Form submitted successfully, thank you.

Error submitting form, please try again.

pure-photography.net bio picture

The Pure Photography blog

That person to the left over there?  That's me, April.  I'm a photographer (no kidding, right?) in Lafayette, Indiana.  I love shooting everything, but my passion is wedding photography.  Ironically enough, that's the one thing I said I never wanted to do.  Go figure.  

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the world (wide web).  I hope you'll come back often & leave lots of comment love.  Photographers loooove comments.  And lenses, but that's a different story....

Baby’s nursery – pt. 1

I’ve been getting some hints that I needed to post some pictures of the nursery, so I figured I’d better get on that.  Who knows when Baby will make his appearance, right?  This will be a two part post.  You’ll get the second half after Baby’s here.  Why?  Because a couple elements in the room have his name on them & we’re keeping that a secret until he gets here.  Gotta have some element of surprise :)  Without further ado (& because it’s getting late), here is the nursery so far…

A closer look at the tree decal, which I love.  It was quite the hassle getting it up there, but now that it’s there, I think it was totally worth it.  Of course, Dustin may disagree, but I’m sure he’ll keep that to himself.  I bought the little birds separate & I think they’re my favorite part.  I’m so glad they were the right size & actually worked out.

Here’s a closer look at the super cute art work.  I had the hardest time finding anything that I liked.  One day, I happened upon the website Children Inspire Design & I fell in love.  She had these prints up on her blog, but they weren’t for sale yet.  I went back everyday for at least a week until they were finally in the store.  Totally worth it.

Cute little birdie night light from Target.  I swear there’s not a bird theme going on!

A few of my favorite details.  I actually made that mobile myself, believe it or not!  I saw one on Etsy, but it was more than I wanted to spend.  Then, as luck would have it, it I found directions on how to make one in an old Martha Stewart Baby magazine that I had.  I’m still debating on adding a 5th pinwheel to the center, but I’m guessing I won’t.  Not because I wouldn’t like it, but because I have about 5,000,000 other things to get to.  Oh & the elephant lamp?  A total steal.  It was a floor model at Pottery Barn Kids & I got it for $19.  Originally?  $59.  Score!

Detail of one of the pinwheels

Here’s a crappy iPhone picture of what they all looked like before they were strung up.

Finally, here are the two areas of the room that I’ll show you later.  The first one looks really bare since the artwork isn’t up.  Guess that gives you incentive to tune in later.  Trust me, it’s going to be so cute!

I still need to figure out something to put on the shelves here.  His name goes on the center one, but other than that, I’m at a loss.  I’m not too concerned though – I’m sure they’ll get filled up one way or another…

Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that the clock, shelves & perfect little table above were all made by Dustin when I had Jack.  Pretty cool, huh?  The clock will probably have a different home eventually, but Jack keeps saying he wants it back in his room.  He hasn’t mentioned it in awhile, though, so hopefully he’s given up on it.  We’ll see.  Hope you enjoyed peeking around.  Can’t wait to show you the rest!

Gail - GAHHHHH...this nursery is SOOOO stinkin' cute!!! I KNEW it'd be awesome! TIMES TEN! You did an incredible job!!! I swear, you need to start your own decorating business. If you do, can I come help? hehe PS - Bookmarking that kids' art site. I ADORE her stuff!July 26, 2010 - 7:47 am

Jack is 4!

Every year I want to do a blog post for Jack on his birthday & this is only the second time in 4 years that I’ve succeeded in doing so.  50%?  Hmmm….  That’s not even a passing grade.  Anyway, I’m doing it this year, so that’s a start!

Jack was extra, super-duper excited for his birthday this year.  I think he started talking about it sometime in April!  Lots of list making for presents, cake ideas & the guest list.  His actual birthday was on a Tuesday, so we had a little party for just the 3 (and a half) of us that night.  Then, we waited a couple of weeks for his “big” birthday party.  Since his birthday falls so close to July 4th, it’s always been tricky to get his friends here.  Waiting until after the holiday made that possible, finally.  It was definitely worth it, because he had so much fun playing with everyone.

As for his cake, I’d just planned on making “Cowboy Cake”, which, if you’ve never had it, is freaking delicious!  It’s this magical cross between cake & a brownie with the best chocolate icing ever on top.  Seriously, just writing about it makes me want to go bake one right now.  Of course that’s not going to happen, but still…  Anywho, Jack was hanging out with me one day when I was reading blogs & happened to see the super cool rainbow cake that Bobbi of bobbi + mike made on her birthday.  Needless to say, once he got a glimpse of that rainbow confection, there was no talking him out of it.  So, the night before the “big” party I figured out how to do it & went for it.  It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, but I don’t necessarily want to make it again anytime soon, either.  Luckily, it was a hit & Jack was very happy to have it.  Oh & as for the Cowboy Cake?  We had that for the 3 of us on his actual birthday.  Score!

