Learning something new

Hello Everyone!

Here are a few pictures that I applied Florabella Actions and Textures to.

They all have different actions and or textures applied to them.

I am sorry I didn't keep track of what I did either... next time I will. 

Keep in mind, these were dark pictures to start with and I am just learning how to do this.

Thanks to Tracey I learned how to apply textures yesterday.... Thanks Tracey!

I really can't wait to learn more about it.....

It is like painting a picture.

To make pictures bigger, please double click on the images.

This sweet little girl is my niece, she was one of the flower girls that day!

My nephew Joseph, the ring bearer

My nephew John, and his wife, Blaze

Margaret and Nicholas (my niece and nephew)

All of the above pictures had different florabella textures and or florabella actions applied to them.

Most of the pictures from that day were unfortunately dark like the picture of my niece at the bottom of this post....

On another note...

If you are interested in learning more about photography like I am, Lara Blair, 

also known as the Modern Prairie Girl, will be doing a week long tutorial on photography beginning 

Monday.  Lara's a talented photographer,

I can hardly wait to tune in on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Take Care,

Maria

How they looked before...

Random

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all having a great week.

I have a number of things to share with you in this post....

So be prepared it is very random....

I used a picture of dried lavender to try and break up each topic....

First off...

I received this french mustard jar in the mail last week from a good friend....

It was the inspiration behind my mantle redo.

I just love this sweet little jar!

I will have more pictures of my mantle on my blog next week, along with some other fall decorating pictures.

Speaking of Tracey I wanted to inform you about a book and a magazine that I bought from 

Tracey's online shop....

French Larkspur.com

The book is called Lev Vackert.

It was written by Ingela Brolings and Petra Eriksson.

Both girls have beautiful blogs....

Ingela is the author of the blog Inspiration I Vitt, and Petra is the author of the blog Ramantiskahem.

It is really a beautiful book.

It is almost 200 pages long, and is filled with so many decorating ideas. 

My friend Aina, from Modern Country, is featured in the book as well.

Congratulations Aina, your home is beautiful!

The book can be purchased in the U.S. at French Larkspur.com

The magazine I bought from Tracey is called Jeanne D' Arc Living.

I only discovered this magazine last spring.

I have been hooked ever since.

This fall issue I think is my favorite issue.

It is filled with beautiful fall decorating ideas.

To make images larger... double click on the pictures.

Susanne from the blog Me and Alice is featured in this issue.

She has the most beautiful home.

The magazine can be found at French Larkspur.com

On another note...

I wanted to congratulate Stanna.... 

Stanna is the winner of the Lee La La giveaway.

Lindsay would like to generously offer my readers a 20% discount to anyone who

enters Dreamywhites20 at checkout of her etsy shop...

The offer ends November 1st.

Lindsay's etsy shop is called

Lee La La.

Thank you Lindsay!

On a final note...

Cabbages and Roses is having their first giveaway on their blog....

They are giving away a pair of their handmade wellington boot socks.

They are knitted in England from organic wool from sheep raised on the H.R.H.

Prince of Wales' Duchy Farms.

Please be sure to visit Cabbages and Roses!

Don't you just love Cabbages and Roses!

Hope you all have a great week!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by!

Take Care,

Maria

A Chair Makeover

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to share a few pictures of my chair that I had recovered this summer.

In the picture below you can see what it used to look like.
The green chair in the corner~

I used to keep it wrapped with an antique sheet.

I had it recovered in one of my antique hemp linen sheets.

I really like how it turned out.

On another note....

I purchased some Florabella actions this last week!

Now I know what I have been missing out on all this time!

I used actions on all of the pictures in this post.

You can see both of these pictures have slightly different actions applied to them.

I can't wait to show you what  a difference they made on some pictures I took of my nephew's wedding.

I was so disappointed in how my pictures of the wedding turned out. 

However I was able to salvage a few of my pictures with the Florabella Actions.

They are well worth the investment!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Take Care,
Maria

Waiting for the leaves to change color

Hello everyone!

I want to say thank you to everyone who left me such encouraging comments on my last post.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have discovered the wonderful world of blogging!

You guys are the BEST!

Thank You!

I have some fall decorating ideas I want to share with all of you, however

I am waiting for the leaves around here to change color.
I found these branches up in the mountains a few weeks ago...

Hopefully I will soon have some better fall pictures for you.....

Onto another note....

Over the past couple of months I have received a number of inquiries about advertising on my blog.
After giving it much thought, I have decided
I will be making room for advertising on the top right side of my blog, starting  November 1st.
I will have a limited amount of spaces....
So if you are interested in advertising on my blog you can email me at
losttrailranch@hughes.net

Hope you all have a great week!
Take Care,
Maria

Romantic Prairie Style~Fifi O'Neill

Fifi O'Neill just revealed the book cover for her new book, Romantic Prairie Style!

Fifi, not only wrote the book, but was also the stylist!

All the photography in the book is by Mark Lohman.

I can hardly wait to get the book!
The book is now available on Amazon for pre-order.

It is still very hard for me to believe, but that is my dining room in the above photograph!

Thank you Fifi for featuring my home in your book, I am truly honored!

Here are a few of the talented girls you will find featured in Fifi's new book!

Sandy, Tracey, Carol, Andrea,  Joy, Angela, Anne Marie, and Jennifer

Congratulations to everyone!

Thank you Fifi and Mark!

If you would like to pre-order the book on Amazon, you can do so by 

clicking HERE!

Thank You Romantic Homes

Hello Everyone!

I  wanted to say thank you to Romantic Homes for featuring my blog in their November issue.

Romantic Homes has a section designated for featuring blogs.

It is called Setting Your Sites.

Here are a list of four other blogs that were featured in the same section of the November issue...

Blessed and Distressed

Italian Girl in Georgia

Barn House Boys

My Shabby Stream Side Studio

Thank you Romantic Homes, I am truly honored to have my blog chosen to be featured in your magazine!


On another note.....

I wanted to announce a fun giveaway that my friend Robyn is having on her blog.
Robyn recently became a representative for Scentsy..
She is giving away a scentsy plug in...  


You can enter Robyn's giveaway by clicking here~
You can also purchase Scentsy products from Robyn by clicking here_

Good luck Robyn with your new adventure!

Have a great week everyone!
Take Care,
Maria

Avila Valley Barn

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all having a great week.

I wanted to share a few pictures with you of my favorite place to buy produce.

When we lived in Southern California, Avila Valley Barn was our favorite place to stop for produce.

Avila Valley Barn

 is located in San Luis Obispo.

They have the best home-grown, fresh picked produce.  

From May to December you can pick your own produce...

I love the way they display their produce...

I wasn't going to buy very many pumpkins this year....

Then I stopped here this last weekend......

The kids had a blast picking out pumpkins to take back home.

We started out with a basket....

 Then ended up having to get a cart....

They even have a few farm animals.....

On the weekends they have free hay rides.

If you are ever in San Luis Obispo, California

you should be sure and stop by Avila Valley Barn....
If you want to find out more about Avila Valley Barn you can do so by clicking here~

 and the beach is only 2 minutes away....

I hope you all have a great week!

Take Care,

Maria