Ever After Contest!

I love a good contest, so its time to host one for my new Arizona friends. The prize-a FREE Ever After Lifestyle Family Session! To enter, put your session suggestion in the comment section of this post. I'm looking for the most interesting session-for example:

"We want pictures of our family while we fish together from our backyard" (if you happen to live on a lake).

or

"We would like you to photograph us during the Halloween season while the kids pick out pumpkins at the Pumpkin patch."

or

"I'd love to have photographs of my daughter at one of her soccer games."

The key to a successful Lifestyle shoot is that your family needs to be engaged in an activity together, it can be something exciting and fun, or relaxed, but the thing I'm not looking for is posed pictures at a park or in your home (although of course we'll get some of those, too). The activity needs to take place within 25 miles of Gilbert ,and can occur anytime within the next six weeks. You will get a free session and a CD of all final images, to print anywhere that you choose. This is a $300 value!

But wait, there's more...everyone who enters qualifies for an automatic 50% discount if you book the session that you describe.

This contest was super popular last year-I recieved dozens of entries and had an incredibly difficult time choosing the winner. Check out last years winning entry:

"We love Gruene, Texas. Prior to having kids, Jonah and I spent many weekends there listenting to live music and staying at the Gruene Mansion Inn for a mini-getaway. It is still a place we love to take the boys on Friday afternoons to listen to the sound checks at Gruene Hall or have a frosty beverage at the Grist Mill while the boys play in the open field. The kids love to get a scoop of ice cream or a candy stick from the General Store. So, I thought it would be fun to have a "Tour of Gruene" session, with pictures doing our favorite things there: dipping our toes in the river, eating ice cream on the stools at the General Store, playing pool with the boys and listening/dancing to music at the Gruene Hall, spinning under the stars in the open field by the Grist Mill, etc. I think it would be fun to celebrate our Texas roots with pictures with the boys in Gruene. "

And here is the slideshow from Marilyn's ultra-fab shoot:




The contest will run for one week, so get your Lifestyle Session suggestion to me by Monday, Sept. 27, 2009.

Good luck!

How to find what you want on Craigslist

I've been asked four times now how I find things on Craigslist. I admit, it was a bit intimidating at first because of how many items there are and how often things get posted, but now I've kinda got it down to a science. Keep reading if you are interested in scoring some fabulous finds for next-to-nothin'.

First, it helps to know exactly what you are looking for, otherwise you will be completly overwhelmed by the amount of items that are listed each day. One of my best purchases in recent months was the dining table and chairs that I am in the process of recovering and painting. When I logged onto the Craigslist site to begin my search, I already knew that I was looking for a sturdy dining set with at least 6 chairs for $200 or less. Here is how I did it:

Once on the site, I go straight to "Furniture" and then enter my parameters in the seach box at the top of the page. I make sure to look under "Furniture-by owner" and not "by dealer", because the dealer items are usually just put there to get you into their store, where they will typically tell you the item has been sold, but they have others for just a bit more $$. I don't have time to weed through all that foolishness, so "by owner" works for me. Next, under "search for" I enter "dining set," then I put $200 in the max price field, and finally check the "has image" box.

Now every post with "dining set" in the title or body of the post will be listed, and they will all have a picture (some better than others!) and all will be less than $200. I don't usually find what I'm looking for the first time or two, so I check back every day (or several times a day, LOL) until I see something that will work.

I then call the person who listed the item, and arrange a time to see it. Many times it has been sold by the time I call, in which case I go back and start again.

I've used Craigslist to buy a coffee table, an end table, a dryer, a dining set and a rug. I've sold a dining table, a dryer and given away boxes and paper after our move. I think it is the ultimate recycling venue and most certainly worth the time it takes to use. If you enjoy garage sales and flea-markets, you will love Craigslist. Try it and let me know how it goes.

Tutu Cute-Part Two

This morning, as I waited for my daughter M to finish up her pre-school class at the community center here in Gilbert, I saw a few adorable little girlie-girls skip out of their ballet class, pink slippers in hand. My heart squeezed at the sight of them-I adore ballerinas.

My first thought was that I wished I had my camera. I'd capture them walking hand-in-hand with their mommies, a little "slice-of-life" shot in black and white. But even if I had it with me, I couldn't get away with photographing the children of strangers.

So my second thought was a good one-it's time for another TuTu Cute Mini Session! It was a huge hit back in San Antonio, and now that the weather is starting to cool off I think Phoenix is ready.





Each Tutu Cute Mini-Session will last about one hour, giving us plenty of time to get a full range of fun, touching, and creative images.




The cost is $200, which includes the session fee and a CD of approximately 50 images which you can use to print, email, digitally enhance and share online with friends and family. As a mini-session client, you will also get a 10% discount off of the items in your personally designed Artisan Collection.




The session date has not yet been set, but I will only have four slots available so please don't hesitate to contact me for more information. Beacuse I am still new to the area, I'd love to hear from anyone who has a location suggestion! I can be reached at 210-602-1490 or email Leah@EverAfterbyLeah.com. Hope to hear from you soon!

White Painted Table-Part One

Oh my-its been a looong time since my last blog post. I don't know if its because I have too much to say, or not enough.

So far, I am loving everything about Arizona. I never thought I'd find another city with people as friendly as those in my hometown of San Antonio, but Gilbert seems to be the winner. We've made friends so quickly! I've gone to lunch twice with new friends, started walking every morning at 6 AM with one of them, and Heather, the mom of one of the cutest boys I've ever met, took M for the entire day on Friday so that I could have a day to myself. Is that awesome or WHAT!!!

So, what did I do all day long? I painted a dining table! I bought it just before we left Texas, along with 6 chairs that I plan to recover. The table was just the right size for our family, the chairs were sturdy and gorgeous, and the entire set was a steal at $200.

I have wanted a white dining set for ages. Check out some of my inspiration photos:

The chairs are pretty similar to these, except mine have a rattan back instead of fabric:

I love the detailing on this table, but it's a little too fussy for how we live:

This Pottery Barn table is fabulous:

Can you tell that I love pedestal based tables?

This table is the one I am trying to copy. It's a closeup of the Pottery Barn table above, but without the leaf. Note the creamy finish and the darker colored detailing. I really hope I can pull this off:

Here is my table:

You can't tell, but it has a double pedestal base:


A close look reveals the water damage:


And the stained fabric on the chairs:


I really believe I can fix those problems, and get the dining set of my dreams for under $300.

My first step was to sand the bad spots, then prime.


It wasn't necessary to sand the entire table, because the primer that I used, Zinnser's BullsEye 1-2-3, covers glossy surfaces. I did two thin coats, applied with a foam roller on the table top and a brush on the sides and legs.



So far, so good! Now that the table is primed, I'll let it cure for a week before painting with my color of choice-Valspar's Off White in a satin finish. Its a creamy and dreamy white, the color of melted vanilla ice-cream. When that's done, I'll post part two. Until then, we'll be eating our meals outside. Hopefully it doesn't rain at dinner time this week!