Category Archives: A Few Favorites

July Favorites

Beaches n Cream Holden Beach Photographer

Beaches n Cream Holden Beach Photographer 434P I N this to pinterestAlways a Summer Favorite, Beaches-n-Cream at Holden Beach | Styled by Little Apple Styles

There’s nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Northing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. -Stephen Chbosky.

    We just finished our Coastal Minis and had to finish our week at the beach with ice cream from Beaches-n-Cream, because they are the best. If you follow me, then you know I’m super strict about how much sugar I eat..but I can’t go to the beach without my ice cream. Their flavors are amazing, and I definitely try to get Krispy Kreme or Red Velvet Cheesecake while I’m there. (Red velvet is an absolute favorite of mine and then add in cheesecake..oh my, love.) On that note, I did hear that the Cheesecake Factory is having 1/2 price cheesecake at the end of the month if anyone else is a fan of their red velvet cheesecake. (National Cheesecake Day is July 30th) And now I’m not thinking about sugar and desserts or anything, ha!

Favorites in July

1.Peaches. Am I the only one that thinks Peaches are the best part of summer? My fridge is overflowing, and I just can’t eat enough of them. And the white ones, so so yum! The white peaches are just so sweet. I don’t need cobbler or extra sugar, etc, just give me the fruit!

2.Lazy 5 Ranch. We headed to the grandparents which aren’t too far from Lazy 5 ranch, and we headed out there to see all the animals. So my car is approaching 200,000 miles and is still cruising, but Michael’s car is a lot newer. Plus, the kids don’t ride in his as much so it’s always super clean. Driving his car probably wasn’t the best idea because the Watusi  (the largest horned cattle breed in the world) came like millimeters from his car with their huge horns. You can of course roll down the windows and feed the animals. The kids were more content to look at all the animals, but definitely rolled down the window and fed the Llamas. (because you know, we are big Llama Llama Red Pajamafans) and this version, too! ha! And we had just fed Llamas a week before at my sweet friend’s farm, so they have been quite attached to llamas lately. Lazy 5 Ranch is huge. I mean, it’s pretty much amazing how huge it is. You definitely have to block out a lot of time to go through it. (And you may get someone in front of you that stos at every single animal so could take longer. It’s just miles and miles of animals) fIt’s really beautiful, and there are a ton of animals. You have to watch out for the Zebras – they warn you a few times + there are several signs not to feed or pet them. (You can see all of the animals they have on their website here) You are not allowed to bring your pets + the ranch only takes cash so come prepared. It started raining during the last part of our ride through but we had seen so much at that point, it wasn’t a big deal, and the animals were acting like nothing was even going on. (Still coming up to cars to eat..a little rain wasn’t going to bother them!) It was really neat to see all the trees and the tree roots. It’s so easy to forget the huge roots that are under the ground, and Owen enjoyed seeing all of the roots. The giraffes were in a fenced in area with a barn, and it was fun to see them! There was a lot of cattle, cows, deers, and pigs everywhere. What a fun afternoon at the ranch.

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3. Speaking of Llamas…bottle feeding the baby lambs + also getting to feed the Llamas was such a treat for my boys. We’ve never gotten to bottle feed little lambs, the sweetest.

4.Electronic Battleship and Clue. We had a blast playing both of these at the beach July 4th, and so we came home and bought Electronic Battleship . The best part of it? You can play all by yourself against the computer, so it’s been very entertaining for Owen.

5.Southern Sugar Bakery. I just realized I hadn’t put them on the blog as a favorite before – if you need cookies, these girls are amazing. I recently bought some super cute keys/front door cookies for my new neighbor!

6.There is a steamer basketfor the Instant Pot . You know I’m a huge fan of the instapot and nom nom paleo is my favorite place for recipes. (Oh, and she has has a new book you can preorder.)

7.Bijou Southern – super cute stuff!

8.Magic tree house at the UNC Planetarium. Owen is in love with everything chapter books right now, and you know how hard it is to get Magic Tree House books at the library. He loves theIncreible Fact Book, and also that you can get the matching fictionand Nonfictionbooks. We have to request them or just see what three books they have on the shelf when we are there, ha! The Planetarium show truly was magical + the boys just loved it. It was thirty minutes long, and just perfect. They also did a ten minute show after to talk about what constellations you can see in the Chapel Hill sky. I don’t know if my boys could sit through another show after that. The history of the Planetarium is really neat, and they’ve actually trained astronauts there.

