Camping Trip

Hi hi hi, friends!  It has been awhile!  We were out of town for a little bit on a camping trip with NO phone service! (Nor internet service, duh)  We had the best of time eating grilled foodie, making s'mores, and had plenty of quality time with our friends.  I love to disconnect and enjoy the outdoors.  I am a nature's fan!  It's so good to be outside and breathe the fresh air and just run around like crazy.  We did some hiking, a little bit of biking and played soccer! We had a (BIG) crowd with us! ;)  I didn't want to go back to real life.  I hope you had an amazing week!
I can't chat for too long today as it is Saturday and we have a wedding to go to! :)
Here are a few snippets of our camping trip via iPhone.  (I only used my phone for pictures, nothing else while camping!)

Here are my DIY shiny red shoes with ABM App  --> my most favorite app! :) 

My "little" brother being a circus bear on a trike!  

(I was on a lookout for a real bear the whole time, but unfortunately we didn't come across one...)

In the bright afternoon light I took a ton of pictures of our shadows! It was fun!

Thanks for taking a peek at our camping trip! Gotta run...  xox, m. 

P.S. Have a blessed weekend!  

Our Anniversary Trip (Part Dos)

My love and I have safely returned back home from our amazing little trip. We had the best time! Much needed quality time, it's so good for our marriage! We did a lot of walking, exploring downtown, ate delicious food (too much food!) soaked up vitamin D at the beach, laughed and dreamed.  Oh and ate ice cream! Kilwin's ice cream to be exact. SO good! 

I am so thankful for my best friend, my soul mate, my (way) better half! No matter where we are and what we do, as long as we are together - I am the happiest! How was your weekend?! I hope it was just as fun! Happy Tuesday! Love, m. 

P.S. Fun time with O tonight! So looking forward to it! I get to meet her new fuzzy friend! Eeek!!! 

Obsessed with ABM App + Vacationing

If you are an Instagram lover like myself, I am sure you've seen/heard/bought/used A Beautiful Mess app already. It's a new photo editing app and I am in love with it. I've been reading Elsie's and Emma's blog for quite some time now, and was so excited to learn about the app! It's amazing and I can't stop using it! I think I will never upload another photo to Instagram without using ABM app... It's addicting! 

My hubby and I are away on a little vacation celebrating our three year anniversary and I'm popping in to share a few of the fun shots I've snapped so far! 

We drove about six hours to get to Wilmington, NC. Our first time visiting this town and we are loving it!  Relaxing on the beach, exploring the historic downtown and eating scrumptious food! It's so good to get away for a little bit. I hope you all are having an amazing Friday! I'll be back to post more pictures later! Happy weekend, friends!!! xo.m.

Bottles and Twigs-Photo Display

 

Today I am going to share another way to display photos around your home.

I printed my Instagram pictures from Foxgram  and they arrived super quickly right to my doorstep!  I am extremely pleased with the quality.  I bought pretty clothes pins at Michael's.  I can never leave that store with just one item.  I am sure most of my DIYer friends would agree with me on this one.  We saved curly willow twigs from our brother's wedding last October.  We had similar twigs at our wedding, too, but unfortunately we did not save them then.  I like twigs in general, but these are extra special since they remind me of a fun time we had at our brother's wedding!  Oh and the bottles... let me tell you about bottles... I pick my wine by the prettiest wine bottles! ;)  I have quite a collection of different glass bottles.  

It was pretty simple and easy to do, but I really do love the look!  The bottles are standing on a dresser in our bedroom.  I shared a simple necklace holder DIY project that goes well with my twigs and bottles.  I shared an Instagram canvas  back in April and I can't wait to think of other fun ideas to display our memories around the home, other than just in picture frames!
Thank you for reading!  Have a lovely day!  xox, M.
P.S. If you shared ideas of displaying photos, please leave a link in the comments and I will head over to take a peek!  ;) 

Weekends are for...

