Ruskin Seafood Festival 2009

(Picture courtesy of Daddyo~;o)

(Salt water marshes on the beach.)

(Yummy fried food!!)

(More serenity.....)

(A single palm tree graces the beach.)

(Isabella enjoying some fun in the sun~;o)

So we went to Ruskin a couple of weeks ago to attend their annual Seafood Festival. It is actually a lovely little family friendly, recreational area! To my surprise, it was right by the beach and E. G. Simmons Park! The park kind of reminds me of Picnic Island only better~:o) It was a busy festival! Some of the activities included: Various artsy vendors, moon walks, games, the Mote Aquarium and some of their fantastic sea animals, a live karaoke band, multiple raffles, and the food of course~;o) And the beach was a bonus!! If your in the area and looking for a diamond in the rough, visit E.G Simmons Park and Beach in Ruskin, Florida. Until next time friends~;o)

Tarpon Springs November 2009

(I'm smiling lots now hee hee!!)

I absolutely LOVE Florida!! There are so many fun things to see and do!! All we need is more rain and a little bit of snow (which we never get) and this is one of the top ideal places in the US to reside~;o) That is at least I think so~;o) So we took Isabella to Tarpon Springs for the first time. She loved it!! Practically slept the whole time!! Have ya caught on to my sarcasm yet? "Yeah Rebecca, it was rather cheesy, just stick to the post and cute baby. Okay ya'll no problem he he~;o) This was another great opportunity to practice my amateur photography skills~;o) The sponge docks are always fun to visit here, they have a trolley that circulates around the vicinity, a park and a beach right up the road. If your in the area it is worth visiting. Wanna read more about this area? Click the orange link in the post, you can also click here. I thought I'd also post a new recent picture of Isabella, this was taken while in Tarpon Springs and she was about 8 weeks in the picture. We also went to Ruskin this past weekend, I will post pics of this in a new post soon!! Until next time friends~;o)

Fall Carnival

So every October, St. Patrick's School holds their annual fall Carnival. I took advantage of the opportunity to practice my photography skills. No entry fees means free photos~;o) I think that carnivals, state fairs, and festivals hold many points of interest, so I was very excited about going~:o) I went towards the evening time when I took these, just around six o'clock. A little help from you professional natural lighting comrades out there please....when is the best time to shoot clear and beautiful pictures? When do you shoot? And finally, I have a Nikon D40, absolutely love it!! I want to get the bigger lens now: 18-200mm lens. Anyone know where the cheapest place to purchase this lens could be? Your feedback is most helpful. Until next time~:o)

HAPPY HARVEST!!

(It's the Great Pumpkin!)

(Old Hyde Park Pumpkin Patch.)

(Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!)

(My little Pumpkin!)

(She was the cutest in the patch, so we picked her~;o)

I'm a little late with these but, here they are! We took these pictures of Isabella in the pumpkin patch at Old Hyde Park Village a couple of weeks ago. She was six weeks old in the photos. I'm so glad we took them when we did. Unfortunately with the awful heat again in Florida this year, many of the Pumpkins rotted. I wish there was a pumpkin patch here in Florida where you could just cut them right off of the vine! That would be a lot of fun~:o) Yes I'm that easily amused folks!! It's the little things that get me~;o) I love pumpkin patches and this time of year is always extra fun! As I've said before, I love to see new beautiful places! Send me a link to your blog or site with your pumpkin patch outing, I'd love to see your pumpkin patch pictures! Wishing you all a Merry Halloween and a Happy Harvest!

Points of Interest....

So I'm thinking of taking a couple of photography classes here in the Bay area, any suggestions? I really enjoy photography and have decided that I would like to learn more about taking better pictures. Does anyone know of any good sites on the web that I can visit to learn more in the mean time? Any links you post would be most helpful. The pictures posted above I snapped last weekend when we took Isabella to the pumpkin patch, I will post those pics soon too btw~;o) These were taken in {Old Hyde Park Village.} I am hoping to do some more practice photo shoots again soon. Keeping it short this time but will post again soon! Until next time~:o)

My Little Flower~;o)

My pretty little baby is six weeks old already!! I can't believe it's already been a month since I had her!! She just started wearing her new size 0-3 months clothes now. It's so funny because before I had her everyone kept telling me not to buy that many clothes in size 0-3 months because she would grow out of them in a couple of weeks, but just now she can fit into them lol! I guess it's a good thing I had a couple of cutesy newborn outfits too~;o) I'm so excited to dress her in some new outfits! I've been alternating between about five different onesies!! We thought for sure that she would be a big baby since her mommy and daddy were both born weighing 9 lbs, and then on top of that me developing gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. So changing the subject, I just recently started to put these adorable little headband hair flowers on her, aren't they the cutest?!?! The headband is an interchangable one and comes from EmbroideryPoo on etsy! This seller is wonderful, she even sent me an extra interchangable headband, interested in one?? Check out her {Shop}! The hair flower comes from Little Keira's Bows on etsy! This seller has the most gorgeous hair flowers at the best prices!! Want some? Visit her {Shop}! Both of these products are beautiful, practical, and well worth the money! Until nextime friends~;o)

Surprise in the Refrigerator~;o)

So I decided to surprise daddyo with a little something just because he's such a wonderful daddy~;o) Yummy German Chocolate Cake.....sprinkled with much {LOVE} on top!! I'm so pleased with the results~;o) Something simple, something sweet.

