feature friday + a giveaway!

*This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*

I'm really excited about today's post! Jenny from Horace & Mae is here for an interview and a giveaway!

Let's get started! 


LML: Who are Horace and Mae?

Jenny: We are a husband and wife (Horace is his first name and Mae is my middle name) who love to take pictures and get a kick out of cameras.

Why did you decide to start selling on Etsy?

I've been encouraged for quite some time to sell my photos, but felt like the kitschy tourist shop and postcard sales just weren't for me. So I decided to go to Etsy, which feels a lot more respectable. Maybe if I get desperate I'll move to postcards! 
 

Sea Glass and Seashells

Is photography your full time job?

Photography is not my full time job right now, but I would love for it to be someday!  I'm hoping to study it more (maybe even get a degree in it!) so that I could provide studio and portrait sessions. Those pay a lot more than the little projects I'm working on now! 

Which do you like better: film or digital photos? Why?

I whole-heatedly prefer film. My parents started me off on photography with a really nice digital, but it just never got the refined quality that I noticed on so many peoples' photos. I assumed that this difference was due to my lack of editing skills/any knowledge of photoshop at all but have come to realize that film was the difference. I have one film camera in particular that takes the most amazing photos and there is no digital camera that can come close to the look and feel of this camera's photos. The warmth of the colors, the grain, the negatives, the sturdy click of the shutter release...its all a part of it.

Which of the photos you have for sale is your favorite?

My favorite is probably In the Sun  I took this from another sailboat during the summer that Horace and I started dating and it just reminds of the warm days we spent on the water. I really like the spray in the bottom right and would love to make a cropped version of just the spray by itself!

In the Sun

Do you have any plans for the future of your Etsy shop?

Right now we're just trying to get it up and running, but in the future we hope to add framed pictures as well as customizable gift photos, with little sayings or quotes or something below the picture. We didn't name our shop "Horace & Mae Photography" because we want to leave ourselves the option to sell more than just photography related items.

Jenny "Mae" is even more adorable in person than she is in writing! Every once in a while she posts on her cute little blog  and tumblr.

PS. Wanna know the best part? She's my little sister! 

** Married Lane Readers get 20% off in her shop! 

Enter  LML091 before checkout!**

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And now a Giveaway!

Jenny is giving away any 8 x 10 print from her shop!  

To Enter:  Visit Horace & Mae. Then leave a comment on this post that tells us which photo you would pick! A winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on Friday!

For an extra entry, become a follower of my blog by clicking the "follow" button to the left.  To make things easier for me to keep track, please  comment once for your first entry, then comment again letting me know that you're now a follower.  If you already follow, let me know in a second comment.

Good Luck!

Open to USA residents only. Giveaway ends Thursday, October 6 at 11:59pm. Thanks for entering!

storms

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With all the storms and rainy weather we've had lately, we've had lots of moments of calm before the storm. I love how these images both capture what could be the very same moment in such different ways. Aren't the colors just beautiful?

monday.

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Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. We spent ours close to home, doing lots of cleaning and organizing, then went over to my husband's parents for the afternoon on Sunday. It was fun helping them re-arrange things in their old office!

Today we're off to buy some new sheets for my bed and some teething medicine for my poor baby Emmaline. She was up on and off from 2am until 9am this morning, when she finally took a good 2 and a half hour nap. Praying for her comfort as she gets these big girl teeth!

Have a great week!

autumn.

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I got to crunch through leaves on my way home from the library yesterday, thanks to a big oak tree that's ahead of the game. My favorite thing about autumn is definitely the smell of those wonderful leaves... and then of course sweaters and boots and pumpkin spiced lattes! Speaking of lattes, have you ever had the 'bucks pumpkin spiced whipped cream? A barista at my local Starbucks offered me some and it was amazing. Like pumpkin pie in a fancy whipped cream can. You should definitely see if your store has it!

I'm loving...{howkapow}

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This dog lamp is so funky! Emma would love it. Check out the rest of their goods here.

Home, sweet home!

After some encouragement from a friend of mine, I've decided to go ahead and share our before and "during" photos of our renovation (I'd call them afters, but we're really not done). So here's the kitchen when we bought our house back in June:

And exactly 1 month after we bought it, it looked like this! I call it our "Galley-Be-Gone" renovation. Bran tore out the walls that made it a galley and opened the kitchen up by adding cabinetry all the way around the room. We still need to finish the crown molding, buy a rug for under the table, and install hardware on the cabinets, but here she is, in all her "during" glory!

{click on photos to view larger}

The open floor plan kitchen, dining room, and living room is my favorite part of the whole house. My hubby did all the work, along with some of his buddies. New drywall on two walls and the ceiling, new pergo floors, re-claimed cabinets from his parent's old office space, laminate counter tops, re-claimed appliances from a kitchen Bran did last summer (they upgraded to stainless steel and let him keep the old ones - they're less than 5 years old so he said heck yes!). The dining table was free from friends of ours, and the chairs came from good will. We're hoping to replace everything in the dining area with something more contemporary (like this table and these chairs from c&b... I can dream, right?).

Then here's the master bedroom before:

And after...

