Free Stock Photos

These are some photos that I took around my neighborhood that you are welcome to use! 

To download, click here.

*Note: For personal use only.  Free to use as desktop images, for blogs, or other personal use.  NOT allowed to be sold or used in whole, or any in part thereof, for profit. When you download you agree to these terms.*

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Spring Around Here

 It's feeling springy around here!

We love going on walks around our neighborhood and finding pretty weeds to frolic around in.

A few days ago we took our dog to a dog park.  There is a large fenced area for the dogs to run free.  Our dog loved playing with the other dogs.  And there is also a cute pond where you can walk your dog on a leash.  We stopped to sit in the grass and take some family selfies.

And another cute picture of my dog that my husband took while on their evening walk recently.  Isn't he the cutest?! (Yes, he is my baby.  Totally. Not ashamed!)

In other news, I'm thinking about transferring my blog to a different host and website builder program.  Not sure if I want to keep the name "Alone with my tea" or use this as an opportunity to rebrand.  What do you think?  Keep it or update it?

Brazil Photo Album || & Why I don't like "Project Life"

This was my first time making a Project Life album.  I was drawn to the "scrap-book-esque" feel of it with the ease of a photo album.  I knew I had a ton of pictures, so I bought extra photo sheets.  I also bought an entire kit of decorative cards and pens.  I spent almost $100 on supplies because I knew I would be using them for many projects.  Big mistake!  Here's why - I didn't like it!  I probably won't use the Project Life system again!
Stop the presses!  What?!  How could I say such a thing?!  All the bloggers looove Project Life!  Am I crazy?! 

All kidding aside - it's not for me.  The albums are way too big, the page layouts are limiting, and I can't display it anywhere.  One of the biggest problems for me was the layout of the pages.  I had an odd number of horizontal and vertical arrangements and they didn't always match up with the page layouts, so I was forced to leave some pictures out.  I also had to cut pictures so that they could fit in two pockets so that they could stay with the pictures they were grouped with.  

See how I had to cut those two middle pictures in half so they would fit with this page?

Notice all those empty cards...

The other issue I had was that not all of my photos were the same size - phone cameras, my dslr, and my waterproof camera all shot photos in different sizes.  It was impossible for me to print everything as 4x6 without distorting or losing parts of my images.  So many of my photos are too small for the pockets.  I tried to tape the pockets shut with washi tape, but I don't really like how that looks.  Also the notecards are a cute idea but I found that I was using them just to fill in empty space, and I didn't write on very many of them.  

The final reason why I don't like the album is that it's too big.  I don't have a huge house with huge furniture, so it actually takes up half of my coffee table.  For me the whole point of making an album is so that family and friends can thumb through.  But even if I found a place for this in my living room, the pages are so huge that it's difficult to flip through.  

Overall I found ways to make it cute, I like the idea of it - the journaling and decorative cards - but it's just not for me.  I'll stick with regular photo albums (or smaller scrapbooks) from now on!  A Beautiful Mess have some photo books available in their store; maybe I'll check those out.

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Want to see most of my pictures from our year in Brazil?  Click here for a roundup of blog posts from our time in Rio de Janeiro.

Linking up for Travel Tuesday

Out and About || Our Neighborhood

We live in a small neighborhood.  Our street is right off a main road, but it feels secluded.  There is a housing development right next to us, but I hardly notice it because we have two very large lots in between.  The man who developed our area (duplexes) had planned to build on the entire road, but something came up and he left it only halfway done.  So now there are 5 houses on our side of the street and 6 houses across from us, and two large empty lots next door. We also have a pool house and a pool for the neighbors to share.  

We like to take evening walks down our road.  It dead-ends at a cotton field, and the sunsets are very beautiful.  They recently came and mowed the lots, but before they did, it was overrun with beautiful weeds and flowers.  I just thought I'd share some photos that I've taken.  Sorry they're not the greatest quality... all I have is my iphone right now.  A DSLR camera is on the list right after paying off our debts and getting a nice keyboard.

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