My New Old House

If you follow the blog at all, you know that the past six months we’ve been settling into our new-old house.  A lovely home built in the late 1940′s that we are lucky enough to own.  I love the original chandeliers, the gorgeous oak floors, the old doorknobs.  The character of an old home is hard to copy…if possible at all. We searched high and low for a home that would fit our family and couldn’t be happier.  The previous owners put a lot of love into some serious renovations – all new plumbing, electric, windows, cabinetry, countertops, hardware…you name it.  Perfect for hubby and me as we’re not serious DIYers.  Lately though, I’ve been itching to make my mark on this new-old house.  The winter chill has driven us indoors and when you sit (and edit photos) all day and stare at the walls, you start to notice things.  hehe.  I’m pretty serious about repainting our kitchen cabinets and “restoring” the previous reno.  The cabinets, while new, are currently plain maple – very Ikea, sleek, modern things.  I’ve been scouring the internet watching tons of video, reading a ton of DIY blogs, getting WAY ahead of myself on project ideas, and otherwise sorta obsessing.

Here are some of my favorite sites and blogs I’ve discovered in my hunt for beautiful inspiration and great DIY.

LOVE Houzz - if you have an iPhone and don’t own this App, you’re missing out.  It’s like a fun home magazine at the touch of your finger.

Centsationalgirl  – really great step-by-step design ideas for a budget

My mom has forwarded me several fun posts from this source: Miss Mustard Seed (she’s in the process of redoing her kitchen, so I’ve been interested in these posts a lot!)

I also love and have only recently discovered:

Bower Power

The Inspired Room

At the Picket Fence

Recaptured Charm

I’ll be waiting til the snow melts and the weather warms to really tackle the particular job of painting the cabinets, but I hope to tackle some smaller projects soon.  We shall see!

Grapes Still Life | Amarillo Fine Art Photography

Lately I’ve been loving looking at lots of food blogs and seeing all the gorgeous food styling and photography. I have played with this in the past and am drawn to the classic still life.  Layered and textured, everything always looks so sumptuous, extravagant, and delicious.  Today has been cold and snowy and with nowhere to go, I captured these frozen beauties (and ate one….or two…or three) along with some diminutive pears, an antique gardening book, a vintage-look towel from World Market, and an antique silver tray.  I am loving my deep brown paint color we chose for our dining room walls;  it’s a great old-world look backdrop.  I carefully arranged the grapes and accessories (I put them in the freezer last night to give them the frosted look for this morning).  I love the effect and they’re yummy to boot.  Who doesn’t love eating the props as a treat afterwards? haha.  Having a hard time deciding which I like the best.  I may release all three to my Etsy shop as a series and let my clients pick!  What do you think? Which do you prefer?

Amarillo Senior Photography | Bethany Fields Photography

It’s that time again!  The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and graduation is looming!  I am accepting appointments now for my senior sessions!  My FAVORITE!! Sessions are for up to two hours of on-location photography, up to four clothing changes, and up to four locations!  Email me to get rates and availability.

EtsyObsessed

So yeah. It’s official. I’m Etsy obsessed. Again. Back in the olden days of 2007-2010 I had a major love affair when I created my unique line of felt jewelry/hair clips for little ones (called Annie and Olive). I had so much fun making tons of little happy things and Gillian still wears her own personal collection of Annie and Olive. She was and is the original “Annie” after all! I decided to close it down in 2010 due to personal reasons, mostly out of a desire to further my photography business and career and focus on my family.

Three years later and I’m back in the game. I’ve had my photography/art shop there for a long time but have seldom updated it or really paid it much attention. I’m making it a goal this year to increase my online presence in the fine photography/art world so…enter Etsy! Again! So much has changed in my three year hiatus. Increased technological advances on the site, so many improvements, SOOOO many sellers. I’ll be posting my listings here on the blog, on my facebook page, and on my twitter page. Please come and check them out!

Fresh Start | Amarillo Texas Artist & Photographer

Live Creatively by Bethany Fields

 

Happy February 7th!  I’m excited to be back to blogging after taking the month of January off.  And maybe a lot   of 2012 actually.  So much was and is going on that blogging generally took a huge backseat.  (Really, it took the bus – to another city – on another planet).   I won’t go on and on about busy; I know you all know what that’s like and thank you for sticking with me anyway and always being so kind and supportive.  We’ve been weathering newness and settling into routines…trying to give the three little ones (Well, two little ones.  One, not so little anymore)  normalcy while also uprooting them from old schools and the known.

Throughout all of this, I have been working hard lately to update my online presence.  I’ve been updating my sadly neglected Etsy shop and making it much, much happier.  In an effort to expand my business and my portfolio, I’ve been illustrating and playing with both mixed media and digital media.  I love it!  I’m hoping to add new artwork and photography everyday and with that, take some time to blog more consistently.  I think it’s a bit too late to make a New Years Resolution but oh well. Wish me luck!

T w e e t !