This month, Texas-based photographer Kristen Duke is focused on this very topic every single day. She has a whole lineup of others who are sharing inspiration (check out the schedule) and today – it’s me! A special hello to those who are here on my site for the first time. Happy Browsing.  : )

I do love having photos – specifically family photos – all around our home. This invokes a feeling of togetherness, reminds us of our commitment to each other, increases our children’s self-worth, helps us focus on our blessings, and of course brings back fond memories that we love to remember. Here are some of my favorite photo-focused spots in our home.

You have to see this picture a little closer – it’s one of my favorite shots of Claire, taken by Natalie Norton.

These family photos were taken by Kara Layne.

You may notice I’m fond of linear arrangements and grids. For step-by-step tips on hanging a grid of frames with precision, check out THIS blog post. I also share my secret weapon for hanging frames on walls, regardless of the arrangement.

You’ll also notice that I have a splash of older pictures here and there. A few faces from our family history of course, but also pictures of David and I as kiddos. I absolutely recommend to anyone to incorporate a couple pictures from your own childhood into your home. It’s a daily reminder of that innocent youth, and your own kids will remember that you were once in their shoes. You haven’t been an adult your whole life, even though in their young minds it seems like you have been.  : )

]]> http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/02/photos-at-home/feed/ 16 http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/01/shutterfly-understanding-more-about-this-option/ http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2012/01/shutterfly-understanding-more-about-this-option/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:59:35 +0000 Becky Higgins http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/?p=11865

I’m still pinching myself that Project Life really is available on Shutterfly. We love comments like this one from Nicole: Becky, I am working on Project Life through Shutterfly and it is AMAZING! I LOVE LOVE everything and I LOVE most of all how I can customize everything the way I want it but with such ease!

The Shutterfly platform is fairly simple to use but I’m sure it seems quite overwhelming for someone transitioning from physical scrapbooking product. I want to address the questions and comments that are coming in, hopefully resulting in a better understanding about this Project Life option. If you’re ready to dig in and give it a try, click HERE for the Turquoise Edition or click HERE for the Clementine Edition.

{ Note } You can find some of my tips and inspiration for taking everyday photos in the Storytelling section on Shutterfly: Documenting Everyday Life

{ Also Note } I am personally using the Shutterfly photo book version of Project Life for our family’s 2012 yearbook and will happily share some of my own layouts soon, as well as samples from others who have submitted their screen shots. The purpose of this specific post is to answer your questions and address your concerns and as you will see, it’s long enough as it is. We’ll come back to the “fun side” and idea-sharing later.

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I thought the Shutterfly version would be a simple drop-in-my-pictures-and-add-my-journaling approach but it looks more complicated than that.

It absolutely is that simple, actually. The page templates (called “Idea Pages” on Shutterfly) are set up so that all you do is drop in your pictures and add your journaling. That’s it. You only alter the design if you want. I wonder if it “looks” more complicated because of the layouts being less “linear” than what most of our Project Life products are like.

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I’ve looked at it but starting seems so overwhelming. What is the best way to get started?

Since Project Life is designed around ‘bite size’ portions of photos and stories a week at a time, I recommend you set aside “Project Life time” each week to select your favorite pictures and create a spread. That’s my personal approach to creating our family yearbook this year and I anticipate spending about a half hour or so each week creating a spread about the previous week. As for getting started …

1. Select your book size and style (Clementine or Turquoise)

2. Next you will be prompted to “choose pictures for your book”. You can upload the desired photos from your computer, an existing album in your Shutterfly account or Facebook.

3. Once uploaded, “select” then “add” photos to your book. After the photos have been added a pop up will appear with 8 quick tips to making an amazing photo book. If you haven’t made a Shutterfly photo book before, spending a couple of minutes to review these tips will give you a great head start!

4. Your photos will be added to a tray at the bottom of your screen from which you can drag and drop them onto the pages as desired. If you’re adding a lot of photos at once (let’s say you want to make a book about last year), you may want to consider using the “auto fill” feature which places the pictures for you chronologically based on their time stamp. If you choose to do this, start by making sure you’re happy with the way your photos are laid out. Then go back to add captions and any other journaling you want.

5. If you want or need to play with the layout of the page to fit your photos or the amount of text you want to include, go into “customize mode” by clicking on the “customize page” link in the bottom left corner of your screen. Make the desired changes to the template and click “apply changes”. Customize mode allows you to easily move or resize any photo space, embellishment or text box. You can also add more text boxes as well.

That’s it! Oh, one last thing to keep in mind – don’t worry about if you’re making the “right decision” about which Project Life edition to use or which book size you want. You can always change size or style at any point before you order your book! Very cool.

{ Note } When it comes to the nitty-gritty and the technical side of creating your book, please go directly to Shutterfly for help as I will not be able to help you if you leave a comment on my blog, for example. The fastest and easiest way to find answers to your questions is through their FAQs. If you are unable to get the answers you need you can contact their customer service department by:

Email: customerservice@cs.shutterfly.com
Phone: 888.225.7159

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What size is the photo book?

When you get started with a Project Life photo book, the default size is 12×12 but you can change that if you’d like something smaller. Shutterfly photo books are available in the following 5 sizes:

• 12×12 square (hard cover only)
• 8×8 square (hard or soft cover)
• 8×11 landscape (hard or soft cover)
• 7×9 (soft cover only)
• 5×7 landscape (soft cover only)

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Once you start the book how long do you have to complete it? Can I work on it over the whole year?

