Pantopolium

So i am an avid reader of Decor8 ... apart from the fact it's filled with all kinds of gorgeousness, the founder Holly lives in Germany & always provides information about wonderful shops & company's in & around Germany. Unfortunately she lives way north of me so a quick trip to some of her suggestions is the questions but one day i will make it up to Hannover.

So anyways one company she mentioned was Bloomingville so i emailed them to find out where the closest retailer to me was ... & Pantopolium it was. I love pretty shiny stuff for my house but having issues finding things over here so last Thursday (same day as my Metz visit) I headed off down to Saarlouis, about an hour from my house near Kaiserslauter to check out this shop.

First of all i should mention that Nicole, the owner is wonderful. So friendly & helpful ... not to mention letting me take photos of her fabulous little shop. I am seriously in love with it. I could spend way more than i did (& i spent a little). Her english is much better than she claims for any of you military people over here in Germany who may be reading this ... she takes VAT forms (I was her first).

So back to her shop ... here you can find items for literally every room in the house ... including the garden (it really kind of is room when you think about it) ... & they are all what i call "pretty & shiny". I found some wonderful table ware that i plan on heading back to buy more ... by a company called rice.

So whilst i could talk all day about my wonderful find ... i hope the photos will tell you everything you need to know. & for further information you can visit Nicole's website or simple check out the store for yourself.

it's the simple thing's in life that make me happy ...

spending some quality time with the camera ...

a giveaway on this blog ...

one day left of voting (i'm number 5 ... hint hint) ...

trying to think of a reason to splurge on this ...

making plans for a weekend away with the hubby!

Lilac Ave.

So we all have those shops we go to for certain items ... our favourite clothing stores, places to buy groceries & well all the rest. For me etsy is the same, i know there are certain stores i can return to there time & again & get amazing products, at wonderful prices & who will happily ship to an APO address without charging a fortune. Small businesses truly provide fantastic customer service.

One such store for me is that of Lilac Ave where i now buy all my candles. Firstly i promise from experience they all smell delicious ... secondly Deb uses recycled products ... & thirdly she has gone out of her way to create something for me after i said i had seen something i liked. I no longer buy from the bx but if i need something new i head straight to her etsy store.

As you can see from the photos she has a wide variety of styles ... a little something to suit everyone i guess. Personally i'm a big fan of her recycled jars (the top photo & yes i have one) & right now i'm loving the smell of her citrus dream. But she also has these wonderful baking dishes (above) & the cute m&m tins which i think would look gorgeous in any fun space.

& lastly she also sells these gorgeous little tarts! Oh & Deb is also a member of the wonderful Homefront team on etsy, a military wife like me who works from home doing what she loves.

Shop

Blog

taking a time out ...

You ever feel like you need a break ... a time out ... some space. Not from anything in particular more like everything. A chance to breath. Life has this habit of getting a little hectic & you need to escape. Well i need a day to myself & so Thursday i took that & headed to France.

We are lucky enough to be only an hour from the French border, & whilst France is one of my favourite places to be i really don't spend enough time there. So off i headed (with a minor detour to be blogged about later) & after much driving through the French country roads (they were gorgeous & spring is slowly starting to appear) I arrived in Metz. & whilst the clouds were dark & moody at times the rain managed to stay away.

I had a wonderful afternoon wondering around the city, just me & the camera. I can't lie i did a little shopping along the way but it was more about taking photos than anything. I need to explore & photograph everything & everything along the way.

France is one of those places that is filled with details ... i know everywhere is really but i notice it more when i'm in France. Everywhere i looked there was something.

& of course being in France i had to get my crepe!

More photos can be seen on my previous blog post ... Metz.

Metz ...

some fruity goodness ...

it's the simple thing's in life that make me happy

spending some quality time with my beloved yet recently neglected camera ...

the sun shone at a time when i wasn't working so could actually enjoy it ...

new project with a wonderful photographer & friend ...

taking time out to read (even if it's just 5 minutes in the car) ...

random flowers from the hubby!

the hubby bought me flowers ... so i took pictures!

share the love ...

So here's the thing ... next month i will be taking part in the Boudoir Diva's Paris Workshop (in case i haven't already mentioned this) & well they're running a little contest ... submit 3 photos that represent:

1. my inner diva

2. love

3. paris

& they will be voted on. The winner receives $400 of the cost of the workshop. All you have to do is click here & leave a comment stating the photos you would vote for (i'm number 5 just in case you get confused).

Thanks you wonderful wonderful people & have a super fabulous weekend!

kind of like writers block ... except without the writing part

So i seem to have a little bit of "photographer's block" (sounds like some kind of disease) ... it comes from not having any time to just take photos recently & it's another little source of frustration right now. Being busy really doesn't help as sometimes i just like to go somewhere with the camera & see what i find. & right now, even at home i don't feel like i'm seeing anything. I have two "projects" i need to do but nothing is coming to me. Maybe instead of "photographer's block" it should be "photographer's funk" ... so how about some suggestions for getting the metaphoric juices flowing? Because i'm afraid unless i take some pretty pictures soon i may wither up & become the crazy cat lady a couple of decades too early!

definition of a photographer?

