eek. it was my turn.

Yep, it was my turn in front of the camera. Every time I need a photo for something I have to dig through snapshots from over a year ago (I just don't get in front of the camera). So on Saturday when we were out photographing our new place, Justin decided that it was my turn to get a few headshots to use on the blog & other things.
So here is a sampling...I've got tons, but not tons of time to edit photos of myself...so these will have to do :)I really just love the snow coming down in this shot:

Of course Justin wasn't going to get off easy, his turn!The many faces of Justin:

Now, on to editing some fabulous sessions...

Our Home.

Saturday was bliss. Absolutely wonderful. I am sure you have caught on to how much we love our new home...it's perfect. We had our first snowfall here on "pine ridge" and we decided to go out and have a photo shoot or two...I wanted to have some photos our our place to share here on the blog, and I was desperately needing some updated headshots - so yes, it was my turn in front of the camera...yieks!
I thought today I would share our home, and tomorrow I'll give you a little peak at MY photoshoot...of course I had to put Justin in front of the camera too - so check back tomorrow for that...but for now....

View from the road:From the driveway:

This is the cave under our driveway - how cute is that "window"?A view from our porch:Have I ever mentioned how much I love pine cones?
Well, that was just a sample...more to come soon. Have a great Monday!

gift idea - my first one!

Last year I posted a few random things that might make good gifts...so for a lack of an idea of what to post today, I thought I would post a cute little item.
I know records aren't that popular, but we always had fun playing with dad's old records when we were little - so they aren't quite so foreign to us.
I just thought this was worth a post, I don't know how well it works, but the idea is cute. (I can't imagine would be that powerful, but oh well).

Soundwagon Portable Record Player

Contest Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered, watch the video below to find out who the winner is!
*please ignore the background...our moving process begins tomorrow, so it's a bit of a wreck!

Ok, I have just spent over an hour trying to convert my video so I could upload it...I am giving up.
So you must go here to see the winner! *if you let it play once, the second time there isn't a picture over the video...

Congratulations....

I can't wait to find out what image they choose!!!

Contest Time!

That's right! I said contest! I have been wanting to do this forever and what better time than before Christmas!

Here is how you play:
Leave a comment on this blog post. It must be this particular post. It doesn't have to be profound, witty, or creative - you can say "hi", but it must be a comment (and you must put your name - I have to know who you are!)

The drawing will be on NOVEMBER 25 - 6pm EST! Be sure to leave a comment by then.

Prize: An 11x14 mounted print (feel free to ooh) of any photo I have ever posted on this blog (that I photographed). Yep, that's right, any photo. Take your pick! Could be a portrait, landscape, random photo...anything!
I have been blogging since November 2006 - so you may have a few pages to go through :)

What a great Christmas present for someone! Let's face it, the economy isn't the best right now, and Christmas may be tight for some, so I am stepping in and helping out - this could be one less gift to worry about!

*Anyone can win, and I mean anyone - however, you must be a human :), as much as I love pets, they are disqualified. Only one comment by each person will be put into the drawing, so unfortunately the more times you comment - well, it doesn't matter. However, I do love your comments, so just leave them on other posts :)

*depending on how well this goes, I might do it again - so impress me!


Contest begins...NOW!

64' & 76'

My dear friend Hayley has been putting her family in the yearbookyourself website this evening and putting them on her blog...I just had to do it for myself.

So here you go...this is Justin in 1976 & me in 1964.

How funny!

*Justin's just makes me laugh everytime...really, really loudly :)

work space

I read a lot of blogs. Really, a lot. I always love when people post images of where & how they live. It is so great to see what makes people happy and what they like to have around day to day. I thought I would give you just a little glimpse of where I spend my day (when I am not photographing). This is my workspace and little details that help me get through the day, like my favorite flowers, clipboard schedule, brand new comfy office chair, my mac workhorse (I don't know how I worked without it!), and a couple flea market finds.
*That great photo is of my parents a few years ago ;) It is my favorite picture of them!

**I also have a few other spaces I plan to share (we finally painted & finished the kitchen!) Stay tuned!

Ziplining!

Ok, so I know I don't have room to say much, but anniversaries rock! Yesterday for our first year anniversary we went ziplining for over 2 hours at Hocking Hills with Hocking Hills Canopy Tours. We had soo much fun! We couldn't take many pictures - you basically go from one platform to another...so it wasn't the first thing in our mind, but we managed to get a few...Justin even got a little video of me. I actually edited the video, he really filmed his ride, but trust me, you'll be glad I edited it - for starters, the camera was sideways because he had to let it hang. Anyway, here are a few pictures from our trip. By the way, we completely recommend this to everyone! Really, anyone can do it...when we arrived there was a group of 3 or 4 ladies in their 70's that had just gone. ***disclaimer - I am not saying that is old - just saying that it's for all ages! Ok, back to the photos. Meet Adam & Jonathon...are awesome guides!Here we go:

ziplining from Cassidy Dawn on Vimeo.
If you decide to go, let me know - and I hope you do. It's actually rated one of the top things to do in Ohio. Oh, and if you need another person... ;)

print those photos!

I think it is so important to surround yourself with good thoughts and memories...a good way to do this - photos! I think it's so great to have photos everywhere, surprise, surprise :)
I just got some of my wedding photos printed for a big wall arrangement I have been aching to do for soo long, so I thought I would give you a peak inside our house full of photos. It's *so* great to be in a house where we can hang things on the wall...I am such a happy girl!

