Love, Joleen Photography Blog

I Am Thankful.

the set up
family
the yummy food
teeny boper cousins
baby cousins

It was a beautiful day- fantastic weather, great conversation, laughter, hugs, and yummy yummy food! I am so thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful for you! xo

Pie, Baby, Pie

Mmm mmm, you smell that? :) Alex and I spent all night making these two pies for Thanksgiving. We made the apple pie his mom made for him growing up. He loves it and has fond memories associated with it so that makes it so special. This is our second attempt and it looks so much lovelier than last time. I hope it tastes yummy too! :) I recently purchased this cookbook, which I love. It has great, simple recipes with photos and directions that are easy enough for even me to follow. This mixed berry pie was in it- I can't wait to taste it! Is it Thursday yet? ;)

Here is my current dolly family photo. It was meant to be my Thanksgiving photo but I just couldn't wait to show you! I hope your week is going well and you're taking a moment or two to feel blessed. xo

Oh good grief. I really hit the ground running today. This week is what the last several weeks have been leading up to. I'm excited, anxious, happy, nervous, sad - this week is damn bipolar. ha! I should be popping in and out over the next week. I just wanted to touch base and say hello. And since posts without pictures just aren't as fun, here a few of my recent art journal pages. :) xo

My Holiday Wishlist

♥ "Pure" 24k Solid Gold and Diamond Band - I think of this as the "princess ring"; it's so beautiful and dainty. I'm not normally a huge fan of yellow gold but this is just gorgeous. 
♥ "Petticoat Junction" print from a beautiful new shop called prints by lauradye. I looooove this image!
♥ Lomography Pink Fisheye Camera - so fun + cute + it's hot pink!! yay!
♥ Polaroid 600 film - !!!!
♥ Polka Dot glasses for my girls - *so* cute; I'd love a pair for myself too. ;)
♥ Terrarium No. 35 - I've been seeing these a lot lately and I really love them. It's so whimsical and probably pretty hard to kill.
♥ 35 mm film - only gonna need this with one or both of these cameras- hah! ;)
♥ Lomography Diana Dreamer Camera - love

Tres Amigas

When I drove up to my parents a couple of weeks ago to help Sarah get ready for Homecoming I drove up a little early. I was supposed to get there early with enough time for a mini photo session with her and her best friends (who are sisters). I ended up having car issues (boo) and so I got there with like 10-15 minutes left of light to shoot. We had a mini, mini session but the girls were troopers. ;) These are my favorites. I'm including an outtake below because I looooove it. They were just crackin' up being their silly selves. :) With Sarah moving (along with Jaydean and my parents) in just over a week, I was really happy to do this for her.

Sorry I've been such a bore around here. It's not for lack of activity, trust me! This last week was insane with how much I accomplished. I finished that project I gave you a sneak of. I finished my Christmas + stocking shopping for the celebration next weekend. I'm nearly ready for all of next weekends events. ;) I did another secret project today which I'll be able to share next week. So, yep, basically holiday makin's and indie Christmas gift buyin' I can't share yet. ;) Fun times.  Along with all that goodness, I started a second part time job as a personal assistant and had two babysitting gigs. Holy busy-ness. How you doin'?

Um..

Why are so many children and teen's clothing made from stretchy metallic and shitty sateen fabric??? I just came from a store filled with disgusting quality children's wear. Don't even get me started on the styles. Are we dressing our children or miniature street walkers here?

Is it bedtime yet? ;) I had another great + productive day. Thanksgiving weekend is fast approaching and it's going to be busy, busy. We have Thanksgiving dinner with extended family, Christmas celebration with my immediate family, and my sister's wedding! :)  (Plus, Portals is due to be released and my parents + sisters are moving - eeesh!) Last week I found my outfit for the wedding and today I finished my Christmas shopping (for this celebration). W00t, w00t!

My Camille Limited Edition Soft Art Doll was featured on INDIEspecials.

Girl Time & Blast from the Past

Hello, hello. I hope you all had a great day. I spent the day with my mom and sisters, shopping for wedding wear and catching lunch. It was nice to spend time together and visit a bit. We couldn't pass up this photobooth- so fun!

Right now I'm watching Total Finale Live (the last show for Total Request Live/ TRL) on MTV. I cannot believe this show has been on for 10 years. I haven't watched it for many years but I feel a bit of nostalgia for it. If you're much older or younger than me it may not be as big of a deal but I think I was at just the perfect age for it to be. At 15 music is very important and I think teens feel very connected to what they like. Anyway, it's fun to see Carson Daly hosting tonight and so many musicians returning for the finale. :)

Holiday Gift Guide: Dogs & Dog Lovers

This gift guide offers some items for you and some for your furry family.

1. Brake-fast Dog Food Bowl - OMG, if you have a pug you know they can eat like there's no tomorrow. For this reason we don't leave food out but feed twice a day. The problem is by the time we bring the food over to the bowl, Peyton is a complete spaz and eats like we're starving her. I think we're going to have to try this bowl!

2. Personalized Pet Lover Necklace - Such a great spin on wearing your "kids "around your neck.

3. Ookie Ookie Pet Portraits - Gorgeous custom paintings and illustrations.

4. Euro Breed Stickers 

5. I ♥ every dog collar from Pattern & Paw!

6. I am really intrigued by this toy. It has such great design and comes in fabulous colors! I have a feeling my pup would tear this to shreds for her treats but I'd still love to try it out.

7. Never Bite When a Growl Will Do - "This book is the perfect gift for everyone who might enjoy an encouraging word from their neighborhood hound" I haven't read this book but I'd love to! 

8. Love this harness! Perfect for small dogs and I prefer this fabric design vs. the nylon harnesses we've been using.

9. I recently saw these Bone Enamel ID Tags at a great dog bakery/shop in South County, called Three Dog Bakery. The quality is very nice and substantial. The shop makes their own doggy treats that my pups love!

10. I wrote about Cuore before but it's a lovely shop on Etsy. She makes the most beautiful dog stuffies. I bought this fawn pug from her and custom ordered a black pug. She accepts requests for custom orders! 

11. "Mojo" Good Karma Rope Toys - This is a toy for your pup. Such great design and quality. There are other animals available. 

12. Like the previous toy on this list, we found these treats at Domino Bazaar. We got the peanut butter treats and our dogs looooove them. There are a lot in the tins and they smell like cookies. :)

Psst..

I've listed this adorable outfit in two different sizes on eBay. I also slashed the prices of some things in my etsy shop.. take a look! :)