Category: Shake It Up
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up January With Hipstamatic (week 4)
Today I’m going to jump right into my last “shake it up” recap so we can get to my final thoughts about this project and start talking about where I’m going for the next phase of my photo-a-day challenge. Sunday was a little too cold and wet for my comfort but perfect…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up January with Hipstamatic (week 3)
After a difficult stretch mid month we were ready for a quieter week here and I think all of us had their fingers crossed hoping for a few days to catch our breath. Looking back I see we did indeed find a little peace mixed in with a few signs of spring…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up January With Hipstamatic (week 2)
I know I started this random photo a day project as a way to acknowledge the good in every day but there are some weeks when I just want them to hurry up and be gone. This week was definitely one of those and while nothing terrible happened sometimes a series of complications…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up January With Hipstamatic (week 1)
We’ve reached the final month of my first year-long photo of the day project and even though I still have 4 weeks of images to share I can tell I’m going to miss at least a few parts of the process when we’re finished. In truth this has been a love/hate…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up December With Hipstamatic (week 5)
It’s fitting that on the day I decided to check off the last remaining items from three old “to-do” lists I’m ending it by writing a post that bridges the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. It’s a day to clean house, both literally and figuratively and according to WordPress my three-year blogging anniversary.…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up December With Hipstamatic (week 4 – the Christmas edition)
In the few hours left before our New Year’s Eve countdown I’m here online to recap a 7 day stretch that was filled with Christmas. We spent last full week of the month surrounded by festive displays, holiday decorations, good food, and family. Next week will bring a fresh start and end of the…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up December With Hipstamatic (week 3)
Now that our shopping is finished, the house is almost clean and I have a few minutes of quiet before cooking Christmas Eve dinner this set of photos from mid-month is a reminder of what it took to get us here. All in all we had a good week and…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up December With Hipstamatic (week 1)
Hello everyone! I didn’t plan to be away for so long and don’t think I’ve ever gone 10 days without a post but sometimes life just gets in the way… One thing I didn’t let go though was my daily photo habit and even though this set of 7 images…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up November With Hipstamatic (week 4)
I’m still shaking my head at the fact that as I write this there are only a few hours left in the month of November. Our wintry weather, family activities, busy work days and holiday decorations are all telling me the end of the year is almost here but I swear it we…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up November With Hipstamatic (week 3)
“Wow what a week” is all I can say as I after seeing this set of 7 photos together in a gallery waiting for my post. It’s been another non-stop whirlwind of activity broken up by a major wind storm, a night without power and some chilly days. Brr…winter is coming.…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up November With Hipstamatic (week 2)
If I had to pick one word summarizing the past week I think I’d choose “stormy.” Our surprising Pacific Northwest drought is coming to an end as a series of “Pineapple Express” weather systems have delivered more rain in the past 10 days than we usually see in the whole month of November with plenty more…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up November With Hipstamatic ( week 1)
As I sit in front of my computer tonight, three days after the day I wanted to finish this post I’m reminded one more time why this random image, daily photo project is important. It’s so easy to get lost in our busy days. I rush from work to evening events, the laundry room…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up October With Hipstamatic (week 5)
As promised I have a few more spooky images from John’s latest creations in my newest recap. The past week was filled with Halloween preparations and you can see he really had fun designing and displaying new vignettes. I mixed in a few “daily life” photos to keep my theme…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up October With Hipstamatic (week 4)
We’re reaching the end of October and in a house where Halloween is everything even our simple, daily views are magically transformed into something spooky. This week I’ve included a few glimpses of our newest decorations and some surprising examples of ordinary moments seen in a new light. Sunday is a shot of…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up October With Hipstamatic (week 3)
October is finally settling into a true fall like feel here in the Pacific Northwest. Apples are dropping, leaves are turning and scarecrows are popping up all over town. Our Indian summer continued through mid-week with one last stretch of 70 degree days but by Saturday afternoon rain returned and the…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up October With Hipstamatic (week 1)
The first full week of October blew through the Pacific Northwest in true fall fashion. We enjoyed a stretch of sunny days filled with blue skies and fall colors, our summer-brown lawns and dry plants started to green up again and the sun rise is now late enough that I can enjoy…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 5)