9.Having lots and lots of books everywhere. We go to the library, like all the time. I have this seriously long hold list and we are always getting notifications a book is ready. Sometimes Owen reads three chapter books a day. Thank you, library for the endless amounts of free books.

10.On that note, Audiobooks. My kids have really been into audiobooks lately. Owen is currently listening to Wonderand next on his list is My Father’s Dragon.

11. Sheet pan dinners. Why are these just showing up in my newsfeed? Anyone have any favorite recipes? I have been known to be addicted to roasting brussel sprouts seven days a week but I didn’t even think about a whole meal in a pan. I just don’t have enough of my brain to think of all the possibilities because this.

12. The size of this bookwas daunting, and it took me an entire week to read it. (I know you’re thinking thats not a long time, but I just read realllly fast. I was one of those kids teachers always told to slow down) I really enjoyed learning a lot about the history of New York. Super interesting book, I’ll definitely have to read more of his books!

13. Two things I have seen at newborn sessions that are awesome for new moms – the Boppy newborn lounger+ the Kiinde Storage and Bottles . Realllly great baby gear.

14. I finally finished 13 Reasons because I need netflix for editing. It just helps so much when I’m sitting sitting sitting at the computer forever. It was very interesting and such a reminder of how cruel high school can be…but now I’m at a loss as to what to watch next. Suggestions, PLEASE!

15. Loved this article so much. A good reason to limit my screen time for my kiddos so they can have more days making fake F.B.I. cards and sketching.

17. Do we have Laughter yoga in Raleigh? This looks like so much fun. Fake laughing totally makes me crack up.

18. SmartyPants Kids Vitamins. Love that they have B12, D3 and fish oil. This is not your normal run of the mill kids vitamin.

As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump

Raleigh Newborn and Family Photographer

Rebecca Keller is a Family and Maternity Photographer in Raleigh, North Carolina. Because we chat alot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions from affiliate links in articles.

 

 

A Few Favorites from May

Baby Photographer Raleigh

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Harrison’s first swim – throwback to 2014. He is absolutely thrilled.

So excited that it is now summer! Having both of my boys around makes me so so happy. And they are happy and content to entertain each other and play together which is an added bonus. Harrison is still not a big fan of water. At the beach Memorial Day weekend, he thought it was hilarious if me + him ran to the water, put our toes in, and nothing else. Anything more than that we would reach panic level. The first step of the pool with his puddle jumper + his boat is his happy place. I was totally this kid (can fear of water be genetic?) so I can relate to his feelings when it comes to water. My earliest memories of the beach jumping in the waves with my Grandma Dot (yes, her name was Dorothy, nickname Dot. love her name) and my great aunt Peggy, I was just terrified but I managed to do it. I remember both of them wearing t shirts so I could wipe the salt water out of my eyes when the waves hit me. I’m sure my mom can verify that I spent a lot of my younger years screaming when it came to water. (We flew to Florida one year and I screamed when the plane went over water. My mom said I also went into full panic screaming on It’s a Small World) Most kids probably have memories of swim lessons right. I have so many memories of swim lessons because I probably had them every year until I was 12 or 13. Ok, maybe not that old, but it took me a long time to swim..and I grew up with a pool in the backyard. All this to say, I can relate to little H man and his fear of the water, and I know one day eventually he will learn to swim. I have thought about trying this place for him, because wow, their facebook feed is just amazing of all these little ones swimming but we would have to get him in the water first!

A few of my favorites lately:

Scrub Daddy /Scrub Mommy. These were Shark Tank’s biggest success (see here) And man, I can see why because I loooooooovvveee these. You can even put them in the dishwasher – not even kidding.

Sassool I am their number one fan. I am sure when they see me, they are like again? I didn’t feel so bad after I read some yelp reviews that said they eat there every single day. ha! The best part is you can buy extra in plastic containers and eat the next day. I might do this. alot. My favorites right now are the roasted veggies, the mediterranean chicken salad (SO YUM) and the sweet potato salad. (I am not a raisin fan so I just move those to the side) The hummus is also so yum. You can also order using the EAT24 Yelp app to order ahead which I do a lot because if I’m going to be there right in the middle of lunch/dinner time, it’s better than waiting in line since all of Raleigh is also there.They also have a discount plan – with every 100.00 I think, you get 10.00 off. They also open at 10 AM, FYI. yes I HAVE BEEN THERE that early.hahahahahahahahahaha.

