Life in the Garden

I really think the beautiful thing about blogging is that there is amazing flexibility.  Sure, it might not be the best for my "blog stats" to take a month off, but I am continually asking myself if that is why I blog, or if I write because I love to.  It's because I love to.  :) So, I thought I'd give you an idea of just how I fill my time off the computer... My garden!  It is always a work in progress... which is why I really love spending my days outside.  I've been slowly adding this gorgeous rock and keeping things watered, which is especially challenging with our summer drought.  The raised beds house strawberries, a "salad bar", and raspberries.  We have a great pumpkin patch growing with a handful of different varieties, and the forest behind the pumpkins is my crazy tomatoes.  I started these from seeds this spring, and it has just been a banner year for them! 

And although the tomatoes have really been the stars of the garden, I also had a nice crop of sugar snap peas, green beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, watermelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, eggplant, carrots, and peppers.  We have had so much fun getting dirty in our garden this summer!
... and flower gardens are always fun to tame...
... and of course, enjoying Montana style recreation.  


Hope you've had a lovely summer as well!!

Puppy Love

There is nothing quite sweeter than a nice puppy.  Indy is my sister's pup, and the kids and I just loved spending time with him!  He was a little wary of swimming in the lake, but enjoyed playing with the little ones... especially when they had treats to share!


Check out other great pet photos at I Heart Faces!

Enjoying life...

Sisters make summertime so sweet.

Check out the other enjoying life submissions at I Heart Faces, and enter your own!

Hey Girl!

Three pretty ballerinas waiting patiently for their recital.  They went on to do wonderful renditions of The Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl" and "Hit the Road, Jack".  Adorable overload!  Growing friendships is just about the sweetest thing to witness.  It's important to have your girls!

Check out the other Hey Girl entries at I Heart Faces!


Happy Tuesday!

Happiness

Happpiness is making a birthday wish!

My sweet niece Sadie Mae on her third birthday.  We love you sweetie!

Check out I Heart Faces for all the other fabulous submissions!







snow bunny {clickin' it}

One of my snow bunnies, taking a break from sledding to relax in the snow bank!

Check out the other beautiful black & white images at i heart faces, and submit your own favorite image in their new monthly challenges!  I love the new format!

around the ranch... {clickin' it}

Blessed with our lives on the ranch, especially with special twin baby calves that need feeding...

... and ice that needs chopping.

Hope you have a very lovely Thursday, too!  :)

puppy love {i heart faces}

Ahh, the love of a sweet pup named Leroy.  He's our 5 year old Kelpy, who would much rather stay home with me and the girls than be out as a working cattle dog, but we don't mind.  In fact, he's very welcome on our adventures outside, to scare out and away whatever might be in our backyard:  rattlesnakes, coyotes, raccoons, porcupines, skunks... but he also loves chasing birds.

Do you have a pup who stole your heart?

{this week you can link up your photo theme of "hugs and kisses" to i heart faces!  see you there!!}

horsey hearts {clickin' it}

My sweetie and her horsey, who's been by her side since she was a baby.  Oh, how we love our Horsey.

Sending a little love this Valentine's Day to you and yours.  

{want to make your own heart bokeh?}

Red Barn Scrapbook {handmade camera straps}

I am so excited to introduce you to my favorite location for all things photography:  Red Barn Scrapbook!

Whether it's a handmade wristlet strap for a point and shoot...

... or a ruffled camera strap {how about this adorable Minnie Mouse variety?} for your dslr camera, Red Barn Scrapbook is a shop filled to the brims with handmade eye candy! 

Kim, the creator of these fabulous strap, brings a great uniqueness to the world of handmade camera straps, with some quilted, some ruffles, some fabric flowers, and the fabric itself is fantastic!  I love this Farmer in the Dell camera strap!

One of the chances of ordering handmade is the quality.  Well my friends, the quality from Red Barn Scrapbook is outstanding!  My camera goes through quite a bit of tugging and meeting the outdoor elements, and this little baby has been incredible!  And don't you worry about having to wait to receive your pretty camera strap... Kim's turnaround time is extremely fast!  She'll have you stylin' in no time!

