But that’s not at all the case for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. Today’s video was prepared by Mandy in New Zealand, and a group of Kiwi Scrapbookers (a New Zealander is referred to as a Kiwi). David and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time and meet many wonderful people in New Zealand back in 2004. Truly one of the most remarkable experiences of our lives. We owe that to David + Mary Roberts (Craft House), who invited us there so that I could do a teaching tour. We absolutely fell in love with New Zealand.

Back to the video. Mandy writes: I wanted to try and capture how we do Christmas down under. In New Zealand it happens during Summer so going to the beach on Christmas day is quite normal, and after this time we are on summer break. Before Christmas we wind up our school year too! (ha-ha, add that to the Christmas madness! No wonder we need a holiday!) I asked all my Kiwi Scrappers for some holiday/Christmas photos to add to mine, and put them together using Windows Movie Maker. The jumping pics were taken during our high tea event! Hope all your readers have a glance into our way of life … and next time you purchase a snowy Christmas embellishment … think of us sitting on the beach with our jandals, looking at our Pohutukawa trees!

Seven years ago when my wife was 30 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our kids were 6, 2, and 1 at the time so needless to say it was a very scary time. After a double mastectomy and 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy, she was declared cancer free by her oncologist. The ordeal had a profound effect on how Jenny looked at life. When she was going through treatment, she was challenged by a fellow patient to write down everything she wanted to do in life and “go for it”. He wasn’t going to survive and he had regrets about putting things off and not doing things because they seemed too crazy. 

The treatment took a lot out of us emotionally and financially and 6 years went by until Jenny came to me early this year and said that she wanted to start a blog to document completing things that she had on her bucket list (we call it her life list). So, for Mother’s Day I had jennymeyerson.com designed and hosted and off she went.

Jenny is a little crazy and a nerd (in a good way) and one of her list items was to dance with strangers in front of the monuments in Washington DC. This summer we went to her 20th high school reunion in Virginia and spent the week touring DC and taking video. I was so embarrassed about asking strangers to dance that I would walk about 100 yards behind Jenny with the camera while she asked people to dance. To my surprise, people loved it. Eventually, she even got me to roll down the hill in front of the Washington Monument and to dance with her in front of the Lincoln Center. 

Okay. Nod your head if you are totally loving Jeff right now. Awesome husbands rock. This is my favorite part, which was Jeff’s response after we notified him that the video was one of our picks to feature. He says, By the way, Jenny knows that I submitted the video but I haven’t told her that it was picked. I decided to keep it a surprise and let her see it featured on the site. She goes to Becky’s site just about everyday.

Hey Jenny – SURPRISE!  : )

Jeff and Jenny used their Canon 5D Mark II SLR Camera for the video and edited the video using iMovie.

Eric used a Panasonic GH1 and GF1 and edited the video with Final Cut Pro.

…..

You have to read his email to understand the context of this video:

I moved overseas with a promise to myself that I would stay until I could come home having traveled to the places I’d dreamt about as a child. Two years later, having discovered for the first time what it really means to love someone (an ongoing discovery), that promise changed significantly, for the better. Eliza and I attended college together and over a period of lengthy letters back and forth sparked by a random hello years later, I realized that I’d better not let her pass me by again, regardless of the distance.

Still having another year and a half to complete my work here in Afghanistan, those dreams of seeing the world took on a whole new light. Together, we decided to make the most of this time and instead of my coming home to the US, we would meet up once every three months in a place that we’d both wanted to see but never thought we could.

It has been an incredible journey so far, to learn about each other, other cultures, and ourselves; To find out what it means to be a team in a distant land, to work through the initial stages of a relationship while in a desert on horseback, or even worse, driving through Jordan! I am blessed this Christmas to know that I have found someone who will stand beside me, encourage me, and most of all, put up with those three month absences!

I hope that this can inspire others to explore, whether it be a far away land or their own home town. To see things from a different perspective and to take another look at that boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife this Christmas and find an adventure of their own! And if nothing else, I hope at the very least it may entertain!

…..

Eric has made many other videos and it just felt appropriate to share one other that he did. He said, I believe with great conviction in the importance of taking care of our troops over here. Whatever side of the fence one might fall on, these are our sons and daughters and they are a long, long way from the ones they love this Christmas. I did this in Iraq a couple years back, and the message still hits home in a major way this holiday season. I was looking through the rest of your blog and was truly encouraged to see your veterans day post!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Eric – for inspiring us on so many different levels.

……….

I spoke in a keynote luncheon to an audience of around 700 people. This stretched me.

I reconnected with old friends. This lifted me.

I met a lot of new people – all gracious and talented and motivated. This inspired me.

