Off the Sales Rack

Let me start by saying, I am not a fashion blogger.

In fact, most days, I choose comfort over style. 

Well comfort and whatever doesn't make me look pregnant still...

BUT! I might do just anything for free stuff. Within reason, of course.

So today (and maybe only today) I am going to post my daily outfit for a contest.

This Contest:

I am the sort of person who will not buy anything unless it is on sale or a super great deal (thanks mom!).

So my outfit consists of pieces that are found on the sales rack. Often, this requires more searching, but sometimes, it's just worth it.

Blouse: Old Navy - clearance

Under Shirt: Shade - on sale

Jeans - Old Navy - clearance

Sandals - Maurices - on sale

Earrings - Forever 21

Getting to know Blogger: A Tutorial

Our next step in the Better Blog Series is getting to know the features of Blogger by creating a custom blog layout.

There are a lot of things you can do to customize your blog that most people don't know about.

So, lets get going!

Step One:
Clear out any existing HTML you might have added as a gadget that pertains to your backdrop. For example, if you have a background from the cutest blog on the block, you need to clear it out and start from scratch.
Then, go to your design tab and select Template Designer.

Step Two:

Select the whatever blog layout you would like under the templates tab.

You can change it up later so if the colors are wrong don't worry.

Step Three:

Under the Background tab, select a background image. You can also upload your own if you want to go completely custom.

Step Four:

You can adjust the width of you blog under the Adjust widths tab.

If you use large photos or videos, I suggest increasing the size to the max.

Step Five:

Choose your layout.

There are many choices for you here, just choose the one you like best.

I prefer the three column layout.

Step Six:

The Advanced tab has many things to choose from.

This is going to be your customizing station. 

Under Gadgets, you can change the font, size and color of your side bar and date titles.

Under Post Title, you can change the font and size of your blog titles.

You can change the Date Header and Post Footer to your taste.

When choosing fonts, blogger now has many more to choose from than the basic few there were before.

Explore your options, I know you will find something that works for you.

Step Seven:

To Center the header on your blog, scroll down to Add CSS. 

Copy and paste the following lines into the Add custom CSS box:

Click APPLY TO BLOG

So there you go.
There are many ways to customize your blog without needing a pre-made template.
Plus, it will be all your own!
Feel free to comment with any questions.
Good luck!

Mac Alpine's

Yesterday, we went on a really fun lunch date to a place in downtown Phoenix called Mac Alpine's.

It's an old soda shop style restaurant attached to an antique store.

All the waitresses wore 50's style dresses and hairstyles and the food and shakes were really yummy!

I definitely want to go again! So fun!

A Big Orange Wall

I realized we haven't had a random photo shoot in a while. 

It's Sunday, we're already dressed, so why not?

Next time, we feed the baby before the shoot and not after...

Our Saturday

Yesterday was a great day.

We started out by sleeping in and then going for a late breakfast at a bagel place down the street. 

We stopped by Toys R Us to get a gift for a birthday party later that day and picked up a little stuffed angry bird for baby Cameron.

We took a nap.

We went to the party and had a fun time.

The weather was wonderful!

We went to H&M in Scottsdale. I found a bunch of things I loved for not too much money (this is rare and a big deal for me). 

We stopped at Sprinkles to get a couple cupcakes and then at a local sandwich place for dinner.

It was so great to spend a whole day together and eat yummy food that I didn't have to make!

The perfect Saturday.

Chicago

Last Summer after visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Ohio, my sister Mechelle and I went on a little trip to Chicago. 

I just came upon the photos and realized I never blogged about it!

We were both pregnant and miserable (her more than me, poor thing) and it was really humid, but we had a fun time. 

These are pictures we took at the Navy Pier. Chicago is so beautiful in the summer!

4 months!

We have such a happy boy!

We can't get enough of his smiles and little baby coos and goos.

Cameron is learning so much.

He grabs and puts anything he can in his mouth.

He drools on everything.

AND he's learning to fall asleep on his own!

When we thought he was ready, we put him down in the cradle while he was still awake and turned out the light.

It worked! He went right to sleep!

We are such lucky parents!

At his 4 month check-up:

weight - 15.63lbs - 61.31 percentile

length - 27.2in - 97.56 percentile

Japan

The devastation in Japan is overwhelming. 

I didn't know what to do but I knew I wanted to help.

So I donated to My Church's Humanitarian website HERE.

If you also want to help, it's a good place to start.

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Please, Please, Please

Can I please replace the light fixture in my dining room with this one??
What? It's $279??
Poop.

Cameron Faces

Cameron is just the cutest. 

He's growing like a weed!

As he develops so do his facial expressions.

These pictures were taken with my phone, and he moves a lot.

Blurrrrr...

Photo Journey

My co-worker shared with me this amazing story of a man who found a film canister in a park in New York.

He documented his journey to find the owner.

It's pretty cool.

Watch it here:

Photo Site Header

I used my super easy picnik tutorial to make myself another header for my photography site!

This one was a little more difficult because I had to size and color the dots all the same.
Oh, what good a copy and paste option would do!

Anyway, Tommy is in the middle of creating my photography website so I will feel more legit.

We're trying to make the blog and site cohesive. 

What do you think?

Picnik Blogger Photo Header Tutorial

Today's post for the Better Blog Series is a tutorial on how to make a photo header similar to mine using Picnik.com.

If you want more than 4 pictures on your header, you will need to sign up for a premium account (which I highly recommend).

So, here we go!

Step 1.

Open Picnik and go to the Collage Tab.

Select the collage with 4 boxes and upload your photos.

Change your background color to white.

Step 2.

Drag and drop your photos in the location you'd like.

Change the roundness to 10 so you get perfectly round photos.

Change the quality from normal to high and click done.

Step 3.

Go to the create tab, then the frames tab.

Select a border and increase the size on both the inner and outer.

Change the color to white.

Step 4.

Crop off the sides and top of your border leaving a white strip on the bottom.

Or you can crop the bottom and leave the top depending on where you would like your blog title.

Step 5.

Go to the create tab, then the text tab, and add your title.
Move it to the location you'd like and select your font and color.

Step 6.

Save your header.

And there you go!

Your new photo blogger header!

When you upload, first select the shrink to fit option and then upload your header.

Thanks to my sister Mechelle for letting me use her adorable family for this tutorial.

Bath Time!

We've been dealing with a little sick baby for the last couple of days.

It's been hard. It just breaks my heart every time he coughs.

To help break up the congestion, baby gets lots of baths!

Cameron loves his bath time.

And we love that it makes him happy!