I love...

Things I love...

1.  Seeing my daughters little face when she first wakes up

2.  Having lunch outside on an overcast day

3.  Apples.  Any color, I just looove them

4.  The color green

5.  My husband's calves : )

6.  That first glimpse of the ocean

7.  The smell of vanilla and coconut

8.  Taking a really really hot shower

9.  Sunflowers!

10.  Turkish apple tea

11.  Having a good cry during the sad (or happy) part of a movie

12.  Drawing with my pastels

13.  Funny cards... I never buy anything else

14.  When my daughter calls me baby

15.  flip flops... I live in them

16.  A good glass of red wine

17.  How I feel after a good run

18.  Trying something new that I've never done before

19.  Listening to The Beatles

20.  The feeling you get when you finish a painting

Bonnet House

Today, Rio and I drove up to Ft. Lauderdale to explore The Bonnet House Museum and gardens.  I decided to just pay to stroll around the grounds because it was such a gorgeous day and skip the house.  What a lovely place... So much lush foliage and there's a lagoon with a little hut.  I was in heaven taking pictures and Rio was a little angel (thanks to that apple I gave her).  She even took a little nap in her stroller at the moment I discovered two beautiful swans in the lagoon.  What gorgeous creatures they are.  We walked around for quite a while and I decided to stop in this shady area so she could walk around and explore.  There was this awesome older lady there who started talking to me and she was just amazed and so happy to hear that I'm always taking my daughter on little adventures.  She said, "Most parents are so busy and don't have time to enjoy their children.  Good for you for staying home with her."  She even asked to shake my hand.  Well, she turned out to be a volunteer tour guide and she told me to follow her.  She snuck me into the house and gave me a private tour and told me the whole history of who had lived there.  Fredric Clay Bartlett a famous artist from Chicago lived there for many years with his third wife and it's so cool how whimsical the house is.  There's an open courtyard in the middle that all the rooms lead out to with carousel animals from the 1800's lining the wall outside.  He painted murals on the walls and ceilings and his art studio was amazing.  I was so happy to meet this lovely lady, she was so sweet to take us around because I would have never gone inside the house if it wasn't for her.  I love it when special people enter my life for just a brief moment.  I will definitely never forget her.

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

Tomorrow is my handsome hubby's Birthday!!  So I got him a few little presents, but I think he's really going to like these sweet little pics I took for him.  

This is for you Papa... We love you too much  XOXO

The New Park

There's a new photographer I've been working with recently who has a studio five minutes south of me and every time I've gone there, I noticed a park right next to the building.  So today I took Rio there to walk around.  The park is right on the bay so there are beautiful view of Miami and there was a good mix of people.  I saw two other Mama's there with their babies walking around and then I saw some sketchy people as well.  At one point an ice cream truck drove by and stopped and I saw these two young guys run out of the bushes to buy something and then they walked by me very slowly while I was taking some pictures.  I just gave them a "Don't mess with me"  look.  After a while I saw those same guys again, riding on a red bike with two big wheels in back and they kept whistling but I wouldn't even look at them.  Little punks.  

I wasn't too impressed with this place anyways.  Now I'm on a mission to find a cool new spot for me and Rio to go...

Drum Roll Please...

I've been working my little tushy off on my photography and last night I finally finished my Etsy shop and I started posting photographs to sell.  I know it's the first step on a long road but I'm willing and excited to make the journey.  I built up my makeup career from scratch and it took time and patience.  Everything worth having takes hard work so all I can do is accomplish small goals every day.  Life has changed and the most important thing in my life is my family, therefore I knew I had to find something that would make it possible for me to be a very present Mama and wife as well as be creative and fulfill that aspect of my life as well.  Wish me luck on my new path!

Spanish Monastery

For the past few weeks I've been wanting to go to the Spanish Monastery where my husband and I got married.  It's such a beautiful place with so much history and I wanted to take Rio to the place where Mama and Papa became husband and wife.  It was hilarious when I got there because as soon as I walked through the entrance way, I looked up and saw 30 nuns and an entire film crew.  The two actors looked over at me and it's kind of hard to make yourself invisible when you have a baby with a stroller.  I had to roll over these huge cables and the wheels kept getting stuck.  So I finally made my way past the craziness and into the cloisters where we had our wedding party.  I got a little emotional, it was just as beautiful as the day we were married.  And I was there with our little girl which was pretty amazing in itself.  The lighting was fabulous and I was just walking around taking pictures and remembering what a perfect night that was... Maybe a ten year anniversary party there?

Water Baby

She loves water.  There is this look of excitement and pure joy on her face when she's kicking her way around the pool and I couldn't let it end just because class was over.  So we made our way to the beach at sun down right before the rain came and it was just the cherry on top for her.