I had David by my side the entire time. This just makes me feel downright blessed.

……….

Here’s a little video from The Creative Connection via my iPhone + iMovie. (iLove Apple.)

……….

And here are links to everyone featured in the video so you can conveniently find them on the web.

Jo Packham (mastermind behind The Creative Connection): wherewomencreate.com

Stacy Julian (Big Picture Classes): stacyjulian.com

Cathy Zielske (CZ Design): cathyzielske.typepad.com

Wendy Smedley (Big Picture Classes): bigpictureclasses.com

Heidi Grace Kress (Clever from Heidi Grace): heidigracekress.com

Becki Crosby (Whippy Cake): whippycake.com

Kelly Rae Roberts (Artist/Author/Possibilitarian): kellyraeroberts.com

Tim Holtz (“The Guy Who Makes It”): timholtz.com

Kim Stoegbauer (The TomKat Studio): thetomkatstudio.com

Melody Ross (Brave Girls Club): bravegirlsclub.com

Shelley Smith (The House of Smiths): thehouseofsmiths.com

Karen Walrond (Chookooloonks): chookooloonks.com

Holly Becker (Decor8): decor8blog.com

Kim Christopherson and Kris Thurgood (The DIY Dish): thediydish.com

Drew Emborsky (The Crochet Dude): drewemborsky.com

Whitney + Jackie (Bel Kai Designs): belkaidesigns.com

Cristina Ferrare (Oprah Winfrey Network): cristinaferrarecooks.com

……….

Of course there were many, many others I would have loved to include, but just know the awesomeness went on and on and on.  : )

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.

……….

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.

……….

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

……….

And we floated down a calm river.

……….

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

……….

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.

……….

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

……….

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.

…..

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

……….

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.

……….

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

……….

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.

……….

Seattle. As seen from the Space Needle.

……….

Mendenhall Glacier. Juneau, Alaska.

……….

Glacier Bay.

……….

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

……….

Misty Fjords.

……….

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

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.

…..

These views are from the top of the Washington Monument.

Inside the Smithsonian – National Museum of Natural History.

…..

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.

……….

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.

]]> http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/06/beautiful-maryland/feed/ 32 http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/05/a-not-so-ordinary-day-in-the-life/ http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/05/a-not-so-ordinary-day-in-the-life/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 21:31:44 +0000 Becky Higgins http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/?p=7258 I spent a whirlwind Friday zipping up to Salt Lake City for a television appearance. My alarm went off at 3:15 am and I was back at home, snuggling with my kids by 7:15 pm. Here are some glimpses of my not-so-ordinary day. As much as I love the everyday and the ordinary and the mundane … I for sure appreciate the fact that the “big stuff” in life very much plays a part in making up our life experience as well.

Friday was kind of “big stuff” for me. I haven’t done any tv anything since … I can’t remember, honestly. It’s been years. So my tummy was filled with butterflies. But my soul was filled with calm. I was participating in something that honored and celebrated motherhood. Anyone who reveres that sacred role has my attention. I felt grateful to have the opportunity to talk about motherhood and documenting life. Two of my greatest passions.

……….

Night before: Scrummaged through my closet and found something to wear. Shirt from Target, cardigan from DownEast Basics, belt is Wet Seal, skinny jeans are Cello Jeans, necklace was … umm … shoot. I totally can’t remember where I picked that up but I know it was while traveling. I just can’t remember where. For sure I texted pictures to my friend Jen for approval.

……….

Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Applied my makeup, start to finish, just minutes before boarding the plane.

……….

Show time! This cutie girl right here? Michelle is Studio 5′s executive producer and she is sharp. Darling. Organized. Warm. Personable. And … the one who invited me to be a part of the show.

……….

A couple on-air shots, thanks to my cute family in the audience with cameras in hand the whole time. On the left, I’m part of a panel discussion about the “little things” that mothers do that go a long way, even if we don’t think they matter much at the time. On the right, I’m sharing some ideas on suggestions of things moms would want to keep for their kids. Great studio audience, by the way! Glad some of you could come!

……….

Darin and Brooke are the hosts of Studio 5. Genuinely kind people. Really. And I about died when I learned that Brooke is only 27 years old! She’s too cute for words and single. I’m just saying. Somebody set the girl up on some dates! She’s a catch!

……….

Some personal friends & family were able to carve a chunk of time from their day to be there. So super grateful for them and for others who sent me texts + emails showing their support.

1. Lori Whitlock! As in, my graphic designer behind our products. Yay!

2. Sydney, Jen, Morgan — friends from our years in Cleveland who now live in Utah.

3. Kevin (as in … you love him for answering your tech questions here on my blog) and Lauren, my sister-in-law. Love them. Yes, that’s an iPad in his hand.