We had another wonderful weekend  filled with lots of project dreaming and planning! The highlight of my weekend was when my husband sat down next to me in our cozy living room putting his arm around my shoulders and said, "Let's look through your Pinterest board."  He wanted to see my pinned ideas and dream with me about future projects.  It became one of our favorite things to do.  We love to work on our house together making it our home.  It's so special!
Here is a little run down of our weekend. My garden is loving all the rain! / Snuggling with our cuddle bug while it's pouring outside! / Working on a Bible lesson with my little helper.  / Eating Mexican food with our friends after helping them move to their new place. Friends + Mexican food = the best!
How was your weekend?  Any special highlights? Happy Monday! xox, m. 
P.S. It's been so cold here and rain is on the forecast for most of the week!  Fireplace is on.  Perfect weather for crafty messes!  O and I have something up our sleeves  for tomorrow evening.  Can't wait! :)

More Cruise Pictures! :)

As promised, here are the last bits of our vacation pictures via iPhone!  Enjoy!  As for me, I will dream about laying in a hammock, watching the waves and sipping on something fruity and delicious!

Blend a smoothie?  Have yourself a little workout before you indulge in calories!  How clever! :) 

Biggest palm tree I ever did see! (And hug!)

Arriving to Grand Cayman! 

 

So far, out of all the trips we took as a married couple, I realized our favorite vacations are the ones that involve the beach!  :) Beach bumming is sort of our thing!  Feet in the sand, the sun kissing our faces and the warm ocean breeze.  All so magical!  Should we move closer to the ocean? 

What is your favorite kind of vacation?! Would love to hear!  If you have some pictures, post the link in the comments and I will definitely head over to see!  Thank you and happy Tuesday!  I'll try to be back to share more DIY projects, either today or tomorrow.  xo, m. 

P.S.  I shared more pictures from our recent trip here and here!  Feel free to take a looksie! ;) 

Challenge: 10 Instagrams In One Day

I love to document my every day life.  I enjoy going back through my phone and looking at my captured memories.  Today I challenged myself not to be afraid to be creative.  I made a goal to create fresh, new photos with my iPhone over the course of one day.  (That was the tough part, as the time in my day zooms by way too fast!)  I typically share one-three pictures a day on Instagram.  Ten is a little steep for this girl, don't you think?  I knew this wasn't going to be easy.  I needed to find beauty in TODAY.  To enjoy all the little things in TODAY.  I incorporated different photo filters, props, angles and even my own handwriting in my pictures to make them unique and different from my regular day to day pictures.  I hope this inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and try new things with your phone or camera as well!

His and her morning coffee

Stunning beauties at my sissy's house

Send love notes

Yellow flowers!

This song makes me smile! 

Hello, tiny sprout! (My sugar snap peas!!)

Evening tea time with my twin (aka my little niece)

Making something pretty 

Hello, Mr. Moon

xoxo

Unfortunately the sun was hiding behind gloomy clouds all day and I couldn't play with sun flares!  Bummer!  I will do this Challenge again next week!  And I'll be honest, this was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Hence - it was a "Challenge." ;)  I had a fun filled day today, spent most of the afternoon with my darling of a niece, Jessica.  We went to Michael's, treasure hunted at Goodwill, made brownies and did a lot of crafty messes at my house.  Thanks for stopping by today, friends! Check back tomorrow for more fun! ;) xox, m!

P.S.  Follow me on Instagram @mkzotov, if you want! ;) 

One Year

It feels like it was just yesterday that we sat staring at the computer screen searching for that perfect house for us. Searching for what seemed liked forever. Praying. Searching some more. Meeting with the realtor.  Getting the loan.  All the paper work.  Everything SO worth it in the end! Today marks one year since we've became homeowners and moved to the beautiful town of Staunton, VA.  We are grateful to God for His blessings and protection.  It was a fun year exploring the town, making the house a home and enjoying our life.  Today my husband and I are reflecting on the year passed and celebrating with shrimp Pad Thai in the comfort of our own home!  (Yum, I love dinners at home with my man!) This year has taught us a lot!  It taught us to love more, to give more, to enjoy more and most importantly to trust God more.  Trust God in His perfect timing. He knows what's best for each of His children. I wanted to pop in and share a few photos that we've snapped with an iPhone over the year that mean so much to us.

On Thursday, April 12, 2012 I held the keys to our home!!!  That was an incredible feeling!!! 

Staunton has a lot of character, that's why it was so easy to fall in love with this town!

 We welcomed Momo to our home a month later. 

Thank you, Oksana.  Momo takes a special place in our hearts and in our home! 

I thank God for my husband and for this chapter in our life!  (Picture taken by Oksana Levshin next to The American Hotel in Staunton, VA.  Summer 2012.)

Thank you for letting me share these fun and so very special memories! 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Friday!  I have been enjoying this weather a whole lot!  Bird chirping weather is my favorite kind!  Much blessings, Mika.