WINNER of the Eclectic Whatnot Camera Strap Cover

In the remodel process, I kinda forgot to announce the winner of the Eclectic Whatnot camera strap cover. For those of you who took a look at Ruthanne's gorgeous straps, you know her crazy talent...and I'm pretty sure we're gonna have a few jealous ladies here!!!

Having said that, I did have to pick a winner...and guess who won?! Our very first entry! MRS Jen McNeil, come on down, you're the lucky winner, and because I know you can't stand your old Canon strap, I think you're gonna love your new blinged out strap! Look for an email from me connecting you and Ruthanne later today!

And for those of you who didn't win, I hope you'll hop back over to the Eclectic Whatnot shop and consider buying one of her covers. The quality is wonderful and the price is affordable AND you'd be supporting a really great gal who I was fortunate to meet and enjoy spending time with at BlissDom!

GIVEAWAY & PhotoFANatic Friday: Simple Setting Tips for your DSLR

If you have a DSLR camera, chances are you've flipped through your manual to figure out what all those dang buttons are for, but I'd hazard a guess to say that you may not have read ALL the way through to what the menu button contains. Why do I guess this??? Because when I got my first DSLR camera, I didn't do it, either. Many of the wonderful tips I've learned have been from friends who have hit me upside the head, and then have shown me their tricks and tips.

So, if this sounds like you, too, here are a few tips/tricks that you probably weren't aware of. And once again, though I have a photo business, I'm not purporting to be the be all, end all. I just want to share some things with you that I've found helpful!

Menu Settings You Need to Check Out Now

Shoot w/o Card - If you're a Canon (like me), in the menu on your camera you'll be able to find a setting for 'shoot w/o card.' The default setting is YES. TURN THIS OFF IMMEDIATELY. The last thing you want to do is fire off a bunch of great shots, then realize that you don't have a SD or CF card in the camera. : (

Beep - In your menu settings you will see something that says "BEEP" and it can come in quite handy. Let's say you are shooting a wedding, or your nephew's baby dedication in church. Every time you focus, you'll hear an auspicious "beep." However, you can turn the beep off very easily, which means you want cause people to turn and look at you when your brother and SIL are sharing your nephew's life verse...ahem.

Quality - Have you ever been curious what this stands for? Quality allows for you to decide what size image you are going to shoot and whether you're going to shoot RAW, JPG or both. I shoot raw, SRAW1 to be exact. RAW allows me to shoot images that contain more information, which gives me more opportunities to manipulate photos in Photoshop. I shoot small RAW because they are still HUGE files, but don't burn through my CF cards as fast as RAW. I can blow my images up for large canvases, but still save space on the card. This is a win win in my world. However, RAW files mean that I need to have photo editing software. Shooting JPG would allow me to pop my images into the computer and immediately put them on Facebook, etc. ; )

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!

If you're into photography equipment and new products, you've probably been following the onset of adorable new camera strap covers. My pal Ruthanne, over at Eclectic Whatnot, has started a new line of BEAUTIFUL covers. Having spent countless hours and mounting dollars sewing camera strap slip covers for anyone who would take them, Ruthanne decided something had to go ~ and it wasn't going to be her sewing machine. Thus, Eclectic Whatnot was born. She describes her store as "shabby, chic and just plain fun." Ruthanne's sewing machine is fueled by foot power and she is fueled by good coffee and streaming episodes of 24.

So, now that you know more about Ruthanne, take a look at her gorgeous products by heading over to her store. Here's my favorite. If you're interested in winning one, too, go to the store, then come back here and comment about your favorite. You can also tweet about this GIVEAWAY for another opportunity to win one, too! I'll select a winner next Friday, May 7, so stay tuned!!!

If you're interested in purchasing any new photography products or equipment, I encourage you to check out Adorama. In my opinion, they have the best prices and customer service out there! Happy shooting!

All reviews were provided by the blogger on her own accord. Products were not provided for review.

Clickin Moms GIVEAWAY Winner!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, that's YOU Heidi Pocketbook! For those of you interested in learning more about photography, Clickin Moms is a great forum! It's a community of over 3,000 women who have a passion for photography. The site is for all degrees of photographers - amateurs, professionals, and some are just moms with cameras who want to take awesome photos of their kids!

So, even if you didn't win, please check out Clickin Moms! And, be sure to visit our lucky winner at her site, too! Congrats again, Heidi!

Photography GIVEAWAY

Ever heard of Clickin Moms? Well, if you're a fan of increasing your photography skills, you need to be a member!

Clickin Moms is a community of over 3,000 women, who have a passion for photography. The site, which boats numerous forums, is for all degrees of photographers - amateurs, professionals, and some are just moms with cameras who want to take awesome photos of their kids!

The forums are a great place to post images for feedback, ask questions, watch tutorials, get advice on camera bodies and lenses, etc. And guess what?! I'm giving away a ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP!

