do we drive ourselves or use the buses?


My head was spinning for a while.  I'm sure some of the stuff we won't figure out until we go.  I know I've read a million and two blogs to hear about everyone else's experiences.  I learn something new from everyone I read. Really, all of the websites out there are awesome.

Here are a few of the ones I liked the best . Heather told me about a bunch of them and some I found on my own via Pinterest.  Check out my Disney Pinterest board to see all of my Disney stuff.

All Ears  ( loved that they had menus for all of the restaurants on this one. This should save us a bunch of time wandering around)

Mouse Savers   ( this one had alot of tips for saving money on food and souvenirs)

Walt Disney World Prep School(she has so many great tips and facts. She is so thorough. I can't even tell you everything I learned.

Kenny the Pirate(This guy tells you where to find all of the characters while you are at the parks. Invaluable if you want autographs)

Touring Plans

of course Disney World.com

I'll let you know how it goes but until then I had to get ready with some Disney crafts of course. They'll be coming soon. I'll have  pressed penny book decor, penny holder decor, mickey countdown,  autograph books, and t-shirts.

I can't wait to share.


Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor

Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction- Serenity Now

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

Photography: Family/Kid Session with C & B

Back before Christmas, my super awesome neighbors asked me if I could take some pictures of their young men. These guys are the best so I jumped at the chance to photograph some tween/ teen boys. I brought them to one of my favorite spots. They were really great and did everything I asked them to including "act natural" which meant kinda pounding on each other,head locks, and jokes at each other expense. It was pretty cool. I think I see some senior pictures in my future....right, C?

Wanna see more, come over and like my Emily Hughes Photography Facebook Page

Second Shooting a wedding Part Duex

Remember  how I second shot a wedding last year?   I was super lucky enough back in the fall of 2012 to get hired on as a Second Shooter for Karen at  Karen Hendrix Photography.  My sister happened to know someone that used her and she posted on her Facebook page that she was looking for a second shooter for 4 fall weddings that she would be shooting.  I met with her, found out  I could get paid ( woo hoo), and get experience from a pro. How great is that?  She interviewed a few other people but I got the position.

I really learned alot from Karen about how shooting  a wedding works:  how to balance your time, the clients needs, and  still be creative at the same time.   Of the 4 weddings,  the first was down at the Four Seasons on the Landing in Downtown Saint Louis.  It was quite a first wedding to do with her.... huge wedding party and almost all indoors. Indoor shots are still more of  a challenge than the outside shots for me.

Here's a little peak and if you want to see more head over to my photoblog.

Photo Wall Collage

You've heard it before from me.. I have a problem with empty spaces.  I can never decide what to put on or in them most of the time.  There was the mantel situation, the front door situation, and now it's the giant-empty-space-on-the-wall-behind- the- couch situation.


The one thing I did know was that I wanted seamless frames. I saw it on a Pinterest pin and I loved the way it looked. Clean and simple. Your pictures really stand out. And let's face it, they are WAY cheaper than canvases. I knew  Micheals had them so I went  and wrote down the sizes that they had that would work for the giant wall behind my couch. And since their frames are on sale almost every week,  it was very affordable.

I was lucky enough to have a  roll of white paper here at the house that the girls usually draw on so  I took  that roll of paper and cut out the exact sizes of the frames and taped them up to the wall to arrange and see what set up we wanted to have.


We decided on  3-16"x20"s and  3-12"x 16"s.   I went through the past winter's images and being that we had hardly any snow I had to go back  another year beyond that. I wanted to stay current but you gotta do what ya gotta do.  There are alot of guides/ images on Pinterest and some photographers websites that can give you an  idea on configurations.

I have an issue with symmetry... I LOVE IT!!!   My teachers tried to beat it out of me in art school but the OCD-ness in me can't help it. It calms me. I like when things match or there are two of something. Ahh.....the serenity.

When we first started thinking about this space it was fall and  since I couldn't decide on the pictures soon enough it has quickly become winter and the holidays so on to the winter pictures we go.


 My hubby had to help me with eye-balling where I should have the nails.  But it looks so nice to finally have something up there.  We plan on switching them out with the seasons.  I took a ton of cool pictures last spring, summer and   just this fall.  I can't wait to get them all up next year.

So what do you think?  Do you need any ideas on how to arrange pictures at your house?  I'd love to help you out.

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

My Super Hero Family

I think all of us have super powers of some sort or another. Other people might not see them but we know they are there.  I started thinking about this more and more as I looked at the artwork of an old high school friend.

Matt has always been a talented illustrator having a comic book in our high school and always drawing all the time but lately he had been posting some super cool stuff on his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Recently he had shown a drawing of  his family  that looked like a cover of a comic book.  It was "super " cool.  I knew that Matt did commissions  so it seemed like a great gift for my husband for Christmas.  Now J isn't a big super hero or comic book guy but  who wouldn't want to have a really cool drawing done of themselves? 

I first approached Matt with my idea... a family of super heroes from Saint Louis with their own unique interests and skills:

Me
-Photographer
J
-Blues and Cardinals Fan
K
-princesses
-Green
-Elephants
S
-Blue
- her "oh puppy"

And of course we had to include Louie and Frankie!

Matt and I settled on a size and he went to work sketching and giving me some previews along the way.  I love the creative process!  He really got what I wanted it to look like.

