July 16, 2018

I started this draft 2 weeks ago and am just finding time to get back to it now! I really need to write up this post because Pennsylvania is becoming a distant memory and there are so many new experiences since then to blog about!

Pennsylvania was another super fun trip. It was quite different from Hawaii in that it was a more aggressive “travelling” trip and we spent a lot of time on the road, driving to different cities, and sight seeing. This of course was much tougher for Colton given that he was often stuck to his car seat whether it be in the car or in his stroller and we all know how much babies love their car seats, right? (lol) He dealt with it nonetheless and was a champ for the most part!

What I loved most about this trip was having Colton spend time with my mom and dad; the first Instagram story below is just the sweetest photo of all 3 of them! :)

stories01

stories02

We stayed in Allentown, which although was quite boring in itself, it was close to family we were visiting, so it was convenient :). We took day trips to Hershey Park, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Lancaster, Princeton being my absolute favourite. What a charming little gem; of course Colton and I had to have a mini photoshoot :P.

PrincetonwithbabywithtextF

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Here are some new prints featuring Princeton! This here was Albert Einstein’s home for the last 20 years of his life, 1935-1955. Pretty cool!

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This here is simply capturing the style of homes and greenery that lined the streets of this very charming city.

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And finally, a scenic drive through the Princeton countryside…

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Lancaster was also very interesting, particularly because of the Amish community. It is truly admirable how simply they live. Here’s Colton unimpressed with the stench of horse manure during our horse and buggy ride! It was also uncomfortably hot that day but I so adore those chubby cheeks when they get rosy :).

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And here are a couple of new prints featuring Amish Country in Lancaster:

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Philadelphia was groovy but not a place to really bring a baby, so we were only there for about half a day! This is Colton in Elfreth’s Alley; probably the cutest photo I’ve taken of him. That little face is just perfect!

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New prints featuring Philly:

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Another memorable trip in the books :). We MAY be taking another trip to California later this year; I’m crossing my fingers that we can make it happen. I love California!!

Upcoming Posts: new milestones for Colton and the daunting task of sleep training!

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 9:13 pm

Colton is 3 months old today, weighing 13 lbs. 14 oz! Someone slow down the clock, please. It’s also my 31st birthday, yay! Age is just a number – I still feel like I’m 20 ;).

This photo captures much of my days that are spent playing, laughing, and babbling with this sweet boy resting snuggly on my legs. One day he’ll be too big to sit with me like this, but ’til then, it’s a date every day!

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The last 2 weeks have been somewhat of a transformation. It’s the first time I’ve felt like I have a good handle on the baby; that I know him well now. It took 3 months but I understand most of his cries and needs and can respond confidently and appropriately. The result is that crying is rare these days; as soon as the whimpers and whines begin, we already know how to respond. I’m enjoying him even more.

He has officially stopped cluster feeding, which he did for many weeks, wanting to nurse every 1-1.5 hours. Most days I didn’t mind it but some days I felt like my breasts were going to fall off. I thought it would never end but of course it did! He is also an extremely efficient feeder now. When he’s seriously nursing (vs nursing to sleep), he’s on and off within 10 minutes. LOVE IT! I thought the 45- to 90-minute feeds would never end either but of course they did, too!

Colton-12weeksv2

At night he is starting to consistently sleep 3-5 hour stretches – movin’ on up in the world here! When he sleeps longer than 3.5 hours, I find myself waking up to my internal clock a bit dazed, confused, and even worried: “What happened?” :P It’s something to get used to!

His naps are like clockwork: 3x a day ranging from 1-2.5 hours each. I have a little secret: I let him nap on his tummy. I realize it’s not recommended for safe sleep in Canada but both my hubby and I were raised sleeping on our tummies (not just for naps but at night, too) and as long as I am always watching the babe, I feel 100% comfortable with it! I’ve found that he loves being on his tummy; he doesn’t startle easily and sleeps beautifully, so I treat him to tummy naps during the day. :) By the way, the kid sleeps through noise like it’s going out of style; he’s out like a light even with a vacuum turned on right next to him. Plain awesome.

