Project Life Update



Morning friends! 
I wanted to pop in and share my updated Project Life scrapbook pages I finally got caught up on last weekend.  As the girls and I sat surrounded by paper, photographs, tape, and more I told them their mama could scrapbook for daaaays.  And it's true.  There is something so richly rewarding about documenting my days beyond the keys of my computer. 

As I always say, you can spend as much or as little time on Project Life if you want! It can be a process as simple as printing a few photos and slipping them into the pockets with some scrapbook cards and you're done.  Or you can sit and make your own scrapbook cards, or embellish the store-bought ones to your heart's desire.  It's totally up to you! 





Last weekend Brett was putting up electric fence because our cows are giving us fits this winter.   They keep breaking into the neighbor's pasture and I can't even count the number of hours he's spent on the fence. Anyway, the girls were getting over colds so we just tucked ourselves inside and got crafty! I'll share more details soon on this big hoop on the right, but the girls had fun wrapping string and yarn around embroidery hoops to make dream-catchers.  Just a quick idea for you if you're looking for something fast and crafty to do! 

What are you up to this week? 
Have you read about my photography class coming in March?



My photography class is coming in March!


Good morning everyone! Happy Friday! If your life is anything like mine (and I bet it is) you are probably celebrating the simple fact that we've conquered another week!  Today I am extremely excited to share a new photography class with you that I'll be hosting and teaching in March!

You all know my heart for photography, it beats loud and strong.  While I certainly do listen to my heart and soul first when shooting, I've also learned that knowledge truly is power.  It is when I combine my knowledge of manual shooting, lighting, and even editing with my heart and soul that my favorite images are born.

I am a self-taught photographer, which means hour after hour have been logged reading manuals and guides, taking online classes, and simply practicing. This one day class will speed up the learning process for you because it is going to be packed full of instruction!

Let's get right to the important details! 

When and where will the class take place?- Saturday, March 11th on my farm, near Fayetteville.

What is the time frame?- Class starts at 9:00 and ends at 3:00.

What is the price/investment?- The investment is $250 which includes all instructional materials, snacks, lunch, and a few other workshop goodies!  A $50 non-refundable deposit is due when you sign-up, with the remaining $200 due by March 4.

What will we be learning?- During this six-hour day of instruction we will learn so much! We will cover the following topics: Shooting in manual mode, lighting, creating authentic moments to capture, styling a photo and favorite props, the editing process, what to do with your photos, and more!

Is this the workshop for me? -We will be covering topics applicable to DSLR shooters, as well as phone photography.  There is much to gain from this day for both! I personally shoot a bit more with my Nikon, but also use phone photography on a daily basis as well.  The class will cover both.

How do I sign up? - Simply email sunshinebysara@hotmail.com with the subject line "Photography Class" and I will send you an invoice via Paypal.  You may either pay the $50 deposit by itself, or pay the full workshop price upon receiving your invoice.

Any other questions? Please feel free to email me, write me on Facebook or Instagram, comment below, and ask!

I am dreaming of this day already and would love to have you join me!  We'll sit around the table together, explore the farm, and learn how to combine our hearts and souls with our knowledge!

The Rosy Life photo book is for sale!

Friends I am thrilled to start sharing some products and ideas with you in this space that have been a long time coming!  I am an idea kind of person and several new items are going to be making their way to the shelves of my shop over the next few weeks, ideas that I have carried with me for quite some time.  For some reason, now is the right time for them to leap from my brain and out into the world!

To start, I'll let the Rosy Life photography book be the line-leader of all things "new." If you know me really, really well then you know I adore magazines and books, especially ones with beautiful photos that make you pause a little longer and savor the sweet side of life.  I've often dreamed of putting something out there myself, but wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go-like did I want to include words with my photos or just let the photography speak for itself.

I decided I could either wonder and worry 'till the cows come home (which is never) or just go with my gut.  So the gut it is.  I made a photography book with 48 of my favorite rosy photos that is now available for purchase.  I decided to make it a small enough book that you could tuck it in a bag, a friend's mailbox, or easily fit it on a bookshelf.  The sizing, details of the book, and book preview are all available here: The Rosy Life Volume 1.


You can also go to my Instagram (therosylifeblog) to watch a preview of the book in person! Stay tuned for details of my spring photography class coming in March, posters, postcards, and new paintings coming to the shop!