Indefinitely. And yes, you can work on it as long as you’d like. As I mentioned, I will take the entire year to create our family yearbook in 2012. I’ll do a 2-page spread each week until the end of the year, and then I’ll print the book. I think many people are planning to do something like this as well.

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I’m a dedicated Project Lifer with the physical product but I’ll admit that the photo books intrigue me. It doesn’t make sense for me to do both but do you have any thoughts on this?

What is so exciting about this year for Project Life, is that we have all these OPTIONS now. We have the physical product, the digital product on JessicaSprague.com, and the photo book option on Shutterfly. Pick one that floats your boat. But if you just love the idea of trying a couple options, then by all means – go right ahead! Perhaps you’re using the physical product for your regular, everyday documenting and photos. If you want to try the Shutterfly option too, perhaps you could create a photo book that focuses on a person, trip, or theme. Create a book about the last family reunion, your parents’ anniversary, your daughter’s first year of college, whatever. Anything. The photo books don’t have to be as thick and involved as say, a full-sized scrapbook.

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Will there be other designs, or just Clementine and Turquoise?

I would absolutely love to have ALL Project Life designs available on Shutterfly but the thing is … that wasn’t up to me. Shutterfly has a LOT of photo book designs and lots more coming, so they could only choose two designs for now. Depending on how customers like our designs there, we’ll see if it’s possible to add more Projection Life designs in the future.

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How many pages is the Project Life photo book? I want to do a photo-a-day book for this year, which would require 104 pages (1 week per layout x 52 weeks) + title page + last page.

The “default” book is set up to be 20 pages, just like every other Shutterfly photo book, but you can increase the number of pages. Currently their maximum page count is 101; however Shutterfly is working intently to increase the page maximum to 111 to allow for enough pages to create a complete Project Life book with a spread for each week. This should be available sometime in March.

Guess what, Project Lifers? This is due in large part to your voice. We do hear you, we listen, and we are grateful to Shutterfly for working hard to make it possible.

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How does the cost of the Shutterfly version end up comparing with the physical product? If, for example, you were doing a picture a day for a year, would the photo book be more or less than buying the physical Project Life stuff and printing all the pictures?

Excellent question. But I’ll be upfront and tell you – it’s not as easy a question as you’d think. There are several variables that will affect the final cost of a photo book – size and cover are only part of it. First of all, I think the regular price of a 12×12 hardcover book is $54.99 but it goes on sale fairly often. Second, the cost of additional pages varies by size so adding a 12×12 page costs more than adding 8×11 or 8×8, etc. Note: The additional cost is for a ONE SIDED page.

Creating a photo book with one layout per week would total 106 pages (52 spreads x 2pgs/spread PLUS the Title and End pages) which would require the customer to buy 86 additional pages. At $1.50/pg (for the 12×12 size) that would bring the total cost of roughly $184 + tax and shipping. So let’s assume we’re talking about a $184 photo book, which would be without any discounts at all. (I want to point out that discounts and coupons are available frequently, so this truly is the “worst-case scenario” and definitely on the high side.)

Okay, now let’s look at the price of the physical product. Let’s say you stick with just the basics to create a full scrapbook. That would be a Binder + Project Life Core Kit + Big Pack of Photo Pocket Pages. Without any “extras”, we are looking at about $65. Now let’s look at the cost of photo printing. Again, this is variable and we have to keep in mind that the cost of printing photos is different from place to place. Let’s say you print your photos very economically – at Costco, for example. Those prints are currently 13 cents/print. Let’s say you print 365 prints for a full year’s worth of pictures, which would definitely fill an entire album. That’s nearly $50 in printing. So the grand total of physical product + printing your photos = $115.

So you can see how there’s not really a simple answer. Even with the numbers I’m throwing around here, that’s not considering that most photo book makers will likely find a coupon to use, which will bring the cost of the photo book way down. And perhaps your favorite place to print photos costs more than 13 cents per print, which would bring the cost of a physical scrapbook project up. So really – the price comparison could be a wash!

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The page templates provided in the default 20-page book are pretty cool but they don’t all fit my personal style. Do I have other options?

Yes, there are a whole bunch of Idea Pages (page templates) to choose from and you can switch those out as you wish.

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There isn’t a lot of journaling on the page templates. What if I have more to write?

You’re right; the way the pages are set up, there are just little bits of journaling here and there. The advantage to this, is that anyone who doesn’t feel confident about their writing, or perhaps doesn’t want to say much, that’s just fine. However, the text boxes are adjustable and you can make them larger for adding more text. I know I’ll be doing this.

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I was expecting to see the Project Life classic layout (like the Design A Photo Pocket Page) but instead I see a totally different collection of layout designs. Are you planning to add the more traditional layout as an option?

Yes! Based on the desire for this (expressed by many of you), Shutterfly is working on adding an Idea Page (page template) so that you have that option. It takes time to implement and test and they are working on it. We really do listen, we hear you, and we work hard to provide solutions. We are grateful to Shutterfly for hearing you too and as soon as they have that layout template ready, we’ll announce it.

Just to clarify: When Shutterfly adds this classic Project Life “Design A” Idea Page to the collection, you will automatically see that in your page template options, even if you’ve already started a book. In fact, I know many of you will want to create the entire photo book with that layout design so that it mimics the physical product and everything is lined up and organized, and the journaling cards go through the middle and everything. Some of you are familiar with a similar, linear format that we used to have with Ziblio. If you want that, you can certainly have that by making every page the “Design A” template. In fact, I’m contemplating doing that myself, at least on some of the pages. If you want to hold out until that is available, you certainly can. Just keep your pictures in one place and you can quickly drop them in when the time comes (crossing our fingers for very soon).

