Instagram vs. Reality

I recently came across Amanda's post on Instagram vs. Reality and I also thought it would be fun to do on my own account. I don't think that there's a single picture on my Instagram where I haven't tried to find decent lighting and no dog fur in the background.

1|| As you can probably tell, there's dog fur in the background of the body scrub/lotion/soak. There is forever dog fur on everything we have, and we really should brush Gunner more, but whatever. In reality, there was more fur there, haha!

2|| It always takes me a while to figure out the best pose to show off the nail polish bottle AND my nails. But not too close, or you'll see how terrible my cuticles are and the little air bubbles from painting my nails in an air conditioned room.

3|| Gunner is most definitely improving in the tricks department! He can usually hold the toy or treat on the top of his head or snout, but this picture took quite a few tries before he was still enough. These toys are fun though, because he really does pause when they're on his snout. It hooks on to him and ends up flinging his head around to get it off, haha!

4|| I really, truly, honestly could not just dump my lip gloss bag out and snap a picture. Oh goodness no. You bet I tried to place them so the labels were all facing up, and that there weren't any spare eyeliner pencil shavings, or lip gloss that had exploded.

I almost always use the photo editing app PicTapGo! to make my pictures brighter. It has so many filters, and it really does brighten up a lot. It helps me because our lighting is so dim in our place, and sometimes I find myself finally having time to take pictures when the sun is going down.

What are the secrets behind your Instagram pictures?

xo. Nicole

Slave Lake Sunset

We went camping a couple weekends ago and there was a beautiful sunset! My sister in law dragged me down to the beach for a walk and she took some pictures, which I wanted to share with you. 

Wasn't it gorgeous? Just looking at these photos calms me down and reminds me of a good camping trip spent with family.

xo. Nicole

Orchid Love

As I've mentioned on here before, my younger sister is a photographer! I've shared some of her photography before here. She recently decided to add some colour to her living room, and purchased an Orchid! I wanted to share with you some of the gorgeous photos that she took.

I hope that you enjoyed these as much as I did! It's such a beautiful flower and I'm currently using one of these pictures as my desktop. 

Website • Facebook

xo. Nicole

A Family BBQ

While my dad and his fiancee were out, we went over to my dad's aunt's house for a little family get together. My younger sister, Aimee, is an aspiring photographer so she took her camera along. She hasn't emailed them all to me, but here are the one's she did.

My dad and his uncle.

My Aunt just recently remodeled their kitchen and it's gorgeous. So here's some food.

Redneck Albertans and their cigarettes..

LOL funny face time apparently. (That's not how I actually smile...I'm in the middle)

Aimee and my dad.

This past weekend, I've gone through periods of being pretty sad because they left Friday afternoon after I went to work. Apparently I just get cranky instead of crying, so Rob's had to deal with that a bit. I know it's a 'see ya later' instead of a goodbye, as they'll for sure be out again in June for my wedding, but it doesn't make it suck any less. 

We had a really awesome visit. It was really nice to have them stay at our place instead of at his Aunt's. I got to wake up every morning to my dad tiptoeing around trying to work the coffee maker, while Rob and I slept on the couch. I admit, when I was younger, I always expected a new toy or a new outfit when we saw dad, but since I've grown up, I just look forward to the time spent together. I really did not expect anything when they were out, but they stocked up our toilet paper, paper towel, and our fridge! 

:)

I've got a couple posts coming up. I was just very busy the past week between work and my parent's visit, so I haven't had time to really be online. I received one of my giveaway prizes all the way from England! It was from a giveaway on Second Thoughts. 

Stay tuned. x

xo. Nicole

White Rock

On Saturday, my mom, sister, and I went down to White Rock. It was a gorgeous day! It wasn't too hot or too cold.

My outfit for the day:

Shirt: Ardene//Shorts: Unknown//Belt: Unknown//iPhone Case: Chapters

My sister, Aimee, is taking a photography course to better her skills. She was already really good, but a course is always good to teach you things that you didn't already know. Aimee brought her camera along for the day (They all look better in their original sizes, but they were a little big for the post and I don't know how to link it to the bigger picture).

Now, I wish I could figure out how to put pictures beside each other. Any tips?

And my personal favourite:

If you would like to see more of her work, hire her, or just say hello, shoot me an email or comment and I'll give you her contact info!

She's offered to photograph my wedding for me, but as she's a bridesmaid, I'd rather her enjoy the wedding than work at it :)

Have a good Victoria Day!

xo. Nicole