ColtonDaddy

We are leaving for Hawaii on Sunday morning at 6AM. It’s our first trip together as a family and I am both nervous and excited at the same time. My biggest fear is the 10-hour flight, which is quite long for an infant, so I am crossing my fingers that we get through it without any major trouble! Lately he’s been explosive pooping up his back getting everything everywhere on himself and his clothes. Not a fun scenario on a plane, lol. But I am excited because we are going at a time when we feel we have a good handle on him. He has become a truly good, easy, and somewhat predictable baby at this point, so he is right where he should be for taking his first trip :).

We’ve solidified a loose bed time routine over the past 2 weeks and it’s been working nicely. We’ve reduced the time it takes to put him to bed from 2 hours to 1.5 hours :P. It’s unfortunate though that all of this progress will be tossed in Hawaii with the 6-hour time difference! I’m hoping it’s not too big of a challenge to re-establish the routine when we return.

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And while we’re in Hawaii, there will be a bathroom renovation taking place in our home :P. How’s that for multitasking! It’s one of the last renovations we are taking on and one that I am quite excited about for 2 reasons: 1) It is for Colton, especially as he grows up and starts to bathe in a real tub and 2) I’m going to go ahead and say that after renovating pretty much our entire house inside and out, we are experienced renovators now and know how to manage these projects effectively without tears and all sorts of drama. Yup, many of our earlier renovation projects brought me to tears, mostly because of nightmare contractors. No more of those! I’ve been dying to design and decorate a bathroom so I can’t wait to share pictures :).

Last but not least, a new print below! Spotted this teeny tiny home standing in solitude among Utah’s great big rocks. I thought it looked beautiful.

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That’ll be all for now! Life is sweeter than it’s ever been and I give thanks to my God for all that he has given us.

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 5:07 am

Colton is 6 weeks old today! Here he is all bundled up after bath time. That face though!! He is growing so fast :(, I’m already missing these newborn days and they’re not even over yet. They’re just rapidly escaping me. A part of me wants him to stay this little forever; just little enough to hold him in my arms.

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In these past few days, I’ve noticed he has began to recognize who I am; that I am mom and mom is comfort and safety. He has started to ease up on the fuss during witching hours and those hours have gotten significantly shorter, and dare I say it: sometimes barely exists. He has been so sweet and so good and is just the best.

He is now weighing 10 lbs. 14 oz., still in the 50th percentile, and no longer fits into a bunch of his onesies. I’m trying to squeeze him into them to get 1 or 2 more wears, ha!

Last night while half asleep, I caught him roll from his back to his side. It took a second to sink in my sleepy, groggy head, and when it did, I was stunned. He went on to show off his fancy new trick while at the doctor’s today. Doctor says “oh my God, it’s too early.” I’ll take it! The little guy doesn’t waste any time (except for when he was late entering the world).

Breastfeeding has finally stabilized (I think)! No more surprises and it has been all around wonderful. I actually find it extremely rewarding. It sounds so simple because it’s something so natural but it’s hard work to get that milk supply up and running smoothly and when you get there, it’s plain awesome. You reap what you sow indeed!

He is getting his first set of vaccines in a couple of weeks and I’m quite excited to have them done only because I can start to feel more comfortable taking him to public places like the mall to go for little strolls. Can’t wait :).

Before I sign off, here are a few new prints!

This lovely Icelandic house on a hill…

iceland photography, icelandic house

This old shipwreck along the Pacific Coast… a little eerie with a whole lot of beauty… there is such a thing!

point reyes shipwreck

Dug through archives from 2010 and found this gem. An oldie but goodie.

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Back again soon! Xo.

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 12:06 pm
March 26, 2018

3 new prints to share :). Love sifting through our thousands of photos in our archives. It’s funny how we relentlessly take so, so, so many pictures when we travel but we really only have time to tap into 1-2% of the pile at most. So it’s always worthwhile to go back and tap into a little bit more. There are so many hidden treasures, like the ones here.

This was taken while driving through Route 66. So barren yet so beautiful. I absolutely love open landscapes. I find them therapeutic.

route 66 photography

This was taken while driving around Napa Valley; we literally chased this hot air balloon like little fools in our rental car until we got a great view of it :P.

hot air balloon photography

This was taken in Iceland. Mama and her babe; love that little lamb. Everything little is just so endearing. Wish all little things could stay little, right?

sheep photography, lamb photography

More and more to come. xo.

