SNACKING: I recently stopped eating gluten, most dairy, high fructose corn syrup and a few other things, so my snacking has really turned into anything I can find that doesn’t include those things. It’s definitely not a bad thing, but dang, it’s not easy!

ANTICIPATING: Last month, I started having issues with the way that I was hosting my photos. To make a long story short, I used a 3rd party website to store my photos and then I linked them into my blog. I found this method on pinterest and loved it because it allowed me to share big beautiful photos instead of teeny tiny ones that wordpress allows with their media tool. I was naive in thinking that they would let me do this forever with the giant images I was uploading straight from my camera, but they finally caught on and shut down all of my photos. Once this happened, all you could see were big grey boxes that basically proclaimed to the world that I needed to pay them to see my photos again. I don’t think I’ll be going that route, but luckily, my photos were all backed up on a hard drive. I’m anticipating having to go back through to re-upload some photos here and there to make my blog posts complete. If you’re a blogger, I’d love to know how you manage/store the photos for your blog.

BORROWING: I’m starting out the month with a few books checked out at the library and I’m planning on borrowing a few more before the month’s over. In comparison to the past couple years, I’ve really been powering through some books. Current reads: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Love Does by Bob Goff, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley. If you have any recommendations for future reads, let me know in the comments! (GoodReads)

ADMIRING: Over the last month, I’ve been pretty hooked on watching YouTube and following along with some of my favorite artists. I’ve been particularly admiring the work of artists like Ali Brown, Retro Hip Mama Andrea Grey, Adele at Inkie Quill and Courtney at the Little Raven Ink.

PURCHASING: Since I started doing more portraits, I have had my eye on a 50mm prime lens for my camera and on Prime Day last month I finally made the plunge. It’s not an expensive lens, comparatively, but dang is this thing sharp. An Amazon review really sealed the deal when it said that it is an amazing lens for pet photography.

Today I’m joining Anne, at In Residence, for a ‘Currently’ linkup that she hosts on the first Wednesday of every month. Be sure to pop over and see what everyone else is up to!

baking: in my circle of friends it seems that I often get put on dessert duty, which I’m 100% happy about. My recent faves are brownies (with ice cream), my Nana’s banana bread muffins, and trifles (which I guess aren’t technically baked).