My Favorite Photo Editing Apps For iPhone

I have been trying recently to really make my Instagram photos better. I know part of Instagram is sharing everyday things that happen with your friends and family, but part of it too, is creating beautiful photos. Instagram is by far my most favorite form of social media. I love finding great new accounts to follow, seeing beautiful photos from my friends, and sharing clips of our days. Bright, fun photos really attract me, so I try to make mine the same way!

ONE: PicTapGo

My favorite editing app for my iPhone photos is PicTapGo.  I love it because you can create you favorite "recipes" and apply them to all your photos so that they all flow together nicely on your feed. My favorite filter for my photos is the "Lights On" because it really brightens up your photo without making it distorted like some brightening filters can do. 

TWO: Afterlight
This one use to be my favorite until I found PicTapGo. What I like about this one is that it does have many filters to choose from, but you are able to adjust them to be more or less intense AND you can essentially create your own filter by clicking on the fusion button. It does take some adjustments and practicing and a little longer than some other apps, but you can end up with some really great photos.

THREE: Instagram
I usually will touch up my photos a bit using the adjustments on Instagram itself. I will slightly alter the brightness, saturation, warmth, or contrast just to tweak up my photo a little more. I don't use the instagram filters anymore, because I think they make the photo look too edited. 

BONUS: Collect

I love this app because if prompts you to take a photo every day, and it puts it into a calendar for you. I like that you can see the photos you've taken everyday, something like a photo journal. 

Do you have any favorite photo editing apps? Please share!! I love finding new ways to make bright, beautiful photos! 

My New Glasses

I recently had the opportunity to work with Firmoo.com to choose a pair of glasses for review. I have to say, I was a little skeptical at first. I haven't ever been a fan of trying on glasses as there are not a lot that fit the shape of my face that I actually like, so ordering online, without seeing what they will actually look like was a little worrisome for me. I was pleasantly surprised when I received mine in the mail! Not only did they fit, they looked great!

Firmoo has a lot of options for glasses with plenty of new daily deals. Their site gets updated everyday with new stuff, so finding the right pair shouldn't be hard. What I loved about the whole online thing was that I could upload a photo of my face and "try on" the glasses before placing my order. This gave me a much better idea of how they might look. 

Each pair of glasses has their measurements (frame/lens height and width, length of arm, as well as the bridge width). I found this to be SUPER helpful with my decision. I basically just measured the glasses I already had and compared them to the sizes they had listed for theirs. 

I chose to use my prescription to order mine, and filling out the form was simple too. I could have not done my prescription strength and just used them as an accessory, but I thought with a new babe coming soon, I won't always have the time or energy, or wakefulness to put my contacts in everyday. 

My whole experience with Frimoo has been great. I will definitely be ordering from here again. Not only are their glasses stylish, but they are super budget friendly, AND, if you click this link, it gives new customers a 15% off discount to use on frames sitewide! How awesome is that?

Bumpdate: 26 Weeks

HOW FAR ALONG: 26 weeks (on Friday July 17) 

ABOUT BABY:  Baby is the size of a head of lettuce weighing in between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs and measuring 13.6-14.8 inches long

SLEEP: Sleep is stil the same. Typical I guess. I wake a couple times in the night, otherwise it's all good. Sleeping on my night shifts was really hard between the heat and trying to sleep through the day. Thankfully, those night shifts will be done soon for a whole year (and the other, baby-boss night shifts will start)

MOVEMENT: This babe is moving non-stop! All the time. 

CRAVINGS: Still nothing major as far as cravings, but if you wanna take me for frozen yogurt, I wouldn't tell you no!

MATERNITY CLOTHES: I still haven't caved and bought any really maternity stuff. i have stuff that works for maternity and no-maternity, so I'm sticking with those for as long as I can. I can't justify buying more expensive items that I will only wear for a short time. 

BEST MOMENT: Palmer singing to my belly. She makes me smile. 

SIBLING: I love watching Palmer play with her dolls, pretending they are the baby. And the other day, she was talking to her "sister" on the phone. Or she has started to sing songs to the baby in my tummy. She is seriously melting my heart. She is going to be the best big sister ever and I can't wait for the day when she gets to see this baby in real life! She will be all cuddles and kisses. 

That Friday Post

It sure has been awhile since I've posted up some of my favorite Friday things, so this week, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite photos recently, along with our favorite Old Navy style. We seem to be shopping there more than anywhere else lately, not only for their cute stuff but the great prices. I think most of these photos appeared on my Instagram over the week, so you can head there to see more of our favorites!

ONE

This one tops my favorites. This dress is seriously so cute, and she had to pick out these flowers at the store because they were "same same" as her dress!

dress / shoes 

TWO

This blue dress is another favorite. The colour is perfect, and how can you say no to this face when she asks you for a treat?

 dress

THREE

Palmer is loving having her nails painted, almost on the daily. She has learned now that she has to wait awhile before they dry, so she was blowing on them here to speed it up! Otherwise, she walks around the house with both hands int he air like shes being robbed until I tell her they are dry! 

dress 

FOUR

She was "helping" me make muffins the other evening. And by help, I mean stir the ingredients right onto the floor and pick out all the chocolate chips!

dress

FIVE

This summer heat wave is making me uncomfortable...and I'm only at the 26 week mark! I can only imagine what the next 14 weeks will be like! But, we are staying cool any way we can, so swimsuits and backyard pools it is for our days off!

swim suit

Happy weekending everyone. Stay cool!

