Introducing Coach House Craft

Hello fellow blogger friends!  An exciting announcement to share today- my newest online shop Coach House Craft is now live on Etsy. This shop has been well over a year in the making and I'm thrilled to share that its open.

Coach House Craft combines my love for playful photography, styling, and crocheting food. All of the crocheted pieces have been handmade by me too. These fun photographs would make quirky, colorful, and educational pieces of art in a child's bedroom or playroom. Created with love from my home in Chicago to yours. If you live near or around the Chicagoland area I am more than happy to even deliver your art prints to you in person. Stop by the shop to view weekly updates of new prints I'm cooking up too :)  As always thank you for your continued love an support!!

Still Life Perspectives

This weekend as the last of my Valentine flowers were about to fade I wanted to capture thier beauty.  I love both of these perspectives for very different reasons. I am really drawn to the sparseness and use of negative space in both shots. And I really liked the ornate and rustic pattern of the surface I used. A found piece of metal waiting to be thrown out by its former owner.  The softness of the flowers mixed with the industrial surface is what I really love about these shots.

This series of still life shots really got me thinking about new ways to create photographs that are interesting to look at, simplistic in technique and using only natural window lighting. I hope to shoot more in the near future.

Pastry Crochet Patterns

Crocheting has always been a fun hobby for me. Until recently I've turned this creative hobby into something that I carve time out to do almost everyday. It's so fun to see things come to life and be able to get creative with color combinations. And thank goodness for the web (for tons of free crochet patterns) and YouTube (for all the very helpful video crochet tutorials). Here are the links to two of my most recent favorite pastry patterns: Frosted Donuts and the Short Cake.

Have fun experimenting with all different kinds of frosting and cake combos, and see if you can only make one...I bet you can't!  It's quickly become my newest form of therapy and creative outlet. Have fun!!

Weekend Recap

Do you ever notice that when you make plans on a Friday night that your weekends just feel longer?
While the home body in me begs to stay on the couch and avoid having to deal with another cold Chicago night there is nothing like live music at a small local venue to get me bundled up and out the door.

Joe and I headed out to the Empty Bottle in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood for some tasty brews and to stand front and center to listen to one of our recent favorite bands perform- Crow Moses. I love their laid back vibe along with mix of acoustic and electric guitars. Check them out on Spotify if you're looking to add to your playlist.

I've been reserving Sundays for whatever moves my soul. Sometimes this means staying in my robe all day and crafting in bed, catching up on Netflicks, or catching up on magazine reading. I did all of these this past weekend and it was much needed! How was your weekend? Do you ever take a day to yourself to do whatever moves you?!

Good Cheer + Happy New Year!

  Happy New Year to everyone! How can January already be over with and the new year already in full swing?! I took the month of January off from social media to reconnect and refresh my mind and quiet my thoughts. I feel like I have found a jolt of inspiration and energy that I have been missing for quite sometime. One of those things being that I miss connecting with people here on my blog.
  I miss sharing things/ ideas/ people that inspire me and keep me excited to connect with a creative community. So, while I don't think I will be keeping to a regular blogging schedule, I will be checking in and sharing my thoughts and posting creative projects along the way.

I hope you can join me along the way too, cheers friends!!

xo,

Liz

Lately...

Our lil Coach House is currently being taken over by DIY wedding projects!!  It has really become a space that only creative people could stand to live in, given all the chaos, but hey we are making it work!!  And trying hard to live in the moment and really appriceate this time.

1. Creating mock arrangements for out tables.
2. Diving into hand lettering our invitations.
3. Joe cutting out the liners for the invitation envelopes.

4. Finally organized my workspace shelves!
5. Menu tasting with our caterers Wild Asparagus.
6. And our wedding website is up and running! Loved how this all came together.
Check it out at lizandjoe.net

Thankful & Updates

  I'm so thankful for the new year and for all the good things that have seemed to be happening lately.  Sharing my dreams and visions with the universe (and anyone who is willing to listen), while abit scary is also what needs to be felt in order to move forward and not only grow but flourish into building the best life you could only have imagined in the past.  I've been carrying this quote on a post-it in my ipad case as a daily inspirational nudge to myself.