You know i see photographs every day ... some good, some average & some just plain bad but all from people who call themselves "photographers", but how do we define a photographer?

pho·tog·ra·pher

–noun a person who takes photographs, esp. one who practices photography professionally.

& Wikipedia defines a photographer as "a person who takes photographs using a camera."

So keeping all this in mind wouldn't that suggest that anybody, & anybody who picks up a camera is a photographer? I have a degree in photography, i've spent many years "learning" the art & now i'm selling my work, does this make me ay more of a "photographer" than joe blogs next to me taking holiday snaps of his screaming kids?

Now i would never claim to be the next Ansel Adams or Richard Averdon, but i figure i know a little bit about taking pretty pictures & when i see people advertising themselves as a "photographer" when they're work is mediocre it frustrates me. Now i know it shouldn't but it does.

So now i want you to tell me what it is that makes someone a "photographer" ... & maybe i'll even throw in a prize for the best answer!

it's the simple thing's in life that make me happy

me in a coffee table book ...

wonderful feedback (& some sales) at the craft fair this weekend ...

a whole week without snow ...

treated myself to this reminder of all things english ...

having my husband home!

She's A Rainbow

So big exciting news ... I belong to a wonderful group fPoe (female photographers of Etsy) ... well long story short the decision was made to put together a book of our work, based on colour & highlighting the wonderful talents of the group. Well said book, which i am a part of is now available for purchase from Blurb. Yay happy dance! Thank you to the wonderful Elle Moss & other fabulous ladies who made all this possible.

Indie Biz Chicks ...

So a little back the wonderful Jen Kiaba (trust me she's wonderful & here's my blog to prove it) ... introduced me to Crissy at Indie Biz Chicks. Let's just say I'm not exactly business minded so to have someone out there who specialises in affordable ideas for indie "business" like my own it was a wonderful discovery. There website has all kinds of information, not to mention a fabulous blog & other such resources that you can download. Well i woke up this morning to discover i was the winner (yippie Skippy happy dance) of their "Year Long Marketing & Blogging Plan". Yes the lovely Crissy has done all the hard work for us, now i just have to enjoy her effort. So anyways this week i hope to sit down & start at week one & slowly work my way through it, of course keeping you updated on the results. & if you haven't yet you really need to check out their website!

it's the simple things in life that make me happy ...

clear blue skies ...

the arrival of a box of goodies courtesy of Nicoles Homemade Treats (lets just say one box really isn't enough) ...

margaritas, mojitos & the smell of summer (funktional spa is a current favourite) ...

playing fetch with my Kittie (I'm as easily pleased as she is) ...

spending time with a great friend!

you see ... i see ...

Ok ... so here's the thing ... the idea ... & the plan ... i am about to take part in a year long collaboration (yes i said year long ... because i need more things going on in my quiet life) with the wonderfully talented Tali Schiffer (& if you don't believe me about the talented part you should check out her website). Tali lives in Isreal & as we all know i live in not so sunny Germany, so a weekly get together is a little out the question (unless of course you're paying). So thanks to the wonderful world of the internet we have set up a blog for your viewing pleasure.

& you see i see is born ...

The incredible talented Tali (yes there i go mentioning her talent again) did all the hard work ... a name (i contributed the "one world" part) ... a header ... & a blog (i told you she was good) where you will be able to see our photos as the weeks go by. It's possible there may come a day where i even bestow on you some words of wisdom & Lauraism's!

Ok now for the specifics ... one photo every week for a year ... to be posted side by side on a Tuesday (why i hear you ask a Tuesday ... well i have no clue other than Tali chose Tuesday). Now to the fun audience participation part ... you guys ... yes you special special people get to pick the topics. In order to start this 52 week long photographic project we need 52 topic titles for us to work with. So throw on those thinking caps ... be creative ... & please try to avoid big words that my little brain doesn't comprehend.

Kevin & Narnia ...

Ella Bella ...

So i had to share this gorgeousness with you ... partly because well it's beautiful & partly because it's the work of an incredible talented young lady who i went to school with. I could tell a few stories here (& her the same) but it would ruin the mystique that goes alongside us artistic types (hehehe). So she has just opened a shop on Etsy & set up a blog both of which i know I'm going to fall in love with. & I'm pretty sure that somewhere along the way i will be sharing a whole lot more of her work. Oh & for the record she one of those artistic people who can draw, take photos & produces graphic prints that are equally stunning as each other (don't you just hate that)!

shop

blog

website

a day spent teaching & learning ...

I spent the year before i was married working in a high school as a photography technician & teaching assistant ... it was a job that as stressful as it could be gave me wonderful satisfaction & reignited the jaded photographer in me. It reminded me that it wasn't all about the "client" but about something i loved! & on Saturday i was reminded of this as i spent a few hours with a couple of fabulous ladies who wanted to learn. We talked about photography, apertures & shutter speeds ... & then we wondered around the lake taking photos & experiencing what was out there. It was a wonderful afternoon which i am excited to do again, & has awakened my love of teaching i'm just a little unsure of how to go about it. But anyways here are some photos from that afternoon.

It's the simple things in life that make me happy ...

Watching planes take off & land ...

The West Wing, it's a tv great that i can watch it over & over (intelligent & funny never gets old) ...

Starting a new book ...

American Eagle panties (you can never have too many pairs) ...

The theory that spring is just around the corner!