Bubbles and behind-the-scenes

I'm still here. 
My daily blogging rhythm was interrupted by technical difficulties, which was a blessing in disguise. I'd been meaning to re-work a few things in this space anyway, showing my true heart for The Rosy Life, which is photography.  Round 1 of changes are complete! I may make a few tweaks here and there over the next few weeks but for now please feel free to look around, especially under the "Photography Sessions" tab and the "Films" tab. 
There has been more happening behind-the-scenes besides blog changes, none of which I know how to write about yet.  Sometimes in these certain seasons of BIG, difficult things, or questions left unanswered, or things we're wrestling with as a family-I've written about it.  I've laid it all out on the blog, baring my soul every step of the way.  This season feels different. Maybe it's because of the book I've been reading about a lady who went internet-free for a year and met God in that time, maybe it's because of all the negativity spewing left and right about the state of our country within the ugly confines of social media, maybe it's because I'm getting older and becoming more picky and choosier about how much power I'll let social media have for me. 

Whatever the reason, so much is happening behind-the-scenes I'm just not ready or willing to write about yet.  So many social media sites and people that drag down my thought life that I'm just not willing to follow or read anymore.  Do you have these thoughts too?  The internet isn't all bad and please don't think I'm saying so.  I'm still here and I don't think I'm bad. :) I don't think you are either. I'm simply inviting you to peek into The Rosy Life, read alongside your rosy companions, keep having eyes to see the beautiful in the broken and know that there is more happening in my real life than I am ready to write about.  

My rosiness isn't being shallow or fake, it's my remedy for a sometimes hard world.  Someday there will be many details God is weaving together in this chapter of life that I will share.  For now, let's celebrate the tiny moments that are really the big moments, the moments like blowing bubbles.















My goodness this was such a fun afternoon with my girls! 
The bubbles sparked their imagination and soon we were playing fairies in the pasture and I got to be "Sara-bella".  

So from Sara-bella to you, happy Tuesday! Go out and grab some joy today. :) 

Blog construction underway!

Hi friends! Just wanted to pop in and let you know I'm making a few changes to the blog so it might look a little wonky for a day or two. Or three or four.
(a very funny "blast from the past" photo I randomly found!)
  I'm having some technical difficulties getting everything set up due to the fact I last had a designer complete my blog and now I want to edit it myself. These things just take time, which I have little of on the computer.

But, I'm excited about the changes coming! I want to include a page for questions I'm asked a lot, a whole spot for photo session information and the videos I've captured over the past year, and more! 

Have anything you'd like to see added to the blog? Let me know while construction is underway! 

Hopefully I'll have these changes up and running in the next few days! 
Thank-you for your kind patience. :) 
xo

Breakfast Bowl (or anytime!)

My favorite way to eat a healthy meal is in bowl form. Have you noticed this craze taking the internet by storm?  The idea is simple-combine a number of healthy, squeaky clean foods in a bowl and enjoy together.  I guess perhaps this could be considered the modern take on casseroles?! 

I like to eat a bowl, such as the one you see above, for breakfast and then have a super light lunch.  Or even eat light for breakfast and lunch and then enjoy a bowl for dinner.  Let's dive into the contents of this delicious bowl of food, shall we?
I thought I'd share step-by-step how I prepare these awesome meals to show you just how easy it all comes together.  First I add some EVOO to my electric skillet on a fairly low heat.  While the oil is heating up I grate some potato.  I usually prefer sweet potato, but this particular day went for a regular one.  
Next I'll dice up a bunch of onion, either white or red.  
Then add both the potato and onion to the skillet, turning the heat up to 350
While the onion and potato are cooking I open up a can of beans, lima, navy, or black beans being my favorite. 
Drain the liquid from the beans and give them a rinse if you like.
Then take a fork and smash the beans down in a bowl, almost making a sort of patty.
See how nicely the potato and onion are cooking while we are doing other prep?  Now you'll want to add the smashed beans to the skillet.
My last step is to simply fry an egg! I then start taking things out of the skillet and building my bowl, layer by layer.  I like to place the potato in first, followed by the onions, beans, and egg. 

What really puts the flavor over the top is adding some salsa or hummus on top! 
Obviously homemade hummus is healthier but store-bought works too.  
These bowls also taste great with something crunchy added on top, like pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

This is such a low-maintenance, delicious meal to make!  I can easily get each ingredient going in the skillet, while also doing dishes or something else in the kitchen.  I can also easily serve this to my kids, although I would probably leave each ingredient separate from each other on a plate. 

Have you tried a bowl of food similar to this yet?  Any tips for me? 

A simple game of Go Fish

We awoke Saturday, genuinely thankful and excited to be at home.  Home is our favorite spot to be, to recharge and rest.  After a quick breakfast, plans were made for the day which included a wood-burning fire or two, smoked meat for dinner, and plenty of farm work.  One little face with BIG brown eyes was begging to play a game of Go Fish before we gave the full day of marching orders.  Although eager to get on with our to-do's, Brett and I saw the importance of honoring such a seemingly small request, and we sat down to play. 

We began to teach the girls how to play Go Fish, re-reading the instructions for our grown-up selves as well, seeing as it had been years since we'd played.  

I quietly captured the moments that may have looked mundane on the surface, but were really the memories that will sink so deep in your soul, in later days tears will spring up in your eyes.  

Things like my oldest trying to fan our her cards and hold them properly, without them flying every which way or showing them all to the other players. 

Capturing my youngest getting help from her daddy and later on remembering how she thought she won every time you said "Betsy, Go Fish!" and how her whole body giggled and giggled.

That's what I want to remember. 

What I'm finding more and more as I get older is that the simple things truly hold the most depth in my memories and soul.  I always love it when Facebook shows a flashback photo, especially when they include my daughters as babies.  The simple, small moments like Anna's first time finger-painting are what make me sigh deep and sometimes even, my eyes fill with tears. 

A favorite quote of mine is "Our stories are all we have." (Karen Fisher)
Isn't that so true?  

Today I encourage you to find one tiny slice of your day that makes you look just a little longer.  Perhaps it's your daughter's hair in her face, your sons toothy grin, the way your husband walks into a room.  Maybe it's watching a friend deep in conversation, a single raindrop that takes your breath away, or the steam rising from your coffee cup. Take whatever slice of your story catches your attention today and capture it.  Write about it in a journal, capture it with a camera, linger long enough to really take it in. 

"Our stories are all we have."  This is my story of a simple game of Go Fish. 

NEW scripture posters coming to the shop!

(11x14 poster coming soon)

It's FRI-YAY!!!!!!!
You guys, we made it to Friday! The days have been packed so full the past few weeks we are absolutely feeling relief that the weekend is almost here. 

I am also so excited to share that some ideas I've been carrying around in my mind for ages are finally unpacked and in real life.  My Etsy shop hasn't been updated in a while but that's about to change! As I sat down to reflect on what I wanted to offer in the shop I actually looked inward, instead of outward.  I dreamed of the art and photographs that I was currently craving and designed from that deep well of reflection.  

Without further ado, the first new products coming to the shop are these scripture posters.  Each one will be big-11x14!

(11x14 poster coming soon)

These are absolutely my favorite.  In my opinion you can almost never have "too much" art on the walls.  What I've been craving lately though is God's word, not just the art itself.  I married the two in these photographs you see, which will be available next month as 11x14 posters.  
You can tape the poster to the wall, use thumb tacks, or even those sticky squares that peel right off when you're ready. 

You could also pin one up to a bulletin board, have your hubby make a frame for one, or buy a frame at Hobby Lobby. The possibilities are endless and I'll be sharing some of my favorite ways to decorate with posters as we get closer to their release time. 

Which is your favorite?  Do you have a spot in your house where an encouraging scripture would fit best?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this new product! 

Project Life: Week 2 and resizing photos to print!



Hey friends, near and far! How (truly) are you today?  I'm excited to share my second week of Project Life with you!  If you're thinking "didn't she JUST share week one?!" the answer is yes!  

The end of another week snuck up on me and before you knew it Sunday night had rolled around and I had this huge urge to design another page before Monday came knocking.  Once again, I'm so glad I did!  I truly am loving Project Life so very much, like wondering why I haven't done it sooner. 

For me personally, being able to slip some cute journaling cards in with my photos is very appealing visually, plus I'm getting my story down a bit on paper, instead of just being lost on the "inter-webs", as Chewbacca mom calls it.  

For right now I'm keeping this super simple and easy.  I have a million ideas on how to include painting, more creative layouts, etc. but I think the point is to make it fit your life.  Right now "simple" fits my life! I really enjoy recording a bit of one week, before another begins.  

I had a good question last week about how I resize my photos and print them myself.  I made a video to show how I do that in Lightroom.  I have a whole list of disclaimers about the video-like the shifting light, the weird wind sounds in the background, etc. but this is real-life!  I'd rather post it and help someone than hide it due to perfectionism. 

You can view the video here: Project Life photo resizing
 I hope this encourages you to give Project Life a try! 

I've got a new blog! Come see. :)

Room for the Rosy  is my new blog. I hope you'll come see.