If our fourth week of September was all about crisis management the fifth was about going with the flow. I guess the best we can hope for is that everyone ends the week healthy and happy and this time I’m relieved to report we did just that. Finn is on the…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 4)
As you can see from the big red, white and blue emergency sign this week did not follow my carefully constructed plan for a normal stretch of days. The early shots capture some pretty sights and colors that caught my eye but a phone call Friday afternoon changed everything. Regular readers have watched…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 3)
September has been a busy month for us filled with growth, change and some pretty big adjustments. The first week of the month was all about wrapping up summer and preparing for a new school while the second week was filled with last minute preparations for high school, first day nerves,…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 2)
I’ve erased dozens of opening sentences tonight trying to sum up my experiences from this past week and finally decided to just start with a few thoughts about the process. It’s hard to find your balance when every day is extreme in its peaks and valleys but in the end,…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 1)
The last two days of August and the beginning of September passed through the Pacific Northwest with a season changing storm that’s rare for this time of year. Usually our summer continues for another six weeks and we count on a September filled with pretty fall color, cool nights and sun warmed afternoons but…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up August With Hipstamatic (week 4)
It’s been a crazy week here in the Pacific Northwest and my choices of trees for the first and last images in this series is no accident. We’ve faced blazing hot weather, unhealthy levels of smoke in the air, end of summer berries and a record setting windstorm. I’m writing this…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up August With Hipstamatic (week 3)
This past week was a quiet one, maybe the last we’ll have for a while since my calendar is full of end of summer appointments and back to school activities. Ryan spent the week with my parents enjoying a bit of grandparent spoiling and cousin fun time while John and I…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up August With Hipstamatic (week 2)
This set of seven photos reminds me one more time that interesting things really can be found in the middle of a regular day. I started this random photo-of-the-day project during a dreary February week and here I am, six months later, still looking forward to going outside and finding something new every morning.…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 5)
Another beautiful week has come and gone here in the Pacific Northwest and I’m happy to say we spent every minute possible enjoying outdoor living and a bit of travel. Sunday afternoon Ryan and I hiked to the lovely waterfall from yesterday’s post along with my aunt, sister and her…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 4)
This week’s set of seven photos perfectly illustrate why I love summers in the Pacific Northwest. The temperatures are generally mild, flowers are in full bloom, gardens are at their peak and the beaches are wide open. I’m a day later than usual with this recap because Ryan and I just got home from long weekend…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 3)
Another pretty week in the Pacific Northwest has come and gone but thanks to my random photo a day project I have some nice souvenirs to remember the season. Sunday afternoon was the perfect time to sit outside for lunch and believe it or not I didn’t plan to match my food…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 2)
I think I’ve mentioned before that some weeks I’m surprised by a theme weaving through the photos when I sit down to write my recap. There are plenty of weeks that feature random yet interesting moments but every once in a while I see a trend in my choice of subjects that wasn’t apparent…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking up July With Hipstamatic (week 1)
I have a quick little recap today since we just got home from a weekend away with family celebrating the 4th of July. Ryan is spending the next 5 days with his Grandparents and John and I are on our way to pick up some take out for dinner so we can…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up June With Hipstamatic (week 4)
The fourth week of June was a fun one that began and ended with family time and was filled with what’s turning out to be a stretch of warmer than usual summer days. Since we don’t have air conditioning we’re doing what we can to keep cool and I’m using the high…
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Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Cold Brew Coffee On A Hot Summer Day
Picking a subject for Sally’s Challenger’s Choice week is always fun because with 11 categories to choose from pretty much everything I like to photograph fits the bill. To keep things interesting I try to move through Sally’s list without repeating myself and this month I settled on food photography. I know this is…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up June With Hipstamatic (week 3)
Hello everyone! I’m back from a whirlwind week of end of the school year activities, annual appointments, a work trip to New York City and preparations for Father’s Day so the dads in my life can take some time off to relax and be reminded of how special they are…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up June With Hipstamatic (week 2)
Sometimes these weekly recaps highlight random, un-linked moments from my days and sometimes an unexpected theme emerges. Flowers, flowers and more flowers filled the second week of June. We filled our empty deck planters Sunday afternoon and before they were finished I snapped a photo of a few of the bright colors…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up June With Hipstamatic (week 1)