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I was hoping to see more Project Life Journaling Cards.

Because we are adding the Design A page template, it makes sense to add some Journaling Cards as well. Note: Shutterfly has completely maxed out the number of embellishments that we can offer per Project Life design. In other words, we are pleased to at least be able to squeeze in 10 Journaling Cards per design, but unfortunately we’re not able to add ALL of the journaling cards that you find in the physical product (Core Kit).

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What do you do about the memorabilia and the “stuff” of life? It doesn’t seem like I can implement this into a photo book like I can with the physical product.

You’re right, to an extent. There are pros + cons to each option, and that’s why you have to choose what works best for you. Can you include actual, physical, dimensional “stuff” to a photo book? Well – not really. Can you scan or photograph those items (receipts, movie tickets, programs, awards, ribbons, etc.) and make them a part of your story in a photo book? Absolutely. That’s what I do.

Let’s say you strongly prefer the photo book (personally, I love that the end result is a skinny, professionally bound book simply because we already have so many full-sized scrapbooks in our home from being a lifetime scrapbooker). Let’s say that you also don’t want to let go of the “stuff”. Solution: Get a 12×12 Binder + Big Envelope Pages (currently sold out but available again early February) and keep a binder with a Big Envelope Page full of memorabilia for each year – or however you decide to use them. Naturally, organizing + displaying memorabilia in our Photo Pocket Pages is also a great idea. Having a 12×12 binder specifically for all the “stuff” that doesn’t fit in your photo books would certainly be an option to consider.

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I’ve created other photo books on Shutterfly and there are certain design elements I like from other designs. Can I use them in my Project Life photo book?

You bet! In fact, two of our very own Creative Team members have also designed books for Shutterfly (Ali and Liz) and I bet they have very cool elements that many of you would love.

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Will you still be able to do the cover of the book as a single photo like you did for your family yearbooks? I loved that look, and am ready to jump in and try Shutterfly.

You have as much flexibility with the cover as you do with any of the other pages. Shutterfly makes the whole experience customizable. Again, I want to re-emphasize that you do not have to be creative or spend time altering pages in a Project Life photo book. It’s designed to drop in your pictures, add a little journaling, and be done.

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Will there be a school version available in the future?

Let’s hope! One step at a time, my friend.  : )

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How true-to-color does the finished product from Shutterfly come out?

Color calibration and resolution is different for every computer so it’s hard to judge what your expectations are based on the computer you’re looking at, but Shutterfly print tests every style to ensure the final product accurately reflects the designer’s intent and their color palette was developed specifically with accurate, high quality color in mind.

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Can I save each page as a jpg on my computer for printing?

Shutterfly is introducing a new feature in February which will enable you to download a pdf of your book for easier proofing before you order. The pdf WILL have a watermark and is intended for proofing only.

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I want to print my pages outside of an album and use them for a hybrid album. I don’t see the option to just print pages in 12×12 format.

Unfortunately, you can’t print the pages in your book one-by-one. They only come in a bound album. If you’d like to create digital scrapbook pages for say, a hybrid scrapbook, you will love the Project Life products available in digital format at JessicaSprague.com.

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Do I pay for it only after I order it? I’m assuming I keep working on it until it’s done and then place the order and pay.

Yes, you are only charged when you order. Take as much or as little time as you’d like to create the book. As I mentioned, I will literally build upon our family yearbook a week at a time in 2012 and will print at the end of the year.

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What is the maximum file size for pictures when uploading them? Can you upload RAW format, or does it have to be jpg?

Only jpg formatted photos can be uploaded. I don’t think there is a maximum size but the bigger the file the longer it will take to load. Shutterfly recommends a maximum file size of 4-6MB.

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Does Shutterfly ship internationally? I live in Australia and am curious about that option, and the cost.

Yes! Shutterfly does ship internationally. Shipping costs are based on book size and can be found HERE.

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I have trouble with the captions. I can’t seem to get them the right size.

You can resize the text boxes by going into ‘customize’ mode and changing the size of the box. Additionally, you can change the font size by clicking on the text box.

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Is there a way to have plain white boxes with rounded corners to use for journaling that can be adjusted to ANY size? I played with the grid ones that I found and they can be adjusted in size but have to maintain their proportions it seems. If I want a square or just an itty bity rectangle that is wider than it is tall I want that option. You don’t always need or have room for the proportions of the grid ones on there.

Unfortunately, you can only change the size of embellishments (including the journaling cards) in proportion to their original size. However, if you don’t see what you want in the Project Life kit, you can also search Shutterfly’s extensive palette of embellishments to see if something closer to what you want is available there. There are several shapes and sizes of tabs or frames that could fulfill your need.

To search, click on the “embellisments” tab to the far left of your screen. Then click on the link for “get more stickers”. This will bring up a search box that includes EVERY embellishment available in all 70+ styles Shutterfly offers! For your particular search, click “Categories” then click on the boxes for “Frames” and/or “Organizers”. All sorts of options will appear. Click on the ones you’d like to add use, then click “Add to Project”. These will now appear in your project’s embellishments palette on the left side of your screen. Remember, these can also be re-sized using customize mode.

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Will we be able to use coupons or Shutterfly discount codes to purchase the book?

Absolutely!

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I’ve been creating a book on Shutterfly and overall, I love it. But there are a few things with the program that make it difficult. 
1.) No zoom 2.) No copy + paste 
3.) No undo when you are in customize page mode
 4.) No redo anywhere
. Any chance you have connections with Shutterfly and can get these things addressed?