In order to be the lucky winner of this ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP, all you have to do is comment and tell me what kind of camera you have by Monday, October 19. Is it a DSLR? A point and shoot? Or are you old school and rock one of these?

PANTIES...There I've Caught Your Attention Now!

Some of you prefer old tshirts, some of you prefer soft cotton nighties, and some of you like to be risque!!! But 39 of you have one thing in common...you like your sleepwear FREE!

Hey seriously, thanks to all 39 of you who entered my GIVEAWAY, but more importantly, thanks for taking the time to read my BLAH BLAH BLAHs and be a follower in one way or another. I really do appreciate it so much!


And now I'm about to shock someone! Angie from A Beachy Life, who says the first post NEVER wins was quite wrong today!!! Congrats woman, enjoy getting yourself a new nightie so you don't have to wear tshirts anymore!

Shoot me an email at jj@theblahblahblahger.com with your address so I can mail you your gift card!!!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Well, I was feeling all sassy about the fact that I had 102 followers and I even said I was going to do a GIVEAWAY and guess what happened?! Somebody dropped off before I could make my announcement...aren't THEY going to kick themselves when they find out what I've decided to do???

So, I was in Denver this weekend when I decided to do a GIVEAWAY if/when I made it to 100, but I didn't know what to do. I figured I'd do one of MY favorite things and share it with all of you. I considered wine, but that would be too hard to ship, and frankly, not everyone loves the vino the way JJ does. I considered a photo session, but very few of my followers are actually So Cal residents. Then I thought, well shoot, I should just see what my next spam email is, and just buy something from there. SERIOUSLY.

And guess what, the very next spam email is one of my FAVORITE things. How perfect is that?!

Followers, and only followers, can enter here until next Wednesday, September 16, to win a $25 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret!!! All you have to do is comment about your favorite kind of jammies! You can get a second entry by tweeting or blogging this GIVEAWAY, too, then come back and comment once again! On Thursday, September 17, I'll announce the lucky winner.

Now, it will send me into fits of apoplexy if you don't leave an email address in your comment...so don't do that. You may share with friends who aren't followers, but they need to become followers in order to participate. That's the rule, folks. This is my way of saying thanks for stopping by my little slice of the internet!!!

And for the record, I'm a nightie kind of girl...I LOVE that super soft cotton that almost feels like velvet. Such a dreamy way to fall into, well, dreamland!

Okay folks, get cracking! I want to see who wears (or doesn't wear) what to bed! : ) Good luck!

Baby Toupees

Before my 2 1/2 year old niece was born, I found the silliest gift for my brother and SIL. But it was really more for a baby boy...and they had a girl. Fast forward a couple of years and now I DO have a nephew and that silly gift is PERFECT for him.

Baby Phoenix is a sooooooper mellow child. He's six months old and just likes to cuddle and smile all day long. When I was in Denver this weekend, I happened to store all my stuff in the playroom and I found the gift and new a photoshoot with the nephew was in store. He, being the good baby that he is, indulged me and let me snap a few funny pics.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
baby in a rasta wig!

HOW FUN IS THAT?! If you haven't yet been over to www.babytoupee.com, I highly encourage you to do so. They've got Donald Trump wigs, Lil Kim wigs, and more. How can you not love a company whose mission is to show that while parenting can be a great responsibility, it can also be a source of endless amusement?

In other news...I've reached my 100 followers milestone and will be announcing a fancy and frilly GIVEAWAY tomorrow!!! Hope you're as excited about it as I am! Come on back in the morning to see what you can win! WOO HOO!

Hello from Denver!

Still in Denver visiting the world's CUTEST niece and nephew (I'm sorry you're not related to them, too), but I thought I'd check in and say hello!  And guess what I noticed?  I'm 2 followers away from 100...which means, I need to plan a GIVEAWAY!!!  

That's right folks, when I hit 100, I'm going to host another giveaway that's only open to my faithful followers.  

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed that we hit lucky number 100 soon!

Bridesmaid Reporting for Duty and GIVEAWAY Results!

My darling pal, Genevieve gets married tomorrow to her longtime love Geoff. I always laugh about the fact that two Gs with J sounds happened to find each other and fall in love! But they did and tomorrow the two Gs will become one. (How's THAT for cheesy? Sorry, weddings do it to me every time!!!)

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I've been in several weddings. I THINK this makes 14...I say think, because I ran the numbers the other night and feel like I'm missing one or two. Yes, that's a HOOPLA of weddings, but you know what? I don't mind...because every wedding I've been in has been a special part of my life. And, I love love. I love that moment when "I do" seals a person's future to another's. I love the flowers, the dress, the photography. I ESPECIALLY love a good cheesy wedding DJ. Who doesn't like the craziness of YMCA, followed by I Like Big Butts, followed by a little KC and the Sunshine Band? Ha!

