instagram says so

According to instagram I've kept myself busy exploring the city (typical), enjoying good coffee, buying pretty plants, shop visits, meeting new friends and enjoying the days with old ones.   I've been trying so hard to re-open my shop, but as you can see I'm easily distracted whenever I leave the house!

Here are a few of the stories to go along with the photos:

top left photo- In case you missed it, I shared a shop visit with Artemisia here in Portland.  Its a beautiful retail plant shop and workshop space that I've been a fan of since moving here. 

top center photo- I freelance for a couple of local shops here (running their social media and offering marketing strategy advice), I recently picked up a new client, Menagerie, and have been so excited to have a new excuse to visit their shop more often. 

bottom right photo- Renegade Craft Fair was in town last weekend and of course Portland decided to have some random ass weather.  For last years event it was probably the hottest weekend we had had all summer, this year it rained!  We didn't care, we are oregonians after all.  The market was full of amazing talent and goods and I wandered around every booth with my best gal Andrea and her tiny human Ruby, who is way cooler than us! 

As the summer winds down I'm looking forward to cooler days, new to me places (& visiting old favorites) and of course taking pretty photos of it all- if you aren't already, follow me on instagram, I'd love to have you!

life according to instagram

I think my real life might argue that there is no photographic evidence on instagram of me wearing sweats until 3pm, having paint in my hair and not remembering the last time I made a home cooked meal.  However, I have no complaints about finding time in the messy everyday to venture out to a thursday evening farmers market, write more letters, visit a rock museum, enjoy the portland weather and smelling just enough flowers to get me through the day.

I've heard random complaints here and there on other blogs or articles about how instagram isn't real enough, how it only shows the pretty and I'm okay with that.  You have your own piles of laundry and dirty dishes so why would you want to see mine?  Choosing the good parts of our day that we want to remember is what stands out and makes an ordinary day just a bit better.  I love following others that think the same way, the ones that have the ability to share the good with the bad without compromising the quality of their feed.  We are so visually driven that those photos are what connect us, what make us want to read the stories and build the relationships.  Its one of the reasons I love the instagram community so much.

This is my life right now- according to instagram.  The prettier moments of each day that I get to hold on to.

neatly organized things

After reaching the one year mark of living here in Portland, I started getting the itch to get out of the house a little more than just adventures, shopping & coffee dates.  Although I do stay busy with my own projects (like this blog & launching my new shop) I thought finding a small side job would be great because I could meet people, do something I'm good at and make a little cash too (who doesn't like that?).  I came across an ad for a 3 day a week gig working for a super cute stationary shop in the pearl district and jumped all over it.  Thankfully the owner liked me enough to offer a position I actually just passed the one month mark!

I have been self-employed for so long that I actually haven't worked for someone else in almost 10yrs.  Having a boss is almost foreign to me and I never thought I would have a "day job" again, but the reasons are different and I was able to go about this on my own terms- so it works!  Since I had previously co-owned an online paper & pretty things boutique, I've been able to help out in some areas where the current owner just hadn't had time to focus on because besides running the shop, she is also very busy designing invitations for clients.  One of my favorite tasks is heading up the instagram account for Ecru.  I decided to go with a 'neatly organized things' theme over there and I love how its turning out.  Its a great way to show off the products we offer, connect with our vendors and get a little creative in inventory photography. Its a fun challenge to set up these little vignettes and the feedback we have received is great.  I'm glad I get to leave my house to do things like this! Hashtag do what you love.

If you are on instagram and you like organized things- follow along! @ecrumodernstationer

friends & fonts

A few months back Rebecca from Manzanita mentioned she was going to be visiting up this way and I was so excited knowing we would be able to finally meet.  We have been chatting for a few years now and it started through a mutual friend when we both had accessory businesses.  We have always tried to collaborate somehow, we follow each other on instagram & keep in touch when possible, but meeting in real life with her in Colorado and me here in Oregon just didn't seem possible.

