she cracks me up.

MeMe is hilarious. She's constantly making us laugh with her quirky sense of humor. Just the other day, I was bathing Lilly and MeMe, and out of the blue, MeMe says, “If I lived in south Asia and didn't have a dog, I would definitely want a dog.” Where do these things come from? ;)

photo challenge finalists and winner.
Oh boy. This is way, way overdue. I've been a bad blogger. I apologize! I had something super fun planned to announce this, but unfortunately, it didn't quite work out. Oops.

The finalists are Nicole, Sarah, Captivus, and Jaymi!

The winner?



Sarah! Congratulations, Sarah - you earned it. This photo is priceless...the look on the little girl's face is so adorable I could cry. Wait. That didn't make any sense. Never mind.

i love this weather.

These past few days the weather has been absolutely perfect. Highs in the seventies (a welcome change after all the below freezing weather before!), brilliantly blue skies, a shining sun – it's the best. And it doesn't help my spring fever at all – I keep on wishing that this wasn't just a warm spell and that spring was really here to stay. But, alas, it's January and winter will be back in full force soon. Sigh.

dreaming of spring. by carlottacisternas featuring glass shades

polyvore.

I've recently discovered Polyvore (I know...a little late) and I'm in love. I adore being able to create outfits with pieces from a myriad of stores all in one place. My current favorite fashions are light skirts (no longer than knee length), belts (mainly waist), pretty sandals, light pink nail polish, and aviator shades. I think I've encompassed these loves pretty well above, in my latest – and so far only – creation...I'm loving the skirt. And the clutch. And the sandals. And everything else. ;)

What are some of your favorite clothing pieces of the moment?

new shades.

I said I was loving aviator shades...here's proof. Yes, I finally bought a pair. And I don't care if I look ridiculous wearing them - I like them and that's enough. Right? Right. ;)

photography tip.

Experiment in the manual modes of your camera! When I first got my DSLR, I made a promise to myself not to get stuck in automatic modes and jumped straight to manual. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. I can't tell you how many people I've come across that lament they wished they knew how to get out of the auto mode on their DSLR. So, my friends, I highly encourage you to take the leap if you haven't already!

do you like my new header?

I know, I know, I can't keep things the same for more than a month. I switched out some of the pictures in my header...I do so like little changes like this. What do you think?



etsy love.
(left to right, top to bottom, starting at top left)

1. augustyn slouchy knit hat
2. berry good raspberries
3. ophelia portrait illustration
4. pink clutch
5. diana camera moleskin pocket notebook
6. eyeglass case

in love with reading.

I'm a reader. When I was younger, I would always be the one with my nose stuck in a book. In fact, when I was in kindergarten and it was play time in our classroom, I would sit by myself reading. My teacher talked to my parents about it because she [the teacher] was worried I wasn't “getting enough interaction”. Heh.

When I discovered blogging, reading took a bit of a back seat, but lately I've picked up this hobby again. There's nothing I love better than curling up with an enthralling book and reading the hours away.

Are you a reader? Also, do you have any good book recommendations? I would greatly appreciate it :)


Have a lovely weekend! I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather...


-carlotta

Am I the only one...

...that upon seeing these perfectly lined rows of delicious filled cookies...

...does a happy dance?

Then who else promptly breaks them apart (Always the non-creme side first, then the creme side for me - how do you eat your Oreos?)...

...and photographs them before allowing themselves the indulgence of eating one...

...but then gives into temptation and takes a bite (I reassembled it for this shot)?

Wait! Before you put the package away, crush one or eleven cookies and sprinkle them over your (chocolate) ice cream. Oh yes. That's what I'm talking about. Sweet goodness.

And no, I haven't been on an Oreo kick lately. Why do you ask? ;)

What's one of your favorite packaged treats (read: unhealthy store bought indulgences)?

-carlotta

Y'all, I'm such an idiot...I meant for this to publish much earlier but I accidentally set the date wrong. *facepalm* Sorry!

Have I ever mentioned that I love this girl? Because I do. A lot. I know I'm biased, but she manages to look cute in pretty much everything, including a stolen pair of my mom's glasses. Ahem.







<a href="http://pastorsgirlsponderings.com/"><img src="http://imgur.com/AS92y.jpg"/></a>

Is there a photo that makes you happy? One that warms your heart or tells a funny story? One that puts you on cloud nine? Here's your chance to share it! 

Just put up a post on your blog containing one photo that you've taken. You can add as much or as little text as you would like along with it. After writing your post, come back here to link up - you have until Thursday at 9:59pm CST to do so. Don't forget to link back to me so others can join in, whether it be via the above button or a link. :) And remember to visit others' photos as well! 
-carlotta
PS Photo challenge finalists and winner will be posted soon!

Have you been wondering where I was? (Or maybe not. I realize y'all actually have lives, unlike me. Ha.)

Me too. 

Note: I don't mean to flaunt this to get sympathy - I'm simply stating facts.

You may have seen that I was sick this past week - thank you for all your well wishes on my last post! I couldn't stand listening to music, not even my favorite songs, movies barely held my attention, the neat freak in me, unfortunately, left, my appetite was nonexistent, and thus deprived me of whatever energy I had remaining, photography held no spark, and blogging was a chore. Not to mention I was burning up with fever and had a horribly sore throat.

All I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep. And sleep some more. To be quite honest, it was awful.

But sleep I did. Y'all, I was sleeping twelve hours a day plus multiple hour long naps. And I was still tired. I was like a character in the book The Hungry Caterpillar (Anybody else love that book to death?). Except I didn't want food, and I wanted to blog even less. I just wanted sleep - lots of it.

With all this lackluster melancholy surging through my veins, I decided to take a break, something I'd been anticipating and needing for a long time. A much needed break to replenish, renew, and rejuvenate the crevices of my brain with whatever creativity previously lurked in its depths. 

I'd known I needed a short hiatus since the middle of last week, but I was too scared to stop posting for more than a day, too scared that my numbers would dip far too low for my liking. The last time I took a break longer than twenty four hours was before spring of 2010. That thought shocked me. Was I really so consumed with all this that I didn't dare leave my blog alone for more than a day?

(I found a cure for the number problem. Just don't check your stats. Genius, eh? ;) Works like a charm.)

But when I could barely form coherent sentences while writing my last post - let alone make the words flow smoothly - I realized I need some time to think. Some time without any pressure. Just some time to reevaluate and reprioritize my life.

The break worked. And guess what? The world didn't end.
Sometimes all it takes is a little break and one good punch of inspiration and suddenly so many ideas fill your head - one of the most rewarding feelings when it comes to blogging.
The break was a win win all around - I proved to myself that I really could leave blogging alone for more than a day, I got my inspiration back, which means better posts for y'all to read. And while going without posting for three days may not seem like much to you, it's a milestone for me, something I'm proud of. It helped me realize that blogging really isn't everything. Sure, it's fun, but sometimes we all need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.

What do you do when you're lacking inspiration? Do tell!

-carlotta