4. I literally wouldn’t be where I am without these people. My parents, of course. Yay that they just happened to be in Utah! And that’s Lisa Bearnson there in the middle — familiar to many of you. She was the one who believed in my talent and took a risk at hiring a 21-year-old who was just crazy-passionate about scrapbooking. Because of her, I was led to many professional opportunities that I never, ever dreamed would be a part of my life. I was tickled pink that she could come.

……….

Aaaannnd we’re back on-board.

……….

Goodbye beautiful Salt Lake City, with your snow-capped mountains in May.

……….

Hello again, beautiful Grand Canyon that I love to fly over.

……….

As I found myself staring out the window like I always do on a flight, I held the iPhone out in front of me to snap a picture. Why? Because this is so me. I am such a sucker for arial views. I find it completely fascinating to see lakes and rivers and mountains and farms and little towns and big cities … from straight above. It always makes me feel and think very reflectively. I always have a renewed sense of appreciation for God’s creations.

And so for that reason, this picture says a lot about me.

……….

I encourage you to do something similar. Get yourself in your documenting of life. You are, after all, a part of your life. And your life — ordinary or extraordinary as it may seem right now — is completely worth documenting.

1. Deneen (who is loving stamps right now)

2. Leanne in Prince Edward Island, Canada

Ladies, you can email comments@ellapublishing.com to claim your prize.

……….

I just got back from spending a few days in the beautiful state of Utah. I went to Women’s Conference at BYU – my alma mater. The experience was truly remarkable. I seriously could fill my blog schedule for weeks with everything I gained from going.

But today I’m just going to share a handful of snapshots from the trip. All taken with my iPhone. I left the “real” camera home. Some of these are edited with the Instagram app (the square images) and some with the Camera+ app — my two current faves. I find it incredibly fun to snap a picture like this …

… and turn it into this with about 30 seconds … right there on my iPhone:

Anywho … I’m having fun with the photo editing apps. Actually, it’s safe to say that most of my POTD’s for Project Life lately have been taken with my iPhone.

……….

BYU sits at the base of gorgeous, humongous mountains.

Spring was in full bloom. There were many areas that were just downright fragrant. Walking around was like someone slapping a perma-grin on my face. All I wanted to do was stand and inhale.

And then … it dropped 20 degrees overnight. And snowed. For real. But honestly, I loved this just as much. We’re heading into a very hot Summer here in Arizona so I was totally soaking in the coldness.

There are awesome exhibits at the BYU Museum of Art right now. This book sculpture is comprised of approximately 80,000 pounds of books. Are you kidding me? It’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Loved it. And I love the art of Carl Bloch, which is the main exhibit there now.

Yes, there was shopping. I’m pretty sure this was the favorite spot. If you’re ever in the Provo area … so. much. fun. stuff! Truly a load of eye candy and plenty of things to tempt the shopper side of anyone. It’s Cherry Lane Boutique on University Ave.

Finally, on a closing note … I just have to say that the BYU Creamery truly has the best mint brownies. I haven’t sunk my teeth into one of those in forever! They still make them the very same way they did when I was in college 15 years ago. And guess what!? I googled it and found that BYU actually shares the recipe online! That’s just super cool.

Now I have to get back on the healthy train. Darn it.

]]> http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/05/utah-spring/feed/ 19 http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/02/christchurch/ http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/2011/02/christchurch/#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:57:35 +0000 Becky Higgins http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/?p=5969 Like so many of you, I am saddened to hear about the devastation in New Zealand as a result of yesterday’s earthquake. I send my love and my prayers to those of you in that area … and many more affected from a distance, with loved ones in New Zealand. In remembrance of the beautiful city of Christchurch, I am posting pictures on facebook & twitter throughout the day, from our visit there in 2004. It is truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

The destination: Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The occasion: We try to do this every year.

The secret to (9) thirty-something moms being able to do this: Amazing husbands and families who are supportive of our yearly girl time.

The best part of it all: I come home exhausted and yet completely refreshed. I am grateful for friends who uplift and inspire me. We all love motherhood. We all adore our husbands. This isn’t about escaping our lives at home. This is about reconnecting, reminiscing, laughing our heads off, and just plain having fun.

And it always, always feels best to come back home.

………….

We missed the peak of Fall colors, but Colorado Springs is beautiful and the weather was perfect. We spent a lot of time outdoors (thanks to our hostess with the mostest who happens to be the athlete of the group). I even experienced about 12 miles of mountain-biking for the first time and l-o-v-e-d it.