From The Mouth Of Palmer: Volume 2

This little girl of ours is growing up so quickly right before our eyes. I cannot even believe she is 2.5. And what blows my mind even more is her little personality. I could honestly sit there all day and watch her play and talk and imagine. I can't believe I have conversations with this little person. It amazes me how much and how well she talks.  And the things she comes up with, sometimes I can't even.

So here I am with my second edition of From The Mouth Of Palmer. See the first one here!

• The new on that gets me these days is  "oh man!" It seriously kills me!

• I'm not sure where this one came from, but lately when she says thank you it's "Thank you for everything"

• When she's upset and crying, and you ask her something (maybe like "do you need to go have a rest?" she politely says  "No thank you!"

• This one I love!! She wasn't eating her supper too well (as is the story almost every night now) and Mitch got up for a second helping. She asked me where daddy went. I said Daddy is a big boy and ate all his supper so he went to get more. So, when he came back to the table she said, "Hey, big boy!" we just about died laughing!

• "Mama, will you tuddo (cuddle) me?" and how can you say no to that??

• We have hit the "why" stage of toddlerhood, and its difficult to come up with answers sometimes. 
• P: Why??
• Me: Because
• P: Why?
• Me: Because
• P: Why?
• Me: Because I said so!
• P: and you the boss?
• Me: Yes.

• When she needs some chapstick, "I need some wips (lips)"

• She has become very independent and when she wants to do something herself its "No, I do it!"

• She will say "My butt is falling out!" when her pants start to fall down (plumbers crack style!)

• "I not grumpy anymore." after having a little tantrum or a crying moment, and it's usually followed with "I a big girl."

• "I dot (got) crazy hair." which is all the time now, mostly because she hates letting us brush it or do anything with it.

I can't wait to see what this girl comes up with for us next! 

Bumpdate: 24 Weeks

HOW FAR ALONG: 24 weeks (on Friday July 3) 

ABOUT BABY:  Baby is the size of a cantaloupe at 12.7 - 20.8 ounces and is measuring about 10.5 - 11.8 inches long.

SLEEP: Sleep is still going well. It's pretty typical to previous, waking once in the night. Lately though, I have been waking early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep for about an hour or so, which is really annoying!

MOVEMENT: This babe is moving all. the. time. I wake in the night, they're moving. I rest in the day, they're moving. I'm certain they are starting to us my bladder as a trampoline too!

CRAVINGS: No real cravings this week, although it's been SO HOT here that anything cold is perfect!

MATERNITY CLOTHES: Still not yet. I did buy a pair of short though in one size bigger than my usual, otherwise, I'm still wearing most of my own clothes. Like I said before, it's been so hot here that most of my days are spent in a swimsuit or sundress anyways!

BEST MOMENT: Feeling babe move all the time is pretty amazing. I have tried a couple times to get Mitch and Palmer to feel baby too, but we haven't really had any luck! I can feel the kicks like crazy but they seem to stop when someone else's hand is there.

SIBLING: Palmer is really starting to talk about it more. She will whisper in someones ear "There's a baby in mommy's tummy. Shh, its a secret." Its so cute. And she is starting to play more with her baby doll, wrapping her up in a blanket and carrying her around. "Shh, mama. My baby is sleeping." She is so sweet. She is going to be the sweetest big sister. We even saw a little 6 week old baby at a BBQ the other day, and Palmer kept looking at her, she thought she was just so precious. I am so excited to see her with her new sibling!!

Hello July!

Happy July and Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!! 

Well, we are half way though the year now. I cannot even believe how fast it has gone by. Before we know it, we will have a baby and a 3 year old! It blows my mind!

I don't normally make any monthly goals for myself but with this new month, I thought, why not. So, here we go...

1. Be more organized! I have been slipping into the really bad habit of carrying my Be Filled planner around with me everywhere, but not writing anything in it. So, I sat down this morning, wrote in all my appointments, work schedule, etc for the month and I plan to keep on top of it. I know with a baby on the way, my organization skills need to improve immensely (although I know they will likely all go right out the window when little babe makes their arrival!)

2. Take in all the moments I have with Palmer being the only child. With me approaching 6 months along, the time of having just one child is closing quickly. I want to make sure Palmer gets to enjoy the last few months of us fully. I have hopes of taking her to the zoo this month, the petting zoo next month, the local fair in August, and any other special little outings that I think she will love. It's important to me to focus on her this next little while!

3. I think I may be in need of an iPhone intervention! I seriously spend so much of my down time on that bloody thing that it's making me crazy! I recently finished a book I had checked out of the library 3 times (yes, 3 times!) and I really enjoyed it. So I picked up a few more and have decided that reading books is a much better use of my time than Facebook, Instagram, and all the other unnecessary apps on my phone! So, if you have any good book recommendations, I'd love to hear them!!

4. Eating healthier. I feel like I have been using pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I want, but that shouldn't be the case. And now is the perfect time to change gears. With all the fresh fruit and veggies available at the local farmer's market, I should have no reason to not eat food full of nutrients. And, with these summer days being super hot and heat waves expected in our area through September, heating up the house with the oven just is not my thing. So, fresh foods it is!

Have you got any July goals? Any big plans??