These are all great ideas. #3 is on the short list to address in the next couple of months (however just to be clear if you haven’t already “applied changes” you can just click “cancel” to undo any changes you have made to the page). Shutterfly will definitely look into your other requests as they plan for future enhancements.

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Where is the copy function so I can duplicate pages?

Shutterfly does not currently have a “copy” function but is currently working on one which should be available in the coming weeks.

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I am loving it but it doesn’t auto save. I lost tons that way and had to redo it all.

Shutterfly is in the process of reviewing an auto save function to make sure it will work as intended and expect updates shortly. We encourage you to save your project frequently on your own to avoid the loss of work.

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Please beg Shutterfly to upgrade their iPad app. I want to do my Project Life on it soooo bad!

The current creation path is built in flash which doesn’t work on the iPad. Shutterfly is DEFINITELY working on opportunities to create books on the iPad (and other tablets) but due to the extensive work required to accomplish this and ensure it runs smoothly, it’s probably not something that will be available this year.

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Can I order more than one book at the end of the year? I know my girls will want their own copy. I understand you can order more pages, I didn’t see where you could order more than one book. What would be the cost of each additional book?

Yes! You can order as many copies as you want at any time. You will select the quantity you need when you begin the order process. One of the biggest advantages of creating your book in Shutterfly is that you can even order the book in different sizes for different recipients! So if you want a big, beautiful 12×12 book but your girls only want it in 8×8 – NO PROBLEM! Isn’t that so cool? Shutterfly also SAVES your project indefinitely so if you decide you want to order more copies of your book as gifts at Christmas or for a birthday or Mother’s Day or whatever, you can go back into your account and just order another book (again, in any size). Costs vary by size but each book of the same size will be the same price. Prices do not vary with quantities.

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{ Once again … } If you need tech support or have specific questions about your project (or prices or coupon options or other questions), please do not ask here on my blog or contact our Customer Service, as we are not the experts. Shutterfly is all set up with customer support for anyone creating a Shutterfly book. You can contact their customer service department by:

Email: customerservice@cs.shutterfly.com
Phone: 888.225.7159 (Monday – Friday, 6am – 5pm Pacific Time)

We are super happy to welcome Miss Kelly Purkey to the Project Life Creative Team and we think you’ll love what she has to share with us in 2012 as she embarks on doing Project Life to document her own adventures. Get to know her HERE.

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{ no. 2  |  digital project life tutorial }

If anyone would be the master at helping others to understand how to use the digital Project Life templates that are available on JessicaSprague.com, who would that be? Uh, yeah. Jessica Sprague. Well guess what? Jessica whipped up a little video tutorial out of the goodness of her heart and I think you’ll fine it really helpful. Check it out HERE.

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{ no. 3  |  photo inspiration }

I put together a little collection of personal photos to share on Shutterfly, hoping to inspire others to document the everyday. You can check that out HERE.

There are a couple other related photo collections that I think are specifically inspiring to Project Lifers:

Slice of Life: Kids Were Here… by Jessica Deane

My Life in Five Photos: Everyday Moments by Ali Edwards

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{ no. 4  |  clementine additions }

Lili Niclass, the fabulous and super sweet designer behind the Clementine Edition has just released a few extra Journaling Cards that coordinate and you can check them out HERE. She also has a set of 4×6 photo collages (HERE) that I think many of you will be pretty over-the-moon excited about.

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{ no. 5  |  6×12 templates + tutorial }

Most of you know that Ali Edwards creates some of the best digital templates and many of them go so perfectly as an add-on to Project Life. She recently added templates specific for the 6×12 Page Protector (currently sold out but available again in a few weeks) and also shared a video tutorial for working with the layered templates. You’ll find all of that HERE.

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{ no. 6  |  inspiration for stuff to keep }

Jessica Turner (The Mom Creative) has come up with a wonderful resource and free printable that Project Lifers will love. It’s a document called 100 bits of Life and you can get it HERE.

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{ no. 7  |  project life for free }

Right now there are 2 Project Life giveaways happening so be sure to go enter for a chance to win. Go to The TomKat Studio and Margie Romney-Aslett‘s blog. Both giveaways close tomorrow – Thursday night.

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!

I wanted to share this video because I’ve been thinking a lot about how documenting everyday life is something that many of us are trying to be good about these days but I bet as many of us look back – it’s something we’ve been doing – or our parents have been doing – for a long time. Here’s a look at just a few of the connections that I have personally made between pictures from the past and now.

A very special thank-you to our good friend Zachary Baird who wrote this song specifically for the Project Life message I want to share, which is – Cultivate a good life and record it. Document the everyday. Find the blessings in your life and embrace them.

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I do have one more video to share for my 12 Videos of Christmas series, but that will come after Christmas. In the meantime, may we all be able to enjoy a little extra time with those we love the most. May we focus on what really matters and set other stuff aside. Please know that we appreciate you so much for being a part of our life. Everything that we do with Project Life is so much more than a business. It is an amazing experience to connect with so many of you through this love of documenting life. Thank you for being a blessing to us, and more importantly – for being a blessing to your family and friends and communities.

Merry Christmas.

It’s precisely because I’ve shared so much of all that lately, that I wanted to simply share a few pictures I recently took for a friend. This is little Sadie and she is one. Completely precious, isn’t she?

By the way – not Sadie-related – I just wanted to let you know that I am pretty excited about the line-up we have for my annual 12 Videos of Christmas series. Some videos are by Yours Truly. Some videos are by fellow readers. It has been really fun to see the variety of submissions!