Tomorrow will be a beautiful day at Pelican Hill. The wedding is all set to be gorgeous (probably the most expensive wedding I've been in...can't wait to see all the amazing details), the weather forecast is perfect, the location is insane, and the dress is just DIVINE. But even more special is being there with my pal as she gets ready to marry the love of her life!

The bride and I at her bachelorette party last month at the pool at the Standard in West Hollywood. Fun times!

Right when she arrived at the rehearsal last night, she BURST into sobs. Think a wedding is a little overwhelming??? She does!

Look at this face...think she's excited to get married? Or maybe she was just excited about the hors d'oeuvre...the tacquitos at The Cannery in Newport WERE pretty insane!!!

**********

In other news, I'm happy to announce the winner of the 18x24 poster printing giveaway sponsored by Digital Room!!! As you know, I'm a huge fan of their products and think their customer service is unbeatable.

Using random.org, lucky number seven, or Kristin from the Meringue Bake Shop as she's all known, is the winner of the print...she's excited about her upcoming 5-year anniversary and is considering enlarging a print from her wedding. Isn't that SO FITTING based upon this post???? Congrats Kristin on winning and on the anniversary!

POSTER PRINTING GIVEAWAY!

Hey readers, guess what?! Digital Room is hosting a GIVEAWAY for one of the BLAH BLAH BLAHger's lucky readers!!! How would you like a 18x24 high-gloss or semi-gloss poster of one of your favorite pics???

In order to enter my GIVEAWAY, simple leave a comment here telling me what image you'd like turned into a poster! For additional chances to win, you can blog about my GIVEAWAY, or tweet about it, then come back here and post another comment by Wednesday, August 5!!! Winner will be chosen on Friday, August 7, and notified immediately, so be sure to include your contact info in your post if your email address isn't linked to your blogger or WP ID!

Disclaimers:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Ground shipping of prizes is free, but there is a $5 handling fee that must be paid by winner. Digital Room reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Digital Room for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

As you may know, Digital Room is the number one place for poster printing!!! I'm a huge fan of their services and find them to be easy to work with, fast, and provide high quality products. If you're looking for custom poster printing and aren't the winner, please be sure to check out Digital Room as I'm confident they'll be able to meet your needs!

Incidentally, if I were chosen, I'd want to blow up this picture to poster size for my best pal. Her son's nursery is done in sports themes, which is why we did their maternity photos at a sports park with all sorts of goodies. So fun, huh?!

Let the games begin - I can't wait to hear about what YOU'LL want to print out in poster size!!!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Remember that fabulous UPrinting.com business card giveaway that I blogged about last week? Well, Lindsey of Magenta Revolution and Like a Hampster on a Wheel is the lucky winner! UPrinting.com will be sending her 500 cards, which seems ideal as she and another friend are kicking off an Etsy business currently. If you have any business card printing needs, I recommend checking out UPrinting.com, too!!!

Congrats Lindsey, and be sure to let us know when your Etsy shop is up and running!!!

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY: How Bout Some Bidness Cahds?!

So, how bout it? You interested in winning some business cards??? Or as my super fly homies would say: some BIDNESS CAHDS!

UPrinting.com is sponsoring this fantastic giveaway where one lucky winner will receive 500 business cards! In our fabulous network of bloggers, DIY Divas, photo-enthusiasts, etc, I'm certain we ALL could use cards to direct our real life friends, families, associates, and neighbors to our online worlds! Don't you just love the idea??? And I know some of you have incredible Etsy shops, etc, and should be using collateral like this to drive buyers to your merchandise!

So who is UPrinting.com? Well, they've been around for 25 years and have an easy-to-use website and a complimentary proofing service which requires no upfront payment. They specialize in marketing products, but also do greeting cards (HELLO, CUSTOM CHRISTMAS CARDS!), posters, mailing labels, and wall graphics! AND, THEY'RE ECO-FRIENDLY!!! Doncha just love it?!

How to Enter
1. Leave a comment explaining how you would creatively use 500 Business Cards by next Wednesday, May 27 AND/OR
2. Write a post on your blog about this giveaway post and link back to http://www.uprinting.com/
(You can enter 1 OR both! If you blog about this giveaway, be sure to add a second comment so you can be entered to win twice!)

Rules
Should the winner be from the United States or Canada, free shipping is included. If the winner happens to be from Outer Mongolia or other parts, they'll need to pay for their own shipping.

PS - I don't actually have "super fly homies" who say bidness cahds...I've just been watching too much MTV.

PPS - Just kidding...I watch more HGTV than MTV and am just incredibly cheesy.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

How lucky are Nicki and Xazmin??? They are both the very lucky winners of one of these bad boys...the spray paint gun!