As the weeks grew closer to her visit she threw out the idea of hosting a calligraphy workshop locally and wondered if I could help arrange a few of the details.  It all worked out perfectly and we found an affordable location (during the start of the very busy wedding season), all the supplies arrived here on time and people signed up without a hitch.  The workshop took place a few nights ago, here are just a few iphone photos from it- I would have taken some on my camera, but I was making a mess with the ink while shoving my face with cupcakes & meeting a new friends!

I got to freshen up my calligraphy skills (I studied it in school like 13yrs ago), but meeting and instantly connecting to someone was by far the best part!  I am always amazed and so thankful of the relationships we are able to build and nourish through blogging, instagram & other social media platforms.  When sometimes there can be dark negativity and craziness on the internet, this is one of those times when there is light.

instalove: the explorers

One of my favorite things about instagram is the fact that we can see places we have never been or might never be able to go.  Lately I've been gravitating towards the instagram users that love adventure as much as I do (or dream of).  The ones that get out and explore, love their surroundings, taking the time to take it all in and share the world as they see it with us.  Lets face it- I know what messy dishes in the sink, piles of laundry and my own messes look like, thats why I try to find the pretty in life.  When I seek out others to follow I look for inspiration and those that get out and live..  Although I might not always have time to do the same, the dream of adventure and seeing it in others can sometimes be enough!

right to left:

ioegreer | seablanket

benschuyler | bethanyolson

jaymelynnjames | kahrihaines

adrianasinke | ladyaustin

littlecanoe | greatnorthco

This are just a few of my favorite explorers,  if you have any suggestions of users you might think I would love please leave their usernames below so I can check them out.  If you aren't following already you can find me @aspensummit xo

this & that // 02

Happy Holidays friends, I hope you are having a wonderful end to your year.  I planned on posting a xmas recap and a post about my goals and intentions for next year, instead I thought I'd share something different. Last night a new instagram friend and I unintentionally posted almost identical photos (the first set below) and it reminded me how I shared this post back in August. I forgot all about it and have probably missed so many opportunities to share photos that I find on instagram that look so alike so I thought I'd revive this little project and try to share them a bit more.

I love the way we can see something similar and share it while unintentionally connecting with others that see things the same way too.  I don't know if any of these users know or even follow each other, but it brings a little joy to me when I see the images knowing we can experience the same things and connect with others from all over by accident.

aspensummit // runstylerun

evyrose // jaymelynnjames

roserogpatina // honeykennedy

ashesandwine_ // local_milk

alittlesojourn // waywardspark

I'll try to keep my eye open for these types of photos more often, its actually really fun when I find them.  In the mean time follow me on instagram if you aren't already! xo

lately...

If you follow me on instagram (@justlove_ly) you know I've been completely emerged in fall up here in the Pacific Northwest.  The weather change brings cozy clothes, raining days and lots of yummy recipes to try- like this apple crumble I made last week! I try to enjoy this season as much as possible because it tends to go by so quickly.  I'm not ready for 2014 so everyday I try to hold on to the hours just a bit more and capture everything that makes my heart happy.

Brandon has been in Peru since late September and he gets to come home tomorrow for his 2 week work break.  We randomly found a farm for sale about an hour north of Portland that we are checking out this weekend. What...?! Sometimes the ideas we come up with are so crazy and far fetched, but its fun to dream.  Other than that its chill days and trying to stay warm.  xo

let us fall

I know so many people say that fall is their favorite season ::raises hand::, but truly why wouldn't it be?  I like the calm, the gray, the comfort of it all.  My birthday is in November, so from the get go I was destined to be an autumn baby.  Something about the season change always sparks some sort of change in my personal life as well.  Its the time when I'm most at peace with myself and creative when it comes to projects, home, business etc.

I told myself that as soon as autumn was upon us I needed to slow down and I did.  I've had so many things on my mind lately when it comes to my present, my future, dreams, goals.  Really what it is I'm doing and why I do it.  I truly believe in enjoying moments and not trying to make them, so in an effort to really practice what I preach I allowed myself a break from it all.  I didn't do things just to turn them into a blog post, I didn't go places just to share a photo on instagram- I lived them, enjoyed them and will privately remember them.  Don't get me wrong, I still have things to share (like the photos above), but with a little more clarity, selectiveness and a lot more intention.

