taura horn photography – branding

 

i recently had the pleasure of helping my sister of taura horn photography with new branding for her business. i really love how her logo turned out, girly but has a bit of an edge, just like her. taura was born during a time when my parents were rather… hippie… and her astrological sign, taurus, was the inspiration for her name. i incorporated the taurus sign, the bull, into the logo and gave the typography an astrological aspect with the “A’s” and the “O”. i created a mood board for her so that she has a good foundation to stretch her brand throughout different platforms. i designed patterns and gave her a color palette to work with. i love the way the logo works with her photography style too. go to her site and you will see, her work speaks for itself. thank you taura for letting me to help you – it was so much fun!

pumpkin carving

 

last night we carved pumpkins, and although bastian had a low fever, he dug right in. brian and i carve pumpkins every year together and we tend to get a little competitive about whose pumpkin is better 🙂 of course i always think mine is better! haha! i am so excited for tomorrow to take bastian around our neighborhood trick-or-treating in his dragon costume. he is not going to have clue what is going on, but he will be excited when he takes his first bite of a snickers! i have so many found memories of halloween… maybe it was because we never had candy in our house… anyways, my sisters and i would come home and spread our candy all over the living room floor and sort out what we liked (chocolate for me please) and what we didn’t like (skittles and fruity candy no thanks) and trade with each other. i always loved my costume and never wanted to take it off. bastian likes his dragon costume too! he has little toenails on his feet that he likes to look at while he walks. when he puts it on, he knows he is something pretty special 🙂 i hope everyone has a happy and safe halloween!

month by month: 18 months

 

bastian is 1.5 years old today. it’s really bitter-sweet because although i love to see him grow and learn, i do miss that sweet little baby that would sleep in my arms. he has changed so much in the past 6 months, it’s unreal. here are some of the awesome and not so awesome things he is doing these days:

• he is talking quite a bit more, not all words are recognizable but he sure knows what they mean.
• he loves to help with chores and tasks throughout the day. throwing things away, wiping up messes, putting toys away and cooking.
• he climbs everything, so nothing is off limits anymore. nothing.
• he throws tantrums sometimes… it’s hard not to laugh sometimes… poor guy, life is tough.
• he loves hockey. he has been to one hockey game but any time it comes on tv he goes and gets his shovel (hockey stick) and says “ha-e, ha-e”, brian is pretty proud.
• he is obsessed with thomas and friends. why??? this show is so bad!
• he’s a good sleeper and eater – his favorite foods are hummus, yogurt, cheese, spaghetti and popsicles.
• he loves to be outside, so with colder weather approaching it makes me a little nervous.

overall bastian has been the light of my life this past year and a half. we have good days and bad days, but when he gives me a hug, a kiss and says mama my heart bursts. he really is such a special lovable guy.

life lately

1. bastian, bastian and more bastian
2. bastian’s first trip to red mango. he loved it of course 🙂
3. this little guy loves to collect things. acorns are plentiful at the park and he loves to hoard them.
4. popsicles are his new obsession. he calls them “pie” and they consist of water and a dash of apple juice. they are helping with his canine teeth. bastian also loves to put on shoes, it doesn’t matter if they are 10 sizes too big either.
5. bastian’s first hockey game. he loved it! he got to hang out with his aunt tasha which he always loves too.
6. i recently celebrated my 30th. brian threw me a fun surprise party with all my friends and family. he is really good at surprises – he sure must love me lots.

life has been good to me this fall. being 30 sure doesn’t feel much different either. i recently bleached my hair white blonde which has taken some getting used to but i am pretty excited about it. i have been working on bastian’s halloween costume… it’s the cutest thing ever. we are going to go as these two. i can’t wait to share! what is everyone being for halloween? because i know everyone loves this holiday as much as me right?

guest post: halloween costume ideas – charlie chaplin

 

second to last post for the halloween costume ideas series on parentsavvy.com. i love this one too, charlie chaplin! make sure to have your kids practice being a silent movie actor by not talking… how lucky are you?! check it out here!

guest post: halloween costume ideas – hamburglar & a hamburger

 

i have another cute halloween costume idea over on parentsavvy.com. make a couples costume of the hamburglar and a hamburger. check out how to make this costume here.

 

guest post: halloween costume idea – moonrise kingdom

 

another adorable halloween costume idea i created for parentsavvy.com. i love the movie moonrise kingdom so much. the two main characters are just so awesome. if you haven’t seen the movie, you must watch it now. check out how to create this adorable duo here.

guest post: halloween costume ideas – oompa loompa

i have a guest post over at parentsavvy.com today! i am making a series of fun halloween costume ideas for you or your kiddos that i am sharing with parentsavvy.com. first up is a oompa loompa! check it out here.

guest post: bastian’s favorite toys

 

i have a guest post over at parentsavvy.com. check out bastian’s favorite toys here! also, parentsavvy.com has revamped their website, make sure to check it out! they have a new mobile version which is great for mom’s and dad’s on the go!

pumpkin patch

this weekend we took a family trip to a little pumpkin patch near us. bastian had a blast. he loved the corn maze and corn sand box. it felt like a true fall day – a little breezy but the bright sun helped keep us warm. i have so many fun memories from childhood of going to the pumpkin patch. i hope that bastian loves fall and halloween as much as i do… i have dressed up every year since i was a kid. who wouldn’t be obsessed with a holiday where you can be a princess, witch, movie character, bat, or ghost AND get more candy than you can eat?? exactly, i know he will love it 🙂