photography | snow days...

The last couple of days have been "snow days" where I live... everyone loves a snow day!
Days filled with reading, movies, baking, games and of course, playing in the snow... 

Today and yesterday have been all of that for me!

My dog is not a fan of water (she despises baths) so it has always been funny to me how much 

she loves to run around in the snow. As you can tell by the photos, she likes to eat snow and
get it on her nose... haha! I so love her cuteness and playfulness in these shots!

These next photos were actually taken yesterday, when the storm was at it's worst.
Church was cancelled and it was too cold and blowing snow to spend much time outside.
We only lasted about 5 minutes and my dog was far more interested in staying inside...

the Light of the world...

J E S U S ...

He came to us, for us, even in our sin. He came to this lowly place to live as we live, yet without sin, to take our sin upon Himself. He came to save us and give us hope. He is the Giver and the Gift. And the gift of His Love never fades, even when the Christmas lights do. He is the Light of the world always...

(Listened to this song a lot this Christmas season!)

I  hope  you  all  had  a  very

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S !

(And here are some photos from last week, when I woke up to a glorious combination of snow, fog and sun...)

photography | winter's sunrise

Foggy mornings don't happen very often where I live, so it may sound silly, but I guess that makes them kind of special. And when they do happen, it is never around for long, because the sun always shines and burns off the fog in no time. 

So, this morning when I woke up and looked out the window to see that it was foggy and that the sun was just beginning to create a magical glow, I quickly bundled up and grabbed my camera. I think it is possible that my favorite weather is the glorious combination of fog and sunshine. The light is heavenly and as a photographer it makes me a bit giddy!

Any time it is like this I think of a favorite quote of mine... 

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."  - Aaron Rose

That was this morning. And, of course, the snow & frost made everything even more beautiful.

Pretty soon I will be excited for spring, but for now I am going to enjoy the beauty of winter!!

winter giveaway: a cute & cozy scarf

it has been a while since i have offered a giveaway, so i figured now would be a perfect time to have one!! & because it is winter, i thought it would be fun to giveaway one of my hand-knitted scarves!
this giveaway is for:
a hand-knitted forever scarf, in misty blue
{pictured below}

 this is a circular forever scarf. it can be hung around your neck to be long & skinny, or it can be wrapped around your neck twice, for more warmth! the yarn is bulky; 85% wool & 15% mohair.

to enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment to this post!
& tell me what your favorite thing is about winter??
for extra entries you can:
+1 be a follower of my blog
+1 share about this giveaway on your blog
+1 visit my etsy shop & tell me what your favorite item is
(you must leave an additional comment for each extra entry)
this giveaway will end on January, 26th!

:)

i'm dreaming of a white christmas...

we had our first real snow last night!! yay!! now i really feel like Christmas is officially coming... & since it is only a week away... here is some Christmas-y inspiration!

^ love this shot from egan snow.

^ red boots in the snow. by emma lamb.

^ & how cute is this... love that hat! :) from ashley goodwin.

i have a very busy weekend ahead, with lots of Christmas-y fun...

two parties! my church choir dress rehearsal & our cantata!

& a Christmas play of "it's a wonderful life"!!

i can't believe it's here already... i am so excited!

plus, i still have lots of favorite Christmas movies to watch!

especially these two...

bing crosby ♥

:)

have a happy weekend!

over the weekend: living nativity!

every year my church has a very special "living nativity" with kids & teens playing mary, joseph, the angels, the kings, & the shepherds... plus we have live animals too!! donkeys, goats, sheep, & so on... (we usually have camels too, but due to a complication with that this year, we had llamas instead.) it's always a lot of fun! so, here are some photos from our living nativity... :)

me & my sister, wearing our warm boots & scarves!

the nativity scene! ♥ aren't they cute??

here is me & my sister with one of the cute llamas! so fun!

we did 6 performances, on two nights, & everyone loved it! the second night was much colder than the first, but overall it went really well & the kids did such a great job! it was hard work for a lot of the people in my church, but it was also such a joy to be a part of! :) after all, this scene represents why we truly celebrate Christmas! :)

snowflake fashion.

one of my favorite things to do when i am online is browse through all of the fun fashion blogs that there are out there... there are so many cute & unique looks, that i am pretty sure i could never pull off... but i still love to look! :) here is some of the cute winter fashions that i am loving today...

i saw these amazing snowflake leggings on thread sence, because the daybook is having a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate! yay! & this is definitely my favorite item in their shop... i think even i could style these! they would be so fun this winter! {go to the daybook to enter to win the $50 from thread sence}

& i am really loving these snowflake-inspired items, all from modcloth...

so cozy & cute!!! :)

& some other news: i took today off work, because i have some extra vacation days to use before the end of the year!! yay!! so, i am off to go christmas shopping with my sister!! i hope i find some good gifts for my family... also, i will be back with another post later today, with some really fun photos from my weekend! it was a good one! happy monday everyone! :)