I spontaneously decided to give away TWO of them yesterday and these two gals both commented and shared how they'd like one for future spray paint projects AND became BLAH BLAH BLAHger followers -- which frankly makes me GIDDY as a school girl.

So, Nicki and Xazmin, email me at jj@theblahblahblahger.com with your mailing addresses and I'll be sure to pop one of these genius contraptions into the mail for ya!

And to all the other followers who were hoping to win...I'm so sorry. But let's all channel Scarlett O'Hara and remember that tomorrow's another day!

Mind Candy Review: Chasing Harry Winston - Spring Book Swapaway!

I realize that the days of "spring break" is gone for most of you (and me, too - waaaaaah), and that time is a commodity, but don't you just love to be able to vege out on the couch/lawn chair/beach chair/blanket with a good read every now and again?

I started thinking about the fact that summer will be upon us soon, which also means that a ton of new "chick lit" books will be released soon, too! Yeah!!! I reflected back on my fav read from last year - Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (the author of The Devil Wears Prada). Have you read it? If not, you should!

I really enjoyed this book (as did several of my friends who borrowed it) for a number of reasons. One - I like a good book about capable women. Two - I enjoy reading something fun, that makes me giggle, doesn't necessarily make me think too hard, and let's me escape for a while...CHW fits this bill. Three - there are three main characters facing different choices and experiencing different adventures, foibles, happiness, and sadness. Four - which means there are THREE different love stories! Five - all three characters are flawed (I can relate!), but you somehow want to see them succeed!

So, in the spirit of sharing and wanting all of YOU to have the opportunity to enjoy this book, I am proposing a GIVEAWAY of sorts...or maybe we'll call it a Spring Book Swapaway! Comment below by next Thursday, April 9, and tell me YOUR favorite spring or summer read and I'll randomly select one person to receive Chasing Harry Winston! All I ask is that you become a follower over there on the right hand side! And, if you want to swap your favorite book, I'd love that, too!

What do you think? Wanna swap?

PS - ring #2 on the book cover makes me SALIVATE!!! Oh who am I kidding, I SUPPOSE I'd take any of them...

Giveaway Results

I tried a giveaway last week, and I kinda feel like it pooped out...maybe my followers are mostly outside of So Cal, maybe people doubt my ability, or maybe people don't value portraits as much as I do. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bit bummed... HOWEVER, I'm not going to let it get me down.

This year, I've decided to do a certain number of photo shoots gratis in order to build my portfolio. I wanted to use my giveaway to practice, but also to network with other people. So you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to practice and network!

I had 8 people who commented on my blog. Almost all of them will be winners!

• Angry Julie Monday get's a photoshoot with Angry Toddler!
• laurelstreet commented and is a sweet blahg friend who lives in New Orleans...thanks for the encouragement!
• CarleeKajsa is my gorgeous cousin and gets a family shoot and photos of her 3 month old.
• SAS commented and enjoyed the photos I took of she and the Dubber.
• Living with Lindsay gets a family photo shoot the next time I'm in Austin! ; )
• isk8jewel will have a special shoot with a friend when she's here the week of Labor Day!
• Sonia is somewhere here in CA and if she can get down to the LA area, I'll arrange a family shoot for her, too!
• Lisa Pechan, a wine club/small group friend, gets engagement photos!

Email me at jj@theblahblahblahger.com and we'll get things set up. Thanks for your excitement and for the trust you're placing in me for delivering special photos! I'll do you proud!

Tuesday Tool Talk & 250th BLAH BLAH BLAHG Post!

Friends, family, and blahgers, I JUST reached my 250th blog post which is kinda hard to believe!!! I started this blog in 2005 as a digital scrapbook...and I'm pretty sure no one read it for quite a while - not even my parents. : ) But then some friends started reading it and commenting about my home projects and kitchen fiascos. It became even more fun!

Today is Tool Talk Tuesday...but I'm cheating a little because, as many of you know, one of my favorite tools lately has been my CAMERA! AND, as it's a special mile-marker, I've decided to hold my very first give-away!!! (And because a post without a pic is kinda boring, here's a sneak preview of Sarah and Walter's engagement shoot!)

So, here's the deal: if you're a So Cal native, have friends or family in the OC or IE region (or even parts of SD or LA), OR are planning a special trip this year out here, I'm giving away a 90 minute photo shoot! I'll come to you or we can plan a fabulous landmark location; it can be a family shoot, child shoot, or even an engagement shoot!

If you're interested in winning, you need to do two things to enter: comment below and tell me why you'd like this photo shoot AND become a blog follower over there to the right in the "Join Me" section by next Monday, March 23, at 9am PST! I'll announce the random winner on Tuesday, March 24!!!

I hope you're looking forward to this as much as I am! And, as always, thanks for stoppin' by!


Oh, and happy St. Pat's!!!