Lately with the over satuation of shop after shop, blog after blog, conference after conference- you get the idea.  I have been asking myself- did we all want to grow up and 'be a blogger', be self employed, make handmade items.  Is it just the cool thing to do?  Is the obsession with the modern celebrity and the desire for fame and fortune- or even recognition, the new american dream?  I'm not sure where I fall into any of it, or why I'm even blabbering.  I guess I just want to always seek out authenticity while portraying the same.  I want to be keep shit real and enjoy whatever ride this new season brings.

Its always change and change is good.

I know its not Autumn everywhere (happy summer, southern hemisphere friends!), so in general- what are you looking forward to for this new season?

this & that // 01

Last year I came across a great feature that Susan from Freshly Picked put together called Instagram Mash-up.  She would share photos that she came across on IG that looked sort of similar and ever since the first time I saw one of her mash-ups, I became more aware of the people I follow and how we all have such different lives and interests, but somehow can still connect (in a scary identical way!) through photos!  Everything below I came across this last week and are strictly from people I currently follow -no hashtag searches- so fun right?

houselarsbuilt // woodlark

littlecanoe // marbleandmilkweed

beamandanchor // awelltraveledwoman

makersworkshop // acutedesigns

theshineproject // mooreaseal

bunnyxrose // lauramazurek

Susan hasn't done this feature in almost 10 months, but I didn't want to share my version without giving her the proper credit since I'm hoping to do these more often!

... and if you aren't already, follow me on instagram xo

instacrush: @thuglifeforevs

Instagram is the one social media outlet where I feel like I have more control over the type of content I want to see.  Sure you can follow & unfollow on facebook and twitter, but there are always promoted posts you can't control at all.  Enter instagram- I like to follow happy users, the ones that post the pretty photos and think about the content in their feeds as art.  I have so many favorites on there and would love to share more of them with you.  Join me each week to see who I'm crushing on!

Emily Blincoe is a killer photographer out of Texas.  Not only does she take & share amazing photos, she produces these collections that are just so thought provoking.  The quality of her work sets her aside as one of my favorite ig'ers because of the time that goes into her projects.  She has plenty of amazing photos in her feed, but I want to share 3 collections with you- #chameleonportrait, #colorsorganizedneatly & #thisAMPERSANDthat, amazing right?

She recently started a new one called #thecollectioncollection and so far I'm loving it!  note* anyone with OCD will be a huge fan of hers =)

Follow: @thuglifeforevs 

Hope you follow along and get a new instacrush too!  Do you already have some crushes?  I'd love to find new inspiring artists to follow so please share them with me below and if you aren't already you can find me @thingslovely xo

the things that made my week

If you follow me on instagram, then please forgive the re-post of these images.  I like to share them for some of my friends & family that don't have the good-ol-gram.  If you aren't following, my name there is @thingslovely come say hi! But for now these are some of the things that made my week!

spring planting & a dirty mani // decorating our very empty home

some new kicks // a smoothie fix- have any favorite recipes??

visiting a legit barbershop for the husband // uh- amazing lunch.... and yes i did pig out.

a ryan gosling coloring book, because obviously // and a girls night out

And in between these fun photos I had days of laying in my pjs, zit cream on my face, a messy house and dog walks where I forgot to take a baggie for Arthurs accomplishments on the community lawn (yeah i'm that person occasionally i guess?).  It was normal week and I like those.

instagram stalking

Are you as in love with instagram as I am?  Its such a great way to stay connected, but is simple and quick for all of us busy folks.  I have met some new friends via IG, stalked ones that I'm a huge fan of and spied on mean girls from high school that I was curious of what they are up to now a days.  Don't lie you know you do all of this too.

