custom cards with Basic Invite (+ a free halloween printable!)

* I was compensated for this post. All words + opinions expressed are my own. 

Thanks for supporting my family by reading along; I truly appreciate it!*
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     I'm partnering with Basic Invite today to share a little bit about their "truly custom" invitation website! Basic Invite gave me the chance to try out their site for myself and these are some of the adorable thank you cards that I picked out! In the thank you card section alone, there are over 600 cards to choose from, each of which can be completely customized! Needless to say, it took me a while to choose and I had so much fun playing around with the colors to make them just perfect! 

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     Basic Invite offers hundreds of lovely custom options for wedding invitations, birth + graduation announcements, holiday cards and more! Their site is super easy and fun to use. I'm so happy with how the quality of my cards turned out as well; the card stock and envelopes are both great quality.

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     Do you have experience ordering custom invitations? Which websites have you used? Working on this post reminds me of when I was planning my wedding and hand painted Chinese symbols on all of the wedding invites that I made myself: true story!

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Use code 15FF51 for 15% off your order!
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Be sure to check out the free printables section where Basic Invite is currently offering this adorable halloween party invitation, free to download!
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Happy Monday!
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insta-summer and a quick hello!

It's been a while! My kids (yes, both kids! Ah!) are back in school and I'm attempting to get back at blogging! My computer has been gone being fixed most of the summer, and I haven't even touched my camera, *but* I have been keeping up on Instagram so I thought I'd share some of my faves from this summer.
. opening night at my end of the year show for school! i only took one class last year and i worked on a self portrait project called "portraits of motherhood" which pretty much sums up the emotions i've felt over the past year: exhaustion and introspection. i was glad to be chosen for the show and to catch up with my artist friends. the angels seriously sing for me when the weather warms up and i can get these rambunctious little boys out of the house and to the park every evening!colorado summer skies are my absolute favorite. i can't even; they are so special to me.

sillouette shots at the park are also my favorite.weekend trip to breckenridge, a ritzy little ski town.
we spent a good amount of time down at the river this summer. there is nothing more magical that sparkly summer water, especially nestled within the mountains.
lots of splash park nights this summer, and it was so sweet to see asher finally get the courage to play in the water! <3neighborhood bike rides, more park nights... ok we basically *live* at the park.

my sisters came to visit this summer! our trip was perfect. these girls are such a big part of my heart and we had an amazing time being our ridiculous selves as usual! 

we took a little day trip into Cheyenne with my sisters, such a sleepy old town. we went on a carriage ride, had lunch and adventured around. 

with my sisters we also hiked to the top of a waterfall and oh my goodness came across this dreamy pool at the top. 

we ended up taking an impromptu family trip to ohio. these pictures were taken in nebraska/eastern colorado. always nice to see the fam!

the boys and i on our way to a friend's house for a cookout. 

we loved having wednesday night cookouts at adrienne's! summer grass // green tea frapps 

both summer staples.dandelions are forever my favorite flower // my own little flower turned *5* and we had an aboslutely wonderful day celebrating our asher.

we had lunch at a janky little restaurant in ault. there were flies everywhere and sticky syrup dripping on the walls as expected but dang this mural wall - worth it.
this picture was taken the night that the boys and i went back to school shoe shopping at Kohls/Famous Footwear and had dinner at iHop. i'm actually tearing up just looking at this picture. i can honestly say that this night was just perfect.

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i hope you all had a beautiful summer!

i'm excited to get back into this space and also to catch up on reading all of my favorite blogs as well!

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happy friday!

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here's to the lilacs.

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     The early flowers of spring bring me back something fierce to my childhood. My middle sister, Hillary, and I were born exactly a week (and almost 5 years) apart. Her birthday is April 28th and mine is May 5th. Then there is Mom's birthday on May 14th and my Dad's follows hers on May 17th. 

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     These weeks bring back strong memories of lilacs and joint sister birthday celebrations in the 90's on Broad Blvd. All the chairs pulled into the living room and Mom and Dad taking pictures of sisters smiling with their new huffy bikes. Homemade pinatas (seriously my mom was the Martha Stewart birthday queen) and birthday games in the yard. Running back and forth over the neighbor's cracked blacktop driveway. A couple weeks later Dad would make strawberry dessert cups for Mom and Mom would bake a chocolate on chocolate cake decorated with Hershey kisses for dad. There were always, always photos, blowing out the candles at the dining room cast iron table. Perfectly simple, wonderful celebrations with balloons taped to the corner cabinets and all. 

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Years later our littlest and last sister would join the family on March 17th, a little earlier in the season but capping our 2 full months of celebrations as a family. When Aaron and I married, it was March 18th, and when my Dad passed away, 2 years ago, he left on the 27th of April. One night before Hillary's birthday and 8 days before I turned 28. Squeezed in between all our springtime family celebrations; tulips in full bloom outside of his hospital room. Fitting I'd say. 

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     Now years later, things have certainly changed. I'm walking in the warm spring evenings in Colorado now with two little kids of my own and we always go down the alley with the lilac bushes. The smell takes me back, like a bizarre time machine of sorts, to these exact same weeks all those years ago... when our very own overgrown lilac bush was in full bloom in the backyard and mom would take clippings for our birthday table. 

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     So I sit here on my Dad's birthday eve; sifting through the ups and downs of the last two months. One day wishing Hillary a happy 25th birthday and the next morning waking up to remember the day that my dad passed away. This year was my 10th wedding anniversary and I turned 30!  Big things amidst years of uncertainty and trying to figure life out. Dad has been gone for two years now and it's a strange, hard point of grief for me. I live so far from family now, but there have been many calls and cards back and forth these last 2 months. Of course the cards for my sisters and mom are still on my counter because everyone knows I'm scattered as hell and presents from me are habitually late.

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     I'm missing my dad something fierce tonight. I'm thinking and knowing it's unfair that he's gone. I'm wishing I had things more "figured out" in life. Feeling frantic and like I've failed these mega-milestones that I hit this year. Marriage and relationships are totally beyond my expertise and turning 30 hardly has me at a point of great success and wise understanding. Dad's gone and honestly, I don't have it anymore figured out or emotionally processed than on the day he died. 

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     What I am learning is that nothing in life is ever really that perfect or very much figured out at all. Learning and believing this; being able to peel away false perception and tearing down walls of a perfect exterior, these are the things I've grasped and processed at the end of my 20's. If there is anything I've "figured out" so far it's to never, ever EVER think, not for a moment, that you've figured it all out. Not ever, because I promise you that you haven't. Definitely not at 18 or 24. Especially not at 30...

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     All those years ago, we didn't have it all figured out as a family either and things were certainly far from perfect behind the scenes. But you know, my parents tried the damn best that they could. And here we all are, still making it, still trying, still finding our paths, separately and together. Still confused but still calling each other on our birthdays. Still saying I love you. 

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     We're still celebrating these special days together. Of course now we have great sorrow and loss in the mix but it's also beautiful in its own very real way. It's what we have; it's our reality and it's ours to share and have together. 

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We know that no matter what happens, there will be always be birthday flowers blooming in spring and with them, the sweet, strong undeniable smell of memories and love. 

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Here's to never, ever giving up on that love. 

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Here's to the lilacs...

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*Happy Birthday Daddy*

   Forever, 

  Gigi
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LifebankUSA

( baby Asher, 6 weeks old! )

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     I'm partnering again with LifebankUSA again on my blog to share a little bit about their company with you today!

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     LifebankUSA is a private cord blood bank that offers stem cell preservation services to expecting parents. It's becoming more well known that stem cells can be saved from the umbilical cord at birth and later be used to treat an illness in the child or family member but did you know that stem cells can now be saved from the placenta as well? Storing cells from both the umbilical cord and placenta increases the number of life saving stem cells that are stored which also increases the possibilities to use them later on. Ongoing research has shown that stem cells saved at birth can be used to treat up to 80 diseases so far!

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     LifebankUSA is now offering placenta banking as well. Possibly therapeutic uses of placental tissue are in early research stages and LifebankUSA now offers placenta banking as one more layer of protection and peace of mind as part of their complete banking services. Seeing that stem cells preserved from cord and placenta blood have successfully been used to treat patients, who knows what technology will be able to do in the future!

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     Be sure to check out LifebankUSA and learn more about their services if you are expecting a baby. I'm curious to know if any of my readers have experience with cord blood banking. Did you know that placenta banking is now an option? If so, what do you think?

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Thanks for reading; have a great week!

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snow globe childhood.

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My blogging / photography life is kind of all over the place right now. (As usual maybe?) 5 years ago my goals were working in portrait photography. Once I started getting clients and trying that out though, it didn't really feel like my passion. Last year I decided to step away from taking clients so I got a part time job and went to school full time. Honestly it was the best decision I could have made during a hard year in my life and I felt so filled up there. I was able to branch out and focus on some really cool projects that made me feel a little more alive art wise. I was able to see through my teachers' and fellow students' eyes what my style was. I have found that sometimes it's hard to see your style even when you're creating and staring at it everyday. I always wanted to be a blogger and over the summer I started focusing more on the Instagram community as well. I remember dreaming of being able to work with a company through those outlets and now I've had many opportunities to work with some awesome big companies and small business alike. I've made money and received all kinds of cool packages. I've had an outlet to write and I've built special memories doing photoshoots with my boys.

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So, now what? I'm not sure. I only took one class this past fall and now I'm taking a break from school. Is this the best decision - I'm unsure. I was planning to transfer to an art school, now I'm unsure. I think, no I know, that I can be really hard on myself artistically. Which is so silly. Art is a lifestyle and it should be something I enjoy and breathe not something I put pressure on myself about. At the same time, I'm the kind of person that needs a little pressure or I kind of just exist in my own world for too long.

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So yeah, there it is. A bunch of rambling that doesn't really amount to anything. I guess I'm trying to think, "what do I want to do in 2016?" I think I want to rebrand my blog a bit which is something I've wanted to do forever. I'd like to have a new photography website that serves as a more cohesive portfolio of all of the work that I've done. I don't have huge blogging plans right now but I would like my sites to be updated and more professional so that they are there for me when I need them. I'd like to try new things, maybe sell some prints in town, maybe upgrade my camera. These are the ideas going through my head right now. End rambling.

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Here are some photos I took last spring when I was focusing on a free lensing project for school. Honestly I didn't put much thought into this series of photos because it was just me messing around with the technique of free lensing in the beginning but I'm very in love with them now. I clearly have a thing for white space and kids jumping on the bed and I love how free lensing abstracts that, kind of like looking at childhood through a snow globe.

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Thanks for reading, friends. Words of wisdom/advice more than welcome!

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little style: FamLove Clothing

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    Okay, so I'm secretly obsessed with Valentine's Day. I'm not really a huge holiday person honestly but it gets me every year when stores start filling up with all the cute heart things. As if the Target dollar spot could even get any more tempting!

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    FamLove Clothing sent us this adorable tee shirt and it's absolutely perfect for Asher to wear this year for Valentine's Day! I love that it has the sign language sign for "I love you." We taught both of our boys some sign language when they were babies and the "I love you" sign has lasted all of these years and they still use it to this day. FamLove is a family owned brand run by 3 cousins whose mission is to spread positivity and love through trendy clothes! Their shirts are super soft and high quality and of course absolutely adorable.

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You can use my code: bygillianclaire to get 20% off  your purchase!

Be sure to check out their site 

and grab one of these adorable shirts for your little one's Valentine's Day. 

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shirt: c/o FamLove Clothing

camo jogger pants: Old Navy clearance (sold out, similar here)

car slip ons: Old Navy clearance (sold out)

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*I received this shirt for free as part of my work as a Brand Ambassador for the FamLove Clothing brand. I never accept clothing from or support brands that I do not honestly admire and love! 

Thanks for reading along!*

roman turns 8.

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Can hardly believe that this little ( BIG ) boy turned 8 in December. The time since he was born has gone by so quickly yet at the same time feels like an eternity. I can barely remember Roman as a newborn, Roman as a 2, 4 or 6 year old. Other than today, all the other days feel like a blur of memories swirling around somewhere high above me out of reach. There are millions of little moments that stick out in my head, playing back in my mind like clips from a movie. That's how I feel as a mother. Their story is playing out fiery quick as I to grab onto a few bits and beautiful pieces to play on repeat in my mind, trying to preserve some of the miracle that is happening right in front of my eyes.

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The sweetest you see in that photo above truly personifies Roman exactly. He is sweet and sentimental and wise beyond his years. He feels deeply and loves passionately and I couldn't be prouder or happier to call him mine.

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Last night we laid in bed together when I was putting him to sleep. 

He says, "I love you." 

I say, "I love you more." 

He says, "Don't get me started." 

I say, "I love you moon." 

and he says, "I love you star," just like he always has. 

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I'll finish this post here before I dip in too deep into that realm of loving my babies so much it hurts. Too late, I'm already there. <3

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Here's to the best 8th year for my sweetest boy. 

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