My other favorite meals lately.

  • City Barbeque. This place is awesome + so allergy friendly. It also helps that is is super close to our house. (In the Sprouts shopping center that does not have enough parking. Another place that even if you are eating in, just order on the app during busy time. You will get your food faster than waiting in line -ha!)
  • Smashburger. Have you tried the veggie frites? Seriously so yum. I like to get a lettuce wrapped burger with avocado + mustard.

Summer Rules. I found some fun summer rules + changed them a little bit, but Owen has actually loved them. (He finished school last week) A list of ideas of things for him to do before he can have any technology time. (Read a book to his brother, play make believe, thank Jesus for something) There are lots of fun lists on Pinterest.Which reminds me, we need to head to the library today (another fave) to stock up on books for him. With more free time, he is reading, reading, reading. His current faves are Magic Bone, Captain Underpants, (seeing the movie tomorrow- anyone seen it? What did you think) The Unofficial Minecrafters Academy Series , and he just read all of the Big Nate books  and loved those. I feel like finding books boys are interested in can be a little bit trickier…and of course they have to be about silly things like underpants – ha!

Sunscreen. Ok this is such a tricky one. With my boys’ eczema (Owen’s is worse than Harrison’s) sunscreen is the number one trigger for them so I am always a little apprehensive trying new sunscreen… this  worked awesome for them at the beach last week. If anyone else’s little ones has this problem with sunscreen and has tried anything else, please let me know. I also, love, love, love, this sunscreen stick– so much easier and quick for the face, especially with baseball season. (How have I missed these for so long!!)

I just finished reading A Long Way Home, and I sobbed so much. Loved this story + then I had to watch the movie (you can watch on Amazon Prime) afterwards. movie  is great, but the book added so much. Best part of the movie is seeing the mothers meet in the end. More tears and more tears.

Sally Clarkson podcast. I have a little speaker I carry around the house – ha, and turn on when I’m folding laundry or doing the dishes. I looooove listening to Sally Clarkson – so encouraging for Mamas  + her books are great, too.

Teach Me Store. They have so many fun educational summer activities for kids.

Still one of my absolute favorites is my Kindle . I thought it officially died on me the other day and I was so bummed. I love being able to download and read whatever whenever. I have the cheaper one “with offers” which basically means they put an ad on the home screen – doesn’t bother me at all.

Baseball. It has been baseball season around here, and we were lucky to find a league where the boys could play one right after the other. This was Harrison’s first sport, and he was the one that asked to play. Both of them really loved it, and they were the cutest little baseball players EVA. Sunset slush + 90 degrees every week! Having a chair like this onewas a must!

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Strawberry Margarita Nail Polish. I have been loving this color for weeks. I totally google nail trends when I’m picking out nail polish and I really couldn’t go with the pale colors.

Harrison’s favorites right now can pretty much be summed up by Lightning McQueen (he carries this duplo  version everywhere…I have to remember to have him leave it in the car when we go places so he doesn’t lose it.) and his first love of Thomas. His current favorite books are If You Give a Dog a Donut+ Goodnight Baseball. (both baseball books)

It’s a rainy day around here – time for some editing + getting work done! It’s about to get real busy around here with Owen’s birthday around the corner + this year we are celebrating Harrison’s 1/2 birthday. (finally a party for our Christmas birthday! And Cars3 movie for a win!)

Some of my recommendations are amazon affiliate links + also make it super easy for you to find them.

Just for fun..

A session around this time last year – Oh my, that dreamy nursery + her sweet puppies.

A session two years ago – the cuteness of these sweet sisters at the Rose Garden!

Photo below from our Mommy + Me Minis this month styled by Little Apple Styles. I have just started blogging them but you can see more here.

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As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump

Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Newborn Photographer featured on several blogs including The Bump and Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.

 

 

 

A Mason Jar Salad Party

mason jar salad party 45_3306P I N this to pinterestSo a few weeks ago, I got invited to a Mason Jar Party. And now I am hooked. Lunch for a week in around 20 – 30 minutes? YES. When one of my BFFS invited me, I was seriously excited. Ok, so what is a Mason Jar Party? The host picks a recipe. (This was a recipe from last week – so yum! A salad with zoodles– yes!!!!) Then, she sends out an email with all the ingredients and everyone emails back with what they are going to bring. Sign up Genius would also be great for this, especially since it’s free.