(We got a few cell phone pictures. No trekking around with an actual camera.)

Another big personal highlight was making it to the top of “The Incline” in Manitou Springs, CO. While it’s not literally vertical, it sure the heck felt like it. My sea-level lungs were not used to that altitude but it was sooo worth the climb.

I’ll claim the glow-in-the-dark legs on the far left. Those legs climbed over 2,000 feet, reaching an 8,595-foot elevation. Which is why we felt okay busting out the chocolate later on.

We can’t get together without some sort of creating or crafting. That’s part of what brought us together 8 years ago. My main project was putting together a couple floral arrangements for our friend who hosted everyone in her beautiful home. Isn’t this pot terrific?

And we helped her with a little mantel makeover. We found everything (pots, flowers, mirror, decor) at Hobby Lobby … and it was all 50% off so woo-hoo for that.

…………..

Anyway — I’m happily back to “regular” life again and will soon be sharing …

- Winners from the holiday card design contest

- Free holiday card template downloads (resulting from the contest)

- Sneak peeks and more information about the new Project Life stuff coming early December

- Answers to your questions

…………..

But first — the randomly selected winner of last week’s Posh Lily giveaway is Becky in Port Orchard, Washington! Congratulations Becky. Just shoot an email to poshlily@gmail.com and she’ll hook you up.

Speaking of an airplane view, this was my reading material for the flight there. If  you missed it before I’ll say it again, I really like Seeing the Everyday magazine. Like — so, so much. I appreciate how it focuses on relationships and how little moments mean so much and how it uplifts the reader to be a better contributor to a happy, rich family life.

Anyway … back to San Francisco.

If you happen to be in the area, and if you happen to like Indian cuisine … we recommend Little Delhi on Eddy St. So delicious! And easily the best naan we’ve ever had. Ever.

We rented a tandem bike and ventured off for a couple hours. I had to get over the feeling of not being in control of the bike (not a natural feeling). Once I fully trusted David, who was in front and really controlled the steering and pedaling … it was actually a lot of fun.

We biked on the Golden Gate bridge and enjoyed incredible views and beautiful weather.

Being on the back of the bike also meant I could easily juggle the point & shoot camera with one hand. (No dSLR for this trip.) And that resulted in a self portrait. On the back of a tandem bike. Yeeee-haw! I’m such a dork.

During our short stay in Thatcher we visited the home of some relatives. A home I have never been to before. A home where I — um, I mean my kids — could get lost for hours. Fascinating collections and decor and art and every bit of it was designed and built and created by their own hands many years ago. This place could be a museum.

And listen — if any more-closely-related relatives happen to read my blog and happen to have your eye on this piece (you know who you are … you’d recognize the light fixture from their entry way) … I will seriously arm-wrestle you for this. Or make you a delicious treat. Or watch your kids for a weekend. Or give you a pedicure. I’m just saying. This light fixture and me … you see, we belong together. A fresh coat of white spray paint and seriously. Do you see the vision? Yum.

———

Completely unrelated but a fun way to dive into the weekend …

[ Giveaway update ]

1. Congratulations to Megan in Napa, CA! You were randomly selected to win a pair of the darling Sassafrass Mary Janes and rosette tutorial! Shoot an email to erin@BringingUpBurns.com and Erin will hook you up.

2. Another giveaway for today: Got paper clutter? No? Well then yay for you. I’m impressed. But if you’re like most folks … you’ve got some clutter to tackle. Aby Garvey, professional organizer, is teaching an workshop that begins this Tuesday and you just may be interested.

“Organize Your Paper Clutter” is a 6-lesson online course that is designed to help people solve all the common causes of paper clutter by setting up functional (and attractive!) organizing solutions for the various types of paper that come into the home. This isn’t a one-size-fits all workshop, but rather a guided tour that helps the participant figure out what will work well for them and their natural ways of doing things. You can learn all about it HERE.

If you’re not familiar with online workshops you can participate in a free sample lesson by clicking HERE. In the meantime, Aby is giving away a virtual seat in her course to one of my readers. You know what to do. Leave a comment with your name and where you live-ish (not that it matters where you live … just so you’re more easily identifiable). Happy Weekend! If you get the chance, go discover & explore someplace new. And bring your camera.

———-

Happy Weekend! If you get the chance to discover and explore some place new — do it. And bring your camera.  ; )

What do you do with your travel pictures? Do you do a photobook, photo album, layout? Please tell me because I don’t know where to put all the pictures I take in my travels.

(Taken in the Big Bear Lake, CA area where we recently went for a family reunion.)

————–

It’s an excellent question and on a lot of our minds … so let’s talk about it.

