insta-everything

those of you that follow me on instagram (@alohaneener) get to see a lot of random things that i capture on a daily basis more so than you do here on the blog or even on my facebook.  i don't proclaim to be an artist but i do love taking photos and every now and then i am pretty pleased with what i capture.  i've shared before some of the many ways to take an instagram photo and turn it into something more than a thumbnail on a phone screen.

one way to showcase your photos is to post them to a gallery on instacanvas.  you choose which photos to make public (so no one will be blowing up your personal family pictures) and when people pick your photo to print, you get a percentage of the profit.  and they've expanded the products to include not only canvases but also framed prints, prisms (desktop paperweights), greeting cards and iphone covers.

recently, they've added an option for you to purchase products from your own photos that you choose from your facebook or hard drive (again, not viewable by the public) to make into gifts for yourself or family.  so i did just that.  i took a couple of my favorite shots from our most recent hawaii trip and had them enlarged and framed.  it takes a lot for me not to frame and print so much more but luckily(?) i can't afford to go overboard.  if you're like me though and love to see them in print, here's another (much cheaper) way to display them (thank you pinterest!)

check out how she made this here

tuesday's treasury - whisper

     

'whisper' by whimspirationphoto

sweet nothings

Whisper Sweet Nothings ... BornBarefoot $15.00	Whisper Silver feather jesophi $32.00	Fine Art Photography Pr... GhostFlowerIn... $13.00	Secrets and Whispers Ar... TraciCottingh... $10.00
Wind Whispers Upright A... EstuaryMagick... $22.00	Whisper Ring - Slim Ban... BlueZinniaDes... $70.00	Beatles - Whisper Words... BAYMOONSTUDIO $2.00	Cloud Whispers VetekArtistMa... $200.00
THE WHISPERING TREE. Ru... Chymiera $435.00	Hope Whispers - Motivat... hairbrainedsc... $15.00	Whisperer In the Darkne... natamon $30.00	Whispers on the Wind - ... MarshmallowRi... $2.00
Whispers...-Surreal Ill... WhispersFromT... $30.00	Soft Whispers - Brass F... RavynEdge $15.00	whisperers - limited co... alexandrucris... $500.00	5 Skeins, Plymouth Whis... DesignsbyTher... $20.00

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

 

a big girl bed

 we have a hunch that saraya's going to be a tall girl.  my only hope is that she's not taller than justin because it's already bad enough she's going to tower over me but it would just be incredibly awkward for her to look down on him at 6'4".  anyhow, the point of this height discussion is to say that she has outgrown her bed.  it seems like it happened overnight.  one night we're going about our bedtime routine as usual and she says "this bed is too big for me." (we're still working on big vs small and before vs after) "i need a big girl bed and the baby can have this bed."

well, that was easy enough i guess.  so we went to the furniture store to check out big girl beds.  she wanted to climb in practically every one and was so disappointed that she wasn't allowed to climb on top of all the bunk beds.  we didn't pick one up that night and for the next almost 2 weeks there was a nightly plea for a big girl bed at bedtime.

after a little debate about what size and style to get, we agreed to get something that she should be able to use for a really long time.  back to the very tall point made earlier, this meant getting a full-size mattress.  needless to say, she is beyond stoked about her new bed and i have to admit that it's a lot more comfortable for me to snuggle with her as we read bedtime stories now.  by the way, she picked out the tutu and has proclaimed numerous times that pink is her favorite color so even though it is quite pink, the bedspread is totally her...

what is this?!

my big girl bed!!

fashion friday - preppy polka dots

preppy polka dots by alohaneener 

St. John polka dot blouse, $470 / Black shoes, $5.51 / Floozie by Frost French polka dot handbag, $55 / May 28th plastic jewelry / Betsey Johnson teardrop earrings

10. win a photography contest

this face

when i originally added this item to my list, i imagined one of my "artsy" photos of a flower or a landscape winning in a little local photo contest. instead, a photo i snapped while hiking with the family was chosen as the winner of the first barley and birch photo contest. they chose the photo after 238 voters picked her picture on facebook to be the face of the company for the month of february!

it was a pretty close race for first with the second place photo only 33 votes behind us.  in addition to being the cover photo for barley and birch's page this month, saraya gets a shirt and special prize at the end of the year.  we're excited to represent such and awesome company and i'm also excited to cross this item off the big list.

thank you again for your votes!

tuesday's treasury - wine and chocolate

'wine and chocolate' by whimspirationphoto

perfect pair

Bicycle Wine Rack - Lea... oopsmark $34.00	Round Chocolate South S... TheMerryBead $110.00	Wine Cork Trio Succule... PattiesPassio... $4.99	Cabernet Sauvignon Dark... estheraguirre $14.50
Beastly Dark Chocolate ... BeastlyBeefJe... $9.97	Reclaimed wood wine rac... DelHutsonDesi... $79.00	All Natural Chocolate M... estheraguirre $12.00	Personalized Wine Glass... kraze4paper $7.00
Caloric Cuvee: The calo... CaloricCuvee $19.95	Rose and Pistachio Raw ... RawChocolate $3.50	Wine bottle pendant lig... LightPallet $150.00	Chocolate Beer and Pret... LusTreats $12.00
2 Chocolate Star Wars M... TheBooBoxAlas... $5.00	Cabernet Wine Soap FancyNancySoa... $6.50	River Rock Chocolate Ca... JazzyAppleGal $3.95	Wine Barrel Serving Pla... WineSpiration... $25.99

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

museum month 2013

it's that time of year! for the month of february, 42 san diego museums are half-off admission.  just pick up a free pass at any Macy's and get up to four admissions on one pass.  here's the list of participating museums (ones we've visited are italicized and new ones we're going to try to go to this month have an asterisk).

Barona Cultural Center & Museum
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Bonita Museum & Cultural Center
California Surf Museum
Coronado Museum of History & Art
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
Gaslamp Museum at Wm. H. Davis House
Heritage of the Americas Museum
*Japanese Friendship Garden
Junipero Serra Museum
La Jolla Historical Society
Living Coast Discovery Center
*Lux Art Institute
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Marston House & Gardens
Mingei International Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Downtown
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla
Museum of Making Music
Museum of Photographic Arts-
*Oceanside Museum of Art
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Archaeological Center
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego Botanic Garden
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum
San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
San Diego History Center 
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum
The New Children’s Museum
The San Diego Museum of Art
Tijuana Estuary Visitors Center
Timken Museum of Art
USS Midway Museum
Veterans Museum & Memorial Center
Visions Art Museum
Warner-Carillo Ranch House & MuseumWater Conservation Garden
Whaley House Museum
Women’s Museum of California