If you follow me (@thingslovely) don't be shy, I'd love for you to say hi!

make: instagram coasters

Today I'm sharing a simple & cute tutorial on how to make some instagram coasters over at Maggies blog, Gussy Sews.  This is a perfect weekend project that requires minimum supplies, so have fun!

make: images instagram ready

With everyone and their mom joining.  Really if my mom had access she would be in on this.  Instagram is becoming even more popular as each day passes.  Its a great way to take peeks into peoples lives (because let's face it we are nosey by nature), but its also a great tool to use to promote your business, photography skills or events going on.

With so many photo apps and fun things to try capturing, I wanted to show you a way to make sure when you post you don't have those dreaded black Instagram bars by posting horizontal photos from your iPhone.  There are a few apps for this- a popular one is squareready however I'm going to show you how to do it straight from your phone.

I've placed the instructions on the photos, but here is a quick run down as well.

Unless you want to adjust in instagram (zoom & post)- which could lose some of the detailing then hit up your camera roll and choose the photo that you know will have those bars if you post it (any horizontal photos).  So go and select a photo and in the top right corner tap edit.

Bottom right corner you will choose to crop your photo and instead of cropping you will choose constrain.

From that menu you are given a few options for the photo size, select square.  And with your finger slide the image around until you get want you want looking right.

Next up save and you are good to go- head on over to your instagram profile and tap the camera button to start a new image upload.

Instead of taking a photo you will select your storage and find where you saved the photo (most likely its in your camera roll) then select the image.  However, it won't be at the bottom of your photos like a new image taken goes, it will be in its original place.

From there make any filter adjustments as needed and post that bad boy up!  I ended up using this image in our @fawnandflora photo stream- you can follow there for some pretty supply updates or behind the scenes shots or if you aren't already follow me @thingslovely 

an instagram roadtrip

A few weeks ago my husband was working in Boise Idaho and asked me to drive out and visit him.  He works for a company that keeps him away from home lots.  Its actually very rare for me to go visit him because they move around so much when on tours.  With not much notice and my shop scheduled to re-open I decided to take a leap and scratch all my plans to road trip it to him for Labor Day Weekend.

Our little Southern Oregon town is about 10hrs from where he was and with gas prices up that weekend and since I drive a Land Rover I decided to grab a rental car and head out that Friday... if you have ever passed through towns in eastern Oregon then you will be comforted by the amusing photos below (Dana actually asked me if I was road tripping through a trailer park- shes a silly Canadian so its ok).

Do you want the hamburger fried chicken, milkshake onion rings or propane ice cream?

..although tempting I opted to not stay here.

Artistic taxidermy.... better then the regular kind?

The cutest movie theater there ever was.

These people were liars.  You don't realize you need tacos, until you can't have them.

We are so spoiled in Oregon since we don't have to pump our own gas! .. and since I get questions about this every time I mention it- its illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon, instead they provide jobs within the state to station attendants! However, our gas prices are usually a tad higher.

Downtown Boise Farmers Market (thanks to some face book recommendations for this!)

The 3 photos above are all from a paper shop downtown called Paisley Roberts, 

those paper things in the middle are just paper lanterns with triangle cut paper pieces glued on by the employees who wanted to re-vamp the decor in there.. yes I asked!

Somehow I will always find a craft supply shop.. the heavens were happy. Obviously.

My husbands machine (the big orange thing above) was up at a place called Lucky Peak Reservoir working a fire that was about 40 miles away.  I came out to visit for a bit to see them land and take off!  

Hotel Life.

The morning we left Boise to head back home was so beautiful, perfect day for a drive.

... a drive that lead me to get a warning for speeding.. oops!

Back in Oregon- where you can see something pretty and something stupid at the same time =)

After our long drive and not wanting fast food we hit up Applebees and since Arthur didn't come along for the trip this is what he did to Brandon after not seeing him for 2wks!

So that was my fun, fast and totally worth the relaxation road trip.. stay tuned for tomorrow when I share some big changes in our life that we decided to make while on this road trip! xo

*all photos via instagram - follow me @thingslovely