The Sick Day

Every winter, it's inevitable - everyone gets sick at the same time, and in that awful mix of sickness, snow storms and cabin fever I find myself feeling horribly claustrophobic and ready to run away.

We're running out of ways to entertain ourselves after almost a week of consecutive snow days and sick days. So we made a movie! About being sick! (Be forewarned, there's a lot of runny nose action - not recommended viewing for the squeamish or germophobic.)

It was a fun project for this week. I know nothing about putting together video, but as I fumbled slowly through the editing process I found I loved how different it was from taking and editing photos. I needed a good challenge! 

I think we're finally pulling through this awful virus, and the sun is back out today after a very snowy start to our week. March may come in like a lion, but - it's MARCH! Spring is practically here. I'm so excited.

Christmas Cards With Tiny Prints

After Oona's diagnosis and surgery rocked our sense of normalcy, we have since found a new "normal" - it's a more exhausting, chaotic kind of schedule and we're all still adjusting. Because of this, I thought Christmas photos and cards would be impossible to pull off this holiday season.

We just so happened to luck out with the weather in October - 70F, sunny days for over a week straight in west Michigan at the end of fall is really rare! We rushed the kids to the beach on one of these nice evenings to grab some photos. It was all rushed and kind of chaotic, (hmm, kind of like life right now...) but I really love the pictures we got. I especially love how all the kids wore different shades of purple to match Oona's cast. These photos will always remind me of these crazy, grace-filled days with our kids.

I was thrilled when TinyPrints reached out to me this fall to try some of their fabulous personalized, holiday stationary options. We ordered our cards from them last year, and the quality is just fantastic. They seriously have so many beautiful designs and templates this year that trying to narrow down our choices was a real challenge!

We ended up going with the "Cheerful Holly" die cut snowflake card, in Hazlenut. Look at that gorgeous floral print! *Swoon.* I love it in all three of the colors TinyPrints offers it in! The best part is that it's the perfect ornament size, and is something family and friends can keep for years to come. (I hate throwing photo cards away every year, and love the idea of having the photos on an ornament!)

This year I also wanted to try out the matching envelope liners (an add-on when you purchase your cards,) and personalized postage stamps. These little details are such easy ways to make your Christmas cards look extra special! I think family and friends will get a kick out of seeing the small Freys on a postage stamp this year. ;-)

If you're in need of creative, high quality photo cards and accessories this year, I highly recommend checking out TinyPrints! I can personally vouch for their fantastic customer service, unique designs, and fantastic, quality photo printing! (They're running some great holiday promotional deals right now too - hop on it!)

* Thanks TinyPrints for partnering on today's post! Opinions are my own.*

In The Pottery Studio

I've been a horrible blogger lately. I don't even know how I feel about that! I've been thinking about the future of this space a lot recently, and still have more questions than answers, but that's for another post and another time...

That's just to say - I rarely pick up my "big" camera anymore. Instagram is my jam these days, and weeks go by without giving this space or my clunky camera a thought. I was kind of jarred out of this pattern last weekend when two opportunities popped up for me to dust off the old Nikon, and I'm excited to share a bit of those experiences with you here.

First up... My sister Grace is a potter. Over the last two years she's really made some huge strides towards her goal of supporting herself with her craft. I'm obviously extremely proud of her! She inspires me in more ways than I can count. She asked me to take some photos for her up and coming website/online store and I was happy to help.

Scratchy Beard

There's nothing more fun, apparently, than being attacked by Daddy's sharp-as-sandpaper 5 o'clock shadow...

Silas elbows in for his dose of pain with a side of beard burn...

Oh these guys...

I kind of like them a lot.

Makers Market (Part One)

I am lucky to have two very creative, talented sisters. I'm super lucky that one of them lives just a couple of blocks from me! Grace is a potter and ceramic artist. She's a fine arts graduate from WVU and even had the opportunity to study ceramics in China for a semester. I know I'm biased, but I think no one can deny after seeing her work that this girl has a huge talent. I love that Grace channels her sweet, feminine personality into the clay and turns out the sweetest, prettiest pottery. She was invited to participate in a Makers Market a couple of weeks ago, and I imposed myself on her to "help" (really, I just wanted to be part of the excitement and check out all the hipster artists *wink.*) It was so much fun! And I could not have been more proud of Grace. She works so hard and pours all of herself into her art. 

^ Grace and her close friend / housemate, Alyssa. ^

^ The market took place at Coppercraft Distillery - the towering barrels were quite a sight! ^

^ Another perk of "helping" - I got a free fancy, holiday cocktail. My first buttered rum - it sounds way more delicious than it actually is, unfortunately. That was a little disappointing. ^ 

Playing With Light

I was laying on the floor last night with my camera, messing around with different settings, and managed to catch this funny picture. They were playing with a retractable measuring tape and the light just flared perfectly in that tiny split second of time. 

I love light. The thing that really got me about our new [old] house was how much natural light it has. Four big west facing windows in the living room give the main floor of the house a beautiful glow, especially in the evening hours. It's my new favorite place to take photos.

Now if only my models would be as cooperative as the light!

I Remember...

These days don't seem all that long ago...

^ Me with Olive, at 5 or 6 weeks. A baby with a baby, that's what. ^

...and I remember these days like they were just yesterday...

 And now...

I just can't get over the weirdness and craziness and wonderfulness of it.

I love these guys.