Blessings to all who have shared and continued to visit me here in this small space I am happy to call home.  

Some updates that I am happy to share is that I am growing the business into 2 different avenues. One being product photography for small business' while also continuing to grow my other love of wedding photography.  Thank you for your continued support for a helping me do what my heart has called me to do :)

Guest Posting Today...

Hi friends!  Just popping in to let you know that I am guest posting today over for a dear Chicago blogger friend of mine Jillian @ Cornflake Dreams.  She is currently enjoying her newly married life by celebrating in Paris!  So happy to be a part of her guest post lineup this week while she is away with her love. Drop by and check it out as well as other fun blogger guests.

Coach House Pictures

New Blogsite Launched!

Hi folks!  I've been focusing and putting my energy towards my passion, Coach House Pictures for the past 2 weeks.  And my goal was to merge the 2 platforms (blog + website) together to help create a more cohesive brand.  I also wanted one place to direct clients, bloggers, and friends to come and connect as well.  So after much thought I finally found a blogsite platform that seamlessly has everything I was looking for!  I was a bit scared and hesitant at first because it runs on Wordpress (I'm still feeling my way around) but the more and more I use it I find it to be as equally user friendly as blogger is. Joe and I are passionate about getting our photo business to flourish and re branding our site is just one of the steps we feel will help us take that next step in the right direction.  

With a heavy heart I have decided to step away from posting on this blog (for now) so I can focus my energy and time to blogging over at the Coach House Pictures blog.  On the new blog I  will still be posting about inspirations but with more of a focus on the business of photography and of course our photography as well. 

I feel like I am leaving my first baby, because I've worked hard and passionately for the past few years  to build and grow this blog to where is it today.  But at the same time I am over the moon excited to focus my energy on what I love to do and share and connect with a great supportive online community!  I love what I have built here and I am not deleting this blog, I am simply stepping away for a while to dedicate more of my time to CHP.  I'd love to stay connected with you!  To help me do this as well I've already added a friends list on my sidebar so we can continue to exchange ideas, thoughts, and inspirations.  You can also connect with me through twitter, facebook, and Instagram @coachhousepictures.  

I want to give a BIG thanks to Theresa, Leah, Tori, and Lauren for inspiring me to focus and follow my heart! You ladies are inspirational and I am so glad you are in my life! 

xo,

~Liz 

Free Photo Download for Earth Month!

Maybe it's the Eco conscious, earth loving side of me that really stops and thinks about ways to be kinder more gentler to the planet especially as Earth Day is fast approaching! Besides recycling everything, using reusable water bottles, using real cutlery at work for lunch, shopping second hand for furniture, taking the train to work, and buying organic/local when possible what else would you recommend I add to the daily earth friendly rotation?

As a reminder to stay green and to do your share for this beautiful planet that gives us such enjoyment I'm including this free moss heart print as a free download today. Click here to find it in my flickr album. Continue to live green lovelies!

IKEA Family Live

Have you heard of this great source of interior inspiration known as IKEA Family Live?  I just found out about it last week and am excited to be sharing some of my favorite interior shots with you today!  My favorite thing about this site is that all the homes are real! You can tell, too..they just feel so comfy and lived in, love it!  All of these images can be found under the home stories page, where you can see and read in more detail about the singles, couples, and families that have transformed there spaces to work for them and their living needs.  I find it so fascinating to see how people from around the world set up their homes.  Don't you? Enjoy browsing through these archives!