Not a ton to see here. I definitely consider this a "during" photo, as I have plans to do some roman shades and hang more things on the walls. We didn't have to paint (the entire house was painted contractor beige before we bought it), but we hung my curtains (Waverly's paddock shawl in porcelain from Tuesday Morning) and artwork (on sale at Target), and added a headboard/footboard to our bed thanks to a hand-me-down from the in-laws (thanks, Karen!). I wanted the curtains hung higher, and I don't remember why they ended up getting hung where the did, but oh well. Maybe I'll have him re-hang them someday.... :) Oh and ignore the huge clock and the mirror on the floor in the first photo - we're not sure where they're going to go (if anywhere) so they chill there for the time being.

 And lastly, Emmaline's room before:

 

And after:

 

This vintage yellow settee is  my most favorite piece of furniture in our entire house. Can you believe I saved it from the trash?! It was in my grandfather's basement for years and years, but is in nearly mint condition. I brought it home, gave it a good cleaning and put it in Emma's room. She loves it!

Her room is also very much in the during phase. I have art that needs hung, a cute paper lantern and plans to hang a canopy above her settee. I'll post more about that later :)

Here's a look at her little bookshelf/toy storage area (you can see the lamp in the foreground of the photo above). The canvas print came from my sister, and the bookshelf was another hand me down from Karen. 

 The two rooms I haven't posted yet are Jack's nursery and the laundry/playroom (you can see hints of it through the openings in the kitchen). They're both still very much in the before phase but as soon as I have afters I'll post them, too!

What do you think? Not bad for having only lived here for about 3 1/2 months, huh? :)

figs.

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Have you ever had fresh figs? I haven't, but after seeing these recipes I think I might have to add them to my next peapod order...

 

Prosciutto, figs, AND blue cheese? I'm so there.

Fig, goat cheese, and pistachio. I've never been a big fan of pistachios, but I love goat's cheese so I'd try it.

Fig tarts and pistachio whipped cream. This is the one I think I'm most likely to try, just because I LOVE pastries sprinkled with sugar. Yum.

is it Saturday yet?

{buy it here}

  Just a cute print for you today. My week has been interesting, with a cold going through the house and Emma and Jack both having trouble sleeping as a result. I'm really praying that next week is more restful! Emma is much happier when she's well rested, and happy Emma = happy momma.

Wisdom from Olivia

{the "cast" of Olivia}

We have cable for the first time in our married lives together, and as a result I know more about kid's tv than I ever have. Every once in a while I catch my husband singing the theme song to Little Einstein's and make fun of him for it :)

There are not many kid's tv shows I like (no Yo Gabba Gabba for us... it creeps me out!), but I have found that Olivia stands out from the rest. The most recent episode Emma and I watched (read: she watched it stuck in her highchair since she wouldn't take a nap and I listened while I caught up on emails and facebook) was all about Olivia getting to know her Grandma. This line caught my attention:

 "It's good to learn new things about family members - and then remember those things" - Olivia's Grandmother. 

My mother-in-law is fantastic at this. One of the many things she does is always asks close friends and family what their favorite thing to drink is and then makes sure that she has it on hand whenever they visit. It is such a wonderful display of hospitality and I really want to follow in her footsteps by doing the same.

Karen with Emmaline in February of 2010

What do you think? Have you ever learned something new or interesting about a family member? Do you have your own way of making your guests feel special?

happy weekend!

What is everyone doing this weekend? We're so glad the rain has finally stopped - I feel like it has been months since I saw the sun! Now if that cool fall weather would get here, I'd have nothing to complain about. I've been going through our photos for the past few days, editing and sorting, and thought I'd share some of my favorites. See you Monday!

Emmaline at 2 months

Jack at 1 month

wedding wednesday: Horace & Jennifer

{all images via}

How gorgeous is this seaside wedding? I'm definitely partial to it, especially since Jennifer is my sister!

Jen and Horace were married on June 11 of this year, and these photos are really only

a peek at their beautiful ceremony.

Visit Jen's blog for more photos (and leave her a comment telling her I sent you !).

right now I'm loving...

{foundstyle}

Tommy Smythe (of "Sarah Richardson's cute and quirky sidekick" fame) linked to foundstyle and I can't stop browsing! Unique finds reasonably priced - just like a thrift store. Now if only they were US based so we could avoid high shipping costs....

Here are some of my finds:

{Model T - $30}

{Hammam Towel - $15}

{Wooden Puzzle - $20}

Check out their website and see what you find!

ps. I was in no way compensated for this post; I just really like their site!

Glad to have someone to snuggle with on this chilly, rainy day.

We can't play outside, so we baked cookies and did laundry.

How do you spend rainy days?

pinterest challenge

Sherry, Katie, Lana and Emily are just a few of the bloggers who took on this summer's Pinterest Challenge, a challenge to get off our bums and actually make one of the awesome things we re-pinned on the world's most amazing inspiration bulletin board.

I'm not brave enough to attempt my decor pins yet (I do, however, have plans to make a simple wreath for my front door) BUT I did decide to take the challenge as an opportunity to make some of the recipes I've been collecting. I LOVE collecting recipes on pinterest. It's addicting. And my first pinterest recipe discovery, enchilada soup, made it's way onto my always have the ingredients to make this on hand list. The hubby is really loving this whole pinterest thing!

my pulled pork enchilada soup

Do you pin? Have you made any of the things you found on pinterest?

bed.

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I'd love to crawl into that bed every night.