Foto Friday: A Hike in Vermont

March 8, 2013 ~ Mariah ~ Leave a comment

To get to my sister’s house, you have to cross a corn field, go over a bridge, and pass a farm… and that’s all after you’ve driven 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart.

They live right about here…

Just off the main road before you get into the corn fields, there is an old rail road that’s now part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy.

We try to make it a habit to take a hike out to the old bridge when we visit. Prepare yourself for a ton of pics and not a lot of words…

Mom and Dad

Even on a cold Fall day after all the leaves have turned and fallen, it’s still pretty gorgeous.

It’s Pinterest Challenge Time!

February 27, 2013 ~ Mariah ~ 2 Comments

It’s that time again! It’s Pinterest Challenge time! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, get the full run down over at Bower Power or Young House Love, but basically it’s about taking something you’ve pinned and making in a reality…

I’ve pinned the same thing repeatedly. I actually feel lame for using it for the Pinterest Challenge because it’s starting to feel overdone, but alas…

(sources HERE and HERE)

I still love this idea of taking a Staples engineering print and modge podging that sucker to a giant canvas. So, I ordered the 36 x 48 print and grabbed one of my BOGO + coupon scored canvases from Michaels.

I started with my original photograph (shamelessly available at my Etsy Shop HERE) and sent the original size to Staples…

then gathered the necessary supplies and headed to the living room of my friend, Lynn of CaraBella Creative, so she could help me suss out the best way to tackle the project …

because, you know, reading the ACTUAL TUTORIALS would be lame or something. Are you picking up the foreshadowing yet?

We decided to paint the whole canvas with modge podge, keep the print rolled, align it proper then roll it out, smoothing along the way. Yeah… not so great. The paper began to crinkle and stretch the second it touched the glue… so just like ripping off a bandaid, we ditched the slow and steady method for the “just get stuck on” method. Because… yeah… tutorials…

At that point, it pretty much looked like a failure and a top coat didn’t help either… but LO AND BEHOLD!!! As it dried, all the crazy ridges went way down… so much so that I sorta thought I should have just told you I added texture on purpose, but, you know, honesty in blogging and all.

Here she hangs in my bedroom and I’ve got to say, I love it!

Note to those that may want to tackle the project, follow Katie’s tutorial on Bower Power HERE… insulation board + glue stick = successful project. ,

Don’t forget to check out what all the hosts did!

(Not to mention all the linky love and inspiration!)

Katie from Bower Power

Megan from The Remodeled Life

Sherry from Young House Love

Michelle from Decor & The Dog

Foto Friday: Sebastian Inlet

January 18, 2013 ~ Mariah ~ Leave a comment

Back in July my family threw a surprise 75th birthday party for my grandmother that turned into a bit of a family reunion. My sister and niece flew down to unbeknownst to the rest of the family and my brother drove down with my mom. After a weekend of party stuff, it was nice to get away for the day and head to the beach.

Growing up we’d trek down to Sebastian Inlet a few times each summer, carting along a days worth of grub and a gallon of sunscreen (pretty much just for me… I’m practically albino). It was fun to introduce my niece, Amelia, to the beach for the first time… she yelled, “POOL!”

It was a crazy beautiful day…

Funny to be sharing beach pics on the first “cold” day in Florida this season…

Week(s) in Photos: Sept 15-28

October 1, 2012 ~ Mariah ~ Leave a comment

My grandmother had a knee replacement two weeks back. She had a few complications and was suffering severe pain and they couldn’t figure out what was causing it. On the day I visited her in the hospital, I ~~stalked~~ followed her and the nurse down to sit with her while she got a second set of x-rays to make sure that no one hurt my grandmother (that’s my job… kidding!!!). The tech made me sit in a waiting room. I’d already threatened every person that worked on her floor (in my head anyways) so I gave the guy a break and took a seat. This is what I saw while doing my obligatory count of ceiling tiles… not sure that would make me feel all warm and fuzzy if I was flat on my back waiting for an x-ray but, hey, guess they’re trying…

The road between Orlando and Melbourne that I like to take is natural Florida most of the way…

it feeds my Florida sky obsession… we really do have better clouds than anywhere else…

I’ve seen the insides of my feet more than any other part of my body… I’ve done more damage to my right foot than any other appendage… THIS is why I only wear awesome shoes…

Gratuitous sky pic… deal with it…

I arrived in Nashville in the early evening then waited at the airport Starbucks for my friend to arrive on a later flight… I got to see the sunset while I sat there…

and also realized that I WAY over process my photos… but I sorta like them like that… yeah, it’s totally on purpose… it’s “artsy”… yeah…

Friday was our touristy day in Nashville… so naturally we started with a few hours of work (well, writing for me) at a cool coffee shop near Vanderbilt. I got a fireball… it was the most awesome thing EVER.

Then on to the Parthenon… because when somebody randomly decides to built a full scale replica of a Greek temple, you’re obliged to show up.

and when in Nashville, one must walk down Music Row… sorta like a Bourbon Street with less beads and more twang…

Puckett’s Grocery in Franklin was AHmazing. Fried green bean, pulled pork quesadillas and pumpkin ales… enough said.

Tennessee sky pic… see.. obsessed!

But most of the weekend was about the Jon Acuff “Quitter” conference (buy the book… buy it!) where I received some of the best advice in my life, including this…

Then after some wonderful time spent with friends, I flew home…

Week(s) in Photos: Sept 1-15

September 24, 2012 ~ Mariah ~ Leave a comment

Weekends are for sleeping in and Florida country drives…

and sleepovers with my 3 year old God daughter…

My brother moved down to Orlando, and we celebrated with our favorite sparkling cider.

I made this sweater for a friends new grandson… the pockets are my favorite…

More weekend back road scenery…

My favorite 3 year old and a shared sunset…

Whipping up my famous vegan pumpkin muffins for a work breakfast…

Commute sunrises and sunsets…

Notes and doodles during mind stretching seminars…

and long hours at the office…

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Between Board meetings and coaching/presenting for the first time at a leadership seminar… breathing has become optional but it’s all so good.

I’m really loving these photo dumps because, as I’m hopeless at journaling etc., this makes me remember the little awesome moments that make the hustle worth it…

amen and amen.

And don’t forget to check out my prints for sale at:

Week(s) in Photos: Aug 16-31

August 31, 2012 ~ Mariah ~ Leave a comment

Dinner at Hue and a walk around Lake Eola with Leslie…

A new favorite furry house guest…

Too much fun at the Big Bang Bazaar at the Maitland Civic Center with Lynn and Sharon… too much fun that I forgot to take pictures IN the Bazaar….

To and from Melbourne on sunny Sunday…

Lots of work going on around here… the novel is almost done and a new line will be up on Etsy next week!

2nd annual bao fest with the crew… complete with hurricanes in honor of, well, the hurricane (thanks again, Dustin, for bring them back from Nola for us!)

Fun mail and my new lovies…

I love this graphic from our Day of Prayer… (by Ruth Hubbard)

Nothing feeds creativity like long meetings and hot evenings at Starbucks…

Spared by the hurricane… these are a sad example of “outer bands”…

It’s been crazy to me, as I’ve caught up on my Week in Photos posts, how much actually happens in a two week interval. I’ve got to say, the last two weeks have been so chock full of awesome, I can’t wait to see what September has in store!

And don’t forget to check out what’s new at: