#letsbeprayers

So here's the little prayer journal project I've been working on!

When I first started this little endeavor, I was trying to make a 365-page journal for myself for 2016... Now I'm praying this project helps many of us sustain a habit of processing life's blessings and struggles through the lens of His love, power, and nearness - for God's Glory and our joy!

Once I realized there was a real journal-praying interest, I knew my google-docs creation just wouldn't cut it, so I reached out to my friend Sarah Faucette. Here's what she had to say about it:

I've been working with @joyseeds on a really special project! She's created an amazing guided prayer journal that I am helping design. I "tested" out a few of the pages and it has already done my heart so much good! #letsbeprayers - @Native State Design Co.

Yay, God!

Here are some links if you want to know more:

joyseeds shop • mailing list • tumblr • #letsbeprayers on insta & fb ♥

phone background: city lights + grace

just thought I'd share. a phone background if you wish.

Progress (over perfection).

Grace (instead of what I deserve).

Gentleness (b/c I constantly need to be so much more gentle with myself & others).

Oreo cupcakes.

Best I've baked in a while!

...didn't have a whole lot of extra time to make them fancy with a cookie piece on top, but no doubt, next time I will! :)

((Easiness! whole recipe • Thanks, Pinterest!))

Photography stream...

I thought of using Flickr this way for a while now, but never really had the time to make the switch, but, thanks to the extra track-out time we're in business!:)

DIY chalkboard paint. rounds one and two.

Pretty excited this worked!

This was the first attempt on the back of a cheap clipboard. Round two happens was Saturday with Kristin! Yay for DIYs and chalk!! ♥

(Also the list idea was inspired by Pinterest as well:)

Photos for ETSY...

Fun story: friend from home (SC) relocated to Raleigh, mmm, eight months before we did... stay-at-home-mama, has an ETSY shop, needed photos, picked me, and tadaaaa.... this happened!

Need a toddler hat or scarf?? An adult scarf?

Check her out!!

Track-out photography

It's only been a month, but it has already been an honor to be part of V21's photo team!

My first two 'assignments' included staff family portraits.

Loved every minute!

Thankful to be loving this city with these guys!!

10.11.12 Birthday thirty-three

Another sweet birthday on the coolest date yet! :)
...the highlights...

a husband-smart-phone-wakeup-birthday song :)

breakfast with J at the flying biscuit. YUM!!

a photo shoot of my lovely co-teacher+husband

and a yummy thai lunch + ice cream for us too!

after picking up J from campus we joined In Situ's two-yr-old celebration, had some great burgers, and enjoyed catching up with some classmates!

...not to mention all the goodness from our families last weekend (while we were home for Kayla's bday)!

Sweet day! Sweet year!
So Thankful!♥♥

July goodness...

Enjoying the beach, soaking up time with friends and family, catching up on reading, and even getting in a few photo-shoots...

What a sweet month it's been...

Just a few more days and we'll be back to Raleigh and back to work... and before long, back to the grad school grind!! :)

meet Lilli...

Baby Lilli has arrived.
Nine pounds & 20 inches of sweet baby girl goodness.
She let me lift and pose and mess with her until she was no longer able to sleep...

And as she looked me in the lens,
I altogether melted.
What a joy!!
And what an honor to get to take her ten-day-old newborn photo.
{also posted here @ organicmuse.com}

always with the photo play...

A few study-inspired pics, but nothing spectacular...
it's all just camera play to me.

{all are phone pics except the campus tree}

...from the week I studied Matt Stuart's street photography-

sleeping stranger ♥

looks like a face to me :-|

...my favorite flower photo since studying Clive Nichols' glorious garden photography- (I did take some flower pics with the camera too, but the rose was my favorite.)

church rose

And a few more just for fun...
attempting to play with perspective, texture, and pattern...

(Also played with filters from the camera+ app on the last two).......

campus tree

favorite street

thanks for stopping by!
 ♥

Precedents in Photography study - photographer Matt Stuart

I'm copying this idea from my architecture-grad-student husband who has been using a book called Precedents in Architecture. He was actually advised by one of it's authors to keep studying architects' work [in addition to the assigned work] in order to further grow in knowledge and understanding.

I thought I'd really love to apply this same sort of precedent-study to the field of photography.

So here you have it... Using this book Photography in 100 Words, I'll be delving into one photographer's work at a time, grabbing some favorites, and maybe even trying to mimic the artist's style and photographic motivation throughout the week. 

One of the first photographers that caught my attention is Matt Stuart, a street photographer from north-west London.

His work is spontaneous, clever and quite humorous.

I love the idea of looking out for photo-opps like these while I'm out & about around town. ♥♥

Instagram book...

Favorite project of the year so far...

An Instagram book made via Blurb.com.

My wish is to make one for each semester.... ♥

Not sure where this is going...

but I sure am enjoying it!!

goal: more posts tagged creating.

Yay for +1! :)

(and let's hope this guy takes shape so I can share a more finished piece next time:)

InstaFriday

Last weekend we were finishing out fall break at home...

Birthday presents for Sister!!

The pouch is just duct tape and velcro. And a few insta-pictures of the fam. ♥

Her birthday party at MedievalTimes... too. much. fun.
(Seeing my dad boogie with the 8&9 year olds had to be the best part!!!)

Sunday lunch with our brother&sister-in-law.
Cade rested up while we ate so we could take 100 more pictures of him before we parted ways! (here's the album link in case you want to see a few from the real-camera:)

Sister and me- celebrating our 5-day-apart birthdays together at Miyabi. All she wanted to do was the birthday chicken dance. It was awesome.

These two. Being silly. ♥

Monday we came back to Raleigh for school & work...

Our chair-friend greeted us. No more morning coffee dates with this guy I guess... 

Almost finished the book I'm reading. It's been good for the soul.

My actual birthday was Tuesday, but lunch didn't work out that day, so my coworkers at the studio spoiled me Thursday with a birthday lunch and ice cream cake... what!?? It was super sweet! ♥

We haven't had very many datenights since we moved to Raleigh. In fact, we've only had one so far. So, I decided to remedy this by asking for Friday nights off. The weeks are busy enough. We gotta have soooome JK time. :)

So tonight consisted of black bean burgers and a walk through the museum...  and blogging while he read for his Arch-history test this week. :)

It was lovely! ♥

one of my favorites :)

Guess what else...?

On this weekend last year we first visited Raleigh to look at NCSU as an option. Wow. Just one year later and my love is in the thick of architecture grad school. Couldn't be more thankful!

(I have a picture very similar to this one that J took of me during that visit. Now we live here. Crazy!)

....linking up....