As you watch the videos over the next few weeks, you just may laugh, cry, learn, or feel inspired in some way. Each one has its own flavor and I can’t wait to share them all! Tomorrow I will be featuring one of the winning videos.

December is looking mighty fun here on the blog, friends.

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This has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. To be able to experience a hot air balloon ride with my very favorite people – my little family – was the best part of all. We also spent some time with dear friends. Oh, and we did hit IKEA for a little creative field trip too. Just being there makes the wheels in my head spin. In a good, creative way.

Being back on the ground meant getting back to real life again.

Awesome.

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Megan’s wall inspires me personally in 3 ways:

1. The family pictures are a combination of formal portraits and candid shots … taken with her iPhone. Yes, pictures from your phone can absolutely be framed on your wall. I so love that she included those.

2. The neutral colors of all the frames allow the photographs to really pop. (Indeed, spray-painting was involved.)

3. It’s DONE! An actual, real, completed project. The reason that inspires me is because I have many unfinished projects. For example — this lovely little stash of frames has been collecting in our upstairs hallway for a few weeks now. Okay, let’s get real. It’s been months. Many months. In fact, I’m not even sure how many months.

This is what’s currently on the wall. I love the pictures. They’re family classics. The pictures are couples of our heritage – both sets of parents and 4 sets of grandparents. Also adorning the wall (for months) is this magazine tear-out that inspires me. It’s what I’ve been thinking about doing on this wall for quite some time.

I tore it out from a Pottery Barn catalog.

I like my little collection of family pictures. But the wall is quite large and my current collage is small. Too small-scale for the hallway – for sure. See what I mean?

But the pile of frames will sit a while longer. I have far too much going on right now. I have more cool products to develop for you! My priorities are straight.  ; )

Okay, seriously – if anyone has a killer idea for this wall, PLEASE share a link. I’m in no hurry to complete the project and I’m completely open to other ideas, especially because a certain someone in this house isn’t convinced that photo collages are his thing. So … a grid? Perhaps 3 giant vertical posters? I don’t know.

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And just like that, I got wordy with a post that was supposed to be purely visual.

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Thank you Megan for sharing your inspiring wall with us! I have a feeling a few more photo gallery walls are going to be popping up. If you want to share your photo gallery wall with me, email submissions@beckyhiggins.com. I would love to see!

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{ #1 – Winners }

We have our winners from yesterday’s giveaway! Ella Publishing will be giving Rebecca Cooper’s new eBook to:

1. Julie in Wellington, New Zealand

2. Mary Lou in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Ladies, go ahead and email cooper.rr@gmail.com and she’ll hook you up – Congratulations!

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{ #2 – Go Notes }

Kiki Creates has the most adorable new thing – Go Notes. These are little business-card-sized cards with different prompts on it to fill in a little written love for someone special. I’ll be packing these in my kids’ lunches once in a while, for sure. Kiki just debuted her kid sets in time for the beginning of a new school year. They are a perfect little note to stick in a lunch box, a back pack or anywhere else! She sells them for $6 per set as a pdf digital download so you can print as many as you’d like, which also makes them super economical.

Kiki blogged about them here. Head over to her etsy shop if you want to get your hands on this ASAP, or just browse around to see her other cute stuff.

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{ #3 -Wall Art Inspiration }

Every Wednesday photographer Laura Winslow has a series on her blog called Wall Art Wednesdays. A lover of photography + home decor, this has naturally become one of my personal favorite columns on the web. Laura is great at finding wonderful inspiration in various styles, and she shares new ideas each and every Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Lyons. This is an example of what Laura features on Wall Art Wednesdays.

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{ #4 – Inspiration for Cultivating a Good Life }

It’s on my homepage: Cultivate a good life and record it. Most of you know I share a { POTD Idea } almost daily on facebook + twitter. This picture-of-the-day inspiration goes along with the “RECORD IT” part of my slogan. The purpose is to inspire you with ideas on what to photograph and document in your life. Most of the photos are submitted by readers like you. If you’re interested in submitting an idea or two that you think will be widely applicable to others, I invite you to email your { POTD Ideas } to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. I’m especially fond of strong photography skills (hint, hint photographers).  : )

The other part of my slogan is “CULTIVATE A GOOD LIFE” and lately, I have fallen into the habit of sharing nearly-daily inspiration for this as well. I hope that by sharing these little snippets, you are uplifted and encouraged and inspired. Sometimes I share thoughts that are just rock-solid in what I believe and what I try to live. Most of the time, I share thoughts that I need to be reminded of, just as much as the next person.

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{ #5 – An online scrapbooking project }

You are invited to a FREE festival packed full of big ideas at Big Picture Classes this month. There are 12 fun-filled days featuring 12 of their talented instructors. Each will be giving you a word of the day, along with a downloadable template so that you can create a mini layout about that day’s word and how you applied it in your life. Sounds like an inspiring project! It just started this week, so it’s not too late to check it out. Even though this has started you can still get all the content and participate in whatever projects you want.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to register. Remember: It is free and you will not see a charge in your account, but you do have to check out.

If Big Picture Classes is new to you, learn more and become a member for free here.

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{ #6 – Meal planning made simple }

I’ve mentioned e-Mealz a couple times before, but if you haven’t heard of it before, you should! We have personally been using this online meal planning service in our family for quite some time now, and we still love it. With summer coming to a close, school starting and a hundred to-do lists in every direction, you are likely looking for ways to simplify your life. When scrambling to fix dinner at the last minute, people often turn to unhealthy or expensive options. Been there, done that. More than I’d like to admit.