*no judging the wall paper...not my choice! it may be gone come spring ;)
Every time I walk by this wall I smile...I love my wedding photographs (photography by the fabulous Melanie Mauer).A few 8x10's weren't going to cut it on this mantle in the bedroom...I found these great frames in Kmart (remember that story) for just $10! I knew all along with photo would be in it...I love how it turned out! Moral of the story, don't be afraid to print your photos. The bigger the better, and how great is a big collection on one wall?! Love it!

we're back!

That's right, I'm back from Kentucky...and yes, you read right...we're back! Not only am I back, more exciting is that tonight is the season premiere of The Office! So great! We are even having pizza night in honor of it!
So to all you fellow office fans, enjoy the show!
*and to those who aren't...are you kidding me?!
*yes, I realize how old this picture is...it's the first one I found.

3-D wall flowers!

The ever fabulous, Emilie Duncan (all-star Columbus Wedding Planner!) blogged about these and I *love* them!!! I am just trying to figure out where they will work for me, but I think they are soo great!
Thanks for the find Emilie...I can't wait for our next lunch!

Wallflower 3-D Wall Decor

.love this.

I know I've bragged about Wonderful Graffiti before, but I found a new item tonight. Justin & I are planning to put a big quote on a wall in the farmhouse and I was looking on the site tonight and found these little gems. How great do they looked propped up on a mantel in a group, love it!










Here are a few more of my favorite things from the site:

love this.

I found this on Etsy (one of my favorite places to be online!) and love it! The poster was hung around England during WWII to remind people to keep calm in such a hectic time. I think it is a great reminder even today.
Plus, it is oh so stylish!

I plan to get a charcoal one to hang in our new place.

great internet find!

I was so excited when I stumbled on this site, I just had to share it with you all! Top Secret Recipes is a site with recipes of some of the yummy dishes at many popular restaurants! Sadly you do have to pay for the recipes, but to be honest, if you love the sweet potato chips at Cheeseburger and Paradise as much as I do...$0.79 is not bad!

Some of my favorite restaurants that they have are: Bonefish Grill, Buca Di Beppo, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Cheesecake Factory, Joe's Crab Shack, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, P.H. Changs, Red Lobster, Red Robin and Ruby Tuesday...these are just a few, there are tons more!

i love....

If you are looking for a place to spend some time on the Internet, head over to Paper-Source. It is one of my favorites, there are so many great items on this site. I also love paper, and this is the best place for me to find it. The color choices are fabulous (ps collection), I use them as a template anytime I am designing something! That is how I came up with the colors for CDP!
You can find some of the stationary at local stores. One in particular is Paper Thread in Columbus (located in Polaris Fashion Place). It is one of my all time favorite stores and I can't wait till my next visit!
Have fun browsing!

don't toss them yet!

My sister is so sweet and bought my other sister & I flowers as a thank you for her bridal shower. They were so beautiful and lasted over a week, but when I came back from a weekend away, a few of them were looking pretty bad. The iris & belles of Ireland had seen better days...but the rest were fine! So instead of tossing out the whole thing, or just getting rid of the bad ones, I split them all up into different vases and now have arrangements throughout the house! On the side is a sad photo of the large arrangement she gave us...I forgot to take a picture of it :( , and below is what I turned them into! Just wanted to share my little tip for the day; hope all is well!

Schoolhouse Electric Co.

I found this site while browsing one day and *loved* their products. I am a sucker for antiques and I love the look of these lights. Head over there and browse around, I am sure you'll find one you like. And hey, the colors are so CDP friendly!
Schoolhouse Electric Co.

come on, it's just an hour!

This Saturday, March 29th, from 8pm to 9pm is Earth Hour 2008- businesses and homes all around the world will turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances to promote electricity conservation. Last year, Earth Hour Sydney is estimated to have cut Sydney's mains electricity consumption by between 2.1% and 10.2% for that hour, with as many as 2.2 million people taking part.
I'll be taking part, will you?

*Thanks to Laura for the info!

for a smile.

this makes me smile no matter what.

an easy project

To start things off, I want to apologize for the lack of posting; I caught a yucky bug over the weekend and was a bit out of it. Anyway, I am back and feeling better now, so I thought I would share a super quick project I did to tidy up our fridge.

Justin and I had a few pictures from our wedding on the fridge and noticed they began to curl up a little. Well, not wanting them to get ruined, I came up with a solution. I know, easy right, get those magnetic plastic photo holders, or the super cute frames. My problem with these were, I didn't like how the photo fit into the plastic (too much around the edges), and I really didn't want to spend much money on the project (those photo frames can get pricey).

So I just got a package of the plastic magnetic photo holders (3 4x6's for $2 at hobby lobby), then I picked up a few pre-cut mats (around $1 each), then just stuck them together. *colored mats could look really great too.

I know what you are saying, "did you really just write an entire blog post about this silly project", answer - yes, I even took pictures.


picture magnet:
pre-cut mat:
almost there: *I would suggest putting the picture in before adhering the mat, it is easier to get in and you can hide parts of the picture if you want.
result:
I promise to have more interesting posts soon.
*Note: I do actually really like what they look like and just wanted to share.