Insta-GREAT!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

or just one...Instagram.

Currently, my favorite app...I'd highly recommend it. :)

You've seen my pictures! Now I want to see yours!

@tamiinoue

"What camera should I buy?"

Probably the question I get the most is from people who are looking to buy a nice DSLR camera but aren't looking for professional quality and are at a loss as to what to buy.  

I would like to be able to shoot with all different brands and models of cameras so I could give personal recommendations, but at this point, I can only tell you what I know. So, with that said, I thought I'd share what I bought and the pros and cons of that purchase.

For those of you who are frustrated that when you click the button, there's a few seconds delay to taking the picture, I would recommend a DSLR camera.  That is a camera where you can switch out the lenses...there's a much more technical term, but for our purposes, that's how you could know what a DSLR camera is.  

My first DSLR camera was a Nikon D90.  I would recommend this camera all day long as she has been such a sturdy and reliable camera for me.  I continue to use it for my second shooters and it produces very beautiful images.  I shot all the images I have posted (with the exception of a shoot with my nephew) in 2010 and before with this camera...

This was my first wedding and shot with the D90.  There is very little editing done to this picture.  Yep, my bride really had skin that beautiful!!

Another image taken with my D90

One of my favorite images to date taken with the D90...

I've never used a Canon Rebel T3i but it is the most comparable (in price) to the Nikon D90 that I can find, and I have heard really great things about the Rebel.

The one "con" I would say with my purchase of the D90 is that I bought the kit (meaning I got a lens in the same box with the body).  If you know what kind of lens you want, don't waste your money buying the kit.  However, if you don't know what lens and you just want some place to start, the kit can be a great option for you! 

The Nikon D90 has a pop-up flash, which is great to have, and it also produces great images in low-light situations without having to get too grainy.  

I could go into lenses, but I'll save that for another post if people are interested...so for now, if you like Nikon, the D90 was a great camera for me.  If you like Canon, the Rebel T3i would be the closest thing to the D90 and I hear great reviews on that camera as well!!!  I think that both Nikon and Canon are very reliable brands, so any of the DSLR cameras are most likely going to give you really great images!

Hope this helped!!

Product Review - The Color of Grace

WARNING: 

Usually, with my product reviews, I'm not being serious, but I actually am on this one. Not sure why I'm putting that under a "warning", but just thought the seriousness may throw you off a bit! :)

I love makeup.  

It's been a hobby of mine for years...it's so fun for me to read about it, buy fun products, and try new colors.  I was recently in California where we found this shimmer from Philosophy. Now, my experience is that it's difficult to find a good shimmer because they can either come off as glittery (not a fan of people having to wipe glitter off my face as I talk to them), really thick, or even just very pigmented.  I think shimmer is fun as long as it's subtle and sheer.  Well, that's just what I found in this shimmer called "The color of Grace".  It even has a very faint scent of Philosphy's grace perfume in it. Every time I put it on, I feel like I'm brushing on some pink shimmer dust that makes me feel very feminine...and I'm always looking for ways to be more feminine as I'm not naturally.


So, for you ladies who were looking for a good shimmer, this one comes with a high recommendation from yours truly.

Happy Weekend!

Three Scoops for Jimmy!

I'll admit it...I have a wee-bit-of-a-crush on Jimmy Fallon.  So, when I heard that Ben&Jerry's came out with an ice cream flavor inspired by the Late Night talkshow host, I went on a search.  Mostly because I had to support my friend (he doesn't know it yet, but we're kindred spirits), but also because I'd heard that there are fudge covered potato chip clusters in it!  You know that I'm not a big ice cream fan, but this had me intrigued...I did some searching and found it at Walmart...as someone who loves salty, this is the perfect ice cream for me...not too much sweet things in it with the salty.  Um...yum!!!  Ben&Jerry, you've done good my men! You done good.

Product Review - Glasses

It started in the 2nd grade when I faked my eye exam and got my first pair of glasses.  They were huge...plastic...brown.  I loved those rims...still do. Eventually, I went to the small black ones...you know, those tiny ones that if you were artsy, you owned a pair.  The problem was that I wasn't artsy and they bugged me since day one.  They were so small I could hardly see anything other than the frames when I was wearing them.  

Well, I hadn't had an eye exam in 4 years but didn't think it was a problem.  Until recently, my eyes would randomly cross when I'd get tired...uh, social norms were telling me I should probably get that fixed! So, I had an appointment and realized my eyes have gotten worse {Uh, I hate getting older}.  The upside?! New glasses. So I decided I was going to get big frames this time! I was in Chicago and strolled into SEE Eyewear...and I found these frames and let me tell you, it's been SU-PERB being able to see!

Stylish? Probably not...but I'm proudly wearing them and toasting to practicality over fashion! Off with the old tiny frames, on with the big ones! 

This product AND See Eyewear get my A'okay!

Everyone, keep sending in your entries to the Laying Down Game!!! 

A HUGE shout out to Miranda, Kristi, Taryn, and all you AWESOME 4H'ers (Did I just make up that word?)!!! You ALL rock...LOVED YOUR PICTURES!!!

Um, I'm not going to name any names of people that wanted the extension but Bek and Leah, I still haven't gotten yours...oops! Sorry, it slipped out. :)

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