What I love about e-Mealz, is that they provide an everyday solution in the form of simple menu plans and grocery lists, which are published every week. This “mental maid” is an easy-to-use and concise tool for creating delicious, family-friendly dinners while sticking to a weekly budget. Right now your can enter the code SCHOOLTIME to get 10% off your E-Mealz subscription. It’s already cheap, so this is just a bonus!

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{ #7 – Blogger Cookbook }

Speaking of food … The gals over at How Does She? wanted to create a way to support the American Red Cross. They gathered favorite recipes from 50 hand-selected bloggers. I was happy to be invited and delighted to participate in sharing one of my favorite recipes. And I’ll just add … ooooh, the recipes in here look gooood. And, it’s for a terrific cause because 100% of the proceeds to help those in need with all the world disasters and calamities. Learn all about how you can get your hands on this here — it’s available as an eBook, as well as a printed + bound hard copy.

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{ #8 – Where Women Create }

Where Women Create is all about celebrating creative, entrepreneurial women. I love that. And I am honored that they have featured me in their brand-new issue, along with Heather Bailey, Stacy Julian, Susan Branch, Holly Becker, Melody Ross, Kim Stoegbauer, and more. Women that span across many markets, each with their own story and their own niche. And congratulations to Tim Holtz, who is featured in their new column: The Men Who Make It!

If you’d like to pick up a copy for yourself, go here for the short-cut to this latest issue.

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{ #9 – School Lunches }

Yes, there are supposed to be labels in those label holders. But Crew can’t resist sliding them out right now.

I know some of you must already do this, but for me — this is something new this school year in our home. To save time and stress in the mornings, I have everything pre-bagged and ready-to-grab for the kids’ lunches. The only thing I need to do is make their sandwich. They are otherwise 100% responsible for getting their lunch bags, choosing a variety of items from this drawer, and packing their lunch.

We got big containers of things like pretzels, Sun Chips, crackers, etc. and put it all in snack-sized baggies. Plastic spoons are in the drawer as well, next to the applesauce and mandarin oranges. We have a drawer in the refrigerator that has the same concept: Cheese cubes, grapes, and anything else that needs to be refrigerated. All ready-to-pack. There’s my back-to-school tip-of-the-week.  : )

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{ #10 – Enjoy your weekend }

From Live Good.

1. Mark L. in Ft. Pierce, Florida who said, “This would be for my daughter if I won. She would not only be 100% surprised she got a new bag, but even more surprised by her father’s ability to pick out a fashionable camera bag!”

2. Juliane in Waldshut, Germany who said, “If I’m at the next wedding to make the pictures, I do not want to take my old, little pocket. I would like to take this wonderful bag, having everything perfectly under control. A woman just needs a great bag – and a great camera bag would be the crowning glory!”

Both of you can email jototes@gmail.com and they’ll work out the details with you.

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For today, I’m doing something a little unique. I’m turning the rest of this post over to my friend Rebecca Cooper, who is a guest here on my blog today. She is a very gifted photographer and one of the sweetest people I know, and she has a wealth of inspiration to share. With that, I give you … Rebecca.

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3. Involve the whole family. Ok, that might sound funny, it is family photos afterall, but inviting everyone’s input (especially children’s) as far as clothing choices, poses and other ideas, helps everyone feel like the photo session is a team effort – not just something they’re doing because mo and dad said they had to. Let each family member take a turn arranging the family how they’d like to see them photographed. Watch out, this could get a little silly. When children are given some creative control and allowed to share their input they are so much more cooperative when it comes to taking photos mom and dad or the photographer would like.

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For more tips on making photos fun and ideas to take great, natural photos of your kids, be sure to check out Rebecca Cooper’s latest eBook Don’t Say Cheese!

JoTotes has done it again! This new bag is called the Betsy and they want to give one of these to one of my readers! In fact, you know what we’re going to do? We’re going to choose one U.S. winner and one International winner. So that’s TWO of the Betsy bags that JoTotes is giving away.

Leave your first name, city and state/country, and tell us — why would you love to have this bag? To learn more about JoTotes and see more of their bags (I’ve been a fan for a long time), check out jototes.com.

I’ll announce the two winners tomorrow.

1. Head over to the Digital Project Life page to learn more.

2. In reference to my “good posture” comment, that’s due to my new chair if you missed that in yesterday’s post.

3. I apologize for the flipped image you get with this video.

4. To see more Digital Project Life ideas, check out this video to see our Family Yearbook and Porter’s Art Book.

5. Here is a really helpful post answering some questions about Digital Project Life.

And now — Preparing for school to start. Heavily involved in church responsibilities (which, to me, are really more of a blessing than a burden). Trying to bring our family back to normalcy as the Summer winds down. Wrapping up design work on the 2012 Project Life products. Getting ready to share sneak peeks and information on all the other products coming out even before that. Trying to get my head above water with the inboxes. Housework. Projects. Quality time with my family. Certainly not enough sleep …

To say life is busy feels like an understatement right now. So I’m taking a few minutes to say hello to you and share a few pictures from our little trip last week. I documented the entire trip with my iPhone and edited all the pictures with my favorite photography apps before I even got home and uploaded them.

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We spotted some bears as we were driving through a friend’s neighborhood (ironically, on our way to the zoo). Truly one of the highlights of our trip. We saw about six bears, including little cubs.

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We spent a little time in Garden of the Gods to let the kids climb around on the striking red rocks.

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And we floated down a calm river.

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We hung out at the beach (some local country club has a lake).

