edit addiction...

This is for my fellow photography enthusiasts...
you will be able to appreciate the natural occurrence
that overcomes you to edit-baby-edit, when you view your
images straight out of the camera. It happens to me always.
I can no longer look at a photo without the thought of
how to make it better, cooler, funkier, softer, textured, or pretty.

Don't get me wrong... I love, love, love capturing the images,
but it's the editing that is the most fun. To me, it's like a "blank
canvas", per se, each time.

Here let me show you how fun it can be...


This is a photo of me and my baby taken a couple
of weeks ago at the Arboretum by my homegirl.
We were out there getting some Fall/pumpkin/family
shots of P Pie, because she's turning one very soon,
and of her Uncle (that's my baby boy... ha ha, confused yet?)
because he's turning two next month.

Oh so sorry, we were talking about photography
and editing, not my family tree. I do that sometimes...
get off track.

Now where was I?

Oh yes... This is the SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) image.
My homegirl did good with centering us in front of the waterfall.
Although, my camera has a tendency to shoot a little on the dark side.

And what the heck? What was that white fuzzy
thing in my hair? Geez... so typical for me.


First thing was first...
I cropped the image, then removed the white fuzzy thing.


Next, I ran "Lighten Brighten" from Flora Bella's Action Sets...
There, that brightened things up a bit.


Then it was time for "Soft Color Pop from the Flora Bella collections...
This is one of my favorites from the collections but it made
this image a little too yellow. But I know how to fix it...


Pioneer Woman's "Cooler" action from Set 2
does wonders for red and yellow tones...
I use this one a lot. Especially on my food photos
when shooting in unnatural light while cooking after dark.


And lastly, I did a little airbrushing...
just to smooth things out and give a softness to us.

All that took only a couple of minutes.

But I couldn't stop there...

It's an addiction I tell ya.

My name is Rolo and I'm a Photoshop addict.

some of my favorite things from the weekend...

My baby homegirl's Homecoming shoe with her date's...


Being silly in formal wear...

Finally getting to wear my new vintage boots...


A sign at the Dallas Zoo... Love this! Love the "details"! ha ha ha...

And finally getting to see Jenny (she's the one on the left
with her trunk up) in her new, well deserved
and long over due, new habitat.
It made my heart happy for her. *sniff*

I'll have more fun details about each one later...
Hey, did you happen to catch which dress my homegirl chose?

Be back tomorrow...

billy...

On our last night in Port A, which was three weeks and one
day ago now, we took the family on a sunset dolphin cruise.


Where we met Billy (I'm pretty sure that was his name),
the first mate, aboard the Mustang out of Woody's.


Billy is a pretty cool guy.
He told us stories... one in particular of
how he came to be missing an eye and half of
one of his first fingers.


And here's the reason why...
They caught a shark and the sucker's
tail came around and whacked Billy in the eye
and made it fall out. Then, it bit his finger half off.
So, Billy decided he would keep the sucker's jaws!
Wow! What a story.


Billy also gave us a crash course in Marine Biology...
but how could you focus on what he was saying
after the story he just told while looking at his eye.

Ahhh... I do remember he said this was a blue crab.
Of course, the fact that it's blue didn't matter one bit. ;)
Oh, and check out his missing finger... he had a face tattooed on it!

And this one here is a female... you know how I remembered that?

Because she's expecting... as in baby crabs.
Awwwww...

She was shy.

Baby boy was captivated by it all...

And then he showed me how he really felt.

I hope you're enjoying your week.
We've got some exciting things happening around mi casa...
I'll share details with you soon.
xo
rolo

a lesson learned...

We bought a new umbrella stroller for our vacation...
didn't think the jogging stroller would pack very light.

JB put the new stroller together the night before we left,
then packed it in the car.

I had never really touched the new stroller before this day.
Typically, I'm not good with stuff like remotes, dvd players,
gadgets, phones... and new strollers.

I handed my camera to my 14 year old homegirl so I could
collapse the new stroller after a little shopping the first day
of our vacation...

See how hard I'm concentrating.


Then I yell to JB, "UM, HOW DO YOU FOLD THIS THING UP"...

Ouch. Head hurts.

This is where I notice my sweet homegirl, one who would
never embarrass her super smart mother, has my camera
pointed in my direction...

Nice.

Yep. That was a lesson learned.

And, one more thing... who the heck told me those earrings looked good?
Oh, no one? Well, I loved them in the store when I bought them... they
are actually really pretty. Maybe I should try them with my hair up...
or not.

Woman of many faces...
rolo

perfect...

As we say good-bye to our charming little "Seashore Cottage",
and make our way to Austin for the weekend, I give you some photos
of our perfect last day in our ideal little vacation spot, Port A.

I'll share more after we get home.
Have a great weekend friends!
Much Love,
rolo

a first...

We traveled exactly seven hours yesterday.


We made approximately five pit stops.


It's been three years since we've been here.

It's our baby's first time.

xo
rolo

firecracker mac & cheese...

*faint*
I'm okay... It's just that I'm a huge, gigantic, enormous lover of mac & cheese.
Seriously, it doesn't matter if it's fancy, homemade, simple or from a box...
you put it in front of me, I'll eat it up. Mmmm... I'll even lick the fork!

Several weekends back, JB, baby boy, and I loaded up in our SUV
and made the trek to a cozy, hilly little town south of Nashville
to have a reunion with some of my dearest friends from high school.

It was peaceful,

gorgeous,

entertaining,

breathtaking,

and memorable.

There's nothing else in the world that can warm your heart
and soul like getting together with life long friends.


Well, of course, unless it's this.
My good friend, Tammy, served her mac & cheese
after a day of sun and swimming... Of course, it wasn't the only
dish she and her accommodating hubby served, but
it was the first one I tried... then I promptly asked for the recipe.


After returning home I had an uncontrollable urge to make it.
After an ingredient check of my pantry, I discovered I didn't
exactly have what Tammy had described... so, I improvised.

She used the creamy boxed Kraft Macaroni & Cheese... You know
the one with the foil packet of soft cheese you squeeze out.

I used two boxes of regular ol' Kraft Macaroni & Cheese... It's all I had.

She used an entire bag (2 cups) of Shredded Cheddar Cheese.

I used 8 ounces of Cream Cheese and about 3/4 of a bag
of Shredded Authentic Mexican Cheese...
And home toasted bread crumbs.

Oh, and I renamed it, "Firecracker Mac & Cheese" in honor of my dear friend.
Firecracker because it's the perfect summertime dish and it's got a little kick...
Not to mention, Tammy is quite the firecracker, blonde, bombshell herself...
and I love her.

Thanks for having us out... and thanks for sharing
your awesome shower and your mac & cheese!

*Firecracker Mac & Cheese*

2 boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese... prepared according to directions,
using a little extra butter and milk.
8 oz. cream cheese.
1 jar salsa... even a can of Rotel would work.
1 bag (2 cups) Your Favorite Shredded Cheese
1 cup home toasted bread crumbs... or even smashed croutons
would do in a pinch.

~Spray a baking dish with a non-stick spray.
~In a large bowl mix together the prepared mac & cheese, cream
cheese and salsa until blended.
~Pour into baking dish.
~Top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.
~Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Enjoy!

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings
they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!
~Thomas Jefferson