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 12:37 pm
September 17, 2016

Here’s a trailer parked and abandoned along the Arizona desert on Route 66. It appears wretched and uninteresting but if you just pause and take a closer look, it’s actually quite beautiful. :)

trailer on route 66

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 7:54 pm

How time flies. Next thing you know, the blog’s been untouched for 2 weeks! Started my day early today and found time to post something new. I hope you had a wonderful holidays! A great year awaits us all.

Every time I teeter through my lavender field photographs, I want to book a flight back to Provence. Simply too beautiful for words and images alone can’t quite do it justice.

lavender fields, provence, france, aristotle

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 10:57 am
December 23, 2015

Hope everyone is all geared up for Christmas! Best time of the year. Also a crazy busy time; been getting orders out the door faster than lightning. ;)

Home renovations are coming together!! Will share our progress in the new year with before and after pictures!

Here’s a new print of the glorious Italian countryside: Il Cipressino, in Pienza, Tuscany. Took us a little while to find this place, getting lost a few times, which I actually love because getting lost means ending up in places and hidden gems that were never on the itinerary. We found it in the end and boy was it gorgeous.

xoxo

Tuscany travel. tuscany art prints, tuscany travel, tuscany photography

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 5:22 pm

This, my friends, is the Tuscany that you’ve gotta see. I feel like if you don’t drive through the Val D’Orcia region, you miss this altogether!!! It’s just so beautiful and I’m so happy that I have hundreds more to share. :)

Happy halloween! Gotta go give out candy now!

tuscany photography, tuscany print, italy photography, landscape photography, landscape prints

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 6:57 pm

We’re extremely excited to announce our newest stockist, Chapters Indigo Canada, who now carries our art prints! My husband and I are huge fans and can literally spend hours in the store every time we go. They’re one of our favourite retailers in Canada and it just so happens that they’re also the perfect match for our art prints, so we’re simply thrilled. We’ve collaborated with them to create our Canadian Wanderlust Collection intended to celebrate the beauty and hidden gems in this country. The Canadian Wanderlust prints below are now available at the Chapters-Indigo Canada online store – each print is exclusively produced on extra luxurious, matte-finish, archival paper, so be sure to check them out! :)

NEVER BROKEN
Photographed in Prince Edward County, Ontario, this abandoned barn house stands in the middle of a vast field looking hauntingly beautiful.
old barn house with vintage love. print available at chapters indigo canada.

GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN
Photographed in Banff, Alberta, this majestic view of the great Canadian North is a little glimpse of heaven.
banff alberta, banff photography, banff art prints. print available at chapters indigo canada

BARNHOUSE SOLITUDE
Photographed on an Autumn day in Milton, Ontario, this red barn house rests in solitude in the middle of golden corn stalks.
old red barn photos. print available at chapters indigo canada.

GOLDEN COUNTRYSIDE
Photographed on a perfect summer day in Hamilton, Ontario, these haystacks sit perfectly on a farmer’s haven, glistening under the sun.
countrside landscape photography with vintage love. print available at chapters indigo canada.

FISHERMAN’S HAVEN
Photographed at the Toronto Harbourfront, this one’s for the fishermen whose second home is the deep blue sea.
fishing art, fishing photography, fisherman's art. print available at chapters indigo canada.

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN
Photographed in Banff, Alberta, this is a glimpse of Canada’s awe-inspiring, beautiful, ever-majestic rocky mountains.
Rocky Mountains, Banff, Alberta, Canada. print available at chapters indigo canada.

SUNFLOWERS BLOOM
Photographed in Burlington, Ontario, these sunflowers in full bloom are as bright and cheerful as can be on a sweet summer day.
sunflower photography, print available at chapters indigo canada..\

VANCOUVER MARINA
Photographed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the marina sits still and peaceful in the West coast sunset.
vancouver prints, vancouver photography, vancouver art, canadian wanderlust, canadian travel, travel canada, vancouver marina photo

WINDMILL WANDERER
Photographed in Bayfield, Ontario, this old Dutch windmill gives us a little taste of Holland in the Canadian countryside.
windmill dutch

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 11:22 pm
August 26, 2015

At the root of it all, I love photography because it forces me to see something beautiful in almost all ordinary things that most would just ignore or pass right by. You see it, you capture it, it’s yours, and now you’re in full control of bringing out that beauty for others to see.

tuscan landscapes, tuscany photography, tuscany print, travel art

Posted By Charlene Precious @ 10:08 pm