I recently took a look back at photos from our 2009 Honeymoon in San Diego. Suddenly I was seeing so much potential in them, and these are a few of my favorites. The above photos are from Ocean Beach. The last in this set is printed and waiting for a frame at our house.

 

We loved Ocean Beach! There are so many surfers, and with an excellent telephoto lens, we were able to see up close. I hope to find a place to hang this in our house, but for now it remains digital. (also at Ocean Beach)

Surfing is on my bucket list, but as soon as I stuck my toe in the Pacific, I chickened out. If you have never been in the pacific, it's cold...at least in May in San Diego it is!

 

 

The week after Thanksgiving, Dan and I went to downtown Houston to take some photos. We didn't get any variety in location since we were setting a tripod up far enough away that someone could grab it.

I hope you have a Happy Christmas and enjoy time with your family! Here is our Christmas greeting from the Wieses to you:

 

I love the Christmas season! The lights, giving, and cool weather (sometimes) that make this season great! I especially love the break in summer heat that makes you want to sit close to your loved ones, and bundle up for a movie. Add a Caramel Macchiato to the equation and you have perfection!

With all of that said, I thought I'd share some of the Christmas decor around our house!

  

     We have a little photo station set up for those who visit us this Christmas season! I couldn't resist "testing" it!

 

    Christmas is at our house this year, and we're super excited. To make it special I wanted to have    

    place settings for everybody. I've been saving glass jars and bottles for a while, planning to do 

    something with them, and I finally figured out the perfect use.

    Here is how to complete this project:

    1. Scrub EVERY bit of the wrapper and glue off of your jars/bottles. Hot water helps get 

    the glue off. 

          *Paint is not a cover up, if anything, it emphasizes any glue or wrapper left on the bottle.

    2. Once they're dry, use blue tape to cover areas you don't want painted. Some of my jars have 

    patterns, and I tried to make others look like they were dipped in gold.

    3. Paint.  (I used a gold metallic spray paint, but you can use whatever you want)

      - Cover a large area with plastic, because spray paint spreads especially when it's windy. 

      - Be sure to cover the opening of the bottle so paint doesn't get inside.

      - The first coat of spray paint should not be the last. Spray painting is better with multiple 

         thin coats. 

      - Wait 15 minutes between each coat, and let dry for 30 minutes before handling it.

    4. Remove tape once jars dry, and display.

 

    The photo above is an example of what happens when you don't aim.

 

This is not the complete place setting, but it is a complete jar.

Did I mention I'm excited about Christmas? I AM!

 

This is the final Christmas cards, though the colors are a bit washed out here.

Some of my other favorites are below.

 

My favorite part of the top photo is probably Mom and Dad Wiese.

Yes, my husband is the one doing some sort of weird "model" pose. If you were to expand this frame to the left you would see me making the same face as my SIL Amy. 

 

And last but not least, the Wiese brothers. This is my joke Christmas card, the Wiese brothers at their finest. This photo was inspired by awkward family photos. :D

Next week I'm going to make Dan take photos with me...using a remote to shoot. It'll be interesting...

Hope you had a Thanksgiving as fun as we did!

 

            This Thanksgiving, give grace, practice love and imagine peace.

            Hope you all have a splendid Thanksgiving with plenty of pumpkin pie!

           

            Love,

            Mal