I don’t know why the month of May always ends with everyone in our house sick but once again we’ve spent the last 7 days suffering through a cold that simply will. not. end. Sick or not life must go on and our week was full of some nice weather, end…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up May With Hipstamatic (week 5)
It’s hard to believe June starts tomorrow but the photos above are proof that our unseasonably warm spring is leading right into an early summer. Next week will bring some rain back into the Seattle area but until then we’re enjoying these sunny last days of May. Hipstamatic’s random processing of Sunday’s…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up May With Hipstamatic (week 4)
One of my favorite parts of this daily project/weekly recap series is an “aha” moment when I realize there was a trend to my week that I hadn’t noticed in the middle of the rush to finish each day. A little distance is a great tool for gaining perspective and I’m really starting to…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up May With Hipstamatic (week 3)
It’s been a quiet week here filled with normal life and unpredictable spring weather – just the way I like it. Sunday was Mother’s Day and the boys treated me to flowers, a relaxing afternoon and dinner at home. Ryan and I stopped at Starbucks for Frappuccino’s before walking to the beach while…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up May With Hipstamatic (week 2)
Today’s recap is a quick one while I wait for Ryan to finish his math so we can start our Mother’s Day walk to the beach. It was another beautiful spring week here in the Pacific Northwest filled with plenty sun and very little rain. We are all a little concerned about a dry…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up April With Hipstamatic (week 4)
This past week was a good example of how nice it is to have a few things to look forward too spread out over the course of seven days. We had just enough time to keep our regular life running smoothly while enjoying a birthday celebration, crazy spring weather and meeting…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up April with Hipstamatic (week 3)
Another busy week has come and gone but over all it’s been a good one here in our little corner of the Pacific Northwest. While my days fly by in a blur of work, family, driving and if I’m lucky a little bit of blogging I’ve been trying very hard to recognize those quiet moments…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up April With Hipstamatic (week 2)
Even though I was away from blogging last week I continued my attempt to take one random photo every day and am here for a quick Sunday night post recapping the past seven days. Ryan enjoyed a relaxing spring break while I had a great time exploring new ways to structure my time and really…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up April With Hipstamatic (week 1)
This past week was a fun one filled with lots of work, the end of the school quarter, crazy spring weather and Easter preparations but thanks to this “shake it to randomize” series I made sure to stop at least once every day and look for something pretty that would have…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up March With Hipstamatic (week 4)
I think any week that starts with a big party is bound to go well and this past one was no exception. Our Sunday began in Bellingham with a beautiful lunch in honor of my mom’s birthday and ended with the discovery of these pretty, pink camellia blooms. I’ve been…
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A Surprise Everyday: Shaking Up March with Hipstamatic (week 2)
At least once a day I shake my head and wonder where the time went. I know rushing through weeks, feeling let down because I couldn’t finish an unrealistic “to do” list is a bad habit but one of the benefits of this weekly series is visual proof that I did find time…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up March With Hipstamatic (week 1)
These past seven days are exactly why I need a project like this shake-it-up series. Every day was filled with things to do and tasks to accomplish but working through each item that needed my attention meant I had very little time for creativity. Usually I end a stretch like this feeling…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up February With Hipstamatic (week 4)
It’s hard to believe February is over but seeing as this is March 1st it must be true! The last week of the month flew by in a blur of work and events but the simple task of looking for one new thing to photograph and share has really helped me…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up February With Hipstamatic (week 3)
While most of the country is trapped in a sub-zero weather pattern our strangely warm Pacific Northwest winter brought bright blue skies and temperatures in the 50’s. No one knows quite what to do here but we’re trying to spend as much time outside as possible knowing the rain and chilly air will be…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking up February With Hipstamatic (week 2)
Even though it’s hard to believe February is half over I have a new group of 7 random images to share marking the passage of each day in this little month. My “shake to randomize” Hipstamatic project is turning out to be more fun than I expected and not only…
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A Surprise Every Day: Shaking up February With Hipstamatic
February is a strange little month. The big family holidays are over, our days are short and wet, someone is usually sick and I’m running on empty when it comes to creative thoughts. I shouldn’t be surprised as the same things happen every year but once again we hit the end…
Northwest Frame of Mind 