Adam & Layne

Today, we start the drinking early. We buckle up. We look for something good.

Here’s the good we found this week:

Adam: In 2013, I was shooting two Nikon D7000 DSLR’s with huge lenses that I had acquired while working in Afghanistan. The whole setup fit into a backpack that weighed in at close to ten pounds. I would carry this everywhere. And like many event photographers, I was addicted to snapping five to ten pictures per second. And like many photographers, I spent hours upon hours sorting through the mess of pictures to find the good ones. Then I would spend even more time in Photoshop getting the photos to look like I remembered. It was exhausting.

So I turned to a new camera that had just been released called the Fuji X100. I got a used one a few days before we took a two-week vacation in Ireland, and I took only this new camera with me. It weighed in at less than 1 pound, even with an extra battery and memory cards.

After I got back from Ireland, I sold all my Nikon gear and purchased some slightly higher end Fuji equipment and I never looked back. These cameras are wonderful to look at, to hold, and to use. I eventually sold that X100 to fund a lens for my newer camera, but I never forgot how great that first Fuji was and how it formed some amazing first impressions of what digital photography could really be like for me.

So now, today, I pre-ordered the replacement for the X100 – called the X100F. Pretty much the same camera except it has improved features that make my life even easier. I could go on and on and on about it, but if you’ve looked at any of the pictures I’ve taken of my kids, my house, my friends, etc. and liked them, it’s because of how great these Fuji cameras are. Drop me a note if you’d like to give them a try. This little guy will arriving sometime right after Valentine’s Day!

Layne: I love hand lettering. I’ve been trying to improve my own for about three years. I generally default to the same old way of shaping my letters. The same tilt. The same spacing. Until! I happened on this amazing Instagram account this week. Introducing: P + H Chalk. Just watch this:

A video posted by P+H Chalk (@pandhchalk) on Jan 18, 2017 at 7:45pm PST

Her letters are the prettiest letters. She has all the letters. They’re the greatest letters. You can follow her on Instagram (pandhchalk) and you can check out her shop here. She’s got me inspired to move pens around again.

I also SUPER appreciate our UPS guy. It’s madness (weatherwise) out here and yet, every time he makes a delivery to our house, he leaves treats for the dogs. He’s a part of the good in this world.

Ivy: Ivy just wants to paint this week. We snagged some new watercolors and some new paper and it’s game on! Thank goodness we’ve found another indoor activity to keep her going – I think cabin fever is starting to set in…

Leo: This kid’s got another tooth coming through though he continues to be just about the sweetest boy on the planet (see photo at the top of the post).

Sigh. Onward, friends. We love you.

-Adam & Layne

This week, we celebrated that we didn’t have to go into survival mode (as forecasted for a local weatherman whose name rhymes with Sin Grogsby). Strange weather conditions were supposed to be a recipe for power outages/flooding – thank goodness that didn’t happen because how would Ivy watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?

We have it awfully good and we’re grateful we stayed warm and dry.

Here are some of the other good things we noticed this week.

Adam: Oh man, I love our truck.

Most purists wouldn’t call it a truck since it’s a Honda, but the 2006 Ridgeline has been a great purchase. I’ve used it as a hard-core work truck, overloading almost two tons of dirt into the short bed during our patio remodel project, pulling campers, hauling canoes, and just plain working when we need it. I’ve thought multiple times about trading it in for an F150 or some other “real” truck, but this last week, as we’ve struggled through two feet of new snow and icy roads, the full-time all-wheel drive has just been too much of an advantage. And we’ve taken 13-hour trips with friends in the back seat and they’ve had no issues with comfort. It’s a great vehicle, perfect for DIY people like us.

Layne: I’ve been working on mood boards for our new space over the last month or two so when a sponsored Instagram ad for “Design Home” came across my feed, I clicked on it thinking it might be a fun way to design our space. As it turns out, Design Home is a home decorating game wherein you’re given a budget, virtual access to furniture/accessories, and daily design challenges – not a 3D mood board generator. I’m kind of glad I was wrong because it’s pretty fun.

This is one of the rooms I put together for a design challenge.

This app is addicting. There are drawbacks (I hate in-app purchase games) but, overall, it’s a fun outlet for those of us who love $4,500 rugs but can’t afford them/our children would ruin them. You can download Design Home in the App Store.

Also – I cried like a baby whilst watching President Obama honor VP Joe Biden.

Ivy: Ivy’s put together a bit of a nap renaissance over the last couple of weeks. I was relatively sure that she was just done with naps altogether (unless we’re riding in the car, on the way to Starbucks, listening to a podcast ((yes, there’s always a plan B)) and then, after waking up a 2.am. on New Years Day (thanks for Grandma and Papa for taking that one for the team) – she took a threeee houuuuuurrrrrr nap. It’s like she tasted the greatness of rest again and she’s been coming back for more. So. Naps. She likes them again.

Also. She doesn’t know it yet, but I bought her a birthday dress (this one on super sale from the Gap).

Leo: Both Leo and Ivy received homemade loveys from their Aunt Karen for Christmas.

When he was down for his nap a couple days ago, I caught him cuddling his lion.

Man, I love my kids when they’re asleep.

Have a fantastic (long) weekend!

-Adam & Layne

This week was marked by record-breaking snowfall (more snow than this town has seen in thirty years). Anyone who stays home with small children will echo the following sentiments: I’m sorry for ever complaining about the heat in the summertime; please bring back all the warm things; if I don’t leave the house soon, I might spontaneously combust.

That’s the whiney, dramatic me talking.

Yesterday, our friend named Debbie posted that she was having a tough time sleeping because she was thinking about all of the Meals on Wheels recipients who went without because of the weather conditions. She’s one of the people who helps keep whiney, dramatic me in check.

Here are some of the things that kept us going this week:

Adam: Oh SketchUp, how I love thee. Though I’ve been using it for several years now, this week it helped us to envision a pair of built-in’s that will be going in the new addition to the house.

And after we finished seeing that the whole thing was going to look and feel okay, I got the drawing completed to the point that I can use it for a cut list. Study cubbies for the kids will be built by March! And in the evenings, after getting the little ones to sleep, I’ve revisited a book that I read first when I was in junior high school – a historical fiction called The Walking Drum, by Louis L’Amour. Not a western, but still super cheesy and campy, it’s a great way to revisit some amazing history while pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate. Every boy’s dream!

Layne: The last two years, we have purchased the same wall calendar because I love it. The art is adorable and plucky, and the stories attached to each painting make me smile whenever I read them. So. I bought the 2017 model today. Also, I made this blueberry breakfast cake on Tuesday and it was gone by Thursday (…it was me – I ate all of it). I want to check out the rest of her recipes, too. Delicious.

Ivy: Ivy’s jam this week has been the phrase, “goin’ on?” She says it about pretty much everything. I got soap in her eyes as I was rinsing her hair out earlier in the week – “goin’ on?” as if to say, “What’s your problem, Mom?” She located one of her long-lost figurines – “goin’ on?” – as if to say, “Where have you been?” It’s pretty great. She is also super into the Sago Mini Friends – Preschool Playdate for Kids. She calls it “Bunny and, and Woof!” The music isn’t annoying (to me) and the concept is pretty cute. Thanks to our friend, Katy, for the recommendation.

Leo: Whether or not he considers this to be a good thing, one of his two front teeth made its entrance into the world of his face. It looks SERIOUSLY painful but he is handling it like a champ – a mountain of smiles pretty much all day long. And, as usual, he is obsessed with his sister and all her goings on.

Have a great weekend! Stay warm. If you live someplace warm, I don’t want to hear about it.

-Adam & Layne