The beloved Iron Man

Super excited for a Glow Station!

Jack made a cake to share :)

Cake #1 – Cowboy Cake

Here’s how Jack does 4…

Party #2!

He was so excited he was doing summersaults all over the place.  Crazy kid

Cake #2, before & after cutting.

Delicious, apparently.

Jack giving his new baby cousin, Piper, some love.  Sweet…

And finally, a quickie family shot (Thanks, Courtney!)  Note to self, do not stand at a 3/4 angle when pregnant – egads.  Also, you’ll be glad to know, Jack’s hair has had a little trim since then too :)

If you’ve got an extra 90 seconds, check out the slideshow.  Jack’s already watched it 4 times, so it can’t be too bad!  Click here for full size.

Gail - Ahhhhhh....HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!!! April, I just adore your family. I'm SO glad I got to meet you guys! And a Ting Tings song that PERFECTLY matches this little guy's slideshow? Gawd you are SUCH a cool mom!!!! ;)July 19, 2010 - 8:15 am

Two sides of a coin

Ahhhh… it feels good to finally be back on my blog.  I wasn’t able to access anything on my server, including website, email & blog, so I was feeling a little lost.  All’s well in internet land again, though, so let’s go!  I have some pictures of Jack’s birthday to post, but I wanted to show these right now.  I think these pictures show the two sides of Jack’s personality pretty well.  On the one hand, you have a sweet, helpful boy & on the other, well, you have a BOY!  First up, the side that I see most during the day.

He always wants to help with whatever I’m doing, so I thought I would put him to work tearing the ends off the lettuce.  He may’ve been slow, but he was thorough…

Anddddd…. here’s the other side.  Whenever Wrestlemania starts in the living room, I usually make myself scarce.  I’m pretty sure I put a damper on their fun with all my worrying.  No one’s been seriously injured yet, although Jack did say the other day that Dustin “messed up the bones in his neck” or something along those lines.  Yep, exit stage left for me…

Dustin - That last picture shows how we are in COMPLETE control all the time. You have nothing to worry about!July 19, 2010 - 5:29 am

Gina - I love your photography! Such pretty vibrant colors and clean freshness! I am just starting out. Fun to see you are in Indiana. That is where I grew up.July 25, 2010 - 5:26 pm

Happy 4th Birthday, Jack!

I actually want to do a longer post for Jack’s birthday, but the internet/computer is not my friend at the moment.  Soooo… Here’s a cute little shot from our small party the other day.  Do you think he’s excited for his new Iron Man toy?  As an aside, he’s only ever seen the movie trailer for Iron Man 2, yet he is obsessed with all things Iron Man.  Go figure.

Mama’s got a brand new bag…

Ok, so that was beyond cheesy.  But, it’s true!  When Dustin asked me what I wanted for my birthday last month, I said a new diaper bag.  Granted, that may not sound exciting to you & understandably so, but my sister just showed me a link to the diaper bag she was getting and I fell in love.  When I ordered it, they had free gift wrap, so of course I went for it.  I even went so far as to fill out the card from Dustin.  Why?  Because pregnancy has obviously caused me to lose my mind.  Regardless, it made opening it a lot more fun.  See for yourself…

The suspense is killing you, isn’t it?

Awwww…. Wasn’t that nice of him?

Ta Da!  I love it, I love it, I love it!  It’s actually a “daddy diaper bag”, which is such a ridiculous concept.  Whatever, it’s perfect for me.

Cross body strap?  Yes, please.

And finally, a couple of cool details.  It comes with a bag to put it in.  I honestly have no idea why, but that doesn’t make me like it any less.  The inside has orange accents.  Hmmm… orange & gray… wonder why I like it so much?

Thanks for indulging me in my frivolity!  Oh & just in case you’re wondering, the bag is the Scout bag by Petunia Pickle Bottom.  It comes in an amazing leather version, but considering I’m not made of money, I stuck with the felt one.

Betsy - Love it! WOW! Ok, though with my two pugs, that would be a DOG HAIR bag!! ; )June 23, 2010 - 7:38 pm

Gail - Holy cow, that is the coolest diaper bag I've EVER seen!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE PS - Must remember that in another year or two ;)June 23, 2010 - 10:00 pm

Clary - We got that diaper bag 3 years ago when my daughter was born. Loved it so much and still use the wipe holder!July 14, 2010 - 7:43 am