Photos by IKEA Family Live

DIY: Photo Booth Roundup

::one: :Giant Paper Flowers  ::two:: Bling Ring   ::three:: Cardboard Heart

::four:: Fabric Strips  ::five:: Lace Fabric  ::six:: Chalkboard  ::seven:: Lilys

With wedding plans on the brain this week, especially since we are taking a tour of The Grove Redfield Estate tomorrow morning (eekk..super excited)!  One of the elements of our wedding that we want to include is a photo booth...naturally!  And since we are doing everything DIY style I created a sweet roundup of fun props and backdrop ideas I'm loving right now.  Have you been to a wedding recently where they had a photo booth?  If yes, what did you think?  

Current State of Mind

quote found via Pintrest

This weekend I took a trip over to my local floral shop Larkspur to pick up some of these beauties to do a mini photo shoot indoors. I was in need of a mood boost, since the skies were grey and my heart was a little down.  Nothing to do with recent family health events, they are all fine and well, thanks... I think this quote  just speaks to how I've been feeling lately.  

Day Trip: Lake Geneva

Remember this trip we packed for the other week?  Well funny thing happened when we got to our destination...I was all excited to take pictures and then I realized that I forgot my memory card for my camera.  Luckily Joe had brought his Holga and as always have the trusty iphone to take snapshots as well.  So that's exactly what we did. The reason for the delay on these was that we had to wait to get the film processed!  Haha, remember those days? I especially loved the way the holga pics turned out...soft and dream like!  It was worth bringing along, I'll say!

Thanks for all the well wishes this weekend!  I feel fresh and energized and ready to take on a new week!  How was your weekend?   Oh and Happy April to you today too :)

Work gets in the way!

I've had a crazy work week and thus my reasons for being MIA this week. All my body wants is food and sleep...thanks for still being my friend! Tomorrows Friday..yay!! Looking forward to reconnecting next week :)

Madewell

Thanks for joining me this week!  On Sunday my mom and I went shopping and I found myself stopping into the Madewell shop for the first time.  Loved the cool vintage styling of this place and all the beautiful wares are well!  Too bad I had already purchased these prior to stepping into this place...
I picked up their Spring catalog on the way out and today I share with you some of my favorites from this issue.  Are you familiar with this shop?  Do you frequent it often? Because I can see myself coming back to shop here once my account allows me to :)

Photo layouts: Pugly Pixel

It's the Weekend!!

Book Review: Nest for Two

I pulled this book off the shelves this weekend to help spark some ideas on organizing and after browsing through it I knew that I had to share some of my favorite pages with you!  I bought Nest for Two way before me and Joe moved in together, mainly because I liked the way the book is divided into the different living categories of eat, sleep, work, play, and relaxing (my fav)!  But it does give some great tips on how to mesh his and hers home goods together to create a cozy and livable home. I especially love the many practical (and budget friendly) office and closet storage solutions they showcase.  Makes me want to get a jump start on my closet cleaning!  

Are you inspired like I am yet?  Any practical storage solutions you love to share?

Because I'd love to know :)

Nail Files

1. Sally Hansen, Brilliant Blush/ 2. Revlon, Peachy/ 3. Revlon, Make Mine Mango/ 4. Revlon, Cherries in the Snow/ 5. Sally Hansen, Commander in Chic/ 6. Ulta, Deep Desire/ 7. OPI, Holiday Glow


Since getting engaged a few months ago my new favorite thing is changing my nail polish color to reflect my mood, outfit, time of day, oh yay and to highlight the bling I am happy to wear!  To start this Monday off, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite colors I have in rotation right now.  I'm currently liking the Revlon Top Speed brand for its lighting fast drying time (about 60 seconds, until you can touch them) and the Sally Hansen Manicure in a bottle collection, which packs a base coat, top coat, strengthener, and grow treatment all into one bottle!  And with this secret weapon that I recently discovered, I always have time to do my nails!

Do you have brands/colors of polish that you are loving right now?  Please share!

Leaving the City!

I'm taking the day off to go and enjoy the early summer like weather we've been blessed with this week! Joe and I are packing a picnic and heading to Lake Geneva, a quaint little town about 1-1/2 hour drive from the city!  I'll post photos of our day and share with you next week!  Enjoy your weekend peeps!!