Happy Birthday to Me

 I usually never make a big ta-doo about my birthday, but this one seems kinda special.  This past year has been very unpredictable for all of us, but I have to say it has been a year that has blessed me.  I love the fact as I get older, I get wiser, lol.  I've learned so many new things about myself.  I've noticed that I see things differently about life and am holding tighter to the things I love.  

That includes my camera!  

I absolutely love learning about how to adjust the settings and all of the editing options on Lightroom.  In the beginning, I had no clue that there was "noise" in a photograph.  Noise?  What?  I noticed one day, as I was editing, that there was all of this little tiny grain looking stuff all in my photo.  Well, lo and behold, I figured out that was what "noise" is, lol!  And I am still figuring out how to edit it out.  But I am also learning that different lenses and your ISO can cut that down...so please bear with me as I share some photos I'm learning with.

I want that sharp, soft look without making it super sharp and crazy looking.  I think I'm getting it slowly.  It'll just take time and practice.  Taking photos in low lighting and inside definitely makes for a harder time capturing the right mood too.  The lighting and shadows on this photo look exactly what I was wanting to convey....what I see in my home at night.  

My sweet little family all chipped in and bought me the new Petticoat bedding from the Shabby Chic line.  It's still wrinkled straight out of the bag, but I love it!  Those ruffles are gorgeous!  

The bedding I previously had was from the same line and has worn so well....definitely worth the price!  I started putting away the Christmas decorations downstairs last night, and I am ready for some pretty changes.  It seems that I always change things up a bit after everything has been put away.  I bought some really pretty floral arrangements from Home Goods, so I am excited about adding them to this space.

Another new mirror was hung in the stair well.  My sweet husband bought it for me for Christmas but it was brown.  He said he knew I would paint it and it would do well with how I distress things.  He said he's been trained well, lol!  I love that man!

Overlook the quality of the photo...it's from my cell phone.  The day after Christmas I painted it and hung it up.  

No grass grows under my feet!

We all had a very blessed Christmas!  There were lot's of laughs and plenty of good times had by all....and the food was pretty good too!

We decided, at 3 am, to take a family photo on Christmas Eve.  We stayed up all night long and opened presents around 4:30am.  Had a huge breakfast at 6 and were all in bed at 7.  Now that's what I call having a great time! lol

So this birthday is a blessing, even with the aches and pains that go along with it!  

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas and have a very Blessed New Year!