Along with the fab camera straps and wristlets, Kim also creates beautiful digital scrapbooks with Heritage Makers.  How cute is this valentine's letter art?  Stay tuned for more greatness from Heritage Makers! :)

Seriously... I am in LOVE with these!  They are like mini-quilts for your camera!  Since they are so easy to get on and off, I'm thinking my camera needs one for every season!  :)

Don't you love my pink beauty?  It's super comfortable, with incredibly strong seams, and I love how it's an actual strap -- not just a cover!  How cute is that label too!  {Plus, have you ever experienced a plush minky on a camera strap?  It's heaven-sent!}

You can't get much better than this! :) 

And YOU CAN WIN ONE TOO!  The very sweet Kim is offering a camera strap of the winner's choice to a very lucky reader of The Ivy Twines!  Yay!

{click "read more" to enter the giveaway via rafflecopter!}

Poppy Tree Frames {grand opening and giveaway!}

Since you probably already know I'm a huge fan of anything that shows of your favorite photos with handmade unique frames, I'm so excited to help announce the grand opening of Poppy Tree Frames!  Let me show you a little eye candy...

Revery Frame - love this print and color!

 Eternal Frame... how cool is that?

And how about creating a gallery wall with these great Poppy Tree designs?  These are the new Nebula frames... I just love them!!

With 18 frame designs, 42 color choices, and 49 prints, you options are almost endless!  Think of all the fun ways you can dress up your walls!

The best part about Poppy Tree Frames is that they are extremely affordable and completely customizable to what YOU want!  Wouldn't one of these babies look gorgeous in your living room??

As part of their fabulous grand opening, they are offering up free additional frames with every order!  Orders over $100 get both a 4x6 and a 5x7 frame!  Such an awesome deal!

The awesome team over at Poppy Tree Frames is offering a free Strata frame for a lucky reader of The Ivy Twines!  Yay!!

Best Face Photo {clickin' it}

i heart faces has a Best Face Photo for 2011, and while it's hard for me to choose just one, I absolutely love this one of my 4 year old right after she gave herself a little hair cut.  It's just hair honey, it'll grow back! :)




January sunrise {clickin' it}

Happy Friday morning sunrise from me and my early bird sunshine.

Pumpkin fun {clickin' it}

Hope you and yours had a Happy Halloween! 

 We were a little on the late side with our pumpkin carving, but we still got ours done and glowing for Monday night! We visited grandparents to trick or treat, and snacked on pumpkin seeds to finish off our holiday celebration! Pretty low key! 

  What do you do to celebrate Halloween? :)

self hair cuts

My almost four year old cut her hair... again.  Actually, she cut her little sister's hair, just a trim, and then gave herself some pixie bangs for a trendy fall look.  :)

Have your kiddos ever taken the scissors in their own hands?  Do share!!

Happy Friday, friends! :)  

friendships {i heart faces}

Where in this wide world can man find
nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle
And strength by gentleness confined
He serves without servility;
he has fought without enmity.
 There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient. 

Ronald Duncan, "The Horse," 1954

bloom and grow {clickin' it}

Happy Friday!  Hope you all had a very lovely week!

I'm getting caught up and cleaning up emails and posts, getting organized for a fabulous fall!

{if you want to be featured this fall, shoot me an email!  we'd love to have you!!!}

In photography related news, I've been browsing an awesome site geared for moms {and dads too} who are eager to learn more about their click happy habit!

Plus, she's hosting a Shutter Buddies giveaway, and we all know I love my Shutter Buddies!

And I just loved the recent post on organizing photos.  Brilliant!  {plus she's sporting a super cute baby bump!}

Anyway -- we're planning a trip to Bozeman for their super popular farmer's market!  I'm so excited, and the girls are too!  I may even get to see Miss Maranda... and she's crafting up super cute skirts these days, along with her handbags!

What's on your agenda this weekend? 

Enjoy!! :)