Time now for crafting news~;o) Need to get the creative juices flowing?? Here's some eye candy for ya! You can find these wonderful "Wordy Birdies" and "Chic Country Scallops" in my {SHOPPE}. Christmas is just around the corner!! Pick up these fun "Recycled Crayons" for the kids! They make great stocking stuffers!! Head on over to {Southern Bliss} today for more delightful craft items!! Until next time friends~:o)

My Newest Best Friends~;o)

So these wonderful 3 items have made taking care of baby much easier these past several weeks~:o) If you are expecting your first baby soon or if you are looking for great gift ideas, I highly recommend any form of these items:

1. Bjorn Carrier (A must have for every new parent!!) Travel systems are the bomb, but when you don't need the extra bulk or you are trying to fit into smaller spaces at fun events, this is the problem solver~:o)
2. Evenflo Travel System (Great for walks in the park, shopping, and much more!!) Mine has a spot for baby wipes, cup holders for drinks, a very roomy basket below for diaper bag, purse, and shopping bags, and then there is this really cool secret compartment for cell phone, wallet, and keys, love it!! Very afordable too!
3. Fisher Price Swing (Great for when you need a break~;o) Mine is the Tropical Rain Forest style. It plays music, makes nature sounds, and has a mobile for entertaining. Isabella LOVES hers~;o)

There ya have it new parents and parents to be!! So tell me alumni.....what are your favorites?? I'm all ears~;o)

Hyde Park Arts and Crafts Festival

(Vending booths stretch around the corner filled with many different treasures.)

(The Krewe of South Shore Marauders)

(One of many goodies sold by the Krewe volunteers to help support Locks of Love.)

(Yup, even Pottery Barn Kids joined in on the festivities~;o)

(Want one of these? Visit your local PBK stores.)

(Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine Booth.)

(Holy Cow Kettle Corn snack booth.)

So we finally took the baby out on her first official outing last weekend and did I remember to get a picture of her? Of course not, I forgot. Where on earth was my brain at the moment? (Please don't answer that.) So we went to the annual Hyde Park Arts and Crafts Festival and stayed for about two hours. Baby was a VERY GOOD shopper too! I could get use to this~;o) Fall is definitely here as all of the local festivals, craft fairs, and pumpkin patches are in full swing. I just LOVE this time of year! So much to look forward to and so many family friendly activities!! I absolutley LOVE these kind of festivals because they always have so many interesting activities going on, (not to mention they are free fun for the family too~;o) Some of the highlights there included: Locks of Love and The Krewe of South Shore Marauders selling many yummy goodies to help support a good cause, Pottery Barn Kids Halloween Costumes, Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine, Holy Cow Kettle Corn (Very YUMMY popcorn btw, check out their site if you are interested in purchasing from them: http://holycowkettlecorn.com/index.php) and various vendors selling their beautiful handmade items. And finally, a word to the wise for all the new moms out there: Travel systems and vending booths just don't mix well. Save yourself the trouble on these types of outings and invest in an infant carrier. What, you already knew this?? Well why didn't you share this wonderful secret with me?? Thanks to my wonderful mom, I finally have one now. These carriers are the best thing since ziploc bags!! Thats all for now friends, until next time~;o)

Busy Days....

(Doing laundry and diapers.)

(A little bit of this.)

(And a lot of that.)

(Isabella at 2 weeks and 6 days~:o)

I just {LOVE} this pretty little BABY to pieces!! And boy has she sure kept us on our toes!! Not much time for anything else between bottles and trying to catch some zzzzzzz while "You know who" is sleeping~;o) Nothing new to you guys though right~;o) Yes we are both very exhausted, but it is so worth it right now!! Isabella will be a month old in about a week. And I am so looking forward to the holidays!! We want to take her to her first pumpkin patch and get pictures~:o) Hey btw Tampa folk, know of any good patches around the vicinity? Please do share them with me. I found a couple already thanks to a good friend of mine, but the more the merrier! And if you aren't in the area maybe you could post a link to the pumpkin patches where you live. It's always fun to see new beautiful places!! I'm keeping it short this time because I am behind on some things that need to be done around the house, but I just wanted to drop in to update you and also to say Hi and let you know I haven't forgotten about you and my fellow blogger friends of course, I will post more picture of baby again soon to keep you coming back though~;o) Until next time friends!

Isabella Grace

I spent my Labor Day in labor~;o) It was 12 hrs. of labor all together. And at 10:35 am on September 7th 2009, I gave birth to Lovely Isabella Grace! There are no words to describe how much we love her! She fills our hearts with love and joy!