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I’ve decided I can’t visit Colorado Springs without hiking the Incline. It’s one mile, straight up. Very challenging. Very rewarding to make it to the top. This is my second visit to Colorado Springs and my second Incline hike.

Looking up.

Looking down. And PS – That’s our friend Katie on the right, who is 6 months pregnant! So proud of her. Tina (left) is local and hikes the Incline all the time. She is such a motivator and example of living well.

Hiking back down on the 4-mile long trail.

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You probably know about my new love for shooting panoramic shots with my iPhone. Inevitably, I have a few from this trip to share.

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Last time I visited, I made a few floral arrangements for my friend Tina. This is a glimpse of one of them. I used this picture to demonstrate some fun photography apps with my friends. 

This was showing the “tilt shift” feature in Instagram that allows you to select an area of focus, leaving everything else blurry. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s super easy. Bring up a photo in the Instagram app, then tap on the picture and you’ll see “Tilt Shift” in the corner. Click on that and then move around the bar (area of focus), widen it, change the direction, etc. Super fun.

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And now … I’m right back to the whirlwind that is this week. See ya.

Here’s a glance at the same pictures taken with the different color/filter options … just to give you an idea.

Can you tell I was playing with this app on an airplane? Nice. I chose the option of just 3 frames per strip, but you can do the traditional 4 as well. And there are other features you can adjust, but I’ll let you discover all that for yourself. The app is really simple and I like that there aren’t too many bells & whistles to adjust.

And really — it’s just fun. As we head into the weekend, I think this could be a 99-cent purchase that goes a long, long way.  Wishing you all a happy weekend, with or without apps.

There is a story to go with this picture. Every picture has a story, doesn’t it? I’m quite certain this story will touch you. The email comes from Melissa in Minnesota and I share this with her permission.

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The picture was taken in early May as we planted an apple tree in our backyard in remembrance of our sweet baby, taken to heaven before we had the chance to meet him. We were so devastated by this loss and I knew I wanted to photograph/document the process of the tree planting in some way and watching my husbands loving hands in the dirt and surrounding the tree stuck me as the perfect moment.

I’ve have often read about the need to document the ‘hard’ parts of life as well as the happy times/moments, but had never done so. I wanted a picture of the event and all it represented, but a ‘typical picture’ of the tree or our yard just didn’t seem to fit the part. The hands shot filled that role for me … the idea of new life growing in ground, being surrounded by the love our family-captured perfectly why we were planting that tree — a tangible representation of the hope and love we feel for our sweet baby.

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As with so many others that share their stories with me, thank you Melissa. Thank you for sharing this with all of us, and for being an incredible example of strength. I am grateful for every story that I read and hear from those who are photographing, journaling, documenting their story. This is what Project Life is all about.

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Okay, the real reason you’re here today — Inspiration.

I wanted to share with you something that I do when we travel. It’s the organizer in me. It’s the photographer in me. It’s the documenter in me. I don’t care which part of me it is … I just do this because it makes sense to me and helps with my digital photo organization. Maybe it’ll help you too.

I call this { VIRTUAL BOOKMARKS }.

Here’s what I do: When we travel for multiple days, I simply take a picture of the date** first thing in the morning, before I take any pictures that day. You know how, on longer trips, the days sometimes run together or you get them mixed up? Especially as time goes on and your memory gets a little fuzzy? I realize I’m talking to the chronologically-minded crowd here. The rest of you won’t care.

The result of doing this? When you import all your pictures on your computer, and you see them all there, you’ll also see those VIRTUAL BOOKMARKS that help separate your days/events. This may not really matter years later, but it can really help you keep it all straight when you are preparing to add some photos to a scrapbook or if you’re organizing a slide show or … you get the idea.

**By taking a picture of the date, I mean taking a picture of anything that indicates what day it is. A calendar page, your cell phone, iPad, hand-written on paper or post-it note … anything at all.

I know you’re visual. I am too. Here’s a look at some VIRTUAL BOOKMARKS from our trip to Alaska last week.

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From our recent trip to Maryland/D.C./Pennsylvania:

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You get the idea. See? So simple.

I’ve been doing this for the past couple of years and there’s a reason I keep doing it on our trips. Oh! If you can, add a note about what you’re planning to do or where you’re planning to be, with the corresponding date. Even just a general idea. Helps with the whole organizing thing. I’m going to be better about that from now on.

For example, I wrote the port for each day, and that really helped with our cruise picture organization. It’s amazing how quickly you can forget some things.

One more thing: You’ve noticed my handy dandy notebook a lot. It goes everywhere with me. I like my technology but some things just have to be pen-to-paper for me.

Today is the ” visual yumminess” I spoke of earlier. I’m sharing some panoramic views from our travels. These were all created the same way:

1. Shot with my iPhone

2. Stitched together with AutoStitch app

3. Enhanced (color, border, etc.) with Camera+ app

As you can tell, I have so much fun taking pictures on my iPhone, just like many of you. It’s for sure one of my absolute favorite toys. Actually, it’s more than that. As a documenter of life, I consider it an essential accessory in my world.

AutoStitch, Camera+, and Instagram are my top 3 favorite photography apps at the moment. Enough babbling. On to the visuals.

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Seattle. As seen from the Space Needle.

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Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau, Alaska.

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Glacier Bay.

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Near Skagway, Alaska? Maybe? I can’t remember, to be honest.

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Misty Fjords.

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As seen from our balcony on the cruise ship.