Keep in mind we did all of this over email and it was super easy.  I did go pick my finals up in person since we live in the same city but I'm sure he'll mail/ship it any where it needs to go.

His original Pencil sketch ( already cool)

created by http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

The next step: penciled version

Created by http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

The pen /start to color version:

Created by: http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

And the totally awesome  final version that now will hang up at my husband's office:

Created by : http://drawsumthincool.blogspot.com/

Aren't we cool looking? Even the dogs look bad-ass.  I couldn't have been any happier with how it turned out.  This is something so unique  that  you just can't buy in a store.  We'll always have this little picture of our lives and our likes right now.

Matt gave me a computer printed colorized version, the original pencil sketch, and a DVD with  a PDF, Jpeg and the Photoshop file.  He can draw any size you want.  This happened to be a 8x10.

I'm not usually all  YOU NEED THIS on my blog  but it is SO COOL  that I think you should.    Did I mention he can draw anything character, movie actor, or just any old thing? You could get your son's favorite bockugon character for his wall or Transformer.

I was in no way paid for this blog post by the way. I was a happy paying customer. And it was worth every penny.  My husband loved it.  The kids got a kick out of it too.

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes

Top 10 of YOUR favorite posts of 2012

It's 2013 and  2012 was quite a year for me and my new little blog.  I'm fast approaching a year ( in February)  that I have been blogging and I can't believe that it's been that long already.

I've made so many new friends and learned so many new things. It's one of the best things I did for myself this past year.  I hope I can continue on with it and do even more exciting things. Bigger things.  More Creative Things. More Mommy things.

With no further adieu... The most viewed posts here on" Entirely Emily" decided on by page

views by  YOU!!

#10.  9 Costumes  For Couples-  a look at how my hubby and I  dressed for for Halloween over the years

#9. Beach Countdown Calender -  a fun way for the kids to countdown the month before our beach vacation.

#8. What do I do with my Kids--  I sometimes run out of ideas and feel kind bummed about it. mom fail?
#7. K's Elephant Travel Pillow-- I wanted the girls to have travel pillows but they didn't have the animal we needed.

#6. My favorite Photography websites- These are sites/women that I follow and read almost everyday.  You should too.

#5. Road trip Map for Kids-  A fun way for my girls to track where we were going and where we had been.

#4. Caillou Party for S - S loves Caillou so it was a natural theme for her 2nd birthday party.

#3. How to make a Bunsen and Beaker Costume-  This was a fun costume to create and to wear.

#2.  Stop Spending Stupid Money-  We all have money that falls through the cracks.  Here are just some of those cracks and how to stop it.

And the number #1 most viewed post:

The Mickey Mouse Birthday party-  K still loves Mickey Mouse so I had to make her all kinds of cutouts and printables to make it special.

Thank you for all of  your visits and I'm so glad you stopped by.  I love knowing that there are people out there like me crafting their way through life and trying not to go crazy at the same time.


Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor

Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer

Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now

Saturday
Six Sister's Stuff
Cheerios and Lattes

Meet our new little man, Frankie

We finally had our little boy! {hee hee} His name is Frankie.

The day we got him

K and Frankie the day we got him

 He'll be around 5 months old on January 4th. He's black with a white blaze on his chest and some white on all four of his feet.  He's a rescue dog that's part Basset Hound and part Lab.  That's where those adorable ears come from.  I hope they always look long and floppy. The doc says he'll probably be about 50 lbs of  lazy, hound dog  love. He has alot of skin to grow into. You can grab it and pull on it and he doesn't seem to mind. I like to think he's the long lost  cousin of Charlie, Ree's dog over at Pioneer Woman.  Maybe we should bring him by to visit.  :)

He enjoys eating anything....

 sleeping....

 smelling....

 chewing,  playing with his brother....

playing with the kids....

peeing and pooping( not always in the correct places),  squeezing through the fence,  eating, peeing, pooping.... wait, Am I repeating myself?  Well, he does enjoy those things alot.


He is also a dog of  many emotions:

I know....don't be shocked by his intensity. It can be overwhelming at times. LOL.

He is such a sweetie and you'll be seeing alot more of him  from now on.

 He is one of the reasons I haven't been around here as much.  I have to keep eyes on him at all times! Otherwise  I'm cleaning up a  mess of one kind or another. It's just like having another  2 1/2 year old in the house.

Most days I'm not sure why I did this to myself. Getting a puppy with two small kids but I did and now he's my kid too.  I know it'll  get better but next time , we may rescue an older, potty trained , non-chewing dog.

most recent picture, a week ago.

He already has a bunch of  nicknames:
-Buster
-Pupster
-Little Man ( well, when we first got him)
-Frank
-Frank the Tank
-Puppy
-Franklin
-Stinkster
-No-No bad dog
-Piddles
-King Piddles

Don't worry I'm sure we will think of more.

And in full disclosure, we've had him for two months already and I'm just getting around to this post mostly because.....wait for it.......................................wait for it..........................................................
we couldn't decide on a name for almost that long......GASP!!

I know, bad dog mommy and daddy but this poor little guy was "Puppy" for a whole month.  Geez. I know, indecisive much? 

But now he's Frankie and all is good in the world.  I think  a  post called " the world according to Frankie"  sounds  good. Don't you?

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
-I should be mopping the Floor


Tuesday
 Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime -The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
 Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
 -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
- The Shabby Cottage The Taylor House- House of Hepworths 
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer


Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty -  My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now


Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes