Action Cameras for an Adventurous Holiday Season

The holidays are looming – there are only 71 days until Christmas! 

I've always heard that men are hard to buy for but I don't think that's true. The stereotypical tie wouldn't work for my husband, true, but he's pretty easy to shop for. Especially this year.

Bob loves to take photos. He takes them mostly with his iPhone and DSLR but I know he'd love to have a camera that loves the outdoors as much as he does. He's been lusting after a GoPro for quite a while and I think that he might finally get one this year. Now the only question I have is which one to buy. There are models for every price point and specialized hobby…

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Best Buy is the home of the latest cameras and camcorders, including the full line of new GoPro cameras, plus a broad assortment of accessories. GoPro cameras make perfect holiday gifts for everyone, from kids and teens, to gadget gurus. GoPro’s new line of cameras allow you to beautifully and authentically capture and share the experiences that bring purpose, adventure, and joy to your life.

·         GoPro HERO4 Black: the most advanced GoPro ever, featuring improved image quality and a 2x more powerful processor with 2x faster video frame rates1, HERO4 Black takes award‐winning GoPro performance to a whole new level.

·         GoPro HERO4 Silver: the first-ever GoPro to feature a built-in touch display. Controlling The camera, playing back footage and adjusting settings is ultra-convenient—just view, tap and swipe the screen. With 1080p60 and 720p120 video, and 12MP photos at a staggering 30 frames per second, HERO4 Silver combines powerful, pro-quality capture with the convenience of a touch display.

·         GoPro HERO: Featuring high‐quality 1080p30 and 720p60 video, and 5MP photos up to 5 fps, HERO captures the same immersive footage that’s made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world. 12x more powerful processor with 2x faster video frame rates

Learn more at www.bestbuy.com/GoPro or visit your local Best Buy to check out the latest cameras in person.

I am a member of the Wolf Blogging Network and have been compensated for this post in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card.

Live A Little - Take A Picture; It'll Last Longer

One of the funny things about blogging is that sometimes it stops you from living life, even as you're trying to document how you're living life. My husband rolls his eyes whenever I pause to take a picture of my meal before we start eating and the kids alternate between wanting me to blog about their every move and running away from the camera.

My obaasan takes a zillion pictures at family gatherings. It's a bit of a joke among our relatives since it seems to take forever to get everyone in the same place and all smiling while she frets over taking the shot. And someone's head inevitably gets cut out. But you know what? It's really, really cool to look at those pictures later on. Roo found an an album she made for me with lots of pictures from my childhood and high school graduation and was totally fascinated because I looked so much like her. Quite possibly with the same disdainful eye-rolling!

I have a nice DSLR but I take more pictures with my phone. The quality is not as good but I love being able to whip it out on a whim. Of course, digital photography occasionally gives digital snafus, as evidenced by the weird color variations in the pictures below.

We're not a family portrait kind of family. Never have been. Our stories are silly and snapshotty and I love it that way.

How do you Live A Little on camera?

Join us!

Participate in the weekly Live a Little blog hop! Write a blog post how you “live a little,” what’s your small way of living life to the fullest and add your blog post to the InLinkz widget above. Rules: Link to bit.ly/livelittle, and if you want, add the get the InLinkz code for your post. If you post the widget in your blog post, please add these rules as well.




You can also use the image below by getting the code, and link to our Pinterest board. If you would like to contribute to our Live a Little board on Pinterest, let me know and we'll add you.

<a href="http://pinterest.com/skimbaco/live-a-little/"><img src="http://www.skimbacolifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/live-a-little-banner.jpg" alt="" title="Live a little banner" width="300" height="99" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25264" /></a>

CanvasPop: Instagrams as Wall Art

Everyone I know seems to be addicted to Instagram. I've seen amazing images created by folks who would never call themselves particularly creative. And by people who are, indeed, artists in real life. My instagrams are a mixed bag but I love the square format and retro charm they add to my iPhone snapshots. They remind me of old prints you'd fine in a shoebox tucked away and long forgotten. But how to bring the awesomeness out of the online world and into your living room? Easy: print your Instagrams on ready-to-hang canvas wall art.

CanvasPop has introduced a service that allows you to print your Instagrams on pre-stretched canvas squares. Right now, you can get these at super low introductory prices: $29.95 for 12" x 12" and $59.95 for 20" x 20" prints with $14 flat-rate shipping to the US and Canada and free shipping on orders over $150. Regular prices are $79 and $114, respectively, so this is really a remarkable deal!

I ordered a triptych of hippos at the zoo with Roo and Jasper for my office:

Do you have any special ideas for your Instagrams? Let me know. Follow me on Instagram and get $30 off any CanvasPop order of $80 or more with my affiliate link.

FYI: CanvasPop is giving away one Instagram canvas print per day! Tag your images #canvaspop and type: "I want this photo printed on canvas with #CanvasPop" to be automatically entered to win! 

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received no compensation for writing this post. I just thought it was an awesome deal. However, if you click on any of the links and purchase more than $100, I could get some affiliate credit to buy more stuff there. So you know.

Samsung SH100 Coast to Coast Photo Post

When Bob and I were first dating, we decided it would be fun to drive to one of his art openings. We lived in Memphis at the time, and the opening was in San Diego. It was a loooong drive but it was also a lot of fun. Sadly, we don't have much evidence of the awesomeness of a trip that included Albuquerque flea markets, Hoover Dam, the nasty old part of Las Vegas, and the overwhelming crush of people in tights that is Comic Con, because we didn't have a digital camera back then. Or social media to broadcast our adventures to the world. Hmm, maybe that's a good thing for some segments of the road trip…

Meet the Samsung SH100, a new compact WiFi-enabled point and shoot camera that lets you share high quality photos with your friends and families easily and instantly, via your favorite social networks. It gets around, just like you!

Samsung is taking the SH100 on a month-long road trip across the US, from LA to NYC, during the month of May to show what a great camera this is for movers and shakers, homebodies and travelers alike. The Coast to Coast Photo Post team is recording all the places they go and people they meet along the way with the SH100, and the best photos and videos will be shared on the Samsung USA Facebook page. Follow Samsung on Twitter to find out when they'll be rolling through your town… if you take the best photo on their road trip, you could win a trip to NYC!



The Samsung SH100 would make a great gift for dads and grads, or anyone planning a trip this summer. You can always un-tag…



Disclosure: I was compensated for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are, as usual, entirely my own.

My eBay Unwrap Attack Victim

I chose to spring an Unwrap Attack on my friend Kristin. She was one of my very first blog friends and has always been incredibly supportive of me and my blog. We've met in person a couple of times but last year our daughters got to meet at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and were fast friends.

Kristin was an obvious choice for my Unwrap Attack! I asked her husband's advice on what gift would make her head explode, and he suggested a telephoto zoom lens for the DSLR she got over the summer. I knew she was really into photography these days and eBay has tons of great deals on electronics, so it was the perfect surprise. Here's how her Unwrap Attack played out on Twitter yesterday:

Kristin wrote about her Unwrap Attack experience today, including some great photos with her new lens. I think she was totally surprised! And it is definitely just as much fun to give as it is to receive… so don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a $100 eBay gift card to launch your own Unwrap Attack!



Disclosure: In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that my time, travel and accommodations have been compensated by eBay for my participation in the Love to Give campaign. Although I have a material connection to eBay, any publicly stated opinions of eBay remain my own– formed over the last decade or so, trolling the web looking for cool stuff and finding much of it on eBay.

Do You Know The Way to San Jose?

Everyone has been asking to see pictures from my eBay trip, specifically the gorgeous hotel room. We stayed at the Hotel Valencia on Santana Row, smack dab in the middle of the most adorable shopping destination you can imagine. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with a slight chill in the air. So all the open air restaurants had heaters. Adorable, as noted before. Even more adorable because they had holiday decorations up already.

It was a blast to wander with my blogger friends, pawing through Anthropologie, H&M, and Urban Outfitters (50% off sale prices, yeah!) but coming back to the hotel was pretty lovely. I fell in love with the faux fur throw on the bed and the gigantic mirror behind the comfy club chair.

My view from the 7th floor was stellar.
I had a little sunroom all to myself.

Even the bathroom was aesthetically pleasing.

We got to sample some of the local delicacies. Cupcakes at Kara's (fleur de sel with a gushy caramel center and sea salt sprinkles on the ganache) and pyramid of tartare at Blowfish (tuna, salmon and avocado- you dump the ponzu sauce on and mush it up to eat on chips).

I can't wait to get back!

BabyPhotographers.com

BabyPhotographers.com is a one-stop online shop to help new parents find the perfect artist to capture their family portraits. You can search for photographers by name or location and compare samples of their work and available services to find the best match for your style and budget. In my town, there are 27 photographers to choose from! The BabyPhotographers.com Blog is also a great resource for parents, with articles to help you choose the right photographer for your little ones.

Right now, you can enter the BabyPhotographers.com Smile Baby Contest to win a $2,000 gift certificate for a photo session with the BabyPhotographers.com photographer of your choice just by sharing how you get your baby to laugh.



Join BabyPhotographers.com on Twitter and Facebook, too.

Disclosure: I wrote this review as part of a Team Mom campaign and will be entered to win a $500 BabyPhotographers.com gift certificate.

Disney Wrap-up (family photos)

Both kids had a great time but it was interesting to see the differences in the way they reacted to things. Jasper bought some Star Wars action figures in the Star Tours gift shop and when we ended up back at the Character Spot at Epcot, he insisted on showing them to each and every Disney character and posing with it for photos. It was pretty hilarious because he took it very seriously. Roo, meanwhile, had been carrying around a note for Mickey the whole trip and was impressed because he stuck it into his shoe. "He doesn't have pockets, mommy!"








Roo loved Kristin's daughter Kai! They were instant best pals. So sweet.




I think we could move into the Toy Story area at Disney Hollywood Studios and the kids would be pretty content. Me, too! (Aside from the overabundance of cheerleaders due to a convention. Yikes.)


















Both kids declared It's A Small World to be their favorite. My mom is so proud!