My Creative Blog [Search results for Ramblings] 

You guys get to see my home all the time in projects, you get to read my ramblings here on the blog daily, but today I'm sharing something a little more personal… my family and my life behind the scenes. Our photographer Stacy of Stacy Salvatori Photography spent a Saturday with our family capturing pictures of our real life. No coordinated outfits, no posing, just capturing how we roll. I can't tell you how much I love the pictures and I can't wait to make a big ol' display with them!
(Don't forget that Stacy is giving away a FREE Session for Mother's Day and you can enter until Midnight tonight! Click here to enter!)

Here's how Stacy describes these awesome story sessions… I wanted to try something new. Something real. I’ve seen a few photographers that I admire and whose work I simply love, start a new journey. One of capturing people’s stories… their real life moments. And I kind of dig it. I like the notion of no posing, no planned outfits, and location? Well, how about your own home. The place you feel most you. I still love doing Family Portrait Sessions, and I always will. But there’s something unique, and something raw about snapping those in-between moments of life. The moments that truly define who we are, and that when we look back on, well, they will help us feel what we did all over again. I had the joy of capturing the Mangin Family’s ‘Story’. Them in their beautiful home, laughing, fighting, playing, and crying… living their life in front of the lens. Here’s a few snapshots of their life. What’s your story?
I hope you enjoy this peek into my life… If you would have told me ten years ago that I'd have 4 kids, own a dog, cat, and two ducks, I'd have laughed hard enough to possibly pee my pants. God has some crazy plans up his sleeve and I'm so thankful for this crazy life that's ours.

One of my very favorite pictures!

Hard to see, but if you look closely you can see my crazy hubs was throwing an ax up in the air and catching it while it was spinning. Did I mention our life is a tad crazy?

I hope you've enjoyed peeking into my world. If you're local, you should definitely call Stacy about setting up a story session. Tell her EC2 sent you and she'll give you the VIP treatment! (I completely made that up, but she's always super nice, so we can pretend it's VIP just for you!)
Later this week I'll be sharing more projects from the Wood Shim Wall Art projects!

P.S. We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! We need your help, though- you can learn more about our project and the charity we chose here, or go vote for us every day for the next two weeks right here (click on the Crafting for Charity button on their FB page). Thank you!

Well, folks, today's post will be short and sweet. We figure you might need a break from all our crazy ramblings once in a while, so today's your lucky day.: )
First Order of Business If you haven't already voted this week for the Crafting with the Stars competition, there's still time. Head on over to Sew Dang Cute and try to guess which one is ours, then vote for it!

We are thrilled with the way our project turned out for Round 2! We're really hoping we make it to Round 3, because the idea we have is super cool. So, vote, people, vote!: )
2nd Order of Business We may or may not be somewhere really fun, working on something totally cool. We're dying to share more about this top-secret project, but here's a glimpse of stuff we may or may not be using.

Clockwise from top left: 1. Mason Jar Chandelier 2. Tissue Paper Art 3. Newspaper Wall 4. DIY Faux Buck 5. DIY Zebra Painted Rug 6. Benjamin Moore Sunburst 
Ok, this meeting is adjorned. Have a great Tuesday!

We promised that during our maternity leave from filming (I love getting a maternity leave without having to have a baby btw) that we'd do a whole bunch of things, and one of them was letting you have more little peeks into our real life happenings. With that in mind, we proudly introduce… Right Now a series that we'll do monthly… well actually, basically whenever we feel like it.

So, here's what's going on in my world right now…
Loving: This amazing fall weather we're having here on the East Coast. Mid 70s during the day and cool, crisp nights!! It's the best sleeping weather ever! September is probably my favorite month of the year and I'm so thrilled to have some time off to enjoy it! Reading: Last night I finished reading Gone Girl. Thanks so so many of you for giving me book recommendations on Facebook! I liked it, but didn't over the top love it. I'm not sure what about it is keeping me from giving it an A+. If you read it, tell me what you liked/didn't like. I'd love to hear!

Waiting For: This weekend, but not excitedly… you probably know we breed Bernese Mountain Dogs with our dog Pennlyn. Well, this weekend the puppies leave and go to their new homes. I LOVE the families that we chose to adopt, but it will be super sad to see them go and I will have 4 miserable kiddos for a few days!

Excited About: A few things… Sunday we're going pumpkin picking and on a hayride with a bunch of our friends!! Our ABC/Live Well Network Season 1 Wrap party for our show- this Thursday night we'll all be celebrating the end of a successful first season. I'm still trying to figure out what to wear… Ugh!!

Trying To: Eat healthier and work out regularly. This is not my favorite thing, nor something I'm good at! But I have a goal of Oct 23rd, and hopefully will come away from this"maternity leave" happier and healthier. Working On: Communicating better with my oldest daughter…my mini-me. We kinda butt heads a lot. She's strong willed and I'm the queen of strong wills and well, let's just say I'm working on it. I want to figure out the best, most effective way to parent her.

Enjoying: The 3 hours each day that I have the house to myself, but then I'm also really enjoying the after pre-school, few hours before naptime that it's just Callen and me. It's really fun and nice to have 1:1 time! Using: Tons and tons of Chapstick!! I'm on a medication that makes me have crazy dry lips, so It's me and chapstick 24-7. Wearing: I'm totally in mom mode and usually wear sweats and my favorite Northface sweatshirt almost every day. What's the point in looking cute, if I'm gonna work out at night?!? Planning: I'm working on and planning my kids' playroom makeover. I totally struggle with designing my own rooms lately! I'm cool doing rooms for other people, but if I'm spending my own money I want to love it. GAH! It's killing me!

Needing: To find a good recipe today that uses a million veggies, bc I have a ton that will go bad soon if I don't use them!! Learning: How to think more before I talk (but don't hold your breath Eric, it's a slow learning process!) Struggling With: Church. We're kind of in this place where we're wondering where's a good fit for us. We've been at the same church for 16 years (and it's a wonderful church! Check it out HERE), but we just want to make sure it's right for us and we're not just there bc it's what we've always done. But, at the same time we're not sure what will be exactly right- it's tricky!

Listening To: The"Sister of the Year" CD mix made for my by my little brother (well, he's 26, not all that little, but little to me). He has the best taste in music and makes me mixes that have tons of songs that are cool well before they become cool. It's a good thing I have him, bc otherwise I'd never have even a sliver of cool within me when it comes to new music. Product I'm in Love With: My Kreg Jig- hubs used it yesterday to build new benches for our outdoor farmhouse table! Doing: Working down my to-do list for the day. I've committed to today being uber productive! (Up next, responding to emails, then making soup, then putting away all Cal's fall clothes) Dreaming Of: Taking another trip to Europe or somewhere amazing with my hubs. Last year at this time, we were counting down the days for our London and Paris trip.

This concludes this first edition of Right Now. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings or at least tolerated them! Want more of our day to day ongoings? Follow us on Instagram! Monica- @Eastcoastcreative Jess- @Jess_EC2blog What are you doing, loving, reading, or dreaming of right now?