Ours are planned for Monday mornings, which is perfect for having lunch ready for the week. (Sunday evening could also be a good time.) When everyone shows up, they put their ingredients on the kitchen table. Then, you just walk around and fill up your five mason jars (We are using this size+ I also ordered mine from amazon) one by one. Then, you’re done, you can leave + lunch is done for the week. The salads have been SO YUMMY too. Some of the recipes have cheese or grains, so I just leave that out of my jar. The first week someone made a salad dressing with the recipe. This past week there wasn’t one, so I just used my salad dressing at home. I have added some extra protein at lunch time, too. Also, I couldn’t make it last week, so my BFF Brooke took my jars + ingredients and I can sub for her, too. Win-win! These were so yummy, I had to stop myself from trying to eat them for dinner, too! Eeeek!

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Children Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump and Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.

 

 

August 16th and I just sent Owen back to school yesterday- can hardly believe summer is already over. Summer really is my favorite. (I reallly realllly realllly do not like carpool. ha. ) It is going to be a challenge to continue to get up early and make real food breakfasts but it’s important to me so I gotta make it happen. I also spent a lot of time at Starbucks last year, I’ll admit it. So making coffee in the Vitamix takes a little bit more time, too.

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Favorites for August

I just love all these pretty flower ideas

Paint color ideas

Our favorite back to school books. (see here)

Eggs in the pressure cooker? You know I love, love, love, my instapot. Never even thought about it for eggs.

I tried pacifica nail polish this month – loooooved.

A few things I want to read/tackle this month:

I need to learn how to use instagram stories. I tried when making this video behind the scenes from a recent shoot with Ericka, but I gave up and just took a plain video. I’ve heard good things about this tutorial so I need to dive right in and learn alllll about it. I know everyone loves snapchat, but can I handle one more social media account?

Saving to read. Last year I pulled my IT band and it was such a bummer. Now that I’m trying to start running again..(but I’m going back and forth between running and swimming…)

These are super fun. Please no one have a session on the side of a cliff.

Since organic all beef hotdogs are whole30, these have inspired me to try a hotdog wrapped in bacon. Oh my.

So, what your favorite candy says about your personality.

Just for fun…

A session around this time last year – I have lovvved photographing this sweet little one’s first year and just got to see him at our Coastal Minis. 

A session in August two years ago – eeek! what a perfect session at Holden Beach!

Pretty stuff

Loving how long this shirt is (and inexpensive, too!) When I’m out shooting, I love wearing long shirts.

Totally crushing on these boots. This heat has me ready for fall!

Love these hair clips!

Also, as Ericka mentioned here, this necklace…it has the coordinates of Holden Beach. (You can find it here at Sugar Britches in Holden Beach.

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Children Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump and Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.

 

 

 

Rebecca Keller Photography | Raleigh Family Photographer North Carolina | Beach Photography P I N this to pinterest

A Few Favorites in July

I am seriously amazed at these. Has anyone tried them? What did you think?

You know I’m not eating bread or sugar right now (hello, whole3o) but I think I’m going to have to make these for the kiddos for next year’s “tide dye tuesday.”

Love all of these great hair ideas for summer.

Holden Beach – of course, a summer favorite.

Who bought the Instant Pot on amazon this week when it was on sale? I bought one of these when it was on sale last time, and I’ll admit I’m still learning it, but a fave this month is definitely nom nom paleo’s live videos + she just posted one about the instapot.

A few things I want to read/tackle this month..

My skin is not so pale as it is in the winter (thank you days at the pool + beach) which I am not a huge fan of the sun + heat, so I am surprised I have even a little bit of a tan, but you know, I do take the kiddos out. Anyways, I need to pick a new foundation – let me know if you have something you love. Also, reading this.

Finding really good tea that I like. I’ve never been a huge la croix fan either but now that I’m a whole30 girl, I’ve been drinking one sometimes. What are your favorite flavors and what are your favorite teas? (without caffeine) And if you are a tea drinker, btw, this thing  is awesome.

Just for fun..

A session around this time last year – the sweetest newborn session at home!

A session in July two years ago – love this six month family session with the prettiest light + sweetest family!

Pretty stuff

A favorite summer tank

crushing on this nail polish

Rebecca Keller Photography | Raleigh Family Photographer North Carolina | Beach PhotographyP I N this to pinterest

 

Rebecca Keller is a family photographer featured in People Magazine who spends her time sipping iced coffee, chasing after her two little ones, reading, running, and editing. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Raleigh Family Photographer North Carolina + maternity and newborn photography.