I’ll tell you what I do (you’re going to get a healthy dose of my personal scrapbooking philosophy) and I invite you to share what you do with your vacation/travel photos. Everyone needs to do what feels right for them. Do what works for you, not what you think you “should” do because you’ve seen so-and-so do it that way. Let’s just share ideas and inspire each other, right? Right.

WHAT I USED TO DO. For years and years and years, this was my system: After traveling somewhere I would add that trip to my list of layouts-to-do. It was right there on my handy-dandy list right along with birthdays and holidays and momentous occasions and school pictures and … you name it. Anything and everything I wanted to scrapbook went on this list. I’m an organizer. That’s what I do. When time allowed, I would get around to creating those layouts, one at a time. This layouts-to-do list was always long and I never felt like I could get where I wanted to be, which is current.

WHY THIS NO LONGER WORKS FOR ME. I have this innate need to feel like I’m on top of my pictures. As a lifetime scrapbooker, I was finding it impossible to keep up with my wishful thinking of countless layouts. I wanted to play with my kids instead of spend gobs and gobs of time putting layouts together. I enjoy the art – don’t get me wrong – but it can be oh-so-time-consuming. We all know it. So my list got longer and longer and I wasn’t actually doing any scrapbooking with our pictures — travel and otherwise.

I evolved in my philosophy and approach to scrapbooking. I evolved to a place that is do-able. Realistic. Fun. Focused. And my pictures? I’m scrapbooking them. My list? I’m so over that.

WHAT I DO NOW. Pardon the shameless plug, but I have two words – Project Life. This is how it works for travel pictures: We go somewhere. We come back. I go through our pictures, narrow down, and organize them in our iPhoto library. And then … I choose one picture per day to represent our travel. I add that to our ongoing Project Life book (I personally prefer the digital version). Those travel pictures receive equal treatment to every other picture that goes in our book. That amazing hundreds-of-years-old building we saw? Just as important as Crew learning to feed himself, Claire lining up her stuffed animals for a tea party, Porter losing a tooth, the vegetables we pulled out of the garden, the friends we hang out with.

The little stuff in life is just as important as, if not more important than, the big stuff. It should all be included in telling our life story.

WHY THIS WORKS FOR ME. I am a practical woman. Like really, truly practical. I try to do what makes the most sense and feels right. So for me – for our family - we now have our pictures and stories actually being recorded and preserved in a format we can enjoy, instead of making a list of scrapbook pages I’d like to do “someday”. If you see me in person and ask about it, you’ll have a hard time shutting me up because I am that passionate about the system and its ease and its flexibility. I want this to help so many people (scrapbookers and non-scrapbookers alike) because it has helped me.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE PICTURES? I knew you’d ask.  : )  We took a lot of pictures on our recent trip to Finland. After narrowing down, I have exactly 573 pictures that are now stored in iPhoto. Will I scrapbook all of those? Of course not. Would that be nice? Sure. Is it realistic? Heck no. There are thousands and thousands of pictures in our iPhoto library that aren’t being scrapbooked. I’m over it. Sometimes we browse through our pictures on the computer. Sometimes we incorporate our favorites into our home decor. Sometimes we share random pictures with loved ones. Sometimes we make iMovies with the pictures. There are so many other ways to enjoy photographs outside of actual scrapbooks.

ABOUT THAT LIST. Going back to what I said about “do what works for you” — I do realize that there are many of my readers who are true-blue-traditional-layout scrapbookers. I love that. For those of you in that category who are also list-makers and who would be interested in keeping an ongoing list like I mentioned (because it works for you), I’m happy to share that list format again:

So … what works for you?

Here’s another travel photography tip: Capture the WORDS where you go. This is another often-overlooked element of your experience visiting another place. Look at the signs. Notice names, titles, headlines, slang, lyrics or anything else in written form.

Taking pictures of these types of visuals will further capture your traveling experience. This applies whether you’re enjoying a staycation or traveling somewhere where the language is different than your own.

A handful of pictures from Finland … since that’s what’s fresh in our iPhoto library.

Remember looking for ANYthing with your name on it when you were a kid? So fun. Hey, if anyone needs a unique baby name idea …

For those of you doing Project Life, consider photographing what you eat. After all, food is part of your life story just as much as anything else. Think about it from all angles. The examples shown here are “special occasion” foods because they’re from our travels abroad this summer. But don’t overlook that bagel you have almost every morning for breakfast or Mom’s famous meatloaf that you enjoy monthly or the snack you reach for while working on the computer.

By the way, the last picture is my personal favorite. If that doesn’t tell the story of how delicious the dessert was, I don’t know what will.