This last picture was shot around 10 pm. Being that far north, the sun sets very, very late. Dusk is unbelievably gorgeous in Alaska. All of what we saw of Alaska is just gorgeous. Like – really, completely, totally gorgeous. We are so grateful for the opportunity to see that beautiful corner in this gigantic world.

I will likely share more pictures from our trip. I’ll definitely be posting some on facebook + twitter for a little while.

Before we dive into these photos, I wanted to add something: My purpose in sharing pictures from our trip is not about our trip. My intention is to share with you how I document, with hopes that you will find even a tiny bit of inspiration in documenting your own. As you know, I focus a lot on documenting the everyday. This week’s focus on my blog happen to come from a vacation perspective. But you’ll notice in today’s photos that while we were on vacation, these are all very much “everyday” type of photos.

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Watching my nephews play soccer has been on my bucket list for a while and I’m thrilled that we finally got to see them in action. I ended up taking a LOT of pictures for them. I like to pictures and that’s great. But I really love to take pictures FOR people. I guess you could say it’s part of my “love language”. It is a gift that I can share with others. And the cutest thing? They actually really enjoyed that I was taking pictures and told me so. They’re teenage boys! What a score in my validation book.

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Food, food, food. And yes, probably too much of it. It was so fun to share meals with family in their homes.

Apparently my Mom’s favorite new thing to make is whoopie pies. It’s a new-to-me food group. And watch out — the woman knows how to mass-produce treats.

Of course she made plenty of her classic chocolate chip cookies. I may or may not have eaten 57 of them.

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We went on a really nice, long walk through a new community in our little town. The kids went on a tractor ride through my parents’ property. We swam. We had slumber parties. We played. We relaxed.

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The kids had serious cousin bonding time. And bonding with grandparents. It was a wonderful time of reconnection. Grandma and Claire especially because Claire has such a fascination for all the knick-knacky things that my mom has everywhere.

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The kids are particularly fond of Grandma’s Amish clock that sings every hour. Okay, so she has like SIX singing clocks. Hilarious. I love how Claire was trying to pick Crew up to see the moving parts on the clock.

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Isn’t she so beautiful? This is my great Aunt Eva and I love her so much. David and I haven’t had living grandparents for quite a number of years but Aunt Eva is like a grandma to me and I treasure the time we had to catch up. She is 93 years of age and has the softest hands on the planet.

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We stopped by my brother’s architectural/engineering firm. With my camera around my neck, I took a load of pictures around his office. Again, for the love of sharing pictures.

We also got to see one of his projects which is underway and looking awesome. He oozes talent.

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My other brother in Maryland is an optometrist and the BEST at that. I know I’m biased but seriously — he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and really passionate about what he does. Plus, he let our kids take a peek through the equipment. (Photo taken on my iPhone with poor lighting but hey — that’s alright.)

{ NOTE } If it’s been a while since you took your camera to work or photographed a loved one at work, you can find some inspiration here and here.

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Remember that big brush pile I showed you in Monday’s post? Yeah, that’s gone now. As tradition has it, we had a bonfire in my parents’ backyard.

As you can tell, we are so grateful we were able to go on this family trip. I am so grateful for family connections. Not so much for humidity, but for the time we were able to spend with some of the people we love the absolute most. And I’m grateful for photography that allows me to capture these memories. And I’m grateful for Project Life because it’s so not overwhelming adding a few favorites to our family’s yearbook, which I’ll be doing this weekend.  ; )

Not.

After we got through the initial shock (in other words, the whining) and found some air-conditioning, it really was a great day. We caught the morning train right in Brunswick. (Did I ever tell you that my hometown high school mascot is the Brunswick Railroaders?) Once we were in the city, the Metro got us to the Mall and then it was on foot from there.

We were in really, really good company. Lots of people were there to see the Lincoln Memorial. Hot + humid … and crowded? Plus whining kiddos? We were off to an … entertaining start.

This is part of the beautiful WWII memorial.

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Of course the Washington Monument is beautiful, particularly as it is surrounded by U.S. flags. But this also became our first landmark of air-conditioning! So now we love it even more.

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These views are from the top of the Washington Monument.

Inside the Smithsonian – National Museum of Natural History.

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But I grew up in Maryland. All that farmland, rolling hills, the Appalacian mountains … that’s my home too. Visiting the place that has my roots in its soil is always therapeutic and refreshing. And then I’m always ready to come back to our home in Arizona.

Our little family just spent a week back east. Some of you know my parents just spent two years serving a mission in Finland. They’re back home now. So we went to spend time with them and our other family there (I have a couple brothers and their families in Maryland also).

I’m very much in travel-recovery mode this week. My inboxes are overflowing, not to mention the laundry and my to-do list. But first things first. My pictures are uploaded and organized. Of course. Here’s a little look at beautiful Maryland, according to my camera lens.

You’ll notice a theme: Green, green, green.

All of the above photographs are from around my parents’ property. The place where I grew up. The clovers, the ivy, the honeysuckles … so very much a part of my childhood. That brush pile? You’ll see that again later this week when I share pictures of the bonfire.

Looking into the backyard where nieces and nephews played for hours (at my brother’s home).

The motion in this shot is evidence of snapping this picture from the car as we drove into Brunswick — my hometown. Every time we drive through this area my nose is practically glued to the window. I never seem to tire of the sites. It is simply beautiful.

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As I get back into the routine of everyday life this week, I’ll be sharing more pictures from our trip back east. Expect a lot of visual, and very few words. Stay tuned for pictures from Washington D.C., Amish Country, and more. I hope you’re off to a really great start this week. If you watch and listen carefully, you’ll notice a lot of blessings in store for you.

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